NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17: For Real?
For a moment, Yumiko and the others couldn't help but look at Tobe with disdain.
He hadn't done anything to help, yet he had accepted their praise so openly, as if he had been the one who stepped in to save the day.
"Disgusting!" Yumiko spat out, glaring at him in contempt.
Tobe lowered his head even more, completely deflated.
Aoyama, who was Tobe's friend, wanted to say something in his defense. He had always stood up for his friends, but this time, even he couldn't justify Tobe's actions. In the end, he stayed silent.
"But... but!" Tobe couldn't stay quiet anymore. He felt the pressure building around him and turned to Ryuji, frustration evident in his voice.
"But he's fine, isn't he? Nothing bad happened in the end, so why are we even talking about this?"
Tobe knew he was in trouble and could sense that even his friendship with Aoyama might be at risk because of this. Desperation crept into his voice as he tried to deflect the blame.
"Tobe..." Aoyama tried to interject, hoping to calm his friend down.
But Tobe wasn't done. His face turned red with frustration, and he pointed at Ryuji.
"Isn't it true? Nobody got hurt anyway, so what's the big deal?"
At that, the classroom fell silent as all eyes turned to Ryuji, the center of attention. Ryuji, however, wasn't the least bit flustered. Instead, he watched the situation unfold with a faint smile, as if he were enjoying a drama playing out before him.
"No one got hurt?" Shizuka's voice cut through the silence, but this time her smile was anything but friendly. "Three students from the class next door just took a month off due to injuries. They'll be in the hospital the entire time."
Tobe's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?!"
Everyone else in the classroom was equally stunned, their gazes snapping back to Ryuji. The atmosphere became tense, with silent questions hanging in the air. Had Ryuji really done something to those three?
Ryuji shrugged nonchalantly and smiled, clearly unbothered by the sudden attention. "What are you all looking at me for? They probably just had an unfortunate accident, like falling down the stairs. How clumsy of them, don't you think?"
There was no evidence, of course, and Ryuji knew the three injured boys wouldn't dare admit they'd been beaten up. Even if they did try to explain, Ryuji had ways of dealing with it.
Shizuka glanced at Ryuji for a moment, but said nothing. She wasn't the type to coddle anyone, and she certainly wasn't going to get involved beyond her role as a teacher. If anyone had messed with her, they'd have experienced her iron fist firsthand.
Originally, she hadn't been aware of what had happened, but when three students from the neighboring class requested a month-long leave due to injuries, it raised her suspicions. Having all three of them take a long leave at the same time seemed far too coincidental. Her investigation had led her here, and now she had the answers.
Though Shizuka didn't outright confirm it, the students pieced together the truth: Ryuji had dealt with the bullies himself. This new revelation sent ripples through the classroom, and many of them quietly labeled Ryuji as someone you didn't want to mess with.
"That's enough." Shizuka snapped everyone back to attention. "I didn't come here just to scold you."
Her expression softened, though her tone remained stern. "I don't know how your previous teachers handled things, but in my class, bullying will not be tolerated. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sensei!" the students responded in unison, their voices loud and clear.
Many were relieved to have a teacher who actually cared about the well-being of her students. While bullying was common, it was reassuring to know that their new homeroom teacher wouldn't turn a blind eye.
"Good. Now, get ready for class."
Shizuka began to walk away, but not before giving a few final instructions.
"Tobe, Aoyama, I want a 1,000-word self-reflection essay from each of you. Aoyama, you're the class representative, and you should have been more responsible. Tobe... well, we all know what you did or didn't do."
"I understand, sensei," Aoyama said respectfully, bowing his head. He knew he hadn't done his duty as class rep and wasn't about to argue.
Tobe, however, remained silent, too frustrated to speak but unwilling to protest.
"And as for you, Ryuji Hoshino," Shizuka added, her eyes locking onto him. "Come to my office during lunch break. We need to have a chat."
The room fell quiet as Shizuka left, her words hanging in the air. Once she was gone, several students began to sneak glances at Ryuji, wondering what the teacher would say to him.
Ryuji, however, didn't seem to care about their curious stares. He lounged in his chair, completely at ease.
After a few moments, Aoyama stood up and made his way over to Ryuji's desk.
"Ryuji-kun, I'm sorry. This whole thing is my fault," Aoyama began, his voice full of sincerity. "If I had gone to the teacher myself, things wouldn't have escalated like this."
Tobe's actions had left Aoyama with a bitter taste in his mouth, and though he wanted to defend his friend, he couldn't ignore how wrong everything had gone. So instead, he bowed his head and apologized.
Ryuji waved off the apology with a casual hand. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing."
Aoyama's gaze flicked over to Tobe's desk, where his friend sat with his head hung low. He wanted to say something in defense of Tobe but couldn't come up with anything reasonable.
"I'm truly sorry," Aoyama added, his tone regretful.
"It's fine," Ryuji said again, leaning back in his chair. "It's not like this situation was that big of a deal."
As Aoyama thanked Ryuji and turned to leave, Ryuji's eyes momentarily locked onto Tobe's direction, and something flickered in his vision. His Yin-Yang Eyes, which had grown stronger the more spirits he devoured, were showing him something unusual.
A strange aura clung to Tobe, like a shadow, a sign that something supernatural had its sights set on him. "Looks like he's already been marked by something weird," Ryuji thought, his lips curling into a faint smirk. "A person doomed to be haunted isn't worth worrying about."
Aoyama, on the other hand, was a different matter. As Ryuji patted him on the shoulder, the system's familiar notification chimed in his mind.
"Successfully contacted a target: Aoyama Hayato! A blue entry has been triggered, do you want to load it?"
Finally, something other than a green entry. A broad smile spread across Ryuji's face.
"Thank you, Ryuji-kun!" Aoyama said, a bit confused by Ryuji's sudden smile, but he was relieved to have settled things with him.
"Sure thing," Ryuji replied, watching Aoyama walk away.
Even if someone wasn't a main character, it seemed that those with a bit of significance could still trigger talent entries. That was good to know.
"Blue entry: Sunny and cheerful!"
Ryuji clicked his tongue. "Sunny and cheerful, huh? What, is it supposed to make me bright and happy?
"Never mind, let's decompose it directly. It takes 1,000 points to extract a blue entry, and decomposing it yields 100 points. His original balance of 20 instantly jumped to 120!"