Practical Classroom: Kaoru Hanayama's Classroom of Merit

"……Ha ha ha ha!"

The tense atmosphere was broken by Nan Yunya's laughter.

That was both to conceal his own wavering and to signal the students in Class 2-A around him to break free from the curse.

"Oh my, this really surprises me. You're not serious, are you, Hanayama-kun?"

He shook his head as he cast a slightly pitying glance at Huashan.

"I know you're very confident in fighting. That impressive physique... most high school boys would be scared just by a glare from you. But..."

Nan Yun narrowed his eyes sharply, lowering the tone of his voice to an icy level.

"This is Advanced Nurturing High School. I don't know how strong you think you are, but what would happen if you attacked us here? If you throw a single punch... no, even just a scratch, you'll be expelled immediately."

That was an unshakeable announcement issued by someone holding the position of vice president of the student council.

The invisible wall called rules—as long as that thing exists, no matter how strong one's arms are, one is nothing more than a tamed beast.

Nagumo attempted to pull out Hanayama's fangs by wielding this fact.

"Violence is something only the lowest-level idiots in this school would use. If you want to make Class A, if you want me to bow down, then use a smarter approach..."

"...So you're saying we're getting ready for war, right?"

Before Nagumo could finish speaking, Hanayama interrupted him with a deep, rumbling voice.

There was no anger, no anxiety, and not even a threat in that voice.

That was merely a flat echo confirming the other party's intentions.

But that's precisely why it seems unusual.

Hua Shan's thick arm slowly rose to face level.

Then, his well-defined fingertips pinched the frame of the distinctive glasses that covered half of his face.

Click.

The glasses were taken off and put into Huashan's right hand.

It's just such a simple action.

The next moment.

The classroom of Class 2-A has literally transformed into another world.

With the suppressor called glasses removed, Kaoru Hanayama's eyes were exposed without reservation.

The gaze of the ultimate path itself, traversing countless battlefields, constantly shrouded in the smell of blood and gunpowder.

It was a violent aura belonging to the pinnacle of the yakuza, completely different from the imposing presence that high school students exude in their daily lives.

"Gurgle...!?"

Nan Yun's henchmen retreated with sullen voices.

The giant in front of them was simply standing there. He neither clenched his fists nor struck a pose.

However, the aura emanating from him instilled a deep-seated sense of impending death in the students' minds.

(This guy... is serious.)

Nan Yunya felt her heart pounding like an alarm bell.

Dropping out of school? Rules? Those things mean nothing to this man, not even a tissue.

If I dare to utter another cheap provocation now, he would definitely swing that log-like arm down without hesitation.

Then it will all be too late.

(...Are you kidding me?)

Self-esteem tries to resist, but the instinct for survival does its best to suppress it.

He's a man destined for the top; how could he do something so foolish as to die together with a freshman of unknown origin in a place like this?

Nagumo racked his brains. To eliminate this guy, he shouldn't do it head-on, but rather use a strategy outside the chessboard to force him to drop out of school.

That's right, I'm the kind of person who wins by using my brain.

This is absolutely not the time to risk your life to be reckless.

After a few seconds of silence, Nan Yun let out a soft breath and casually flicked her bangs.

"I truly admire your spirit. I see. Since you've reached this point of youthful vigor, no rules can restrain you."

He desperately suppressed the twitching muscles in his cheeks and forced himself to put on the mask of a confident superior once more.

"However... thinking about it carefully, as the vice president, if the members of my class behave inappropriately towards the juniors, it's the same as smearing my own reputation."

To save face, Nagumo awkwardly came up with an excuse.

"Since you've put it this way, I'll accompany you as part of the educational guidance process... Tomorrow's lunch break is with Class 1-C, right?"

That was a clear declaration of retreat.

No matter how eloquently it is embellished, the fact remains that the rulers of Class 2-A succumbed to the pressure from the first-year students and agreed to their demands.

Faced with Nagumo's conciliatory words, which sounded like an excuse, Hanayama neither mocked nor boasted of his victory.

Because his goal was not to force the other party to submit, but simply to make the rules work.

Huashan slowly raised his right hand and put his glasses back on his face.

Click.

The moment the lenses obscured my pupils, the hellish pressure that filled the classroom vanished.

Huashan turned and walked towards the door, a hint of disappointment in his heart.

Unlike Horikita Manabu, who has the courage to punch himself, Nagumo Masaru is the kind of guy who can't fight unless he hides behind the shield of the rules.

Huashan walked through the campus, which was bathed in the red glow of the setting sun, toward the Beech Tree Shopping Center.

A brain exhausted from tutoring needs alcohol and salt.

Although the whisky from the tea stalk supplier was in the room, there were no snacks to go with it.

......

For about a minute after Huashan closed the door, until that scent had completely disappeared.

The classroom of Class 2A was in a complete vacuum, as if everyone had forgotten to breathe.

"……call."

Nagumo Masayuki loosened her hands on the desk and let out a sigh so soft that no one could hear it.

His palms were already damp with cold sweat.

"Nan...Nan Yun...Are you really going to listen to that guy and apologize tomorrow?"

One of the followers spoke hesitantly, as if testing the waters.

A dangerous glint appeared in Nan Yun's eyes as he pierced the student's gaze.

"That was just a negotiation tactic. It was simply the best course of action to avoid unnecessary injury in the situation just now."

Nagumo looked down at the campus bathed in the red glow of the setting sun outside the window, a cold smile on his face.

"It seems we'll have to give a little special consideration to Class 1-C for the next special exam."