Although she has no idea that I'm aware of her identity… Well, my predecessor was one hell of a freak. He kept track of his favorite hero and knew far too much about her.
"S-Sorry about that. I got carried away," she quickly apologized, avoiding my gaze while walking to the opposite side and browsing a few dresses.
I glanced around, front and back, making sure no one was watching, then approached her—without activating my usual Quirk for this kind of thing. Trying to approach women every single time using that Quirk makes me look like some sort of loser. At least I should try my luck first.
"Hello, excuse me—" I said, and immediately she turned and looked at me.
"Are you talking to me?" she muttered, glancing around as if shocked that I had approached her.
"Yes, you…" I answered.
"Eh…" she muttered something under her breath.
At this point, my chest was already pounding hard, but I still didn't use that Quirk.
"Is there anything wrong, miss? You look troubled," I said, inching forward, and she jumped back in surprise.
"N-No—Nothing… I mean, I was wondering why you called me," she replied with a slight blush, rubbing the back of her head.
"Sorry, Miss. I bumped into you because you were so beautiful that I nearly lost my footing," I said, and she opened her mouth in shock.
We stared at each other blankly for a few moments.
Then it clicked. While in her hero costume, millions of men profess their love to her and shower her with all kinds of gifts. But reality hits harder. In her normal civilian life, she barely catches anyone's attention, so this might come as a shock to her. If that's the case… kikiki.
"C-Can I get your number? I would like to take you on a date," I said with a fake shy stutter, handing my phone to her.
"O-Okay," she muttered and began entering her number.
"What is your name, miss?" I added as I tried saving her contact.
"T-Takeyama."
After saving her number, I wasn't quite done yet. While I had satisfied my ego by approaching her without using the h-y-p-n0sis Quirk from the start, I was afraid she might ghost me after this meeting, so—
I activated my Quirk.
"I would like to take you on a date tonight, Takeyama—san," I said with a smile, phrasing my words carefully so I wouldn't overstep the current limitations of this Quirk.
"Haa~ Okay…" she accepted without arguing. Though I could see beads of sweat rolling down her forehead.
"By the way, what type of dress are you looking for? I kind of work here, you see," I revealed.
"Oh—but the clothes you are wearing—" she muttered, unable to believe her eyes.
"Haha, not that kind of working. My mom owns this place, so it's only right if I help out once in a while, right?" I said.
"I see…" she muttered, her face flushing. Instantly I noticed she began looking at me differently after I said that. No matter what, money is important.
Mount Lady is filthy rich, so a brokie asking her out would be kind of off-putting.
The next moment, I began showing her around the store. Of course, Asagi and Mitsue didn't notice because they were usually inside their office. We have a lot of workers around here, and I have plans to make the store even larger. I want to buy the building next to us and expand.
While the money All Might gave me isn't enough to do all that, I found some unconventional means of making money. With the hypnosis Quirk, I usually get inside information about crypto trades and the lotto. Some of the top executives are low-level no-no Quirk users, so I can easily use my powers on them.
As for crypto rug-pulling trades and flips, I plan to use this store to wash the money, avoid taxation, and keep eyes off me. Even though it looks like Mom and Mitsue own the business, I'm the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Later in the day, I messaged Mount Lady. She replied and even sent me selfies, one of her applying skincare on her face and body, and another of her wearing some of the clothes she bought. I reminded her about our date, and she agreed to meet me, even suggesting a nice five-star restaurant.