"Here, your book."
At that moment, Kiyoura Setsuna was staring at the handsome young man who had suddenly appeared in front of her and, with a single move, had thrown Ogino Hikaru and his group into the pond. Although the young man's voice reached her ears, she didn't react at all for a long time.
Nakano Yu noticed her slight confusion as she blankly stared at him.
Why does everyone react like this when they see me? How strange.
Despite being puzzled, Nakano Yu flipped through the book in his hand and found the girl's name on the cover.
However, when he saw the name, Nakano Yu couldn't hide his surprise.
"Kiyoura Setsuna? How… how is she at Shuchi'in Academy?"
Nakano Yu looked at the name on the book, then shifted his gaze to the expressionless girl in front of him. The figure before him gradually overlapped with the girl from his memories.
Speaking of which, wasn't Setsuna supposed to attend Sakakino Academy? Ah! Right, it seems that in this world, Sakakino Academy doesn't exist.
"Um, Setsuna-san?"
Seeing that the girl was still staring blankly at him, Nakano Yu couldn't help but wave the book in front of Kiyoura Setsuna's eyes.
"Ah?! I-I'm here!"
Kiyoura Setsuna only came to her senses after Nakano Yu's call. She looked at the book in the young man's hand and reached out to take it.
"Um… thank you."
Kiyoura Setsuna's cheeks rarely flushed as she thanked the unknown young man in front of her.
Only then did Kiyoura Setsuna notice that Nakano Yu wasn't wearing the Shuchi'in Academy uniform. Looking at the school emblem, she recognized it as the Sobu High School uniform and asked:
"Um, you're not a student of Shuchi'in Academy?"
"Hm? Strictly speaking, I'll be one for the next half month."
Hearing the girl's question, Nakano Yu answered without turning his head as he walked toward the pond.
Crouching by the pond, Nakano Yu watched the three people struggling in the water, a faint smile on his face.
Nakano Yu didn't consider himself someone with a strong sense of justice. If the person being bullied today hadn't been a cute girl, Nakano Yu probably would have pretended not to see anything.
However, what he hadn't expected was to run into Ogino Hikaru, that guy.
When Nakano Yu learned that Nakano Maruo had arranged for him to attend Shuchi'in Academy for half a month, he wondered if he would encounter disgusting people like Ogino Hikaru, but he hadn't expected to meet him right upon arrival.
"Pfff ah! Hmph!"
At that moment, Ogino Hikaru somehow managed to reach the edge of the pond, struggling with all his might to keep his head above water and catch his breath.
"Idiot! Who was that?! Don't you know bullying is against the rules at Shuchi'in Academy?!"
After catching his breath, Ogino Hikaru sprawled on the shore, his eyes stinging from the water and barely able to open, muttering curses quietly.
Watching Ogino Hikaru in that state, Nakano Yu said nothing. He just picked up a small stone, flicked it lightly with his fingers, and the stone flew like a bullet straight into Ogino's mouth.
Immediately after, the stone pierced Ogino Hikaru's left cheek, leaving tiny drops of blood as he fell back into the pond.
"Ah!!! My mouth!"
Ogino Hikaru froze for a moment. The large hole in his left cheek made his mouth feel icy cold. He raised his hand to touch it, only then realizing that his face had been pierced!
At the same time, the entire garden echoed with Ogino Hikaru's piercing screams.
After that, Nakano Yu finally stood up and left. He did it simply because he couldn't tolerate Ogino's filthy mouth. He had been adopted into the Nakano family because of Nakano Reine, which allowed him to grow up alongside the Five Sisters.
Because of that, Nakano Yu had immense respect for the mother's role, but Ogino's words from before had irritated him, so he gave a small punishment.
"Um, are you okay~"
Kiyoura Setsuna naturally saw everything Nakano Yu had done. Seeing the young man return from the pond, she asked with concern.
"Are you afraid of them?"
Hearing this, Nakano Yu asked, slightly surprised.
However, the girl shook her head with a serious expression. She paused before speaking and reassured Nakano Yu:
"I was worried that stone might hurt you… don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this."
"Don't worry, even if I had killed them, not a single speck of fuss would have risen."
Seeing the girl's serious expression, for some reason Nakano Yu thought of Katsura Kotonoha, feeling that this girl, like Kotonoha, had unconditional trust in him from the very moment they met.
However, Kiyoura Setsuna was overthinking. How much of a threat could Ogino Hikaru even pose to him? But the family behind that guy really…
I'll deal with it tonight. I'll find an excuse and wipe them out.
Without much hesitation, the young man thought for a moment and then decided the fate of Ogino Hikaru's family.
"Besides, you're not the only one who saw this, Setsuna-san."
Nakano Yu said, turning toward the pavilion on the other side of the pond.
He had noticed Shinomiya Kaguya earlier, but seeing that she had no intention to intervene, and also not tolerating Ogino's face, he decided to act.
Hearing this, Kiyoura Setsuna looked confused toward the pavilion, following the young man's gaze. Then she noticed the girl standing there also looking in their direction.
After a brief observation, Kiyoura Setsuna realized with surprise that the girl was none other than the newly appointed Student Council President of Shuchi'in Academy!
"Is that… President Shinomiya?"
Still somewhat in disbelief, Kiyoura Setsuna even asked Nakano Yu beside her, completely forgetting that Nakano Yu wasn't a Shuchi'in Academy student.
Fortunately, Nakano Yu knew Shinomiya Kaguya, but when he heard "President Shinomiya" from Kiyoura Setsuna, he couldn't help but be momentarily puzzled.
If he remembered correctly, Shinomiya Kaguya was a first-year student now, right? How could she become the Student Council President of Shuchi'in Academy?
Where did the previous president go? Could it be that this girl drowned her in Tokyo Bay?
That didn't make sense either; Nakano Yu remembered that the previous president's family background wasn't weaker than the Shinomiya family.
While still pondering this, Shinomiya Kaguya had already stepped out of the pavilion, crossed the wooden bridge over the pond, and arrived in front of Nakano Yu and Kiyoura Setsuna.
"Nakano-kun, long time no see."
Shinomiya Kaguya approached Nakano Yu, keeping a cold expression, glanced at the few people around Ogino Hikaru, and greeted Nakano Yu.
"Shinomiya Kaguya, we can hardly call ourselves close."
Looking at Shinomiya Kaguya, the young man frowned slightly; his interactions with her had been limited to a few meetings at social banquets.
As the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya family, Shinomiya Kaguya was often surrounded and adored, while Nakano Yu usually found a quiet corner and sat there during such events.
It wasn't that no one approached him; honestly, many wealthy young ladies were interested in him, but he wasn't interested in them.
Over time, fewer and fewer people sought him out, and only Fujiwara Chika, a girl without hidden intentions, would come to chat with him.
"Ah, that's true, but… is it really okay for Nakano-kun to bully Shuchi'in Academy students at the very moment he's about to transfer here?"
Hearing this, Shinomiya Kaguya's expression remained unchanged; she wasn't surprised by Nakano Yu's reaction, but rather raised the issue of Ogino Hikaru.
In fact, Shinomiya Kaguya also didn't have a high opinion of Ogino Hikaru; the reason she asked Nakano Yu was just to see how he would handle the situation.
In reality, Shinomiya Kaguya had already been secretly comparing herself to Nakano Yu, even though it was a one-sided competition.
She wanted to see how this young man, who was generally considered above her, would deal with this situation.
"Hmm? Did I bully anyone?"
But just as Shinomiya Kaguya expected Nakano Yu to offer some reasonable solution, she didn't expect him to act as if he hadn't done absolutely anything.
Seeing this, Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but feel a trace of disdain toward Nakano Yu.
"These three students saw it with their own eyes."
Shinomiya Kaguya glanced at Kiyoura Setsuna beside Nakano Yu; her ruby-red eyes were incredibly calm, yet radiated an inexplicable pressure at the same time.
Kiyoura Setsuna, as an ordinary student, naturally couldn't withstand Shinomiya Kaguya's gaze, but turned her head, avoiding her eyes.
Seeing this, Shinomiya Kaguya frowned; she was the Student Council President of Shuchi'in Academy, so why did this girl, clearly a Shuchi'in Academy student, have no intention of speaking in her favor?
"Shinomiya Kaguya, it seems it's just the three of us here."
Nakano Yu's voice interrupted Shinomiya's confusion; hearing this, Shinomiya Kaguya turned to look, only to see Ogino Hikaru, who had previously been lying aside, and the other two students that Nakano Yu had thrown into the water, already helping Ogino Hikaru head toward the infirmary.
"That doesn't justify Nakano-kun attacking someone."
Looking away, Shinomiya Kaguya remained relentless.
Seeing the girl's persistence, Nakano Yu's eyes, which had held a subtle smile until now, instantly grew cold.
He knew what kind of personality Shinomiya Kaguya had; due to her upbringing, her view of the world was guided by the selfish principle of "survival of the strongest."
But if that principle were followed, then there was no problem in him dealing with Ogino Hikaru and the others, because he was stronger.
However, Shinomiya Kaguya's behavior now also made Nakano Yu aware that she was deliberately causing him trouble.
Thinking this, Nakano Yu's gaze turned hostile, and a trace of his God-Slayer aura began to spread, pressing down on Shinomiya Kaguya.
In an instant, Shinomiya Kaguya felt as if she had fallen into an icy cellar; even her breathing became extremely difficult, as if the young man in front of her could toy with her life like a plaything.
It was the feeling that your life was in someone else's hands!
"Shinomiya Kaguya, as the Student Council President of Shuchi'in Academy, you chose to observe instead of immediately intervening when a student was being bullied, and then you turned around and accused me after I reacted. You are truly a complete failure as Student Council President."
Looking down at Shinomiya Kaguya, Nakano Yu's tone carried reproach, disdain, and complete rejection of Shinomiya Kaguya.
In fact, Shinomiya Kaguya's way of thinking was quite common: post-factum prevention, where one waits for everything to happen before punishing those who erred. Such a situation, which could have been prevented in advance, but insists on catching someone in the act, was simply ridiculous in Nakano Yu's eyes.
"I didn't!"
Hearing this, Shinomiya Kaguya was also provoked and wanted to retort, but realized she couldn't open her mouth in front of Nakano Yu. One reason was that his words were completely accurate: she could have intervened earlier, but didn't.
The second reason was… fear. The young man in front of her didn't seem like someone her age at all, but like a king!
An earthly king who held power over life and death, despised everything, and was bound by no restrictions!
Nakano Yu looked deeply at Shinomiya Kaguya, then quietly said:
"Shinomiya Kaguya, watch yourself."
After saying this, Nakano Yu ignored Shinomiya's reaction, turned, and left.
Kiyoura Setsuna also looked at Shinomiya Kaguya with a complex expression.
She understood the meaning of Nakano Yu's words: he was essentially saying that Shinomiya Kaguya had arrived much earlier and could have stopped Ogino Hikaru.
Pressing her lips together, Kiyoura Setsuna also turned and left.
Meanwhile, Shinomiya Kaguya watched the back of the young man walking away, not knowing what to say.