When an Oblivious Handsome Older Man Went Back in Time and Was Building Harlem

A day spent dozing off due to the headache and nausea caused by a sudden wave of memories. My health has completely recovered, but in the end, I didn’t return to my previous dull life and remained a high school student. Acting like a high school student is impossible, but if I think of it as an undercover investigation, it might somehow work out.

(No, there’s no way I can live at the same energy level as a high school student who is over 20 years younger than me for years.)

I quickly realized it was impossible, but I had no choice but to do it. Thinking that, I got ready in the morning and left the house. My parents were very worried when I, who had been perfectly healthy, suddenly became extremely unwell and even vomited, but I didn’t care.

I arrived at the station and boarded a crowded train. Since becoming a working adult, I have had fewer opportunities to ride crowded trains, so it has been a while since I last experienced one. The sensation of being squeezed from behind and in front by bags and bodies. Amidst this, I noticed a high school girl in the same uniform as mine standing diagonally in front of me, trembling like a Chihuahua.

The school is just one station away from my nearest stop on the rapid express. So there’s still more than five minutes until the next station. If the trembling high school girl is feeling unwell, I’m worried she might collapse. I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to talk to her since she’s wearing the same high school uniform, and that’s when I slightly shifted my gaze downward.

(Her skirt is being lifted… Is it a molester?)

The skirt had ridden up to the hem of her blazer. No matter how crowded it was, a skirt shouldn’t end up like that. In other words, the high school girl diagonally in front of me was being groped. I’m a police officer, and I can’t overlook groping.

For now, I need evidence, I thought, twisting my body to take out my smartphone, set it to silent mode, and take a picture. When I checked the photo, it captured not only the hand sliding into the underwear but also the face of the person whose hand was reaching.

The high school girl had a face that looked like she was about to cry, her face pale. After seeing her like that, I pulled her close, separated her from the molester’s arms, and reported him.

“Molestation is a crime. If you’re so desperate that you resort to such acts in a place where you can’t even move, wouldn’t it be better to go to a place that caters to those needs?”

“Hey! I didn’t do anything like groping! Can you stop making baseless accusations?”

I was about 20 centimeters taller than my opponent, so I applied pressure from above. Don’t underestimate an active police officer.

“Ugh, you little brat…”

I heard something like that, but it seemed that the people around me judged the situation by the word “molester” and the slightly lifted skirt of the high school girl, and cold whispers and glances were directed at the perpetrator.

Meanwhile, an announcement on the train says we are arriving at the nearest station to the school. This car will stop right in front of the stairs, so it would be troublesome if he ran away. Perpetrators of groping should be dealt with properly. I grabbed the groper’s arm and waited for the train to arrive at the station.

“Let go of me! I didn’t do anything like groping!”

You’re shouting about such things, but denial won’t work.

“You might feel uncomfortable because of the groping, but could you please come to the station staff room for questioning?”

I try to speak to high school girls with as gentle a voice and face as possible.

“Yes, thank you very much.”

Arriving at the station, I drag the shouting molester along with the high school girl to the station master’s office.

“Hey, kid! Let go already! I’ll call the police! Hey! Are you listening to me!? Huh!?”

“I can hear you, but isn’t it you who would be in trouble if the police were called?”

After saying that, the molester seemed to have nothing to say and reluctantly followed me. When we reached the station master’s office, the station master looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“The perpetrator of the groping and the victim.”

When I said that, the station attendant seemed to understand, and his gaze towards me and the molester changed. The station attendant called the police, and after showing the footage I had taken to the arriving officers and with the testimony from the high school girl herself, the man was arrested.

Upon looking again at the high school girl I helped in the station office, I realized that the victim was Miwano Sakura-san from my class. Indeed, Miwano-san has a cute appearance and looks like someone who could be targeted by perverts. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to grope her.

So, after all that, we were released by the police. It seems that Miwano-san’s parents came to pick her up, so I decided to keep an eye on her until then.

“Takai-kun, thank you for helping me today. I never thought I would be groped… It was so disgusting, and when someone invisible touched me, I felt so sick that I thought I might cry. At that moment, Takai-kun pulled me away and freed me from the disgust.”

Yeah, while nodding along, I listen to Miwano-san’s story.

“I still feel sick, but if it had escalated any further… yeah. So, thank you for helping me.”

“No, I just did what was right as a person. If I had noticed sooner, I think I could have shortened the time Miwano-san had to feel uncomfortable.”

“…Takai-kun is so kind. Thank you so much for today.”

After waiting for 30 minutes, a person who seemed to be Miwano-san’s mother came running towards us.

“Sakura! Are you okay? Oh, you’re the one who helped Sakura. I really don’t know how to thank you enough. Thank you so much.”

“No, I apologize for not noticing that your daughter was feeling uncomfortable.”

When I bowed my head, Miwano-san’s mother was flustered.

“No! Please don’t apologize. Besides, you have school today, and I can’t take away your precious time. I’ll go home by car with Sakura, so um…”

“I’m Takai.”

“Takai-kun, go to school. And thank you so much for today. I’ll repay you later. Here, Sakura, you should thank him too.”

“I know without being told!!… Takai-kun. Thank you so much for today. See you!”