Chapter 43: 42: There's a Pervert!
Nao flipped the camera screen around, suddenly adopting the demeanor of a shy schoolgirl as she spoke in a hesitant tone.
"Never expected that a two-timing scumbag… Would turn out to be the top student at Toyosaki."
As she spoke, Nao skillfully operated the camera with one hand, preparing to show Hakuto the footage she had captured of him, Ginko, and Utaha interacting.
One of the reasons she always carried a camera when tracking down ability users was precisely for moments like this.
At this moment, Nao could already imagine the look of panic and helplessness on Hakuto's face.
After that, with just a bit of guidance, wouldn't he have no choice but to obediently join Hoshino Umi Academy?
However, contrary to her expectations, there was no trace of panic on Hakuto's face. Instead, he simply raised an eyebrow with disdain.
"Hah? What's with that look?"
"This is solid evidence, you know? Evidence that you're two-timing!"
"Why don't you check what you're actually playing for me first?"
Hakuto reached out and turned the camera's screen back toward her.
"What else could it be…"
"Please... insert a memory card?"
Nao had initially assumed she had just made an operational mistake, but to her shock, the camera was displaying a message asking for a memory card.
At that moment, she was utterly dumbfounded.
After handling so many ability-related incidents, this was the first time something had happened outside of her control.
Usually, just mentioning the threat of being taken in by scientists for research was enough to make most people obediently join Hoshino Umi Academy.
But why wasn't it working this time?
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. My friend is still waiting for me downstairs."
"Are you really not going to transfer to Hoshino Umi?"
"I don't have any plans to transfer, at least not right now."
"Alright, but at the very least, please stop using your ability. If those scientists catch wind of you, they'll put you on an operating table."
"That kind of thing... is it really true?"
"It's true... my older brother was..."
Seeing the seriousness on Nao's face, Hakuto had no choice but to nod in agreement.
"Fine, but believe it or not, that was my first time using my ability."
"I'll do my best not to become a lab rat."
Hakuto waved his hand, then opened the door—one that had stubbornly refused to budge earlier—and walked out, bidding farewell to Nao.
She watched his figure disappear into the distance, not looking away until he was completely out of sight.
Only then did she pull out her phone and a box of Pocky from her pocket.
With a stick of Pocky between her lips, she unlocked her phone and dialed a number.
As the call rang, her thoughts drifted back to everything she had learned about Hakuto.
The top student in his grade, a shogi player strong enough to defeat a professional seventh-dan, capable of blocking her attacks even with his vision completely obstructed—
And all of that was purely his own skill, with no use of superpowers.
On top of that, his ability, supercomputing, was not to be underestimated. Based on what she had just seen, it was far superior to Takajo Jojiro's high-speed movement.
Considering all of this, Nao's interest in Hakuto had grown immensely.
And, for his own good, she had no intention of giving up on recruiting him to Hoshino Umi Academy.
Just then, the call finally connected.
"Hello, this is Tomori..."
…
Hakuto arrived at the apartment entrance and saw Utaha standing there anxiously, glancing toward the building every now and then.
When she spotted Hakuto coming out, she instinctively let out a sigh of relief and quickly jogged over to him.
"Senpai, long time no see."
"Did you go back inside to fight ghosts or something? If you hadn't messaged me, I was about to call the police."
"It's fine, Senpai. I gave that ghost a good beating. Room 1202 is absolutely safe now. You can consider renting it."
The "ghost" Hakuto referred to was, of course, Tomori Nao. And he wasn't lying—after all, he really had smacked her shoulder with his staff.
"In that case, are you moving in with me, Kouhai-kun?"
"Uh? Huh?"
"If the ghost comes back to haunt me, you'll be here to take care of it, right?"
"Don't worry, I know you're struggling financially, so I'll cover all the rent costs."
"Or... are you expecting something more?"
This was bad. Really bad. Hakuto finally understood why he got roped into this deal—Utaha was clearly eyeing his body. How shameless!
Feeling her arm wrapped around his, along with the soft sensation pressing against him, his brain momentarily went blank.
But as a professional, how could he be swayed by just a few words?
"So? What's your answer?"
"W-wait, Senpai… can you check my back for me?"
In an instant, Hakuto twisted his body into a pained posture, curling up as if he was about to collapse from sheer agony.
Utaha initially thought he was just faking it to dodge the conversation, but when she saw the expression of genuine pain on his face, she suddenly recalled what had happened on the stairs of Room 1202 earlier.
"Could it be…"
"Wait, Kouhai-kun, let's find a place to sit first."
"Mm… okay."
Seeing how much he seemed to be suffering, Utaha no longer suspected him and quickly helped him to a nearby bench.
The moment they sat down, she wasted no time, placing her hands on his dark red t-shirt.
Hakuto hadn't even processed what was happening yet when, to his shock, Utaha suddenly started pulling his shirt up, as if she was about to strip it off entirely.
??
What was just a suggestion earlier had turned into immediate action? Was his body really that irresistible to her?
"W-wait, Senpai! What are you doing?"
"Didn't you ask me to check your back?"
Hakuto cursed internally. He had barely escaped one trap, only to fall straight into another.
His back did feel like it was burning—taking that fall down the stairs was bound to have left some scrapes.
Originally, he hadn't planned to let Utaha find out about it and had intended to treat it himself at home.
But in his panic, he had instinctively come up with this excuse just to get out of their earlier conversation.
And now, he had dug himself into an even deeper hole.
After a brief hesitation, he realized there was no way out. With no other choice, he pulled off his t-shirt, exposing his back.
If Ginko was here to witness this, she would probably cry out in shock, "There's a pervert!"
"It's… this bad?"
"Uh? Is it that serious?"
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Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute]
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