Due to Hoshi's pleading, Seiji made an attempt at convincing the twins to change their ways.
Of course, he didn't know if he would succeed. At the very least, he had to try.
He could have ignored Hoshi's request, instead using the fury from the scene he'd witnessed to load and completely destroy the twins' lives!
But he would gain nothing other than temporary self-satisfaction, and he'd be ignoring his friend's feelings.
Seiji's anger stemmed from Hoshi, but he also held his anger back due to Hoshi.
He felt that Hoshi's gentleness was rather stupid, but this idiot was a friend of his! That was why he decided to respect Hoshi's opinion.
Seiji would respect Hoshi and follow his wishes, but as for whether or not he would be able to achieve what Hoshi wanted... that was another thing entirely. He could neither predict nor promise a suitable outcome.
Rion and Kotomi Amami were slightly shaken after being confronted so directly by Seigo Harano.
Yes, shaken.
They had indeed considered before what might happen to them in the future if they continued living like this.
They were intelligent, after all... Even idiots had hopes and dreams about their futures, so of course they would consider their futures carefully due to their intelligence. In fact their hopes were all the more vivid and realistic due to it.
Their futures... They had always considered their futures to be wonderful.
But was that really true?
Would they really never have to be punished for what they'd done!?
With their pride, they would have confidently replied in the negative.
But the tiny bit of objective reason which remained within them whispered otherwise deep in their hearts.
It was possible.
After all, it was impossible for them to control the whole world. There would always be events that were out of their control.
And that day... They didn't dare to nor wish to broach the subject; deep within themselves, they feared it more than anything. The day when they would have to pay the price for everything they'd done—a day completely out of their control!
The Sword of Damocles.
A sharp sword hanging over their heads which could fall at any moment.
Truthfully, they'd always been living in such fear.
Precisely because of this fear, they'd never done anything that would get them punished severely... Not because they cared about others, but out of self-protection.
"Change yourselves, before it's too late," Seiji calmly stated. "Destroy all your blackmail material, and stop doing underhanded activities. Sincerely repent, free everyone, and free yourselves."
Rion and Kotomi remained silent.
Their wills were shaking in the silence, but...
"You want to convince us simply by giving a speech?" one of the twins responded rudely without even addressing Seigo by name.
"You think far too little of us, Seigo Harano!"
This meant that they had finally dropped their act.
Even the twins themselves were unable to recall the last time they had faced someone so honestly and directly.
Seiji hadn't taken his eyes off them for a single second.
"Then how will I be able to convince you?"
"You can't!" the twins replied simultaneously.
"If you don't say it, how do you know I can't?" Seiji remained calm. "Obviously I'm not talking about doing something ridiculous like dancing around naked in public or jumping off a tall building. Forget those—I'm asking you seriously."
Kotomi and Rion were rendered speechless.
The way he was phrasing it was as if he was offering himself up as a lamb to be slaughtered.
This didn't seem possible; there had to be something behind it!
But what could there possibly be?
The twin sisters tried their utmost to detect anything, but they perceived nothing.
Seigo Harano was simply facing them head-on, in such a direct and blunt manner!
How could they defeat such a person?
A nefarious scheme seemed like the best method, as it was also their strong suit. However, it seemed unlikely that any plot devised by them could work taking into account his keen perception. Any ill-conceived plan would surely be countered.
Then they had no choice but to change their method.
Rion and Kotomi silently exchanged glances and came to an unspoken agreement.
"Seigo Harano, you have the nickname of 'destroyer of clubs.'"
"We wonder if this legendary nickname of yours will be effective on the karate club as well."
"If you can singlehandedly defeat every single person in our karate club by yourself..."
"We'll seriously consider what you just said!"
The twins were being unusually straightforward; it was normally quite difficult for them to speak in such a forthright manner.
Normally speaking, what they just proposed was ridiculous, and nobody would agree.
But Seigo Harano was no ordinary person.
The tall boy squinted in their direction.
"One against all... How many people are in your karate club."
"Including both of us, forty-seven."
"Forty-seven... Are you talking about one at a time?"
"Nope!" The twins had the same icy gaze. "We'll decide the number of people you're facing each time!"
They knew that Seigo Harano had outstanding stamina and physical prowess. As ridiculous as it sounded, they still worried that he would be able to defeat more than forty people in a row even if he didn't know martial arts!
No matter how low the possibility... They wouldn't take any chances.
If they were able to choose how many people could go at him at one time, they could adjust things according to the situation. Whether it be using a few at a time to deplete his stamina, or going at him with many people at once to defeat him once and for all!
Of course, no matter how self-confident Seigo was, there was no way he would agree to such ridiculous conditions.
"That won't do."
See, it was only natural.
"There needs to be an upper limit to how many people I face at once! Otherwise, if you just rush me with everyone right from the start, it'll be nothing but a farce."
Seigo made a reasonable counterargument.
"Then we'll have at most ten people against you at once." The twins already expected this.
"Ten people... Are we going to have fun creating a soccer team? At most three—that would be acceptable."
"We can't accept that!" the twins stated. "A minimum of eight, then!"
After a short period of silence.
Seigo let out a sigh. "Five, then... This is how many people a basketball team has, even though this isn't about basketball."
Of course, the twins knew that.
A barehanded duel, or naming it directly for what it was, a fight could have a completely different outcome depending on just one more or one less person.
Something like one person facing off against an entire group and winning flashily didn't seem possible in real life!
Perhaps if he wasn't a martial artist he would have the mistaken idea of relying on his overwhelming stamina or some techniques to get by. However, since both twins were expert martial artists themselves, if there wasn't too much of a difference in skill level, facing off against many by himself while barehanded in an empty arena with nowhere to run to was akin to suicide!
Seigo Harano was indeed incredibly strong, and as for whether or not he had experience fighting... They didn't know, but even if he was skilled in some fighting techniques, all of them were real karate club members!
One against five seemed to be the limit of what an ordinary person could achieve.
But Rion and Kotomi still weren't satisfied.
Seigo Harano was incredibly strong! They kept telling themselves that they couldn't underestimate him!
"Seven people... We refuse to go any lower!" the twins said simultaneously.
Seigo's face revealed nothing.
He remained silent for a long while.
Just as the twins thought he would object again, he ended up sighing.
"Alright, it looks like I'll have to fight my hardest... But I still have more to say. You said you'll 'seriously consider' what I said... I don't want a promise as soft as that. If I win, you will definitely discard anything dark and truly change yourselves."
The tall boy stared into the girls' faces.
"And if I can't do it... Then whatever, just do as you like; as long as you fulfil my basic request, then I don't really care."
They felt an immense sense of pressure once more!
Just by staring at them, Seigo's eyes were able to emit such a clear, forceful pressure.
Seigo Harano was definitely serious!
He was definitely serious about taking on the unreasonable challenge they gave him; he was going to attempt soloing the entire karate club by himself, not even worrying about facing up to seven at a time!
He was definitely a monster... His heart as well... He was a demon.
The twins' thought processes fell into a quagmire in front of Seigo's imposing manner.
They were unable to come up with any new plots or use anything they'd considered before.
This didn't seem good... Should they refuse him?
But at this moment, Rion and Kotomi saw a sliver of... pity in the boy's eyes as he remained silent.
'I've already made concessions to such an extent, yet you two still don't even dare to accept a direct challenge? You've hidden in the dark for so long to become this cowardly... How pathetic.'
They imagined that he was saying that to them.
Pity was a type of condescension as well sometimes, and it had the potential to cut deeper than normal condescension.
The twins' pride and arrogance didn't allow them to accept such a bone-piercing insult!
That was why... they accepted the challenge.