Come Hit Me If You Can!

Kaguya Ruri froze. Dumbfounded, she had never known anyone could pull something so shameless.

Fortunately, she had seen her share of storms. Back when she was still a student, countless people had pursued her, and some had even confessed publicly in front of the entire school.

She could reject them without the slightest hesitation.

"Have you lost your mind...?"

"I haven't. Believe me, I really will do my best to make you happy."

Lu You wasn't lying. If she really agreed, he really would take responsibility to the very end.

He was still confident he could make something of himself in this world. Otherwise, wouldn't this system be a waste?

"..."

Kaguya Ruri no longer wanted to speak. She used to particularly dislike Lu You, because her grandfather always paid attention to him instead of her.

Every time he woke up, the first thing he asked for was always news of Lu You, even though he never met with him.

So jealousy inevitably arose in Kaguya Ruri's heart.

She was his actual grandchild!

Now that she had interacted with Lu You, she suddenly realized this guy wasn't quite as awful as she had imagined.

He was even worse!

Of course, although she hadn't shown it in her words, his open-minded attitude toward death had actually earned a trace of respect in her heart.

Unfortunately, this guy coveted her necklace!

Bad guy!

"Just how badly do you want this necklace?"

"Very badly."

"You're not getting it."

Kaguya Ruri pursed her pink lips.

Lu You was helpless, too. This necklace was only a red item during the Valentine's Day event. Once the event ended, it would be gold, and gold items couldn't be exchanged for chances to travel to other worlds.

"System, when does the Valentine's Day event end?"

[February 14 to March 14]

"What are gold items good for?"

[Sell them to the system in exchange for Star Husband Coins. Star Husband Coins can be exchanged for: deep red items, items and skills from worlds you have visited, lucky treasure chests, and template draws.]

There were quite a few benefits!

Gold items were probably very rare, too, so he had to get this Eternal Heart no matter what.

Robbery was definitely out of the question.

First, the old principal had saved his life, and Kaguya Ruri was his granddaughter. Doing that would be extremely immoral.

Second, in terms of strength alone, he could certainly defeat Kaguya Ruri with ease, but what about after the old principal woke up...?

It would already be a sign of his good temper if he didn't slap this ungrateful bastard dead.

An awkward silence fell. Before long, Kaguya Ruri stood up to leave, leaving him a warning before she went.

"Don't leave the school... just like before."

Only half a month remained until the old principal's rumored transfer. For now, Kaguya Ruri wasn't worried that those people would dare enter the school directly.

Unfortunately, Lu You shook his head slightly inwardly.

This girl was too naive.

To those conglomerates, Lu You was someone they hated to the extreme, so they would definitely seize an opportunity to kill him before the final deadline arrived.

They couldn't wait.

What if-and he meant what if-the old principal didn't leave?

There had been no movement for so long. Perhaps he was busy wrangling with the higher-ups?

Of course, Lu You didn't stop her from leaving. He didn't need Kaguya Ruri's fighting strength. In fact, once a fight broke out, he would have to split his attention to protect her and be held back.

Bang...

The door closed, and the dormitory area fell quiet again.

Lu You was the only person living here to begin with, and students never came this way. It was very peaceful.

Tap, tap, tap...

His fingertips tapped lightly against the table.

"What's clear now is that the old principal still wants to protect me. I just don't know why he hasn't woken up for so long after falling asleep."

His eyes flickered as he suddenly thought of what Kaguya Ruri had said about leaving the school.

For over twenty years, he had never set foot outside the school.

He ate in the cafeteria and shopped online.

He knew countless people outside were watching him, so he had been very smart, and very patient.

"I don't have any information on them right now, but if I can catch one of their hired thugs, I can pry information about the enemy out of him and know both myself and my enemy."

Should I go out?

Kaguya Ruri had only just warned him.

Feeling the spiritual power surging like an ocean inside him, Lu You smiled calmly. What the hell did he have to fear now?

He acted on the thought immediately. It was Saturday, and there were few people in the quiet school.

A considerable number of shade trees had been planted around the grounds, giving the place a rather secluded, peaceful feel. Buildings stood closely together, the most imposing of them a towering classroom building.

It contained dozens of large classrooms.

They made it convenient to teach Psychic Energy courses.

Strolling through the school, Lu You felt no sense of novelty. Having lived here for so many years, he had long since become intimately familiar with every blade of grass and every tree, even...

Huh?

Even the principal's office-that was what he had been about to say.

But under the observation of his divine sense, that small, old-fashioned building far from the main classroom building was like a bank of fog.

It swallowed every prying gaze.

"Because it's the principal's private office and its exterior is painted entirely yellow, the building is jokingly called the Little Yellow Building. Very few people go there.

"Only Kaguya Ruri and teachers summoned by the principal go there."

He had thought it was merely an office, but now it seemed there really was more to it.

He didn't linger, nor did he dare investigate rashly. What if the old principal had put some measures in place? Who knew whether they distinguished friend from stranger?

He followed the wide main road all the way to the school gate. Two granite pillars over ten meters tall stood there, with bold, flowing calligraphy on either side.

A gigantic plaque sat at the top.

[Fuyuki City Senior High School]

Beside the gate was a booth, where an old man wearing a security guard's cap sat. His face was covered in wrinkles, and a scar ran across his right eye. The students jokingly called him One-Eyed Scar.

The old man's name was Nobuta, and he had been here for a long time, though the students had never liked him much because he had always been very strict.

At the moment, his left eye was half closed, and he looked as though he was asleep, breathing evenly.

As Lu You drew almost level with the gate, he suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice, like dry wood scraping against glass.

"You'd best not step outside this gate."

Lu You stopped and looked at old Nobuta.

He knew about his situation...

Then again, he had watched him grow up at this school for so many years. Perhaps he even knew about the original owner's parents.

"Mr. Nobuta, may I ask you a few things?"

"You may, but I won't answer."

He wouldn't answer, but he could ask... wasn't that contradictory? Old man, were you just talking in circles?

To put it plainly, he'd said nothing at all.

"Are there people watching me outside? Right now."

Lu You didn't ask about the past directly, starting with the present instead. The old man gave him a surprised look without speaking.

"Are they staying outside this gate because of the old principal, or because... you're sitting here?"

A gleam appeared in old Nobuta's cloudy eyes, but he still didn't reply to Lu You.

Lu You nodded. He hadn't expected it really to be because of old Nobuta. Sure enough, the humble sweepers were always hidden masters...

He had thought as much. The reputation of an old principal who alternated between waking and sleeping shouldn't have been enough to stop those people.

"Thank you for everything you've done all this time."

With that, Lu You lifted his foot and stepped halfway outside the school gate. Instantly, several sharp sensations of being watched with hostile intent rose in his heart.

People were lying in wait, and quite a few of them.

"Interesting."

Were they waiting for him to put both feet outside?

Lu You withdrew the foot he had extended. Sure enough, all those prying gazes vanished.

He took another half step out, and sharp killing intent swept toward him again, so he pulled back once more.

"Hey, I stepped out, and now I'm back. Come hit me if you can."

Veins bulged on the foreheads of those lurking in the shadows.