Picking up his girlfriend from school was not an excuse.
After leaving Poetry Lily's house, Ito took the train to the school where Aoi and Rika attended. It was already past the peak time for students who went straight home to leave. Now, the scattered students still leaving school were either those kept for tutoring by teachers or those who had just finished club activities. Although Aoi and Rika were not part of any club and were members of the 'go-home club,' because Mashiro had been drawing hentai with Eri Ri these past few days, Aoi, Rika, and Nanami, who accompanied Mashiro, had almost become honorary members of the art club. It wasn't yet time to leave Mashiro alone.
Today, after going to Poetry Lily's house, it was getting late. It would also be late to cook dinner at home, so he decided to pick them up from school and go to a family restaurant for dinner. This would also save him from cleaning the kitchen and dining table. Ito didn't wait directly at the school gate. Although Ito was also a graduate here, it had been quite a while, and waiting directly at the school gate would not be a good influence. As before, Ito chose to wait for them at an ice cream shop near the school gate.
"What… what do you mean by showing me these photos?"
"Hinata-senpai, you wouldn't want these photos to be seen by other classmates, would you?"
As he passed an alley, Ito heard the standard 'underworld' dialogue coming from inside. This was a world that blended the 'front' and 'back' sides. Similar things were undoubtedly happening in some corner of the world every moment, and Ito couldn't stop everything. However… that didn't mean Ito would stand by and do nothing.
Ito turned back and entered the alley. In the alley, a short boy with a Seaweed Head, dressed in a uniform, was saying something to a tall girl. The blonde girl was holding a photo in her hand. Clearly, this was what Seaweed Head was using to threaten the girl. Seeing someone enter, Seaweed Head closed his mouth and said nothing. Ito walked up to him and heavily patted his shoulder. Although Ito wasn't a two-meter tall, two-meter wide strongman, after being strengthened by the cultivation system, Ito was much stronger than ordinary people in terms of strength, agility, and reaction time, more than enough to deal with the slightly thin boy in front of him. But honestly, even without the enhancement, Ito could easily deal with him.
Facing Ito, the Seaweed Head boy in front of him didn't dare to breathe. The hand on his shoulder could feel his body trembling. Ito glanced at the camera hanging in front of him and said coldly, "The memory card, are you going to take it out yourself or should I?" The boy tremblingly pulled out the camera's memory card and handed it to Ito. Then, Ito raised his leg and kicked the boy's thigh. The Seaweed Head boy stumbled, almost falling to his knees. "If you want to pursue a girl, use proper methods. What kind of skill is it to threaten with photos? Get lost."
The boy limped out of the alley, dragging his sore leg. Only then did Ito have time to carefully examine the blonde girl in front of him. The girl's shoulder-length flaxen hair was tied into a ponytail with a pink scrunchie. Her uniform jacket was tied around her waist, and her legs beneath her skirt were tight and slender, indicating that she exercised frequently. A trace of fear remained on her heroic face. The photo Seaweed Head had given her was clutched tightly in her hand.
"Th-thank you."
"It's nothing, just a small favor." Seeing the shaken girl, Ito continued, "Would you like to sit in the cold drink shop next door? My treat."
"…Mm."
After a slight hesitation, the girl nodded and walked into the nearby ice cream shop with Ito. Ito ordered her a cold drink, and then they found a corner to sit in. The shaken girl lowered her head, sipping her cold drink.
"If you don't mind, can you tell me what happened?"
After a moment of hesitation, the girl handed the crumpled photo in her hand to Ito. In the photo were two girls, one of whom was the girl in front of him, and the other a quiet-looking girl. The key wasn't the people, but the action. In the photo, the flaxen-haired girl was kissing the quiet girl's cheek… Ito could already guess roughly what had happened, but he waited quietly for her to tell him herself.
"My… my name is Sakuramiya Hinata. The girl in the photo is my older sister. We're not biological sisters, but sisters from a blended family. He took this photo of us while we were eating lunch together, and he said… he said to listen to him, or he'd tell everyone about this photo."
Hinata didn't say what that Seaweed Head wanted to tell everyone.
But Ito could guess with a glance at the photo.
"You like your sister?"
"Eh… this…" Hinata showed a bewildered expression, "I don't know this either."
"Actually, it doesn't matter. It's your own business." Ito smiled and said. "You don't have to worry too much. Society's tolerance for girls being affectionate with each other is clearly higher than for boys… If two boys were to do this, they would definitely be considered gay, but if two girls walk hand in hand, they might just be considered very good friends or sisters. What's more, you are sisters, so it's normal to be close."
Ito paused, then comforted her. "So… even if he shows this photo, it's not enough to convince everyone and achieve his goal, so you don't have to worry about being threatened by him. Just be careful in the future."
"But…" Hinata looked troubled, "We are now in our third year of high school and facing college entrance exams. Even if not everyone believes it, any rumors will definitely affect Saya's mental state. At a time like this… no, even though the memory card is here now, he might have backups. I…"
Hinata's words were interrupted by Ito before she could finish. "So you plan to surrender to him? And then let him take photos that can truly be used to blackmail you? Then he'll use those photos to blackmail your sister, and finally ruin both of you?"
Ito was almost laughing with anger. Ito could easily list a hundred such 'underworld' tropes. The more you face a threat, the less you should compromise. Compromise is either 0 times or countless times. Once a compromise breaks the bottom line, it will continue to be broken.
Ito didn't care if Hinata truly liked her sister; this kind of thing was the worst way to handle it. However, Hinata couldn't ignore it because she was worried about affecting her sister.
"Then… what… what should I do? I don't want this to escalate and affect my sister."
Hinata looked eagerly at Ito. Although it was their first meeting, Ito had just saved her, which made her instinctively seek his help.
Ito sighed… So stupid, she must be the heroine of some underworld hentai.
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