Pervert.
While this country might be touted as the safest country in the world, the number of perverts in this country was high, especially on the train, which was packed and full of people.
Not everyone heard it often, but it was normal because the women who were molested were also troubled to report it since it was troublesome, and at the same time, it didn't feel good to be known as a victim of molestation.
At the same time, there was also this train of thought of everyone who didn't want to trouble others, so those victims mostly kept what they encountered deep inside.
"You okay?"
Looking at the nervous girl, Ishigami asked.
"Yeah, I am fine. Thank you."
If there was a reason why the girl easily trusted him, it was because he wore the same uniform.
"My classmates are there. You will be fine there."
"Thanks." The girl smiled softly after she saw many of Ishigami's classmates, then couldn't help but complain lightly. "Usually, those people won't be so persistent."
"But it's great that nothing is happening to you."
"Yeah, thanks to you." The girl felt relief when she was saved by Ishigami. "Now, what's your name? You are also from Shuchi'in Academy, right? What grade?" When her fear and nervousness disappeared, she quickly became energetic, as if what had happened before was just an annoying mosquito or fly that had passed by.
Only before Ishigami said anything was their conversation interrupted by someone.
"Ishigami, where have you been? Ah, how could you buy an ice cream without me?!"
As she watched the ice cream in Ishigami's hand, Onodera pouted, but then she realized Ishigami wasn't alone.
"Huh? Tsubame-senpai?"
"Ah, Rei-chan!"
Ishigami looked at the beautiful girl on his side, who was being called "Tsubame-senpai" by Onodera.
Her hair was pink with bangs parted 7:3 to the right side of her head, where the back portion was tied up to the back side with a black ribbon with hints of purple at the tips of her hair, light pink eyes, and a fairly large chest.
She was beautiful, and Ishigami also understood why she was being harassed before, but well, her beautiful appearance wasn't an excuse for a man to do something like that, right?
"You know each other, Onodera?"
"Oh, I know her." Onodera nodded, then asked, "But why were you two together?" Her eyes widened when she saw Ishigami holding the pink-haired girl's hand.
When Ishigami wanted to explain, his hand was tightly grasped, as if she sought comfort, and at the same time, he also noticed Tsubame's eyes appeared uncomfortable when Onodera asked such a question, so he didn't answer Onodera's question immediately and gathered his thought before he said, "She needed my help before. If you know her, then can you help her?"
"Eh? What's wrong, Senpai?" Onodera was surprised and also worried.
"Well... there was a little trouble earlier." Tsubame showed an awkward expression and sighed in relief since Ishigami didn't say much.
"Still, you will go to the gym, right? I will take care of her here," Onodera quickly said.
"Okay." Ishigami then let go of Tsubame's hand and said, "Then, I will go back first, but you should be careful."
"It's fine. If there are many of us, no one will bother us."
"Is that so?" Ishigami nodded and decided to believe Onodera. "Then, Senpai, I will excuse myself."
"Ah, um, sorry for troubling you."
"It's fine. You seem in need of help, after all. I did nothing special."
"Normal people will normally ignore me, though..." Tsubame said with a helpless smile.
"Well, those who you met weren't men, then." Ishigami shook his head, thinking that many men had started to lose their instinct as one in the modern era. "Still, I will send you to everyone first before I go back."
"It's fine. You don't need to. We'll be fine," Onodera said.
"No, I will send you off. Listen to me, okay?"
"O-Okay." While Onodera wasn't sure why Ishigami was a bit pushy, she didn't hate this part of him.
Still, Tsubame glanced at the two, then looked at Ishigami for a while with a thoughtful expression.
"Ishigami? What's wrong? Why did you go back?"
When Ishigami returned, everyone was surprised since all of them were about to part away.
"I forgot something from Onodera. I will go back now."
"Oh, okay? Be careful."
When everything was okay, Ishigami walked away since their safety was guaranteed now.
Iino and Kobachi, who were about to go back, also looked in Ishigami's direction and then noticed Tsubame, who stood next to Onodera.
"Huh? Tsubame-senpai, what are you doing here?"
When many noticed Tsubame, all of them became excited, especially the guys, as if they had become male peacocks who wanted to show their beautiful tails.
"Haha..."
Tsubame could only show a polite smile and laugh. While this might seem like an act, no one could find out since she often did this.
"You guys, stop it!"
"Stop being desperate!"
"Don't always react like this when you see a beautiful girl!"
The girls were all annoyed, then looked at Ishigami, who left without saying much in a different light.
Kobachi stared at Ishigami's back for a while until she heard Iino's voice.
"What's wrong, Koba-chan?"
"No, nothing." Kobachi shook her head and said, "Let's go back."
"Yeah." Iino nodded, then said, "But karaoke isn't that bad."
"Yes."
If only Ishigami was there, if it was only others, then they wouldn't come no matter what.
However, the two never said those words at the end and just quietly went home.
Onodera noticed a strangeness between Ishigami and Tsubame, especially when Ishigami kept lying one after another.
"So, what was happening, Senpai?"
As Onodera accompanied Tsubame, she couldn't help but ask this question.
Tsubame smiled again and said, "He helped me from a pervert."
"Ah, are you okay?" Onodera was startled and asked worriedly.
"I am fine. It was all thanks to him." If Ishigami wasn't there, Tsubame wasn't sure what was happening.
"Yes, he is reliable..." Onodera nodded and smiled softly.
Tsubame looked at Onodera's reaction and asked with curiosity and awkwardness since she had held Ishigami's hand so tightly previously, "Is he... your boyfriend?"
"B-Boyfriend?!" Onodera was startled and blushed. "No, no. Our relationship isn't that way..."
"I see..." Tsubame nodded and sighed in relief inwardly. Regardless, usually, the two would be awkward to talk about after this situation, but with her outgoing personality, it was easy for her to break the silence. "So, what did you do with your classmates before?"
"Ah, we had a blast at karaoke before!"
As Onodera told what she did with her classmates, Tsubame became a good listener, but when Ishigami was mentioned, she couldn't help but ask more questions.
On the other hand, Ishigami, who had just gone home after going to the gym, enjoyed the dinner cooked by his mother. He might have seen that his phone vibrated before, but when he saw the caller, he decided to ignore it since he knew he would face a troublesome problem.
While he knew that he owed a lot of things to this person, to answer her problem, he had to prepare his mind, or else, he was afraid that he couldn't give an answer that she would be satisfied with.
Watching Ishigami, who became more cheerful, naturally made Ishigami's Mama happy, and she had to say that having someone enjoy her food was a great thing. "What do you want to eat tomorrow?"
"Dinner?"
"Yes, dinner, but what about breakfast?"
"Well, just a normal miso soup and grilled fish is good enough."
"That's good. The most important thing for breakfast is simple and easy. Mom is also quite lazy to cook in the morning."
"..." Ishigami.
"What about dinner?"
"What about oyakodon?"
"Oyakodon? Okay." Ishigami's Mama also looked at her husband and asked, "Are you okay with that too, Dear?"
"Sure." Ishigami's Papa nodded, then asked, "By the way, how is the gym?"
"Oh, it was great..."
As the three talked about what had happened during their days, Ishigami then decided to study before going to rest, but before that, he had to answer the call that he had received for a while.
"Good evening, boss."
"You are late! I have called you so many times!"
Hearing Kaguya's complaint, Ishigami was helpless. "Sorry, Boss. I was taking a bath before. Do you want me to answer your phone in the bathroom?"
"...it feels a bit weird when you say that."
"Right?"
If the situation was reversed, the boy would be happy when the girl answered his call when the girl took a bath, but if the situation was reversed, then the girl might feel conflicted; if the girl had a good impression of the boy, then she couldn't help but imagine the naked body of the boy when he took a bath.
"Senpai?"
Yet, Ishigami was oblivious to his senior's dirty thoughts.
"Cough! Cough!"
"Are you okay, Senpai?"
"I-I am fine. You don't have to worry." Kaguya took a deep breath to calm herself.
"By the way, do you have something to discuss with me, Senpai?"
"Are you busy now?"
"I am just reviewing some lessons, but I always have time to help you anytime, Boss."
"...stop calling me boss." Kaguya was speechless.
"Then, Senpai, what's wrong?" Ishigami asked, then said, "Though, I have to say, you shouldn't call me that much. You have Hayasaka-senpai with you, right? You should discuss your love problem with her."
Naturally, he knew that Hayasaka was Kaguya's servant, especially when Kaguya didn't hide it, and he even told him that Hayasaka was her servant the day before.
As for him being a big mouth and telling everyone about their relationship?
If Ishigami didn't want to go to the Bering Sea to catch crabs, then he could only shut his mouth.
"No, she doesn't have any experience or even knowledge of this area. Talking with her is useless," Kaguya said as if it was the most natural thing.
"....." Hayasaka.
Somehow, Ishigami could imagine Hayasaka's expression at this moment if she had heard Kaguya's words. "...I think you should raise her salary now."
Hearing those words from Ishigami, Hayasaka couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"However, really, if you keep calling me, then your loved one might misunderstand you, you know?"
Ishigami knew how low Shirogane's self-esteem was, and naturally, he didn't want to hurt him by talking with Kaguya secretly. Moreover, if she hadn't called him, then he wouldn't have been bothered by Kaguya being called so suddenly and answered a troublesome problem, which was great, right?
Still, as he answered her call, and she helped him, he would help her until she found a solution to her problem.
Yet, he realized Kaguya's problem was bigger than he imagined.
With a voice filled with doubt and hesitation, Kaguya asked, "Ishigami-kun... do you think that I love Kaichou?"
"....." Ishigami.