The day back to school.
The atmosphere at Sobu High was filled with unusual tension. When Darius's figure appeared at the school gate, the initially noisy corridor instantly fell silent for half a second.
Immediately after, the crowd of students—like a school of fish thrown a stone—scattered in panic in two directions with him as the center. They pressed tightly against the walls, giving a path so wide it was sufficient for a tank to pass.
Whispers began emerging like tidal seawater behind him.
"That's him..."
"Oh God, he still dares come to school?"
"Lower your voice! Don't let him hear!"
Darius walked straight down the middle of that "Parting of the Red Sea" corridor, his expression calm as if unaware of the strangeness around him. He only felt today's corridor felt very spacious and the air ventilation was very good.
He didn't know that in just one weekend, the legend about the joint camp at Chiba Village had evolved into impossible versions.
Version 1, [Worship Theory]: "Did you hear? That madman from the Service Club performed black magic rituals during camp. He wanted to sacrifice our entire grade to summon the Ancient God!"
Version 2, [Biochemical Theory]: "My cousin's friend went to that camp, they said Darius poisoned the curry and turned Hayama Hayato into a zombie! Then his head was blown off with one punch by Hiratsuka-sensei!"
Version 3, and the most widespread, [Terrorist Attack Theory]: "The truth is, he brought a whole box full of C4 explosives to camp, intending to blow up the village to establish an independent kingdom! At the last second, he was subdued by Hiratsuka-sensei who descended from the sky with her 'Palm Technique'!"
Whatever the version, Darius was portrayed as a high-level dangerous figure combining occultism, biological warfare, and terrorism into one. And the Service Club was honorably synonymous with "Sobu High Terrorist Branch."
This "honor" was further enhanced by others.
"That's right! I'm the one!"
In the corner of Class 2-F, Zaimokuza was boasting enthusiastically in front of several of his chūnibyō friends. "The General's Scorched Earth Plan, from calculating explosive dosage to fuse installation scheme, I compiled everything! I'm the explosives expert hiding behind the scenes!"
He puffed out his chest with overflowing fanaticism. "That bridge, with just one command from the General, I could turn it to dust in one second! You understand what 'Structural Dynamics' is? No, right! That's professionalism!"
Friends around him listened with gaping mouths. Their gaze toward Zaimokuza who was formerly "that pitiful chūnibyō" transformed into "holy cow, turns out he's a technical-type criminal."
In front of the Service Club door, the atmosphere had never been this deserted. The terrifying crack on the door panel now seemed like a medal silently proclaiming how dangerous this place was.
Inside the room, the atmosphere felt oppressive like before a great storm. Yui sat restlessly; she felt everyone's gaze at her felt strange, as if she could pull out "anti-matter grenades" from her school bag at any time.
Yukino sat in her usual place, her hand holding a cup of black tea, but the tea water had already cooled. Her face was even colder than her tea.
After returning from camp, she received a phone call from her sister, Haruno. On the phone, Haruno asked in an unprecedented tone—a mixture of shock and uproarious laughter: "Yukinon, I heard now you're the number two leader of a terrorist organization?"
Yukino's logic completely snapped at that moment.
She finally looked up, her ice-blue eyes staring sharply at the main perpetrator who since entering the room had been busy wiping his gas mask as if nothing happened.
"Darius-kun." Her voice wasn't loud, but contained irrefutable firmness. "I need an explanation."
Darius stopped his movement, looked up, and stared at her seriously. "Explanation for what?"
"Explanation for why now the entire school considers our Service Club an evil organization trying to blow up a village and overthrow the world!" Yukino's tone rose unconsciously.
"Isn't that the truth?" Darius asked back, his tone so calm as if saying "the weather is very nice today."
Yukino choked hearing that counter-question until she could barely breathe. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Debating logic with this madman was her own mistake.
"What I mean is, you have to think of a way to clarify this rumor! This has seriously damaged the club's reputation and my personal good name!"
Hearing that, Darius showed a confused expression. He put down his gas mask, stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the students who pointed at him then immediately ran.
A moment later, he turned and stared at Yukino with deep eyes.
"Yukinoshita-san, do you still not understand?"
"Understand what?"
"Reputation is merely passing clouds, what matters is deterrence."
Darius's voice was calm yet strong, carrying a strange persuasive power.
"Before this incident, how many people came to the Service Club seeking boring help? Like looking for lost cats, or solving ridiculous love problems. They wasted our time, drained our energy."
"But now, look." He pointed to the empty corridor. "The world is already clean. Irrelevant people are automatically filtered out. All potential threats will think twice before approaching us. With minimal sacrifice, we've built an invisible 'Absolute Defense Circle'."
He concluded: "From a strategic perspective, this is a perfect opinion war. We won."
Yukino opened her mouth, but found she couldn't utter a single word. Because she sadly realized that this heretical theory of Darius's, if viewed from a twisted angle... actually made sense too, damn it.
Just then.
*KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!*
The sound of door knocking was heard. The three of them were startled simultaneously. In the midst of this heated situation, someone still dared to come?
Yui stood tensely, Yukino also furrowed her brow. Meanwhile Darius showed an expression of "See, the prey comes on its own," then he walked forward and opened the door.
Outside the door stood an unfamiliar male student with glasses, wearing his school uniform very neatly, and wearing a "Student Council" armband. He pushed his glasses with his finger, swept his gaze across the three people inside the room with an investigating look, then finally locked his gaze on Darius. His eyes were full of official coldness without emotion.
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