She should have known it.
This guy never told the truth.
He said all he wanted was a dogeza, but in the end, his real goal was taking photos.
Audio recordings weren't enough—he wanted even more leverage over her.
Haha.
Her life was basically over.
Kushida Kikyo's vision went dark. She was just one step away from collapsing on the spot like Chabashira Sae.
Fortunately, she still remembered her current situation.
If she passed out like this, catching a cold would be the least of her problems. More importantly, the very outcome she wanted to avoid—even after obediently doing the dogeza—would probably become unavoidable if she fainted.
So, she forced herself up.
Expressionless, she put on each piece of clothing, tidied herself up, then stood in front of Asakusa Tetsu and held out her hand.
"Give them to me."
Don't misunderstand.
She wasn't asking for his personal terminal to delete the photos—anyone with a functioning brain knew that was impossible.
What she wanted were the recorders he had promised to give her.
Even though she had thrown them herself, since Asakusa had said he'd give them to her, they were hers now.
Photos were photos.
They didn't show her face, so she could always claim he had edited them.
But the recordings—those had to go.
Even though she knew perfectly well that he probably had more than just these, as long as he didn't take them out, she'd pretend she didn't know.
As long as she could fool herself, it was enough.
…As if that would ever work.
No matter how she thought about it, the future clearly involved being threatened with photos and recordings and forced to do this and that and those kinds of things, right?
Her head buzzed.
Messy thoughts ran wild in her mind.
She didn't even know what she was doing anymore.
Take the recorders, and then what?
Haha.
No idea.
"Here."
Asakusa straightforwardly stuffed all the collected recorders into her hands.
"Don't throw them around again. They'll really break."
After all, they were precision devices. The metal casing was sturdy, but the internal components weren't.
Watching Kushida puff out her cheeks as she stored the recorders, Asakusa said,
"If you're hungry, want to go eat?"
Just as Kushida was about to reject him without hesitation, he added,
"My treat."
"..."
She fell silent.
After thinking about her wallet, her unpayable debts, and her earlier humiliation…
She nodded hard.
"Let's eat!"
Eat you bankrupt!
...
Most of lunch break had already passed.
Though most restaurants were still open, the crowds had clearly thinned.
"Why a family restaurant?"
Looking up at the "Gusto" sign, Kushida couldn't help asking.
As a well-known family restaurant chain in Japan, it naturally had a branch inside Advanced Nurturing High.
"Hm? Don't like it?" Asakusa tilted his head.
"Want to switch to the student cafeteria? Or Palette Café? Or just go to M's and call it a day?"
"...No, I mean, you should have money for better places, right?"
Listening to those slightly questionable options, Kushida sighed quietly.
It wasn't that she disliked them.
She was usually frugal herself and often ate at places like this.
But hadn't the diary said he'd made two million selling information?
He even lent Horikita money and treated her to meals—yet he brought her here.
How was she supposed to empty his wallet like this?
Asakusa looked at her strangely.
"Do you think my money grows on trees?"
Of course, the school had more "high-end" restaurants.
As a government-backed institution, students weren't allowed in—but only students.
Important people still needed places to dine.
And with class competition points, some students might want to try expensive food just to see what made it special.
Whether for serving elites or draining points, luxury restaurants had their place.
But Asakusa had no intention of being a sucker.
Two million was nothing.
Even two hundred million would only buy ten "revival tokens."
Spending tens of thousands on a meal would be like eating away 1% of his resurrection currency.
Not worth it.
After saying that, he didn't care about Kushida's reaction and pushed the door open.
Kushida: "..."
Fine.
Free food was free food.
Family restaurant it was.
Hmph.
They sat down, ordered, and were served.
With fewer customers, efficiency was higher, and the food arrived quickly.
After eating until she was half full and checking the menu prices, Kushida gave up on treating this like an all-you-can-eat on his dime.
She put down her chopsticks and looked at him calmly.
"...What will it take for you to leave me alone?"
After coming down from the rooftop, her head had gradually cooled.
Because of emotional instability, she had done many irrational things she now regretted.
But regretting them was pointless.
What mattered was what came next.
The man in front of her had her recordings and photos.
He knew her true nature.
He held the secret she most wanted hidden.
The feeling of having her future controlled by someone else made her skin crawl.
"Leave you alone?"
Asakusa calmly cut his hamburger steak, knife and fork clinking lightly.
"When did I ever say I'd make things difficult for you?"
In her heart, Kushida cursed him.
When have you not made things difficult for me?!
You've already made things incredibly hard!
If they were still on the rooftop, she would've yelled it out.
But this was a family restaurant—a public place.
Any loud noise would attract attention.
Eating alone with a male classmate already looked suspicious.
If she caused a scene, even without him exposing her, rumors would spread fast.
So she stayed silent and stared straight at him.
"..."
As if trying to make him feel her attitude through her gaze.
"Haha, that wasn't making things difficult."
Asakusa stabbed a piece of meat and smiled, as if hearing her thoughts.
"That was just a small payback."
"Since you said something like that, you had to pay a price, right?"
If you tried to threaten someone by ruining their reputation, you should be prepared to be retaliated against.
Otherwise—
It wouldn't be fair at all.
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