Chapter Three: New Malice – Nagashi Netsuhara
“Kirido Hashiru”…right?
The boy had his legs up on the desk in poor posture, gazing out the window.
Students leaving school bit by bit.
As he watched their backs, the boy raised the corners of his mouth in a bow.
“Who would’ve thought the first expulsion would come from Class C?”
He returned his gaze to the classroom interior.
Despite it being after school, not a single student tried to leave that classroom—Class 1-A. The boy stood up from his chair and headed for the teacher’s podium.
There his classmate was, tied to a chair and rendered unable to speak.
The boy punched that classmate, sending him flying.
The dull, vivid sound of impact and spurting blood. Stifled screams leaked from the classroom.
However, the boy alone had an unclouded smile on his face.
A cheerful, innocent childlike smile.
With madness in his eyes, he grabbed a fistful of hair of his classmate who had fallen over chair and all.
“I thought the first expulsion would come from this class!”
That boy—Nagashi Netsuhara—wore a hideous, malice-filled smile.
That boy was unpopular, friendless. He had no heart to care about others.
But he had malice and violence. He had enough power to silence the entire class.
And he had been blessed with a Divine Protection Ability.
Thus, in a single day he had completely brought Class A under his control.
“Now then! I’m gonna beat this guy up, but anyone with complaints, raise your hand! If you can beat me, I’ll happily hand over this position!”
The class center. The leader’s spot. The throne of king—it was obvious that the individual, Nagashi, now stood in that place despite no one desiring it.
But that was only natural.
The unprecedented major incident on the first day of P.E. where he alone defeated all his classmates.
Though he had imposed an oath of silence so rumors wouldn’t spread, that incident had clearly displayed his power.
—We can’t win even if we all go at him at once.
The deep-seated fear engraved in everyone’s minds at times became peerless ‘control’.
“Heh.”
As if he saw through them, Nagashi laughed.
His gaze turned to the fallen student, then soon filled with madness as if set aflame.
“Class C huh… I wonder who it was. The one who got Kirido expelled.”
And thus, madness chose its target.
However, no one yet knew.
That the one he aimed his spear at was also—exceptionally mad.
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About a week had passed since Kirido Hashiru’s expulsion.
It’s not like nothing happened in that time but…well, there were no major occurrences.
If there were, it was stuff like a classmate violating school rules and getting fined, or Amamori making Asahina san cry again, or changing seats. That level of stuff.
By the way, my seat changed to the very back by the window. Originally where Kirido had sat.
“Haa…”
“Hm? What’s with the sigh?”
Hearing a cheerful voice, I turned around to see Umaru Fuyuji.
Permed brown hair and features as orderly as to make any girl fall for him instantly at a glance. Though he was overshadowed because some idiot went wild on the first day, he was now firmly at the top of the class hierarchy…but this guy talks to me every day. I wonder if it’s really that fun for a loner like him to talk to an introvert.
While thinking that, I answered his question with my chin on my palm.
“Nah, just a little tired.”
“Ahh…I see.”
Saying that, Umaru turned his gaze forward.
When I was pulled to look too, Kurashiki and Asahina san had serious expressions, talking to each other. And Asahina san’s face was the picture of seriousness. She seemed to be taking notes too…I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
—Kurashiki Hotaru. Her role is to gain complete trust.
More bluntly, to become best friends with Asahina Kasumi. Supporting her by her side and leading the class with trust. Becoming the other pillar of mental support for Class 1-C, so to speak.
I had already conveyed that to Kurashiki. At that time, I slipped up in kindness and said ‘You can even use me if you want’—and that was fatal.
“There’s really no other way, Hotaru-san! I want to get along better with Amamori-kun!”
“Calm down, Kasumi-chan. Actually, I thought up several ways to get through to Amamori-kun! I want to try some of them out today!”
I heard their conversation and I surely made a face like a pickled plum.
But as usual, only a blank expression was reflected in the window glass, making me sigh even more.
Somehow they were on casual name terms, and she seemed to be smoothly carrying out my request, but…this is super annoying. Was there really no better method, Kurashiki?
“That’s what this is about, right? Amamori’s got a tough supporting role too. Unlucky to get a weak Ability, unlucky to be put in a class with idiots. And then unlucky to be in the same class as Asahina-san… Well, the last one would’ve been lucky if not for the first two.”
“Well…I won’t deny that.”
Won’t affirm it either.
Whether he knew my true feelings or not, he said this rather ‘loudly’:
“So how’s it going in reality? Your relations with the two big beauties of the class?”
At those words, Asahina san’s shoulders visibly shook.
…This guy said it at just the right volume to be ‘audible’ from the classroom edge. Look, Asahina san who had a serious expression earlier is glancing this way with a red face. Are you a maiden in love?
“Let’s see… For Kurashiki-san, above acquaintances but below friends?
“Then Asahina-san is…”
“Huh? Who’s that? Was there a girl like that?”
The moment I said that, Asahina deflated, and Umaru among others pressed their hands to their foreheads with sad voices saying ‘Oh…’
“Are you…serious?”
“What are you saying, Umaru Fuyuji? I’m confident I remember all our classmates’ names, top and bottom. The only ones I wouldn’t remember are those I don’t have a shred of interest in.”
“I-I see… Yes, I knew, Asahina Kasumi. I’m just so disliked by Amamori-kun it’s beyond normal… Yes, that’s all it is…”
“Hey, Kasumi-chan…! Amamori-kun! How many times do I have to tell you to recognize Asahina-san?!”
I could hear the voices of the so-called two big beauties from afar.
But of course, ignored.
Staring straight at Umaru, he scratched his cheek looking troubled.
“This is bad… I was pretty confident in my ability to discern lies from truth. Seeing you makes me lose confidence.”
“Is that so? Work hard.”
“Hahaha…even with a straight face like that.”
As we were talking, it was already one minute before homeroom started.
Kurashiki came back to her seat—in other words, the seat in front of me, next to Umaru—and puffed her cheeks glaring at me. Oh how cute.
“Be prepared! I’m definitely going to make you get along with Asahina-san!”
“Nah, who’s this guy you’re talking about?”
“She’s a girl! At least get their gender right!”
A few classmates laughed at Kurashiki’s retort.
Umaru was among them, wiping tears from his eyes as he said:
“Yeah, you really are close friends!”
What part of this seems friendly, I thought.
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“Say, are we close friends?”
“We’re not, but at least we look like ‘President’ and friend right?”
After school. Kurashiki sitting smugly in the classroom I ‘rented’ for a year at 300,000 yen.
Hey, what about club? Weren’t you in track and field? I was about to say that when I turned my gaze out the window—lo and behold, pouring rain. Looks like club activities are out.
She had her legs up on the desk at the window seat, busily tapping away at a smartphone game.
Her white legs stretching out from under her skirt are poison for the e…what did you think I’d say? Unfortunately I have zero interest. I glanced for a bit of course since I’m a guy though, right?
“So, how’s it going?”
“Oh, pretty well I think? For now—
‘Even though things turned out like that… I’ll help Asahina-san! Operation get Amamori-kun to be friends, it’ll be pretty tough but…don’t worry! Brace yourself like you’re on a lifeboat!
‘Ah, Kurashiki san, I think it’s large ship not lifeboat?’
‘Huh, oh right, a large ship! Brace yourself like on a large ship!’
‘Yes, I understand. Thank you, Kurashiki-san.’
‘Mou! Call me Hotaru!’
‘O-Okay? Then you can call me—’ …We’re at about that level!”
Ugh, what a conversation that makes me envision the scene.
I looked at Kurashiki as if saying ‘What is this communication monster…’ Misunderstanding something, she lightly pulled up her skirt and twisted her lips as if to tease.
“Oh my, even the expressionless guy can’t take his eyes off a high school girl’s bare legs?”
“Huh? All I saw was ‘What is this monster wearing the skin of a high school girl?’ Sorry.”
“I’ll kill you, bastard.”
Haha, as if you could kill me. Go train for a hundred years then come back.
Without voicing those feelings, I casually dragged over a chair and sat down across from Kurashiki over the desk.
“So, so. Let’s get to the main issue.”
“The main issue… So it means you’ll finally start moving too?”
Well…I guess so? Outwardly I still don’t plan on moving at all, but our classmates’ ‘assessment’ of me should be about over too.
“Kurashiki. Do you remember the ‘comrades’ I said I would gather?”
“‘A talent who can stand beside Asahina and lead the class together’ and ‘A puppet and facade for Amamori Yuuto’… That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
From here on, I’ll have Asahina Kasumi stand at the front. And for that, I need two people.
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