"Bro…"
Baron begged in a small voice.
Tsk. A classic nasty bullying scene.
My fingers froze midair while I held the pen, and black ink gathered into a full drop at the tip without falling.
The messy helper lines of the geometry problem in front of me got replaced by an even messier situation in my field of view.
Trouble.
This one word flashed through my mind.
Everyone in the classroom turned to look because of Baron's plea.
Curiosity, a little pity, people enjoying the show, and people acting like it had nothing to do with them…
Those different looks felt like invisible strings that yanked me out of the safe shell I had built out of stacked books.
Now I was the clown under the spotlight on a stage, and I had to entertain the crowd.
Even though I didn't want to be in the show at all.
It was all because of the easygoing image I'd carefully built earlier.
I never picked fights, and I'd crack harmless jokes sometimes, so my relationships in class were decent.
That decent meant a harmless network where nobody noticed me too much.
Now someone had grabbed one corner of that net and started pulling.
If I didn't help, or if I played dead like Monkey…
My brain started analyzing the situation with cold efficiency.
If I refused, Leo wouldn't shift his attention to me, and I'd avoid a direct conflict.
Baron would take the humiliation alone, and he might get forced to buy drinks, or he might get hit once or twice.
Because Monkey had played dead first, the person Baron asked for help ended up being me.
So after this, Baron would probably stop trusting me completely.
Not only would I lose this friend I kept around just to blend in, but the vague easygoing nice guy image I'd worked so hard to build would crack too.
After all, if even a friend in name can get bullied right in front of you while you do nothing, then to other people you look like you're not worth anything.
And someone who isn't worth anything and stands alone is an easy target next time.
From an energy-saving point of view, that was the worst long-term strategy.
Tsk. I should've played dead earlier too, just like Monkey.
At least then I could've made excuses like "I had headphones on and didn't notice" or "I was locked into my study."
They were weak excuses, but at least they wouldn't wreck relationships.
I'd clearly missed my best chance.
So…
Solve this with the smallest cost.
Even if it caused extra trouble later, it was better to shut down this noise that interrupted my studying and get everything back on track.
My analysis finished in a split second.
I had to help, but how I helped was everything.
My pen finally came down, and I wrote the next steps right beside the ink dot on the test paper.
I set the black pen on the desk, and it made a light tap.
That tiny sound felt extra loud in the dead silence.
I stood up, walked around the desk, and stopped in front of the big guy so that I was right between him and Leo.
I was taller than Baron, but compared to this athlete, I was still a bit smaller.
And the difference in our builds was obvious enough that it probably made me look ridiculous, like I was trying to stop a car with my bare hands.
Leo didn't expect anyone to actually stand up, and his eyes turned sharp as he said, "What? You wanna stand up for this fatass?"
"No. I just don't really get it."
I waved both hands while I broke the whole thing down like I was solving a problem.
"You want to buy miss Seraphina a drink, right?"
Leo frowned and didn't answer, which was basically him admitting it.
"But you're making him buy it."
I pointed at Baron behind me, who was shaking like a leaf, and I said, "And it looks like he's paying too."
Getting called out made Leo's face go red.
He roared like someone had yanked his pants down in public. "So what! I'm letting him do it because I'm giving him a chance! What the hell are you trying to say?"
"Don't rush."
I stayed calm and tried to settle him down.
"Look, he runs to buy the drink, and he pays for it."
"When the drink ends up in miss Seraphina's hand, what she's drinking is something Baron bought with his money and his effort, so what does that have to do with you?"
I kept a sincere expression, like I was genuinely confused.
"You just moved your mouth a little, but what does that prove? That you're good at ordering people around, or that you… didn't bring money?"
Someone in a corner of the classroom couldn't hold it and let out a short laugh.
That laugh turned into a needle that stabbed straight into Leo's pride.
"You're looking for trouble, aren't you!"
Leo snapped, and he clenched a fist the size of a bowl as veins jumped out.
It looked like he might swing at my face any second.
"No, I'm helping you."
I faced that fist that could practically cover my whole face, and I spread my hands while I stayed steady and relaxed.
"You want to look good in front of the girl you like. That's fine, but the way you do it matters."
"It's like basketball. Do you drive in yourself and score while everyone cheers, or do you let a bench player go in and score for you while you stand there watching?"
That comparison hit the one logic circuit his muscle-filled brain could actually understand.
His aggressive movement stalled.
"Making other people do it makes you look powerful, but doing it yourself makes you look sincere."
When I saw his anger starting to cool, I gave him one last step down.
"Go to the shop yourself, pick the most expensive drink she might like, and then run back sweating and hand it to miss Seraphina."
"Picture that. That's what looks cool, and that's what caring looks like, but what you are doing right now… honestly."
"It makes you look cheap."
I said the last words softly and slowly, and somehow, in Leo's ears, it sounded like he had a point.
In front of the girl he liked, sincerity really was a better label than power.
Wasn't everything he did today just to show off?
After getting taken apart like that, Leo finally realized he'd been doing something stupid that only made someone else look good.
Not only did he fail to show his caring, but he almost made himself look like a bully who only knew how to throw his weight around, and like a cheapskate who wouldn't even pay for a drink.
The muscles on Leo's face twitched a few times.
His clenched fist loosened.
He shot me a vicious look, but he didn't say anything.
Then he turned around and shoved the desks and chairs blocking him out of the way, and the screeching crashes kept going one after another.
With the whole class watching, he stormed out through the back door.
From the direction he went, he was headed to the shop.
Baron finally let out a long breath, and he went limp in his chair while his shirt was already soaked through with cold sweat.
He looked at me with eyes full of shaky relief and admiration as he said, "Luke… y-you're so damn awesome… th-thank you… thank you…"
What was I supposed to say here?
Should I just brush it off with a calm "No problem"?
No. That didn't match my usual vibe.
I smiled, and I teased him in the tone he was used to. "So now you know to call me Luke?"
That one line broke the distance the moment before had created.
"Heh…" As expected, Baron made a face that said, "Yep, Luke's still Lilu," and he scratched his head honestly.
"I just wanted to show how much I respect you."
His tone got familiar again.
I turned and walked back to my seat, and I casually swept my eyes across the class.
Some of the looks coming my way had a bit of approval, but nobody seemed shocked.
That was because everything I'd done fit the image I'd shown the class for a long time.
Some people were also whispering to each other.
It was all stuff like "Didn't expect Luke to be that sharp with his mouth," and "He's loyal as hell to dare to go at Leo like that."
I looked back down at the solid geometry problem that I'd only solved halfway, and I picked up my pen again.
Good. Crisis handled perfectly.