<h4>Chapter 8: Our Little Secret</h4>


    Tsk!


    I inwardly clicked my tongue at this annoying b*stard.


    For a second, I really forgot about his presence here.


    Nheless, I controlled my inner disdain and displeasure, and looked at him with a puzzled face.


    "Hmm, who are you?"


    Which immediately made his eyes twitch, but being the coward he was, he didn''t dare to speak back to me.


    Instead, it was Maria, who replied to me.


    "Leo-kun, this is my friend John, who came back after studying abroad for 5 years and will transfer to our school tomorrow."


    "Oh." And that''s it.


    I then ignored his presence, as if he wasn''t worth my time.


    Pfft~!


    Which immediately made the protagonist''s mood sink to the bottom, and made Maria let out a chuckle because she was aware that I was usually this kind of person: uninterested in others, straightforward, honest.


    Of course, she mistook my disdain and nonchnce for honestly straightforward behavior.


    However, Maria was also a smart girl, so she ran her mind and came up with her own assumptions as to why I was reacting in such a way towards John.


    Which caused a displeased frown to appear on her face.


    Naturally, not because of me but because of John,


    And after remembering my words that I would have beaten anyone for her, the frown only got deeper because inwardly she wasparing my caring behavior to John''s cowardice.


    Because it was him who she first told about the molestation, but he didn''t take any action to protect her.


    ''Women are reallyplex creatures, their mouths say one thing, but their hearts say something else.''


    ''And a ''bad boy'' who can go to any lengths for them is a fatal attraction to any woman.''


    Under my instigation, the protagonist''s decision, which would have usually been overlooked, or seen as a calm, collected decision by the heroine, was now seen as a cowardly act.


    ''Hehehe, suffer you b*stard, this is just the beginning.''


    "Anyway, you have to apply some medicine and put a bandage on your arm. If you leave it alone, the wound will swell. Leo-Kun, let''s go straight to the nearby clinic."


    ''Seeing you say this, I am truly grateful.''


    Although I smiled inwardly, on the outside I acted ording to my persona.


    "What happened? Are you my mother?"


    Maria looked at me, who continued to amuse her with a tired face and direct words.


    But she didn''t get angry.


    Instead, sheughed it off, took a deep breath, and said


    "Haha... Okay, I don''t care if you call me whatever, but let''s go to the clinic first."


    "What if I don''t like it?"


    "Then do what you want...!"


    She raised her voice a little, showing a cute angry side this time, spoke, and turned her pouty face.


    I giggled at her adorable actions and walked right next to Maria.


    "But Maria-Chan." My voice turned yful as I spoke in her ear.


    "What?!"


    The way she cutely tilted her head was so pretty that I wanted to attack her right now, but remembering the situation back in the main world, I controlled my urges and replied.


    "Did you know you''re also bloody?"


    "Me too...? where?"


    "It''s right there."


    When I opened her index finger and pointed to the area near her chest, Maria''s gaze went down.


    When she saw that there was blood on her chest, her face turned bright red in an instant.


    She hurriedly covered her front panel with her bag and narrowed her brow as she looked at me.


    "Hey! Isn''t it a pervert...?"


    "I said it out of courtesy, why are you so sensitive? Aren''t you a pervert?"


    "You, I don''t want to hear that from you..."


    "I told you the truth."


    Iughed and shed with Maria, who then tied her handkerchief around my hands to stop the bleeding, while we waited for the next train.


    After that event, I tagged along with both of them, who were going around the town, where Maria dragged me to the clinic to have my hand bandaged.


    In the original storyline, this event was intended for Maria to show John how the city had changed in thest five years.


    However, because of my presence, what was supposed to be almost a date like event between them has now turned into a date between me and Maria.


    As I always stayed by Maria''s side, and under my constant nudges, the protagonist was ignored all the way.


    ...


    "Bye, Leo-kun, today was a lot of fun."


    "It was indeed. Let''s go again someday."


    After leaving John to go to his home, which was in front of Maria''s,


    I gave her a yful wink as I said goodbye, and she ran into the house with a bright red face, leaving behind the word "Sure."


    Nothing happened that night, and I safely returned to my home in this world.


    Today''s event was a huge sess. I liked it very much, though my hand hurts.


    * * * * * *


    Next Day,


    I was walking down the hallway in the school, thinking about various things.


    "Leo-Kun!"


    When I heard Maria''s urgent voice from behind, and raised an eyebrow.


    I turned around and asked.


    "What is it?"


    "Oh, the principal told me to bring Leo-kun to the office... The molester sued Leo-Kun...!"


    "I thought it would be like this." I said it with a face full of annoyance. "Anyway, just leave it alone."


    "What...? Are you crazy? You don''t know how big this is right now. Oh, let''s go quickly."


    Maria was tugging at my clothes and whining.


    Having lost my appetite, as if regretfully, I allowed Maria to drag me to the principal''s office.


    …


    That person was a molester... The unscrupulous person who wanted to molest me... Leo-Kun helped me... I told you...!"


    Maria was by my side and hard at work defending me.


    ''How cute.''


    The principal was in his 60s, and was silently listening to Maria, with sses on the bridge of his nose and a kind smile on his face.


    "Don''t worry too much. When I turned him over to the police, it turned out that he had many criminal charges. He has been arrested several times for molesting women. His suit against Leo won''t do anything."


    Maria, relieved by this, exhaled as if at ease for an hour.


    "Oh, yes...? That''s a good thing... But why does Leo-Kun need to be suspended?"


    "Because he hit too hard. Five teeth are gone. Someone anonymously told me about the situation at the time... You also stopped Leo-Kun, didn''t you? Didn''t you think it was excessive violence?"


    "…Of course I thought so. but..."


    "As the person who was molested, you think so, so what would other people who were present there think? They probably thought he was going to kill someone."


    "They said it was scary to have a student like this in our school."


    "No, that''s absurd...! Are you going to discipline Leo-kun for protecting the school''s image?"


    Maria continued to protect me.


    But this time I asked the professor, stopping Maria by grabbing her hand under the table with a grim expression.


    "So what should I do?"


    "You are suspended for one month. The police caught the criminal they were looking for, and you also saved Maria-chan, a fellow academy student, so I think this cheap meal for you is the end of it."


    As the principal said, this was really a very cheap meal, because the original body really had a bad reputation around the school for being a delinquent.


    Removing these thoughts, I shook my head and asked again.


    "Is theint really settled?"


    "Yes, but I will warn you—if you do something like this again during your suspension, you will be out."


    "Okay."


    Anyway, since there was nothing else, I shrugged and left the office.


    Then, Maria immediately followed and called me.


    "Leo-kun! Stop for a second!"


    "Can''t you stop screaming? It hurts my ears because of the noise."


    At those words, Maria''s upper body leaned forward.


    It looked like she was trying to spit out her dissatisfaction with me, but she stopped and took a deep breath.


    ''It''s pretty quick to regainposure.''


    Having seeded in calming her mind, she said,


    "Why did you stop me? You know next month is exam season, and in thesest days teachers would revise the whole sybus. You didn''t study the whole year because of your parents, and now if you remain absent this month, you will definitely fail."


    "It''s no use, Maria, I am already a delinquent in everyone''s eyes, so this was a good opportunity for me to get out of this matter scot-free, because even if I beat someone with good intentions, people would only see me with bad eyes."


    "But you did it because of me..."


    She tried to exin with a guilty face, but I cut her in the middle.


    "There''s no point in spreading as to why I did it, because let alone anyone would believe or not whether you were molested or not, but your reputation will certainly hit the bottom."


    "Although I never had a girlfriend, but I understand how fragile and sacred a girl''s image is, and that once tainted, it would be difficult to wash away."


    "Above all, what would happen if you told them? That I was with you? "


    "That I met you by coincidence?"


    "Do you think people would believe in coincidence or would they think that we were on a date?"


    "A pure, beautiful, and innocent girl like you, who is the role model of all, is on a date with a delinquent like me. heh!"


    I made a self mocking expression.


    "Let alone, people, if your parents heard about it..."


    The more I spoke and the more Maria heard my words, the more her heart filled with shame and guilt.


    It was also then that I noticed John, who had juste here, and was watching us from the side, around the corner.


    "D-date... My parents, Oh No!"


    "See."


    I shook my head, but then, as if an idea came to mind, I asked.


    "Say Maria, can I ask for a favor?"


    "Ask anything, Leo-Kun."


    Leaning forward, I spoke in her ear.


    "Give me private tuition at my home for this one month, please. I don''t want to fail."


    "Private tuitions?!" She eximed, but I immediately put my finger on her lips and stopped her.


    "Shh! Can''t you?"


    My facial expressions started making fun of myself, as if I were mocking myself for having expected something.


    "It''s okay, I will study alone at home without anyone this month, and I will surely pass. Now I don''t even have parents to disturb me."


    "HAHAHA"


    And then, I let out a self deprecatingugh, and I turned around to leave, but before I could, Maria immediately grabbed my arm.


    "Leo-Kun! Don''t go... When did I say I wouldn''t help you?"


    "Then You?"


    My expression brightened.


    "Yes, but I can''t tell it to my parents, they won''t allow me to be in a boy''s house alone."


    "But they speak for your well-being. It really is not right for you if people find out."


    "No, I trust Leo-Kun, and we just have to keep it a secret from everyone."


    "Then it''s our little secret."


    A smile broke out on my face after I heard her, and I extended my pinky finger forward,


    "Our secret"


    As Maria did the same and we intertwined our pinkies in a handshake, we both burst outughing at our childish antics.


    Which immediately distorted John''s expression, who had a rotten face full of shit.


    ''Suffer more, hehe, because the heroine is now basically mine.''


    A young innocent girl in a house alone with a bad boy who she has a crush on,


    ''Hehehe''


    Do I even need to tell you the results?