"Shin-kun, what can I say... why did you have to make such a big fuss?"
In the chairman's office, Chairman Nakano looked at Shin, who was sitting upright, with a troubled expression, rubbing his head and sighing.
"That Taisuke has already been taken away by ambulance. Teacher Sawazono examined his injuries, and it can already be determined as a minor disability. You might also be sued for intentional injury."
"I was acting in self-defense," Shin said with an innocent expression.
"The surveillance cameras clearly showed this guy bringing dangerous weapons into the school without permission, and attempting a lethal attack on Miss Katsura. All of these are facts supported by eyewitnesses and physical evidence."
"I'd be lenient not to sue him for intentional injury and attempted murder. How dare he counter-sue me?"
The reason for Taisuke's madness was simple, and full of coincidences that made one want to laugh and cry.
That Old man, whom Shin had extorted two million from on the train, was this guy's uncle. After being extorted, the fat man couldn't keep the secret of his lost money hidden, and his wife found out.
Those two million were money his wife had saved for their son's schooling and tutoring. However, it had been squandered by him, and Old man didn't dare to reveal the reason for his money being lost.
Then came the predictable marital dispute, and during this process, Old man's wife was beaten by her perverted fat husband.
The domestically abused Mrs. wife chose to go down in flames, thus exposing the evidence she had secretly recorded of her husband's past actions towards JK.
So the Old man was taken away by the police and sent directly to prison on multiple charges of rape. And as a rapist like him, he would likely have a very miserable life in prison.
When Taisuke visited him in prison, he learned the cause of the incident from his uncle, and he immediately recognized Shin and Kotohana Katsura as the two people his uncle spoke of.
Then, this idiot, fueled by hot-headedness, rushed into the school, wanting Kotohana and Shin to pay the price for their despicable extortion.
In hindsight, the chain of events did indeed originate from Shin, but he didn't feel he was in the wrong, nor was he afraid of anything.
When he initially withdrew the money, he had taken all precautions; no surveillance cameras had recorded him receiving the money. Of the two million, he had already paid nine hundred thousand to the System, and the remaining one million he could get back from Kotohana at any time.
"That's true, but the impact of this incident is too great," Chairman Nakano sighed.
"If it's reported and manipulated by someone with an agenda, it will seriously affect our school's reputation, Shin-kun. You're a smart person; if things reach this point, I won't be able to help."
Any country or school encountering such a vicious conflict usually punishes both sides regardless of right or wrong. If the social harm caused is significant enough, then both are expelled.
Shin wasn't concerned about being expelled or not; he just didn't want Kotohana to worry about him, nor did he want that kind girl to bear his psychological burden.
"So we need to take the initiative, Chairman," Shin said softly, hands clasped, eyes lowered.
"Oh?" Chairman Nakano raised an eyebrow, looking at Shin with a scrutinizing gaze.
"The students of Sakakino Academy are unruly, and some uncontrollable bad students even attempted to injure someone with a weapon. On behalf of hundreds of students and dozens of teachers of Mineoka High School, I formally request the cancellation of the merger with Sakakino Academy."
Shin imitated the tone of a politician on TV, speaking earnestly.
"Heh." Chairman Nakano chuckled, shaking his head.
"It's not as simple as you think. The merger of the two schools was a decision from above; it cannot be canceled just because of one serious assault incident."
"But at the very least, it would allow you to reasonably separate the students of Mineoka and Sakakino Academy," Shin said with a smile.
"In fact, the merger of the two schools has not fostered harmonious relations between the students; on the contrary, there have been conflicts everywhere. Now that such a serious incident has occurred, as the principal, you are entitled to propose separating the schools, sending Sakakino students back to their campus, and keeping Mineoka students in their designated area."
Chairman Nakano's brows relaxed slightly. Shin was making sense, or rather, he had thought of the same thing.
If not for the demands of the Ministry of Education and some school board members, even if the two schools merged, Chairman Nakano wouldn't want the students mixing together.
You could consider this blatant discrimination against ordinary schools with lower academic ratings. While proximity to good influences improves one, proximity to bad ones is much easier.
In these past two short weeks, many Mineoka students who were forced to mix with Sakakino Academy students haven't fared well. They were either collectively bullied or couldn't study in peace.
This atmosphere of looking down on "nerds" wasn't exclusive to America; it was common in low-ranking schools in Japan.
If he hadn't been afraid of the PTA and higher-ups causing trouble, Chairman Nakano would have acted long ago. Now, with Shin's incident, it was like a pillow delivered just when he was sleepy, handing him the perfect weapon.
"You're right... but you still have to be punished for your actions."
Chairman Nakano clasped his hands and slowly said,
"I have a job for you, tutoring for a school board member's children. You already have a colleague who's been doing it for three days. I hope Shin-kun can take on this tutoring job in a week's time and improve the grades of those school board children."
"How much is the salary?" Shin asked directly.
"Don't worry, you'll get a fair amount. You can leave now," Chairman Nakano said, taking a sip of tea and making a gesture of dismissal.
Shin gracefully left the office, and Chairman Nakano, looking at the teacup in his hand, suddenly paused.
That's not right, he called Shin in to reprimand him, but how did the conversation shift to this in just a few sentences?
This child... why did he always give him the impression of a shrewd old fox of thirty or forty?
Leaving the chairman's office, Shin softly exhaled. Today's incident was somewhat unexpected. When he saw Kotohana about to be struck by that bat, his heart almost leaped out of his throat.
Without thinking, he rushed forward, embraced her, and shielded her behind him. Now, upon reflection, it was a rather rash act.
Shin clutched his chest. The concern that surged at that moment could be interpreted as many emotions—friendship, or even love.
The distinction between emotions wasn't truly vast; transforming one emotion into another wasn't difficult. But mistaking one emotion for another... that was a bit harder.
But what if he liked her? He wasn't from this world. He didn't even know if he could survive the choice of returning to the One Piece world ten days from now.
He could actually choose to stay in this peaceful world, but some things, if you don't take the first step, you'll never take the second. Shin's inner unease compelled him to become stronger, and... he wanted to go home.
He would not allow himself to stagnate.
"Sigh, let's just get through the first world."
Only after surviving the first life-or-death situation could he even consider emotional matters.
Shin sighed and walked out of the school building. Beneath the thick shade of the trees, Kotohana , with her hands clasped, was waiting for him anxiously, her small mouth pursed, and her clear eyes filled with deep unease.
"Shin-kun, I'm sorry..."
The girl immediately came forward, her face full of guilt and deep unease. Shin smiled, patted her soft hair, and laughed,
"It's nothing, I'm fine. It was just self-defense. The principal was also very understanding. Let's just let this matter pass."
"No!" Kotohana looked up, her black, crystal-like, spirited eyes filled with stubbornness and anxiety.
"Shin-kun has done so much for me, but I haven't done anything for Shin-kun. I must repay your kindness."
Shin rubbed his aching shoulder, pondered for a moment, then said contemplatively,
"How about this: I'll stay at your place for the next few days. Please take care of me, an injured person. Consider it repaying your debt."
"Huh?" Kotohana 's mouth slightly opened.
....
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