Chapter 38: Frog Bento (Part 2)

Seiko scraped the dismembered frog and the note back into the bento box and turned her head to look at the “Akina faction” girls in her class.

These girls had been stealing glances at Seiko just now, but when they saw Seiko look over, they subconsciously avoided her gaze.

“Miyū-chan,” Seiko raised her hand, waved at a girl in the middle, and called out loudly.

The girl had originally wanted to pretend she hadn’t been looking at Seiko, but since Seiko called out so loudly, she had no choice but to look over.

Seiko beckoned, signaling for her to come over.

The girl hesitated, but after exchanging glances with her companions, she still came to Seiko’s desk.
Of course, her two companions followed.

“What do you want?” the girl asked, her chin slightly raised, her tone impatient.

The girl’s name was Takahashi Miyū.
She and her companions had a history of bullying classmates, and they had cornered other girls in the bathroom more than once.
They also often said behind her back that they felt sick just hearing the name “Seiko.”

Seiko had noticed these things long ago, but she had been too lazy to meddle in other people’s business before.

“Saori, could you give Miyū-chan a seat?”

“Okay.”

“Please, have a seat.”

Seiko patted the seat Saori had vacated next to her, gesturing for Takahashi Miyū to sit down.

Takahashi Miyū saw Seiko’s bento box, her cheek twitched slightly, but she still sat down.
However, after sitting down, her attitude became even more impatient.
“What is it?
Spit it out, don’t waste my time.”

“It’s nothing major,” Seiko said.
“I just want to introduce myself to Takahashi-san, in case you don’t know me.”

“Haha, what do you mean?” Takahashi Miyū laughed loudly.
“School has been in session for so long, how could I not know you?
Haha…”

Seiko calmly waited for the other girl to finish laughing before continuing, “You might not actually know me.
Let me introduce myself.
My name is Yamagami Seiko.
There’s a Yamagami-gumi in Urawa, a Boryokudan on police records.
I am the granddaughter of the current Kumicho of the Yamagami-gumi.”

Takahashi Miyū was stunned.
She couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
After a long moment, she managed to say with difficulty, “Hehe, just because you say it, that makes it true?”

Seiko had no intention of proving her identity.
She simply pushed the bento box containing the dead frog in front of Takahashi Miyū.
“This is my lunch for today.
Please eat it.”

“What!” Takahashi Miyū screamed, almost jumping up, but Seiko grabbed her hand, preventing her from leaving her seat.
“Why should I eat it?”

Takahashi Miyū’s voice attracted the attention of the surrounding students.

“This is my treat for you.”
Seiko emphasized the word “my.”

“What kind of treat is this… Just because you ask me to eat it, does that mean I have to?”
Takahashi Miyū’s voice was shrill.
She tried to pull her hand back, but failed.

“Of course,” Seiko held Takahashi Miyū’s hand, her tone as calm as if she were discussing a matter of course.
“What do you think the Yakuza is?
If I wanted to punish you, what should be lying in this bento box is this hand of yours.
I’m just asking you to eat a frog.
Why isn’t that a treat?”

Feeling the touch on her hand, Takahashi Miyū suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

“Of course,” Seiko leaned forward slightly, getting close to Takahashi Miyū’s ear, and lowered her voice, “if you don’t want to eat the frog, and you don’t want to lose your hand, then your father’s, or your mother’s, is also an option.
Oh, right, you have a younger brother, don’t you?
Which one do you choose?
Miyū-chan?
However many cuts this frog has, I can help you make that many cuts too.
Think about it carefully.
How will you choose?”

Takahashi Miyū’s breathing quickened, and her body began to tremble slightly.

Seiko finally let go of Takahashi Miyū’s hand, carefully closed the bento box, wiped the chopsticks clean, and pushed them together in front of Takahashi Miyū.
“Please, you have the whole afternoon.
Please eat it, wash the bento box, and return it to me after school.”

“It wasn’t, it wasn’t me, the frog… it wasn’t me…” Takahashi Miyū said with a trembling voice.

“I don’t care who did it.
I just want you to eat it.”
Seiko was completely unmoved and held out her hand.
“Please.”

“No, I can’t, I don’t want to eat it, I’m begging you…”

Takahashi Miyū’s voice was tinged with tears.

Seiko paid no attention to whether Takahashi Miyū wanted to or not, and still said with a straight face, “Please don’t waste my time.”

Takahashi Miyū picked up the bento box with trembling hands, slowly stood up, and wanted to return to her own seat.

“Don’t waste food, Miyū-chan,” Seiko’s voice came from behind, startling Takahashi Miyū and making her shoulders tremble.
“Otherwise…”

Seiko only said half a sentence, but tears were already rolling down the corners of Takahashi Miyū’s eyes.

Takahashi Miyū’s two companions, who had been watching the whole time, were also pale with fear.

Takahashi Miyū returned to her seat with Seiko’s bento box, but she never actually ate the bento.

It wasn’t until the first class ended that her companions gathered around Takahashi Miyū and whispered for a long time.
Only then did Takahashi Miyū seem to have made up her mind.
She took the bento box and hurried out of the classroom.

“Poor Miyū-chan,” Saori said sympathetically, looking at Takahashi Miyū’s departing back.
“What if she goes out and throws the frog in the trash can?”

Seiko looked up from her homework and rolled her eyes.
“If you hadn’t added that last part, I might have believed that a tiny bit of your sympathy was genuine.”

Saori laughed and argued, “My sympathy doesn’t affect my curiosity.
They’re two different things.”

Takahashi Miyū did not throw the bento away.
Before long, their homeroom teacher, Totsuka Mei, returned with the bento.
Takahashi Miyū hid behind the small homeroom teacher.

Slap.

“How could you make a classmate eat a frog?”

Ms. Totsuka slammed the bento box on the desk, her expression angry.

Seiko blinked.
“I just asked Miyū-chan to eat her bento.
Why was there a frog in the bento?”

Ms. Totsuka took a deep breath to calm herself down.
“Do you have any proof that Takahashi-san put the frog in your bento?”

“No,” Seiko shook her head.

“Then why did you make Takahashi-san eat the frog?” Ms. Totsuka glared.

“Because I’m not the police,” Seiko said without a second thought.
“The police need to investigate evidence and find the culprit.
The Yakuza only need to find a suitable target and make her swallow the consequences.”

Ms. Totsuka was speechless.

Seiko shifted her gaze to Takahashi Miyū behind her.
“Takahashi-san…”

Takahashi Miyū’s shoulders trembled again.

“Don’t forget my words, Takahashi-san,” Seiko said.
“The consequences of wasting food are very serious.
Just as you often say to other students, the teacher can’t walk you home.”

“You…”

Ms. Totsuka reached out to take the bento box back and throw it away, but Takahashi Miyū snatched it first.

“Takahashi-san…”

“It’s okay, teacher.
I’ll handle it myself,” Takahashi Miyū said with her head down.

Ms. Totsuka looked at the tearful, downcast Takahashi Miyū, then at the calm-faced Seiko, and gritted her teeth.
“I will definitely get to the bottom of this.”

“Mm, good luck with that,” Seiko nodded.

“Then give me the bento box first…”

But Takahashi Miyū cut Ms. Totsuka off first.
“It’s really okay, teacher!
Please don’t worry about it…”

Before school let out in the evening, Ms. Totsuka still hadn’t found the real culprit.
There were no surveillance cameras in the classroom, so as long as the person who put the frog in avoided most witnesses, it was difficult to investigate.

However, Seiko’s bento box had been washed clean and placed back on her desk.