Kobeni Higashiyama had barely said a few words before she could no longer hold back her hurt. Tears kept streaming down her face as she wiped them away with her hands and tearfully told Asaba everything.
Even though Asaba Kotone already knew about Kobeni Higashiyama's family situation, hearing her pour it all out like this still made his heart ache.
He reached out and wiped the tears from her face.
What Kobeni told him was mostly what Asaba Kotone already knew, but with more details.
For instance, her parents had already asked whether she would consider going into sex work. That was utterly out of line.
Kobeni was only in her second year of high school, yet they were already discussing sex work with her. It was outrageous.
No wonder Kobeni Higashiyama had cut ties with her family as soon as she had the chance in the original story. This really wasn't something normal parents would do.
"Do you feel a little better now that you've let it all out?"
"Yeah..."
Kobeni Higashiyama sniffled and gave a slight nod.
"Then what do you want to do, Kobeni? You can't just keep suffering in silence forever, can you?"
Asaba Kotone asked.
"I... I can't do anything..."
Kobeni Higashiyama didn't dare entertain any ideas of her own. She depended on her family for tuition, food, and a place to live. She simply didn't dare stand up to her parents.
"Didn't I tell you? You have me now. Just tell me what you really want. I'll help you, no matter what."
Asaba Kotone encouraged her.
"Then... then I'll go home and give it some thought."
Asaba Kotone wasn't sure whether Kobeni Higashiyama still had some reservations, but he didn't press her. This wasn't something he could rush.
They walked part of the way together before Asaba Kotone and Kobeni Higashiyama parted.
He was already prepared. Once Kobeni said she wanted to cut ties with her family, he would go straight to her house and speak to her parents.
Whether her parents agreed or not, he would take Kobeni away from that family. Would that count as eloping?
Tuesday morning.
Asaba Kotone was already seated in the classroom, waiting for Kobeni to arrive and give him her answer.
But a little later, the person who came wasn't Kobeni Higashiyama. It was Nagi Higashiyama.
"Asaba, there's a girl from the middle school division here to see you. I think she's Higashiyama's little sister."
A classmate came over and told Asaba Kotone.
Asaba Kotone immediately knew it was Nagi Higashiyama, but why had she come to see him now? Had something important happened?
He immediately left the classroom. Nagi Higashiyama was standing by the door.
"Is that Higashiyama's little sister? They look so much alike."
"Looks like Higashiyama and Asaba really are close. Even her little sister in the middle school division knows him."
"Could Higashiyama and Asaba already be dating? Who would've thought she had it in her, considering how she usually acts?"
"..."
Their classmates all began talking about it.
Asaba Kotone was just about to ask whether something had happened when Nagi Higashiyama blurted out, "Something's wrong, Asaba! I don't know what Kobeni told Mom and Dad last night, but they got really angry and yelled at her..."
Asaba Kotone's brow immediately furrowed slightly. "Did you hear what they were yelling about?"
"I was upstairs, so I didn't hear. By the time I went downstairs, Kobeni had already locked herself in her room. She wouldn't answer no matter how much I called her. I don't know if she'll be able to come to school today."
Nagi Higashiyama no longer wore her usual ever-present smile. Her face was filled with worry.
All she could do was pin her hopes on Asaba, which was why she had made a special trip to the high school building.
"Give me the address. I'll go see her right now."
After getting the address from Nagi Higashiyama, Asaba Kotone hurried to the Higashiyama house as quickly as he could.
He had also asked a classmate to request the morning off for both him and Kobeni Higashiyama.
It was already past eight. There was no way he and Kobeni Higashiyama could get to their classroom before the first lesson started, so he had simply requested leave.
When he arrived at the Higashiyama house, he found an ordinary-looking but fairly large home. After all, more than a dozen people lived there.
He rang the doorbell outside the yard, and a stern-looking middle-aged man soon came out.
"And you are...?"
The middle-aged man thought Asaba Kotone looked somewhat familiar, as though he had seen him somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.
"I'm Kobeni's boyfriend, Asaba Kotone."
Asaba Kotone said it outright.
Clearly, the middle-aged man in front of him had to be Kobeni Higashiyama's father.
"Her boyfriend?!"
Kobeni's father apparently hadn't known she already had a boyfriend. His face was full of astonishment.
It took him a moment to recover. The name Asaba Kotone sounded awfully familiar, didn't it?
Wasn't that the name of that prodigy Devil Hunter?
Kobeni's father finally remembered. No wonder the boy looked so familiar. He had seen a news report about him on television just a few days ago.
Now he found it even harder to believe. That prodigy Devil Hunter was actually Kobeni's boyfriend?!
"Kobeni would normally be at school by now. Did something happen today?"
Asaba Kotone asked with a smile.
"Well... I'm not sure. Maybe Kobeni isn't feeling well...?"
The smile on Kobeni's father's face was decidedly strained.
"Then may I come in and check on her?"
"O-of course!"
Kobeni's father immediately opened the gate to the yard.
The boy standing before him was a Devil Hunter. Anyone who could become a Devil Hunter, especially a gifted one with this much ability, was bound to have plenty of money.
He had heard that killing just one devil could earn you hundreds of thousands of yen. If the job hadn't been so dangerous, he would have wanted to become a Devil Hunter himself.
If he had known Kobeni had a boyfriend like this, he wouldn't have disciplined her that way last night.
When Kobeni had said she wanted to repay a friend's kindness, he had genuinely thought she meant an ordinary friend.
Then Asaba Kotone followed Kobeni's father into the house.
In the living room, he also saw a middle-aged woman whose features bore a slight resemblance to Kobeni Higashiyama's. She was clearly Kobeni's mother.
"I'm Kobeni's father, Shinya Higashiyama, and this is her mother, Gei Higashiyama. Have a seat in the living room for a moment. I'll go see how Kobeni's feeling."
After saying that, Shinya Higashiyama gave Gei Higashiyama a meaningful look, then immediately headed upstairs.
Asaba Kotone didn't need to guess to know that Shinya Higashiyama was most likely going to threaten Kobeni into keeping quiet. He didn't want him finding out what had really happened last night.
Gei Higashiyama, meanwhile, quickly recognized the boy before her as Asaba Kotone. She also understood the meaning behind that look.
But while she was making tea, she looked away for just a moment, and Asaba Kotone suddenly vanished.
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