Chapter 16: Crashing Down

"How bold!"

Hana was a bit taken aback when Miko admitted to her relationship with Ryuji so directly.

"Is this really the same Miko I know?" she thought.

"Hello!" Ryuji waved with a smile, casually acknowledging Hana.

He had completely forgotten that, like Miko, Hana also had a special constitution, one that attracted supernatural beings. That meant she too would likely trigger a talent entry for him.

"Hello! Hello!" Hana responded cheerfully, her bubbly personality shining through as she eagerly shook hands with Ryuji.

Sure enough, the system's voice chimed in his head.

"Successfully contacted a target: Yurikawa Hana! A green entry has been triggered. Do you want to load it?"

Another green entry, huh? Ryuji thought. He decided to check on it later.

"It's almost time for class. I should head back now," Ryuji said, glancing at the time.

With that, he left the two girls behind and made his way to the classroom.

Hana, now left alone with Miko, was practically bouncing with excitement.

"He's really handsome! Come on, Miko, spill the details. How did you two meet and when did you start dating?!"

Like Miko, Hana had never been in a relationship before, so she was bubbling with curiosity about her best friend's love life. Her eyes sparkled as she leaned in, eager for all the juicy details.

"Calm down, Hana!" Miko gestured, trying to get her overly excited friend to settle down. She had expected this kind of reaction, but seeing Hana so worked up still made her feel a little flustered.

---

Meanwhile, Ryuji arrived at the classroom, unaware of the conversation going on between the two girls. As he walked in, he noticed several of his classmates giving him surprised looks. After all, many of them had seen him get called out by those bullies yesterday, and they were probably expecting him to be in worse shape today.

"Well done!" Yumiko from the group of live-action fans called out. She was under the impression that Tobe Sho, one of her friends, had gone to fetch a teacher, which must have been why Ryuji came back to school unscathed.

"Uh..." Tobe, who had been sitting quietly in a depressed state, looked up, confused. He hadn't done anything at all. Still, since it was praise directed at him, he puffed out his chest and responded, "Of course! You can count on me."

Even Hayato, the class representative and a central figure in the social group, looked at Tobe with a smile, as if he had done something admirable.

Ryuji, however, didn't care about their discussions. He propped his chin on his hand and sat at his desk, his mind preoccupied with the green entry he had just triggered from Hana.

"Green entry: Greed."

Ryuji couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Really? That's what I got from her?"

He had initially thought that Hana's unique spiritual constitution would result in a more powerful golden entry. He certainly wasn't expecting something as simple and disappointing as Greed.

"Forget it," he muttered to himself. "I'll trigger another entry from her later. There's bound to be something better."

Without hesitation, he selected Decompose and watched as his points increased from 10 to 20. He briefly considered whether he should focus on contacting more key characters to farm talent entries, but before he could dwell on it, a loud bang interrupted his thoughts.

Bang!

The classroom door swung open, and in walked Shizuka Hiratsuka, their homeroom teacher, with a stormy expression. It was immediately clear to everyone that she was in a foul mood. The usual chatter in the classroom died down, and the students quickly realized that something serious was about to happen.

"Everyone, return to your seats," Shizuka said coldly, her sharp tone making it clear that she wasn't in the mood for any nonsense.

The students who had been gathered in small groups quickly dispersed and went back to their seats.

Ryuji glanced at Shizuka and noticed something strange. When she had entered the room, her eyes had lingered on him for a moment longer than usual. Was she aware of what had happened yesterday?

He quickly pieced together that despite the lack of cameras in the wooded area by the playground, it wouldn't have been too hard for someone to investigate. Especially considering that Shizuka wasn't an ordinary teacher. She had a strong sense of justice and wasn't the type to let things slide, unlike many of the other teachers in the school.

Besides, what regular teacher drove a supercar to work?

"Although I'm aware that bullying happens in schools," Shizuka began, her voice trembling with barely controlled anger, "I never thought I'd have to deal with it in my class."

Ryuji raised an eyebrow, amused. This was exactly the kind of attitude he had expected from her. Shizuka wasn't the type to stand by and let things like this slide. If she found out about bullying, she would act on it immediately.

"What's worse is that not a single one of you had the decency to come to me and report it. How could so many of you just turn a blind eye?"

Her fist slammed down on the podium, the loud bang startling several students. The whole class went silent, everyone too intimidated to speak.

"Where did you learn to be so indifferent?!" she demanded, her fiery gaze sweeping over the room.

Ryuji couldn't help but smile. Her fiery spirit was really something else. It was cute in a way though he wasn't about to say that out loud.

Shizuka's eyes landed on Hayato, the class representative, and she fixed him with a stern look.

"Hayama Hayato, as the class monitor, don't you have something to say?"

Hayato stood up, looking visibly uncomfortable. He glanced over at Tobe, hoping to shift the responsibility onto him. After all, it was supposed to be Tobe who had dealt with the situation yesterday.

But Tobe, who had been so proud just moments earlier, now hung his head in shame, realizing the mess he was in. Things had not gone the way he expected at all. His plan to avoid responsibility had backfired completely.

"Wait!" Yumiko spoke up, breaking the tense silence. "Didn't Tobe say he was going to get a teacher?"

Miura, like the others, was still under the impression that Tobe had done something to resolve the bullying situation. She had even complimented him on it earlier.

Shizuka's eyes narrowed. "Tobe?" she asked coldly, her gaze snapping to the boy in question.

Tobe flinched under the weight of her stare. He knew there was no escaping this.

With her arms crossed, Shizuka's voice dropped to an icy tone. "No one came to my office yesterday."

The entire class fell silent.

__________________________________________________

For every 500 power stones more chapter release and also if you're interested in supporting me or reading 30+ Advanced chapters here you go: patreon.com/Blownleaves