Kato Megumi: Don't Look Back, Tomoya-kun

"Here, your hat, Kato." Izumi Yuu walked slowly forward and handed the beret in his hand to Kato Megumi, who was standing there quietly waiting.

[Ding! Congratulations on gaining 1 point of strength.]

The next moment, Izumi Yuu felt a surge of strength, his muscles visibly growing stronger.

Kato Megumi stretched out her fair little hand, took the white beret from Izumi Yuu's hand, and carefully placed it on her head.

"Thank you." Kato Megumi thanked him subconsciously, then seemed to realize something. Her pink, attractive lips parted slightly as she looked at Izumi Yuu in surprise. "Huh?! Izumi-san, you know me?!"

Seeing Kato Megumi's cute reaction, Izumi Yuu couldn't help but feel a little amused. He nodded slightly and said as a matter of course, "We are classmates. Of course I know you, Kato. Don't you know my name too?"

"Well... that's true, but I'm different from the popular Izumi-san. I'm very ordinary, and I've always lacked a sense of presence. Most of my classmates don't know me. Izumi-san and I have never really interacted. I thought you wouldn't even notice me."

A hint of complicated emotions tinged Kato Megumi's voice.

This was the first time Kato Megumi had met someone who could call her name correctly. Even many classmates who had met her just once still often called her by the wrong name or failed to recognize her.

For instance, her classmate Tomoya Aki had called her by the wrong name when they had met for the second time at school, which had disappointed her for a long time.

"Ms. Kato is actually not ordinary. On the contrary, she's a very dazzling, beautiful girl. It's just that your personality is too easy-going, and your quiet, indifferent temperament sometimes obscures your brilliance," Izumi Yuu said, shaking his head.

"Huh?! I would be embarrassed if Izumi-san said that~!" Kato Megumi blushed slightly when she heard Izumi Yuu praise her as a beautiful girl.

It was the first time she'd been praised so openly.

And considering the last time Aki Tomoya had commented that her "character is dead," Kato Megumi felt far more pleased by Izumi Yuu's words.

After all, even if girls don't admit it, they care about these things to some extent.

No! Why am I comparing Aki Tomoya-san with Izumi-san?!

Kato Megumi couldn't help but feel troubled. The two of them had no relationship at all, and it seemed rude to compare them like this.

"Huh?!" Izumi Yuu was stunned when he looked at Kato Megumi.

Because Kato Megumi's favorability, which had been only 22, suddenly jumped to 35. The speed at which her favorability increased was unusually fast.

[Name: Kato Megumi.]

[Favorability: 35 (a classmate I have a slight liking for.)]

As expected, girls are creatures who respond to emotional value. I just gave a few casual compliments and gained so much favor from Kato Megumi.

Izumi Yuu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Fortunately, Kato Megumi is a girl with normal values, and her favorability can be improved with just a few kind words.

If it were some bad woman, even if I spent 500,000 or even 5 million yen, her favorability might not improve at all.

For instance, a scumbag like Tomoya Aki, who only exploits girls.

"Oh no! We're going to be late for school! Kato, we have to hurry!" Suddenly, Izumi Yuu remembered something and quickly reminded Kato Megumi, who was standing beside him.

Based on his experience, Izumi Yuu knew he could still make it to class on time. But with Kato Megumi's little delay, they were obviously behind schedule.

"It's okay. There's a shortcut here." Kato Megumi said slowly.

She then pointed to a small alley extending out below.

"Huh?! There's a shortcut here?!" Izumi Yuu looked in surprise at the alley Kato Megumi was pointing to.

"Of course, there aren't many people or cars here, so there's no need to worry about wasting time." Kato Megumi nodded slightly and walked toward the alley with small steps.

Izumi Yuu quickly followed her into the alley, feeling a little emotional. It seemed he hadn't fully utilized his curiosity and didn't even know about this shortcut to school.

This alley was eerily quiet. There was no one in sight, not even the sound of a dog barking along the way.

[Looking at the girl in front of you, who had completely let her guard down, you glanced at her slender and charming back, and a bold idea entered your mind. Since no one would pass by here, you could take advantage of the girl's unpreparedness, control her, and hold her here, ruthlessly possessing her. As long as your body could handle it, the girl would soon surrender to you, and you could change her into the shape you liked…]

Oh no, there are still dogs barking.

Izumi Yuu added with an expressionless face.

[You want to ignore the barking of the narrator, but your heart is already stirring. In such a secluded place, no one will know what you do. Facing a petite, helpless, and beautiful girl, no matter what beastly act you commit, you won't encounter decent resistance. In fact, the more the girl resists, the more excited you'll become...]

It's amazing that you still know that doing these things is beastly.

Izumi Yuu felt like the most helpless person now—not Kato Megumi.

I have to deal with the mental attacks from this crappy narrator every day.

But what this guy said almost made me fall for it.

Fortunately, my moral bottom line and self-control are strong enough that I wasn't brainwashed by this ridiculous narration.

Otherwise, I can't imagine what my situation would be like now.

"Izumi-san, what's wrong with you?" Kato Megumi asked with confusion when she noticed Izumi Yuu had slowed his pace.

"It's okay." Hearing Kato Megumi's words, Izumi Yuu snapped back to his senses. Looking at her concerned eyes, he frowned and said, "But we'll still be late at this speed. We need to run."

The two had already exited the alley and entered the main road.

Based on experience, Izumi Yuu quickly concluded that if they didn't speed up, they would still be late.

"But my stamina isn't that good..." Kato Megumi said, looking at Izumi Yuu with some trouble. "I think I can only run for a few minutes before running out of energy."

"Let's try it first." Izumi Yuu said with a frown.

"Alright!"

Kato Megumi nodded and followed Izumi Yuu toward the academy.

"Ha..." As Kato Megumi had said, after just two or three minutes, fine beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. Her speed slowed down, and she looked exhausted, breathing heavily.

"Izumi-san, I can't keep up. Sorry, you go ahead." Kato Megumi said, looking at Izumi Yuu's back.

Izumi Yuu felt that this line sounded a little childish, like the supporting character in a classic hot-blooded manga, sacrificing himself to avoid dragging the protagonist down.

"Today is the first day of school after the holiday. It wouldn't be good to be late." Izumi Yuu slowed down and said to Kato Megumi behind him.

"What should I do then..." A troubled expression appeared on Kato Megumi's face.

Even though her presence was very low, Kato Megumi didn't want to leave a bad impression by being late on the first day of school.

[You glance at the girl's panic and quickly come up with a plan. "Kato, you don't want to be criticized by the whole school for being late on the first day, do you?" You already know this line by heart. You just need to do this and that, and the desperate girl will willingly offer her loyalty, willing to do anything for you, including becoming your exclusive weapon!]

"How about I pull you along and run? That way, we should both make it on time."

Izumi Yuu simply ignored the system nonsense and kindly suggested to Kato Megumi.

"Really?! Thank you very much, Izumi-san!" Hearing Izumi Yuu's suggestion, Kato Megumi said softly, a hint of imperceptible joy in her voice.

She then reached out and took Izumi Yuu's hand in hers.

Izumi Yuu had been worried that his suggestion might not be accepted, since it seemed too fast for the two of them to be holding hands right after meeting.

We held hands on the first day we officially met. I can't imagine what will happen the second day.

But what Izumi Yuu didn't expect was that Kato Megumi was surprisingly proactive and didn't suspect him of having ulterior motives at all.

Feeling her soft, slightly cold palm, which was slightly moist, and smelling her faint fragrance, Izumi Yuu, who had been single for two lifetimes, couldn't help but feel moved.

[You hold the girl's soft little hand, looking at her delicate, charming appearance after sweating. Your heart begins to stir. It's a pity not to make use of such a beautiful hand. With just a little favor, you can make some appropriate requests, right?]

"Let's go." Izumi Yuu had already mastered the skill of ignoring the ridiculous narration. He simply held Kato Megumi's small hand and ran toward the school.

"Hmm..." Feeling the warmth from Izumi Yuu's palm, Kato Megumi's fair face turned slightly red. This was the first time that the girl, who had been single her entire life, had physical contact with a boy.

However, Izumi Yuu had an innate charm that made her naturally lower her guard and defenses.

...

When the school gate appeared in their sight, there were less than three minutes left before class started.

A few people were walking hurriedly toward the school, heading to class.

"Huh... Thanks to Izumi-san, it seems we've caught up." Kato Megumi said breathlessly, glancing at Izumi Yuu beside her.

The two had stopped running a few minutes ago, but they both seemed to have forgotten to let go of each other's hands. They still held hands.

"It was no trouble. You can relax now and head to class." Izumi Yuu said calmly.

There were still three minutes before the class started, more than enough time to reach the classroom.

"Yeah." Kato Megumi replied softly.

As the two stepped into the school, a surprised voice came from behind them.

"Huh?! Kato, are you two dating?!"

Hearing the voice, Izumi Yuu and Kato Megumi turned around at the same time, only to see a boy wearing black-framed glasses, looking like a typical otaku, standing behind them.

"Tomoya-kun ?!" Kato Megumi was a little surprised to see him. She clearly hadn't expected to run into him. "Izumi-san and I are not dating. Don't say anything ridiculous. It'll cause misunderstandings and affect Izumi-san."

"Interesting," Izumi Yuu mused, a playful look flickering across his face.

It seemed this guy was Tomoya Aki, the one mentioned in the mission.

He hadn't expected to meet Tomoya Aki so soon.

Izumi Yuu had no fondness for this guy, a scumbag who played with girls' emotions, took advantage of them, and eventually discarded them.

"Then why are you two holding hands and acting so intimate? I've never seen him with you." Tomoya Aki rarely showed this aggressive side of him, and his tone was accusing.

"Mr. Aki, you misunderstood. I just happened to meet Ms. Kato on my way to school. Because of some unexpected delays, we were both running late. To avoid being late, I pulled Ms. Kato along. There's nothing between me and Ms. Kato." Izumi Yuu said with a smile, calmly letting go of Kato Megumi's hand.

Facing Aki Tomoya's aggressive tone, Izumi Yuu remained calm and spoke gently, in a courteous manner.

"That's what Izumi-san said. Please don't misunderstand, Tomoya-kun." Kato Megumi said with a troubled expression. "Why are you so worked up, Tomoya-kun? We're just friends. If you act like this, people will think we're a couple."

Kato Megumi had been worried that Aki Tomoya's explosive personality might provoke Izumi Yuu, but she was surprised by Izumi Yuu's emotional stability. He was unfazed by Aki Tomoya's confrontation.

In contrast, Tomoya Aki's behavior was rather lacking.

Kato Megumi explained their relationship clearly, though she wasn't sure why she had to go into so much detail. Perhaps she was worried that Izumi Yuu might misunderstand, or perhaps she was simply annoyed by Tomoya Aki's aggressive attitude.

"I saw you two holding hands when you entered, so I thought you were in a relationship," Tomoya Aki finally said, after a pause. His earlier aggression was now tempered with a hint of embarrassment. "Besides, you're the heroine of our club's project. If you're in a relationship, it might interfere with the club's progress. I'm a bit anxious about that."

Kato Megumi had made it clear that she and Izumi Yuu were just friends, but Tomoya Aki still seemed uncomfortable. His eyes glinted with hostility as he looked at Izumi Yuu.

[You sensed hostility in Aki Tomoya's eyes. It was obvious he coveted your 'prey.' You couldn't help but sneer. No one had ever been able to take your prey away, even though the relationship between Kato Megumi and Tomoya Aki seemed more advanced than yours. Still, taking what others thought was theirs was always your forte. A fire ignited in your heart as you grew confident in this challenge. You decided to teach this otaku a lesson—let him know how a qualified hunter claims what is his. You planned to take the prey that was almost in his hands, but you'd let him have a taste, enjoying what he thought was his in the club's activity room...]

Izumi Yuu considered the narration in his mind, rarely finding the system thoughts so entertaining.

Apart from the slightly inappropriate "prey" metaphor, it seemed like a good suggestion!

At the academy, the three of them stood in a triangle.

The spring breeze blew past, carrying the scent of flowers.

"I just promised Tomoya-kun that I would be the heroine of the club's project, but whether I have a relationship or not shouldn't really affect that, right?" Kato Megumi said to Tomoya Aki, her expression somewhat troubled expression.