How could you be a harem fan?
You even gave the paperback's review. Wasn't that because you absolutely hated the contents of the second volume?
Why are you a harem fan?!
Kira Yoshikage understood the meaning in the girl's eyes and spoke calmly:
"That's why I said I'm not your reader."
How could a harem fan possibly be a reader of a single-protagonist romance?
Kasumigaoka Utaha was furious, her face flushed with embarrassment:
"Then why did you read my book? Don't tell me you just flipped through it casually. There are so many books in the bookstore, so why did you pick mine?"
Kira Yoshikage answered seriously:
"Because Sayuka's illustrations are really great!"
Sayuka's hands were simply too wonderful, just like the hands of the author of Love Beat!
Kira Yoshikage's gaze lingered somewhat longingly on Kasumigaoka Utaha's hands, and a powerful urge to possess them surged within him.
Kasumigaoka Utaha was so angry that she couldn't speak. Wasn't he still saying that her book was paperback trash?
The illustrations were great, but the book was just paperback trash. Wasn't he mocking her by saying that buying her book was basically buying illustrations with paperback trash thrown in for free?!
"I've decided!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha's pride had suffered a tremendous insult. Gritting her teeth, she said:
"I'll definitely make you my reader!"
You only read her book because of the illustrations, didn't you? And you like harems, don't you?
Then I'll write a harem story and make you unable to tear yourself away from Love Beat! Just wait and see how I'll wipe that smug look off your face!
"Oh."
Kira Yoshikage nodded. Just then, he seemed to remember something, pulled out his phone to take a look, and turned to leave the bar.
Kasumigaoka Utaha shouted unhappily:
"I haven't finished drinking yet! Where are you going?"
Kira Yoshikage left without looking back, leaving behind only a light, airy remark:
"Sorry, my shift is over. You'll have to ask someone else to serve you."
A black-haired waiter took over Kira Yoshikage's position. Looking at the girl's stunningly beautiful face, he asked ingratiatingly:
"Miss, what would you like to drink?"
"I'm not drinking anymore!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha ground her teeth, climbed down from the barstool in irritation, and rushed toward the elevator without saying a word.
She was already too angry to eat, let alone drink!
"Utaha-chan, wait for me!"
Machida Wako was somewhat helpless. After paying the bill, she hurried after her.
At Shuchiin Academy, the girls had different winter and summer uniforms, but the boys wore the same uniform year-round.
They wore black suit trousers on the lower half, with a black stand-collar uniform jacket and a white shirt on top.
The only difference was that in summer, they could take off the black stand-collar jacket and wear only the short-sleeved white shirt.
Therefore, as long as Kira Yoshikage took off his black uniform jacket and wore only a white shirt with black suit trousers, outsiders would mistake him for an ordinary corporate wage slave.
And in fact, that was exactly what he did.
As for why he didn't wear a white suit, it was because he only had one, and white got dirty easily and had to be washed frequently. He couldn't wear it every day, so he only put it on when he needed to attend an interview.
Therefore, whenever Kira Yoshikage appeared before strangers in a white shirt and suit trousers, they would only take him for an ordinary wage slave who had worked overtime until late. No one would pay him any attention.
Just like now.
A middle-aged man in a white down jacket, wearing a black mask and sporting filthy, disheveled blond hair, displayed the fruit knife in his hand threateningly and sneered:
"Hey, kid, what are you looking at? This has nothing to do with you. Get lost!"
Kira Yoshikage glanced at the middle-aged man, who clearly hadn't bathed in who knew how many days and reeked of sour sweat. Then he looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was being cornered beneath a streetlamp, her delicate face deathly pale. He couldn't tell whether she had gone pale from the stench or from fear.
"So this is Japan's public safety? Love it, love it."
Kira Yoshikage saw the scene with an utterly calm expression, as though nothing about it surprised him.
Internationally, Japan had always been famous for its low crime rate.
Some people claimed that Japan's crime rate was low because Japanese people didn't want to cause trouble for others, so they didn't commit crimes.
That was both right and wrong.
It was wrong because Japan's criminals were no less numerous than those in other countries.
The so-called claim that Japan's crime rate was low because people didn't want to cause trouble for others was nothing more than wishful thinking.
The truth was that because people didn't want to cause trouble for others, victims often chose not to report crimes afterward.
Especially with "minor matters" like robbery, unless the amount stolen was huge, victims generally wouldn't report it.
Even if a single woman was raped, she might not choose to report it, because she feared losing face and feared that it would prevent her from establishing herself in society or at her company.
Reporting the crime wouldn't give her a sense of security. Instead, it would cause people to label her as someone who "caused trouble for others" or was "improper."
Under the influence of all these factors, fewer people reported crimes, and the "crime rate" on paper naturally became lower.
Besides that, Japan's authorities would also work hand in hand with this trend—
To maintain the "low crime rate," local governments would usually choose to conceal the facts of crimes.
For example, the Osaka government, which preferred to remain unnamed, had once concealed eighty thousand cases over a period of five years.
Going even further, Japan's laws themselves also served the goal of maintaining a "low crime rate." For example, gangs and adult films, which were illegal in other countries, were legal in Japan.
In short:
As long as I legalize illegal behavior, it doesn't count as a crime. As long as the facts of a crime are concealed, then no crime has occurred!
With both measures working together, how could the crime rate not be low?
Yet the truth was that in less than a month, Kira Yoshikage had already encountered two robberies and one suicide.
As for public safety in Japan, well, those who knew, knew.
"Good grief."
Kira Yoshikage expressionlessly tugged at his collar and walked straight toward Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Chapter 33: As Long as You Don't Report It, There's No Crime
Seeing Kira Yoshikage approach step by step, the middle-aged man nervously pointed his knife at him. Thick black smoke surged from his body as he shouted a warning:
"Don't come over! I'm warning you, don't come over!"
Smack!
Kira Yoshikage's footsteps paused slightly, but only for an instant. He continued approaching the middle-aged man at an unhurried pace.
Seeing that he couldn't scare Kira Yoshikage, the middle-aged man pointed the knife at Kasumigaoka Utaha once again and threatened through gritted teeth:
"Come any closer and I'll kill her!"
As he spoke, the middle-aged man quickly moved toward Kasumigaoka Utaha and reached out to grab the pale-faced girl.
At the same time, the thick black smoke behind the middle-aged man rapidly took shape, transforming into a three-meter-tall Evil Spirit with an ominous aura and a vicious face!
As the middle-aged man moved, the Evil Spirit likewise reached out toward the girl in the distance.
Kasumigaoka Utaha's face grew even paler, because she could see it. She could see the terrifying Evil Spirit formed from thick deathly energy!
From the very beginning, the man wasn't the only thing she had feared. She had pepper spray and a stun baton in her bag.
But how could those things possibly deal with an Evil Spirit?!
"Close your eyes."
A calm voice reached the girl's ear. Perhaps because of fear, or perhaps because of some inexplicable trust, Kasumigaoka Utaha shut her eyes while her body trembled violently.
At that same moment, the distance between Kira Yoshikage and the two of them had already shrunk to less than three meters!
Killer Queen!
A flash passed through Kira Yoshikage's eyes. Pink Panther instantly appeared behind him and charged straight toward the knife-wielding middle-aged man and the Evil Spirit behind him!
Ora!
Bang!
The three-meter-tall Evil Spirit's upper body was instantly blown away, but halfway through its flight, it suddenly "sprang" back. For some unknown reason, its lower body was firmly attached to the middle-aged man's back.
It was a Back Spirit!
"You can see me!"
"Human, delicious, want to eat!"
Having been punched for no reason, the Evil Spirit's already vicious face now bore a huge hole. It felt no pain; instead, it let out a shrill, excited screech. Abandoning Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was within arm's reach, it suddenly stretched its body, rapidly closing the distance to Kira Yoshikage.
At the same time, Kira Yoshikage calmly pressed down his thumb.
Bang!
The Back Spirit exploded in absolute silence, making no sound and leaving no trace behind.
Thud!
The middle-aged man collapsed onto the ground and began screaming in terror:
"A ghost! There's a ghost!"
"No! Impossible! Ghosts don't exist!"
"Thinking is a pancake! Cheese is poison! Fake! It's all fake! Fake!"
Like a mentally deranged madman, the middle-aged man kept muttering, "Thinking is a pancake, cheese is poison," as he staggered to his feet and ran shouting toward a nearby alley.
"You can't fool me! You can't fool me! It's all fake!"
Kira Yoshikage glanced at him but chose not to give chase. After all, he knew the law well: being discovered killing someone was a crime.
Besides.
The combination of the Anti-Intellectual Cult and an Evil Spirit was bizarre enough as it was.
The reason the Anti-Intellectual Cult constantly preached that "thinking is a trap and knowledge is poison" was because they believed all supernatural powers originated from human "perception," including Evil Spirits.
The Anti-Intellectual Cult therefore sought to eliminate humanity's perception of the "supernatural," thereby eliminating supernatural powers.
In short, the Anti-Intellectual Cult firmly believed in the idea that "as long as I don't believe in ghosts, there are no ghosts in this world."
Although the Anti-Intellectual Cult's actions were somewhat extreme, its ideology could indeed counter the supernatural to some extent.
Kira Yoshikage withdrew from his thoughts, and the middle-aged man had already completely disappeared into the darkness.
Kira Yoshikage casually pressed down his thumb.
The dark alley fell completely silent. There was no terrified scream from the middle-aged man, nor was there an explosion.
Nothing had happened.
From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Kasumigaoka Utaha. Even though the girl was trembling all over from fear, she had still obediently kept her eyes tightly shut.
Kasumigaoka Utaha had no idea what had happened.
Her memory stopped at the terrifying Evil Spirit that had nearly pressed itself against her face. Immediately afterward, she heard the middle-aged man cry out in terror and flee in panic.
But after only a few seconds, everything seemed to have returned to normal.
Kasumigaoka Utaha asked nervously: