Chapter 14
What do we do?"
"Hayama just got floored!"
"Hey, Tobe, didn't you always brag about your fighting skills?"
"Go help him!"
Tobe Sho hesitated as everyone looked at him expectantly. His bravado vanished.
"I, uh… I need to use the bathroom!"
He turned and sprinted out of the classroom.
---
On the ground, Hayato Hayama felt something deeper than pain. Disappointment.
He didn't really expect Tobe to back him up—but watching him run away without hesitation left a hollow sting in his chest.
Is this what all my effort to maintain friendships amounted to?
---
"Ethan! Let Hayama go!" Yumiko Miura shouted, voice trembling despite her attempt to appear strong.
"He made the first move," Ethan replied flatly. "If you throw a punch, be ready to take one."
He didn't let up. In fact, his grip tightened.
---
"Ghh—"
Hayato let out a strained groan. It felt like his arm was about to be snapped in half.
Yumiko bit her lip, eyes wide in panic, but powerless to intervene.
---
Then, from the side, Yui Yuigahama suddenly turned to Rikka Takanashi.
"Rikka-chan! Please—can you ask Ethan-kun to stop?"
"You were the only one he listened to earlier. I'm really sorry—please help!"
Rikka blinked. Yui had defended her when no one else did. She remembered that clearly.
She stepped forward, lifting her chin with dramatic flair.
"Ethan-kun… this power you wield… it's too strong," she intoned, golden contact lens gleaming.
"If you let it run wild, the world may fall into ruin."
---
Ethan's cold expression melted into a smile.
"If that's your request, Rikka-chan…" he said softly. "Then I'll show mercy to this fool."
He let go of Hayato without hesitation.
---
Yui, quick as ever, gave a deep bow. "Thank you for your mercy, Rikka-chan!"
Yumiko, seeing her friend spared, followed with a sheepish nod. "Thanks… really."
"I just didn't want the world to end…" Rikka mumbled, flustered by the sudden gratitude.
---
The shift in class opinion was instant.
Rikka Takanashi—once seen as a weirdo—was now respected, maybe even admired.
---
From her seat, Megumi Kato observed everything silently, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
Then it clicked.
Ethan had provoked Hayama. He'd forced Miura's group to plead with Rikka. And when Rikka successfully de-escalated, her social standing soared.
He planned this entire chain of events.
Ethan Kane had used force to protect Rikka—and strategy to elevate her.
A man who's both brave and clever…
She felt her chest tighten slightly.
---
It didn't take long for news of the altercation to reach Madoka Kirisu, their homeroom teacher.
---
"I've heard the situation already," she said sternly.
"Ethan Kane—do you admit to using violence against another student?"
"I do," Ethan answered without hesitation.
In the back of the room, Sagami Minami and her followers barely suppressed their grins.
He admitted it! Let's see him get out of this now!
---
But Kirisu's eyes turned toward them.
"Sagami. Koharu. Mako. Do you admit to bullying Rikka Takanashi?"
---
Their smiles froze.
"…What?"
Kirisu wasn't bluffing. Unlike other teachers, she wasn't interested in keeping peace for its own sake. She cared about justice.
---
"I personally heard Sagami-san call Rikka-chan a bitch," Megumi Kato said calmly. "And accuse her of seducing Ethan-kun."
"Megumi—?!" Sagami turned, scandalized she'd even remembered her name correctly.
"I heard it too," Yui added. "It was horrible."
"Same here," Yumiko said. "They were way out of line."
One by one, voices joined in condemning Sagami's group.
---
Panic settled in.
They weren't used to being the ones under pressure.
---
"The punishment will vary depending on who was the ringleader and who just followed," said Hachiman Hikigaya dryly.
His words hit like poison.
Immediately, Sagami's allies turned on her.
---
"She made us do it!"
"It was her idea!"
"We didn't even want to go that far!"
---
"You traitors!" Sagami screamed. "You were the ones who said we should seduce Ethan and trap him into marriage! To get a green card!"
Dead silence.
---
"…What?" someone whispered.
"Wait—was that actually their plan?"
"They were gonna scam him for immigration?"
---
"Filthy succubi," Rikka muttered. "But Ethan-kun possesses the Sharingan. No illusion can fool him."
---
Ethan blinked. "I mean… I wouldn't mind being seduced under better circumstances."
But his face darkened.
"…Still, gold-diggers give me the creeps."
---
End of Chapter 14