Chapter 89: Hidenori's Time for Rebellion Has Arrived!!
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Amou spotted Seito and pointed to the empty seat beside her. "Sit."
Seito didn't stand on ceremony and sat down. He scanned the spread before him—standard Japanese home cooking, but with a side of Mapo Tofu. It was likely a joint effort between Amou and Kanade this morning.
"This looks great," Seito said, picking up his chopsticks. He couldn't help but feel that having women in the house was a game-changer; even his meals were thoughtfully handled. He tucked in, and Amou followed suit.
Ten minutes later, Seito let out a satisfied burp and looked around the E-Class room. Realizing something was off, he asked, "Where are Hidenori and the other two?"
Hidenori, Yoshitake, and Tadakuni were nowhere to be found.
"They didn't bring lunch. They headed to the cafeteria," Iori Kitahara informed him. Seito nodded.
Tatap-tap—
Footsteps echoed in the hall.
SLAM!
The classroom door flew open as the trio trudged back in. "Oh, Seito, you're hanging out in our class?" Tadakuni greeted him.
"Yeah," Seito replied.
But before he could say another word, a violent, arrogant voice erupted from the hallway.
"Where is Seito from Class D?! Tell him to get out here!"
The shout grabbed everyone's attention. It sounded like Kakeru Ryuuen from Class B. Apparently, Ryuuen was still fuming about being extorted and forced to count backward from 1,000 in the game on Saturday. He had brought a group of Class B thugs to corner Seito.
Inside Class E, Hidenori was the first to "snap."
"Seito, he's calling you out like that? You're just going to take it?" Hidenori's eyes gleamed with a strange light. "If it were me, I couldn't stand the insult! It seems this punk hasn't been taught a proper lesson."
Hidenori's sarcasm was dialed to the max. Seito gave him a "dead fish" stare, sensing something fishy.
On the surface, Hidenori looked calm, but internally, he was screaming. He still remembered the humiliation of being forced to do "1000-7" at Seito's house. This was the perfect chance. If he didn't orchestrate a beatdown for Seito now, he'd never forgive himself!
"Fair point," Seito said, slicking his hair back with a "hair-wax hand" gesture. He stood up, his gaze sharpening. "Let's go. Everyone, follow me."
The E-Class mob followed him out. They quickly spotted Ryuuen shouting at the back door of Class D. Ryuuen, the "Dictator" of Class B, sneered when he saw Seito emerge with a crowd.
"Heh, I thought you were too scared to show your face," Ryuuen mocked. He glared at Seito, Iori, and Hidenori—the three responsible for his trauma. "Today, you're going to pay!"
"You—"
Before Seito could finish his sentence, a pair of arms from behind shoved him hard toward the ground!
The surrounding students were stunned. But before they could process it, Hidenori's frantic cry rang out:
"QUICK! GET HIM! BEAT HIM UP!"
The mob reacted instinctively. Without looking to see who was actually on the floor, they swarmed and started stomping!
Thud! Whack! Pow!
The scene was spectacular. Even Class D students were lured out by the commotion. When they saw someone being stomped, several of them—including those Seito had "robbed" in-game—joined in with gusto.
"Take that! You arrogant prick!"
"Robbing your own classmates? I spent all weekend re-leveling because of you!"
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA...!"
The girls were arguably kicking even harder than the boys.
"This is terrifying..." Risa Shiromine trembled.
"Um..." Kaede Honjou pointed toward a specific person in the crowd with a twisted, grinning face. "Risa, Seito-kun is over there."
Risa looked over and saw Seito shouting "MUDA!" while delivering a flying kick to the person on the ground. She was flabbergasted. Again? Last time they tried to jump him, he turned it around. This time... who was actually being kicked?
On the floor, Hidenori was curled in a ball, taking the brunt of the "friendly fire" he had initiated.
Seito sneered as he delivered a solid boot. Nice try, Hidenori. Did you think I didn't notice Iori trying to trip me last time? You think I'm that easy to prank?
Then, Seito spotted Ryuuen nearby, who was also grinning and kicking the pile. You want a piece of this too? Get down there! With a swift move, Seito tripped Ryuuen, sent him face-first into the floor, and shouted: "Quick! Ryuuen from Class B is down too! Stomp him!"
The mob, now in a blind frenzy, didn't care. They started pummeling Ryuuen as well.
Amou, watching from the sidelines, locked eyes with Seito. If she hadn't seen him standing safely in the crowd, she would have unsheathed her blade long ago.
Suddenly, a voice thundered through the corridor.
"CLASS E, CLASS D, AND CLASS B! WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING?!"
Recognizing the voice, Seito instantly whipped out a packet of ketchup he'd swiped from the cafeteria, smeared it on himself and Ryuuen, and collapsed onto the floor. He was so fast no one saw the swap.
The students froze. Shizuka Hiratsuka, Sae Chabashira, Mafuyu Kirisu (Class E teacher), and Chie Hoshinomiya (Class B teacher) stood there with icy glares.
Their eyes fell upon the three "victims" lying in a heap on the floor.
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Thank you for reading.