"Huh? Wh-what are you suddenly saying?! You saw my... my... my... my sleeping face—do you think you can just pretend you didn’t see it?!"

Ayakawa’s face flushed red out of nowhere. Was this anger? But seriously, why did a delinquent girl look so damn cute when blushing?

That perfect blush hovered between shyness and fury. Her breath came in quick, moist gasps. It was so unfair! She was just a delinquent—

"I’m not acting like nothing happened. I’m not that kind of person. I just... I just got lost staring. How could I not? You looked so good!"

The words tumbled out before I could stop them. I had no idea what nonsense I was spewing. But watching her face deepen to crimson—probably from rage—Ayakawa finally snapped. She covered her face with her hands. For over a minute, she stayed like that, repeatedly banging her head against the desk.

Then she shot up.

Ayakawa smoothed her crumpled uniform with surprising grace. Damn, she had such a great figure—wait, what the hell was I thinking?! Though... it really was—

She gave me an elegant smile. Her voice, however, dripped with venom.

"Die!"

How could such flawless features spit out something so terrifying?! One minute she had that adorable sleeping face; now her smile looked painfully forced. Ugh, beautiful girls were such trouble!

She glared down at me, eyes sharp and furious.

"Before you die... got any last words?! You’ve got three minutes. Sum it up in thirty words!"

"Eh?! But even if you say that—"

"You’ve got twenty-two words left!"

"Huh?! We’re starting now?!"

"Fourteen words."

"Wait! At least let me—"

"Six words."

"Eh?!"

"Five!"

I watched the count drop as her expression hardened. She hadn’t expected me to waste my explanation time like this. What could I do with five words? In a last-ditch effort—

"You’re really pretty!!"

"Eh?! Wh-what are you spouting?! Yeah, you stared at my face forever, but we just met! We’ve been classmates but never even talked! We can’t... can’t rush things like this?!"

Hey, hey—what nonsense was she spewing?! I meant it literally! Absolutely no weird intentions!

Ayakawa’s face burned even redder. Was she angrier now? Her breath hitched, voice cracking as she screamed—

"You shameless pervert! How dare you say that to a girl?!"

Wait, was this my fault?! I hadn’t proposed marriage or anything! Sensing disaster, I braced to run. Sure enough, a chair came flying at my head. I barely caught its leg, shielding myself.

"Calm down, buddy!! You’ll kill someone like this! Don’t you know?!"

"Screw you, pervert!! Just die already!!"

"I haven’t done anything shady to you?!"

"How do I know you won’t try something next?!"

"First, acknowledge the strength difference?!"

"I don’t care! You have to vanish from this world!! Or else—"

"Gurgle~~"

Ayakawa’s threat cut off by a cute, rumbling sound. If I wasn’t mistaken, it was a hungry stomach. I checked if it was mine—nope. It came from the girl in front of me.

I peeked up at Ayakawa. She was frozen solid. I gently took the chair from her hand and set it down. Her arm stayed suspended mid-air, eyes vacant. Was this the legendary Chinese petrification?

"Hey?! Moshi moshi?! Hello?! Sawasdee ka?!"

I waved my hand in front of her face for a full minute. Nothing. Just as I turned to leave, a sharp pain exploded in my gut.

Before I could react, Ayakawa drove a jab straight into my stomach. I crumpled to the floor, curled up tight.

I was gonna puke everything I’d eaten! Had she really fought before?! Were those rumors about her taking on gangsters true?!

When the pain eased slightly, I dragged myself back to my chair. Where was Ayakawa? At eye level, I only saw her desk shaking violently—?!

I peered under it. Ayakawa crouched there, knees hugged to her chest, trembling. Muttering nonstop. I leaned closer to catch her words—

"I wanna die... He heard that. I wanna die. Kill this bastard first to cover it up... then I’ll kill myself. Nothing will have happened..."

Hey, Ayakawa?! That’s illegal! It’s just a stomach growl! But if I’d been in her shoes, I wouldn’t think it was trivial either.

I had to save my life. Grabbing my lunchbox, I held out a sandwich to the trembling girl under the desk.

"Eh?! For me?"

Ayakawa’s face lit with disbelief. Like I’d said before—she was a delinquent, but her expression was pure moe!

Her voice and face radiated shock, laced with shy fluster and stubborn pride. It was exactly like feeding a cute animal—that irresistible look begging for more.

So my lunch vanished in an instant—

"Consider it compensation for seeing your sleeping face."

"Compensation?! What’s wrong with my face?!"

Ayakawa totally misinterpreted me. She yelled, jumping up—then smacked her head hard on the metal desk drawer.

I meant I owed her, but she thought the opposite.

"Sorry!—This is payment for seeing your adorable sleeping face! Please take it!"

"Hmph!" She shot me a "That’s more like it" glare before snatching the bread—

"Wait... who did you call adorable?! The only word for me is badass!!"