Reuniting with Airi

Bang!

Kamuro Masumi burst through the door and left the KTV. The noise carried into Class A's private room, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

Sakamoto was the first to step outside.

At a glance, he spotted Kushida standing outside with a dark expression.

But it lasted only an instant. The moment she noticed someone approaching, she switched back to her cute facade, as though her previous expression had never existed.

Then she put on a look of grievance and sorrow.

Sakamoto watched Kushida in silence, leaning against the window as he adjusted his gold-rimmed round glasses and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Little Kikyo! What happened?"

The girls who had rushed out surrounded Kushida and began asking after her with concern, making it difficult for Sakamoto by the window to observe what was happening inside.

But that was fine.

He already knew the most important thing.

Whatever had made Kushida lose her composure had to involve Horikita Suzune. Sakamoto abruptly left the window and called out without looking back—

"I've got something to do, Hashimoto."

"You're not staying to have fun at the KTV?"

Hashimoto's voice drifted over from the private room.

But the person in question had already left the KTV.

Sakamoto went to Zelkova Shopping Center to buy a camera for his next plan.

After looking around for a while, he discovered there was only one electronics store in Zelkova Shopping Center, so he went inside.

The moment he entered, he heard a low, sleazy voice. Sakamoto quickly walked forward.

A lecherous-looking male clerk, utterly lacking in spirit, was staring greedily at Sakura Airi in front of the counter.

She lowered her head uneasily.

Sakura was dressed plainly and had not made any special effort with her appearance. Rather, her messy, heavy bangs and cheap black-framed glasses completely concealed her looks, while an air of gloom clung to her. She was inconspicuous in every way.

Yet the clerk looked at her as though he had found a priceless treasure. He tried to keep his tone normal, but the desire in his eyes was impossible to miss.

Yeah, this was an extremely creepy guy—the kind of obsessive, gloomy, twisted character that showed up in anime.

"Customer, is there something you'd like to buy?"

Noticing another customer enter the store, the clerk restrained his expression a little, though he still gave off a clear sense of wanting Sakamoto to leave quickly.

Sakura stood frozen in place, completely unresponsive to the commotion around her, as if that could lessen the pressure she felt.

So this incident was going to happen no matter what.

Sakamoto suppressed an inward sigh and stepped forward to stand beside Sakura.

"Oh? Sakura, you're here too? What a coincidence." Sakamoto greeted her with feigned surprise, as though they had run into each other by chance.

Hearing a familiar voice, Sakura Airi noticed the person beside her.

"Sakamoto?"

"Are you here to buy a camera too?"

"No, no. My camera broke, so I wanted to see if it could be repaired."

"I see. That's some bad luck..."

Watching the two chat, the clerk felt an uncontrollable fury rise within him.

Shizuku is mine!!

This man who suddenly showed up is so annoying. Hurry up and leave!

"Customer, are you buying something or not? If not, please leave right now."

"Sorry, I didn't notice you just now."

The clerk forced a smile, while the disgust in his heart deepened even further.

"Do you have a camera that can take clear pictures from a long distance? Preferably one that doesn't make much noise while shooting."

What is he planning to do? The clerk's expression stiffened.

"Sorry, our store doesn't carry that kind of camera."

"Hmm? Are you saying the only electronics store in Zelkova Shopping Center doesn't even sell cameras? It seems this school's claim that 'anything can be bought' isn't quite right. Should I ask the school about it?" Sakamoto spoke softly, but his meaning was obvious.

"W-Wait, I might have remembered wrong. I'll go look." His little trick exposed, the clerk awkwardly tried to recover. He gave his Shizuku one reluctant look, secretly glanced at Sakamoto, then turned and hurried into the storage room, looking terrified that if he came out too late, Shizuku would be taken away by the man outside.

Now, only the two of them remained in the store.

Sakamoto casually glanced at the departing clerk and let out a faint chuckle.

Sakura beside him was secretly peeking at him, and happened to catch his smile.

Unlike his usual polite smile, this one carried a hint of disdain and detachment when seen from the side, vividly revealing the young man's confidence and calm.

"So cool..."

"Hm?" As though he had heard something, Sakamoto looked at Sakura.

"N-Nothing. You, you heard wrong."

Sakura hurriedly shook her head in denial, but her flushed cheeks betrayed her.

Though she had spoken quietly, Sakamoto had heard her clearly. Still, to spare this overly reactive girl, he did not point it out.

The clerk emerged from the storage room holding a sealed cardboard box.

When he saw the shy-looking girl standing before the counter, his possessiveness and anger surged again.

Smack!!

The clerk heavily slammed the cardboard box onto the counter.

"Th-This is the camera you wanted, customer. One hundred thousand yen..."

With his drawn-out tone and forceful movements, the clerk openly stared at Sakamoto with malice, seemingly anticipating the embarrassment of him being unable to pay one hundred thousand yen.

He had not falsified the price. Now it depended on whether this guy actually had that much money.

"One hundred thousand isn't a problem. But as a clerk, shouldn't you explain it to me first?"

"Hehe, no problem, customer. How about taking a look at this model...?"

The clerk gave two fake laughs and stiffly explained the differences between the cameras.

This clerk really did resemble the sort of guy destined to die at the beginning of a story. Tsk, tsk.

Sakamoto casually chose a thirty-thousand-yen camera and paid for it. The instant he turned around, the clerk shot him a sinister look before returning to normal.

At last, he had dealt with that annoying customer.

The clerk could not wait to start talking to Sakura.

Little Sakura fearfully took two steps back and instinctively moved closer to Sakamoto.

Looking at the uneasy little animal before him,

Sakamoto could not help but laugh.

He naturally stepped in front of Sakura.

"Sorry, but you're making my girlfriend very uncomfortable."

"Girlfriend?" Those words instantly made the clerk's eyes turn bloodshot. "Customer, you're lying, aren't you? You obviously didn't come here together. That joke isn't funny at all!"

"A joke?" Sakamoto's lips curled upward as he stepped forward and stared directly at the clerk. His indifferent gaze suddenly made the crazed clerk shrink back timidly.

"What does our relationship have to do with you, an electronics store clerk?"

He turned to Sakura and leaned intimately close to her. "Sakura, let's go."

The warmth of the boy's breath brushed across her face, and the distance between them was barely anything. But at that moment, Sakura was completely trapped by the word "girlfriend."

That intimate gesture made the clerk grind his molars. You've enraged a male louse!!

He stared unwillingly at Sakura. His frightening expression was especially ugly, his eyes seeming ready to devour someone. It was as if he would erupt the moment he heard even the slightest objection from Sakura.

The pressure of his gaze made the little girl's body tremble again.

She paused only briefly before nodding with all her strength.

Seeing that even his beloved idol had not denied it, the clerk froze in place, his spirit completely collapsing.

Sakamoto narrowed his eyes at him, and the slight ripples in his heart vanished without a trace.

He had thought the other man would do something extreme. He had wanted to see what kind of behavior trash like this could unleash, but instead, he was just a coward.

Boring...