Selfish Thief

Nagumo Miyabi had heard various theories from Seishiki, and he truly wondered—had he misunderstood "Social Darwinism"? Was his own theory actually correct? He repeated the questions to himself over and over, his brain doubting itself for the first time. What was the right thing to do? A bridge? He didn't understand at all.

"The grilled meat is delicious. Senior Asahi's skills are really impressive."

Senior Asahi had already placed grilled meat into the bowls of Nagumo Miyabi and Seishiki. Seishiki put the meat in his mouth and praised her without reservation.

"Hehehe, if it's good, eat plenty."

"Miyabi, you should eat it while it's hot too."

"Ah, okay."

Nagumo Miyabi snapped back to reality, realizing he had fallen into a spiral of erroneous self-reflection. The absurd reality of feeling like he was overloaded with data had actually manifested in him. As expected, that guy Seishiki Otonashi was a hidden "Talented One."

"Thank you, Senior Asahi and Senior Nagumo."

As he left, Seishiki still gave a polite bow.

Asahina Nazuna watched the direction Seishiki had gone and muttered quietly.

"What an interesting kid. Maybe only someone like him can change Miyabi's current personality..."

Seishiki planned to go to the convenience store to buy two cans of Wasabi Soda. Several store employees stood in a corner outside the entrance, smoking and complaining about recent events.

"This is already the third theft. Damn it! Right when I'm about to clock out and do inventory, this crap happens! My bonus for this month is gone. What a fucking buzzkill..."

"If I catch them, I'll beat their head in. Gotta report it to the police for sure. This school doesn't raise good people, but it sure raises plenty of thieves."

"What a headache..."

The adult world is tough, huh. A Convenience Store Thief? Someone who only causes trouble for others... Truly despicable to the extreme. Student theft was common in Neon and even the whole world; these kinds of people were a complete failure of education.

But this had nothing to do with Seishiki. If there was a bounty mission for it, he might be interested in participating as a Bounty Hunter catching criminals.

Seishiki bought his drinks and returned to his cozy little nest, waiting for the next day to come.

(The next day, evening)

Boring classes, fun board game activities—another day survived!

Seishiki stretched his back and strolled through the campus.

He planned to go to the convenience store to stock up on some snacks, then go home and cook.

Seishiki looked at the shelves, hesitating over whether he wanted potato chips or shrimp crackers.

"Kamuro-san?"

He saw her crouching by the cooler, glancing around furtively...

"Isn't that the beer section?"

Seishiki hid behind the shelf and peeked out cautiously. Sneaky observation.JPG.

Could it be that Masumi Kamuro was a girl who loved chugging beer? Even though she gave off that "stay away from me" vibe in class and deliberately distanced herself from the group. She was the textbook example of someone who isolated herself from the whole class...

As for Masumi Kamuro's appearance, she was in the "good-looking" category.

"What a contrast between her surface and her private side."

Well, that was her hobby. Seishiki didn't care. As long as she didn't cause trouble for others, it was fine.

"?"

Then the next scene left Seishiki dumbfounded.

He watched as Masumi Kamuro casually slipped a beer into her backpack.

"Theft?"

He remembered the convenience store employee's complaints from last night. Was Masumi Kamuro a repeat offender? Disgusting...

Disgust welled up inside him. If it had been someone from another class, Seishiki would have already reported her to the staff. It was because he trusted his own classmate that he observed a little longer, but he never expected she was actually a thief.

The timing was too coincidental—she had perfectly exploited the staff's patrol schedule and used her body and the camera angles to create a blind spot. The method was crude, but her movements clearly showed she was a repeat offender! This was definitely premeditated, with reconnaissance done in advance.

(Sakayanagi Arisu, who could consider this theft technique "impressive," was also something else.)

"Whoa, how vile."

Seishiki pulled out his phone and recorded Masumi Kamuro's theft. If she recognized her mistake, he would delete the video. If she remained unrepentant, Seishiki wouldn't hesitate to expose her.

Just as Masumi Kamuro was about to stand up, Seishiki was already behind her.

"Put it back, and I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

Seishiki's soft voice cut through Masumi Kamuro like a sharp blade.

She immediately turned around and saw the small Seishiki standing behind her.

"Otonashi... Seishiki?"

"I recorded your crime, you know... Put the stolen goods back, apologize to the staff properly, and I'll let it go."

Seishiki pointed at the phone in his hand. Masumi Kamuro never expected that she would be caught by this guy.

"Put it back."

Star Color pointed at her shoulder bag, then at the empty gap in the freezer where a row of beers had been before her theft.

"Fine, fine."

Masumi Kamuro wore an impatient expression. She took the bottle of beer out of her backpack and put it back.

Seeing her return it, Star Color couldn't be bothered to deal with her further and went back to picking out snacks.

After paying, they left the convenience store.

"Why are you still following me?"

Star Color looked helplessly at Masumi Kamuro, who was trailing behind him like a shadow.

"Delete the video."

"No. Not unless you go apologize to the clerk."

"Why should I apologize?"

"That was theft. It's a crime. You caused trouble for the clerks too. And if you wanted beer, you could've just bribed them with points. Why resort to stealing?"

"Beer? I don't even drink it."

"Then the hell did you steal it for?"

Star Color couldn't hold back a curse, throwing his hands out and staring at her wide-eyed.

"Are you some kind of thrill-seeker?"

Star Color was full of question marks now. He hadn't expected such a huge gap between her appearance and her true nature.

Completely selfish. The worst kind of evil. Someone who only cared about her own excitement and pleasure, constantly causing trouble for others.

Suddenly, Masumi Kamuro seemed to realize something. She grabbed Star Color's hand and pulled him into the grass beside the road.

"Wait... let go of me."

Star Color tried to break free, but his strength against Masumi Kamuro was like an ant trying to shake a tree. His wrist was gripped tight...

Star Color was yanked along, dragged into the small grove.

"Let me go..."

Masumi Kamuro had never seen such a weak guy before. He couldn't escape her hold at all.

"Delete it."

Masumi Kamuro looked down at Star Color, a strange sense of superiority rising in her heart.

"No!"

"This weak, and you're really a guy?"

Masumi Kamuro stared at Star Color with icy eyes, holding his slender wrist, her tone carrying a hint of mockery.

"When you threaten someone, don't you check the difference in strength first?"

Shimatta! After a week of peaceful campus life, he'd completely forgotten one thing. Before making a move, you had to assess the power gap. When money and status didn't work, force came into play. The sad reality was that the world didn't care about fairness...

"Hmph, I'm not scared of you."

Star Color couldn't meet Masumi Kamuro's gaze at all. His body trembled slightly.

"Look at me."

Masumi Kamuro grabbed Star Color's cheek, forcing him to meet her eyes.

"Guh..."

Star Color let out a cute yelp? Something like that.

Masumi Kamuro took the chance to push him down. Star Color's oversized, ill-fitting coat spread out on the grass like a twelve-layer kimono...

[Star Color's Obscure Knowledge: The twelve-layer kimono is a pain to put on, made up of many layers. But the fabric tying all those layers together is just a single sash. With enough skill, you can take it off in an instant, and the kimono falls to the ground, becoming a soft, makeshift bed.]

Right now, Masumi Kamuro's inner pleasure and sensory thrill were steadily rising, mixed with a hint of sadistic urge. Compared to theft, this kind of excitement was something she had never experienced before...