His entire plan had completely fallen apart the moment this kid showed up!
Yamato Aihara glared at Akihiko with murderous eyes, as if he wanted to tear him apart.
The situation had changed too abruptly for Ryouka to fully grasp what had just happened. She hesitated, "Um... Mr. Aihara?"
Yamato's fists clenched with a creak.
He might not have been strong enough to take down all those delinquents, but his muscles weren't just for show. Beating up this scrawny kid in front of him would be child's play!
But then—
"Huh?"
Akihiko grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Aren't you leaving? The police will be here soon. Once they arrive, it'll be a real hassle to get away."
Yamato Aihara understood immediately.
From the guy's tone, he must have seen through his plan and called the police... If he really got invited to the station for questioning, even if Ryouka Yotsumoto still considered him her savior, the police would definitely investigate his ties with those delinquents!
"You'll pay for this!!" Yamato pointed at Akihiko before turning to flee.
He would etch this failure into his memory and make sure to take brutal revenge on this damn brat next time!!
Watching Yamato Aihara's hurried retreat, Ryouka froze.
Her emerald eyes then turned to Akihiko, who was sighing in relief.
"Um... when will the police arrive?" Ryouka asked.
"Praise the light, I just pulled off one hell of a bluff. If that guy had waited just a bit longer, the act would've fallen apart..." Akihiko An muttered to himself before answering her question: "They're not coming. I didn't call the police..."
To be precise, he couldn't have called even if he wanted to.
After patting himself down, he realized he didn't have a phone on him.
"...What exactly happened?" Ryouka's mind was still catching up, but she could roughly guess something fishy was going on.
"Simply put—" Just as Akihiko was about to explain, Ayumu cut in: "Akihiko, what are you doing here?"
'Akihiko'...?
Who's Akihiko?... Calling me? Is my name 'Akihiko'?
Oh right, my full name is 'Akihiko Takeda'...
A flood of memories not his own surged into his mind, leaving Akihiko momentarily dazed before his consciousness began to fade.
"Akihiko!?"
Seeing Akihiko suddenly go limp, on the verge of passing out, Ryouka urgently tried to rouse him.
But Akihiko didn't wake. As he was about to collapse, Ryouka quickly caught him in her arms.
"Akihiko? Ayumu, is he a classmate of yours?"
"Yeah..."
"Call an ambulance! He seems to have fainted!"
"...Ah, right!"
Though his consciousness was hazy, Akihiko wasn't completely unconscious.
He could still feel his cheek sinking into something large and soft, the scent of shampoo lingering at his nose—but he couldn't process or see what it was.
At the same time, a voice echoed not in his ears, but in his mind.
[Successfully completed mission: "Save the Karate Girl!" System officially activated.]
[Scanning host status...]
[Host: "Akihiko Takeda"... Binding in progress...]
[99%... 100%... Binding complete.]
[Congratulations! Host has obtained the "Beginner's Gift Pack"...]
[Opening "Beginner's Gift Pack"...]
[Acquired skill...]
["Swordsmanship Mastery EX"]
[...2060 Brand System "Pure Love" at your service...]
'My name is Akihiko Kobayashi.'
'Seventeen years old, a student.'
'Second-year at Shiraoka High School.'
'Parents deceased, no other immediate family. Guardian is an aunt working in Hawaii.'
'I have few friends and no harem.'
'Just an ordinary high schooler.'
...
"Whoa!!"
Akihiko jolted awake in bed, greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling.
And...
The sterile white surroundings, along with the faintly familiar yet strange smell of disinfectant.
"...In the hospital?" Akihiko's head throbbed painfully.
"Yes, because you suddenly fainted, so we brought you to the nearby hospital."
The reply came from beside the bed. Akihiko turned his head to look, then sat up.
"Ryouka... Yotsumoto?"
After pouring a glass of water, Ryouka handed it to Akihiko. "You... know me?"
"...Ah, well, Ryouka-san, you're quite famous at our school. Is there anyone who doesn't know you?" Akihiko quickly said. The inexplicable memories that flooded his mind during his unconsciousness confirmed that he had definitely transmigrated... His identity in this world was 'Akihiko Kobayashi', a student at Shiraoka High School, just like Ryouka Yotsumoto.
Ryouka gave a light laugh.
Previously, they had been too far apart. This could be considered Akihiko's first time observing the real Ryouka up close... although in his previous world, he had even seen her armpits clearly.
He had to admit, Ryouka was an extremely beautiful girl with a slender figure that gave no hint of the monstrous strength capable of subduing three delinquents.
And her face was so small—if she let down her ponytail, it would surely be drowned in her black hair.
Her skin was as snow-white as cream, so much so that even the faintest blush on her cheeks was clearly visible.
"...Ah, sorry." Akihiko realized he had been staring at Ryouka for a bit too long.
"No, it's fine..." Ryouka shyly lowered her eyes. "...Um, the doctor said you should take good care of yourself."
"Got it..." Akihiko said.
"Also, you're in the same class as Ayumu, right?" Ryouka said. "Akihiko Kobayashi... can I call you 'Kobayashi-san'?"
"Sure, or 'Akihiko' is fine too." Akihiko replied. As a foreign soul in a Japanese guy's body, he wasn't too familiar with Japanese customs.
Ryouka's cheeks reddened slightly more. "I... think I'll call you 'Kobayashi-san' for now. Anyway, thank you for this time."
"Huh?"
"While you were unconscious, I thought through everything that happened from start to finish and figured out the truth behind it."
"I see." Akihiko smiled. "No problem, I'll slaughter those cuckold dogs... cough I mean, Ryouka-san, just be careful from now on."
He pressed the button to adjust the angle of the bed's backrest. Lying down wasn't very comfortable; he wanted to sit up properly.
"But how did you know about it, Kobayashi-san?"
"I passed by and happened to overhear their conversation." Akihiko used a universal formula to answer this complicated question. "I don't need to stay hospitalized, right?"
Ryouka waved her hand in front of her chest:
"No need. The doctor said you fainted from heatstroke. You can be discharged once you wake up and recover a bit."
"Pfft—"
Akihiko had just taken a sip of water and promptly sprayed it all over the blanket on his chest.
Heatstroke?
He looked at the 'thermometer' hanging on the wall. The displayed temperature was...
'Indoors: 15°C'
Outside couldn't be more than 20°C.