Stealing Spree

Initially, Ichihara Jun tried to open his mouth to defend himself from Marika's accusation of tormenting me. He was even about to point at his abdomen to tell the girl the obvious wrinkle on his uniform as well as how it was still a little caved in because of my punches.

However, the guy got his head in order quickly upon noticing the gawking spectators right at the door. Not wanting to look bad in front of them, his finger froze and a split second later, forced his back to straighten while enduring the pain both physically and emotionally.

If I wasn't too focused on the girl who heroically burst into the room for me, I would probably laugh at the guy again.

And for sure, he's aware that Marika was making a blind assumption there. No matter how one looked at it, the ringlet girl was already showing her different bias. The girl who was usually chasing after him wherever he ran off immediately went to my defense rather than blindly taking his side or hearing the whole situation first.

Apart from my punches, Marika's accusation, realizing that also delivered another slap to his face.

That's why to save himself from further embarrassment, he started walking towards the door, his eyes glaring straight at his followers.

Understanding what he's telling them to do, they immediately filed in ranks before parting a way for him to make an exit.

Marika was surprised by Ichihara's choice. Because of that, she could only look at his back as he made his way out.

However, Ichihara Jun still failed to make a clean exit. By the time he stepped outside the room, someone blocked his way out.

And it's not just anybody.

It's the Student Council President, my Shizu. With her icy gaze making Ichihara Jun flinch, she completely halted his escape.

A second later, she stretched her opened hand in front and authoritatively ordered him, "Key. Hand it over."

That girl… Yep. It's already a surprise to see her showing up like this. But to quickly come up with a reason to be another hindrance to the guy, I could only be amazed at her wits.

And as expected, not wanting to make the commotion even bigger, the guy pulled the key, along with the padlock from his pocket and placed it on Shizu's hand before quickly walking away in shame.

His followers also didn't dilly-dally right there. They followed behind him.

As for the students crowding at the entrance, they were dispersed by Shizu's icy gaze along with the help of my girls.

Yeah. The ones who could only watch from a distance earlier were now grouped up. Furthermore, even the ones that should be on the floor above were among them. Haruko, Mina, Himeko, Edel, Kana and Ishida-senpai.

Ah. Watanabe was also among them as well as Komoe who's now probably acting as the girl's assistant.

I thought they would flood inside the room next but that's not what happened.

Some of them disappeared along with those students they shoved back after taking a glance at me and showing their amused expressions. Those who were left behind also didn't do anything much and just stood behind Shizu.

And lastly, Shizu, with the key still held in her palm, gestured for me to come and take it from her. Instead of fully confiscating it, she's handing it to me.

However, even before I could take a step to get it from her, she teasingly smirked and pocketed it before leaving with the other girls.

Furthermore, Saki, who was the one trailing behind them, smilingly hopped over to the door and pulled it close for us, ultimately leaving me alone with Marika inside the room.

With how quick the events happened, I admit I also found myself struggling to keep up with them.

When everything finally clicked in my mind, several seconds had already passed in silence.

Likewise, Marika awkwardly turned around to face me. And with her face the very definition of a confused cat, she blinked her eyes a few times before muttering, "Uhm… What happened, Junior-kun?"

"Things happened, I guess?" That's all I could come up with as an answer followed by my genuine laughter.

I mean, how should I explain that when I also couldn't fully comprehend everything?

Let's see. If I simplified it, it goes like this….

Ichihara Jun chose to save his face. However, he still got slapped hard and had no choice but to walk out in shame. After that, my girls along with Watanabe acted like an organized police group to easily disperse the crowd of onlookers before ultimately leaving us untouched here.

Yeah. Sounds about right. But well, I decided not to explain it to the girl.

As soon as I finished laughing, I closed our already close distance to once again wrap her in my embrace. Then while she was still processing everything, I put my lips close to her ear and gratefully whispered. "That aside, thank you for the save, senpai. I'm still in awe of your heroic entrance."

Tickled by my breath, Marika squirmed and pouted at me. Nonetheless, even though she's already somewhat red-faced because of the rush she experienced by storming in and facing Ichihara Jun, new shades of pink gradually occupied her round cheeks.

From that one action alone, it instantly washed away her confusion, leading her to focus solely on me.

With that, the ringlet girl soon managed to get back her footing and held onto me as she replied, "Your gratitude is unneeded, Junior-kun. I did what I had to. Stopping Jun-kun from harming you…"

Upon saying that, the girl started moving her head and hands, inspecting my body as she tried to find where I got hurt.

"You're that concerned about me, senpai? Is he your fiancé or me?" I jokingly said which earned me another pout from the girl. Well, she looked really worried, after all.

"Don't joke around, Junior-kun. My heart almost jumped out when I heard from Tomiko-chan that Jun-kun brought you here…"

Tomiko-chan? I see. Watanabe was the one who informed her… That explained why she's among them.

"I'm not joking around, senpai. Look I'm not a weakling that he can easily harm." Upon saying this, I started patting her head as another way to reassure her.

After a lot of convincing, she eventually believed me. However, she left behind a reminder, saying I'm not invincible and I could still be harmed.

Well, that's true so I didn't say anything about it and simply accepted that reminder.

A while later, with our conversation reaching its end, I guided her to the lone chair in the room. As if it's already a natural act for both of us, I took a seat followed by Marika settling on my lap.

Actually, it should've been the moment for us to leave this room but sensing that the girl still wanted to prolong this moment, I decided to do this.

Besides, I also remembered that I have to tie the loose end. Clearing up her misunderstanding to prevent trouble later.

"By the way, senpai." I started. With how close we are, I instantly got her attention. "I think you'll be hearing this from him later so let me tell you about it now…"

After taking a deep breath, I started scratching my cheek and delivered the continuation while sounding a little silly, "Uh… Actually, it's the other way around. Ichihara-senpai is the one who got hurt. He should still be feeling the pain of being punched in his stomach. But let me clear this up too. He swung at me first. I'm acting in self-defense."

Marika listened attentively to all of it. In fact, her eyes didn't even blink as she took in my words and processed them.

A few seconds later, the ringlet girl lowered her head and with a hint of embarrassment, confessed as well, "… I'm aware, Junior-kun. I acted oblivious and turned a blind eye to take your side. Because I know. Even if he portrayed you as the one who started it all, I know him enough. Jun-kun used his influence to bring you here. If I didn't barge in this room, the boys with him will gang up on you… I can't let you get hurt because of me."

So, in short, even if I jumped into the net myself, she's going to blame herself that I got caught. She still feels responsible for involving me.

Because of that, she's going to do everything to protect me from Ichihara Jun, including openly defying him. And even if that would earn her the displeasure of the two families, she's probably not going to back out.

This girl… What should I do with her?