Chapter 54: Quit Dawdling—Just Fight Already +8 Pearls

Olivia watched the tall boy standing protectively in front of her and felt a vague sense of familiarity. After a moment's thought, she remembered—it was the classmate who had taken her seat that day.

“My comrade?” Olivia asked, tilting her head.

Benjamin blinked, utterly baffled by her odd choice of words. Comrade?

Before Olivia could dwell further on Benjamin's unexpected appearance, another boy—handsome, with a bright and sunny demeanor—hurried over to join them.

“Wow, a bunch of grown men ganging up on a girl. You guys really have no shame, huh?” Lucas snarked as he stepped beside Benjamin, the two of them forming an impenetrable wall around Olivia.

After throwing out his jab, Lucas turned his attention to Olivia. He and Benjamin had been passing nearby when they saw a girl with the St. Rona Academy crest sobbing and frantically making a phone call.

When the girl spotted Benjamin, she immediately ran over and begged for help, claiming that her classmate, Olivia, was being surrounded by thugs.

Benjamin had initially been indifferent—until the girl mentioned the name Olivia. Without another word, he bolted toward the scene at a speed that left Lucas completely dumbfounded.

Lucas had assumed it must be some goddess to get Benjamin, who was famously apathetic, so worked up. But now, seeing Olivia's plain, bespectacled face, he couldn't help the stream of question marks popping up in his mind.

“What are you two doing here?” Olivia asked, looking up at her unexpected saviors.

“Your friend said you were in trouble. We’re here to play the heroes,” Lucas replied with a grin, though he was still puzzled about why Benjamin seemed so invested.

Totally unnecessary, Olivia thought.

“You take care of yourself; we’ll handle this,” Benjamin said firmly, still standing protectively in front of her as he turned his focus to the thugs.

“Dear classmate, you really are a good person,” Olivia remarked, her tone teasing.

Lucas nearly choked. Did I just hear someone call Benjamin a good person? For the first time ever?

“Hey! Enough of this nonsense! None of you are leaving here today!” The lead thug barked, realizing Mia had managed to send help faster than he’d expected. Still, they had the numbers advantage—seven against three. Breaking Olivia’s hands shouldn’t be a problem.

At his signal, the seven thugs surged forward. Benjamin and Lucas clenched their fists, ready for a fight.

Olivia glanced at the two boys standing in front of her, then at the seven or eight burly men rushing toward them. With a sigh, she shook her head.

Why is everyone so slow about these things?

As the lead thug reached them, Benjamin and Lucas began to raise their fists. But before they could throw a punch, they both felt a sudden weight on their shoulders. Olivia had used their shoulders as a springboard to leap forward, delivering a flying kick that sent the leader—a man weighing over 200 pounds—flying backward like a ragdoll.

Both boys froze, stunned.

“Quit dawdling. Just fight already,” Olivia said, her voice dripping with disdain. Without waiting for a response, her petite figure darted toward the group of thugs.

A sweeping kick. An over-the-shoulder throw. A devastating low blow. Within seconds, three of the thugs were writhing on the ground, completely incapacitated.

Lucas was dumbfounded. Is this seriously the girl we were supposed to rescue? He had never seen such a ferocious fighter in his life.

Benjamin watched Olivia’s brutal efficiency, questions swirling in his mind. But when he snapped out of it, he didn’t hesitate to dive into the fray, joining the fight.

The remaining thugs quickly realized they’d bitten off more than they could chew. One by one, they fell, unable to match the combined force of Olivia’s terrifying skill and Benjamin’s cold, precise strikes.

Lucas stood off to the side, watching the chaos unfold. For once, he found himself entirely unnecessary.

What kind of classmates are these? he thought, shaking his head in disbelief. 126