The Hidden Client (Part Three)

"I see... Then do you still remember what he looked like?"

Sakura nodded. Though she didn't dare look at other people's faces, that man had left such a deep impression on her.

"That makes things easier."

As he spoke, Shinjo took a sheet of white paper from his backpack. It had portraits and information on all the suspects printed on it, and Sakura immediately picked out the perverted fan.

"It was definitely him..."

"Okay, thanks for cooperating. Don't worry—I promise I won't tell anyone about what happened to you. By the way, your camera should still be with him, right? If you're planning to get it back yourself, you should bring someone along. Or I can go get it for you."

"N-no... It's fine... I can get it myself..."

"All right."

Shinjo put away the sheet. Now that they'd identified their target, the rest should be easy enough, though one big question still remained.

"Um... Shinjo... Could you... come with me... to get my camera?"

Sakura didn't want to trouble him, but when she thought about it, that man was really scary. Besides, she didn't seem to have anyone she could trust right now.

"Of course. When do you want to go?"

"After school today... That's when the shop assistant said I could come."

Shinjo suspected the guy had never intended to let Sakura get her camera back, so it made no difference whether they went now or that afternoon.

But... it didn't matter.

"All right. Sorry I took up so much of your lunch break. Still, if we head downstairs now, we can grab lunch."

With that, Shinjo left the classroom.

At the stairwell landing, the human gatekeeper he'd sent ahead earlier was glaring at him with a wounded expression.

"Okay, okay... What do you want for lunch? It's on me."

"You said it."

"Just don't ask for anything too outrageous..."

After successfully milking Shinjo for a meal, the satisfied Karuizawa took the initiative and linked her arm through his.

"Come on. Didn't you say we were going to the electronics shop?"

"No. We're going back to the Odd Jobs Agency. There's something I need to think through. We can go to the electronics shop this afternoon."

"What crazy scheme have you come up with now?"

What a sharp-tongued little brat!

"What do you mean, crazy scheme? There's something I don't quite understand..."

First, it was clear that the contents of the letter were true.

But from Sakura's reaction, she wasn't the one who'd sent it. And if the shop assistant had been targeting Sakura all along, whoever wrote the letter must have known that, too.

But Sakura didn't have many friends. She probably wouldn't have told anyone about it so casually.

Then... how had that person found out?

That afternoon, after school.

Once everyone had left the classroom, Shinjo went over to Sakura.

"Let's go. We'll get your camera back."

"P-please..."

Without the note, Sakura still spoke with great hesitation.

Karuizawa had wanted to come along, but Shinjo had given her a different task at the last minute. It was partly to help Sakura keep her secret and partly to stop that guy from getting the wrong idea.

To avoid drawing their classmates' attention, they made their way to the electronics shop separately, one following the other.

"Hello. How can I help— Ah! It's the guy from yesterday! Huh? Is this... your girlfriend?"

The shop assistant had obviously noticed Sakura hiding half a step behind Shinjo. A trace of unease crossed his face.

Although this wasn't the perverted fan, Shinjo watched the man's expression out of habit.

"No... That's not important."

"Uh... Right... Hahahaha..."

At Shinjo's reply, a strange look crossed the man's face. It was hard to tell what he was thinking.

"We're here to pick up her camera. She brought it in for repairs, and one of the employees said she could get it today."

"Ah! I see. If you're here for an after-sales service, please come this way."

The employee at the entrance pointed them in the right direction. Once they were out of sight, the smile slowly faded from his face...

"Thank you."

The two of them reached the after-sales service counter. The perverted fan was fiddling with his phone and hadn't noticed them arrive.

As soon as Sakura saw him, she jumped back in fright.

"Ah..."

"Huh?!"

The sudden sound startled the perverted fan, but what happened next was even more shocking—literally.

He completely ignored Shinjo standing right in front of him and immediately spotted Sakura behind him.

"Excuse me, sir. We're here to pick up the camera. Could you hand it over now?"

Shinjo knew exactly what the man was thinking. He stepped forward and blocked Sakura from view.

"W-who are you?"

"She's Sakura. I'm her friend."

"Sorry, but to ensure the safety of the merchandise, we can only hand it over to the owner in person."

In other words, he wanted Sakura to stand right in front of him.

"What kind of weird rule is that? The owner's right here. Do you need to hand it over to her personally?"

"Exactly! Our store puts service first and people at the center!"

Shinjo narrowed his eyes. He couldn't understand where a shop assistant had gotten the nerve...

"Heh... You claim to put people first, yet you won't respect the customer's wishes. And service comes first? I can't say I've been impressed with your service. If you're deliberately refusing to hand it over, why not call the manager?"

"You!"

He couldn't understand what was so unreasonable about his request. All Sakura had to do was come over! He wasn't even being given that much of a chance... And Sakura... Hadn't she understood his sincere intentions yet?!

[No! That's not it! This pretty boy is just someone you brought in to test me... Only the two of us are bound together by the red thread of fate! Meeting you again at this school is irrefutable proof of our love!!]

"Fine... Here's your camera... Take good care of it."

He picked up the camera beside him and handed it over right away. He must have been unable to put it down all this time.

Shinjo accepted it with some distaste and immediately passed it to Sakura, as if afraid there might be something filthy on it.

"Couldn't you have done that from the start? Let's go."

When they returned to the entrance, the sales assistant who'd greeted them had disappeared. In his place was an unfamiliar female employee.

"Have a nice day."