Chương 256: Punish the Bully

"Eriri."

Seeing this, Homura shook his head.

"That's enough. It'll remind Nayu of bad things."

Nanami also soon came to a realization. Ignoring the united front with the other girls, she quickly came behind Nayuta and embraced her.

This was not unexpected.

When Homura mentioned Nayuta's detailed circumstances before, Megumi, Eriri, Utaha, and Izumi were not present. As a result, they only knew she had been hurt in some way, but not the specifics.

Being reminded by him, Eriri felt she might have been a bit too aggressive earlier. But, Homura quickly explained, so she wouldn't blame herself too much.

After listening to his explanation, even those who didn't know before were clued in.

Eriri quickly came in front of Nayuta.

"Nayu, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to earlier, so please don't overthink it."

After saying that, she gently hugged Nayuta and whispered in her ear.

"I'm really sorry... I hope I didn't remind you of something terrible..."

"Mmh-mmh..." Nayuta lightly shook her head. "...After spending so much time with everyone, I know what kind of people you all are. It was just an instinctive reaction..."

Hearing her say that, the rest of the girls felt even more sorry for her. The fact that her body reacted instinctively like that just confirmed what Homura said about her emotional scars.

"Mou! I really want to beat those guys up!" Elf clenched her fists and waved them.

"Can't this be reported to the school?" Utaha frowned.

"Well, this sort of bullying happens in a bunch of schools, especially when it's about stuff like graffiti and messing with personal property. Since it's not causing actual physical harm, and these kids are what, thirteen or fourteen? What else can you really do except give them a scolding and some guidance?"

Homura shook his head.

"So, besides reporting it to the relevant authorities, I did some other things. I couldn't just ignore it after knowing that Nayu was being bullied, right?"

"Homura-kun... What did you do?" Megumi frowned slightly, not wanting him to do something bad.

"I didn't do anything; I just investigated their bullying activities. Turns out, they weren't just targeting Nayu. The results of the investigation spread to students, teachers, and even parents through various means."

"Students were useless; they feared the bully and just kept their distance. However, it's a different story for teachers and parents. Teachers will definitely reach out and regularly educate them."

"As for parents, they worry about their own children, and many approach the school to discuss the issue. Some may even consider transferring their children to another school to prevent bullying. This puts a lot of pressure on the school itself, so..."

"Unless they genuinely repent, otherwise... If they have no sense of shame, the experience won't be much different from what the bullies put others through. Of course, I didn't do anything to them; I just exposed their actions. If you do wrong, you should face the consequences."

After explaining, Homura shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"By the way, even if they switch schools, the rumors will still trail them, and if they move again, they'll remain in the spotlight. Unless they truly change their ways and publicly apologize to those they bullied, it won't end."

Hearing his explanation, the girls were left speechless.

"That method is a bit... unusual."

"To deal with people like them, you can't always follow the normal way."

The girls had to admit that while his method might be a bit unusual, it seemed to be effective. After all, some teachers didn't want to get involved in these kinds of matters, so Homura had to provide some 'motivation'.

Nayuta was filled with gratitude at this moment.

She didn't expect him to do so much for her. Moreover, it seemed to be a long-term task, meaning he probably had to spend a lot of money and time when accomplishing all of them.

Thinking about this, she felt a little grumpy.

Giving him some 'rewards' would be great. Her body would be a small way to repay him. What a pity, no one agreed, so she felt a bit deflated.

However, no one paid attention to her current state of mind because her expression showed she wasn't thinking about anything serious.

"Um, as long as you know what you're doing..." Megumi nodded, not saying much.

"Then let's continue with the previous topic." Utaha restarted the conversation.

"By the way, Nayu, have you ever tried on a swimsuit?" Homura thought for a moment, trying to steer the conversation about Nayuta's naked habit in a different direction.

As he asked, everyone turned their attention back to Nayuta.

Nayuta also pondered for a moment and frowned.

"Well... I haven't tried one on, but aren't swimsuits similar to underwear?"

Homura rolled his eyes and turned to the rest of the girls.

"Really?"

""No!"" Eriri and Elf vigorously shook their heads.

"How could swimsuits be the same as underwear?!" Utaha couldn't help but interject.

"I didn't say they were the same, but isn't the amount of fabric similar?" Nayuta muttered.

Everyone fell silent for a moment. It was indeed a reasonable interpretation in that context.

"So, Nayu-chan, you haven't tried one?" Megumi chimed in.

"Nope." Nayu shook her head.

"Then why not give it a try?" Homura suggested. "Today, put down your pen and buy a swimsuit. Also, take your laptop with you and try on various swimsuits to see if any of them could be used for your novel's inspiration."

"After all, with this big project, if I, as the leader, work in another room and not being with everyone, constantly seeking my opinion is quite troublesome." Homura added.

Nayuta felt a little uncomfortable with his suggestion, but she still nodded, since what he said was not wrong.

"Alright, let's go!" Homura picked up Haru, and the girls followed him to the activity room.

He had placed the desks of Muramasa and Elf next to each other, and there was a thick stack of papers on Muramasa's desk.

Nayuta's desk was beside Utaha, tucked into a corner.

Next to Nayuta was Eriri's desk.

Eriri's side was for Mashiro, and beside Mashiro was Sagiri.

In another corner was a work desk prepared for Izumi.

As for Homura and Megumi, they usually worked on two adjacent tables in the middle of the room.

Looking at Nayuta's desk, Homura suddenly furrowed his brow and observed it carefully.

"What do you guys think if..." Homura held his chin with one hand. "I hang a curtain at Nayu's place?"

Hearing this, everyone turned their attention to that spot.

"Like a fitting room?" Izumi asked.

Strangely enough, it was quite similar to her description. Although it should be a bit larger than a fitting room. After all, it wasn't small to begin with, so it wouldn't be cramped.

With that said, everyone, including Nayuta, smiled.