Practical Classroom: Kaoru Hanayama's Classroom of Merit

[Testimony Record: Second-grade boy A]

"...You ask me why I didn't think of going up to help? Haha, that's a huge joke. Please don't talk nonsense."

His hand holding the paper cup of coffee trembled slightly as he stared ahead.

"When a lion bites a zebra's throat, will a rabbit rush up and yell 'Stop!' to stop it? Impossible. Even if they both stand on two legs and wear the same school uniform, they are fundamentally different ecologically."

"What's most unacceptable is that box cutter. The shop assistant went berserk and stabbed the man's arm with it. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a deep cut and caused massive bleeding, right? But..."

He swallowed hard.

"It couldn't even pierce through; the blade just snapped off and flew off on its own. Human skin could actually defeat an industrial knife... Even now, I can't believe what I've seen with my own eyes."

[Testimony Record: Chief Surgeon of the Medical Center Affiliated to Advanced Ikusei High School]

Under the operating lights, a doctor in a white coat flipped through a stack of medical records as if looking at something unbelievable.

"The victim... was the employee of that electronics store. When he was brought in, I could hardly believe my eyes. His right forearm was ruptured as if explosives had been inserted from the inside."

The doctor hastily drew a diagram of the blood vessels in the arm on the whiteboard.

"Listen carefully. In a human arm, there are arteries that carry blood from the heart and veins that carry blood back to the heart."

Fear was evident in the doctor's eyes.

"The perpetrator merely grabbed the victim's arm. But the grip strength was completely beyond common sense!"

The doctor tapped the whiteboard heavily with his pen.

"Do you understand now!? Blood that has nowhere to go keeps surging into the capillaries of the forearm with abnormal pressure, exceeding the elastic limit of the blood vessels. The muscle fibers can no longer withstand the pressure from the inside... and they explode."

The doctor threw the medical record back onto the table.

"The victim's arm was beyond repair with just surgical suturing. Nerves were severed, and muscle fibers were ruptured... He probably will never be able to grip anything like before."

[Currently: In front of the electronics retail store at Beech Tree Shopping Center]

Blood droplets, turning into fine mist, sprinkled onto the floor tiles.

Huashan slowly loosened his hands.

clack.

The shop assistant, having lost his support, rolled onto the floor.

The skin on the arm was torn due to abnormal blood pressure from the inside, exposing the muscle fibers.

He had completely lost consciousness, foaming at the mouth, and his body was twitching slightly like an insect.

Huashan didn't even glance at the miserable scene and quietly stood up.

The people around them didn't even bother to blink, let alone make a sound.

Huashan casually took out a white handkerchief from his school uniform pocket and carefully wiped away the few drops of blood stuck to his hands.

There was absolutely no trace of passion, murderous intent, or excitement arising from violence in that expression.

(…Go back.)

Just as Huashan was about to turn around, a very realistic thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

This is not a back alley in Shinjuku's Kabukicho district, nor is it a yakuza territory where bloodshed and violence are tolerated as a daily occurrence.

(...Even though they're trash, it wouldn't be good for them to die here.)

He doesn't care about his own advancement or retreat.

However, the troubles such as dropping out of school or the ensuing police intervention would likely cause the mother considerable distress.

Furthermore, if they simply left a corpse in such a place and walked away, the girl hiding behind it would likely face unnecessary questioning and prosecution.

Huashan threw away the handkerchief and slowly pulled out a smart terminal from the chest pocket of his shirt.

Who should I contact?

Was it the chairman who brought them together through behind-the-scenes negotiations?

Or perhaps it was the female teacher who entered into the contract because of smuggling cigarettes and alcohol?

He swiped the screen, intending to find a suitable cleaner.

Right at that time.

"That's enough!! Don't move!!"

Accompanied by roars, a multitude of heavy footsteps surged forth from the depths of the shopping mall's passageway.

Those were the dedicated security personnel of Advanced Nurturing High School, who had drawn special batons and were wearing stab-proof vests.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, unlike those of ordinary guards.

He's probably a former police officer, a professional with practical experience.

They probably noticed something was wrong through the security camera and rushed over as quickly as possible.

"We've received reports of an injury! Everyone, evacuate immediately—!?"

The man running at the front, seemingly the leader, stepped into the scene while giving instructions.

What caught his eye was a large amount of blood spreading across the floor.

And the shop assistant, who was constantly convulsing and whose sanity was questionable.

Huashan's gaze caught them.

I only glanced at it.

There was neither any deterrence nor any show of force.

However, the four professionals seemed to be nailed to the floor, completely frozen in place.

(W-What is this...!?)

In the leader's mind, danger signals were ringing out like sirens.

They understand real combat, and because of this, they are more aware and better at sensing death than laymen.

The person standing in front of me is not a high school student, and it is even questionable whether they are human.

The special police baton, held tightly in my hand, felt as light as a toothpick, utterly meaningless.

The stab-proof vest's armor felt as thin as a tissue, completely unreliable.

If we were to take even one more step forward now, attempting to invade that man's territory...

They will be killed.

The contradiction between their professional responsibility and their most fundamental fear as living beings kept them firmly in place.

"I'm sorry."

Huashan addressed the security personnel who dared not move, speaking in a very calm voice.

"I almost forgot, this is a school. Could you handle the garbage collection over there?"

That was not a question, but a decision made by someone in a higher position.

The team leader gritted his teeth, and could only nod silently like a puppet.

In order not to block the road to Huashan, the security personnel even retreated little by little to the side of the wall.

Hanayama put the terminal back in his pocket and gestured with his chin toward Sakura.

"I'm gone."

"Yes, yes...!"

A pool of blood, a shop assistant who had fainted, and professional security guards who were unable to move.

In this extremely unusual space, Kaoru Hanayama leisurely departed as if taking a stroll.

Until his figure disappeared at the mall exit, no one was able to utter a sound.