Chapter 27: The Born Despicable Ryuuen, I'll Handle Him Myself (Patreon)

Chairman Sakayanagi seemed to recall something and pressed further, brow furrowed. "Arisu, is this so-called superhuman from Class D?"

Sakayanagi Arisu was a little surprised her father had pinned down Daniel's class so easily, but she nodded anyway.

She trusted that a man of her father's experience wouldn't do anything reckless against Daniel.

But Chairman Sakayanagi's expression turned grave in an instant. "Arisu, I won't hide it from you any longer. Since the start of the term, two students in Class D have already ended up dead or injured."

"The injured one is now in a permanent vegetative state. The police are still investigating the cause of the other student's death, but in all likelihood it's connected to the man who healed you."

"So, Arisu, you understand by now that he's no good man."

"I'm against you having any further contact with him. He's far too dangerous — the man treats rules as if they don't even exist."

Even as he said this, the real reason behind Chairman Sakayanagi's worry was his daughter's safety — what if this person, on some whim, turned Arisu into a vegetable too one day?

And besides, if the man had healed Arisu, he surely wanted something in return. Perhaps he was after his daughter specifically. Given how things stood now, sending her abroad for a while seemed the wiser course.

But hearing this, Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't surprised at all. She even shook her head, refusing her father's suggestion.

"It's fine, Father. I know exactly what I'm doing. Besides, it's already too late — he has an ability similar to hypnosis."

"Even if I left, all it would take is one word from him and he'd have you bringing me right back."

Sakayanagi Arisu sighed and talked her father out of the idea of avoiding Daniel. "There's no telling what would happen if I got dragged back after trying to run. That wouldn't be up to me anymore."

"At least for now, Yoru-kun and I get along just fine."

Chairman Sakayanagi fell silent for a moment, forced to admit his daughter had a point, and reluctantly nodded.

Still — if Arisu were ever harmed, he'd fight to his last breath to make the man pay for it.

"All right, Father. You didn't call me here just to talk about this, did you?"

Seeing that her father seemed to have given up on the idea of avoiding the situation, Sakayanagi Arisu steered the conversation back on track.

Chairman Sakayanagi didn't hide it — he laid out his concern plainly. "Right. But it's related to this Danny-kun of yours again. A store clerk at the shopping mall self-detonated — the man's entire body was blown into a fine mist of blood."

"No explosives were found at the scene, so unless something extraordinary is going on, this is his handiwork too."

"Combined with the two 'accidents' at the school, I'm worried people might start making an issue of it. I may not be able to look after you properly for a while, so I wanted to ask — would you consider taking a temporary leave from school?"

Hearing this, Sakayanagi Arisu refused without hesitation. "There's no need for that, Father. As long as Danny-kun's around, I'm perfectly safe."

"Actually, Father, if you want to handle this mess, all you have to do is gather the relevant people together. One word from Danny-kun and they'll fall in line behind you without question."

"Mm. Then I'll leave it to you for now, Arisu. What's this Danny-kun's full name? I can hardly prepare a proper reward for the man who healed you without even knowing what to call him."

Only then did Sakayanagi Arisu smile and speak his name. "His name is Daniel."

"And Father, don't be stingy about it. Whatever trouble you're dealing with — I'll bring it up with Danny-kun when I get the chance."

Meanwhile, Daniel was still mulling over how to deal with Miyabi Nagumo, entirely unaware that he'd just been branded a dangerous man by his own father-in-law.

Walking into the school building, Daniel headed toward Class D. Then something interesting caught his ear, and he changed course toward the restroom instead.

When he reached the restroom door, he found a bleached-blond boy standing guard, looking somewhat menacing.

"Hey, go use the restroom on another floor. This one's claimed by Class C."

Seeing Daniel approach, Ishizaki Daichi issued his usual warning, his reasonably well-built frame carrying enough intimidation for the average student.

Except Daniel didn't so much as glance at him — he walked straight toward the restroom regardless.

"You little—!"

Ishizaki Daichi's expression darkened, and he reached out to grab Daniel by the collar to stop him.

Smack.

Ishizaki Daichi's outstretched hand got caught mid-air in Daniel's grip, and no amount of struggling could break it free.

"Don't get in my way while I'm watching the show, man."

Daniel yanked Ishizaki Daichi's arm toward himself and drove his other fist straight into the man's stomach.

"Guh—!"

One punch, and Ishizaki Daichi's eyes rolled back as he crumpled to the floor.

With no one left to stop him, Daniel walked right into the restroom, where sounds of bodies colliding drifted out, mixed with a few muffled grunts from someone.

Anyone passing by might have assumed some deep philosophical debate was underway.

The reality, however, was a boy with shoulder-length wine-red hair brawling with a nearly two-meter-tall Black man built like a tank.

More to the point, said towering man's pants were still down around his knees, and from the way he kept clutching at his groin, it was clear his most vital assets had just been ambushed.

The one clearly losing the fight, naturally, was the wine-red-haired boy — though even after being knocked down, his cheeks swollen and bruised, he kept dragging himself back up again and again.

"Ryuuen, still not giving up?"

"Heh heh heh, don't make me laugh. Nobody beats me. More to the point, Albert — you sure you don't want to join my crew?"

Albert Yamada stayed silent, wordlessly shaking his head to decline Ryuuen Kakeru's recruitment pitch.

"Think it over properly before you answer. If you turn me down, even if I can't beat you outright, I'm not just going to let it go. I'll be watching you every second — and if you leave yourself open even for a moment in the bathroom, I'll strike."

"Just like today."

Albert instinctively cupped his hands lower again — the man was dead serious.

Thinking about getting ambushed every single time he used the restroom, Albert's resolve had already started to crack.

But just as he opened his mouth to concede, laughter rang out from the restroom entrance.

"Pfft — ha ha ha, worth the trip after all. What a show."

"Who's there?!" Ryuuen turned, his bruised and swollen face aimed toward the source of the voice.

There stood a strikingly handsome blond boy, watching him like a spectator at a circus, eyes gleaming with obvious admiration.

Ryuuen spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "Letting someone from another class waltz right in, huh? Where's Ishizaki Daichi?"

Daniel spread his hands and grinned. "You mean the guy outside? He's sleeping pretty soundly right now."

"Heh. Not bad, managing to get in here. But to make sure you don't go blabbing about this, I'm going to have to take some necessary measures."

"Albert."

Ryuuen called Albert's name. The big man went quiet for a moment before finally deciding to comply.

After all, he didn't exactly relish the idea of more bathroom ambushes.

"You're the boss." [You're the boss, whatever you say.]

"Sorry."

Albert hiked his pants back up, then charged at Daniel like a runaway truck, his massive frame closing the distance fast.

Daniel didn't dodge or flinch. He simply planted a solid front kick straight into the charging Albert.

"Idiot!" Ryuuen cursed reflexively at the sight, already picturing Daniel getting sent flying.

Given Albert's sheer height and weight, even Ryuuen himself could only dodge and evade against him — yet here was this guy trying to meet him head-on.

Thud!

A dull, heavy impact sounded — but it wasn't Daniel who went flying. It was Albert.

The man's several-hundred-pound bulk got launched clean off his feet by a single kick from Daniel, sailing straight into the urinal and splashing water everywhere.