The Handsome Boy I Saved from Getting Beaten on the Train… Turned Out to Be the “Prince” of an All-Girls School

Chapter 02: Because of the Girl Who Sits Beside Me

“So then, Kujou-san—when you saw and heard the commotion, the man in construction pants said something like, ‘You were looking at me!’ and grabbed the high school student, correct?”

“Yes.”

I answered honestly, telling the police officer everything I had seen and heard.

After the station staff stepped in and pulled me away from Mr. Construction Pants, I was finally safe from him—physically, at least.

But of course, it wasn’t like I could just say, “Alright, later!” and walk off.

So here I was, still standing on the platform, right in the middle of a police interview.

The man in construction pants—the aggressor—and the high school boy—the victim—were each being questioned separately by different officers a short distance away.

“I understand the situation now. We may need to contact you again later, so could I have your contact details?”

“Sure. Here’s my phone number.”

“This is your number? If possible, we’d also like a number for a parent or guardian—”

Parent’s number.

The moment I heard those words, the adrenaline from everything that had just happened started to fade, and cold reality came rushing back.

“Um… please use this number. My parents… aren’t reachable directly due to some personal circumstances.”

“I see… Alright then. We’ll contact you through this number or through your school, if needed.”

“Yes. If you do call the school, please let them know through this number first.”

When I hesitated at the mention of my parents, the police officer seemed to pick up on it right away and offered an alternative instead.

He was surprisingly perceptive—and I was grateful for that.

If those people were to get involved, it would only make things a lot more complicated…

So I silently let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, in cases like this—assault and battery—third-party witness statements are really important, you know.”

“I figured that might be the case.”

“Yep, exactly. Oh, by the way—Kujou-san, you’re absolutely sure you weren’t physically assaulted, right?”

The officer was smiling politely…

But his eyes weren’t smiling at all.

There was a clear vibe of, “If you said something inconsistent earlier, I will catch it immediately.”

Honestly, it was a little scary.

“Y-Yes. There was no physical contact between me and the aggressor.”

“Even grabbing your collar could count as assault in some cases, you know?”

“That didn’t happen either.”

“I see. Some men feel embarrassed about getting hit and hesitate to admit it, so we always double-check. Sorry for pressing you.”

As he said that, his sharp eyes softened back into a more gentle expression.

That switch between ‘friendly cop’ and ‘detective mode’ was seriously intimidating.

“No, it’s okay. By the way, if I had been assaulted, would the questioning take much longer?”

“In that case, no, it wouldn’t end with just this little chat. You’d need to come down to the station. The same goes for the suspect, of course.”

Ah…

That means Rei might be tied up for quite a while.

Looks like he’ll have to skip school today.

Now that it’s all said and done, I’m starting to feel a little guilty.

Maybe I did make things a bit more complicated than they had to be.

“To avoid any contact between the suspect and the victim, please exit through here.”

“Whoa—this is one of those staff-only areas, right? So this is what it looks like behind the scenes.”

Following the station staff’s lead, I walked through a normally restricted area and stepped out past the ticket gates.

“Thank you very much for your cooperation.”

The police officer who saw me off gave a quick, polite salute by touching his hat.

I returned it with a bow.

“Well then… looks like I’m officially late.”

Checking the time on my phone, I saw that the first class had started over 20 minutes ago.

With a deep sigh, I opened up the phone app and brought up my school’s number.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Oh my, Saito. Showing up starting second period? How very VIP of you today.”

“Shut up, Rinna.”

As I quietly slipped into the classroom during the ten-minute break after first period,

The girl sitting next to me immediately spotted me and called out.

I dropped my bag onto my seat while brushing off the teasing of Rinna Nishino, who clearly enjoyed rubbing it in.

“You overslept?”

“…Y-Yeah. Something like that.”

I didn’t really feel comfortable talking about what happened on the train this morning.

It felt kind of embarrassing to bring up something that sounded like I was bragging about some heroic story.

So I just gave Rinna a vague answer to dodge the question.

“Let me guess—you were up late doing… personal training last night?”

“Can you not drop something that crude first thing in the morning?”

This girl, seriously.

She looks like your classic black-haired, graceful beauty—

But the stuff she says totally ruins that image.

She’s even ranked as one of the most beautiful girls in school, and yet… this is who she really is. What a shame.

“It’s not like I talk like this with anyone else. Just you, Saito.”

“Geez… If you’d just keep your mouth shut, you’d actually be elegant. Try acting a little more refined or something.”

“I did try that when school started. But I got too many confessions from guys, so now I act like this to keep them away.”

“Don’t drag me into your anti-guy defense system!”

“Well, you’re the one who got the seat next to me on day one. That was your big mistake.”

Rinna laughed softly, a playful smile on her face.

Back when school first started, I was honestly thrilled to have such a cute girl sitting next to me.

Feels like a lifetime ago now.

“So, come on—what really made you late?”

“Oh. Right. Actually, on the train this morning, I saw some punk harassing a guy. I stepped in to stop it. That’s why I was late.”

Figured there was no point trying to act cool in front of this particular friend,

so I just told her the truth.

“Pfft!“

“Why are you laughing!?”

“Saito… you’ve clearly watched way too many ‘justice served’ videos. You’ve officially lost the ability to tell reality from fantasy. Poor thing.”

“That’s not it! I’m telling you, it actually happened!”

“But if the person you saved was just another guy, there’s no real room for development after that. As a story, it only scores like… 30 points. If you’d saved someone like me—a cute, quiet, graceful girl—it would’ve had much more emotional impact. Much better storytelling.”

“What kind of critique is that!? What are you, my editor or something?”

This was real life, okay!?

If the victim had actually been a cute girl, there probably would’ve been a whole line of would-be heroes jumping in.

And maybe then I wouldn’t have ended up being late.

“Anyway, tell me the rest during lunch, okay?”

Just as she said that, the chime signaling the end of the break rang, and the second period began—cutting our conversation short.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Haha! So then, Saito was just tossing that punk around on the train, left and right!”

“Were you even listening to me? If I’d been tossing him around like that, I definitely wouldn’t be here eating lunch with you right now.”

Lunch break.

Sitting side by side in the cafeteria, I told Rinna the full story of what happened that morning.

She was laughing the entire time.

“You’re the kind of guy who jumps into the losing role without anyone even asking. That’s just so you, Saito.”

“I couldn’t help it, okay…? There wasn’t a single other guy on that train who looked like he could handle Mr. Construction Pants.”

“You’re so green, Saito. Always chasing your own sense of justice.”

“Green? You’re the same age as me, you know.”

“But I don’t hate that about you. That straight-laced side of you is kinda nice.”

As she said that, Rinna poked my cheek with her fingertip.

“H-Hey, cut it out. People are staring…”

“Aww, you’re embarrassed? Come on, this is totally normal friendly touching.”

Rinna grinned mischievously.

Yeah.

She was definitely doing this just to mess with me because she knew I’d get flustered.

Whenever I’m with Rinna, I can feel all the glares from the other guys drilling into me.

I’ve gotten used to it by now, sure—

But when she starts getting all handsy like that, the surrounding bloodlust spikes hard.

Thanks to that, it’s already June, and I still haven’t made any other friends besides her.

“Quit poking me, you’re interrupting my lunch.”

“Speaking of which, why are you eating at the cafeteria today instead of bringing your lunch?”

“Oh, I did bring a lunch, actually. But I gave the ice pack I had in my cooler bag to Rei this morning—for the spot where he got hit. And since it’s been getting warmer lately, I figured the food might’ve gone bad.”

Normally, I eat my lunch in the classroom with Rinna.

But since I mentioned I’d be eating at the cafeteria today, she decided to tag along—even though she brought her own lunch.

Did she really just want to hear the full story of my “heroic moment” that badly?

“Hmm. So the victim’s name was Rei, huh? He must’ve been really grateful you helped him, right?”

“Not really. We didn’t talk much. I was too busy trying not to get my face punched in by that punk in construction pants.”

“Oh, I see. Well then, I’ll praise you in his place. Here—you can have this.”

Rinna slid a pudding cup over from beside her lunchbox.

“Wait, what’s this all of a sudden? Didn’t you go out of your way to buy that pudding?”

“It’s fine. I only bought it to make it look like I belonged here in the cafeteria anyway.”

“Then all the more reason I can’t take it. You bought that just so you could sit here with me, didn’t you?”

“It’s not like I was dying to eat it or anything. Besides, I’m just in a really good mood today. It makes me happy to know that one of my friends—without expecting any praise— went out and helped someone like a true hero.”

“…You can’t just randomly start complimenting me like that.”

Even if I brushed it off,

Getting a genuine smile from a girl as pretty as Rinna still made my heart skip a beat.

“Aww, you’re blushing. What a weak little baby~”

“Just give me the damn spoon already.”

Seriously.

If people just knew what Rinna was really like, maybe those death stares I get from the other guys would finally cool down a bit.

With that thought in mind, I took a spoonful of the pudding.

Its sweetness spread through my mouth, comforting and rich.

Well…

I did put in some real effort today.

Maybe it’s okay to pat myself on the back—just a little.

“You know, the cafeteria isn’t so bad once in a while.”

“Yeah, I guess. Plus, you can watch TV in here too.”

“Even if it’s just some midday talk show. Oh—looks like Kanon Hoshina, the actress who was supposed to appear for a promo segment, had to cancel last minute due to personal reasons. She’s playing the mom in that new drama next season. It actually looked pretty interesting.”

“Huh, really?”

As we chatted casually while watching the lunchtime talk show,

Everything just felt… peaceful.

Normal.

Eventually, even this little “heroic tale” would fade into the rhythm of everyday life—

Just another memory filed away…

『Saito Kujou from Class 1-4. Please report to the principal’s office immediately. I repeat—Saito Kujou, Class 1-4—』

Just as I was basking in that calm, content feeling,

A voice echoed through the school’s PA system, calling my name.

I turned to Rinna, and our eyes met.

…Yeah.

Guess it was still too early to call this chapter “closed.”