Punishment?
‘I want more punishments like this, please!’ Seiji coughed and tried to suppress his turbulent emotions.
Seiji’s face was slightly red after he regained his senses. He didn’t know what to say.
He knew that Rika had a chance of detecting his true way of thinking, but he didn’t anticipate her…"punishing" him like this.
Truthfully, Seiji did consider contacting her, but he didn’t think too much into it.
Compared to contacting her right from the start, he preferred to make a huge incident of it first, before asking for her help at the end. This way, he could vent his frustrations on the twins, and Rika would appear to be the nice person in this event. There was nothing else to it.
After all, he was still an outsider. He wouldn’t have to hold back against the twins, nor would he care what the twins’ parents thought of him after the incident’s conclusion. Rika Amami was different, though. She would have reservations which would hold her back and give her pressure.
Seiji felt he’d selected a method which helped out everyone in the end… one that any normal person would choose if they could think of it.
Rika’s display of gratitude was still unexpected.
Nobody spoke for a while in Rika’s office.
When she noticed Seiji’s blushing face and embarrassment, Rika inwardly smiled.
‘He’s too cute…’
"Now that I’ve punished you, it’s time… for your reward."
‘There’s a reward as well?’
Seiji couldn’t help but look at Rika curiously as he noticed her seductive smile.
"I recall that there was something you really wanted, but I didn’t give to you… And now, although it’s not the same one, I’ll give you the same item."
Rika slowly reached into her pocket and brought something out from it. Her fist was closed, so Seiji was unable to see what she’d brought out. She placed her closed fist in front of Seiji.
"Give me your hand."
"Oh… oh."
Seiji dazedly obeyed her order as he gave her his open hand.
Rika slowly opened her hand, revealing a small, shiny, translucent… button!
‘Could… could this be!?’ Seiji’s eyes widened in excitement.
Rika’s face was tinged with a hint of red as she placed the button in Seiji’s large hand.
"You’re forbidden from telling anyone else about this," she whispered as she handed the button over.
For something like this to become a reward, it was a little… But this was the only thing that he had ever expressed wanting in front of her!
Seiji nodded in understanding as he clutched the button tightly to his chest. It was still warm due to the residual body heat left behind by Rika.
The holy artifact has been obtained!
He missed his previous opportunity to receive this legendary holy artifact, which was a byproduct of oversized breasts that countless gentlemen wished for, but now he’d finally obtained it.
Seiji’s expression was grave as he clasped his hands in mock prayer; he was about to reincarnate… no, raise himself to the heavens!
Rika wasn’t sure how she should respond to his incomprehensible movements and expression.
All she could do was laugh.
"Okay, stop acting weird! You’ve already received your reward, so hurry up and start working!"
"Yes, Buddha… no, Store Manager!" Seiji’s reply was filled with passionate spirit as he turned around and began to leave. Even his tall figure exuded a hot-blooded aura of passion.
"What the heck’s with calling me Buddha!?" Rika scolded him as he walked out.
It seemed that it would take a long while for the smile and redness on her face to disappear.
…
After work was over.
Seiji opened the [gifts] option in his system and checked the holy artifact… no, the reward he received from his system for the gift.
He had gained 7 points, as well as the discount card item [My Heartfelt Gratitude].
This card contained the gratitude the beautiful store manager felt towards him, as well as appreciation and praise. After using the card, he could choose any item he wanted in the shop, and the price would be reduced to 50%. There was no limit on the total discount amount, and he could even use it to purchase a large stock of the same consumable. It was, however, a one-time use item.
Seiji raised his eyebrows in surprise.
A 50% reduction on any item he wanted was an incredibly strong effect! It was a pity that it was a one-time use item, but thankfully there was no limit attached to it.
This meant that there was two ways he could use this card. One would be to exchange for an incredibly expensive item with a powerful effect, saving him a large amount of points in the process.
The other way was to purchase a consumable item he needed in a large quantity, which would also save him many points in the process.
However, Seiji currently had neither of those types of items available for purchase.
Nothing expensive seemed particularly enticing to him, nor did he have any consumables which he needed to use a large quantity of… It seemed that he would have to leave this item card unused for the time being.
Although it wasn’t useful right now, it still had a strong effect, and the 7 points it gave him was nothing to be scoffed at.
‘Thank you, Store Manager!’
Seiji was delighted as he walked past the park on his way home.
As he was walking, he heard a creaking sound coming from the swing set in the park.
‘Are there really children still playing on the swings this late at night?’ Seiji looked at the swings with that doubt in mind.
He saw someone sitting on a swing, and it clearly wasn’t a child.
It was a girl wearing the Genhana Middle School uniform.
Due to the poor lighting and distance between them, Seiji was unable to see her face clearly.
But his instinct told him that… he’d seen this person before somewhere.
*Creak… creak…*
The middle school girl’s figure seemed lonely as she swung on the swings by herself.
Seiji stopped walking towards home.
Instead, he headed towards the swing set.
"You must be a middle schooler at Genhana. It’s already this late, so why are you…"
Seiji began speaking as he approached, but before he finished his question, he saw who it was and stopped on his own.
That was because he recognized her.
Even though he only met her once, on the first day when he transferred in, she had left him with a deep impression.
She was a beautiful girl who looked like a porcelain doll. She had exquisite facial features, snow-white skin, neat bangs, delicate eyelashes, clear eyes, and silky-soft black hair styled casually. At first glance, she appeared to be an icy beauty.
"You…" Seiji’s steps paused slightly as he continued walking towards her."You’re… Shika Kagura, right?"
Yes, this was her name.
She was the middle school student who had a top-class appearance… She was the girl who’d been captured and dragged to the drama club by the club’s president.
Seiji recalled the scene of Shika sitting on a chair by the window, quietly reading her poem collection.
At that time, he went over to greet her of his own volition.
Just like this time.
"Do you still remember me? I’m Seigo Harano, a high school first-year student… Two weeks ago at the drama club, we exchanged a few words." He walked in front of the swingset as he continued speaking.
The girl… Shika Kagura stopped swinging as she looked at his face.
Just like last time.
"Seigo Harano…"
Her voice was gentle yet cold.
‘It seems that she remembers me," Seiji thought to himself.
"I was just passing by and noticed the sound, so I came to see who was here. It’s quite late already, so why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be going home?"
Shika remained silent as she looked at Seiji wordlessly.
Seiji scratched his face awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
Although he was tempted to ask if there was something on his face, he figured that asking Shika such an idle question probably wasn’t the best course of action.
"Did… something happen in your family? Did you argue with your parents?"
He might as well cut to the chase and ask something sensitive.
A middle school student remaining away from home at this time of night probably meant something had happened in her family.
Shika continued staring at his face, as if she were waiting for flowers to magically begin blooming there.
Seiji sighed."Fine then. I’m probably poking my nose in business that’s not meant for me."
He walked up to her and sat down beside her on the adjacent swing.
"I don’t really want to interfere with anything; I just want to help you if I can be of any assistance. It’s dangerous for a beautiful girl like you to be out here late at night, especially in an empty area like this.
"Perhaps you don’t think it’s anything, but… I don’t want to leave you alone."
That’s all there was to it.
This was just a normal action of kindness.
At this moment, however, Seiji was unaware of what would eventually come of his act.