COTE: The Quiet One Can Be Dangerous

Vol. 4.5 Chp. 1: Summer Vacation

"W-Wait... How come Kagurazaka-kun gets over 1 million private points?!" Ike cried, "How come I didn't get any points?!"

I won't complain because I figured someone would point it out, bringing attention to me.

The class started murmuring along amongst each other.

"The equal distribution of points was done by default. No one said it would be an ironclad rule," Chabashira-sensei explained, "Contribution was also a factor."

"What did he do?" Yukimura asked.

"It's Kagurazaka's decision if he wants to tell you."

Chabashira-sensei tosses me to the wolves like it was an everyday thing.

"I have a question, Chabashira-sensei," Karuizawa raised her hand, "Even though I was the VIP, why do I only have 150,000 private points?"

"What an excellent question..." Chabashira-sensei spoke in a sarcastic tone.

The atmosphere turned tense and heavy, "So, I heard about Kagurazaka stealing a pair of women's underwear."

"Shouldn't he be punished?!" Shinohara complained.

"I'm glad you spoke up, Shinohara," Chabashira-sensei crossed her arms over her chest, "Instead of telling me or another teacher, I heard you, Karuizawa, and some other girls decided to humiliate him publicly."

Many girls drew their gaze to their desks because of the shame.

"I had heard about this incident because of rumors. A student came forward and told the entire story, admitting they were the ones to steal the underwear."

"I shouldn't give you points at all for bullying a classmate. That goes for many of you, so don't think you're innocent."

Hirata raised his hands, "If none of that happened, would you have divided the points evenly amongst everyone?"

"No, because some worked harder than others. If you don't work for it, you don't earn it. Do you understand?" Chabashira-sensei asked.

Hirata begrudgingly nodded.

"Any more questions?"

I raised my hand, "Could you give Mei-Yu 305,000 of my points? I wouldn't have figured out the pattern early without her help."

Mei-Yu tried to make herself small while hiding a blush, "I don't need the points..." She muttered.

Chabashira-sensei shook her head, "No."

~Timeskip~

I could return to my room and rest, but Ichihashi had other plans.

Keyaki Mall

Students donning their casual wear could be seen anywhere I looked. I could only stand aside and observe with Ichihashi.

"Sorry, I hope we aren't late."

We?

Three girls called out as they approached us. It was Onodera Kayano, Azuma Sana, and Mori Nene.

"It's nice to see you, Kagurazaka-kun," Mori flashed a friendly smile.

"How terrible... You don't greet me first," Ichihashi pretended to wipe a fake tear away.

Mori deadpanned, "I had to deal with you on the cruise ship."

"How could you say that after what we did together?" Ichihashi clutched her heart, "Ack! My spleen!"

Mori karate chopped Ichihashi.