In the afternoon, Raize pushed open the door to the Service Club activity room. It was empty inside—Yukino clearly hadn't arrived yet.
Raize didn't mind at all. He opened the laptop he had brought and began his daily work: coding, programming, and designing the game he was developing entirely on his own.
Because there was no one else in the activity room, Raize could go all out and work at full speed.
It wasn't until half an hour later, when he sensed someone approaching, that Raize slowed down again.
Just as he expected, it was Yukino herself entering the room. After seeing her come in, he politely greeted her.
Yukino returned the greeting, then sat down at her seat, looking at Raize's working with a somewhat strange expression.
Earlier, on her way to the Service Club room, Hayama had stopped her midway and asked her for a favor.
It was about whether Raize would retaliate against Tobe.
Yukino had already heard before that during P.E. class in Raize's class, some beast of a man had punched a soccer ball apart with one punch.
She hadn't believed it at first, but dozens of students in her class were all talking about it. She had even gone to the field and seen the PE teacher holding a damaged soccer ball, staring at it in disbelief.
Coupled with Hayama's sudden visit and request, she couldn't help but believe it.
"Um, Yotsuki-kun."
Yukino was the first to lose her patience and ask Raize a question. After organizing her words, she asked, "Did something happen during P.E. class earlier?"
Hearing this, Raize stopped what he was doing, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Yukino.
"Looks like what happened on the field has spread. But Yukinoshita, you're not the kind of girl who gossips, nor would you come to me just because of rumors."
"Let me guess—someone must have asked you to do something. If I remember correctly, your Service Club exists to help others, right?"
Based on Raize's understanding of Yukino, her approaching him because of rumors alone would already be strange.
Yukino was a good girl, but also a lonely one. Her relationship with Raize hadn't reached the point where she would proactively start a conversation with him.
And just as Raize had expected, he guessed correctly. The moment Yukino's expression changed, he clearly caught it.
She hadn't expected him to see through her intentions before she even finished speaking. Still, her mental fortitude was strong—despite being figured out, she didn't panic.
"Yotsuki-kun, you're very perceptive. Someone did ask me to smooth things over on your side. They hope you won't hold a grudge over Tobe Kakeru's rudeness on the field…"
"There's no such thing as asking someone else to apologize for you. That shows zero sincerity." Raize cut her off halfway, no longer wanting to listen.
He hadn't cared much about what happened on the field, but what did it mean to ask someone else to apologize for him? And sending a girl to do it, no less. Did that guy have no sense of responsibility at all?
Interrupted, Yukino didn't get angry. She even nodded in agreement with Raize's criticism.
"Doing something wrong but not daring to face it yourself does show a lack of sincerity. But judging by your tone, Yotsuki-kun, it seems you didn't care about it at all."
If Hayama hadn't sincerely entrusted her with this request, she wouldn't have wanted to take it on at all.
But hearing Raize's tone now, it seemed he really didn't care much, which saved Yukino a lot of effort and words.
"It really was nothing worth mentioning. Toward Tobe Kakeru, who kicked the ball at me, I didn't have any particular dislike or goodwill—he was just a stranger. Not worth causing conflict over something like that."
"But the fact that he didn't come himself and instead asked you, a girl, to do it—now I have nothing but dislike for that coward."
Raize multitasked effortlessly, continuing his complicated work while chatting with Yukino about a topic he wasn't particularly interested in.
"Then it really was making a mountain out of a molehill, turning a simple problem into something complicated." Yukino shook her head slightly, feeling a bit helpless. What Hayama considered an important issue meant nothing at all to Raize.
If the other party had just gathered a bit of courage and apologized to Raize face-to-face, this man—who didn't care to begin with—wouldn't have made things difficult.
But now, because of those convoluted actions, the situation had been unnecessarily complicated.
"Yukinoshita, you're really a gentle and responsible good girl. You actually agreed to handle something this troublesome. If I were a violent, unreasonable person, you'd be the one getting hurt."
While working, Raize spoke words of praise toward Yukino.
She really was a good girl—there was no doubt about that. Aside from her stubborn and immature personality, Yukino had many admirable qualities.
"Thank you for the compliment. The Service Club exists to lend a helping hand to those in trouble, to accept various requests from students. Once a request is accepted, we must fulfill our responsibility—even if it means getting hurt."
Yukino accepted Raize's praise without modesty. She lightly brushed her hair back by her ear and lowered her head to continue reading her book.
"The goal and resolve are admirable, but in the future, please act within your limits. That guy didn't dare come because he was afraid I'd use violence on him, yet he entrusted this matter to you. It's obvious he wanted you to bear the risk. You don't need to help someone like that."
Raize paused his work, turned his head, and looked calmly at Yukino as he spoke.
Her intentions weren't wrong, but the flaw lay in the fact that this outstanding girl didn't possess omnipotent power.
If she didn't know her limits, getting hurt would only be a matter of time. That was why Hiratsuka worried about Yukino.
"Are you saying I'm overestimating myself?"
Yukino frowned slightly, lifting her head to look at Raize, who remained calm.
Raize sighed inwardly. It seemed his well-intentioned words had been taken as a provocation.
Looking at the serious girl with her brows knit together, he clenched his right fist under her questioning gaze, then raised it.
Whoosh!
A swift thrust punch shot out. A fierce gust of wind roared forward, blowing straight at the girl's face. Raize controlled a portion of his strength and threw that punch toward Yukino.
He could easily throw a supersonic punch, but at this distance it would absolutely injure her.
He wasn't attacking her—he was simply showing her an obvious truth.
Yukino stared blankly at Raize, who was frozen in his punching stance. In the sealed activity room, her long black hair was blown upward by the sudden gale.
When the fleeting wind vanished, her hair fell limply back down.
"If you think what I said earlier meant you're overestimating yourself, then yes—it does."
Raize slowly lowered his fist and looked at the stunned Yukino, speaking calmly.
"After my family was destroyed by ghouls, I trained properly. Even holding back, I can injure someone for life. If I don't control myself, I can kill someone outright."
That was actually putting it lightly. Against ordinary people, he could kill them with a single finger.
"If I really were the violent and unreasonable person I mentioned earlier, and I took my anger out on you, what do you think would happen?"
"Like I said before, you're a gentle and responsible girl. I don't want someone like you to encounter this kind of thing. You're excellent, but you're not omnipotent. Anyone who acts without knowing their limits will only reap the consequences."
Seeing that Yukino had finally listened seriously to his words, Raize nodded slightly to himself.
Indeed, when dealing with stubborn girls, extraordinary measures were sometimes necessary.
Yukino was excellent, but also proud. Words spoken by ordinary people often wouldn't truly reach her.
He had a good impression of her, which was why he bothered to advise her. When he realized words alone wouldn't work, he immediately switched to a more forceful approach.
And look—this time, she really listened and began reflecting.
"My actions just now were rude. I only wanted you to understand the deeper seriousness of the situation. If I scared you, I apologize for what I did."
After saying this, Raize turned around and resumed his work seriously, leaving Yukino with a heart full of complicated emotions.
She wanted to be angry, yet couldn't muster it. Or perhaps, at this moment, she felt she shouldn't be angry.
That air-splitting punch hadn't hit her, yet it struck straight into her heart, forcing her to seriously consider Raize's words.
He was right. If Raize truly had been unreasonable and violent, she really could have been in danger.
If that punch had actually landed on her, escaping injury would have been impossible.
Yukino also believed now that Raize really had punched a soccer ball apart earlier. The reason Tobe was too scared to show up was largely due to Raize's terrifying physical strength.
It was understandable—but she still looked down on him.
After genuinely thinking over what Raize had said, she also understood why he told her to act within her limits.
I may be excellent, but I'm not omnipotent?
Those words echoed repeatedly in the girl's ears. Yukino looked at Raize's working figure with complicated eyes, her thoughts drifting to her sister, who had always been more outstanding than herself.
Haruno was more excellent than she was—but even she wasn't omnipotent. How could Yukino herself possibly be?
Wasn't her constant effort to become even more outstanding, to carry out her own will, precisely to prove that she was no worse than Haruno—and to truly live as herself?
On the outside, Yukino seemed perfect, but inside she was fragile. When it came to family matters, she showed helplessness. No one truly understood her—not even herself.
The girl longed for change, yet felt lost about the future.
But Raize's air-splitting punch and those sharp words tore apart the icy shell she used as a disguise, directly striking at her essence.
With high defense but pitifully low health, Yukino took massive true damage that ignored all defenses.
As for Raize, he simply didn't want to see this girl suffer losses. He had no improper thoughts toward her, but since they would be under the same roof during their remaining high-school life, he would help if he could.
Besides, Hiratsuka probably hoped Yukino would change a little as well.