Amidst the crowd, Yui looked conflicted, hesitating about whether to approach.
Beside her, Yumiko and Hina were also undecided.
After all, they had essentially been Makoto's servants in the Naruto World. Their relationship with him naturally couldn't compare to that of the Aizono sisters, Utaha, and the others.
But just as the three were still hesitating, Chizuru, part of the 'servant quartet', quickly stepped forward, her face breaking into a bright smile as she spoke to Makoto:
"Makoto-kun, congratulations on your triumphant return."
Having fallen behind twice yesterday, this time, she, Chizuru, would not hesitate!
Yui and the other two exchanged glances.
'Chizuru-chan, that bold?'
Seeing Makoto merely nod slightly, not rebuffing Chizuru, Yumiko gritted her teeth. Grabbing Yui and Hina's hands, she prepared to charge forward.
'Damn it, with a fearless vanguard like that leading the way, what did we have to fear? Just go for it!'
But just as the popular trio was about to rush out, a surprised gasp came from beside them.
"Kokoro!?"
Seeing Kokoro clinging tightly to Makoto's pant leg, Katsura Kotonoha was stunned.
'Hadn't that girl gone out to play?'
'How was she connected to Nishikawa Makoto?'
"Nee-chan!"
Kokoro waved her little hand excitedly, about to run to Kotonoha, but the moment she let go, she noticed Makoto beside her, a look of reluctance on her face.
Her little hand tightened its grip on his pant leg again as she waved vigorously with the other.
"Nee-chan, come here!"
Instantly, thousands of gazes focused on Kotonoha.
The hearts of all the boys present pounded violently.
Even though the Shuchi'in Academy uniform was a slimming black, it couldn't hide Kotonoha's incredibly exaggerated figure.
"Oh my, that girl is so cute!"
Marui Zenji, a member of the main cast of Food Wars!, swallowed hard.
"Yeah, yeah!"
Aoki Daigo and Sato Shoji beside him nodded vigorously, asking with lecherous grins:
"Hey, compared to Nakiri Erina-sama, who's bigger?"
Soma blinked, thought for a moment, then answered seriously, "Probably that girl."
Of course, they didn't know Erina's exact measurements… they were judging by visual impression.
Erina's figure was naturally excellent, but a quick mental comparison made it clear Erina lost by a landslide.
Totsuki Academy had many girls with great figures: Erina, her cousin Alice, Kobayashi Rindo from the Elite Ten Council, Mito Ikumi under Erina... all were impressive.
But if they were 'large', Kotonoha was 'ultra-large.'
Combined with her quiet, gentle, easily bullied-looking face, the stark contrast with her figure had an impact on men no less potent than the blonde, tanned Mito Ikumi.
Hearing the surrounding boys' comments about Kotonoha, Ito Makotou felt a surge of unprecedented satisfaction.
'Looks good, right? Big, right? They're mine!'
"It looks like another girl is falling for Nishikawa. But I guess it's normal. Women instinctively submit to powerful men~"
Just then, another voice sounded, and the smug Ito Makotou's expression instantly changed drastically.
"That's impossible! She's my girlfriend!"
Ito Makotou spun around and shouted.
His words drew the attention of Yukihira Soma, Marui Zenji, Nakiri Alice, and Hikigaya Hachiman, who had just spoken, all turning to look at him.
"Heh~"
A collective, disdainful smirk appeared on their faces.
Yoshino Yuki from the Food Wars! main cast covered her mouth and giggled. "Come on, buddy. It's fine to fool yourself, but don't try to fool us."
She thought her own dorm mates were already quite presumptuous, but this guy from another school was on another level.
Yuki glanced down at herself, then stared intently at Kotonoha, feeling a sense of frustration.
'Damn! Such a huge difference!'
'What did she eat to grow that big?'
Kotonoha, who already had social anxiety, immediately lowered her head so much it almost disappeared into her chest under the scrutiny of so many people.
Kokoro sighed helplessly, let go of Makoto's pant leg, and trotted over to Kotonoha, taking her sister's hand and forcibly pulling her to stand beside Makoto.
"Honestly, if you keep acting like this, big sister, you'll never get a boyfriend!"
Hearing Kokoro's words, Ito Makotou instinctively wanted to shout, "I'm your sister's boyfriend!"
But seeing Makoto at the front of the group, he swallowed the words.
"That girl is up to her tricks again."
On the other side of the crowd, a purple-haired, ordinary-looking girl spoke with displeasure. Her name was Koizumi Natsumi, one of the bullying quartet who had locked Kotonoha in the restroom.
"Here she goes again. Getting her little sister to contact someone so important so she can naturally move up."
Another member of the group, Mori Kumi, rested her chin on her hand, sneering, "Nice move, Katsura-san."
"She... she wouldn't tell him about us, would she, Otome?"
Obuchi Minami looked nervously at the group's leader, Kato Otome.
Makoto's terror was known to everyone on the planet now, let alone them. If Kotonoha embellished the bullying and told Makoto...
Recalling yesterday's devastation in Tokyo, the bullying quartet shivered.
"What's there to be afraid of?"
Kato Otome puffed out her chest, feigning calm. "If she had the guts to tell, she would have told a teacher long ago. Besides, someone like that, so important, would he care about something so trivial?"
It had to be said, at their age, everything might be soft, but the mouth was definitely the hardest.
Still, Kato Otome's words held some truth. If Kotonoha was going to tell anyone, she would have done so long ago. Just a word to her father, the president of a food company, and there were plenty of ways to deal with them.
Hearing this, the other three felt somewhat reassured.
"Damn, who's that big-breasted woman?"
Yumiko, whose chance had been interrupted again, was grinding her teeth in frustration. But by the time she tried to rush out with her two friends, Makoto's group had already reached the school gate.
"Susanoo-sama, it is a tremendous honor to have you deign to visit our humble school!"
Senzaemon bowed deeply, his voice ringing out.
Seeing this, Erina quickly bowed as well.
Even though she usually presented herself as a queen, she understood the need to read the room.
It was a shame many fanfictions liked to write these proud, headstrong heroines as brainless fools...
"Welcome! Your presence is a great honor!"
The other members of the Elite Ten Council quickly lowered their heads as well.
"Stop calling me that. You're making me want to twist your head off."
Makoto said with an exasperated look.
Everyone present instantly recalled the fate of Prime Minister Ooka yesterday and couldn't help but shiver.
"Yes, understood."
Senzaemon nodded quickly.
Beside him, Shuchi'in Academy's Principal, Adolphe couldn't wait to interject, "Makoto-kun, what do you think of my idea? Temporarily merging Shuchi'in Academy and Totsuki Academy, you know, considering yesterday's turmoil, Totsuki Academy is one of the few schools left standing in Tokyo..."
At this point, Adolphe's expression suddenly changed. He quickly corrected himself, "Oh, I-I'm not saying that this, this is your fault, Makoto-kun."
Makoto smiled faintly. "Relax, Principal. Your idea is pretty good."
Hearing their conversation, the thousands of students present instantly understood.
'—Got it.'
'So it was because of Nishikawa Makoto that Shuchi'in Academy and Totsuki Academy were merging, and we were all called back just one day after the chaos ended.'
'So they were all just study buddies for Nishikawa Makoto.'