Chapter 22 – Superior Male

『Pathetic! You can’t even fight back!?』

『Hah! What a coward!』

『Such a pathetic man… you hate him too, right? I can love you way better as a man.』

『Right? Pathetic, isn’t he? The guy you’re clinging to. I’m clearly the superior male here.』

『Hihya! So lame! And you still tried to act cool in front of a girl!? You can’t even lift a finger!』

And so.

“Here. From now on, you’re banned from approaching Akira.”

I showed Akutsu the video on my phone and threatened him. The footage clearly showed him one-sidedly beating the shit out of me. Straight-up assault. If reported to the school, it wouldn’t end with just guidance counseling. It was as raw and intense as a guerrilla live stream. Plus the camera work was dynamic and professional. Who filmed it? Obviously only Eri.

“I was actually thinking of killing him myself.”

Glad she held back. If she killed him there, the blame would fall on me or Akira. Since Eri was in shadow camouflage, the police would have no choice but to ignore her. In a way, she’s worse than an actual invisible person.

“You bastard! Where did you get that!?”

“Who knows~”

“Hand over that phone!”

“Deleting the data won’t help. The master file is safely stored elsewhere.”

Meaning I can leak it whenever I want.

“Of course I’m not going to take it to the teachers for guidance counseling or anything.”

“Then what the hell do you want!?”

“Obviously I’m gonna post it on SNS. A video with your face perfectly visible getting broadcast nationwide.”

And the entertainment value is off the charts. This level of content doesn’t come around often.

“So yeah, behave yourself.”

I patted his shoulder a couple times and walked away. Akira was right beside me, arm linked with mine as we walked intimately together.

“That video was amazing. How did you get it filmed?”

“I asked an acquaintance.”

“To get that much realism and those angles, you’d need someone really conscious of camera work.”

“Yeah, I know an invisible person.”

“Wow~”

I tried to brush it off with something random, but she sounded genuinely impressed.

“But you were so cool, Nevada-kun.”

“Falling for me again?”

“I’m falling for you every single second. Ah— want a kiss?”

“Rejected. We’d get called in for guidance counseling.”

“Let’s get scolded together.”

“Still rejected.”

“…Meanie.”

She puffed her cheeks in a pout, but that had nothing to do with me.

“Don’t act like my girlfriend.”

“Nevada-kun… you already know how I feel, right?”

“It’s just the bridge effect playing tricks on you.”

“When a boy catches a girl falling from the sky, he’s supposed to risk his life to protect her.”

“This isn’t Sky Castle.”

“It was just that shocking for me.”

“I see~”

“I like you. I love you. I’ll give you everything. Please use me up as much as you want.”

“Does that include sex?”

“I’d be the one begging for it.”

Ah. I see.

Her wet-feather black hair flowed smoothly as she used every bit of her Moon Shadow Goddess cuteness to enthrall me. That smile alone carried about ten thousand volts. Hanging out with girls is justice, sure, but I’ve got my own circumstances.

“Just so we’re clear.”

“Yes?”

“The person destined for you isn’t me.”

“Ah, that thing that was popular a while ago…”

“I plan to support that guy’s love. So give up already.”

“But doesn’t that only matter if I accept it?”

“Meaning my romance with you only works if I accept it too…”

“It’s fine. When it comes to not giving up, I’m stronger than anyone.”

Well, I can only cheer her on.

“Akira-senpai!”

As Akira and I were walking, Sudou Karma came running over. Sudou… well, calling her that feels outdated now. Karma approached Akira with a huge smile, beaming happily.

“Good morning!”

“Good morning.”

Of course, Akira has no idea that Karma is in love with her. I still don’t know why I decided to help deliver those feelings.

“Geez! Senpai! Stop flirting with Nevada-senpai already~”

“I won’t show mercy to love rivals, you know…?”

“Then please stab Nevada-senpai. Leave it to me. I’ll dispose of the body~”

Says the girl who couldn’t even do it.

“Nevada-kun is mine!”

“Ehh~ Akira-senpai is mine though~”

“You’re good at joking.”

“It’s all character! But Akira-senpai is just so attractive~”

“You like me?”

“I love you! Guys are just walking balls of lust anyway~”

“Does Nevada-kun have sexual desire too?”

“Well, I do get hard.”

So what?

“The Moon Shadow Goddess mustn’t be touched by men. That delicate beauty can only be handled by girls.”

“So you like me.”

“I love you so much!”

“Alright, I’ll leave you two here. Go flirt with each other.”

“Nevada-senpai knows how to read the room~♪”

No point talking about how much blood I’ve already shed. If the fallen love angel… Sudou Karma truly loves the Moon Shadow Goddess, then I’ll just support their relationship.

“Nevada-kun. I love you.”

“Say that to Karma.”

“You’re casually calling me by my first name now~?”

“We’re not close enough to be polite, right?”

“That’s true~”

“Did something happen?”

“A lot of things~”

“So that’s why you fell for Nevada-kun…?”

“Nope. I’m only interested in Akira-senpai~”

“I don’t swing that way though.”

“Ehh~ But if you start dating Nevada-senpai, it’ll cause problems, you know?”

She’s not wrong about that. Honestly, the smoothest route is for Karma to successfully corrupt Akira.