"Uu… finally, someone stepped up to protect the bullied girl, it's so…"

"Iino, I didn't ask for your commentary on the plot. I wanted to discuss the disciplinary process for bringing shoujo manga to school."

In the Disciplinary Committee room, Rinji looked expressionlessly at Iino Miko, who was already crying hard while holding SweetWords.

Just minutes ago, when Rinji brought the manga to her and suggested discussing punishment, she had firmly declared that such cases must be strictly investigated.

A few minutes later, she was the first to cry.

Rinji didn't doubt Iino's seriousness as a committee member, but he did start doubting her enforcement power.

"There's nothing we can do about it, Rinji-kun."

Beside Iino, Kobachi pushed up her glasses.

"This manga is really impressive, it's quite popular in Shuchiin as well."

"Tch, it's already spreading into the school?" Rinji frowned. "If I remember right, the school rules prohibit students from bringing manga to school."

"Strange, Rinji-kun never cared about this sort of thing before."

"Special cases need special handling."

Rinji's expression turned serious.

"From my observation, people who read this manga quickly develop a desire for romance. These reckless and impulsive kids will definitely increase the rate of campus relationships after reading it."

"You sound just like those parents who blame manga and games for their kids' bad grades."

"Do I?"

Rinji looked up at Iino, who was clutching the manga and crying.

"Iino."

"Y-yes!"

The moment she heard her name, Iino quickly raised her head.

In her eyes, the Rinji sitting before her radiated a fatal charm, his gaze brimming with tenderness.

Of course, that was only the filter effect.

The real Rinji was staring at her with dead-fish eyes.

"Iino, do you want to fall in love?"

"!!"

Her face flushed instantly. She turned away, nervously fiddling with the strands of hair hanging over her chest.

'What does he mean? Could it be… is Rinji-kun confessing to me?'

Of course not.

Nobody confesses while looking like a dead fish.

But under the filter's effect, what she saw was a deep confession filled with affection.

"Love and all that… I…"

"Please answer me seriously."

"!!"

Startled by his sudden insistence, Iino's cheeks reddened further.

Lowering her head, she whispered, "Dating Rinji-kun or something…"

"Hah? What do you mean dating me?" Rinji was full of question marks. "I already have a girlfriend, why would I date someone else?"

"!?"

Only then did Iino suddenly remember—Rinji had a girlfriend.

Feeling like her emotions were being toyed with, her eyes brimmed with tears as she glared at him. "Scumbag!"

"…"

Rinji turned his head to look at Kobachi.

"Osaragi-san, could you tell me if this accusation of me being a scumbag makes any sense?"

"…This girl really is beyond saving."

With a helpless sigh, Kobachi picked up the manga. "The strength of this work lies in its empathy. It draws readers into the characters' emotions."

"Whether it's impressive or not doesn't matter. I came here because—"

"Didn't it move you at all, Rinji-kun?"

"Not even a little."

"The scene where the girl, hurt deep inside, is protected for the first time—it felt so wonderful to me."

"I can't relate. If I were wronged, my first reaction would be to scatter the culprit's ashes. I'd probably lose sleep if I left it till the next day," Rinji said bluntly. "Why would I wait for someone to protect me?"

"…Fair point. Rinji-kun isn't exactly normal after all."

Kobachi stared at the manga cover, her eyes hazy behind thick lenses.

"A bullied girl finding someone willing to stand up for her—that's a really wonderful story, I think."

Both Kobachi and Iino had once been the targets of their classmates' scorn.

Iino, because of her duties as a disciplinary committee member, and Kobachi… Rinji didn't know her past. But the way she deliberately hid her beauty behind oversized glasses surely had its reasons.

"I heard the manga's going to be adapted into a drama soon."

"A niche work like this is getting a drama?" Rinji couldn't care less. "Well, I hope it turns out awful. Best if all the actors just read their lines flat, so we don't end up with a wave of doomed couples in school."

"You already have a girlfriend, and yet you hate seeing other couples?"

"I have a girlfriend, sure, but have you ever seen me showing off our relationship?" Rinji shot back. "Even with her, I've never gone all the way. Do you think average students have my kind of self-control?"

"Probably not. Virgin."

"Tch, so what if I'm a virgin? Your labels don't affect me in the slightest."

"Haha, fair enough." Kobachi chuckled.

Her smile was rare. When she was with Iino, she usually looked plain, stiff-faced behind those glasses, making her easy to overlook—despite the stunning beauty hidden underneath.

"Honestly, sometimes I envy you, Rinji-kun."

"What's there to envy?"

"You never hide yourself. I think most people would be jealous of that." She smiled. "If someone else had your flawless looks, they'd probably try to act charming, play to the crowd. But you? You go the opposite way—fighting, making trouble, cursing—no hesitation."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing wrong, but very few people would choose that path. It almost guarantees you'll be isolated… and yet, even if you tried to please everyone, you might still not get what you wanted."

She lowered her head onto the desk.

"Sometimes I wonder, if I could also 'love who I want, hate who I want,' like you, maybe my heart would feel lighter."

"I'd advise you not to imitate me," Rinji said flatly. "If I keep living this way, one day I might not even be human anymore."