The train sped beneath a web of crisscrossing power lines. Half an hour later, Watanabe Tetsu stepped off at Ochanomizu Station.
Following the navigation app, he found the alley where the "molestation incident" was supposed to take place. He examined it carefully and confirmed it was a typical dead-end.
So his only options were to escort the girl away beforehand… or resolve things by force.
There was still an hour until the incident. Watanabe Tetsu didn't even know what the girl looked like, so naturally, he wasn't going to wander around searching aimlessly.
Conveniently, a coffee shop sat right across from the alley. He pushed the door open; inside, an old-school rock track was playing.
He ordered a coffee and sat at the long counter by the window.
It was a good spot. He couldn't see inside the alley, but he could see anyone who entered it.
To stay alert, he deliberately ordered his coffee unsweetened, which also helped him sip it slowly.
Watanabe Tetsu took out his phone and downloaded a radio app—surprisingly popular in Japan. He searched for an English broadcast and tapped into the most popular channel.
The host was a girl with a lovely voice and a laugh that sounded oddly like a goose honking. She switched between Japanese and English as she talked casually about random bits of daily life.
Her topics floated everywhere without restraint.One moment she was telling listeners to stock up on discounted meat at the supermarket,the next she was chatting about who she might watch the upcoming solar eclipse with.
Watanabe Tetsu listened attentively, studying all the while.
Watching the Tokyo night outside, full of people enjoying themselves, he smiled faintly.
"Even the time I spend drinking coffee, I'm working hard… I'll probably be more impressive than Lu Xun someday."
With that self-applied "mental buff," he studied with even more enthusiasm.
Every time he learned a new word or understood a phrase better, a sense of pride and satisfaction bloomed inside him.
A boring study life needed this kind of "mental magic" to stay bearable. Whether it was his current hard work or Tamamo Naomi achieving double A's, both proved the same point.
So lies were necessary—Kiyono Rin was wrong.
Thinking of Kiyono Rin, Watanabe Tetsu still couldn't understand her.
One moment she completely ignored him,another moment she mocked him on purpose,and then she'd suddenly say things that sounded suspiciously like flirtatious banter between a couple.
He took a bitter sip of coffee and focused on the broadcast, eyes fixed on the alley entrance.
At nine o'clock, his nerves tightened. He couldn't even process what the radio host was saying anymore.
He was forced to order another coffee—this time, a straight, brutally bitter espresso. He sipped it slowly; the sheer sharpness of it helped ease his nerves.
At 9:11 p.m., a girl in a white dress hurried into the alley.
Watanabe Tetsu downed the rest of the espresso, rose to his feet, and slid both hands into his pockets.
Good thing tomorrow is Saturday. With all this caffeine, I'd never sleep otherwise.
"Thanks for coming!" the barista called out, but the voice felt distant and muffled.
His hands tightened around the tactical flashlight and pepper spray. He felt the weight of the alloy extendable baton tucked behind his back as he strode toward the alley.
"Hey, are you okay?"
His voice made the girl flinch for a moment, but she quickly relaxed.
"You. Come here," she ordered.
Watanabe Tetsu blinked.Shouldn't girls who were "about to be harassed" be soft and timid?
Lu You was right—paper knowledge is shallow; real understanding comes from doing. I've learned something new today.
He used idle thoughts to steady his nerves, keeping his full attention on the alley entrance.
Three adult men would arrive soon.
He needed to get the girl to a crowded place immediately.
"Where's your home? I'll take you—"
Before he finished, the girl grabbed his collar, yanked him toward her, shoved him against the wall, and pressed her lips to his.
Drugged?
His mind stayed perfectly clear. Just because he had no experience didn't mean he turned into a lust-crazed idiot at a single touch.
In the weak light bleeding into the alley, he got a clear look at her.
Shoulder-length straight black hair. Beautiful eyes brimming with raw fury.Her slightly unfocused gaze made it obvious—her anger wasn't directed at him.
Because their mouths were pressed together, he couldn't see her nose or lips clearly.
But one thing was obvious: she was as beautiful as Kiyono Rin.
That said, Watanabe Tetsu felt no interest in a girl who behaved this wildly.And more importantly, this was absolutely not the time for that.
Without using his hands, he shifted his body to push her away.
"Are you drunk? I'll take you to a hospi—mmph."
She kissed him again.
Watanabe Tetsu let go of the pepper spray and placed his fingers on the stun gun instead.He was ready to subdue her and haul her out.
Compared to the three adult men who were coming, the girl was much easier to handle.
Besides, he'd had enough. Her lips had lost all softness, and now that his own body temperature had stabilized, disgust crept up instead.
Who knew what kind of job she had, or what her mouth had been doing moments before?
However—right as he prepared to act—footsteps echoed at the alley entrance.
At the same time, the girl pressed even closer, clinging to him with an intimacy that would shame an actual passionate couple.
Watanabe Tetsu let her kiss him and pretended to be absorbed in it, but he switched the stun gun back to the pepper spray.
Once the three thugs entered, he would blind them with a long-range spray, shine the flashlight to disorient them, then drag the girl out and run.
There was a train from Ochanomizu to Ikebukuro at 9:15. If they sprinted, they could make it.
He believed his plan was flawless.
But tonight was destined to stray far beyond his expectations.
The three adult men who appeared at the alley entrance weren't flashy delinquents.Though dressed normally, their cold, hardened expressions and solid physiques made them look more like professional bodyguards or hired muscle.
This wasn't a harassment incident?!
Watanabe Tetsu snapped to full awareness.
The task never explicitly said it was molestation—he had jumped to that conclusion!
This was highly likely to be a kidnapping.A real danger to someone's life.
What do I do? What do I do?!
His weapons suddenly felt useless. Professional bodyguards wouldn't be stopped by pepper spray and a baton.
He forced himself to stay calm. His own heartbeat sounded painfully loud.
The three men didn't seem to know the girl's exact location. They were only searching the alley.
They glanced at the pair locked in a heated kiss—
—then immediately turned around and left.
What?
Watanabe Tetsu's mind blanked.His hands—clutching the pepper spray and flashlight—shook from numb tension.
"Mm—!"
Just as confusion overtook him, the girl suddenly shoved him away.
His weak physical strength after hours of mental stress made him fall backward onto the ground.
He stared at her, dazed.
She was furiously scrubbing her lips with her sleeve—hard enough to scrape the skin off. Her lips split quickly, streaked with blood.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" she muttered, still furiously wiping her bleeding mouth.
So she wasn't a loose woman after all. In that case, he supposed he hadn't taken advantage of her either.
Watanabe Tetsu prepared to stand up and get her out—
"Miss!"
A voice shouted from outside the alley.
At the same time, the game interface flickered across his vision.
[You have a new message][Rescue Unknown Girl — Mission Complete][Reward Distributed]
The mission was… that easy?