"Yukinoshita, I was wrong at the café that day. I feel really sorry and guilty about it. Please forgive me!"
The arrogant and unruly "tyrant" Ryuen was now acting as obedient as a puppy, sincerely apologizing to Haruno. Anyone who saw this would be shocked beyond belief, yet this bizarre scene was playing out right in front of everyone.
Surprisingly, Haruno didn't look even the slightest bit surprised. Instead, she wore an expression that was hard to read.
"This doesn't seem like the 'tyrant' I know. Am I hallucinating?"
Hikigaya almost rolled his eyes. He knew Haruno too well—this woman was about to stir up trouble again!
"I sincerely apologize! I was careless and offended you before. I've realized my mistake and deeply reflected on it. Please forgive me!"
Ryuen clenched his fists tightly but had no choice but to repeat himself.
Haruno covered her mouth in exaggerated surprise, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hikigaya, watching from the side, couldn't help but think, *Oh, come on, stop pretending!*
"So it's real?! I can't believe you're actually apologizing to me!"
Haruno smiled warmly.
"This is great, Ryuen. I'm so touched that you realized your mistake and are willing to take responsibility for it."
"…"
Not just Ryuen, but even Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others felt that something was off. Or was Yukinoshita Haruno really just that kind-hearted?
And sure enough—
The next second, Haruno tilted her head slightly, pretending to be puzzled.
"But I remember my mother once told me that when someone sincerely apologizes and truly regrets their actions, they usually kneel down in a full bow to show their sincerity. You know, like those big figures on the news when they get caught in scandals? Or am I misremembering? Or… are you just putting on a show?"
"…"
Ryuen's head shot up, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Haruno.
Yet the girl still had the same gentle smile on her face, as if she didn't notice the tension at all.
Seeing Haruno's expression, everyone present felt a strange sense of unease. It was like those seemingly harmless anime characters with their eyes always closed—calm on the surface, but impossible to read.
Hikigaya had thought that since Ryuen had already swallowed his pride to apologize, Haruno would stop pushing him and give him a way out.
But wow, he really underestimated the final boss here.
How should he put it?
This was *so* Haruno. Predictable, yet still surprising.
Hikigaya knew very well that despite her carefree and smiling attitude, Haruno was more cunning than anyone else and had *zero* moral limits.
She was Yukinoshita's chaotic evil big sister.
Just as Hikigaya was about to step in and smooth things over, he caught Haruno's gaze. It seemed to say, *If you dare open your mouth, you'll regret it.*
A chill ran down everyone's spine.
For some reason, even though Hikigaya was technically the mastermind behind this whole mess, Haruno somehow felt even darker than him. Compared to her, he almost seemed… tolerable?
Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others felt way more pressure facing Haruno than they ever did with Hikigaya. She was like a wolf in sheep's clothing, and the way she was looking at Ryuen sent shivers down their spines.
*This wasn't how she acted in the café at all…*
"Oh my, why is everyone so tense? I was just joking~"
Haruno waved her hand playfully, acting all innocent.
"Only weaklings who can't handle the consequences of their actions would actually kneel down in apology. Someone like Ryuen, who's so well-known in our grade, wouldn't do something like that, right? So let's just pretend I never said anything."
She laughed as if the whole thing had been a lighthearted joke, but no one dared to take it that way.
"Since Ryuen has apologized so sincerely, let's put the café incident behind us."
Haruno nodded seriously, then clapped her hands and smiled at Ryuen, Ishizaki, and the others.
"Oh, right! Tomorrow is the midterm exam. I wish all of you in Class C the best of luck! Do your best!"
She even raised a fist in encouragement, cheering them on.
"…"
Hearing this, Ishizaki and the others should have felt happy, but instead, they felt a growing sense of unease.
Ryuen, on the other hand, just glared at Haruno, his jaw clenched so tightly that he had unknowingly bitten through his lip, drawing blood.
Hikigaya looked at Haruno with a headache. She must have figured something out already—why else would she be messing with Ryuen on purpose?
To deal with someone like Ryuen, you had to beat him down, crush him, destroy him completely.
Haruno obviously understood that too. That's why she was being so ruthless.
It was like training a dog—one time wasn't enough. You had to break them over and over until submission became second nature.
Brutal.
But… I liked it.
Hikigaya, you're beyond saving.
"Eh? Why does everyone look so weird?"
Haruno's playful expression faded as she grabbed Hikigaya's arm, pouting in boredom.
"Come on, why does everyone always assume I'm some kind of villain? I'm just a clueless little girl—how could I possibly have any bad intentions? Ugh, this is no fun. Hikigaya-kun, let's go."
Thud!
No one expected it.
Ryuen… actually got down on his knees.
Both knees to the ground, head touching the floor—a perfect dogeza.
Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others were stunned. Even Hikigaya was shocked.
The arrogant, untouchable tyrant of Class C… actually bowing his head in submission?
Even a certain girl who had been secretly filming from the shadows nearly dropped her camera in shock.
"Ryuen!"
Ishizaki shouted in disbelief. Ibuki nearly lost her balance.
But Ryuen stayed completely still, pressed to the ground as if he hadn't heard a thing.
"Huh? So you're really here to apologize sincerely?"
Haruno walked up to him, looking down with an icy smile.
"Guess I underestimated you. This is quite the show of sincerity. Not bad, not bad at all. See? I told you before, I like obedient little puppies. Good boy."
Ishizaki turned his head away, unable to watch his leader being humiliated like this.
The atmosphere turned freezing cold.
Haruno's playful smile had vanished, replaced by an expression as cold as ice.
Her sharp gaze swept over Ishizaki, Ibuki, and the others before finally landing on Ryuen, still kneeling on the ground.
"You should be grateful to Hikigaya—the 'nice guy' here. If it were up to me, I wouldn't have even given you the chance to kneel."
Then, in the next moment, as if nothing had happened, Haruno bounced over to Hikigaya, clinging to his arm like a cheerful girlfriend.
"Hikigaya-kun, let's go~"
Faced with the 'final boss' and her intimidation tactics, Hikigaya had no choice but to go along with her.
Shortly after they left, furious shouts and the sound of things being smashed echoed from the alleyway.
"Ryuen, why did you stop us?! We got pushed around like that, and you still didn't let us fight back? We should've just gone at that dead-fish-eyed bastard and settled it right there!"
Ishizaki punched the ground in frustration.
"You idiot!"
Ryuen, eyes bloodshot and hair disheveled, got up and kicked Ishizaki away.
Then, he walked over to a nearby bush, reached in, and pulled out a small black device with a blinking red light.
He tossed it onto the ground.
"Wh-what's that?"
Ibuki asked, confused.
"A hidden camera."
Ryuen crushed it under his foot.
"Do you get it now, you morons? That dead-fish-eyed bastard set this up from the start.
"Everything he said back there was meant to provoke you idiots into attacking him.
"And if you had, it would've all been caught on camera."
Ishizaki turned pale at the realization. Ibuki wasn't any better.
None of them had even noticed the trap.
That guy… he wasn't just a liar.
He was a scheming, ruthless monster.
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