'Found you.'
When I looked to my right side, I saw a purple-haired beauty in white, looking deceptively innocent, standing in the long line.
Indeed, she was none other than the heroine, Yuzuki Sato.
Since I had no intention of speaking to her for the time being, I just gave her a sweeping look and kept moving. But not interacting didn't mean I wasn't going to set a trap.
I was here to put on a show and dangle the bait. Or else how could I lure this manipulative bitch later?
In the novel's storyline, she was the one who approached me first, attracted by my family's wealth and influence.
She saw me as a resource to be leeched and a golden goose she could scam for her own advancement without paying a single cent.
But when she realized my potential was low and that my mother would never let her precious son be manipulated, she cut her losses and drained me of as much money as she could before publicly dumbing me by blaming me for bullshit I never did.
The rest was history.
But that was a story that never happened, and this was reality, where my potential was so high that if I claimed to be the second-best of all time, even the ghosts of those legendary figures from the past wouldn't dare to compete for the top spot.
This time, I was infinitely more tempting to her.
Still, I wanted to add a little extra spice, to make her even more desperate to sink her claws into me later.
'Heheh.'
Since the plan was already set in my mind, I executed it without a second's hesitation.
Without looking at her as I passed the queue with my mother and our entourage of bodyguards, I subtly shifted my path closer to her, as if I were just aimlessly wandering.
The move earned me another wave of envious glares from the crowd, but more importantly, it caught Yuzuki's attention.
Seeing our group waltz past the line, personally escorted by the Branch Head, Roman, jealousy flashed in her eyes. She quickly whispered something to her friend, most likely telling her to hold her spot, and then made a run for me.
Before she could approach me, though—
"Miss. Please stay in line and keep some distance. Don't approach the VIPs."
—A staff member stepped in and blocked her path before she could get close.
Hearing those words back on Earth, especially words like 'don't approach VIPs' in a public building, some self-righteous people might have started shouting about equality and fairness.
But in this world, where strength was the only law and fists settled most arguments, nobody was that stupid. Everyone knew to mind their own business and not to poke the bear.
Of course, brain-dead protagonists and their equally entitled heroines, like Yuzuki Sato, were exceptions.
"What VIPs? Are you discriminating against us common people? I just wanted to meet that handsome guy because I felt like I had seen him somewhere on the internet and wanted an autograph, but are you stopping me for no reason?"
She made sure to say "handsome guy" loudly enough for me to hear.
If it had been someone else, he might have been really fooled by her, but to me, who knew about her, this little act was so obvious that it made me want to slap this bitch.
Obviously, she was trying to use sweet talk and a hint of seduction to trick me into getting her past the line too.
It was her signature move, the same scam she'd been running her whole life to live comfortably off other people's money.
Moreover, her father was a cop, and her usual targets were non-awakened boys from humble backgrounds who were too scared of retaliation or too ashamed of being tricked to ever report her, which meant she was never the one facing charges.
As for the few who tried to fight back? They ended up behind bars for crimes they never committed.
Like father, like daughter.
Such an upbringing only fed her massive ego and gave her the confidence to pull stunts like this in broad daylight.
Of course, having seen the world in my long life, there were a few things I hadn't done, seen, or experienced.
Not to mention, being a villain myself, I had no opinion on other people's evil deeds.
'Humans are inherently greedy. If there are no consequences, they'll do whatever benefits them, regardless of who gets hurt.'
But that philosophy only applied when the target wasn't me, because I was a petty bastard, and I retaliated even for malicious thoughts with real, devastating actions.
Still, I had no intention of doing anything personally at the moment. So I completely ignored her, not even granting her a glance.
I just gave a subtle nod to my bodyguards and continued, focusing on chatting with my mother, who had also noticed the scene and was looking at me with a proud smile, pleased that I was not giving any mind to such petty distractions.
Contrary to my mother's pride, though, Yuzuki's face darkened as she saw me completely ignore the commotion. She clenched her fist in anger.
"You bastard—"
She started to shout, but before the words could fully leave her mouth, the staff member, who was already prepared to prevent any annoyance to the VIPs, released his mana. And the invisible pressure slammed down on Yuzuki, forcing her to her knees.
"This is not your home for you to use such foul language and do what you like. Also, ignoring the warning, you still tried to approach the VIPs forcefully. We suspect you have ulterior intentions and have to come with us for investigation."
"Ugh!"
Yuzuki groaned in pain, and when she heard the staff's words, her face paled in fright, which was then replaced by even more anger, turning her eyes bloodshot.
Naturally, I still pretended not to see anything and walked inside, grinning maliciously on the inside.
I knew her father was a cop, and she wouldn't face any real charges or punishment.
But once her anger died down, she would feel the intense humiliation much more clearly and would come later on her own to take revenge on me, especially once she found out we were in the same academy.
And that was exactly what I wanted.
I wanted her to come to me, driven by her own ego and spite. That way, she would be blissfully unaware of the traps I had laid for her, and she would walk right into them, all by herself.
'Just you wait, Yuzuki, I will make sure to trample on you so thoroughly that you'll be begging for my cock. Hehehe.'
Leaving the envious crowd behind with my mother and the Branch Head Roman, while laughing like a demon in my head, I entered the registration hall, leaving others to wait outside.
The hall was breathtakingly beautiful, like something straight out of a fairy tale.
A dome-like ceiling decorated with glowing runes, walls made of some ancient stone, and the polished marble floor reflecting the ethereal glow from above all together created an otherworldly atmosphere.
It was just one of many halls where the awakening process was taking place.
As soon as we entered, the Branch Head, Roman, walked straight to the red-haired staff member on duty. He whispered something in his ear and, according to my mother's instructions, sent the man out.
When only the three of us remained, he called out.
"Ren, come here and put your hand on this awakening crystal. This will check your Mana Circuit potential and approximate awakening time."
"Alright."
In front of me was a raised altar decorated with carvings of whirling spells and concentric magic circles with a glowing crystal floating above it, held there by an invisible force.
The crystal had a radiant shade of purple.
Following Roman's directions, I extended my hand and touched the cold surface of the crystal.
Within a second of my touch...
Swoosh!
A shockwave of pure mana erupted from the crystal and rushed through my body, making me feel like I was standing on a high-powered vibrator.
[Caution! Unknown mana detected!]
[Does the user want to try expelling the unknown mana with the remaining Lust Points?]
'No, allow it in. And also hide my true potential to that of someone awakened one week before turning 18.'
[Confirmation received]
Once the system went silent and allowed the entry of foreign mana that circulated inside my body, beads of cold sweat formed on my forehead.
Fortunately, the process was over within a few seconds, and I took a deep breath.
Buzzz!
But at that moment, as soon as the process was completed, the purple crystal buzzed and lit up with a light so bright it almost blinded me.