Samurai duels had a long history in Sakura Country. At least, in the version of Sakura Country from Beihai's previous life, things had changed so fast that—
Sakura Woman had reached the point of making absurd statements like, "I just want him dead, but I don't mean any harm."
Eighty percent of the accusations were false, but they were usually treated as guilty until proven innocent. The men had no recourse, and once convicted, they faced two to three years in prison.
It was a miserable situation for men. But there was always a way to fight fire with fire. Someone quickly realized that if it was treated as a fight, the punishment was only two to fifteen days in criminal detention.
That was the answer. If someone falsely accused a man of molestation, he could immediately say that the woman had challenged him to a samurai duel.
Even if the police showed up, they could only treat it as a fight. The man could then get a lawyer and claim that the woman had wanted to challenge him to a samurai duel.
What had Beihai done wrong? He had merely found himself a way out at a critical moment. Otherwise, the other party could have kept accusing him until he ended up in prison for at least three years. Who could put up with that?
Kikyo Kushida, standing in front of Beihai, watched her expression shift again and again. She looked down at the hand she had pressed against her chest, then back up at Beihai, feeling a little dazed.
She wondered if she'd heard him wrong. Her hand was still pressed against him, and now he was talking about a samurai duel?
"My fingerprints are already on your chest. If you don't want—"
Ugh!
Before she could finish, a fist struck her in the stomach, accompanied by Beihai's words.
"So you want to challenge me to a samurai duel?
Think carefully. There are no cameras here. Even if my fingerprints are on your chest, there'll be evidence on other parts of your body too. For example, your face could end up with the imprint of my whole palm.
"Molestation is a serious crime, but if we're both charged with fighting, I'll only be inside for half a month. And with the school's usual attitude, they'll just sweep the whole thing under the rug.
"So do you really want to fight me at the cost of ending up covered in bruises?"
Kikyo Kushida froze. She'd been threatened—blatantly threatened by that bookworm, that creepy shut-in.
The foolproof plan she'd imagined never came to pass. Why? This wasn't how the story was supposed to go. She'd clearly used her innocence to frame him—
Not to mention, what kind of girl would joke about her innocence?
But what was this about a samurai duel? What was this about a fight? He'd only be locked up for half a month, and she'd end up with a handprint on her face. Wasn't that basically a huge slap in the face?
Since when had things gotten so far ahead of the times? Weren't girls supposed to threaten boys a little, then make them do as they pleased?
Especially a creepy shut-in like Beihai, who should have been easy to manipulate. How had things gone wrong?
This wasn't just like punching a pillow. It was more like the other person had worn spiked armor: not only had her punch failed to land, but she'd hurt her own hand and broken it.
And most importantly, Kikyo Kushida hurriedly slapped Beihai's hand away and stepped back twice. She didn't know what to think about having let him take advantage of her without getting anything in return.
Kikyo Kushida had recovered the modesty expected of a girl. She crossed her arms over her chest, as if she hadn't just thrown herself at him to put on a show. Now she almost looked like the one who'd been bullied.
"You bastard! Are you even a man?"
Beihai clenched his right fist and replied without a care, "How can you assume my gender? If you really want to know, I could be a helicopter."
Kikyo Kushida took one look at Beihai's expression and realized she'd been fooled by his act. She'd thought he was a little rabbit, the sort who acted like a goblin in real life, only looking up at the saintess—
Then hiding his filthy thoughts and venting them in some deserted corner. She hadn't expected him to be this devious.
Kikyo Kushida was furious. Furious that he had her under his thumb, furious that he'd taken advantage of her, and furious that she hadn't gotten anything out of it. More importantly, she no longer had the initiative.
She clicked her tongue, but understood that she couldn't use her body as leverage anymore.
Kikyo Kushida's mouth turned down like a dragon king's, but she quickly put on a pitiful expression again. Her eyes grew misty, as if she'd suffered the greatest injustice.
"What do you want me to do?"
As she said it, she unconsciously took two steps forward, then wrapped her arms around Beihai's arm and nestled against him.
Beihai felt nothing at all. This was a nuisance for both of them, so he simply reached out and grabbed her chin.
"What do I want? You're recording, aren't you? You want me to say I'm going to do this and that to you, make some weird demands, and then you'll publish it. My reputation will be ruined, and you'll be able to say whatever you want. The truth will be whatever comes out of your mouth."
Kikyo Kushida's expression changed. She no longer looked pitiful.
Kiyotaka watched with great interest from the side, then reached out and took the Terminal from her.
"Mm. She really is recording."
He moved too quickly. By the time Kikyo Kushida realized what was happening and tried to pull away, he had her chin clamped so tightly she couldn't move. All she could do was threaten him from where she stood.
"Hey! You—"
But she was already panicking inside. She was completely at his mercy now. There were no cameras here, and she'd basically dug her own grave.
"Now I could make a few demands. I could buy some weird toys, make you wear them, strip naked, and take a few pictures. Your life would be over."
Kikyo Kushida was genuinely terrified. This was straight out of some adult comic, but it really did seem possible. At the thought of becoming someone's sex slave for the next three years, she couldn't tell whether he was threatening her or meant it. But she leaned toward the latter. A goblin—or a fat shut-in like him—might really dare to fantasize and act on it. She didn't dare take that chance.
"Disgusting! Let me go!"
She struggled, even trying to scream, but Beihai had planned ahead. That was why he'd grabbed her chin in the first place.
He only had to flip his hand upward to cover her mouth. By then, Kikyo Kushida's eyes were completely panicked, and her body had even gone a little limp.
Seeing tears all over her face, Beihai decided she'd had enough. He let go and took a few pictures.
"I don't want to deal with you. What happened today was an accident. If you hadn't made the first move, I wouldn't have threatened you.
"You saw what happened today. I was pretending, and so were you. We leave each other alone. But if you dare bother me again,
"then I really will take control of you. I hope my threats don't become reality. Understand?"
After Beihai let go, Kikyo Kushida could barely stand. Tears were all over her face, and she plopped down on the ground.
Fortunately, she had a decent handle on herself and didn't wet herself. That would have been mortifying.
Now, there was no calculation in her eyes when she looked at Beihai. In the end, she was just a little girl, and that very real scare had put her in her place.
The only thing Kikyo Kushida could do was run her mouth. It was about all anyone could do after being beaten down and forced to their knees.
"Beihai, you bastard!"
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