Practical Classroom: Kaoru Hanayama's Classroom of Merit

After concluding unusual private settlement negotiations.

Back in the empty classroom of the special building, Huashan's terminal had already received the 210,000 personal points he had extorted from Class D as compensation for mental distress.

Inside the classroom, perhaps worried that Hanayama would negotiate with Class D alone, Sudo, Horikita, and Hirata stayed behind to wait for him.

"Feed, feed Huashan, you didn't actually extort points from him, did you?"

Sudo asked tremblingly.

Huashan silently operated his terminal, completing the transfer to the accounts of the three students without a word.

A beeping electronic voice simultaneously rang out from the three people's terminals.

"Ten, ten thousand points...!?"

Sudo let out a shrill scream.

On Hirata's and Horikita's terminals, 20,000 points each, a not insignificant amount, were deposited.

The remaining 70,000 points are in Huashan's account.

Horikita frowned and immediately planned to return the points.

"Wait a minute. These are points you earned through reckless negotiations, aren't they? I have no reason to accept them."

"Yes, Hanayama-kun. I only arranged for a shift of companions. I can't accept such a large sum of money."

Hirata also agreed with a puzzled expression.

As for Sudo, although it was a huge sum of money that he desperately wanted.

But faced with the reality that this was something Huashan had seized through intimidation tactics reminiscent of the Yakuza, his hands were trembling.

"I don't want to either! I'm the one who dragged everyone into this fight!"

Faced with the three of them talking at once and trying to get their points back, Huashan slowly shook his head to stop them.

"It's wrong to do the work and not get paid."

In a yakuza society, working for free is against morality and ethics. It's tantamount to repaying kindness with enmity.

"Hirata gathered his men to stand guard. Horikita racked his brains for a defense plan. Then it was Sudo's turn..."

Hanayama stared at Sudo, whose body was stiff.

"You were the one who became the biggest target, and you took all the pressure from those guys. The guy who did the hardest work deserves the biggest share. That's the rule."

"Huashan..."

"No objections, right?"

The demand was not to be refused; this was Huashan's allocation based on his own beliefs.

Realizing that continuing to refuse would be an insult to him, Horikita sighed softly and put down the terminal.

"...I understand. I'll accept it gratefully this time."

Hirata nodded with a wry smile, while Sudo's eyes welled up with tears as he gritted his teeth, feeling the weight of those 100,000 points.

......

After finishing their business, Hirata, Horikita, and Sudo went back first, while Hanayama walked alone with heavy footsteps towards the dormitory.

He had noticed that someone had been following him at a certain distance for some time.

Shala, shala.

The sound of footsteps on the fallen leaves was very faint and hesitant.

Huashan stopped in his tracks.

He spoke in a low voice without turning his head.

"If you need anything, come to the front."

"babble……!"

A short, mournful gasp escaped from behind.

Hanayama slowly turned around, and there stood Sakura Airi from his class.

Her hands were clenched so tightly that she seemed to want to tear the hem of her school uniform off, and she was trembling uncontrollably with her head down.

It was a kind of cowardice where even uttering a single sentence felt like it would drain all the energy out of one's body.

Her throat moved up and down several times, and her lips opened and closed like a fish, but she couldn't make a sound.

The silence lasted for several seconds.

It seems they've realized that continuing this stalemate would be futile for both of them.

Sakura turned around with a look of impending tears, preparing to run away.

"Did you run into some trouble?"

Huashan didn't urge her on because of her timidity, but simply asked a question as if to extract the facts.

"A timid woman like you following behind a fierce-looking man like me. Just by looking at you, I can tell it's not a normal reason. What's wrong?"

Sakura remained motionless, not turning around, and squeezed out the words in a trembling voice.

"K-Kirushawa-san... said that..."

"Karuizawa?"

"He said, 'Hanayama-kun would never leave someone to die. He's very reliable.' I... I don't know who to talk to anymore... Neither the teachers nor the security personnel will do..."

A broken, intermittent sound, on the verge of shattering.

"I'm being stalked and harassed. They've been following me all along..."

The temperature seemed to drop several degrees when those words were spoken.

A chill ran down Sakura's spine, as if an ice cube had been placed on it.

The usual tranquility had completely vanished from Huashan's expression.

In the world of yakuza, those treacherous and cunning individuals who prey on women and children are the most despised and the most deserving of exclusion.

He wouldn't ignore a request from a complete stranger.

Moreover, in the group photo taken for her mother, Sakura was also a member of her own family, included in the same picture.

In the Yakuza, it is the greatest taboo, even at the cost of one's life, for one's own people to be threatened by thugs from outside.

The air suddenly became heavy, making it difficult to even breathe.

Upon seeing Hanayama's slightly gloomy face, Sakura's legs went completely weak, and she collapsed to the ground.

Overwhelmed by fear, he even covered his head with his hands.

"……ah."

Realizing that the aura he was unconsciously emanating had caused the girl in front of him to panic.

Hua Shan clicked his tongue, forcibly suppressing that aura.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't threatening you."

Hanayama lowered his voice as much as possible and crouched down to be at eye level with Sakura.

"What happened? Tell me the details."

Feeling the air had eased a little, Sakura, though her eyes were filled with tears and her body trembled, still managed to tell the whole story bit by bit.

"Yes, it was a digital camera. I went to an electronics store for repairs, and the clerk there at the time..."

"A shop assistant?"

"Yes... ever since then, I feel like I'm being watched, and my mailbox is flooded with harassing emails every day...!"

Large tears, which Sakura could no longer hold back, finally rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm so scared. Whether I'm outside or in my room, I always feel like someone is watching me...!"

Facing the girl who collapsed to the ground in tears, Hanayama didn't say a single word of comfort.

He simply placed his enormous hand gently on her head.

"I'll take over this matter."

"But without evidence, I might actually get criticized instead..."

Sakura seemed unable to shake off her fear, and spoke in a trembling voice.

But Huashan twisted the corners of his mouth, revealing a ferocious smile.

"Evidence is completely irrelevant."

Dark clouds covered the sky, and a low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance.

In this highly intensive educational institution, true violence is about to be unleashed.