I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

"What a cruel punishment. I'll try my best to catch you every time, Maya, so that I don't have a boring day."

Seeing how serious Ayanokouji was, Sato helplessly punched his chest.

"Oh, come on, I was just kidding! You don't have to take it so seriously! Speaking of which, now that Horikita-kun failed, isn't it our turn to step in? Eh? Kiyotaka..."

Sato sat up in surprise, while Ayanokouji stood up completely, glancing at the phone screen he had tossed aside out of the corner of his eye.

The above is a collaboration invitation sent to him by someone.

Ayanokouji closed her eyes without saying a word, and after a long while, she slowly opened them. However, the emotion in Ayanokouji's eyes seemed to have diminished even further.

"Yes, it's our turn to make a move. Tomorrow it's up to you, Maya. It would be even better if you could make things bigger."

"Make a bigger scene? Why is that?"

Sato tilted his head in confusion.

Unexpectedly, this action brought a gentle smile to Ayanokouji's face.

"Of course, it's to prove your worth, Maya."

"My... value? Seriously, Kiyotaka, you're saying weird things again. Anyway, all you have to do is cause a huge scene and make those guys in Class D have a hard time dealing with you, right?"

Sato didn't quite understand what value Ayanokouji was talking about, but she could understand that Ayanokouji wanted her to make a scene.

This was not a difficult task for her.

"That's right, we're going to make a huge scene."

……

The next day.

A boy carrying his tray sat down dejectedly in a secluded corner of the restaurant.

He first glanced to his left and right, and only after making sure no one was paying attention to him did he focus his gaze on the plate in front of him, which was filled with lush green vegetables as if mocking their difference.

Just as the boy was looking enviously at the students not far away who were enjoying their delicious food, someone sat down in front of him with a plate.

Almost instinctively, the boy decided to pick up his plate and move to another seat, since he didn't want to eat the pile of green vegetables under other people's gaze.

But just as he was about to get up, he noticed that the other person's plate also contained these green vegetables, and he couldn't help but glance at the other person.

"Watanabe-kun, where are you going?"

Upon seeing that it was a classmate, Watanabe returned to his seat.

"So it's Beppu. Couldn't you at least say hello next time? I thought it was someone else. You know, I really hate sitting and eating with people I don't know."

Beppu glanced at Watanabe with a slightly complicated expression.

In his memory, Watanabe wasn't the kind of guy who was afraid to talk to strangers, so it was a bit strange that he was saying such things now...

However, when he noticed Watanabe looking at his own plate with disgust in Beppu, he immediately understood why.

They ate the free meal provided by the school, a wild vegetable meal, which was a meal consisting of wild vegetables and some leftover vegetables boiled in water and served with white rice.

Although it fills one's stomach without paying any fees, it serves as proof of a person's low personal points in the eyes of other diners.

Generally speaking, people with enough points would not voluntarily buy the mountain vegetable set meal because the taste of this set meal is really too bad. If it weren't for the need to fill his stomach, Watanabe would have thrown the food away as garbage long ago.

Normally, when you're walking down the street, people can't tell your financial situation from your clothes, so you can at least maintain some dignity. But mealtimes are the nightmare time for those with strong self-esteem. Even though no one will pay attention to students eating mountain vegetable meals, some people with strong self-esteem always feel that someone is looking at them with mocking eyes.

Therefore, they become abnormally sensitive to their surroundings.

Having figured this out, Beppu could only speak with a slight apology.

"Sorry, I'll be more careful next time. Speaking of which, I really hope we can get through this special exam safely, so we can eat some meat next month."

It's March now, and Class D has been losing class points ever since the preferential treatment exam. If it weren't for Ichinose selling the props from the sports festival to get some points, Class D would probably be eating wild vegetable meals since the sports festival started.

Since the number of points sold was not high, Ichinose managed to cover the food expenses of the D-class students by distributing a few thousand personal points each month, so that they wouldn't have to eat mountain vegetable meals every day.

However, with Ichinose's departure, their last source of personal points was cut off. To this day, Watanabe has been eating mountain vegetable meals for more than two months, and he is almost sick of them.

"Sigh, Kanzaki, Himeno, and Ninomiya... our class is in such a mess, there's no way we can win the game. I just hope they don't deduct too much, at least leave us some living expenses."

Watanabe's words were accepted by Beppu.

However, it's best to avoid making such complaints, because if Kanzaki finds out, he'll definitely bring up class unity again.

While Beppu and Watanabe were chatting, a man and a woman sat down to their left.

"Kiyotaka~ I ordered your favorite fried pork cutlet today, come and try it! Hey? Those two over there are eating a vegetable set meal, how pitiful~"

Chapter 214: Please Call Me the Master of Extortion

"Kiyotaka~ I ordered your favorite fried pork cutlet today, come and try it! Hey? Those two over there are eating a vegetable set meal, how pitiful~"

Sato's sarcastic words made Watanabe, who was already in a bad mood, slam his hand on the table in anger.

A loud bang silenced the previously noisy restaurant, and many people stopped eating and turned their attention to Watanabe.

Sitting across from Watanabe, Beppu immediately felt immense pressure.

"Are you crazy? If you want to vent your anger, go back to your dorm. This is a public place, not a place for you to vent your frustrations."

When Sato saw that his few words had pushed Watanabe to the brink of rage, he immediately added fuel to the fire by rebuking Watanabe.

Many people agreed with Sato's behavior. This was a public place, and many people were enjoying their meal. Watanabe's actions ruined everyone's good mood.

"What did you say? Wasn't it you...?"

"Calm down, Watanabe!"

Seeing that things were about to get out of control, Beppu quickly got up and pulled Watanabe back to his feet.

"Beppu, didn't you hear what she just said? She was clearly mocking both of us. You can't just side with the outsiders, can you?"

Watanabe glared angrily at Beppu.

Beppu gave a helpless, bitter smile. Putting aside the fact that he didn't feel anything at all, even if it was mockery, would you really hit someone here?

Since Watanabe didn't make a move from the start, it means that no matter how angry you get, he can still mock you with the mountain vegetable set meal. In this situation, if you still insist on standing up for yourself, isn't that just like offering your face to be slapped by the other party?

As a student who was assigned to Class B from the very beginning, Beppu clearly possessed the intelligence befitting a Class B student. He only needed to think for a moment to determine that the other party might be deliberately causing trouble.

Even if you deliberately cause trouble, you can't resort to violence against them. Otherwise, it will just turn into a battle of words. If it were just a battle of words, Beppu would be no longer afraid. But now Watanabe's temper is too low. A simple "mountain vegetable set meal" from the other party can make the proud Watanabe angry. How can you even have a verbal battle with him?

Beppu was somewhat troubled by the current situation. He hadn't wanted to get involved, but Watanabe had said something, so as a classmate, Beppu had no choice but to bite the bullet and get involved.

"Young man, it's true that Watanabe-kun's outburst in public was somewhat inappropriate, but what you just said is the root cause of his anger, isn't it? We're not the only two of you eating the mountain vegetable set meal. Does that mean everyone who eats the mountain vegetable set meal is pitiful?"

When Beppu mentioned the mountain vegetable set meal, many people subconsciously looked at Watanabe and Beppu's plates, and in an instant, everyone guessed the ins and outs of the matter.

Basically, the girl made a comment about the mountain vegetable set meal, and the boy got angry and started yelling.

After learning the reason, many people turned around and continued eating. Similar things happen all over the campus, and there's nothing to be curious about anymore.

If your class is incompetent, then don't blame others for mocking you.

What? Dignity?

What dignity do losers talk about? In a school that values ​​meritocracy, how can a loser expect to have dignity? How can someone whose performance is the worst in the entire company for a year expect to avoid being ridiculed?

That's the biggest joke.

Beppu noticed a hint of mockery and contempt in everyone's gazes, which made even the usually calm Beppu clench his fists. However, no matter how angry he was, he couldn't change the fact that Class D was the worst-ranked class.

Moreover, the most important thing right now is to shut that girl up so that this matter can be completely over. So Beppu played a little trick: since that girl said that eating the mountain vegetable set meal is pitiful, does that mean that everyone in the school who eats the mountain vegetable set meal is pitiful?

It's worth noting that almost every grade's D class has a significant number of students eating the mountain vegetable set meal, so Sato's words were tantamount to a general attack, which would also make the older female students feel dissatisfied.

If Sato cannot provide a reasonable explanation, some people may stand up and criticize him. In this case, Beppu will gain the upper hand in terms of momentum, and if Sato does not want to escalate the matter, he will have no choice but to obediently back down.

This was the idea that Beppu came up with on a whim.

"Isn't it pitiful to eat a mountain vegetable meal?"

Unfortunately, Sato had no intention of considering other people's feelings at all, and directly questioned Beppu.

“I don’t think eating a mountain vegetable set meal is pitiful. Whether it’s pork chop rice or a mountain vegetable set meal, the purpose is just to fill your stomach. As long as you can fill your stomach, what’s the difference? How can it be pitiful?”

Beppu reacted quickly, immediately changing the subject to the purpose of the meal. Some of the onlookers nodded in support when they heard Beppu say this.

Of course, most of these people are also eating the free mountain vegetable meal.

"Ha, that's really funny. If you're just trying to fill your stomach, why don't you eat pork chop rice? Or is it because you can't afford it?"

As he spoke, Sato grinned and held up his pork cutlet bowl in front of Beppu.

He looked rather like a petty person who had achieved something great.

However, Beppu did not know how to respond.

Because he genuinely couldn't afford even a cheap pork cutlet rice bowl, Beppu fell silent as he smelled the enticing aroma of the pork cutlet rice bowl and listened to Sato's sarcastic remarks.

Watanabe, who had been standing by watching the show since Beppu seemed to be gaining the upper hand, was surprised when the annoying girl silenced Beppu with just a few words, so Watanabe had to step forward again.

"I don't care about your pork chop rice. Take it away from us right now. What we eat is none of your business."

"Hey, that's a bit unreasonable. What does it have to do with you that I say people who eat the wild vegetable set meal are pitiful? Oh dear, you guys are really eating the wild vegetable set meal~"

Sato covered his mouth and let out a mocking laugh.

"Ha ha ha ha"

Many onlookers laughed, which made Watanabe, who was still angry, shove Sato in a fit of rage.

This push caused a lot of trouble.

Watanabe felt like he hadn't used much force, but Sato seemed to have been pushed hard, causing him to lose his balance. First, the pork cutlet rice in his hand was knocked to the ground, and then Sato landed heavily on the corner of the table before falling to the ground.

The change happened in the blink of an eye, leaving no one with time to react.

It wasn't until a boy next to them exclaimed in surprise that everyone came to their senses.

"Maya, are you alright?"

"I...I...it hurts so much...Kiyotaka."

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that? I didn't use any force... Ah!!"

Before Watanabe could finish speaking, Ayanokouji punched him squarely in the eye socket.

Unlike Watanabe's casual push, Ayanokouji's explosive power was extremely strong. The sound of his punch cutting through the air alone made Beppu's face turn pale instantly.

After hitting Watanabe, Watanabe leaned back dramatically onto the dining table. However, the strong inertia caused him to slide from one side of the table to the other and finally crash heavily onto the restaurant floor.

Screams echoed through the school cafeteria; the intense pain caused Watanabe to roll around several times, unable to stand up.

"W-Do you know what you're doing?! Watanabe-kun, are you alright?"

Beppu pointed at Ayanokoji and loudly questioned him before rushing off to check on Watanabe's condition.

It's alright if you don't look, but Beppu couldn't help but gasp when he saw Watanabe's miserable state.

Watanabe couldn't open his eyes at all; if he wasn't taken to the infirmary in time, things might get really bad...

Thinking of this, Beppu angrily looked up at Ayanokouji, unable to understand why Ayanokouji would suddenly be so ruthless towards Watanabe.

"We only had a verbal argument, and you actually went after Watanabe..."

Before Beppu could finish speaking, Ayakoji, expressionless, grabbed Beppu by the collar and lifted him off the ground with just one hand.

"You still have the nerve to call it a verbal dispute? Weren't you the ones who started it? Do you really think any normal guy would stand by and do nothing if he saw his girlfriend being hit?"

Beppu glanced at Sato, who was lying on the ground curled up, sobbing softly, and was speechless.

Although he felt that the other party might have deliberately fallen, everyone saw that Watanabe made the first move in public.

This leaves them with no way to explain themselves, and Watanabe probably took the punch for nothing.

"What exactly happened? What are you all doing gathered here?"

A woman's voice, tinged with dissatisfaction, caused the onlookers to instinctively make way for her. Sakayanagi Arisu, supported by Kamuro, slowly approached Ayanokouji.

His gaze fell on the arm that was gripping Beppu's collar.

Upon seeing Sakayanagi's arrival, Ayanokouji promptly dropped Beppu on the ground and ran to check on Sato's injuries.

Sakayanagi glanced at Sato in confusion, then at Watanabe, whose eyes were swollen shut from the blows. For a moment, he couldn't figure out what had happened.

Fortunately, there were students from Class A among the onlookers, who quickly explained the whole story to Sakayanagi.

After hearing what had happened, Sakayanagi became furious.

Strictly enforcing school discipline was her top priority after becoming the head of the disciplinary committee. However, Watanabe ignored her words and even took the initiative to beat up a girl. No matter how arrogant Sato was or what he did wrong, whoever struck first should be held responsible for the incident.