Ch. 28 - The Limits of an Ordinary Person

“Hey, kid. Come with me.”

So much for the first lunch break of his shiny new “youthful school life.” Thanks to the interruption of a lazy, middle-aged teacher radiating the aura of death, Harutaki’s meal plans went up in smoke.

He already knew what Asama-sensei wanted. With a quick glance at the teacher’s upward gesture, Harutaki retraced the familiar route up to the rooftop.

“Quite the troublemaker, aren’t you, Hoshikawa?”

“I did report to you beforehand, you know.”

Same spot. Same scenery. If nothing else, Harutaki enjoyed the teacher’s laid-back, casual style of conversation. It suited him.

Relaxing, he dropped the honorifics. He figured the guy wouldn’t care.

“I’m not some pushover. The only reason I held back before was because I wasn’t ready yet.”

“If she likes bullying, if she wants to see people crying and broken, then fine. I’ll make her taste it for herself. Even if I wasn’t really hurt, I’ve always been a ‘return the favor twice over’ kind of person.”

“Hoshikawa-kun, know when to stop, don’t overdo it.”

Saying so, Asama-sensei pulled out a cigarette, stuck it in his mouth, and lit up while shielding the flame from the wind, earning only a look of disdain from Harutaki.

“You don’t have a forgiving, brilliant boss watching your back. This isn’t some hot-blooded drama.”

“At the very least, it should turn out better than a dull moral-lesson drama, don’t you think?”

“Your standards are too low. Personally, I’d prefer to be the movie protagonist who dates JKs.”

Smoke drifted from his lips along with his off-color joke. The man’s unshaven stubble and crooked collar made the scene even more pathetic.

“Sorry, even in teacher–student romance flicks, the middle-aged male lead is actually handsome. Self-awareness is important, Asama-sensei.”

“…Getting lectured by a brat. I’m supposed to be the teacher here.”

“A teacher who smokes on school grounds?”

“That’s just a pointless regulation to keep up appearances. As long as I don’t smoke in front of students, it’s fine.”

“…What exactly do you think I am right now? Careful, I might report you.”

“I trust you’re smart enough to choose between reporting me… and getting reported yourself.”

“Wow. Deny me lunch, and now you threaten me…”

The boy leaned lazily on the railing, amused. Asama-sensei clicked his tongue, reached into his pocket—

“Here. Take it. Don’t say I starved you.”

“…Ugh. A drink carried around by a sloppy old man. Bet it smells like middle age.”

Grumbling, Harutaki popped open the can anyway. One sip, and sweet coffee-flavored liquid washed down his throat.

“Thanks.”

He preferred his coffee bitter, but the sweet kind was fine too. Like how he could eat both sweet and savory zongzi(glutinous rice).

“Want some cheese bread?”

Cigarettes, lighter, canned coffee, bread… Harutaki wondered what else the man’s bottomless pocket contained, as Asama-sensei pulled out a small round bun like a magician.

“I’ll pass. Saving room for the cafeteria’s tonkatsu special.”

After refusing politely, he got to the point.

“So you called me up here just to warn me not to overdo it?”

“Not exactly. Just curious.”

Asama-sensei’s half-lidded eyes looked drowsy, but they gleamed sharp as razors as they settled on Harutaki.

“True or false, fact or fabrication… Those methods of manipulating opinion, framing targets, those aren’t tricks a normal high school kid should be using.”

“…If you’ve got troubles you can’t tell your family or friends, you can talk to me, you know. Like shouting ‘the king has donkey ears’ into a tree hole. I do keep secrets, more or less.”

“‘More or less’?”

“Well, except when a hostess at a brothel ‘uncorks’ me. Then I might ramble.”

“…Say another dirty joke like that to a student, and I’ll ‘uncork’ your head with a beer bottle. Very fitting for an old man like you.”

Grateful as he was, Harutaki still thought the guy deserved a smackdown.

But Asama-sensei just puffed smoke rings like a goldfish blowing bubbles.

“Pandora’s box isn’t something you open lightly. Once you do, regret comes too late.”

He glanced at his phone, continued lazily:

“I’ll use my moderator account to delete the post before school’s out. Shouldn’t spread outside. Handle the rest yourself.”

“Now, hurry to the cafeteria, or you’ll miss your tonkatsu special.”

With a push on the back, Asama-sensei dismissed him, returning to gazing at the distant scenery.

…

So the boundary is: as long as it stays inside the school…

That matched Harutaki’s plan anyway. The clunky, retro forum wasn’t even used by most students, let alone outsiders. Extending beyond campus risked chaos he couldn’t control.

As he crushed the empty can, he considered polishing up the aftermath of his revenge plan, at least to make it cleaner than originally planned.

The teacher had hinted before that he’d spoken with Nogami’s father, who said he wouldn’t bother with “kids’ games.”

That meant that so long as it stayed a “game,” they wouldn’t interfere.

Harutaki had never aimed for real, lasting harm. Revenge was a means, not the end.

…

“…Izumi. Look at this.”

While Harutaki stuffed himself in the cafeteria, Minako grimaced in an unused classroom, the same one where they’d played punishment games before.

She hesitated, then forwarded screenshots via LINE. Directly showing Izumi was too risky. She might smash the phone on the spot.

[Shocking! I actually saw her on the way home from school!]

[#13: No way!? Nogami-san going into a love hotel with some gross old man?]

[#19: Called it. With her permanent scowl, she probably wasn’t satisfied—dude must’ve been short and quick lol]

[#22: Knew it. Total slut.]

“…Izumi. You okay?”

Veins stood out on the hand gripping the phone. Minako remembered the warnings her other friends had sent on LINE—“Stay away from Nogami.” Her stomach twisted.

Let’s just hope nothing else goes wrong…

Even calming Izumi down was already a nightmare. If more trouble piled on, Minako would snap.

“Izumi! Are you okay!?”

At that moment, Sae’s voice rang from outside the door. Minako jumped, chest bouncing like a startled ball.

Crap. I forgot about Sae—the straightforward idiot.

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