A Book Can't Be Judged By The Cover Chapter 36: Unforeseen Confrontation

’Wha— ?! What is he talking about? Who’s this guy anyways?’ Haji asked himself, trying to press the bag harder on his head so he won’t have to address the gentleman. He couldn’t stop the urge of looking between his arms, however, as he tried to get a good glimpse of the man and why he was talking to him. ’He even knows my full na, why?’ He wondered.

The class, who was bombarding him with all sorts of questions suddenly grew quiet as they stared at the gentleman then at Haji who seed to know the guy. They started making assumptions as to what their relationship was supposed to be and so of them had the craziest of ideas.

"Is Haji from a rich family?"

"No wonder he could act like that and not get expelled yet."

"Wow, he had us fooled, hook, line, and sinker."

"No way, he’s actually rich?! Who would’ve thought."

’It’s not like I even know him, who is this guy? Have we t before? Why is he looking for ?’ Haji was now becoming rather curious regarding the gentleman that kept on bugging him.

"Haji, we need to talk." The man repeated, this ti his voice sounded slightly stern. He knew that he didn’t have all the ti in the world so he was getting rather impatient.

Sleepily, Haji removed the bag that covered his face and stared at the face of the gentleman, blinking twice. He wasn’t going to blow his cover of faking his sleep so he forced a yawn out of his mouth before addressing the gentleman. "What do you want from ? Who are you? Have we t before?" Haji asked. He wanted to get rid of his classmates’ misunderstanding that he knew the guy, so he asked those three questions all at once, leaving the gentleman no chance to answer anything first.

In response, the man silently stared at Satoshi, up and down, as if inspecting his every being. Satoshi tried to keep his cool, and yet, for so reason, the man made him uncomfortable. He felt creeped out, so much so that he was prepared to throw so punches. Fortunately, he managed to maintain his composure, observing the man as well just as he observed him. ’He looks like he’s in his forties, how could he look younger than his age though.’ Haji said to himself.

"You’re a fine young man, no wonder." The man comnted, giving Haji the shivers.

"Well, that doesn’t sound like a complint at all, hearing that from you." He curtly responded.

Grab!

In an instant, the gentleman grabbed Haji by the collar, lifting him a few milliters off the ground before dragging him out of the classroom. Everyone including Akamine-sensei was shocked at the man’s sudden reaction. They weren’t able to stop him, however, and before they regained their senses, both the gentleman and Haji were already out of the classroom, with the door sliding shut behind them. Haji, on the other hand, couldn’t resist at all. He could tell that the gentleman was strong and there wouldn’t be any advantages if he retaliated. In the end, he helplessly flailed as he was dragged around. It may have appeared as an embarrassing mont but at that point, Haji was only thinking about his own survival. Provoking the gentleman was out of the question. In the anti, he would just wait it out until he finds an opportune ti to escape.

The man grunted as he pulled at Haji. Once they reached the staircase, the man pushed him against the wall, adjusting his cuffs soon after before letting out an exhale. "Now, let ask you this once. And when I say once, you’re going to have to answer , truthfully."

"Sure, I an, you pretty much dragged out here. I’m sure you have your reasons." Haji shrugged. One rule he learned the hard way was that a person shouldn’t show any weakness no matter how cornered they were. That’s why he still wore that confident look. Besides, he was slightly taller than the man, so he didn’t really need to straighten his back to assert a bit of dominance.

"Where is the young miss, Kikuchi gumi? Oh wait, let ask more specifically— where have you taken her?" The man asked, his voice strong and biting.

"I ah- what?! What are you talking about? And who are you? Why are you looking for her?" Haji returned his question with a set of his. "For a good-looking guy, you’re quite rude you know. Isn’t it basic manners to introduce yourself first before interrogating ?"

"Sigh~ I’m sorry about that. I don’t have much ti." The man responded. "I’m Franz Schwarz, personal driver, and butler of the Kikuchi household." He continued, flashing an ID towards Haji which kind of proved his employnt and identity.

"Nice to et you, Franz-san, but I’m sorry, I don’t know where she is at the mont," Haji responded, even though he had an inkling as to where she might be.

For one, he doesn’t know whether he could trust the guy or not, and second, what if he was actually a kidnapper looking for a quick buck by getting ahold of gumi and asking for ransom? All those thoughts ran through Haji’s head like a roll of film being fed into a projector. The way things are right now, there was no way he’d tell so guy where gumi’s location might be.

Slide.

The door to the classroom opened and out ca Akamine-sensei. Since the classroom was adjacent to the staircase, everyone in the class could hear what they were talking about and Akamine-sensei brought it upon herself to tell them the obvious.

"My class could hear you, Franz-san, can you take this sowhere else? Also, Haji, you don’t have to be wary of him, he is really an employee in the Kikuchi household. I’ve seen him drive gumi to and from school every day." After warning them, Akamine-sensei returned to her class.

The two didn’t need any telling twice. They unanimously agreed to exit the school and talk on the school grounds.

"Look, kid, just tell where she is,"

"I really don’t know where she is." Haji continued. "But! I can help you find her if you want."