The shameless jokes and playful remarks from the girls around them didn't bother Kaito that much.
Even though he had lived seventeen years in this world, his mind still carried the perspective of his original life. Being openly stared at or flirted with by women was still something he wasn't completely used to.
Still, he kept his expression calm and ignored most of the comments as they walked past.
But in his mind, he couldn't help thinking a little differently.
If he was going to build a harem in this world someday, he wasn't planning to settle so easily. The girls making those casual remarks were ordinary at best.
Kaito's standards were much higher.
If anything, he wanted top-tier beauties—women who were not only stunning but also powerful enough to stand beside him in the future.
For now, though, he simply kept walking beside Akari, pretending not to notice the attention around him.
As Kaito and Akari turned the corner toward the road leading to the school, a small group of girls stepped out from the side of the street, blocking their path.
There were four of them, leaning around a convenience store entrance. Their clothes were casual and messy—crop jackets, ripped jeans, short skirts, and heavy boots. One of them had her hands stuffed in her pockets while another lazily leaned against the wall, flicking ash from the cigarette between her fingers. The smell of smoke drifted through the air.
They looked like the typical delinquent type—lazy stares, careless smiles, and the kind of attitude that made it clear they enjoyed causing trouble.
One of the girls noticed Kaito and slowly smirked.
"Well, well… look what we've got here," she said, eyeing him openly. "A pretty boy."
Another girl whistled softly as her gaze traveled from his face to his posture.
"Damn… he's actually handsome."
The girl holding the cigarette stepped forward, stopping right in front of him.
"Hey," she said casually. "Why don't you ditch wherever you're going and hang out with us for a bit?"
None of them paid much attention to Akari standing beside him. To them, she was just another girl walking with him.
They had no idea the girl beside Kaito was actually an awakened guild hunter.
Akari stopped walking the moment the girls blocked their path.
For a brief second, she simply looked at them with a calm expression.
Kaito, on the other hand, scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Uh… we're kind of in a hurry," he said politely. "School's about to start."
The girl with the cigarette let out a short laugh.
"Relax, pretty boy," she said, exhaling smoke to the side. "Skipping one day won't kill you."
Another girl stepped a little closer, openly staring at Kaito's face.
"Seriously though… you're wasted going to school," she said with a grin. "You should hang out with us instead."
Akari's eyes narrowed slightly.
She took one small step forward, placing herself just a little closer to Kaito.
"He said he's busy," she said calmly.
Her voice wasn't loud, but there was a sharp firmness in it.
The delinquent girls finally shifted their attention to her.
One of them scoffed.
"And who are you supposed to be?" she asked. "His girlfriend?"
Akari raised an eyebrow.
"…His sister."
For a moment, the girls looked surprised.
Then one of them shrugged casually.
"Even better," the cigarette girl said with a lazy smirk. "You can go ahead if you want. We'll just borrow your little brother for a while."
Kaito sighed quietly.
Akari, however, was no longer smiling at all.
Akari slowly let out a quiet breath, her patience clearly running thin.
"I'll say it one more time," she said calmly. "Move."
The cigarette girl scoffed, taking another drag before blowing the smoke to the side.
"And what if we don't?" she replied with a mocking smile.
The other girls chuckled behind her, clearly thinking the situation was amusing.
Kaito scratched the back of his head again, already sensing where this was going.
Akari didn't raise her voice.
Instead, she simply stepped forward.
Her hand moved quickly, grabbing the cigarette from the girl's fingers before she could react. With a small flick, Akari crushed it under her boot.
The delinquent girls froze for a moment.
"…You serious right now?" one of them said, irritation creeping into her voice.
Akari looked at them with calm, steady eyes.
"You're standing in our way," she said plainly. "So move."
The air around them suddenly felt heavier.
Even Kaito could tell the mood had shifted.
The girls still didn't realize it yet…
…but the woman standing in front of them wasn't just some random older sister.
The girl whose cigarette had been crushed stared at the ground for a moment, then slowly lifted her head.
"…You've got some guts," she muttered, cracking her knuckles.
Another girl stepped forward, irritation clear on her face.
"Think you're tough or something?"
Akari didn't respond. She simply stood there calmly, one hand in her pocket, her posture relaxed.
Kaito sighed quietly, already sensing this was about to get messy.
Then suddenly—
One of the delinquent girls stepped forward and grabbed Kaito's hand with a shameless grin.
"Come on, pretty boy," she said. "Don't be shy—"
She didn't even finish her sentence.
Akari's head slowly tilted downward.
A dark shadow fell across the upper half of her face, stopping just above the bridge of her nose. Only her eyes remained visible beneath the shadow, staring forward with a cold, unreadable expression.
For a moment…
Everything went quiet.
Then—
GRAB.
Akari's hand shot out and seized the girl's wrist, stopping her instantly.
Her grip tightened.
The delinquent girl's confident grin twisted into pain as the pressure increased.
Akari slowly lifted her head, her eyes now fully visible under the shadow—calm, cold… and filled with clear disgust.
"How the hell…" she said quietly,
"…did you think it was okay to touch him?"
Her grip tightened again.
CRACK.
A sharp sound echoed as the girl's wrist bent painfully under the pressure.
"A—AHH!!"
The delinquent girl screamed, her knees buckling as pain shot through her arm. Akari's grip was like a steel clamp, completely preventing her from pulling away.
Tears formed in the girl's eyes as she struggled helplessly.
"L-let go!!"
Akari suddenly yanked the girl closer by the wrist, forcing her to bend forward from the pain.
The shadow across Akari's face made her look almost monstrous as she pulled the girl close enough to hear her warning
"You should be grateful," she said coldly.
Her fingers tightened just a little more, making the girl gasp in pain.
"Because if I wanted to…"
Akari's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…I could have crushed your entire hand."
Akari's fingers suddenly loosened.
Then—
THROW.
With a sharp yank, she flung the girl away, sending her stumbling backward before she crashed onto the pavement, landing hard on her backside.
"AAH—!"
The girl cried out, tears streaming down her face, clutching her wrist as a thin line of blood trickled from a cut along her palm. The impact had scraped her skin against the rough asphalt, leaving faint red streaks on her arm.
"You—! You crazy bitch!" she screamed, trembling with a mix of pain and rage.
The other girls rushed toward her.
"Hey! Are you okay?!"
"My wrist—!" she whimpered, blood seeping through her fingers. "She broke my damn wrist!"
Her face twisted with fury as she pointed at Akari.
"Kill this bitch! Don't just stand there!"
The other girls advanced, their expressions darkening, teeth gritted, fists clenched.
Akari didn't move. She simply stood there, calm as ever, her eyes cold and deadly.
The girls lunged.
One tried to grab Akari's shoulder, another swung a fist toward her.
But before their attacks could land—
THUD.
Akari's elbow slammed into the stomach of the first attacker. The impact was brutal. The girl's knees buckled, and a little blood from her lip trickled down as she gasped violently.
"GUH—!"
Another tried to rush her from the side, aiming for a punch.
Akari shifted smoothly, grabbing the girl's shoulder and throwing her hard to the ground. She hit with a painful thud, scraping her elbow and cheek against the rough surface. Thin streaks of blood appeared where her skin tore, and she groaned in shock and pain.
The last one hesitated for half a second.
That half-second was all Akari needed.
Akari didn't hesitate. She grabbed her by the collar, lifted slightly, and slammed her into the wall beside the street. Pain flared along the girl's back and side, a thin line of blood appearing from a split lips.
The three girls were already on the ground, groaning and clutching scrapes and bruises. Blood trickled from small cuts along their arms and faces, their confidence completely shattered.
The girl whose wrist Akari had grabbed before — the leader of the group — was sitting on her butt, panic in her wide eyes. She tried to lean back, trembling.
"Stay… stay away!" she stammered, her voice shaking.
But Akari's movements were too fast. With a swift step forward, she grabbed the girl by the collar, yanking her backward and forcing her to fall fully onto the ground.
Before the girl could react, Akari drove her knee sharply into her stomach.
The girl doubled over instantly, gasping in pain as the force slammed into her side. She coughed, a thin trickle of blood escaping from her mouth where her lip split against the fall, her wide eyes filled with shock and terror.
Even so, Akari held back. She didn't strike with full power. If she had, this girl — and the others — could have been seriously injured or killed instantly
Within moments, all four girls were either crouched, crawling, or writhing on the ground, bruised, bleeding from scrapes and minor cuts, and utterly outmatched.
Akari straightened, brushing a strand of hair from her face, her shadowed eyes still cold and sharp, daring anyone else to challenge her.