At another glance to either side, the students who had been watching were now rushing over in surprise and panic.
Kira Yoshikage swept them a cold glance, then turned and left the scene without a word.
"W-Wait!"
An anxious girl's cry came from behind him. It was Kashiwagi Nagisa, who had just surfaced. She desperately wanted to ask what had happened—what exactly that thing at the bottom of the lake was.
But by the time she finally climbed ashore, Kira Yoshikage had already disappeared.
Only the Pure Academy students remained around her, chattering excitedly about the danger they had just faced.
"Nagisa, are you all right?"
A black-haired boy stepped forward worriedly, reaching out to help Kashiwagi Nagisa up.
Kashiwagi Nagisa coldly avoided his hand, a trace of disgust in her eyes.
"I'm fine, Tanuma. And we're not close enough to call each other by our first names. Could you not do that next time? It's disgusting!"
Of course she knew the young man before her. They had grown up together as childhood friends, and their families had a fairly good relationship. Before this, she had even had a good impression of Tanuma Tsubasa.
If he had confessed his feelings to her, she might have agreed.
Unfortunately, that was all in the past.
His performance just now had been far too disappointing.
In the school swimming competition, she had only come in second place. Tanuma Tsubasa had been the champion!
Yet he had done nothing just now, merely standing on the shore and watching. Now he was rushing over to show concern. That kind of behavior only disgusted Kashiwagi Nagisa!
The concerned expression on Tanuma Tsubasa's face froze. His outstretched hand hung awkwardly in midair.
At that moment, more voices rose from the crowd nearby.
"Not good! Koyasu-senpai and Shinomiya Kaguya are in terrible condition!"
"I'll give them artificial respiration!"
"You can't handle both of them alone. I'll help!"
Two boys stepped forward eagerly, their faces full of concern.
Kashiwagi Nagisa immediately moved in front of Shinomiya Kaguya and Koyasu-senpai, shouting angrily.
"They're already fine! You don't need to put on that fake concern!"
The girls around them immediately crowded over to block the boys, angrily condemning their behavior.
"How disgusting! Could you stay farther away from Koyasu-senpai and the others?"
"You didn't help when they needed rescuing, but now you want to take advantage of them? Disgusting!"
"Even if they really needed artificial respiration, there are girls here. Why would we need you?"
Under the condemnation of everyone present, the two boys who had "volunteered" became extremely awkward. Even the other boys looked at them with obvious disdain and contempt.
"Are these people really men?"
Kashiwagi Nagisa's eyes were filled with disappointment. They were all Pure Academy students, every one of them from a noble background. Yet the moment something important happened, they revealed their true nature. They could not even compare to a Mixed Academy student...
Kashiwagi Nagisa's eyelids twitched as she thought once again of the boy who had left.
He had clearly saved everyone, yet left without asking for anything in return. That was what a real man was supposed to be, right?
"Who exactly is he?"
Kashiwagi Nagisa lightly pressed her lips together. She wanted to find him.
Partly to thank him, and partly to ask him clearly...
What exactly had that enormous shadow in the lake been?
Yet the other party seemed afraid of being recognized. Not only had he concealed his identity, he had not left behind the slightest clue.
He had even taken off his school uniform before entering the water.
Even she remembered only that he had blond hair and looked like a delinquent...
Mm, no. Not a delinquent. He was clearly more of a gentleman.
Kashiwagi Nagisa shook her head, readjusting the image of the boy in her mind.
Chapter 22: The Working Soul of a Wage Slave
In a small grove near Swamp, a brown-haired girl with a side ponytail had been waiting for some time. Holding her shoulder bag, she asked worriedly:
"Kira-kun, are you really sure you don't need to go to the hospital?"
"No need."
Kira Yoshikage opened a fire hydrant installed in the landscaped strip beside the grove. As the water washed over his body, he calmly replied.
At the school gate, he had encountered Aoyama Nanami, who also needed to work and had left immediately after school. That was why he had stuffed his removed clothes into her bag and asked her to wait here ahead of him.
"Mm~"
Aoyama Nanami lightly pressed her lips together as she watched Kira Yoshikage stand before the fire hydrant and let the powerful stream scour his body. She felt that it was unfair to him. He had clearly saved people, yet could only hide here and secretly wash himself with a fire hydrant. It was far too unjust...
Aoyama Nanami knew that Kira Yoshikage did not want to discuss the matter, so she carefully avoided the subject and asked softly:
"Kira-kun, did you find a job?"
"Not yet."
Kira Yoshikage gently shook his head, closed the fire hydrant's valve, and took his school uniform from the bag to dry the water from his body. He then took out the white suit he had prepared long ago and changed into it.
Aoyama Nanaka glanced at Kira Yoshikage changing behind the landscaped strip. After hesitating for a moment, she said softly:
"I'm working at a café right now. They should still need people. Would you like to come, Kira-kun?"
"No."
The moment Kira Yoshikage heard the word "café," he decisively rejected the girl's kindness.
Aoyama Nanami lowered her head in silence, feeling somewhat disappointed, though she also felt that she had expected this.
"Aoyama."
After changing, Kira Yoshikage took the bag from the girl and looked at her quietly. "About what happened today, could I trouble you not to tell anyone? Not your friends or Teacher Hiratsuka."
"I'll keep it a secret."
Aoyama Nanami hesitated before gently nodding.
It had clearly been a good deed. Saving Pure Academy students would surely earn him gratitude from their parents. Perhaps the problem troubling Kira-kun would even be solved. So she really did not understand why Kira Yoshikage had given up such a good opportunity and chosen to be an unknown hero instead.
But since Kira Yoshikage had chosen to do so, he must have his reasons.
Therefore, Aoyama Nanami would respect Kira Yoshikage's choice and help him keep his secret.
"Good."
Kira Yoshikage nodded in satisfaction. Aoyama was indeed as kindhearted as she looked.
They soon parted ways. Aoyama Nanami had to go to work, while Kira Yoshikage had to find a job.
They were both poor and had to work hard to support themselves. They had no time to waste.
Deep in the grove, a pink-haired, pink-eyed girl with low twin tails cupped her cheeks and gazed at Kira Yoshikage's back with an infatuated smile.
"Ehehe, Kira-kun, we'll see each other again very soon."
"Very soon... as soon as the school gets blown up..."
The girl bit her finger, her expression turning somewhat dejected.
"But that'll take a long time... I don't want to wait that long."
"Mm~ Why don't I just blow up the school myself?"
After saying goodbye to Aoyama Nanami, Kira Yoshikage took a roundabout route before leaving through the school gate.
Before he could even board the train, his phone began vibrating incessantly.
Shimazaki Yuna had sent him a message on LINE, along with many illustrations.
"Kira-kun, do these need any changes?"
Kira Yoshikage carefully looked through them one by one. The hands in every illustration were nearly perfect, so he sent back a message.
"They're very good. There's nothing that needs changing."
"?(?>?
On the subway, Shimazaki Yuna's pretty face flushed faintly as she smiled dreamily, as though Kira Yoshikage's praise were the happiest thing in the world.
Receiving Kira Yoshikage's recognition gave Shimazaki Yuna enough confidence in the quality of these illustrations.
In fact, she had finished them the previous night. Before midnight on the tenth, she had submitted them at the last possible moment to Dengeki Bunko's Illustration Awards, along with some older works she had never gotten around to publishing.
If the illustrations won an award, they would surely help Kira-kun's novel a great deal, right?
Shimazaki Yuna clutched her phone to her chest and thought silently.
Kira Yoshikage did not take Shimazaki Yuna's messages to heart, because he still needed to find a job.
And this time, he had already come to a realization.
The reason he had encountered obstacles everywhere during his job search over the past two days was entirely because of the "consent form" Teacher Hiratsuka had given him.
It was not easy for students to find work, and shop owners hiring part-timers generally did not want to employ students.
The most important reason was that students could not work more than twenty-eight hours a week. They could not be exploited as freely as adults, and exceeding the limit even slightly would cause the employers tremendous trouble.
And someone like Kira Yoshikage—a "blond delinquent"—often represented even greater trouble.
After briefly running into walls, Kira Yoshikage quickly identified the problem.
Unless he discarded the outer identity of a student, he would never be able to find work.
Kira Yoshikage did not rely on established paths. He focused on results, striving to deliver a fast, direct combination in the shortest possible time and strengthen his social presence. He did not pursue attribution analysis of the critical path. Instead, he would identify a differentiated track based on his own strengths and create a deep connection between his value and his work.
Therefore, all things considered, he had to make full use of his own advantages.
And Kira Yoshikage knew his advantages very well: he was tall and handsome.
Thus, the ideal job for him was obvious—
A host club!
Kira Yoshikage walked out of the subway station and soon arrived at a place called MINNA.
Although the name sounded rather stylish and the décor was magnificent, Kira Yoshikage knew very clearly that this was actually a host club.
The hourly spending exceeded 5,000 yen, so the hosts inside generally earned quite a lot.
Of course, Kira Yoshikage was not desperate enough to sell his body as a host.
Therefore, this host club was not his target. His target was the building across the street—
Okura Tokyo Hotel.
It was one of Tokyo's most famous five-star hotels, and most of its guests were either rich or influential.
Kira Yoshikage had even changed into his only white suit before coming here. Naturally, he was here to apply for a job.
Crossing the lobby, Kira Yoshikage walked straight to the elevator and went directly to the top floor.
Ding-dong~!
When the elevator doors opened, a passing attendant froze for a moment at the sight of Kira Yoshikage in his suit, then politely explained:
"Sorry, sir, we haven't opened for business yet..."
"What's your name?"