Nobody wants their photos circulated around.
Suzune noticed this wasn't just about breaking school rules.
"I don't want the photos." She said.
"I'm not going to do anything bad." Houtarou said with a resigned expression, "Besides, I'll just take the photos in front of them and delete them later. We're not actually doing anything wrong."
"..." Suzune paused, "Alright, that works."
She finally felt she could accept it.
After all, as Manabu's sister, she was used to doing things properly and openly.
Houtarou casually called Shiho right in front of her. During the call, he mentioned arriving at Room 204 early today and noticing their issues with Kei.
He claimed to dislike that girl and offered to help lure her out.
When Shiho and the others recalled how Kei had sat next to him but moved her chair away, they believed his hurt feelings were genuine. They immediately agreed.
Houtarou and Suzune began waiting for them to arrive.
However...
"Are photos really that powerful as a threat?" She asked, unsure about their value since they would be deleted later.
After all, if they were just making empty threats and the Class C girls didn't comply, what could they actually do?
"What would you do if someone posted compromising photos of you on the forums?" Houtarou asked.
"I'd beat them senseless." Suzune replied fiercely.
"But could you really do that?" He continued, "If your brother saw those photos—"
"I'd probably get on my knees and beg them not to post them." Suzune quickly changed her tune.
What a coward...
"Under Ryūen's violent rule, even planting a small nail can work. You never know where his bottom line is." Houtarou said, "Ryūen planted spies in each class during the island exam. He's always operating in morally grey areas. You never know what he might do next."
Ah. That's true.
For Class D, they also had Daichi infiltrate. Though Rokusuke just used him as a tool, Class B actually had their leader's information leaked.
This point seemed to convince Suzune.
Ten minutes later.
Shiho, Nanami, and Saki headed to the basement. Since they were going to meet Kei, they brought Rika along.
When the four of them arrived at the scene, instead of their target, they saw... Suzune.
⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟⍟
Among them, Shiho had short hair, while Rika wore glasses with her hair in buns, as described earlier.
Her personality wasn't quite as sharp as her appearance suggested.
"Hey Manabe, will Karuizawa really apologize to me? Come to think of it, she was in line earlier..." Rika said.
"Why didn't you mention that sooner? Well, whatever... you didn't see how arrogant Karuizawa was acting — we can't just let this go." Shiho shook her head, "She knocked my phone away! Now that we have a chance to catch her alone, we can't let it slip!"
As Class C students who were often selected for having certain flaws or delinquent pasts, they couldn't stand being disrespected.
"But what if she calls for backup? She's always with the other Class D girls." Saki said nervously.
Shiho had been hit by Mio that morning, who was too strong for them to fight back against. If this turned into a group fight with Kei's friends, they'd definitely lose points.
Kakeru wouldn't let them off.
"No way, no way." Shiho said quickly, "Oreki-kun invited her here... Oh!"
They arrived at the basement only to find a different girl.
Suzune noticed that though they'd mentioned three people, four had shown up.
While she didn't fully understand the situation, she'd pieced together that their classmate Kei had likely provoked them.
But since this was her assigned task, she'd do it. So Suzune began her work.
Soon after.
"Why are you hitting me?!"
"What are you doing?!"
"Don't take photos... stop..."
Then came the sounds of crying.
For someone who usually acted properly and openly, Suzune was surprisingly skilled at bullying, wasn't she?
After about ten minutes, she came up from the basement.
"Wasn't it supposed to be three people?" She said, "Four showed up."
So you just beat up all four without checking first?
"Did they put their clothes back on?" Houtarou didn't ask for the photos.
"Yes. They're crying down there now." Suzune said, "I don't really like doing this kind of thing."
But weren't you pretty good at it?
Houtarou walked down the stairs.
"Oreki-kun!" Shiho and the others noticed him from their corner of the stairwell where they were crying, "Wasn't Karuizawa supposed to be here? I even brought Rika with me."
She had wanted to confront him angrily, but when she saw Suzune following behind him, she fell silent.
And Rika, the girl with glasses and hair buns she'd mentioned, was also crying. How pitiful.
Houtarou noticed a bruise on Shiho's left foot. Suzune was quite rough, wasn't she?
"I didn't want to use force." Suzune said, "But if you hit one person hard at first, the others will be scared. That's what my brother taught me about fighting."
Oh, so your brother is pretty impressive.
But that point was correct. In a group fight, when facing multiple opponents, they typically feel strong in numbers and surround you. However, if you focus your attacks on one person, the others quickly become afraid, and their advantage crumbles.
And now that Suzune had played the bad guy, he didn't need to hide anymore.
"Are you Rika?" Houtarou crouched down to look the small girl in the eyes.
"Uuu, yes." Rika felt deeply wronged — Shiho and the others had told her Kei would be alone and they could get revenge, but instead she'd been beaten and had compromising photos taken.
Hmm. Houtarou nodded.
"Hit her in a way that won't leave marks." He instructed.
The instruction was for Suzune.
"Why don't you hit her yourself?" She felt like she'd become the muscle.
"I don't hit women." Houtarou said.
But aren't you just ordering her to do it instead?
"No, please!" Rika immediately covered her head.
The girls had realized that Suzune had been brought by him. That must be how he could direct her like this.
"Why are you targeting us?!" Shiho cried out, "Don't you hate Karuizawa?"
"Haha." But Houtarou smiled slightly, "No, actually. I really like her."
"Eh?" x5
⍟⍟⍟
T/N: If you want more chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!
For just $1.50 you can access all the extra content, and descriptive images, costs only $2!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)
https://www.patreon.com/collection/827204