Chapter 90

"First of all, since the hair clip has already been opened and used, the best way to resolve this issue is to simply buy it back."

"But if your mother can't do that, then you can only rely on public influence to gain forgiveness; otherwise, the shop might not be willing to take back the already opened hair clip."

"On the other hand..."

Aragaki Shun reached out and stroked the girl's stunningly beautiful cheek. "Ichinose is so pretty, your mother and sister must be quite beautiful too, right?"

"I, I..."

Feeling the touch on her face, Ichinose immediately started stuttering, unable to even finish her sentence.

But before the romantic atmosphere could even begin, the boy's next words sent a chill down her spine, as if she were facing the dead of winter.

"This family of three, who depend on each other for survival, are all women, two of whom are still minors in junior high school, and the mother, who is the breadwinner, is weak and powerless due to illness."

"In this situation, what if the shop owner who has something on you has malicious intentions..."

157. Undeterred by the greatest malice; the real reason Ichinose was assigned to Class B.

Madam, you wouldn't want your daughter to be known for stealing, leaving a stain on her reputation for the rest of her life, would you?

Ms. Ichinose, I heard your mother is in the hospital. You've committed such a grave mistake; shouldn't you sincerely atone for it?

Little sister Ichinose, your older sister committed theft for you. If you call the police, she'll definitely be arrested and thrown in jail. Do you think this is a trivial matter?

"... The above scenarios represent the worst-case scenario under extreme conditions, and may not actually occur; in fact, the probability is very small."

"But what if something goes wrong? Ichinose, given your family's circumstances, do you think your mother has the resources to gamble on the shop owner's character?"

Aragaki Shun never hesitates to assume the worst about others.

More importantly, after arriving at Kodo Ikusei Senior High School and encountering so many oddballs, he really didn't have an optimistic view of the security situation in this world and this country.

After all, he had transmigrated into a two-dimensional world; who knows if this parallel Earth might contain some elements from the other dimension?

"Ichinose, do you know Sakura Airi from Class D? She has a photo idol identity online, and coincidentally, there's a crazy fan at Advanced Nurturing who recognized her."

"That fan is an employee of an electronics store. He keeps sending crazy comments to Sakura online, and even stalks Sakura in real life, secretly sending her harassing emails."

"After I found out about this, I deliberately acted intimately with Sakura at the electronics store, like we were pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend, hoping he would back down. But do you know what happened next?"

Although Aragaki Shun had already guessed that the other party would not give up easily and that his intimacy with Sakura was mainly to provoke her into going crazy, the person in front of him was Ichinose Honami, so Aragaki Shun naturally had to be more tactful.

"I remember there was a rumor about Aragaki -san on the School Forum before, and this Sakura Airi from Class D was mentioned in it."

Since she was Aragaki Shun's most popular rumored love interest, Ichinose also paid special attention to the information on the forum.

Trying hard to recall the details about Sakura, the pink-haired girl suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, her eyes filled with lingering fear and trembling.

"He dealt with the suddenly berserk shop assistant, then played the hero and saved the damsel in distress... that shop assistant, he..."

"That's right. After learning that Sakura had a close friend in real life, the electronics store clerk not only didn't stop, but instead picked up a weapon on the spot and tried to attack me, and then assaulted Sakura."

The experience that Aragaki Shun recounted sent chills down Ichinose's spine. "Thinking back now, if I hadn't acted decisively back then, given that clerk's madness, he would have definitely gone even further."

"If Sakura isn't careful, he might actually succeed and she might lose all hope in life."

While Ichinose might only have the potential to switch to an erotic art style, Sakura is truly just one step away from becoming the heroine of some anime series.

Besides Sakura Airi, the stories of Karuizawa Kei and Kushida Kikyo, both students in Class D, also demonstrate the astonishing diversity of the human species.

While this could be considered a form of survivorship effect, the fact that the school actively recruits such students for Advanced Nurturing makes one wonder if there's something wrong with the world.

But no matter how low the probability, as long as such things really happen, one cannot harbor wishful thinking and allow oneself to fall into such a dangerous situation.

"In this respect, Ichinose's mother did nothing wrong. Your family of three consists of either a minor police officer or a sick and helpless mother. There isn't even a man in the family who can step forward."

"In this situation, if you've been caught stealing and someone has a handle against you, and you try to negotiate with the shop owner privately, it could really lead to some tragedy if they have malicious intentions."

"After Ichinose is cute and beautiful, with an alluring figure. She's a stunning beauty, worthy of being called a national treasure. If given the chance to taste her, many lust-driven humanoids wouldn't mind taking the risk."

Of course, if the art style were to shift to something more sinister, it's more likely that the entire Ichinose family of three would be caught in the crossfire.

The girl is so beautiful; her mother and sister must be quite attractive as well.

Since they've already attacked one person, adding two more wouldn't make much difference.

It's important to know that Sakurajima is a country where the sex industry is legal and its adult film industry is world-renowned.

"Did Mother really consider all this?"

Ichinose's voice trembled; she desperately wanted to deny what Aragaki Shun had said.

But reason told her that this consideration was actually quite reasonable. In a country where organized crime can exist legally, the most important thing for a family like theirs, consisting of a weak woman and a widow, to live peacefully was to learn to be cautious.

But wouldn't that make the impact of what she did on her family even worse?

"To be fair, you were quite reckless back then."

Instead of offering comfort, Aragaki Shun pointed out the issue directly. "If your mother hadn't handled it well, and the store had actually discovered the theft and called the police, your future would have been completely ruined."

Due to cultural factors, Sakurajima society has a very low tolerance for theft, and it may be dealt with severely in judicial practice.

To put it simply, in Sakurajima, any acquisition of property through non-violent means without the other party's knowledge is considered theft.

Even if the value of the stolen item is low, such as stealing a love letter, it may still constitute a crime as long as it meets the characteristics of theft.

Theft in a regular supermarket, like that committed by Ichinose, is usually punishable by imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 500,000 yen.

Either of these two punishments could completely destroy Ichinose's poor and vulnerable family.

It's no wonder that Ichinose's mother went to such lengths. Even if stealing a hair clip seems like a small matter to outsiders, they would definitely not be able to withstand the relentless pursuit from the shop owner.

This kind of thing is like this: it doesn't weigh four ounces when you don't weigh it, but it weighs a thousand pounds when you do.

Of course, Sakurajima also has a juvenile protection ordinance. At that time Ichinose Honami was under 16 years old, so theoretically she would not be held criminally liable and would more likely be sentenced to probation.

Even so, having such a criminal record on her resume will affect the girl's future education and employment.

"From a rational perspective, given Ichinose's family's circumstances, you couldn't actually afford to gamble at the time."

"We can't gamble that the shop owner will never find out, nor can we gamble that negotiating with the shop owner privately won't cause any problems. In the end, we still have to find a way to get the shop owner's forgiveness... Under these circumstances, your mother taking you to do a public kneeling ceremony is simply a last resort."

There may have been better solutions at the time, but those solutions might not have been suitable for this poor and vulnerable family.

To put it bluntly, Ichinose's mother's choice can be seen as moral blackmail to some extent.

By exploiting public sympathy, they forced the shop owner to resolve the matter on the spot.

In any case, they have returned the hair clips and even knelt down to apologize.

From the public's perspective, the store hasn't suffered any losses, so continuing to dwell on this matter is going too far.

Because of poverty, Ichinose's mother could only sacrifice her own dignity, which was something she had no other choice.

"It's all my fault," Ichinose, gazing sadly at the sky, tears finally streaming down her face. "It's my fault that made Mom and me kneel down together."

If only Ichinose had been punished in this theft, the girl might not have been so vulnerable.

She was mentally prepared to accept punishment for her mistakes.

However, what Ichinose could not accept was that because of her sins, her mother, who was in a hospital bed, had been implicated, and that she had to suffer the cold stares of the world in public alongside her.

"My mother used to teach me that although our family was poor, we were no less inferior than others."

"She told me to respect and love myself, and not to give up my dignity just because of difficulties."

"But this woman, more stubborn than anyone else, who valued dignity more than anyone else, actually..."

What truly broke Ichinose's spirit at that moment was the sight of her mother kneeling humbly on the ground, begging for forgiveness on her behalf.

She tried to be clever and make her sister happy, but not only did she fail to do anything, she also made her already exhausted mother clean up her mess, causing her to suffer a second blow while she was already in pain.

Because of this outcome, Ichinose hated herself more than ever before.

Even though everyone else forgave her, the girl couldn't forgive herself, and she was too ashamed to interact with her sister and mother as usual.

So she locked herself in her room and refused to see anyone. Later, she even ran away to Advanced Nurturing, a boarding school where she couldn't see her family for three years and where tuition and living expenses were waived.

She thought time could heal all wounds, but it turns out she was just fooling herself!

She had only selectively and temporarily forgotten, but the nightmare had already been etched into the girl's soul, destined to imprison her for life.

Well, under his analysis, Ichinose seemed to have become even more haggard, as if she might break at any moment.

After Aragaki Shun noticed this, he calmly reached out and gently wiped away the tears streaming down the girl's face.

"I've told you all this not to stand on a moral high ground and judge your crimes, I have neither the interest nor the right to do so."

"I just want you to understand that the reason Ichinose's mother went to such lengths was to minimize the impact of this incident on you and to prevent it from affecting your future."

"But if you're wallowing in self-pity and stuck in the past, unable to move forward, then what's the point of everything she did?"

"I, I..." Hearing the boy's frank words, Ichinose opened his mouth, but couldn't quite express his feelings.

Aragaki Shun shook his head. "Now I finally understand why you were placed in Class B."

Seeing that the pink-haired girl was about to apologize again, Aragaki Shun stopped her immediately.

"Don't speak yet. The reason you were assigned to Class B isn't what you think."

"You didn't cause any real loss by stealing the hair clip that time. Not only did you return it, but you also obtained the shop's forgiveness by bowing deeply in apology."

"Normally, this matter would be over by now. Apart from your family, no one else would care, and the school wouldn't assign you to Class B for this reason."

Petty theft is rampant in this world. When we were young and didn't know any better, who hasn't stolen something once or twice?

If such a matter doesn't escalate and can be resolved through negotiation, it will disappear from public memory in a few days, and it's really not worth Advanced Nurturing special attention of the school.

"Compared to the incident of stealing the hair clip, the real reason you were placed in Class B should be the six months you were suspended from school afterwards."

"You're lenient with others but strict with yourself. You see even the slightest mistake as an unforgivable sin, and you can't even forgive yourself... If someone with your personality were to enter society, they would probably easily fall into a state of self-destruction."

Aragaki Shun clicked his tongue lightly, then snapped at Ichinose with some annoyance:

"So, are you some kind of flawless saint, born incapable of making mistakes?"

No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes when they are young.

"Not everyone can be like you, where one mistake leads to eternal damnation, and even a lifetime of atonement cannot be forgiven, right?"

No, no, that's not what I meant.

Startled by Ichinose boy's sudden reprimand, Ichinose frantically waved her hands and stammered, "I... I stole something, I didn't..."

"It's such a trivial matter!" Aragaki Shun grabbed the girl's hands and pushed her against the wall, making a "wall slam" gesture with one hand, leaving her no choice but to meet his gaze. "Why don't you go to Class D for a couple of days and experience the diversity of the human species?"

"Get this straight, if you were truly a criminal, you would have been tried by the law long ago. Do you think your family, which can't even afford to feed themselves, has the means to escape legal punishment?"

"Since the shop has forgiven you, that proves the matter is over. All this talk of a criminal and unforgivable behavior is just you internalizing it all!"

"This behavior can only hurt yourself and those who care about you... What other meaning does it have?"

Looking at the dazed Ichinose, Aragaki Shun gave a cold smile and an assessment.

"Arrogant and cruel, judging themselves by saintly standards without any regard for whether those who cherish them will be hurt as a result."

"I never expected that Ichinose would have this side to you."

Ichinose's pupils widened suddenly, and she murmured absentmindedly, "No, it shouldn't be like this..."

"During those six months when you suspended your studies and locked yourself in your room, did you ever consider how your mother and sister suffered?"

Unsure if it would be effective, Aragaki Shun, but did not stop his attacks.

"And to everyone in Class A, do you think the trust your classmates have in you is all fake?"

"Everyone in Class A believed in you, considered you an angel, and now you've committed heinous crimes and want to destroy yourself."

Are you implying that we're all blind?

159. Ichinose would never betray her best friend; a wall separates two worlds.

"I... I just wanted to ask Aragaki-kun, is it okay if I confess that thing to everyone tomorrow?"

Unconsciously following Aragaki Shun to the other's dormitory, Ichinose's gaze darted away, subconsciously looking left and right.

The girl tapped her fingertips together in front of her chest, racking her brains as quickly as possible to come up with a relatively suitable reason, seemingly afraid that the person in front of her might misunderstand that she harbored some unspeakable thoughts.

"I'm a little disappointed. I thought Ichinose was going to give me some perks."

Aragaki Shun shook his head with feigned regret, "Everyone has their own secrets, and even with your own parents, you don't need to reveal everything."

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine with you keeping it to yourself. Conversely, if you genuinely feel it's necessary to be honest, then of course I'll support you."

Ichinose's face flushed slightly. Pretending not to have heard Aragaki Shun's earlier hint about giving out fan service, she simply muttered to herself, "Well, I'll be honest then. I want to apologize to everyone in Class A because for the past two months, I've been presumptuously trying to atone for my sins when I've been interacting with you all."

"This is wrong. Everyone trusted me so much, forming friendships with me so innocently, yet I despicably used the guise of helping others to satisfy myself. I want to repent in this way..."