[76] Come Punch Me, Weakling

Eiji turned to look.

There were about a dozen people, all wearing the same maroon-colored tops. They were all young men around seventeen or eighteen years old, loudly arguing and shoving each other as they entered the restaurant.

The man at the front was about 180 centimeters tall, with tea-colored hair. From behind his brown sunglasses, one could see his slightly menacing, three-white-eyed gaze.

He was also wearing a maroon top, but it hung loosely on his body, revealing a fierce skull tattoo on his chest through the open collar.

Eiji immediately understood why Kanata had shown such a repulsed expression earlier.

This kind of wild, reckless individual, exuding an air of arrogance and aggression, was clearly the type that Kanata despised, hitting all her pet peeves.

"I remember that guy. I saw him in last year's Seven Stars Sword Art Festival broadcast."

Eiji narrowed his eyes, thoughtfully observing the man at the front.

The maroon uniform, along with the school emblem on his chest, clearly indicated that he was from Donrou Academy, one of the Seven Stars Academies like Hagun Academy.

The man, who radiated an oppressive aura, had participated in last year's Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival as one of Donrou Academy's representatives.

Although he had been defeated in the quarterfinals, it still meant he was at least at the level of a national top-eight contender.

—Especially his title, "Sword Eater," was overly domineering, as if he looked down on everyone in the world.

"They don't seem to have noticed us."

The dozen or so people walked straight to the ordering area, rudely pushing aside the people in line without a care, leaving the others too afraid to speak up, while they themselves looked completely unbothered.

"Such ill-mannered people."

Kanata looked visibly displeased.

But she had no intention of making a scene.

If students from two academies got into a fight outside, it could easily lead to conflicts between the schools, causing a lot of trouble.

As a member of the student council, Kanata was already very busy during the selection battles and didn't want to deal with these wolf-like troublemakers. It would be more trouble than it was worth.

"Right, let's finish eating and get out of here."

Eiji had no objections either.

The two quickly gathered the food on the table and started eating, trying to stay out of trouble.

However—

Clang—!

The sound of a tray falling to the ground suddenly rang out from the ordering area.

The loud, sharp noise instantly silenced the entire restaurant.

Eiji and Kanata both frowned in unison.

"Let go of me, you lowlifes!"

Then, an angry shout filled with indignation came from that direction, accompanied by the sounds of a physical struggle and a counter being knocked over.

The voice sounded familiar.

If his ears weren't mistaken, it was the voice of the girl named Ayase Ayatsuji from earlier.

Eiji put down his chopsticks.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

Kanata looked over, her eyes filled with warning.

"If students from different schools get into a private fight, it won't be easy to resolve!"

Suspension would be the least of their worries.

In severe cases, they might even be expelled.

"If it's not easy to resolve, that means it can still be resolved, right?"

Eiji stood up from his chair, his face showing no emotion, his expression calm.

"If a school can't even protect its own students, then it's not a competent school. I have full confidence in Director Kurono's methods and character. If she were here, she would do the same thing."

He took out his student handbook from his pocket.

Then he handed it to Kanata.

"Do me a favor."

"...Just this once."

Kanata took the student handbook and let out a slight sigh.

This guy, unexpectedly, liked to meddle in other people's business. She hadn't expected that.

Who knew how much trouble this would cause later?

But, from a selfish perspective, she didn't dislike this kind of person.

***

"Isn't this Ayase? Didn't expect to see you here!"

The group of more than ten people approached the ordering area. The man at the front, seeing a familiar figure not far away, couldn't help but grin, revealing a mouthful of sharp, shark-like teeth.

He walked over to the ordering area, approaching the trembling figure, and casually slung his arm around her neck like they were old buddies.

"Hey, Claude, who are you talking to? Hurry up and eat, then let's go play some games!"

"Isn't this Ayase? Hahaha, you haven't come to hang out with us much lately!"

The Donrou Academy students following the man, acting like a bunch of delinquents, came over and started laughing without restraint.

They seemed to know each other.

But Ayase Ayatsuji refused to look up at them. She just kept her head down, biting her lip, her hands gripping the tray so tightly that her veins bulged, as if she was holding back something.

"Hey, Kurado's talking to you. How dare you pretend not to hear?"

"Haven't seen you in a few days, and you're already putting on airs!"

The lackeys, seeing this, became visibly displeased. They walked up to her and started pulling at her arms. In the chaos, the tray in her hands slipped and fell to the ground, shattering.

"Let go of me, you lowlifes!"

Ayase Ayatsuji finally couldn't take it anymore. She shook off the arm around her and glared at them angrily.

Her eyes were filled with intense anger and resentment, especially when she looked at the shark-toothed man at the front. Her gaze was filled with hatred, as if she wished she could kill him on the spot.

"..."

The man called Kuraudo, seeing this, gradually lost his smile.

Behind his sunglasses, his three-white eyes took on a chilling glint, sending a shiver down Ayase Ayatsuji's spine.

The onlookers nearby quickly averted their gazes when the lackeys glared at them. Ordinary people trying to stand up to Blazers was basically asking for death.

But just as Kuraudo was about to explode—

"Hey, you lowlifes in front, move aside."

Someone spoke in a calm tone, but the words were incredibly arrogant.

The voice reached the ears of the group, making them all pause. Then, their expressions darkened as they turned to look behind them with hostile glares.

Kuraudo's figure also paused slightly.

Turning around, what came into view was an incredibly handsome guy.

"Na-Nangou-kun? Why are you—?"

Ayase Ayatsuji was stunned.

"Oh, a classmate? Are you from Hagun Academy?"

A lackey with a mohawk walked over, sizing up Eiji.

Damn!

He's ridiculously good-looking!

The mohawk guy quickly shook his head, straightening out his slightly skewed orientation, and deliberately put on a very arrogant expression.

"You don't look that strong. Trying to play the hero and save the damsel in distress?"

After training for over half a month, Eiji's physique had become more toned, but to these delinquents, he still looked no different from a pretty boy.

"Strong or not, you can try me."

Eiji pointed at his chest, a warm smile on his face.

"Come punch me, weakling."

***

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