Since it was a school day, most shops in the Keyaki Mall didn't open too early, as their main customers were still in class.
Yet, Kamuro now saw rows of shops clearly in operation—every storefront wide open, every clerk at their post, even niche stores that usually only opened during specific hours were doing business.
If she didn't know they were skipping class, she'd suspect it was some holiday, with all the shops waiting for students.
"From now until noon—four hours—this place belongs entirely to us."
Kaoru gazed calmly at the mall. "No matter what we do from here on, the staff will pretend not to see us, unless we ask for help. Also, the surveillance cameras are temporarily off. No traces will be left."
"Huh?!"
Kamuro turned to him in disbelief.
What was he saying? How could he possibly order the mall to open, make the staff ignore them, and even force the school to shut off the cameras?
In every sense, this was way too extreme.
What was this guy thinking?
"What exactly did you do?"
"Nothing much. Just followed school rules. Since Personal points can buy anything in this school, getting them to temporarily disable the cameras was negotiable."
"W-Wait, is this really about rules and cameras?"
Kamuro glared at him, highly displeased.
Though she knew the power of Personal points, pulling this off definitely required a staggering amount.
In response, Kaoru showed a hint of confusion, which only infuriated her more.
"How much did you spend, you idiot?"
"Two million to shut down the school's cameras. Another five million to coordinate with the mall manager."
"What?! You spent that much? Are you an idiot?!"
Kamuro was nearly furious to death!
"What's with that tone of yours, as if you just bought a bottle of soda? I don't remember you being this rich!"
Even if he had kept the personal points extorted from Nagumo Miyabi back then, spending seven million all at once just for four hours at a shopping mall was simply reckless extravagance!
"You're not comfortable in crowded places, are you?"
Kaoru's tone remained unchanged. "Though I considered throwing you a birthday party, I figured Masumi probably wouldn't like it. For someone with no friends normally, being forced to attend a party would be downright unpleasant."
Kamuro flushed bright red. "Take back that pitying look right now! It's not that I don't have friends—I just don't see the need!"
Kaoru shifted his gaze away from her and asked, "Is there anything you'd like to do next, Masumi? For instance, shoplifting at the mall?"
Kamuro fell silent for a moment. "Is that the only impression I leave you with?"
"After all, I did say I'd take you to do plenty of bad things. Shoplifting counts as one of them. Otherwise, why would I specifically skip class?"
A faint smile appeared on Kaoru's face. "I bet the whole class is talking about us right now. Feels pretty good being the bad kids, doesn't it?"
"How disgusting."
Kamuro rubbed her arm—not because his words sounded contemptible, but because she realized she was actually feeling a bit stirred up.
Skipping class seemed to carry an inexplicable magic all its own, making the girl's heart begin to flutter with excitement.
And so, a few minutes later...
Kaoru watched as Kamuro walked out of the convenience store without paying, bold as brass.
"So this is what it feels like to take something right in front of everyone."
Kamuro seemed genuinely surprised. "It's like being invisible. Isn't this just a prank?"
So, they had actually gone to the convenience store and shoplifted.
"More fun than I imagined. That clerk was trying hard to pretend he didn't see me take the most expensive item."
"Don't worry, I already paid for it."
"Shut up! Just hearing you say that pisses me off!"
"I didn't expect you to be this cute, Masumi. I thought you'd at least do something illegal, but all you did was take a few things."
"You...!"
Just as Kamuro was about to give him a piece of her mind, she suddenly realized something and fell into thought.
"The surveillance cameras are all turned off, right?"
"Yeah, only the clerks can see us now."
As he spoke, Kaoru waved toward a bubble tea shop not far away.
The clerk inside acted as if she hadn't seen a thing. "But they'll all pretend not to notice us."
"You said something earlier that was spot on. I'm planning to do something illegal now."
Kamuro suddenly announced to Kaoru, "As the instigator, you wait here for me. Don't you dare leave!"
With that, the girl turned around and strode back into the convenience store behind them.
"Just don't go overboard." Kaoru said flatly.
Soon enough, Kamuro reappeared before him, holding two cans of beer.
"Your idea of 'illegal' is kind of adorable."
"Hah, what's that supposed to mean?"
Kamuro shoved one of the beer cans at him. "I've taken this kind of stuff before, but I've never tried it. Minors aren't allowed to drink, after all."
"So you're going to give it a try this time?"
Kaoru looked at the beer in his hand.
Underage drinking was prohibited in Japan—not serious enough to land someone in jail, but corresponding penalties would be imposed on guardians and liquor vendors instead.
"I don't know, I just felt like trying it, so I wanted to give it a shot."
With a crisp pop, Kamuro pulled the tab on the can, releasing a faint aroma of alcohol. "It's kind of like when I applied to this school. I don't really care about these things. Besides, this time you're the one allowing me to do something bad—feels pretty good."
Kaoru wasn't the type to absolutely forbid drinking, so he said, "This is an exception. Once you finish this, that's it. Even if you win another round, you can't drink anymore."
"Just a moment ago, you were encouraging me to do something bad, and now you're lecturing me. Are you schizophrenic?"
Kamuro sounded displeased and took a sip of the beer.
Pfft—
In an instant, Kamuro spat out all the beer in her mouth, her expression twisting in disgust.
"Ugh, what is this? It's disgusting! So bitter and astringent—it feels like my tongue's on fire. And it smells awful!"
It seemed she couldn't stomach it on her first try. Kaoru pulled the tab on his own can and took a small sip.
Without a doubt, it was the taste of alcohol.
"How can anyone drink this? It's literally poison. So gross."
"Don't say that. You'll hurt adults' feelings if they hear you."
"I don't get why people like drinking. I thought it would taste more refreshing. Could it be that cigarettes are just as disgusting?"
"So you were planning to smoke too?"
"Doing something bad right in front of them—isn't that what you wanted me to do?"
Kaoru averted his gaze and took another sip of beer.
"Actually, I just wanted to go on a date with Masumi."
Hearing this, Kamuro froze for a moment before becoming uncharacteristically flustered, though she tried hard to act composed.
"Y-you've really gone too far. Skipping class with me, saying things like 'make yourself happy' earlier, and now it turns out you just want to win me over. Is your head filled with nothing but women's bodies?"
As she spoke, as if to mask her agitation, Kamuro mimicked his actions and took another sip of beer.
It tasted awful, but this time she didn't spit it out.
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