32: Ichika Nakano

The Nakano sisters were quite famous at school for two reasons. The first reason was obviously that they were quintuplets. They were five twin girls! When they first transferred into the class, it caused a huge commotion and attracted students from other classes who came to see them.

The second reason was less interesting, but it was that all five of them were stupid. They were so bad at studying that they always got terrible marks on their exams.

Ichika was the eldest of her sisters, though being the oldest among quintuplets was really just a matter of a few seconds.

"It's just your imagination." Ichika handed him the cup of iced coffee and said with a grin, "Don't hang on to stupid details."

"Oh." Natsuo took the plastic cup from her and took a sip through the straw. "Your face is quite thick. It's because you don't care about the 'stupid' details that you nearly ruined my reputation."

Ever since he learned that using things made of plastic could leave plastic particles in your body and brain forever, the taste of drinks had become a little less delicious.

"It was my fault. I won't do it again, tehe~!" A red blush appeared on the pink-haired girl's face as she tilted her head, struck a cute pose with both hands, and gave him a playful wink.

The way she had met Natsuo for the first time was actually quite embarrassing. It had happened over the weekend when she was returning home after going out to have some fun on her own. On the way back, she took the subway, and as everyone knew, incidents of sexual harassment and groping were unfortunately common on Japanese trains and subways.

At the time, she suddenly sensed someone touching her. When she turned around, she saw a handsome young man standing next to her while looking at his smartphone. It was Natsuo.

Ichika immediately assumed that he was the one who had tried to grope her. Driven by self-righteousness and the certainty that she was doing the right thing, she grabbed his hand and publicly 'exposed' him!

Needless to say, even when Natsuo tried to deny it, no one believed him. People immediately started accusing him, especially the women, who wanted to rip him to shreds and destroy his life. Some even shouted that he should be hanged in public!

Fortunately, no one actually tried to touch him. They simply encircled him and kept him trapped until the train stopped at the next station. The staff then came out and took both of them to the station office.

Natsuo only managed to prove his innocence because there were cameras inside the train, and the footage showed that he hadn't touched Ichika at all. The real culprit was a middle-aged man wearing a grey suit, who had been the one touching her and immediately left after committing the deed.

So, the matter ended with Ichika receiving a warning and apologizing profusely to Natsuo. But how could he let the matter slide with a simple apology? If the cameras hadn't proven his innocence, this incident could have ruined his life and reputation.

He was a relatively successful author, and if the accusation had gotten out, someone could have eventually discovered his pen name and exposed him. He might never have been able to recover from such an incident and could have been forced to live with that 'stain' for the rest of his life.

Finishing school or finding a job would have been difficult; his family might have distanced themselves from him, and he could have ended up completely alone. Perhaps the only viable option left to him would have been to leave the country.

This incident had nearly ruined his life. Knowing what kind of petty person Natsuo was, it was no surprise that he had even started thinking about ruining Ichika's life in return by disfiguring that pretty face of hers.

Fortunately for Ichika, she was a good person, and more importantly, her father was rich. As you and I know, money can solve 99% of problems. When her father decided to compensate Natsuo for what had happened, Natsuo finally decided to refrain from taking revenge.

He might be petty, but he was also a rational person. Between the benefits of compensation and the momentary gratification of revenge, he obviously chose the former.

Since then, after Ichika learned that the two of them went to the same school and were even in the same grade, she started occasionally visiting his class during breaks. Lately, he had been running into her whenever he left school, usually with a cup of iced coffee in her hand.

"You are not thinking about something rude, right?" Ichika suddenly asked with a cute pout.

"Is disfiguring you considered rude?" Natsuo glanced at her and asked with an innocent look.

"That's worse! You can't do that; you'll become a criminal!" Ichika covered her face with both hands and stared at him in shock.

Natsuo completely ignored her attempt to look cute and asked curiously, "Anyways, shouldn't quintuplets always stick together? Why are you here?"

"That's a rude way to think of us. We are not copies remotely controlled by Bluetooth by someone far away." Ichika seemed offended and lightly punched him on the shoulder. As she did, she heard a metallic crackling sound coming from his backpack. Curious, she glanced at it and asked, "What are you carrying in your backpack?"

"Gold. I skipped school to rob a bank." Natsuo pulled down the zipper and showed her the inside, wearing a malevolent grin. "What, are you afraid?"

Ichika's mouth opened into a big 'O' shape, her eyes widening as she stared at Natsuo in complete shock. "You actually robbed a bank?!"

She actually believed him. She glanced around nervously, as if afraid someone else might have seen the gold inside his backpack.

"Shh! Do you want the police to take us out on a date?" Natsuo quickly hushed her. "I'll tell you beforehand, if I go to jail, I'm taking you with me."

"Emm!" Ichika immediately covered her mouth with both hands and nodded at him with a fearful expression, but her eyes were sparkling with excitement. When the two of them walked through a relatively less populated path, she finally couldn't contain herself and asked, "How did you do it? Which bank did you rob? Did you do it alone, or did you have friends? Was it hard? Did your friends escape?"

"..." Natsuo stared at her speechlessly. Did this girl actually believe his lie so easily? But when he thought about it, it seemed that robbing a bank was the only thing that could justify the large amount of gold he was carrying.

"I killed my teammates after escaping. Now all the gold belongs to me alone! Hehehe... hahahaha... zahahahaha!" He rubbed his hands together and whispered in a low voice before bursting into laughter, throwing his head back like a cliché villain from an anime.

"You killed them? Wait... That doesn't seem right. You are lying!!" Ichika took a step back from him and stared at him in astonishment. She quickly realized what was happening, pointed at him, and shouted, "You lied!"

"Of course. Did you just realize it? You have to be sharper. People like you will surely suffer in society." Natsuo shook his head with a disappointed look on his face and began preaching in an old, mature tone, as if he were an elderly man in his late sixties.

"A major crime like bank robbery would certainly be broadcast and reported in the media."

"Anyways."

"I have a favor to ask," Natsuo quickly changed the subject.

"Eh? What is it?" Ichika couldn't keep up with his sudden change of topic and looked confused.

"I am looking for a place to rent or buy. Do you have any idea?" he asked.

"You want to move out?" Ichika asked in surprise. When she saw him nod, she held her chin and thought for a moment. "I don't personally know of any places, but I can ask Father."

"Thank you," Natsuo replied.

"If you are really grateful, you'll let me come over to your new place to play!" Ichika said with a grin.

...

"I am back!"

When Natsuo returned home, he shouted as he changed his shoes, then quickly ran to his room. He threw his backpack into the closet and collapsed onto his bed, letting out a long sigh.

Time in his world hadn't moved a single second, but he had been away for months. It felt as if he had spent a very long time away from home, and he had already gotten used to having the three women in his life, arguing with Kana, being teased by Chelsea, and being spoiled rotten by Hilda.

He missed his mommy Hilda's lap pillow.

"This is not the time to feel emotional." Natsuo took out his phone and opened the Chat Group. He went to the Shop and began scrolling through the available items. He filtered out everything he couldn't afford and started looking through what he could actually buy. The first thing he decided was worth buying was 'Inventory'.

It was highly practical and surprisingly cheap.

Only 3,000 points.

Carrying a bag containing 25 kg of gold on his back had been troublesome and annoying. Inventory was extremely convenient, and it would no longer be so limiting when he wanted to bring something from another world back to his own.

[Purchase confirmed!]

With a tap of his finger, he successfully purchased Inventory.

...

If you'd like to support me and read chapters in advance, feel free to check out my :

https://.com/ImmortalCockroach

Discord link for illustrations: .gg/WtF6XTgefR