Confinement King-Chapter 364: Deterrent

　In the seat next to me, Camilia-san rests her cheek on the desk.

　Her golden hair reflected the morning sun, creating a beautiful scene like a painting.

　But the words spilled from her lips...

「It’s dull...」

　I wish it wasn’t that.

　Well, the start of the school day is still a long way away, and in the early morning, not many students are yet in the classroom.

　For someone who said "It’s dull", she was early to school.

　Well, she probably rode in the car of her sister who is a coach of the track & field club. Because the track & field club is supposed to have morning practice.

「Minami, why are you here so early?」

「Maybe it’s a habit... but I don’t like coming to school early only when I have to check my belongings」

「...You’re so serious」

　I chuckle and look down at the piece of paper in my hand.

　It’s a piece of loose leaf cut in half.

　It was thrown into the opinion box a while ago.

　The sender is unknown.

　But it’s clearly written by a girl in round letters, and the content is...

『A first-year student is being bullied by a second-year student on the girls’ basketball club』

　Well.

（Since Takata Iinchou is no longer with us... I have to take care of the situation）

　Considering what’s happening to me, I don’t have the time to worry about other people’s problems, still...

　At that time, I thought I was being embraced by Kobayashi-sensei, but before I knew it, it turned out to be Fumio Kijima, the ugly captain (Busaiku) of the next class.

　I was violated as much as Kijima wanted, and I lost my desire and said that I would love that ugly guy for the rest of my life.

　Meanwhile, Kobayashi-sensei is hospitalized after being stabbed by an unknown man. I heard that it was hopeless for him to teach again.

　And now, I was under strict orders from Kijima to come to the school whenever I was called, but somehow I felt that I had to obey him.

　It may be that there is no big difference between Kobayashi-sensei and Kijima, except for their faces, but it is not so easy to separate them.

（I don’t care about myself... I’m a member of the Public Morals Committee, I have to do my job...）

　According to what I’ve heard over the past few days, there is definitely some bullying going on in the girls’ basketball club.

　The girl being bullied is a first-year student named Ayame Hanabusa.

　Although it is not certain, the three female members of the second year club are suspected of bullying her.

　Sanae Ichida

　Nitani Asuka

　Mimura Doremi

　All of them seem to be on the verge of becoming regular players.

　The bullying started this summer, when the absolute ace Kaitou suddenly left the club.

　As her successor, Hanabusa, a first year player, was selected as a regular.

　It is said that Kaitou nominated her as her successor, but there was quite a protest when Kaitou, who was 170cm tall, was going to be succeeded by Hanabusa, who was 140cm tall.

　However, Hanabusa, with her excellent sense of path, has successfully managed to fill in Kaitou’s shoes, albeit in a completely different way.

　But then, of course, it is the second-year substitutes who are not so interesting.

　Although they don’t seem to be directly involved in the bullying, it is said that the bullying is very insidious.

（It’s common, but... it’s a deep-rooted story）

　I thought about asking the advisor of the girls’ basketball club for advice, but the current situation at our school is really not good.

　Because of the incident with the girls’ track & field club, the teachers are very tense.

　Even more than the track and field club, the women’s basketball club is said to be one of the strongest schools in the country, and it could lead to the expulsion of the second-year students from the basketball club before the incident comes to light.

　I didn’t think it was a good idea to just cut out the lesion and be done with it.

「Hey, Camilia-san... about the basketball club, what do you think I should do?」

　She helped me a little, a lot, to find out what was going on. She’s well aware of the situation. --tinytl

「Well... why don’t you just leave it alone?」

「That’s not the way it works, you know」

　When I said this, Camilia-san kept her cheek on the desk and opened her mouth in a troublesome manner.

「...You know. Humans are pack animals」

「Eh? What are you talking about?」

「I’m talking about bullying. . I mean, humans have learned through evolution to eliminate individuals who would cause disharmony within the pack」

「So you’re saying it’s okay to bully?」

「It’s not a question of good or bad. It’s how it works. The worst thing is the illusion that the humans all get along」

「Illusion...」

「Isn’t that right? The bullied can just move to a place where they feel comfortable, but in the current system of schools and companies, it’s difficult to be expelled. And what kind of torture is it to gather people who can’t get along and ask them to get along? As a result, they will be kicked in the ass for a long time. That’s all」

　I understand what she’s trying to say.

　But that’s too harsh. -- shorturl.at/lpwFK(TiniTL)

「But... If I don’t do something about it, I’ll feel sorry for the bullied girl」

　When I involuntarily pouted my lips, Camilia-san waved her hand in the air, looking even more annoyed.

「If you insist, why don’t you ask Fumio?」

　I hurriedly turned my attention to my surroundings. None of the students seemed to be listening to what I was saying.

「Why are you talking about that ugly guy there?」

「It means that he will corrupt all the bullies and the bullied. Once they’re corrupted, bullying will be nothing more than dirty play」

「Are you kidding me? I’m serious」

「I’m serious, too. Minami just doesn’t get it because you haven’t fallen yet. Fumio doesn’t want the girls he owns to fight with each other. The girls too don’t want to do anything Fumio doesn’t want them to do. If they’re not good, he won’t let his thing in--」

「Hey!」

　It’s not a good idea to have that in the classroom early in the morning.

「Haha, it’s okay, no one’s listening. But the fact is, sooner or later, it’ll be as effective a deterrent as a nuke. The only difference between nukes and those is whether you want them to go off or not」

「I don’t know what to say. All I know is that I was a fool to ask Camilia-san for help」

　I cowered, and she smiled.

「Well, I’m sure Minami will figure it out soon enough. Once you’ve fallen, you’ll wonder why you didn’t want to」

「Absolutely not」

　I made up my mind not to talk to this girl anymore.