The Handsome Boy I Saved from Getting Beaten on the Train… Turned Out to Be the “Prince” of an All-Girls School - V1 Chapter 24: This Is Your Punishment for Teasing an Older Lady

Chapter 24: This Is Your Punishment for Teasing an Older Lady

“Hup! Hup!!”

Lately, my after-school time had been completely taken over—

Rei or Rinna always dragged me into some plan or another.

Because of that, my workout time had taken a serious hit.

So to make up for it, I’d started waking up early every morning to train with dumbbells at home.

Morning workouts were great.

Starting your day with exercise made you feel like your life was on the right track.

(Beep-beep-beep♪)

“Hello? Ah, good morning, Suzune-san.”

“Good morning, Kujou-kun. Sorry to call you this early.”

“No worries. What’s up?”

The call was from Suzune-san—Rei’s mother.

I’d just finished my training, downed my protein shake, and washed off the sweat with a quick shower.

So I was all set to hear whatever she needed to tell me.

“About that request we made to uncover the person who posted that video… We submitted a disclosure request to both the message board admin and the internet provider. And it turns out—the culprit already came forward on the board side. So, we found out who it was much sooner than expected.”

“Oh, wow. That’s great news.”

Since it was a phone call, I had a pretty good idea what this would be about—

The whole train incident and the video that got posted afterward.

“Normally, it takes several months to get this kind of info, so we got really lucky this time. Though… maybe I shouldn’t be saying that to the one whose face got exposed in the video. Sorry about that.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. I’m not too bothered by it. So, who was the person who posted the video?”

“Well, it turns out… he’s a man in his mid-twenties, a regular office worker.”

“Huh!? An adult!?”

I’d honestly assumed it was someone around my age—

Some reckless teen with no sense of online responsibility.

“I was surprised too. Apparently, the guy came in to meet with our legal office… with his parents. I don’t know if you’d still call them “guardians” at that age, But yeah, his parents came along with him.”

“Oh…”

Now that she mentioned it—

I vaguely remembered seeing a skinny guy in a suit on the train that day.

So it was him…

I mean, I wasn’t expecting him to jump in and help or anything.

But I did think that, as an adult, he might at least give a statement to the police or the train company as a witness.

I guess people don’t always do what you expect them to…

“There are high schoolers like you, Kujou-kun, who have their act together—And then there are adults like him.”

Seeing me fall silent,

Suzune-san gently tried to lift my spirits while letting out a sigh.

“Thank you for your concern.”

“See? Even the way you consider other people’s feelings like this… Kujou-kun, you’re more mature than most adults.”

Suzune-san let out a soft laugh,

And the sound tickled my eardrums in the nicest way.

“…My ears are blessed. It’s like being whispered to by the actress Kanon Hoshina herself.”

“Heh? G-Geez! Don’t tease an old lady like that!”

“Just returning the favor for all the compliments earlier.”

Suzune-san always treated me like an adult—

She involved me directly in this whole situation, instead of keeping me out of it like a child.

But still, when she occasionally slipped and treated me like a kid,

I couldn’t help teasing her back a little.

Sometimes an adult,

Sometimes a child.

Maybe that’s one of the few perks of being a high schooler, stuck in between.

“Anyway, the person on the other side wants to apologize in person. But what do you want to do? If you don’t want to, you absolutely don’t have to meet them. I’ll support that completely.”

“No, I’ll meet them. They’ve already seen my face, so it doesn’t feel fair if I don’t at least know what theirs looks like.”

“…If you’re meeting them just to get revenge or vent frustration, I don’t really recommend that, you know?”

“It’s not about getting an apology. I just want to remember what their face looks like—so I can stay alert if something ever happens again.”

Even though Suzune-san didn’t say it outright,

I could tell she didn’t want me to meet with the guy.

But I made my decision based on my own reasoning.

There’s always a chance that the other side might hold a grudge—

And someday try to come after me or Rei.

Knowing his face and build in advance wouldn’t hurt.

“That ability to see the bigger picture without getting emotional… as expected. Well, never mind. I probably shouldn’t say the rest.”

“I appreciate it.”

Good thing this was over the phone.

I was definitely making the sourest face right now.

But Suzune-san must’ve sensed it in my tone.

She didn’t finish what she was going to say,

Which meant she probably already understood—

Exactly what I didn’t want her to touch on.

She could see right through me.

“By the way, the kid who actually hit Rei-chan—his company’s president came to apologize that same day.”

“So not a parent, then.”

The guy in the construction pants probably worked at some construction firm.

Since it happened during his commute,

Maybe the company held some responsibility.

“Sounds like he’s got a rough situation at home. The president’s currently keeping him under house arrest in a company dorm. Though honestly, it seems like the kid’s shut himself in voluntarily and won’t go outside anymore.”

“I see.”

After starting a violent incident—

And then getting exposed to the entire internet on top of that—

There’s probably a flood of hate posts and comments directed at him.

To someone in that position, the whole world must feel like the enemy.

I could understand why he’d want to hide away.

“The guy who punched Rei-chan in the face is definitely unforgivable, but… he’s already facing some pretty harsh consequences socially. And he’s still a minor, so the legal outcome will probably be limited to a restraining order and covering her medical expenses. That said, the president of his company wants to apologize in person. What do you want to do?”

“No need. I already know what the guy looks like, so please tell them I won’t be meeting with him.”

In the end, he’s still just an immature kid.

That guy in the construction pants might be feeling down now,

But there’s always a chance he might lose control and lash out again if we met face-to-face.

Sure, he brought it on himself.

But that also means he’s cornered.

And when someone’s desperate,

You never know what they’ll do.

It’s better for both of us if we never see each other again.

“Agreed. I had no intention of letting Rei-chan meet him either. We’ll go ahead and turn down their request for a face-to-face apology.”

“Yes, please do.”

After that, we finalized the date and place for meeting the person who posted the video.

And just as we wrapped things up—

‘That’s why I’m going to school with Saito! Rinna-chan, just go on ahead by yourself!’

‘No. Saito and I go to the same school, so obviously we should walk together!’

‘You’re with him all day at school! Can’t you let me have just the morning!?’

From the other side of the front door,

I could hear two girls loudly bickering.

I didn’t even need to open it to know—

There were only two people in the world who would fight over walking me to school.

Rei and Rinna.

“Ah, sounds like Rei-chan has arrived at your place. Oh, right—I forgot to mention. Since things have calmed down now that discussions with the attacker’s side have officially started, I told her she’s allowed to take the train to school again starting today. And the moment I said that, she got so excited she flew out the door.”

Even over the phone, I could hear Suzune-san laughing.

“Yeah, well… thanks to that, my front door’s turned into a battlefield.”

“I figured as much. This is your punishment for teasing an older lady, you know.”

Damn…

I really shouldn’t have tried to be clever.

Now I was regretting it as Suzune-san’s triumphant tone rang in my ear.

I could picture her smug face perfectly, even without seeing it.

“Sigh…”

“Shouldn’t you hurry up and go to the door?”

“I’d love to, believe me… but I’m completely naked right now, so I kinda need to get dressed first.”

“N-Naked!? Since when!?”

If she was going to end the call with that smug look,

I wasn’t about to let it slide.

So I pulled out my final move—a desperate counterattack.

“I’ve been naked since the moment you called, Suzune-san. I had just finished my morning workout and got out of the shower.”

“You should’ve told me that first!!”

“I could say the exact same thing back to you.”

“…………”

“Oh? You just pictured me naked, didn’t you?”

“N-N-No I didn’t! Why would I imagine the naked body of a b-boy who’s the same age as my daughter!?”

“Calm down, Suzune-san.”

Way too many stutters there.

“Kujou-kun, you’re such a meanie sometimes…”

“That’s payback for not telling me Rei was on her way over. Anyway, I really need to get dressed, so I’m hanging up now.”

“Wait! That’s not fair, you’re ending the call after winning!? I won’t lose next time!”

And with that, the call ended.

Rei must’ve inherited that competitive streak from her mom.

‘I trained with Saito, okay!’

‘Well, I helped clean Saito’s house!’

‘During stretching, he touched my bare shoulder and back—with only one thin layer of cloth between us!’

‘Just so you know, Saito carried me princess-style the other day!’

‘He even stayed overnight at my place!’

‘He said he’d let me stay over at his place next time too!’

The moment the call ended,

My attention returned to the chaos just outside the front door.

Rei and Rinna were still at it.

They were supposed to be arguing over who gets to walk to school with me—

But now it had turned into a full-on competition over who had the better “Saito moments.”

“Hey! Don’t fight over who’s closer to me! What are you, grade schoolers!?”

Since they were being noisy from early in the morning and it was bothering the neighborhood,

I scolded the two of them.

“Fweh…” “Okay…”

Also—

The moment I stepped out to the front door,

Wearing nothing but a bath towel wrapped around my waist,

Their argument instantly came to a halt.

-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-:+:-+:-+:-+:-+:-+

Answering the phone while completely naked…

Is honestly more common than you’d think.

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