Hasumi Kana
It’s no surprise that Hasumi-san might feel a bit scared of me.
After all, I had just scared off two delinquents by threatening them in a pretty rough manner.
Any ordinary high school girl would naturally find that frightening.
For all I knew, Hasumi-san might even see me as some kind of thug, like a yakuza enforcer who could silence people with ease.
“You’re welcome. It must have been rough, huh, Hasumi-san? But I don’t think they’ll bother you again, so you can relax now. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Obviously, leaving a scary impression on the girl sitting next to me—who also happened to be my partner as vice-representative—would only lead to trouble.
In fact, if she started seeing me as a dangerous guy, it’d just make my life harder. So, I put on my friendliest expression, softening my tone even more than usual, as I asked if she was okay.
“Oh, no, I’m fine. They just wouldn’t stop grabbing my bag, that’s all.”
“Well, I’m glad it didn’t escalate further. I doubt they’ll come back, but if anything happens, just let me know. I’ll take care of it.”
“Um… Oda-kun?”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Did you… change a little? Before summer break, you seemed quieter… more intro—reserved. And now, you’re volunteering to be the class rep, and your build looks so much stronger.”
Hasumi-san had almost said “introvert” but quickly corrected herself to “reserved.”
“Well, a lot happened. Let’s just say I found my sense of justice and decided to turn over a new leaf. Spent the summer working out, too.”
Of course, I wasn’t going to call her out on her word choice.
After all, I had definitely been an introvert in the past.
“Haha, what’s with ‘sense of justice’? Oh, was that a joke? You’re funnier than I thought, Oda-kun.”
“Oh, yeah, haha, I guess I can be, surprisingly.”
At least now she didn’t seem to think I was some violent, scary guy anymore.
Hasumi-san was talking to me like normal now.
“But really, it’s like you’ve grown up overnight. Thanks again for earlier. I stopped by the convenience store, and those guys just wouldn’t leave me alone. Oh, I know! How about I treat you to McDonald’s as a thank-you? I just got my September allowance.”
“No need for that. What I did wasn’t a big deal.”
After all, I’d spent five years traveling and fighting against the Demon King’s army, eventually defeating the Demon King himself to save the world of Orphermaus.
Helping out a classmate being harassed by some harmless punks who didn’t even have knives? That was about as easy as breathing for me.
“Chasing off two sketchy guys who wouldn’t stop hitting on me sounds like a pretty big deal to me. Nobody else even tried to help—they all just looked the other way.”
“Well, I’m more used to handling situations like that than I look. Besides, you helped me earlier, so we’re even.”
“Me? What did I do to help you, Oda-kun?”
Hasumi-san brought a finger to her lips and tilted her head slightly.
The gesture, paired with her thoughtful expression, looked like something out of an idol photoshoot or a model’s ad—it suited her perfectly.
“You volunteered to be the vice-representative when no one else did, remember? That really helped me out.”
“Oh, that… I guess I just got swept up in the moment. Your whole vibe had changed so much, Oda-kun, that I couldn’t help but raise my hand. Hehe.”
“Well, whatever the reason, it was a big help to me. So, we’re even now—no debts between us.”
Honestly, it really hadn’t been a big deal to me at all.
In fact, being thanked so sincerely almost made me feel guilty.
“Still… Oda-kun, you’ve really changed. You seem so much more mature now. Oh, by the way, do you want to exchange contacts? You’re on LINE, right?”
As she said this, Hasumi-san pulled out a cute pink smartphone.