Chapter 10 – The Thing Lurking Inside the Disciplinary Committee President

“Hmm… so you’re saying you had no choice but to use force to save your classmate from those thugs?”

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it. Anything else you wanna ask?”

Twenty minutes had already passed since the interview began. Shinta hadn’t expected to be bombarded with questions for nearly half of his lunch break, and internally, he was getting completely fed up. On top of that, the interrogation-like atmosphere was incredibly unpleasant. Toward the end, a sigh had involuntarily escaped his lips.

“Hmm… I believe I’ve heard everything I needed to ask. My apologies for making you keep me company for such a long, tedious questioning.”

As Kaoru said that, the pressure she had been exuding vanished. The air in the room relaxed. With the interview safely concluded, Kaoru bowed her head slightly while sitting in her chair to offer an apology.

“I’m sorry for subjecting you to an interrogation like that. It couldn’t have been pleasant.”

As she spoke, her expression softened into a gentle look. She seemed like a completely different person from before. During the questioning, her usual pressure had been intense. He had expected her to maintain that high-handed attitude until the very end, so he was a little surprised to see she was capable of smiling like this. Well, setting that aside, Shinta asked what the actual purpose of this questioning was.

“To be blunt, Senpai, why did you call me to the Disciplinary Committee room? I was totally bracing myself to be handed some kind of punishment.”

“Right. I suppose I should explain that as well.”

To explain it simply, several students had felt anxious that Shinta might cause trouble and brought their concerns to the Disciplinary Committee. He might be quiet now, but during middle school, he was famous as a well-known delinquent. The rumors about the karaoke place had also spread in a distorted way. Some twisted reports even claimed that Shinta had gone on a one-sided rampage. Therefore, the Disciplinary Committee President, Kaoru, had set up this direct discussion to strictly verify the facts. That was the gist of it.

“After talking with you at length, I can see you aren’t the villain everyone thinks you are. Having faced you directly, I will personally guarantee that.”

“Are you sure you should believe me that easily? The guy at the center of the rumors could’ve just been feeding you lies in all those answers.”

“No, that’s not the case. As we spoke, there was no cloudiness in your eyes.”

“…Cloudiness?”

Unable to grasp the true meaning of her words, a metaphorical question mark popped up over Shinta’s head. Kaoru then began to offer a supplementary explanation.

“Both my father and mother have strict natures and despise dishonesty. According to them, they have never told a lie in their lives. Being continuously raised by such parents, at some point, I became highly sensitive to the lies of others.”

Saying this, she pointed to her own eyes.

“The eyes of a person speaking falsehoods will cloud over. But during my questioning, your pupils did not cloud even once.”

Normally, Shinta would have thought that this wasn’t some manga, and there was no way she could do something so akin to a superpower. But there was absolutely no joking vibe in Kaoru’s expression. She was deadly serious.

(Man… she’s a really cool person…)

Having confidence in her own words, piercing him with an endlessly straightforward gaze—he had to admit, it was exactly what you’d expect from the head of the Disciplinary Committee. Her immaculate presence, completely opposite to his own delinquent past, was somehow too bright. It made him unconsciously avert his eyes for a split second. But it was right after he broke eye contact with her. A tremendous bloodlust slammed into him.

“!?”

Kaoru chuckled softly as she watched Shinta reflexively spring out of his chair to put distance between them.

“Amazing. You’re sensitive to even the slightest change. Just what I’d expect from someone called the Demon God.”

“…What the hell is your deal?”

Forgetting that the person across from him was his senpai, he glared at Kaoru with open hostility. Having had hostility directed at him countless times before, Shinta’s intuition screamed a warning. This woman was somehow a dangerous entity. While Shinta directed his wariness at her, Kaoru maintained the complete opposite. She possessed a perfectly calm composure.

“Actually, I have a personal interest in you. I’m not well-versed in the delinquent scene, but I’ve heard the rumors of the Demon God several times. They say you’re absurdly strong in a fight, and the number of punks you’ve beaten back exceeds a hundred. As someone who practices the sword, I couldn’t help but be curious about that strength.”

“Curious about my strength, huh? That wasn’t exactly a cute little greeting just now.”

The presence this woman had just slammed into him was close to pure murderous intent. It was the same as those unhinged bastards who had picked fights with him, ready to put him in the hospital just to crush him. No, it was even thicker than that.

(But still… can a normal student really give off an aura like that?)

Even if she practiced kendo, it was nothing more than a student sport. For someone like that to project such an aura felt completely wrong, much less an honors student serving on the Disciplinary Committee. Up until a few minutes ago, his image of her was an earnest honors student. That was not the case anymore. It felt like he was facing down an unknown creature.

“By the way, there’s actually a favor I’d like to ask of you.”

“A favor?”

“Yes. Half the reason I called you here was for personal reasons. Say, Kamiji Shinta-kun, would you be willing to have a sparring match with me?”

She leveled a challenging gaze at him, wearing a belligerent aura that she no longer had any intention of hiding. And so, Shinta was about to learn firsthand that the girl right before his eyes harbored a monster deep inside her.