Makoto instinctively raised his hand and caught the white beret flying towards him.
Looking up, he saw a girl standing on the slope ahead, wearing the Shuchi'in Academy high school division uniform.
The girl had shoulder-length black hair, delicate features, and an elegant temperament.
Makoto inexplicably felt this scene was a bit familiar.
"So beautiful..."
Before he could think further, he heard a boy's voice behind him.
Turning his head, he saw a young man riding a bicycle, wearing black-rimmed glasses, with ordinary features… Aki Tomoya.
Alright, he remembered now.
Wasn't this the opening scene of [Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend]?
Makoto was speechless.
At that moment, Kato Megumi, standing on the slope, also trotted down, her tone flat with a hint of apology: "Excuse me, could I have the hat..."
She stopped mid-sentence.
Because she recognized him… the boy who had caught her hat was the same classmate who had committed murder at the opening ceremony yesterday.
Even though Kato Megumi's personality was famously as flat as water in the anime world, facing this 'madman' who dared to kill in public inevitably made her a little nervous.
But then the next second.
Makoto simply turned his hand and placed the beret back on her head.
Then, he turned and walked away.
Megumi was stunned.
'This person... seemed more normal than I had imagined.'
After walking about ten meters, Makoto suddenly stopped, as if remembering something, and half-turned his head, his gaze sweeping over:
"When looking for a man, remember to find a strong one."
"...Huh?"
Megumi blinked in confusion, 'Was he talking to me?'
Makoto raised his finger and pointed at Tomoya riding the bicycle nearby: "This kind definitely won't do."
Megumi followed his finger and looked at the young man with the black-rimmed glasses, her eyes full of confusion.
Makoto didn't know how Megumi fared after getting together with Tomoya in the original work.
But he figured it probably wasn't great… the 'doujin game club' that Aki Tomoya ran could only function smoothly because he manipulated Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri into doing all the work.
Aside from coming up with an 'idea', Makoto really didn't see what substantial contribution he personally made throughout the entire game development process.
What would happen to someone like that after leaving school and entering society was really hard to say.
Not to mention that the Reincarnation Game had now arrived.
Someone like Megumi, a 'heroine', and someone like Tomoya, a 'hero', would most likely be pulled into it as well.
If Megumi still chose Tomoya as her man then...
She probably wouldn't even know how she died.
Hearing this, Tomoya felt deeply insulted.
He gritted his teeth, wanting to retort—
But after clearly seeing Makoto's face, the words on the tip of his tongue were forcibly swallowed back.
Not to mention that his usual personality was that of a coward who didn't dare to argue with others, and moreover, the person in front of him was a madman who dared to kill.
Makoto didn't say anything more and turned to leave.
Only after his figure had completely disappeared at the end of the street did Tomoya dare to mutter softly:
"Hmph... isn't he just a murderer? What's there to be proud of? He'll be arrested by the police soon enough..."
Then, as if remembering something, he turned to look at Megumi, a warm smile reappearing on his face:
"Hey, are you interested in gal games? Would you like to join my club? I will definitely make the best gal game with you as the heroine!"
However,
Kato Megumi just quietly looked in the direction Makoto had disappeared, her gaze thoughtful.
'What did he mean by those words just now...?'
...
Over the next few days, the entire internet exploded.
#Shuchi'in University Chemistry Professor Brutally Assaulted by Animals#
#Nishikawa Makoto Commits Another Murder#
#First Investigative Division Helpless Against High School Criminal#
#Nishikawa Makoto Displays Inhuman Strength#
Headlines like these went viral, staying high on the hot search lists of various media outlets.
And those hit the hardest were, naturally, the Shuchi'in high school students who had witnessed Makoto kill Sawanaga Taisuke with their own eyes yesterday.
Class 1-F… the class Makoto was supposed to be in.
The classroom was now eerily silent.
From time to time, students would secretly glance at the two empty seats by the window and near the door.
Those two spots originally belonged to Makoto and Sawanaga Taisuke.
Saionji Sekai looked at her phone, saw the trending topics, and said quietly to Ito Makotou beside her: "So scary... he won't come back to school, will he?"
However, Ito Makotou was looking down at his phone, completely not listening.
Saionji Sekai curiously leaned over to look… and saw that Ito Makotou was staring intently at a photo.
The photo showed a girl sitting on a train seat, looking down at a book.
She had a quiet temperament, an angelic face, and... a devilish figure.
Her figure was so explosive that even Airi from the same class couldn't compare.
"Huh? Isn't this Katsura Kotonoha from Class A?" Sekai looked surprised. "Ito, you have high standards!"
Ito Makotou was so startled he almost fell off his chair: "Wh-When did you get here?!"
Sekai continued talking to herself: "She's the daughter of a food company president, a Pure Student. I don't think you have much of a chance."
As she said this, a flicker of barely noticeable dimness passed through her eyes.
—Not even her friends knew that she had always had a crush on Ito Makotou.
"None of your business!" Ito Makotou muttered defiantly.
He himself thought it was unlikely, but he still wanted to try… what if he succeeded?
Sekai pressed her lips together, as if she had made up her mind: "How about... I help you?"
Of course, she wasn't stupid enough to set herself up to be cheated on.
She just thought this was an opportunity… by acting as Ito Makotou's 'matchmaker', she could have more chances to interact with him.
Perhaps in the process, she might even get ahead of the game herself?
For the rest of the day, Class 1-F spent in this strange atmosphere.
At dismissal time,
Some students went to club activities, while others went straight home.
Yukino, who had not yet founded the [Service Club], packed her schoolbag, left her Class 1-B, and prepared to return to her rented apartment… to be precise, the apartment her parents had rented for her.
She now lived alone outside.
Just as she walked out of the school gate, she saw a familiar black luxury car.
Yukino frowned and walked up to it.
Sure enough, the rear window slowly rolled down, revealing her sister Haruno's bright and beautiful face.
"Yukino-chan, you're out of school~ Get in the car." Haruno smiled at her younger sister as brightly as ever.
Yukino's frown deepened: "Didn't I say that while I'm living outside, I can come home by myself?"
Haruno's smile didn't fade: "Your sister has something she wants to discuss with her cute little sister today, is that okay?"
Yukino frowned again.
From her understanding of her sister, when this woman came to find her, it was never anything good.
But in the end, she still got in the car.
The car slowly started moving.
On the way, Haruno asked casually: "Yukino, that Nishikawa Makoto... do you know him well?"
Yukino looked at her sister with a puzzled expression: "Why are you suddenly asking about him?"
Haruno pretended to be nonchalant: "Just asking casually, after all, he did bully my cute little sister."
Yukino was silent for a moment, then said seriously: "Don't you go provoking him."
She knew all too well about her sister's sister-complex tendencies.
She was truly afraid that her sister would make a move on Makoto.
But to be precise, she wasn't worried about Makoto, but about her own sister.
Haruno was a very complex thrill-seeker.
When she saw someone or something that interested her, she was like a cat seeing a mouse, thinking about how to toy with them, and often accidentally played them to death.
This was probably her way of decompressing in a high-pressure environment.
After all, she was the orthodox heir of the Yukinoshita Family.
But the problem was… no matter how you decompress, you have to choose your target.
Makoto was clearly not a mouse, but a vicious dragon.
If her sister went after him... it was really hard to say who would end up killing whom.
Hearing her sister's words, Haruno on the surface still had that beaming smile, but inside, she was already crying.
The key problem was… she had already provoked him.
'But... I had just called the police, and there were so many people around at the time, so... it should be fine, right?'