Chapter 204: "In Front of His Brother, I'm 'Sister-in-Law'; When He's Gone, I'm 'Baby'."
.....
Iori Kitahara and Hidenori Tabata were seething.
The fact that Seito had become a nationwide sensation just because of his handsome face was more than enough reason for them to join the FFF Inquisition. Not only them, but every single male student from Class E had joined the crusade as well.
Seito surveyed the mob and slowly stood up. Shielding Kaede Honjo behind him, he offered a relaxed, effortless smile.
"Do as you please."
"Below the Immortals, I am invincible; above them, I'll take you down with me."
"Where should we settle this?"
The FFF members were livid. Dammit! We're here to give you trouble! Why are you acting like a main character in a cultivation novel?!
"Charge!" Iori roared, leading the vanguard! The rest followed suit, fists flying.
Bam!
With a single kick, Seito sent Iori sailing through the air. He followed up with a leap, landing right in the heart of the crowd. The "great war" had begun.
Five minutes later...
Watching the FFF members groaning in agony on the classroom floor, Seito rolled his neck.
Weak! Too weak! Not a single one of them could put up a fight. In the real world, Seito felt like no one was even worth his full effort.
"Um..." Kaede Honjo scurried over, looking at Seito with genuine concern. "Seito-kun, are you hurt?"
Seito: "???"
Risa Shiramine: "???"
Shoko Nishimiya: "???"
Yukino Yukinoshita: "???"
The four of them—all possessing powers manifested from the game—stared at Kaede in bewilderment. Hurt? Her concern was definitely clouding her judgment.
Realizing how silly her question was, Kaede's face flushed red and she quickly scurried away. At that moment, Shoko Nishimiya approached. She was holding two bento boxes and spoke in a soft, melodic voice.
"Seito-kun~ Let's have lunch together~"
As his girlfriend, bringing him a homemade lunch was perfectly natural and reasonable.
"Sure thing~" Seito gave her an affectionate headpat, and the two left the classroom together.
The FFF members on the floor watched them go, tears streaming down their faces. Why must we suffer this physical beating AND this dog food? The pain was no longer just physical; it was a critical hit to the soul!
Up on the rooftop, under the attentive "feeding" of his girlfriend, Seito spent half an hour finishing his meal before walking her back.
When he returned to Class D with Shoko, he sat back down in his seat. The FFF mob had already cleared out. However, Iori and Hidenori soon limped back in, clutching their sides.
"Seito, you went way too hard. My kidney still hurts," Iori groaned, his eyes filled with resentment.
"Exactly! I've gone through three pairs of glasses this month," Hidenori added, pointing to his shattered frames. "If this keeps up, how am I supposed to save up for my Rem figure?"
Hidenori was desperately trying to save money for a life-sized Rem statue.
"If you can't handle the 'drink,' don't touch the bottle!" Iori retorted sharply.
Seito looked calmly at Hidenori, took the teacup from the hands of his "secretary" behind him, took a sip, and offered an elegant, scholarly smile:
"Hearing thy words, I perceive thou art truly a lightweight in the cups. I advise thee to drink with the children instead."
"The child laughed and said: 'Though I am but a youth, even I can hold my liquor. Since this fellow's tolerance is so pitiful, let him go and drink with the hounds.'"
"The old dog under the table heard this, left in a huff, preferring scraps to drinking with such a man."
"The hall erupted in laughter, taking thy words for mere drunken ramblings and hollow dreams."
The entire Class D: "..."
Why... why did you suddenly switch to classical literary Chinese to roast him?
Iori looked on with pure adoration. "When Master Seito retired from the literary world, I protested with all my might."
"An old tale, not worth mentioning," Seito chuckled.
Hidenori: "..."
So, do I not even have the right to love my 2D waifus anymore?!
"Master Seito, would you care to grace us with another verse?" Iori asked with a straight face.
"Of course," Seito smiled and recited effortlessly:
"To Hidenori, I am his sister-in-law."
"Usually, I prefer to wear quite a bit less."
"In front of his brother, I'm called 'Sister-in-Law'."
"When his brother's gone, he calls me 'Baby'."
The room: "..."
Everyone turned to look at Hidenori. A few more cracks audibly appeared on his glasses.
Clap, clap, clap!
Iori immediately burst into applause. "As expected of Master Seito! The trash talk flows like a river!"
"Keep it low-key, low-key~"
Hidenori was practically spitting blood from rage. Dammit! So what if I have an older brother? He's a total loner! And I would NEVER do what you're suggesting! He screamed internally, venting his fury.
Behind Seito's seat, Ai Hayasaka—sitting next to Kaguya—felt her face heating up. She stared at the teacup in Seito's hand, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn't.
Under normal circumstances, she would have snatched the cup back and called him a pervert. But for some reason, she felt incredibly shy. Her mouth opened, but the words stayed trapped in her throat.
Seito set the cup down on Kaguya's desk and turned a charming smile toward Hayasaka.
"Little Secretary, what kind of tea leaves did you use? It's quite sweet."
"I... I didn't... use any tea leaves..."
Seito's expression froze. No tea leaves?
Then...
He turned back to his "secretary," his eyes eventually landing on her rosy lips.
"Your little mouth is certainly sweet~"
Hayasaka: "..."
Everyone else: "..."
Upon hearing Seito's bold reply, Hayasaka immediately spun around and buried her face in her hands.
Too shameful!!!
Kaguya was utterly stunned.
'This... surely that doesn't mean what I think it means?'
Iori and Hidenori's mouths were twitching uncontrollably. They suddenly felt that coming here today was a huge mistake.
Seito, unbothered, slowly stood up and draped his arms around their shoulders.
"Come on. Let's go outside and play for a bit."
...
Thank you for reading.
(T/N: Hmm... I thought yesterday was Sunday, which is why I uploaded a bonus chapter.
Since I didn't go to work yesterday, I somehow got my days mixed up and convinced myself that it was Sunday. Because of that, I completely forgot about work. It wasn't until I woke up today that I realized Sunday is actually today.
How embarrassing... )