The black haired girl was completely stunned. It was the first time she had seen a senior so skilled in combat. In such a narrow alley, he had taken on six opponents at once and not been touched even once.
"Thank you, Senpai." The girl quickly brought her hands together, bowed politely, and thanked him with a slightly awkward smile. After living in Academy City for so long, this was the first time someone other than a Judgment member had stepped in to help her.
"You brat, if you've got the guts, tell us your name." The beaten delinquents supported each other as they stood up, still trying to sound fierce.
"Do you want another beating?" Arata glanced at them coldly.
"Just you wait." The delinquents muttered in fear before retreating down the alley.
"I'll be waiting. Do you really think a bunch of street punks can find some powerful backer?" Arata curled his lip. Among the delinquents, there were indeed a few worthless gangs. One of them had even managed to make that brain dead Accelerator suffer a minor loss.
Perhaps these guys were affiliated with some shady group, but at most they were just low level lackeys who snatched wallets and bullied girls.
"Thank you for helping me, Senpai. My name is Saten Ruiko." Saten Ruiko smiled brightly, giving off an impression of innocence, cheerfulness, and optimism.
"Nice to meet you, Saten. My name is Arata. You just entered junior high this year, right? How did you end up getting targeted by those delinquents?"
Arata smiled gently. He had not expected to meet her in this way. Since he was entering high school this semester, Saten should indeed have just started junior high.
"Yes, I just transferred to the Seventh School District this year. Yesterday I helped a girl who was being bullied, and somehow they targeted me because of that. I really don't know how to thank you, Senpai." Saten Ruiko scratched her temple shyly.
Although they had only just met, this senior was surprisingly approachable. She found herself chatting naturally.
"I'm not the kind of person who ignores injustice. And helping such a cute junior is only natural." Looking at Saten Ruiko's carefree and innocent expression, Arata could not resist patting her head.
Being patted like a child by a senior made Saten Ruiko's face instantly turn red. She was not disgusted, but she still took a small step back.
"Senpai, even if you're a high school student, you can't treat me like a kid."
"Sorry, sorry. It's just that Saten is too cute," Arata apologized, secretly wondering what shampoo she used to make her hair so smooth.
["Ding. Congratulations, Host. You have made contact with a two star Character Card. Unlock condition: Please make Saten Ruiko say, 'I like you.'"]
The system's voice echoed in his mind, and Arata's lips twitched. Even though he already knew that the activation conditions for Character Cards were always tricky, he still could not help but complain inwardly.
They had only just met. How could a first year junior high school girl say something so straightforward?
At this moment, Arata both loved and hated this system.
Still, the rewards from unlocking two star cards had all been extremely powerful so far.
Cards below three stars refreshed daily. Missing one would be a waste.
That's it.
Arata's eyes lit up. The condition did not specify what language she had to say it in.
"Senpai, it's embarrassing if you compliment a girl so directly." Saten Ruiko shyly fiddled with her fingers.
"Come on, cute junior. I'll walk you to the main street. If those delinquents haven't gone far and come back, it'll be troublesome."
Arata walked ahead with a smile, and Saten Ruiko followed behind him.
"Thank you, Senpai."
If those delinquents had not gone far, it really would have been dangerous.
"By the way, Saten, do you speak Chinese?" He asked casually.
"Um, I haven't studied it, but I know a little English." Saten Ruiko's cheeks flushed slightly. She was not bad at studying, but she was not outstanding either. She was just an ordinary junior high school girl with no special talents.
"Then how about I teach you a phrase in Chinese?" Arata said, feeling a trace of guilt in his heart.
"Wow. Senpai speaks Chinese? That's one of the hardest languages in the world. Senpai is amazing. Not only are you good at fighting, you must be great at studying too." Saten Ruiko looked at him with admiration.
"It's nothing special. I just have good memory."
"I see, That's incredible," Saten Ruiko exclaimed.
"Listen carefully. This is something you can say to your close friends in Chinese. It means, 'Senpai, I like you very much.' Try repeating it."
Arata forced a smile.
"Xue niu fei, o ho ho ni?" Saten Ruiko blinked her large eyes and awkwardly imitated the sounds.
"No, soften your voice and slow down the rhythm. 'Senpai, I like you very much.'" He repeated patiently, speaking gently as his sense of guilt deepened.
Calm down. This is for the sake of becoming stronger and protecting the world in the future.
"Senpai, I like you very much."
"The first half is correct, but the second half needs to be clearer."
Saten Ruiko grew interested in this complicated language and began practicing more seriously.
"Senpai, I like you very much."
"That's amazing. You've only practiced a few times and your pronunciation is already very accurate." Arata gave her a thumbs up in praise.
"Hehe." Saten Ruiko scratched her head and stuck out her tongue playfully.
They had now exited the alley and reached the main street, where students passed by occasionally.
"Goodbye, Senpai." Saten Ruiko waved cheerfully before heading off.
"Opening two star Character Cards is already this troublesome. Three star cards must be ten times harder. Anyway, let's see what I got."
Arata calmed the lingering guilt in his heart and shook away his distracting thoughts.
At that moment, a golden two star card appeared before him. It transformed into stardust and dissipated, leaving behind an object resembling a pocket watch in his hand.
["Ding. Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the Imperial Arm,Dimensional Formation: Shambhala."]
[Dimensional Formation:Shambhala Originating from Akame ga Kill!, this is a space movement type Imperial Arm capable of instantly transferring the user to a marked location. After system modification, it consumes only a small amount of stamina to teleport objects no larger than the user.]
"A spatial type Imperial Arm. This really is a top tier life saving tool." Arata muttered in delight. "Now I can boldly attempt things I never dared to consider before."
With this in hand, even the space type espers in Academy City would be left far behind.