Multi-Anime, Kira Yoshikage Desires a Peaceful Life

Glancing to either side, the students who had been watching were now rushing over with surprise and urgency.

Kira Yoshikage swept a cold look over them and turned to leave the scene without a word.

"W-Wait!"

A girl's anxious voice came from behind—Kashiwagi Nagisa, who had just surfaced. She desperately wanted to ask what had just happened, what that thing at the bottom of the lake really was.

But by the time she finally crawled ashore, Kira Yoshikage had already vanished.

Around her were only the Pure Academy students, their faces full of excitement as they chattered about the harrowing events.

"Nagisa, are you okay?"

A black-haired boy stepped forward with concern, reaching out to help Kashiwagi Nagisa up.

Kashiwagi Nagisa coldly avoided his outstretched hand, a trace of disgust in her eyes:

"I'm fine, Tanuma-kun. Also, we're not close enough to call each other by first names. Could you please not do that next time? It's disgusting!"

Of course she recognized the young man before her—her childhood friend, their families on good terms. Until recently, she'd even held considerable affection for Tanuma Tsubasa.

If he had confessed to her, she might have said yes.

Unfortunately, that was all in the past.

His performance just now had been far too disappointing.

In the school's swimming competition, she had only placed second—Tanuma Tsubasa was the champion!

Yet he had done nothing, just stood on the shore watching. Now he was rushing over to show concern, and that behavior only made Kashiwagi Nagisa feel sick!

Tanuma Tsubasa's concerned expression froze on his face, his outstretched hand hanging in midair, utterly awkward.

Meanwhile, voices rose from the crowd nearby.

"Not good! Koyasu-senpai and Shinomiya-san are in bad shape!"

"I'll give them mouth-to-mouth!"

"You can't handle both alone—I'll help too!"

Two boys stepped forward eagerly, wearing expressions of concern.

Kashiwagi Nagisa immediately blocked them with disgust, standing in front of Shinomiya Kaguya and the others, snapping angrily:

"They're fine now! We don't need your fake concern!"

The surrounding girls quickly formed a barrier, glaring at the boys and scolding their behavior.

"How disgusting! Can you stay away from Koyasu-senpai and the others?"

"You didn't help when they needed saving, and now you want to take advantage! So gross!"

"Even if mouth-to-mouth were needed, there are girls here. Do they need you?"

Under the barrage of accusations, the two boys who had 'volunteered' became deeply embarrassed. Even the other boys looked at them with obvious contempt and disdain.

"Are these really men?" Kashiwagi Nagisa's eyes were full of disappointment. They were all Pure Academy students, every one of them from noble families. Yet at the critical moment, they revealed their true nature—not even matching up to a Mixed Academy student...

Kashiwagi Nagisa's eyelids fluttered. She thought once more of the boy who had left.

He had saved everyone, asked for nothing, and simply walked away. That was a real man, wasn't it?

"Who is he?" Kashiwagi Nagisa bit her lip lightly. She wanted to find him.

Both to thank him and to ask...

What exactly was that enormous shadow in the lake?

But it was as if he was afraid of being recognized—he hadn't revealed his identity, hadn't left a single clue.

He had even taken off his school uniform before going into the water.

Even she could only remember that he had blond hair and looked like a delinquent...

Hmm, no, not a delinquent—a gentleman, clearly.

Kashiwagi Nagisa shook her head, redefining the boy's image in her mind.

Chapter 22: Worker's Soul, Worker's Spirit

In a small grove near the Swamp, the brown-haired girl with a ponytail, who had been waiting for some time, clutched her shoulder bag and asked with concern:

"Kira-kun, are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?"

"No need."

Kira Yoshikage opened a fire hydrant installed in the greenery beside the grove, letting the water wash over his body as he replied calmly.

At the school gate, he had run into Aoyama Nanami, who also needed to work and was leaving campus as soon as school ended. That was why he chose to stuff his removed clothes into her bag and asked her to wait here in advance.

"Mmm~"

Aoyama Nanami bit her lip softly, watching Kira Yoshikage stand before the hydrant as the fierce stream of water washed over him. She felt a little indignant on his behalf. He had saved people, yet he could only hide here, secretly rinsing off with a fire hydrant. It was so unfair...

Aoyama Nanami knew Kira Yoshikage didn't want to talk about it, so she carefully steered the topic away and asked in a low voice:

"Kira-kun, have you found a job yet?"

"Not yet."

Kira Yoshikage shook his head lightly, closed the fire hydrant valve, pulled his school uniform from his bag to dry the water stains on himself, then took out the white suit he had prepared in advance and changed into it.

Aoyama Nanaka glanced at Kira Yoshikage changing clothes behind the hedge, hesitated for a moment, and said softly:

"I'm working at a café right now. They should still be hiring. Kira-kun, do you want to come?"

"No need."

The moment Kira Yoshikage heard the word "café," he decisively refused the girl's kindness.

Aoyama Nanami silently lowered her head, feeling a bit disappointed, yet somehow she had expected this.

"Aoyama-san."

Having changed, Kira Yoshikage took his bag from the girl's hands and looked at her calmly. "Can I ask you not to tell anyone about what happened today? Whether it's friends or Teacher Hiratsuka."

"I'll keep it a secret."

Aoyama Nanami hesitated for a moment, then nodded lightly.

It was clearly a good deed—saving a Pure Academy student would surely earn gratitude from the student's parents. Maybe the problems troubling Kira-kun would even be resolved. So she didn't really understand why Kira Yoshikage would give up such a great opportunity and instead choose to be an unsung hero.

But since Kira Yoshikage had done this, he must have his reasons.

So Aoyama Nanami would respect his choice and help him keep the secret.

"Good."

Kira Yoshikage nodded in satisfaction. As expected, Aoyama-san was just like her appearance—beautiful hands and a kind heart.

They soon parted ways. Aoyama Nanami had to go to her part-time job, and Kira Yoshikage needed to find work.

They were both poor, forced to work hard to support themselves, with no time to waste.

Deep in the grove, a girl with pink hair and pink pupils, her hair tied in low twin-tails, cupped her cheeks and stared at Kira Yoshikage's retreating figure with a dazed smile:

"Heheh, Kira-kun, we'll meet again soon."

"Soon... as long as the school gets blown up..."

The girl bit her finger, her expression turning a little dejected:

"But that's still a long wait... I don't want to wait that long."

"Mmm~, maybe I should just blow up the school myself?"

After parting with Aoyama Nanami, Kira Yoshikage took a detour before leaving through the school gate.

Before he could even board the train, his phone began to buzz.

It was a message from Shimazaki Yuna on LINE, along with many illustrations:

"Kira-kun, do these need any revisions?"

Kira Yoshikage carefully flipped through each one. Every illustration had nearly perfect hands. He replied with a message:

"Very good. Nothing needs to be changed."

"(?>?<)"

On the subway, Shimazaki Yuna's pretty face flushed slightly, a dazed smile spreading across her lips, as if receiving Kira Yoshikage's praise was her greatest happiness.

Having Kira Yoshikage's approval gave Shimazaki Yuna enough confidence in the quality of these illustrations.

In fact, she had finished these illustrations last night. And before the deadline of midnight on the 10th, she submitted them along with some of her previously unpublished works to the Dengeki Bunko Illustration Contest.

If her illustrations could win an award, it would surely be a big help to Kira-kun's novel, right?

Shimazaki Yuna clutched her phone to her chest and thought silently.

Kira Yoshikage didn't dwell on the message from Shimazaki Yuna, because he still needed to find a job.

And this time, he had already realized something.

The reason he had hit dead ends everywhere in the past two days was entirely because of the "consent form" Teacher Hiratsuka had given him.

It wasn't easy for students to find work, and shop managers looking for part-timers generally didn't want to hire students.

The main reason was that students couldn't work more than 28 hours a week, so they couldn't be squeezed like adults. And if they went even slightly over the limit, it would cause major trouble for the employers.

And someone like Kira Yoshikage, a "blond delinquent," often represented even bigger trouble.

In his brief string of rejections, Kira Yoshikage quickly pinpointed this fact—

Unless he shed the identity of a student, he would never find a job.

Kira Yoshikage didn't seek path dependency; instead, he focused on results. He aimed to deliver a short, fast, and efficient combination punch in the shortest time, striving to strengthen his social perception. He didn't pursue root-cause analysis of key paths, but instead identified differentiated tracks based on his own advantages, achieving a deep coupling and connection between his value and the work.

So, to summarize, he needed to make full use of his own strengths.

And Kira Yoshikage was well aware of his own advantages—tall and handsome.

Thus, the most suitable position for him practically announced itself—

A host club!

Kira Yoshikage exited the subway station and, after a short walk, arrived at a shop called 'MINNA.'

Though the name sounded rather stylish and the decor was lavish, Kira Yoshikage knew full well that this was, in fact, a host club.

With hourly rates starting at 5,000 yen, the hosts there typically earned a lot.

Of course, Kira Yoshikage wasn't so desperate as to sell his body working as a host.

So his target wasn't this host club, but the building across the street—

The Okura Tokyo Hotel.

This was one of Tokyo's most famous five-star hotels, and most of its guests were wealthy or influential.

And Kira Yoshikage had come here, having even changed into his only white suit, naturally to apply for a job.

Crossing the lobby, Kira Yoshikage headed straight for the elevator, riding it to the top floor.

Ding-dong~!

The elevator doors opened, and a passing waiter, startled by the sight of Kira Yoshikage in his suit, politely explained:

"Apologies, sir, but we haven't started business yet..."

"What's your name?"