Meanwhile, Ren had also made his way to the convenience store near the dorms. He had intended to splurge at a fancy restaurant, but remembered he still needed to buy daily necessities. As he perused the aisles, he noticed a small section of free, limited-quantity items, confirming his suspicion that life at this school could become dire for those who ran out of points.
Suddenly, he sensed someone nearby. He looked up from his shopping basket and his eyes landed on a pair of slender legs wrapped in knee-high black stockings. His gaze traveled up, past a black school skirt, to a graceful figure with waist-length black hair, a single, unique braid tied on one side.
Finally, he saw her face. It was strikingly beautiful, a familiar face that held an air of cold purity. It was the girl he had briefly considered making his first target—by looks alone, the undisputed most beautiful girl in Class D.
Suzune Horikita.
Ren Ishikawa scanned the convenience store. It's lunchtime, he mused. Plenty of people will be in and out, including students from Class D.
His gaze fell upon Suzune Horikita.
If I start something with the class beauty right here, right now, I'll definitely draw an audience. A girl like that gets bullied, and a dozen self-proclaimed heroes will crawl out of the woodwork to "save" her. If even one of them is the type to solve problems with their fists... well, that would be perfect.
His plan to get punished was back on.
He called it "bullying," but really, he just planned to resume the verbal sparring match they'd started in the classroom. Since she was the one who initiated their first exchange, he felt no psychological barrier to re-engaging. It was a two-way street. Of course, he knew her admirers wouldn't see it that way, and that was exactly what he wanted. If he was lucky, she'd get frustrated and report him for harassment. A flawless victory.
With a newfound spring in his step, Ren began.
"Well, well, if it isn't the class beauty," he said, waving a newly acquired toothbrush like a miniature baton.
Horikita turned, a few strands of her black hair catching the light. She frowned. "You ! , Don't call me that. I despise people who judge others based on something as superficial as appearance. I would rather be acknowledged for my abilities."
Ren continued Browse the shelves, his tone casual. "If you truly didn't care, you wouldn't have said a word. The more you explain, the more you reveal how much it bothers you. Someone who genuinely doesn't care doesn't even bother to respond."
"I just find it irritating," she retorted. "I don't enjoy having my ears filled with useless, annoying noise."
"If you were truly annoyed, you wouldn't argue. You would deal with the source of the noise directly," Ren countered, a smirk in his voice. "You'd find a way to make me shut up. Arguing means you want to prove something, and you only want to prove what you secretly doubt. So, are you doubting that you're above caring what people think of your looks?"
"You..." Horikita paused, then shot back, "Then why are you arguing with me? What are you trying to prove? What do you doubt?"
"Simple!" Ren declared, placing his hands on his hips and letting out a theatrical laugh. "I'm proving that my wit is as sharp as ever! That my escape this morning was a fluke! I could have verbally destroyed those guys from Class B, I just chose not to. Proof complete! Ahahaha!"
He paused his villainous laugh to add, "Honestly, I thought my tongue was the sharpest—until I heard yours. There's sourness, spice, and just a touch of venom in every word. No wonder making friends isn't your strong suit."
"Hmph. Resorting to a self-deprecating attack just to land a blow on me? It's like watching a boomerang fly in a circle just to hit the person who threw it."
A moment of silence hung between them. Then, abruptly, she said, "My name is Horikita Suzune."
Ren stopped his act. "Why the sudden introduction?"
"Because of our exchange this morning, I had considered you a worthy opponent," she said, a hint of anger in her voice. "To discover that my supposed rival doesn't even know my name... it feels like I'm being looked down upon."
"And you didn't ask for my name, either," Ren pointed out.
"I already know your name is Ren Ishikawa. There was no need to ask."
"And maybe I already knew yours?"
"Knowing my name and still choosing to call me by a superficial title like 'class beauty' is even more detestable!"
Ren sighed dramatically. "Fine, then. I'll take my leave." He gestured toward the exit.
Horikita tilted her chin up. "Running away again? Does this mean I win?"
Her competitive spirit was astonishing. Unfortunately for her, so was his.
"Pfft," Ren blew a raspberry. "Alright, fine. Today, you'll experience the true art of verbal combat. But we can't perform here. Let's take this outside."
"I haven't bought what I came for yet," she said.
"What do you need?"
"Face wash."
"Ah, I think it's over there," Ren said, pointing down an aisle.
A few minutes later, they were in line for the cashier when a commotion started at the front. A tall boy with a crew cut was patting himself down frantically, his hands moving from his pockets to his pants.
"Just a second! I'm looking for it!" he yelled.
"Please hurry up!" someone in the line grumbled.
"Dammit! I'm not used to this. I forgot I need the student ID card to pay."
Ren recognized the boy as a fellow student from Class D. Impatient, he put his basket down and strode to the front. "Swipe my card."
The crew-cut boy looked up in surprise. "You?"
Ren didn't say a word. He simply took out his phone and turned the screen toward the boy. Displayed on it was a digital business card with his name, class, student number, and a QR code for contact info.
Is he... trying to exchange contact info with me? the boy thought, but his mouth moved before his brain could catch up. "Don't think I'll forgive you for what you did in class just because of this!"
Ren made a "tsk" sound. "What would I possibly need your forgiveness for? Wow. You don't actually think I'm doing this to be nice, do you? I expect you to transfer the points back to me. Now."
The boy looked like he wanted to curse.
"Can you just hurry up? People are waiting!" another student shouted.
Feeling the pressure of the crowd's glare, the crew-cut boy quickly scanned Ren's QR code, completed the transfer, grabbed his instant noodles, and fled. Ren felt his phone vibrate with the confirmation.
[300 points received from Sudo Ken.]
With the blockage cleared, the line began to move. Ren walked back to his original spot beside Horikita.
She was looking at him with a strange expression. "Just like this morning... It's a special kind of talent to help someone and not only receive no gratitude, but actively earn their hatred in the process."
"Help?" Ren shrugged as they paid for their items and walked out of the store. "I wasn't helping him. I was helping myself. I hate wasting time on pointless delays."
"Then why are you wasting time 'entangled' with me?" Horikita asked.
"Because I want to win," he said simply.
"Win? An argument? What's the point of winning something like this?"
"It's fun!"
"Fun? I don't believe our relationship is nearly familiar enough to be 'fun.' We aren't even friends."
"Doesn't matter," Ren said with a wave of his hand. "This is just for sport, a way to vent my desire to win. I have no intention of forming a relationship with you or anyone else."
"Hmph. Just for fun, venting desires, no talk of feelings. A classic scumbag's line."
"Hey, don't say that. Our communication is purely verbal."
"What else did you want to happen, you scumbag?"
"Yes! Exactly! That's the spirit!"
Horikita fumed. She didn't want to be a tool for his amusement, but her pride wouldn't let her back down. Once challenged, she couldn't help but fight back. Just one win, she told herself. If she could just win once, she could dismiss him as a "defeated opponent" and ignore him from a position of superiority.
With that thought, she continued to counter his verbal jabs, but found herself constantly on the defensive. If she couldn't win with words...
"Actually," she said, her voice dropping lower as she stepped closer, "we could have a 'physical' relationship."
As if to whisper in his ear, she feinted, then drove a sharp punch into his left rear ribs.
Ren's [Super Body] activated instantly, flooding his system with boosted resistance. He barely flinched. The force was significant—without his ability, the blow would have knocked the wind out of him. But with it, he felt almost nothing.
He counter-attacked immediately. His free right hand lashed out like a striking snake, moving with blinding speed toward her face. Horikita's eyes widened in horror; she couldn't dodge, couldn't block. It was too fast.
Just as his fingers were about to make contact, his hand went limp, and his middle finger simply flicked her lightly on the forehead.
He leaned in and whispered a line from a famous anime, "This is the last time... Sasuke."
Before she could react, he grabbed his things and, using the residual boost from his ability, bolted. After getting some distance, he turned back and yelled, "You started it! Lost the verbal fight, and now you've lost the physical one too!"
With the results of their competition officially announced, he disappeared.
I wonder how many people will come looking for a fight tomorrow, he thought gleefully. I can't wait.
He was, however, completely mistaken. Though beautiful, Horikita's venomous tongue had already earned her a reputation in Class D nearly as bad as his own. There were no "white knights" waiting to defend her.
Horikita stood frozen, still dazed from the shock. Why was my attack ineffective? I hit a clear weak point, but it didn't even break his defense. And his speed... what was that?
And that final line... 'This is the last time... Sasuke.' Is it a threat? It sounds so familiar. She pulled out her phone and searched the phrase. A few minutes later, her face flushed with embarrassment.
How foolish. To think he was trying to convey some deep meaning. He's a high schooler, not an elementary school student, right? Or... is there another metaphor here?
The search results noted that the line was spoken by an older brother to his younger brother.
So... he wants to be my brother?
Pfft! Impossible! Don't even think about it! I only have one brother, and my brother, Horikita Manabu, is invincible!
She had, of course, completely misunderstood. The key word Ren had focused on was "Sasuke"—the younger brother. His true, petty meaning was simple: You're nothing but a weak little kid. It was pure sarcasm. But Horikita's mind, already fixated on her own older brother, had jumped to a very different conclusion.
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