Miura Yumiko's gaze grew firm again, as if she were about to join the Party.
Regardless of the outcome, at this moment, Miura Yumiko's intentions were genuinely for Yukino's own good.
As for whether she would ultimately stay true to her original intentions under Kanzaki Saku's offensive, only time would tell.
"Yumiko, no need to be so tense."
Kanzaki Saku's sudden, close-range whisper made the back of Yumiko's ears burn, nearly shattering her composure. She turned to meet his eyes.
"I..." She opened her mouth, wanting to argue that she wasn't tense.
But Kanzaki Saku was no longer looking at her. His gaze shifted to the slowly approaching train, his tone light and natural. "Did Yukino contact you last night? What did you report to her?"
Although Yumiko had already resolved to endure the humiliation and bear this heavy burden, speaking with Kanzaki Saku now stirred feelings of guilt towards Boss Yukino and a sense of frustration at how easily this person before her could sway her emotions.
She composed herself and replied, "I haven't said anything to the Boss. Please rest assured."
"Good." Kanzaki Saku nodded, following the crowd towards the train door. The moment he was boarding, the crowd surged, and he seemed to lose his footing, his body tilting slightly backward.
"Watch out!" Yumiko reacted almost instinctively, quickly reaching out to wrap an arm around his waist, steadying him. Through the thin fabric of his school uniform, her palm could clearly feel the firm muscle lines beneath.
The realization made her snatch her hand back as if she had been burned.
"Thanks." Kanzaki Saku used her support to steady himself, turned his head, and gave her a smile tinged with a hint of dependence. "I'm glad you're here."
That smile and those words instantly shattered the psychological defenses Yumiko had painstakingly built. She felt dazed, as if she wasn't the bodyguard sent by Boss Yukino to protect Kanzaki Saku, nor the undercover agent preparing to expose his true nature, but rather a truly important person needed by the "protectee" before her.
There are many reasons for loyalty, but they all boil down to making a person feel needed, regardless of whether the object of loyalty intentionally or unintentionally creates this feeling.
Miura Yumiko's loyalty to Yukino stemmed from her belief that Yukino could reach the top, and that she and the other members of the Service Club would be an indispensable part of this great achievement, ultimately sharing in its glory.
This feeling of being needed gave her a sense of satisfaction, which in turn bred loyalty.
And now, Miura Yumiko, who had never experienced love, was feeling a similar, yet entirely different, "sense of being needed" from Kanzaki Saku. This feeling was more intimate, more direct.
Inside the train car, the two stood side by side. Kanzaki Saku didn't try to get closer, just stood quietly, his gaze fixed on the rapidly passing streetscape outside the window.
But Yumiko could no longer maintain her previous calm. Her attention was completely focused on Kanzaki Saku, her mind uncontrollably replaying the scene from yesterday's train ride and the lingering sensation on her palm from when she had steadied him.
'LOYAL-TY!' she chanted silently in her heart, trying to suppress the turmoil within her using those two words.
But the object of her "loyalty" now seemed to be blurring. Was it loyalty to Yukinoshita Yukino, or to this seemingly frail "protectee" before her, who in reality possessed a strange charm?
Kanzaki Saku observed the subtle changes in Yumiko's expression out of the corner of his eye, from struggle to confusion.
He knew in his heart that the "taming" process was progressing steadily. He wasn't in a hurry; boiling a frog in lukewarm water was the most effective method.
The train arrived at the station, and the doors opened.
"We're here, Yumiko," Kanzaki Saku reminded her softly, then naturally extended his hand to her, as if requesting her assistance.
Yumiko looked at that fair, slender hand and hesitated for a moment. In the end, professional duty, or perhaps some deeper impulse, made her gently place her own hand on top of it.
"Yes, Kanzaki-san." She lowered her head, not daring to look at Kanzaki Saku's expression at that moment.
Kanzaki Saku looked at her strained attempt at composure, feeling pleased. He knew that this loyal guard was, step by step, from body to heart, getting used to his presence, accepting his influence, and would eventually become his captive.
And all of this was only a matter of time.
This wasn't some fantasy. One must understand that in this reversed world, Kanzaki Saku, being male, was himself one of the very few who stood at the pinnacle of the pyramid of privilege.
As a world reversed by Kanzaki Saku's superpower, its operational logic was built on a pile of bugs.
In the beginning, the number of men and women in this world was equal, but one day, the male birth rate plummeted. This further led to a sharp decline in newborns, and if things continued, humanity would face extinction.
At first, the government tried to stimulate birth rates by passing laws allowing men to have multiple partners, but with little effect.
Forced by the pressure of survival, the humans of this world developed an abnormally mature parthenogenesis technology. Even with only women, they could conceive offspring through technical means.
However, children born this way were like clones, with genetic information coming entirely from the mother, and thus could only be female.
This made the already scarce males even more special and precious. In society, for a woman to have a real boyfriend was a symbol of wealth and status; only the rich and powerful could afford it.
Delinquent girls like Miura Yumiko, or attention-seekers lost in their own worlds like Gotoh Hitori, were nothing more than the most unremarkable existences among the general populace in this world.
Even at an elite academy like Shuchiin, under normal circumstances, no male would take the initiative to talk to them.
And yet Kanzaki Saku, a rare male with top-tier looks, could treat them in such an "approachable" manner. This could no longer be simply described as the mercy of a "male saint."
He was practically an incubus among incubi!
In fact, if Kanzaki Saku didn't constantly apply a cognitive interference field based on his [Reversal] superpower, it would be impossible for him to ride the train normally like an ordinary person.
But even with the cognitive interference, there would still be female perverts harassing him.
Holding Kanzaki Saku's hand, they walked off the train together, only letting go naturally once both were standing firmly on the platform.
Although it was just holding hands, the flutter it gave Yumiko was even more intense than when Kanzaki Saku had helped her play her 'flight simulator game' on the train yesterday.
"From now on, I'll have to trouble you to continue protecting me, Yumiko." Kanzaki Saku turned his head to the side and smiled at her.
Yumiko nodded silently, following half a step behind him to his side, fulfilling her duty as a guard.
She kept replaying the feeling of his hand holding hers, and the two words he had deliberately emphasized in his speech: "protecting me."
Those words once represented her responsibility to Boss Yukino, but now they seemed to be veiled in an ambiguous atmosphere.
____
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