Chapter 28: Looking for Trouble

“EVIL MASK DIVISION… huh?”

After being scolded by the teacher again until I was completely dejected, I couldn’t help letting out a long Uwaah sigh.

This sigh felt different from my usual “life is so tiring” exhaustion. It carried a more subtle layer—

I’d been inexplicably dragged into a KING’s plan, then just as inexplicably set aside. It was like being picked up and placed on the chessboard one second, only to be treated as a “set this aside for now” piece the next.

Ameno Yotsuba—no, DEATH LORD—who had grand ambitions of becoming a KING.

After meeting another KING named Kiyama Yune, he had almost immediately adjusted his original pace.

He still spoke politely with restrained wording, but the rational dominance of “I’ve already decided” couldn’t be hidden.

Yoruichi, that’s all for today. I need to finalize the strategic details with PROGRAM TAMPER. Come back tonight and I’ll go over the full plan.

…His tone was one of notification rather than discussion.

Yet it left no room for objection.

“The full plan…?”

I slumped my limp body onto the desk, forehead rubbing against the painted surface. The cool sensation helped cool my overheating brain.

“Haa~”

While cooling down, I secretly felt pleased.

This mix of frustration and delight was probably what they called cashing in the “good feelings” before even winning.

After being “invited” by DEATH LORD and then “sent back” by him in such a justified manner, I could only casually check the Night Witch’s status window to pass the “holiday time” that Heita had worked hard to get for me.

The first scan was calm.

Just the usual “yep, no changes, the world still hates me” inertia.

But dozens of seconds later, when I looked at the Tier column again—

The originally red “LOCK”… had changed to “UNLOCK.”

In that instant, I nearly sprang up from the desk.

“I can level up my Tier!”

The discovery came so suddenly that I suspected I was dreaming.

After all, although the Night Witch was far stronger than the Unknown Name Warrior, my Tier had been stuck at Tier 4, as if the officials had slapped a “growth prohibited” seal on my head.

Now that seal had come off by itself?

…Was it the aftermath of the BUG? Had the system finally grown a conscience? Or had I been bullied so badly lately that even the server couldn’t stand it anymore?

Thinking this, I reluctantly left the desk’s coolness, like returning from a summer resort to the fiery hell of reality, and re-entered the sweltering heat.

I opened Hatsuyuki’s pink phone and accessed the character query interface.

Current points: 201500.

Upgrading from Tier 4 to Tier 7 would also grant one additional character skill.

Raising two levels from Tier 4 required 180000 points.

That meant—

After deducting 180000 points, the points left in my hand would be quite “clean,” so clean that I’d have to calculate every meal like an accountant going forward, always staying above the safety line (1000 points).

My slender fingers slid lightly across the projection interface. Brows furrowed, I was about to seriously plan my “future impoverished life.”

Then the next second, Heita’s urgent voice suddenly exploded next to my ear.

“N-No good… Yoruichi, the BHAO club president is here!”

“President?”

I temporarily stuffed the pink phone back into my short hot pants pocket—of course, in the AR projection, it only looked like the plain-looking Yoruichi boy hurriedly pocketing his phone.

The BHAO Club.

At Blue Sea Academy, it was no longer just an “interest club.”

In this era where BHAO was gradually ruling reality, it had become a power organization that stood shoulder to shoulder with the student council.

All major decisions at Blue Sea Academy were decided by votes from the “Student Council” and “BHAO Club” core members.

On a certain level—

If both sides approved, the policy would be implemented. If one side vetoed, it would be put on hold. If both vetoed, it would be completely abandoned.

The most representative example was the “BHA KNOCKOUT” competition that pushed people to the cliff’s edge.

Naturally—

The system of “elimination from school for low scores” was also within their voting scope.

…In other words, these people were the ones who wrote “why am I so miserable” into the rules.

“Yae Yoruichi?”

The opening carried a sharp, prickly momentum, like words with hooks specially designed to scrape at one’s self-esteem.

The senior standing in the most prominent position was tall and slender with handsome, androgynous features.

Unlike the handsome Heita, this guy’s “good looks” felt more coldly calculated.

But what disgusted me most was his expression—

A weird smile hung at the corners of his mouth while his brows were forcefully squeezed together, as if the words “I look down on you” were pasted on his face.

His gaze was slanted, his contempt direct.

I didn’t even need him to speak to guess the titles he’d assign me: “Useless,” “social scum,” “failure”… things like that.

However—

Even if he made me so angry I wanted to flip the desk on the spot, I could only respond with a similarly fake smile.

Now isn’t the time to fight back.

“May I ask… what does the president want from me?”

“Ah, so this is what the worst student looks like.”

He smiled as if evaluating an inferior product.

“It matches BHAO’s strength assessment perfectly.”

“Mm…”

I took half a step back, replying in a nearly inaudible voice.

Seeming dissatisfied that I hadn’t retreated miserably enough, he bared his teeth and added:

“Isn’t this exactly like that dwarf covered in festering sores from BHAO?”

Of course he was seeing my appearance as processed by the AR plugin.

I admitted my past self wasn’t handsome, but I definitely wasn’t ugly enough to need remaking from scratch.

Clang.

He tapped the desk with his phone like lighting a fuse—the classroom immediately burst into tasteless laughter all around.

The laughter poured into my ears like a tide.

“So like I said—dwarves should hide underground and mine.”

The corners of his mouth curved into a strange arc as he stepped closer step by step.

“Why would you run off begging that supreme female knight and make such rude demands?”

…Mayne.

He was indeed making Mayne the core of the topic.

In that moment, I could clearly feel every pore in my body screaming: Beat him.

Beat him until he could never utter the word “dwarf” again.

But this guy was different from Ling.

For Ling’s straightforward malice, I could still talk back.

But against this senior who treated humiliation as entertainment, a simple counter would only become new joke material for him.

So—

I suppressed the impulse and used silence as my answer.

“Well, talking to cowards is a waste of time anyway.”

As if he had finally had enough fun, his tone suddenly became proper.

“But I still must make you understand—”

He raised his chin, wearing an expression of “I am announcing the truth.”

“Only I am worthy of being Mayne’s guardian knight.”

“And you—are just a failed clown.”

After speaking, he quickly retracted his ferocious expression and switched to a refined, gentlemanly look.

That speed of face-changing made even DEATH LORD’s previous aura switch look like slow motion.

Looking at his self-intoxicated appearance, I could only sneer in my heart.

Ah, but for now I can only sneer at him in terms of facial acting.