Tokyo's Number One Romantic: Nagumo Miyabi

Night slowly descended, and the Tokyo skyline was dotted with countless flickering lights, like a meticulously painted scroll of the starry sky spread out in the city's embrace.

The outlines of the skyscrapers were clear yet soft under the dim lights, and the occasional airplane contrail streaking across the sky added a touch of distant poetry to the city.

Nagumo Renji, the largest shareholder of the nightclub Night Song located in a prime area, was flirting with his secretary in his office.

"Chinatsu, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever met. Your eyes are as beautiful as the galaxy in the sky."

Nagumo Renji spoke these thousand-times-repeated lies without blushing or skipping a beat. Relying on a weathered, story-filled handsome face, even the cheesiest pick-up lines worked every time.

"Renji~"

The secretary followed the mood and leaned in to kiss him.

Nagumo's secretaries were replaced on average once a year, discarded boringly once he grew tired of them.

His son, Nagumo Miyabi, had also inherited the fine traditions of the Nagumo family.

"Am I late, Honami?"

"Not at all, I just arrived too. Shall we go to the student council together?"

"Yosh, let's go!"

Vice President Nagumo looked at Nagami, who had arrived with Ichinose, his expression stiffening. The distance between the two in particular made the alarm bells in his heart ring.

A scumbag's intuition sensed that the other party seemed to be of the same kind; as the saying goes, like repels like. But out of courtesy, he could only greet them.

"Yo, Ichinose-chan, Nagami."

"You two came just in time. Today, go to the club surveys and see if you can serve as assistant referees for the Sports Festival events. The physical education teachers alone aren't enough to handle such a high frequency of competitions."

President Horikita commanded.

"Because of the large number of students, one event requires at least four rounds from the preliminaries to the finals. There are 13 events in the Sports Festival, so we need no fewer than 13 people. If you encounter any difficulties, contact me or Nagumo immediately; the student council can provide the necessary help."

"Let's go, Honami. Let's head to the track and field club first."

"Oh, right away!"

"Kagami, why aren't you nervous at all when you come to the student council? My back goes cold every time I see the President's serious face."

"You'll get used to it, Honami. I look forward to you becoming president in the future, taking down Horikita, and then taking down Nagumo."

"Haha, thanks for your good intentions."

Knock, knock, knock. They knocked open the door to the track and field club.

"Assistant referee? Being an assistant referee is fine. But is there any reward for serving as a judge? If this delays the class total score, I'll be the one losing out."

"Then, what would it take for you to be willing, senior?" Ichinose asked.

"If you give me your contact information, I might consider it, cute underclassman."

"Eh, this..."

Faced with the senior's harassment, Ichinose was a bit at a loss. Although giving out contact information wasn't a big deal, taking advantage of the situation made her feel a bit repulsed.

"You're being a bit ungrateful, senior." Nagami pressed his hand on Ichinose's shoulder and stepped in front of her.

The senior wanted to retort, but looking at the strong muscles barely concealed by Nagami's thin shirt, his confidence suddenly faltered.

"The student council doesn't exploit students' labor for free. You also know that the power of the school's student council is extraordinary. Not only can we communicate with the board of directors, but changing school rules is also a piece of cake. We are only in the planning stage now, but as for things like assistant referee points, you definitely won't be short-changed."

Nagami learned from the President to paint a rosy picture for his subordinates. Of course, a workhorse like him had zero chance of actually getting any points.

"Oh, is that so! I agree."

"Then please, senior, fill in your contact information on the form."

After the senior respectfully filled it out, the duo set off for the next club.

Not long after they left, someone in the club spoke up in realization.

"That guy, he seems to be that violent maniac from Class D of the first year, what was his name, Nagami?"

"It's said that not long after school started, he beat three classmates from Class D into the infirmary for a week, and they were all substitute basketball players. I heard it from a classmate in the basketball club."

"Really? That's scary. He even hits his own classmates that hard; he really lives up to the name of a violent maniac."

"Looking at his physique, is he really a student?"

"One punch, and it could be fatal."

"Terrifying."

The unnamed senior broke out in a cold sweat, rejoicing that he had backed down at the time.

"Arigato, Kagami. With you here, I feel like the work is much easier."

"Just a small favor."

Afterward, a total of 15 students were willing to fill out the forms to become referees. By the time they returned to the student council room, it was nearly 5 o'clock.

"Well done. Review these promotional drafts, and if there are no problems, stamp them."

Looking at the piles of drafts submitted by the newspaper club—Burn, Youth! Sports Are In Season, Highlights: Second Year Strongest vs. Third Year Strongest, etc.

"The newspaper's headlines are always so eye-catching."

Click, click, click! Pass.

The time was exactly six o'clock in the evening.

"Let's call it a day here."

Student Council President Horikita said, while Vice President Nagumo extended an invitation to Ichinose.

"Honami-chan, are you free today? There's a karaoke event tonight."

"Hmm~ sorry, I have other things to do. I still need to coordinate the class training for the Sports Festival. My apologies, senpai."

Ichinose refused him directly. Watching Ichinose laughing and chatting with Nagami, a hint of frustration welled up in Nagumo's heart.

"Honami, how did you end up becoming friends with this Nagumo? Surely you aren't unaware of his reputation."

"Well, there are many reasons for that. Because I was rejected by the Student Council President back then, I was in a really bad mood. At the time, Nagumo-senpai was willing to make an exception and take me on as an intern, so I was still very grateful. My dream since I was little has been to help as many people as possible."

(A classic scumbag tactic: taking advantage of someone when they're down.)

"Have you ever thought about what it is that attracts him to you? Katsuragi from Class A is also very excellent, so why haven't we seen Nagumo go after him?"

"Uh, that's so direct. Actually, I understand. I'm not a stupid girl. When Kagami puts it so bluntly, I feel as useless as a vase."

"The student council is just a bunch of rabble, anyway."

"How about we make a bet? If I can take first place in individual points during the Sports Festival, the condition is that you must quit the student council. How about it?"

"Can you win, Kagami? This is a ranking for the entire grade level."

Ichinose looked at him with skeptical eyes.

"I will win. They are the ones who are the challengers."

Looking at Nagami's determined gaze, a strange, mischievous thought welled up in Ichinose's heart.

"Fine, it's a deal."

If it's Kagami, being a little willful is fine, right! What a truly gentle person, Ichinose thought to herself.

(A little Nagumo, are you? To think you'd take advantage of Honami when she's vulnerable—don't blame me for sending you a gift. This is the price you pay.)

What kind of woman does a scumbag fear the most? The answer is a reckless, headstrong woman. Such women cause scumbags trouble when breaking up, pestering them incessantly and making it difficult for them to move on to their next relationship.

There are even more extreme cases where they want to drag the scumbag down with them; there is no doubt that the ruthless fear the reckless. Even if one is a master of navigating emotions, encountering a headstrong person renders all those skills useless.

"It seems Class D only has one love-struck girl who judges by looks. It's perfect that the benefits stay within the family."

(I heard Nagumo still has a childhood friend who is a senior. I'm actually a bit curious why he doesn't touch the grass around his own nest. Could it be that she's an ugly monster?)