"?!"
Miura Yumiko suddenly turned her head, staring at Hayama Hayato in disbelief.
"No… don't!"
"Heh."
Matsueda Azusa smiled, his voice smooth and almost hypnotic.
"Yes. I promise. As long as you say it clearly, I won't trouble you anymore."
Hayama swallowed.
Cold sweat formed on his forehead.
"Hurry up," Matsueda urged.
"Just say it."
"But I refuse."
A voice cut in from the doorway.
Hiratsuka Shizuka.
She pushed the classroom door open with a whoosh, her lab coat fluttering behind her.
Damn it—just a little more!
Matsueda clenched his teeth.
She had timed it perfectly.
How long had she been standing outside listening?
"Your class is the noisiest on the entire floor!"
Hiratsuka knocked hard on the door.
"I can hear you all the way from the office!"
"Lunch break is almost over. Get back to your seats!"
Hey… since when do you act like this?
You're really going all out just to stop him.
Miura let out a long breath.
Her body went limp as she sank into her chair.
She knew.
Hayama had really been about to say it.
Maybe he thought this was a chance to resolve everything.
She didn't dare think further.
She could only feel relieved.
Relieved that Hiratsuka had stopped it—
Before things became irreversible.
Hayama also exhaled quietly.
But somewhere deep inside—
There was a trace of regret.
The students quickly returned to their seats.
No one dared challenge Hiratsuka's iron fist.
Even Hikigaya—
Retreated without resistance.
But Matsueda stepped forward.
Unshaken.
"Oh?"
Hiratsuka narrowed her eyes, clenching her fist.
"So you're not running away… you're coming toward me?"
"Authority isn't eternal, Hiratsuka-sensei!"
Matsueda gritted his teeth.
"You'll regret this!"
"I'm your homeroom teacher."
"Are kings and nobles born superior?!"
Hiratsuka stepped forward.
"I'll admit—you've got guts."
"When autumn comes, on the ninth day of the ninth month…"
Matsueda declared dramatically,
"After my flowers bloom, all others will wither! The fragrance will pierce the capital, and the city will be clad in golden armor!"
Then—
He was grabbed by the collar.
"I shouldn't have let you go so soon earlier."
Hiratsuka dragged him out.
"Come with me."
Matsueda struggled, shouting dramatically:
"I laugh at the heavens with my blade!"
"My loyalty will shine through history!"
"If one of me falls, thousands will rise—!"
His voice faded into the distance.
Hikigaya slowly raised his head.
…Yeah.
Words were no match for fists.
"Where are you taking me, Hiratsuka-sensei? Planning to kidnap a student?"
Matsueda spoke weakly as he was dragged along.
"Watch your mouth."
Hiratsuka flicked his head.
"This is a school. Where exactly would I kidnap you to?"
"Maybe Soubu High has a hidden underground facility," Matsueda said thoughtfully.
"A human trafficking ring."
"The school is just a cover."
"Every year, students mysteriously disappear…"
"Especially handsome, talented ones like me."
"This is the truth behind the Seven Mysteries of Soubu High—'The Vanishing Pretty Boy.'"
"And you—"
He looked at her.
"You're the marketing director."
"…Why am I hearing about this for the first time?"
Hiratsuka sighed.
"You should write novels instead."
"And where's your evidence?"
Matsueda pointed at himself.
"I'm the witness."
"This joke again?!"
"Ah, so you admit it—"
"No, I don't!"
She grabbed him and locked him under her arm.
"Be serious."
"I surrender! I surrender!"
Matsueda waved frantically.
"At this rate, it's not kidnapping—it's murder!"
Just then—
A door nearby opened.
A girl stepped out.
Long black hair.
Cold, composed expression.
Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Sensei," she said calmly,
"while I appreciate you not barging in this time… making noise outside someone else's clubroom is still rude."
She glanced at the two of them.
Then sighed.
"Please maintain some dignity."
"And excuse me—I need to return to class."
Matsueda glanced at the sign on the door.
[Service Club]
Ah.
So this was the place Hiratsuka had tried to force Hikigaya into.
Interesting.
Someone who spends lunch alone in a clubroom—
Definitely strange.
Though…
He wasn't exactly in a position to judge.
"Wait, Yukinoshita."
Hiratsuka called out.
"Got a request for you."
"…You dragged me here for that?"
Matsueda was shocked.
"So you are a middleman—"
"Watch your mouth!"
Yukinoshita looked at both of them like they were trash.
"I'm calling the police."
"And what exactly have you been telling people about my club?"
"If this is your idea of a joke, don't involve me."
Thud.
Hiratsuka's fist landed.
Matsueda dropped.
Steam practically rising from his head.
"Misunderstanding."
Hiratsuka sighed.
"He's just making things up."
"I think you're worse," Matsueda muttered from the ground.
"I lost in one hit."
"You deserved it."
Hiratsuka turned back to Yukinoshita.
"He caused chaos this morning."
"I can't deal with him normally."
"I need you to handle him."
Yukinoshita hesitated.
Then checked the clock.
"…Ten minutes left."
"Fine."
"Come in."
"But explain clearly."
"I object!"
Matsueda suddenly jumped up.
"You're planning against me right in front of me?!"
"Objection overruled."
He was instantly suppressed.
Hiratsuka explained:
"He thinks love is a mistake."
"He wants to break up every couple in school."
Yukinoshita frowned.
"…Early relationships aren't encouraged anyway."
"So what exactly do you want?"
"To stop his methods," Hiratsuka said.
"And fix his mindset."
Matsueda sat cross-legged.
Raised his hand.
"Actually… we're all the same."
"…What?"
"You," he pointed at Hiratsuka,
"want to fix people."
"Because you think they'll suffer otherwise."
Then at Yukinoshita.
"You think the world is flawed."
"That mediocrity suppresses excellence."
"So you try to change it."
Finally—
He pointed at himself.
"And me?"
"I think love is fragile."
"So I test it."
"To save people from future pain."
He spread his hands.
"In the end—"
"We're all the same."
"We impose our beliefs on others."
"We act like saviors."
Silence.
15. I'm Rotten—So What?
The room fell completely quiet.
That speech—
Hit everyone.
Including himself.
"…Wait."
Hiratsuka frowned.
"How do you even know why Yukinoshita started this club?"
Matsueda made a peace sign.
"I have my own information network."
"…So you knew all along?"
"Of course."
"Then why were you talking nonsense earlier?"
Matsueda smiled.
"Because it was fun."