A Lonely S-Rank Explorer, Returning to His Student Days to Redo His Youth—It Seems the Strongest Loner Is Being Genuinely Loved by the Most Beautiful Girls in the School

While Yuito was buying a matcha frappuccino, Hakari, having finished shopping, was sitting on a bench with a paper bag hanging from her arm.

(What should we do after this? If we’re going to do it, we should play until around the evening and then have dinner…)

Hakari plans a date in her mind.

However, as if to interrupt, a furious shout echoed, “Pay up quickly, damn it!!”

When she involuntarily turned her gaze towards the voice, there were several men with stern faces and a high school girl surrounded by them.

“W-why are you here in a place like this?!”

“Why, you ask… I called out to you here, right? I thought we could meet again.”

Amid the tough-looking men, there was only one slender blonde. He wore a pitch-black suit with a white shirt unbuttoned at the chest. He had a somewhat “host” vibe.

The blonde is laughing as if watching her complain, saying, “Oh dear.”

She didn’t know how to put it, but she felt an eerie sense of incomprehensibility.

“Here, it’s the tab from our shop. You need to pay it properly, okay?”

“Just for drinking a little, there’s no way I can pay hundreds of thousands, right?! You said it would only cost a few thousand yen!!”

“That’s the seat charge fee we’re talking about. Drinks are extra♪”

“Don’t mess with me!! Anyway, I won’t pay that kind of money, and I can’t pay it either!!”

The woman shouted with her face flushed red. She tried to walk away, but the thick arms of the tough men blocked her path.

“Whoa, saying ‘I can’t pay’ won’t cut it. If you don’t have the money, you’ll have to pay with your body.”

“Th-that means…”

“You understand, right? We don’t want to do anything rough either, so just come along quietly.”

The man’s hand reaches out to the girl. The girl stiffens as if to protect herself.

“Please stop. What you are doing is illegal.”

“Huh? Who the hell is this person?”

The man’s hand is slapped.

Hakari, who intervened between the woman and the men, knocked it down.

Hakari glares fiercely at the men.

“I’m just passing by.”

“Don’t butt in when you’re just passing by. We’re just charging the store’s fees.”

“She’s saying that’s an unfair charge. If you want, we can have the police decide.”

Hakari shows the smartphone. The screen displays the emergency call number.

The men glare at it with annoyance.

“Tch… Fine. I’ll quietly go home today. Is that alright?”

The man clicked his tongue and signaled to the others.

The man nodded deeply and reached for his chest.

What was taken out from the chest was a black-glimmering pistol—an object with a similar shape.

Hakari knows. It is an auxiliary tool for using magic. It’s a magic gun. You can think of it like a wizard’s staff.

“Tsu!? Dodge――”

Hakari instinctively tried to protect the girl, but it was too late.

A blue needle-like magic shot from the magic gun. When it pricked her skin, Hakari collapsed limply.

(Is this… sleep magic…?)

Hakari’s consciousness was engulfed by sleepiness. She desperately tried to resist, but soon let go of her awareness.

The magic that was continuously cast was unleashed on the girl, causing her to lose consciousness, following in the footsteps of Hakari.

“Hey, let’s carry this person and get out of here quickly. We stand out too much here to have a ‘discussion.'”

“Hey… are you taking the one who jumped in over here too?”

“Idiot. There’s no way we’d leave such a catch behind. She’ll become our toy, and if we get bored, we can just make her earn us some money.”

“As expected of you, big bro. Thinking ahead like that!”

“Right?”

The men hoisted Hakari and the woman and ran away as if fleeing.

When she woke up, Hakari found herself lying on the sofa.

It’s a pure white leather sofa. As she sat up and looked around, she saw several similar chairs lined up.

In front of the sofa, there was a small round table. On it, there were napkins and an ashtray.

(Host club… I wonder? I’ve only seen them in dramas, but this is close to the image I had.)

Next to Hakari, the girl who caused the incident is also being put to sleep.

Is the magic still working? She’s sound asleep.

“Oh, you’re already awake. Are you the type with strong resistance to magic?”

“You are…”

A blonde came out from the back of the store.

When the blonde found out Hakari was awake, she naturally slid into the seat next to him.

Hakari instinctively reached for her waist.

Even Hakari are students aiming to become explorers. Just like Yuito carries a sword, she always has weapons on hand.

However, the magic gun that should have been hanging at her waist cannot be found. Hakari’s hand cuts through the air.

“Well, of course, you would be holding onto anything dangerous.”

“…”

“Don’t glare at me like that. First, could you tell me your name? I’m ‘Yukki.’ What’s your name?”

“I wouldn’t tell you, would I?”

“Eh, isn’t that terrible? Well, actually, I know because I saw your student ID. Hakari-chan.”

Hakari squinted her eyes.

If he knew from the beginning, what was the point of this incomprehensible exchange?

In that state, she is quite upset.

The blonde who called himself Yukki, whether knowing or not knowing Hakari’s feelings, tried to put his arm around Hakari’s shoulder.

“I really want to get close to Hakari-chan. It’s like love at first sight. Hakari-chan is super good-looking, no?”

“If you want to get along, first let me and her leave this place. After that, I will listen to your request.”

Hakari twisted her body to avoid the aged hand that had been placed on her shoulder.

She was glaring at Yukki.

“Ah, that’s impossible. I’m not the one keeping you confined. I’m just lending them the place.”

“Then, I have no business with you. Please bring out the person in charge right away.”

“I can’t let you go outside, but if you kiss me, I can improve your treatment, Hakari-chan.”

“Huh?”

“You can kind of predict how things will unfold from here, right?”

Yukki shrugged his shoulders with a sigh.

“Those scary-faced people are antisocial, dangerous folks. From now on, you will be used as a tool for their money-making schemes. Like working in their stores or appearing in videos, yeah?”

“…”

“But if you become my girlfriend, I can save only Hakari-chan. You see, I have a lot of connections. I can even talk to those people a little bit.”

In other words, he is probably threatening that if she doesn’t do as he says, she’ll be treated cruelly.

Yukki smirked and placed a hand on Hakari’s cheek, caressing her skin tenderly.

“Dating a handsome guy like me, and you get your freedom. I think it’s a pretty good deal, don’t you?”

“――Please.”

“What?”

“Please don’t touch me. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”

“Ouch…”

Snap!!

The slap from Hakari hit Yukki hard. A red mark like a maple leaf was left on his cheek.

“You… don’t get too cocky!!”