Chapter 108

The next morning, Toshima Ward.

Unable to Tomoyo, Sakurakoji Talent slowly made his way to the designated location, or more precisely, a shopping mall not far from the Toyonosaki Academy, according to his plan.

Just by hearing the coordinates of this location, you can probably guess what the purpose of his trip is.

Unfortunately, today's heroine is neither Kasumigaoka Utaha nor Eriri.

He glanced at his phone every now and then; according to his intelligence, his target was currently there. Although it was somewhat unethical, it was the only way he could contact her at the moment.

He was determined to finish this task before the start of the school term.

He asked Kasumigaoka Utaha, and they also start school next Monday this year.

In other words, he only has two days left, today and tomorrow. Tomorrow he has to go to the Fuchu to attend the opening ceremony, so today is his only chance.

Just you wait, Ms. Saint Megumi!

He gripped his phone tightly, giving himself a pep talk. "Just an 8th generation, wow!"

Upon entering the target building, following the message on his phone, he went to the second floor and immediately spotted his target—the burly man in black dressed like a villain.

On the same floor, there were several detectives and paparazzi dressed in various casual clothes, scattered around, and he didn't even know how many there were. But it didn't matter; for the rest of his plan, he only needed that muscular brother.

He met the other's gaze and nodded, then casually strolled to a clothing store nearby. He squinted through the glass, quickly scanning the not-so-large shop several times. With a purpose in mind, he soon spotted his target.

That girl with a bob haircut, wearing a white dress, a red coat, and a fanny pack, was quite cute.

Image: "Kato Megumi makes her appearance!", Location: "Images/1759500810-100446961-113927211. jpg"

Found it! Sakurakoji Talent's crimson eyes focused, and the corners of her eyes twitched slightly.

Since he was still wearing the same clothes, why wasn't he wearing the beret? He wondered. Because of this, he looked at it several more times.

The reason is certainly not 'because it's indoors, so I won't wear it,' after all, berets don't block the sun at all; they're purely decorative.

He knew the real reason perfectly well.

Is that so? Has it already been taken by Relatives's child? Sakurakoji Talent pondered, hands clasped.

At that moment, she was being introduced to clothes by a sales clerk, but whether it was because the clerk was naturally clueless or because her presence was simply too insignificant, the clerk would keep introducing the clothes and then stand there looking around in confusion—even though she was only two steps away.

Each time she reminded him, the shop assistant would realize what she meant and then frantically bow his head and apologize.

"..." Gazing at this somewhat comical scene, he fell silent.

In a sense, wouldn't this be considered a kind of superpower?

To avoid attracting attention and arousing suspicion, after standing in front of the store for a minute, he walked a little further away, found a seat provided by the mall, and continued to observe quietly.

A few minutes later, Kato Megumi walked out of the store without a clothing bag in her hand. It was unclear whether she hadn't found anything she liked or was annoyed by the shop assistant's indifference.

Judging from her personality, it should be the former.

If a stranger could actually make her angry, then that person would be extraordinary.

Regardless, the plan can begin. Sakurakoji Talent raised his eyes and exchanged a glance with his older brother.

The man in black nodded, and the figure who had been resting against the railing began to move, striding towards Kato Megumi.

His plan was simple and clichéd: a typical "Hero Saves the Damsel" story. He would have the man in black deliberately cause trouble and stage an accident, then he would step in to help, and with a few words, make the man in black "have a change of heart," realize the trouble, and leave.

There was no other way; time was of the essence, and he couldn't afford to think things through slowly. Even though the methods were clichéd, they were still effective, weren't they?

Don't ask if his seemingly frail physique can defeat a muscular, burly man; and don't ask if the "releasing military power over a cup of wine" style of extrication seems too fake or arbitrary...

Because the core of human relationships lies not in whether the rescue is successful or not, but in the "opportunity".

What he lacks now, and what he needs to create now, is precisely this kind of opportunity. Like writing Light Novel to get closer to Kasumigaoka Utaha and the others, or pretending to be a fan to approach Kawaragi Momoka and the others, or inviting Yamada Ryo to dinner...

In short, as long as no one doubts that he, with his unparalleled beauty, exceptional talent, and happy family, would have any ill intentions towards an ordinary, unremarkable female high school student with little presence, then even if this plan has many flaws, there will be no problem.

Next, it was his turn to perform. He rested his chin on the back of his raised hand and looked at today's Female Protagonist and the villainous boss.

Five minutes later,

"..." Sakurakoji Talent twitched the corners of his mouth, his eyebrows twitched, his fists clenched involuntarily, and he fell silent.

I felt both angry and helpless at that dramatic, movie-like scene.

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 145 - An Incredibly Classic Scene

Clearly, something unexpected has happened.

But the unexpected wasn't the key issue; the key issue was that he had anticipated many possibilities, but he hadn't expected this one, which had even left him speechless.

If he could, he really wanted to yell right now: What the hell are you doing?!

This is such a ridiculous scene! Were you hired by a film crew to shoot a movie?

Deduct money! You absolutely must deduct money!

Even someone who considers himself to be well-mannered couldn't help but want to swear.

He stared speechlessly at the black-clad extra he'd hired for 30,000 yen, who supposedly had a 100% approval rating. "Are all your local gangs this unprofessional? Can't you find me a normal person?"

"Sigh..." He sighed softly, covering his forehead, unsure whether to be angry or amused.

The other party did go as he requested, but that was all.

Every time he encountered Kato Megumi, he would unconsciously walk straight past her, as if he had forgotten her for a moment. Only after he had actually walked past her and could not find her for a long time would he freeze in place and look around in a panic.

This scenario has happened more than once!

Even Sakurakoji Talent was watching from a distance, was amused. "You're really something, Kato Megumi- san. Why don't you switch careers and become an assassin? You'd definitely have a bright future."

Fortunately, after a few mistakes, the older brother finally managed to lock onto his target. After all, she just had a low profile; she wasn't actually invisible.

"Hey! Don't you know where you're going?!" He deliberately brushed his clothes as he brushed past her, putting on a fierce look and snarling menacingly.

"Huh? Me?" Kato Megumi turned around after hearing the voice and pointed at herself in confusion.

"Who else could it be but you? Is there anyone else around here?!"

"You think you can act recklessly just because you're a woman?" The man in black frowned, his thick upper lip curling up as he pointed his index finger at Kato Megumi, who was a head shorter than him.

"I despise women like you who think you're so great just because you're a little bit pretty!"

"Ha~ Um, I'm so sorry." She looked troubled, unsure whether to thank him for the compliment or be angry that he had suddenly picked a fight. Even in this situation, her tone remained emotionless.

"Is an apology all it takes? If an apology were enough, what would we need the police for? Huh?" But the other person clearly wasn't going to let her off the hook, continuing to provoke her by clinging to his thick arm.

"That's why I hate you naive kids the most, thinking you can get forgiveness for everything just by saying sorry, huh!"

"And what's with that half-dead voice of yours? Is this how you apologize? Are you looking down on me, you bastard?"

"Ha, the world is really getting better! These days even little devils can look down on me!"

"No, I didn't..." Kato Megumi explained awkwardly, bowing her head.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your explanation!" The burly man in black waved his hand, interrupting him.

"..." Kato Megumi was startled, Hands, which were intertwined behind her back, couldn't help but clench together tightly.

What should I do? It seems like I've been entangled with a very difficult person. Although it's not my fault, he doesn't seem like he's going to let me off easily.

Why did this happen to me?

She regretted not going out today, thinking to herself.

Hearing the commotion, passersby turned their attention to the scene, frowning and falling silent. A quick glance was enough to tell that this was a vulgar spectacle of the strong bullying the weak.

Half the crowd sped away, while the other half stood at a distance to watch the show; not one dared to step forward and confront the burly man who looked like a villain.

"Is it finally starting?" Sakurakoji Talent sighed inwardly from a distance. "Why is it so hard to act? The waiting time has ruined my concentration."

But life (the script) had to go on, and seeing that the time was right, he stepped forward.

"Hey! Judging by your age, you should still be a high school student, right? Which school do you go to? I'm going to complain to your school's teachers about how they teach their students!" The burly man in black continued to pressure her verbally, spitting as he spoke.

He seemed very experienced in this kind of thing, and he didn't repeat a single word for a long time. Sakurakoji Talent suspected that even if he had just watched the show for another five minutes, he could have stalled until then.

From this perspective, his professionalism seems quite good, if the person he's dealing with this time isn't Kato Megumi.

"I'm sorry..." Kato Megumi was helpless against the man in black who couldn't understand human speech, so she could only weakly continue to express her apologies.

"So--that--I--say--, what I want isn't just your simple apology! What I want is your genuine remorse, understand? Attitude!" His thick eyebrows twitched repeatedly, his face displaying an arrogant and disdainful expression, the curve of which was so exaggerated that it was practically the perfect thug expression from a comic book.

His hard, thick fingers pressed closer to her, almost touching her forehead, further eroding her psychological defenses.

"Don't you even understand this? If you want to gain someone's forgiveness, you should at least kneel down and kowtow a few times, right? That's common sense, isn't it?"

"Where do you live? Who are your parents? Haven't we told you these things?"

Faced with his relentless pressure, Kato Megumi couldn't help but take a half-step back, her heart pounding at almost twice the rate of before, fueled by adrenaline.

She glanced around and saw that no one seemed inclined to help her. A sense of despair washed over her. She bit her lower lip, her delicate body trembling slightly.

In any case, she was just an ordinary high school girl who was rather pretty; she had never experienced anything like this before.

Just as she was about to give up, her eyes gradually losing their sparkle—

"Hey, isn't that enough?" Sakurakoji Talent interjected at the right moment, blocking Kato Megumi's path.

Where she couldn't see, he couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration as he looked at the man in black.

This guy may not have great eyesight, but his skills and acting are truly "real".

The gradually increasing and intensifying verbal pressure, the progressively decreasing physical contact, and the extremely aggressive and disgusting expressions were all methodically breaking down the target's psychological defenses, deepening their fear and sense of powerlessness.

All of this was to amplify the gratitude and sense of redemption that welled up in her heart when she was rescued later!

To be fair, even if someone else came along, how many people could withstand it?

If he were an ordinary girl or boy, and someone helped him out of that situation, regardless of whether the other person was male or female, he would probably be extremely grateful.

For an ordinary girl, this approach would probably be enough to win her over, right? A girl with a bit more experience might take advantage of the situation by treating her to dinner and a movie, saying some sweet nothings to comfort her, and maybe she could even get to base that night.

No wonder so many rich second-generation guys who want to pick up girls choose to do this; it really works.

But—he stared suspiciously at the burly man in front of him. "How are you so skilled? How many jobs like this have you done?"

"She's already apologized, what more do you want? To go crazy in broad daylight like this, are you drunk?"

A figure entered her low gaze, followed by an unfamiliar voice. Kato Megumi was slightly startled, raised her head, and looked at the "hero" blocking her way.

Long, waist-length, silvery-white hair was the first thing that caught her eye. "It's actually a girl?" Kato Megumi exclaimed in surprise.

However, she was so tall and slender. Gazing at her back, which almost completely blocked the man in black from seeing her, she felt a warm current and a strong sense of security.

Although, judging from appearances alone, she should be no match for her opponent, she just had that feeling.

"What did you say?!" The burly man in black remained perfectly professional, his expression unchanged except for a slight increase in surprise, continuing to glare fiercely at him, "You bastard, where did you come from? What's it to you?"

Tsk, changing the lines on the spot is a bit awkward, deduct money!

"Who I am is none of your business!" Sakurakoji Talent said unhappily. "I've already sent someone to call security. If you don't want to be detained by the police for causing trouble later, get out of here now!"

"What?!" The man in black looked startled and considered backing down. "Hmph, I'll let you go for now, but you just wait!"

After uttering the typical villain lines for a third-rate antagonist's exit, he slunk away down the escalator.

It wasn't entirely an act; after all, he had genuinely caused some trouble. If he didn't leave quickly, and some of the onlookers or customers actually called the police or alerted others, he might actually be summoned for questioning.

As an excellent professional actor, one should disappear quickly after completing a task to avoid leaving any trouble behind!

As she watched his figure disappear from sight, the oppressive feeling that had been looming like a dark cloud seemed to vanish in an instant, leaving only the throbbing of her chest.

Seeing that the situation had calmed down and there was no more excitement to see, the passersby on this floor continued their shopping as if nothing had happened, and the atmosphere that had been slowed down by this place began to flow again.

Sakurakoji Talent was different; he stared at the large man who had decisively disappeared, feeling that it was indeed worth the price.

"Um, thank you so much! Thank you for getting me out of that situation!" Kato Megumi bowed her head in gratitude, her tone remaining largely unchanged, though a slight fluctuation could be detected in her voice.

"You're welcome. I didn't do anything. I'm just glad you're alright." Sakurakoji Talent turned around, revealing a warm smile.

What a beautiful person!

Her looks are even better than Eriri and Kasumigaoka -Senpai from school...

Upon seeing her face directly, Kato Megumi stood frozen for three seconds, a flash of amazement in her eyes, but she quickly recovered.

"Hmm~" She shook her head, her expression downcast, seemingly still shaken by the scene. "If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't know what to do. Thank you so much!"

After she finished speaking, she bowed deeply, a bow that made Sakurakoji Talent's conscience ache a little.