Tokyo: Are you even a proper lawyer?

Rin Saionji also quietly pricked up her ears, her gaze seemingly unintentionally sweeping over the next table from under the brim of her hoodie before quickly looking away.

Masashi Akiyama nodded, not believing it was something that needed to be hidden.

However, it is clear that the parties involved have no intention of recognizing each other.

Since the other party has chosen to back down and avoid the issue, he won't make a fool of himself.

After all, Rieko Uchida was currently being ridiculed by her companions, and if he rashly stepped in, it would only cause her to face even more severe treatment in the future.

Heaven knows how many "ingenious" ideas these teenage girls, in the prime of their youth, can come up with.

Sometimes, this kind of baseless, indiscriminate malice disguised as naiveté is the most terrifying.

Masashi Akiyama has always believed in the idea that "human nature is inherently evil".

Goodwill needs to be learned, but malice is often innate.

As for the ambiguous actions and subtle affection that Rieko Uchida had shown at the agency, Masashi Akiyama never took it to heart.

To understand a person, you don't look at what they say or do, but rather discern their motives from their behavior.

Rieko Uchida's motivation was actually quite simple.

That's just a survival instinct to cling to the "alpha wolf" when you're in an unfamiliar environment.

Perhaps her mind had already been warped by her twisted relationship with Ayaka Fukuda day after day.

She had to cling tightly to the stronger one, like grasping at a straw, to ensure that she would not be abandoned or trampled upon.

So even after leaving Fukuda, she would quickly integrate into another small group and repeat the same dependency pattern.

Masashi Akiyama has no interest in playing the hero who saves the girl.

He doesn't even know how to navigate his own life, so how can he have the energy to help others?

But the table next door was really noisy.

The noise generated by three or more teenage girls gathered together had an unimaginable penetrating power, making his eardrums throb.

Not only him, but even the usually gentle Saionji Kiyoshi frowned and sighed softly.

"Are all high school girls like this nowadays..."

He paused halfway through his sentence and swallowed the rest of it.

Perhaps he was worried that it wouldn't be appropriate to gossip about others in front of his sister.

On the other side, Rin Saionji had already shrunk into the shadows of a corner, covering her ears with her hands and squeezing out two cold words through clenched teeth.

"Noisy."

…………

"Okay, okay, stop making things difficult for Rieko~ Let's get something to eat!"

At the next table, a girl with tea-colored hair, Daishi Aoi, broke the brief silence.

She picked up the menu, her gaze lingering on the drinks section.

"Let me see... I want to drink beer~"

"Eh? Aoi, you've gone bad~ We can't drink alcohol at our age." The girl with glasses, Michiko, pretended to be surprised and covered her mouth.

"Come on, I bet you've already had your drink, haven't you?"

"Well, of course!"

"Then let's start with five draft beers!" Dai Xi Kui raised her hand to call the waiter, her manner as practiced as a regular customer.

"Um... four drinks will be fine..." Rieko Uchida timidly raised her hand. "I... I don't know how to drink..."

"Oh my, Rieko-chan~" Aoi Onishi reached out and pressed down Rieko's raised hand, then put her arm around Rieko's shoulder.

"Everyone's here, don't spoil the fun. You've been hanging out with Fukuda for so long, how come you don't even know how to drink?"

"Let alone drinking," another girl chimed in, "we've probably done even more 'outrageous' things, haven't we?"

"Ugh! How could you say something like that?" The bespectacled woman, called "Michiko," shrieked, covering her face, but a teasing glint appeared between her fingers. "It makes me so shy~"

"Don't do that, Michiko. If you do that, Rieko-chan will look down on you~"

"How can anyone compare to Rieko-chan? She should be an 'adult' by now, right? She is an 'adult'."

Noisy.

Rieko Uchida picked up a piece of overcooked tofu and put it in her mouth.

The tofu, having absorbed all the broth, should have had a rich and mellow flavor, but instead, it tasted only astringent.

The girls around me seemed to be wearing masks that looked like they were both crying and laughing.

They took it for granted to fawn over Aoi Onishi, who was in the main seat, and in their words, they trampled Rieko Uchida into the mud in order to get an approving look from her.

Nausea.

Even though she had already left Ayaka Fukuda's shadow, that name clung to her like a bone-deep sore, following her wherever she went.

She tried to integrate into the new group, but instead of jumping from one quagmire into another seemingly glamorous but equally filthy swamp.

How annoying.

I really hate it.

Mr. Akiyama clearly said... things would get better. Why did it turn out like this?

fraud.

Rieko Uchida stopped resisting.

She knew perfectly well that resistance would be futile and that nothing would go as she wished.

She simply lowered her head, staring at the bubbles bursting one after another in the clear yellow draft beer glass.

"Cheers!"

The glasses clinked together, making a crisp sound.

Foam splashed over the rim of the glass, landing on the tablecloth and spreading out as dark dots.

Rieko Uchida held the huge beer mug and took a small sip.

bitter.

An indescribable bitterness exploded on the tip of the tongue, mixed with the slight sourness of malt, burning all the way down to the back of the throat.

People tend to talk more than usual when under the influence of alcohol.

The conversation gradually shifted from trivial matters at school to the good-looking boys in the clubs, and then to the young and handsome teachers.

And when male teachers are mentioned, that name inevitably comes to mind—

"Poor Suzuki-sensei, to be framed by someone like Fukuda... Even if she wins the case, her life will be completely ruined, right?"

"No," a short-haired girl shook her head and lowered her voice, "I heard that this case actually made Mr. Suzuki famous. He has resigned and no longer teaches at the school; it seems he opened a tutoring center instead. I heard that Mr. Suzuki even bought a car recently."

"Huh? So, in that case, Suzuki-sensei is actually doing quite well?"

"That's right. I also heard that Suzuki-sensei's defense lawyer was originally supposed to defend Fukuda, but after learning the truth, he switched to defending Suzuki-sensei. Even though nobody thought this case would go well, he still managed to overturn it."

"Oh my God!" the girls gasped.

Daiki clasped her hands together, her eyes filled with longing.

"Wow, that lawyer... must be really handsome!"

The bespectacled woman, referred to as "Michiko," shook her head:

"I heard it from someone else," she said, turning her gaze to Rieko Uchida, who was trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

"But wasn't Rieko present as a witness? Shouldn't she have seen what the lawyer looks like?"

She paused, her voice cloyingly sweet.

"Hey, Rieko-chan~ Tell us, is that lawyer... really that handsome?"

Rieko Uchida lowered her head, her gaze falling on the slices of meat bubbling in the sukiyaki.

The oil melts in the boiling soup, forming fine oil droplets that resemble some kind of twisted, ever-changing pattern.

"Rieko-chan?"

Aoi Oonishi gave her shoulder a shove, quite forcefully.

"Don't just stand there! Tell us something!"

No.

I don't want to talk about it.

Rieko Uchida didn't know what was wrong with her. Just a moment ago, she was secretly blaming Masashi Akiyama, thinking he was an unprecedented liar.

But when asked about him, she becomes like a dragon guarding its treasure, unwilling to expose it and hating anyone's prying eyes or touching it.

While eating the chrysanthemum greens that Saionji Ki had given him, Akiyama Masashi looked at the light gray light screen that appeared in front of him.

The words unfolded quietly at the edge of my field of vision, their edges shimmering with a faint glow.

[Rieko Uchida: Go to hell! You bunch of stinky girls whose minds are only on men, how dare you mock me? How dare you ask about Mr. Akiyama? Do Aoi Onishi and the others never look in the mirror? They're only seventeen, but they look like perverted old men, and they still dare to interrogate their male classmates every day about whether they're pretty or not? How dare she? I really want to overturn this sukiyaki in front of me, or just let Aoi Onishi and the others have a close encounter with boiling water...]

【…】

[Can converge world lines]

[Fork in the road 1: Don't be silly. When a girl pretends she doesn't want to see you, it means she doesn't want to talk to you. Even if you stand up for her, you won't get any reward. Just finish your sukiyaki and go home for a good night's sleep. (Reward: Lifetime VIP membership at this restaurant)]

[Branch Two: Every girl harbors a knight's dream. This is your perfect opportunity to shine—stand up, rush to her side, protect her, give her face, and then seize the moment. Don't worry about things like "she doesn't want to see you." Remember, when a girl says "no," she means "yes." (Reward: 1 yen cash)]

[Branch 3: Even if it's bullying, these people belong to the lowest class. You simply can't stand being talked about by them; it's utterly disgusting. Since you've been spoiled, why should others have it easy? (Reward: Improved physical fitness - slightly)]