There is a condition called PTSD. PTSD, which stands for post-traumatic stress disorder, is a disorder that commonly occurs in victims of disasters, doctors, police, firefighters, and soldiers who have participated in wars. Among them, soldiers suffered the most.
It was only natural. With people dying right before their eyes, and someone they had conversed with yesterday returning as a corpse today, it would be strange if their minds remained intact. Of course, not all veterans suffer from PTSD, but it remains true that most patients are former soldiers. They were the most exposed to pain and tragedy.
The symptoms of PTSD are very diverse. It can cause mental disorders such as panic disorder, depression, and anxiety disorders, and sometimes accompanies diseases like diabetes or hypertension. Neither was a condition to be ignored. There's much talk about how mental suffering is similar to or even more tormenting than physical pain, and if such mental disorders and physical diseases occur together…… just imagining it was horrifying.
Fortunately, Kenji had experienced many things but did not develop PTSD. Despite having holes punched through his stomach, his ankle literally crushed, enduring dozens of deaths in simulation rooms, and dying thousands of times in mental worlds. Surprisingly, his mind was intact. Given that, was there any reason to foam at the mouth and charge at someone just for breaking his ankle a little?
Of course, it hurt like hell. The pain shooting up from his ankle roughly scrambled his brain, and even a slight touch caused a stinging pain that could trigger a seizure. But that was all in the past. After being silent for two years, he had no intention of holding anyone accountable now. He never resented or hated Makoto in the first place.
But that was that, and this was this.
When asked to pick the most important thing in a political fight, some would choose pride, and others would choose excellent oratory skills. But in Kenji's opinion, the most important thing in politics was the opponent's weakness. If you could grasp that and wield it freely, there was no reason to lose in a political battle.
Moreover, if that weakness was undeniably the opponent's fault? There was nothing more to say.
Kenji sat on the sofa, tilting his head to look at Makoto sitting across from him. Behind her stood a girl with pink hair and a girl with blonde hair. Makoto was sweating profusely while keeping an eye on the blonde-haired girl.
Her name was Ibuki. She was shorter than Seia and had an appearance that made her look more like an elementary school student than a high school student. But Kenji immediately realized that she was the real power in this Manma-den. Look, everyone was checking her reaction. Kenji inwardly smirked wickedly and pretended his ankle was throbbing, clutching the broken part as he let out groans.
“What should I do, big brother…….”
As if feeling sorry for him, Ibuki lowered the corners of her eyes and muttered softly. Makoto flinched, and Kenji twitched the corner of his mouth. But since everyone here was watching Ibuki's reaction, no one saw Kenji's distorted smile.
Ibuki turned to Makoto with a deliberately stern expression and spoke.
“Makoto senpai! Ibuki is disappointed in Makoto senpai!”
“Huh, huh! What do you mean, Ibuki!”
“How could you break big brother's foot like this, like this! You shouldn't do that!”
“B, but that was already two years ago……!”
Makoto pointed at Kenji's ankle with her finger and protested. It was time. Kenji bowed his head deeply and deliberately let out a moan.
“Ugh…… ggrruh……”
“Look at that! Big brother is still in pain!”
“B, but Ibuki. Common sense says that after two years, broken bones should have healedㅡ”
It was time to interrupt again.
“Grr, thanks to someone, I'm doomed to live as a cripple forever……”
“……No, you were walking just fine earlier. You were climbing the stairs briskly.”
“That was all an act so I wouldn't show it. Do you know how much it hurt?”
In response to Iroha's testimony, Kenji became even more brazen and grimaced as if in pain. There was no need to persuade Iroha or pressure Makoto here. All he had to do was win Ibuki over to his side. And Kenji was exceptionally skilled at packaging something that actually happened with a slight twist to make it seem convincing.
“It's already been two years. Since Makoto crushed my ankle. It really hurt back then. So much that I shed tears and cursed the world. And I had a premonition. Ah! I'll never be able to walk properly again!”
“Don't lie! When did I ever crush your ankle!?”
Makoto pointed at Kenji and shouted. Kenji didn't hide his welling tears, sniffling as he wiped the tears flowing down his hand.
“Look at that, Miss Ibuki. The perpetrator doesn't remember at all what violence she used. I'm in such pain, but she's treating my suffering as a lie.”
“N, no, Ibuki! You! Stop spouting nonsense and show proof!”
“The victim's tears are the proof, Miss Makoto! How sad I was! How difficult! How painful that here, right now! I! Have abandoned all my pride! And am shedding tears!”
There was no such thing as pride. The tears were faked. He wasn't sad. It didn't hurt. It wasn't difficult.
Just pretending. And that performance properly worked on Ibuki. Whether she was emotionally moved by Kenji's act, she teared up and glared at Makoto, who still wouldn't admit to the crime, biting her lip. While Makoto rolled her eyes in panic, Kenji continued.
“Grrruh! Miss Makoto! I remember what you did to me! The rough hands that grabbed me! The horrifying sound from my breaking bones! Even though I shouted to stop, you tormented me to the end!”
“W, wait, your words are strangeㅡ”
“You even took pictures of my broken state and sent them to my precious friends! How sad must they have been! And the shame I felt from showing my broken self—how severe do you think it was! Do you even know?!”
Here was the key point.
Kenji pointed at Makoto with his finger, bit his lip briefly, and shouted in a voice that sounded fearful.
“I stayed awake for days and nights, afraid that if I reported it, you'd come for revenge! And from now on, forever, to walk properly, I'll have to endure the pain in my ankle! Therefore, I! Demand compensation for all this damage! Now! Immediately! Right here!”
“That's right! Do it quickly, Makoto senpai!”
Ibuki agreed with Kenji's words. She had moved from behind Makoto to the seat next to Kenji and raised one arm, repeating the same words.
“Compensate! Compensate!”
“You're doing well, Miss Ibuki! Compensate! Compensate!”
Kenji echoed Ibuki's words, distorting the corner of his mouth. It looked like he was smiling, or perhaps afraid that the other side might pressure him.
Makoto viewed Kenji with the latter perspective. She bit her lip tightly, trembling, then shouted and nodded her head.
“Fine! I'll compensate! So Ibuki! Come here now!”
“So that's settled. Please move over there, Miss Ibuki.”
Kenji smiled gently and patted Ibuki's back. Ibuki looked up at Kenji and tilted her head.
“Huh? Is that it?”
“Yes, thanks to you, Miss Ibuki. Thank you.”
“Wow! Ibuki helped big brother! Ibuki is happy!”
She said that, got up from the sofa, trotted over, and plopped down next to Makoto. Then, smiling happily, she picked up a cookie from the table and ate it. Kenji watched her fondly for a moment, then turned his head to face Makoto.
“Now, let's have an honest conversation.”
“…….Grr.”
Makoto gritted her teeth as if resentful.
So what. Want to taste more of Ibuki? Kenji gestured toward Ibuki with his chin, and eventually, Makoto gave in. Kenji grinned slyly and neatly placed both hands on the table.
“First, let me ask. Miss Makoto, what did you intend to demand from Schale's teacher?”
“I don't want to tell you!”
“Grr, hold still, my ankle……”
“Gasp! W, well, I wasn't planning to demand anything! I just wanted Schale to contact our 'Manma-den' instead of the 'discipline committee' if they ever needed something from Gehenna in the future!”
It didn't seem like a lie. Makoto's intelligence wasn't high enough to bluff in the first place.
Kenji placed his hand on his chin and spoke.
“Why?”
“Because I don't want to lose to Hina, that girl! If she collaborated with Schale, then I should naturally do the same! No, I should do something even more impressive!”
Hina.
A familiar name. She was definitely the person who came to Trinity with Makoto two years ago. Come to think of it, she said she'd contact me later, but two years had already passed. I wonder if she remembers the favor I promised.
‘I'll just meet her.’
Coincidentally, I'm visiting Gehenna. After finishing business at Manma-den, I can drop by the discipline committee. Kenji nodded, thinking so.
“So, you mean this wasn't an act with malicious intent toward Schale. Understood.”
“Kekekeke! Right! I have no intention of doing anything to Schale! I just want them to contact us instead of the discipline committee!”
“Hmm…… and what benefit do we get from that?”
The most important thing in negotiations was ultimately benefit. For a deal to be made, both sides needed to gain something. In that regard, Kenji couldn't think of any proper benefit Schale would get from maintaining a relationship with Manma-den instead of the discipline committee.
Gaining a connection with Gehenna's student council? Good. But if they completely neglect the discipline committee, well. The losses outweighed the gains.
At Schale, you have access to almost all information. Thanks to that, Kenji knew to some extent the status the discipline committee held in Gehenna. He also knew that status was higher than Manma-den, which most students didn't even know about. The members might not know because they were hastily gathering information, but it was clear that their status and authority weren't low.
Abandoning such a discipline committee and joining hands with Manma-den? He was skeptical. There was no reason to take that risk.
But Makoto seemed to think there was a benefit Schale could gain by partnering with Manma-den. She smiled confidently and openly crossed her legs.
“Of course there's a benefit!”
“What is it?”
“Keke, don't be surprised! It's……!”
Bang!
Makoto trailed off, then slammed the table and shouted brightly.
“We'll provide pudding regularly every month!”
“……?”
Kenji's face went blank.
What, what did I just hear? What? Pudding?
He desperately racked his brain to grasp the meaning of what he just heard. Meanwhile, Makoto, thinking he was surprised, let out a strange laugh, kekekeke.
“You must be surprised! Well, pudding is the best snack loved by everyone! It's only natural to be surprised when we offer to provide it monthly.”
“Wow! Pudding! Ibuki loves pudding!”
“I love it too, Ibuki!”
Makoto and Ibuki looked at each other and spoke. Iroha let out a deep sigh, and the pink-haired girl standing behind Makoto drooled and muttered, “Pudding…….” Kenji seriously wondered if these guys were under some collective hypnosis. Then, leaning back against the sofa, he let out a deep sigh.
‘This is insane.’
Even upon reflection, it was astonishing. What? Pudding? Provide it regularly every month? They seriously think that's a benefit Schale can gain? It was so absurd it was laughable. If it were said to ignore this side, I could laugh and cause a scene, but Makoto's statement was too honest. There was no hidden meaning at all.
‘This thing…… is the student council president? And this is the student council?’
Kenji stared blankly at the pink-haired girl wiping drool from her mouth, then finally spoke in a resigned voice.
“Understood…… just give me the pudding.”
No matter how he thought about it, it didn't seem like these guys could pose a threat to Schale. So, he decided to accept Manma-den's request to reassure them, while also maintaining ties with the discipline committee. Honestly, what could Manma-den do even if Schale contacted the discipline committee? Even if caught, there was nothing to lose.
Pudding? Cut it off if you want.
“Kikikikik! Good! You made the right choice! It seems even to you that I look better than Hina!”
“Ugh, damn it.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“I said, the pudding must be delicious.”
“Well! Pudding is delicious! Fine then! I'll share one with you today! Satsuki!”
Makoto ordered the girl standing behind her to bring five puddings from the refrigerator. Satsuki lightly walked over and took the puddings out of the fridge.
“Here, eat up! From now on, we'll provide this every month!”
“…….”
Kenji gloomily took the spoon Makoto handed him and ate a bite of pudding. The tasteless, jiggly texture evoked a sensation like chewing organ pieces that had turned into mush. Of course, it wasn't as tough as organ pieces, but the jiggliness was the same. Kenji put down the pudding after one bite and pushed it toward Iroha, who was standing beside him.
“……? Are you giving it to me?”
“I have no appetite.”
“Hmm. Can't refuse a kindness. I'll enjoy it.”
Iroha placed the pudding Kenji gave her in front of herself and took a spoonful of the pudding she was holding. The other student council executives did the same. Kenji watched the scene with an expressionless face, then smiled fondly and thought.
‘Gehenna is hopeless.’
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