I just hope to live a leisurely life in the world of anime.

I made a completely untenable explanation: I stole the hair clip my sister wanted; it would normally cost over ten thousand yen…

I didn't get caught; I succeeded.

I walked out of the store with the hair clip. It was my first time stealing, my first crime, and nobody noticed.

Then I went straight home.

Because it was stolen, it didn't even have any wrapping. Despite its rather simple appearance, my sister was very happy with it.

The moment I saw her smiling face, even my guilt was washed away.

It's impossible for a mother not to notice when her daughter does something like this.

The gift was supposed to be a secret, but my sister wore it when she visited our sick mother.

Yes, because my sister never imagined that I would give her something I stole as a gift.

That time, I also saw my mother when she was truly angry.

My mother had never thought of hitting me before, but that time she raised her hand to slap me. I didn't dare look at my mother's face, so I just lowered my head and waited for the excruciating pain to come.

Because I've never experienced it before and can't imagine it, I'm a little apprehensive.

My mother raised her hand, and as she waved it, she stirred up the air around her. I could feel the air rushing towards me before her palm even reached my face. I was prepared; no matter how my mother disciplined me, I wouldn't hold a grudge.

but……

The slap didn't land, and I didn't feel any pain. I waited a long time before secretly opening my eyes to look. My mother had already stopped, her lips tightly pursed, suppressing her sobs.

I panicked immediately, and my sister stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

I wanted to go and hug my mother because she looked even thinner than usual at that moment.

I did the same, but as soon as I got close, my mother pushed me away.

She got out of bed and confiscated her sister's hair clip. I imagine her sister, who was also crying her eyes out, still didn't know what had happened.

My mother, who was still unable to get out of bed and leave the hospital, insisted on taking me to that shopping mall and made me kneel on the ground to beg the shop owner for forgiveness.

That was the first time I realized how grave my sins were. No matter the reason, a crime is a crime.

In the end, the kind shop owner didn't take me to the police station; she forgave me.

Because of this commotion, I started to become withdrawn, which is why I spent the latter half of my junior year of middle school hiding in my room, listening to my mother's self-reproachful sighs every night...

Actually, I really wanted to go out and tell her that she did nothing wrong, because it was my fault, that I was the one who committed the crime.

But I didn't have the courage. Even though I had mentally rehearsed the conversation countless times, I still didn't dare to say it.

Until one day, Ms. Hoshinomiya, one of the admissions officers at the school, gave me the courage to keep going. She told me that the school would waive all my tuition and fees, and that I would be guaranteed employment after graduating from there.

I knew I couldn't stay down any longer. To bring smiles back to my mother and sister's faces, I would never run away again.

That was after Hoshinomiya-sensei and I spoke on the phone that day.

I must resolve this head-on! I made this vow.

……

hmmm...

Why did I think of that again...?

He patted his head lightly to bring himself back to his senses.

I just found myself lost in my own world again, even though I came to the library today to study with everyone.

"Fan...Fanbo-chan..."

"Hey, what's wrong, Chihiro?"

Chihiro Shiraha, my deskmate and best friend, was the first friend I made after coming to this school.

However, I always feel that Chihiro sometimes looks at me with a strange look... Is it just my imagination? I'm not sure.

The woman sitting next to me shrank closer to me, looking somewhat frightened. I had no choice but to take her hand and offer her some comfort.

"them……"

Chihiro weakly stretched out her finger and pointed in a direction, and I looked in that direction.

Just then, a commotion came from the other side.

"What kind of tone is that? So what if we're in Class D? Do you have a problem with that?"

A boy with short red hair yelled at another person; it seemed... they were arguing.

"No, no, no, I have no objection. I'm Yamawaki from Class C. Nice to meet you!"

The boy who called himself Yamawaki smiled maliciously as he looked at the group of people sitting at the same table as the red-haired boy: "How should I put it, this school is really great at grouping students by merit. I wouldn't be able to stand studying with people from the bottom of society like you."

Is this... considered a provocation?

"You bastard!"

Sure enough, the red-haired guy, who didn't look like the gentle type, couldn't take it anymore.

###Chapter 414 Troublemaking###

"Hmm...I see. But even so, this mistake was ultimately made because of her own selfish desires."

"That's true, there's no denying it."

"But...but..." The little maid seemed to want to say something, but seemed hesitant to speak, and just looked at her older sister.

"Eh..." Noticing her gaze, Ram got off the little girl, went around the table, and jumped onto her sister's back, reaching out to rub her little face. "Rem, don't look at me like that! I would never steal anything for Rem! If Rem wants something, she can just take it from her!"

"elder sister……"

"uh-huh"

"Well..." An Shu sighed at the harmonious scene, rested her chin on the little girl's head, and reached out to rub her face. "If only Hitomi-chan were as sensible as Ichinose-san..."

"Awoo..."

"Eh"

"Ugh—Hitomi-chan… ugh, so sensible…" The little girl mumbled indistinctly, biting Anshu's hand, expressing her dissatisfaction through this behavior.

"Ha, so~, cute Hitomi-chan is the most sensible! Hmm, can you give in now?"

The hand that was bitten did not feel pain. The little girl did not use force. Instead, when she made a sound, her tongue inadvertently licked the back of her hand, which made her feel itchy.

"Mmm..." The little girl obediently let go, snuggling closer to An Shu and completely nestled in his arms. "With Onii-chan here... I don't need to be sensible..."

"Eh"

Her voice was barely audible, but An Shu didn't miss it. He paused for a moment before hugging her tightly: "Yes, after all, I'm the older brother, so my lovely Tong-chan can just keep being willful!"

"Well……"

"Ha—, you bastard!"

However, the harmonious scene was always disrupted, and the noise that started over there gradually grew louder.

"Brother Anshu, I'm going over to take a look."

The little girl got up, patted the wrinkles in her kimono that Ram had just made, frowned, and tried to walk as quietly as possible with her wooden clogs so as not to make too much noise.

……

"Don't be angry, I was just telling the truth. I wonder if engaging in violence on campus will affect your points deduction. Oh dear, it seems you've run out of points to lose; in other words, you might be expelled."

"Excellent, bring it on!"

Even if he didn't want to, whenever Sudo shouted in the quiet library, he would attract a lot of attention.

Was my effort yesterday—even using the lie that getting a 50 on the test would get me a date with Kushida, and getting Horikita to offer a cold, insincere apology—to gather them together again wrong?

I must be crazy, otherwise why would I do something so thankless and exhausting?

The boy in front of him, named Yamawaki, is still provoking Sudo. Isn't he afraid that Sudo will lose his temper and beat him up? After all, in terms of physique, Yamawaki has no chance of winning.

"Just as he said, causing a disturbance here will do no good at all. Come back, Sudo."

"Tch." Sudo opened his mouth, intending to refuse, but in the end he just pursed his lips.

Wow, Horikita! She actually managed to persuade Sudo! That's unbelievable.

"But you must be in Class C, right? To be honest, it's not exactly a class you can brag about."

As expected, I knew that Horikita wouldn't accept his sarcasm so easily, so he delivered another brilliant counterattack.

"The gap between Class C and Class A is so small it's like an error; only your Class D is at a particularly low level."

"Oh, your standards for judgment are truly pitiful."

He choked Yamawaki cleanly and decisively, and Horikita sat back down without even looking at him.

This made Yamawaki, who had just been grinning foolishly and thought Horikita was quite cute, glare at her fiercely: "You're a flawed product with no flaws whatsoever, you have no right to speak so arrogantly. Don't think that just because you're cute you can be forgiven for everything."

"Thank you for your illogical statement, but I have never cared about my appearance until now. Being praised by you makes me feel disgusted."

Hahahaha—

Without any restraint, seeing the other person's liver-like face, Sudo burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

Along with Yamauchi and Ike.

"Well done, Horikita!"

This is the first time I've ever heard Sudo praise someone...

"If you think I did a good job, then do your best in this exam."

Naturally, Horikita wouldn't respond to his praise and maintained his indifferent tone.

"You lot—" Yamawaki slammed his fist on the table and stood up, glaring fiercely at us. This time, he lost all sense of propriety.

"Hey, don't do this. We provoked you first. If you retaliate, then things will get really serious..." One of the people sitting next to him immediately grabbed his hand, trying to calm him down.

Meanwhile, Sudo rolled up his sleeves, looking completely unfazed: "What's wrong? Want to fight?"

"No, Sudo-kun, using violence will result in points being deducted!" Kushida hurriedly advised.

but……