Megumi posed one final question in her characteristically calm, flat tone.
"Aren't you afraid that Ryunosuke-kun and I might just elope out there and never come back?"
"I have quite a bit of confidence in my own charms." At least, the charms specifically calibrated to reel Ryunosuke back in.
However, Ai answered with total nonchalance.
"Go ahead and try. I can guarantee you won't succeed."
Megumi tilted her head cutely. "Why?"
Ai held up a single finger. "The reason is simple."
"He has over a dozen women in this school alone. Do you really think he'd abandon an entire forest just for one tree like you?"
"You won't be able to run away with him."
"That man isn't as simple as you imagine. He's incredibly flirtatious."
Megumi went silent. She realized the truth in those words; she couldn't possibly spirit Ryunosuke away for her exclusive monopoly. She puffed out her cheeks and turned her face away, clearly dissatisfied.
Ai patted Megumi's shoulder firmly to reassure her.
"There, there, don't be discouraged. Look at it from a different perspective: by leaving now, don't you get to monopolize him anyway?"
"At least for this coming month... Ah, no, it should be about half a month left, since Ryunosuke has already been out for two weeks."
"Until he finishes that Duel Monsters tournament, his time belongs to you."
Megumi's eyes sparkled. She immediately began walking away with a sense of urgency, completely ignoring Ai who was still standing right there.
Ai put her hands on her hips with a "dead fish" stare, but she said nothing. She only offered one reminder before Megumi disappeared.
"If anything happens to him, remember to tell me."
This was what Ai actually cared about; otherwise, she wouldn't have dispatched Megumi in the first place.
Megumi's footsteps halted, and she glanced back at Ai.
"How am I supposed to contact you from the outside world?"
Ai made a decision on the spot.
"Give me your phone number. I'll spend 100,000 points every day at the school's phone booth to call you and check on the situation and information."
"There's only half a month left. Even if I call every day, I'll only spend 1.5 million points."
Megumi nodded slowly in understanding. After exchanging numbers with Ai, she stepped out.
Until the moment she left the school grounds, not a single person noticed her. Even within the school, no one realized a student had vanished. The guards at the main gate were as good as blind.
Megumi walked right past them with a blank expression, and the guards truly didn't see her at all. As for why she still had her phone and hadn't surrendered it to the school authorities—it was simply because the school had forgotten to confiscate it.
With Megumi's presence being so incredibly thin, it was difficult for anyone to remember her, let alone remember to seize her devices.
And so, Megumi left the school without having to pay the 20 million point ransom, because nobody even knew she was gone. Yes, that is just how things are for her...
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
The Outside World.
Currently, Ryunosuke had officially joined Chisato's crew and was accepting missions from the Lycoris organization. They were currently in the middle of a live operation.
A dark night with high winds—the perfect time for... well, the perfect time for a secret agent mission.
Ryunosuke and Shino were perched in a hidden position 1 kilometer away from the target. They had set up a sniper rifle with an 8x magnification scope, ready to fire at a moment's notice. Meanwhile, Chisato was approaching the target alone.
Ryunosuke and Shino's job was to provide overwatch or diversionary fire.
Chisato entered the large building and greeted a group of terrorists cheerfully.
"O-ha-yo! Have you guys had dinner yet?"
The terrorists immediately raised their weapons, aiming at the girl who had appeared out of nowhere. Chisato continued humming a little tune, stepping lightly.
The terrorists opened fire. A deluge of bullets rained down on her like a flood. She simply tilted her head slightly and managed to dodge every single one.
The bullets seemed to target only the empty space around her; not a single strand of her hair was grazed. She calmly swapped to non-lethal rounds, charged through the storm of fire, and returned shots with ease.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A firefight ensued, and the result was the entire gang of robbers collapsing, while Chisato remained completely unharmed. She twirled the pistol on her finger and flashed a "V" sign toward her two teammates providing cover from afar.
Ryunosuke and Shino could only offer bitter smiles; they hadn't actually helped at all. The Lycoris team this time was there to rescue a hostage—a small child.
Chisato pulled out a small knife, intending to cut the ropes of the child sitting in the chair. However, behind her, a robber who had been faking unconsciousness began aiming a pistol at her back.
The child saw it clearly and struggled with all his might to warn her. Unfortunately, his mouth was gagged so he couldn't speak, but the noise he made was significant. Chisato noticed, but she wasn't worried. She still had two teammates...
Just as the robber was about to pull the trigger, Shino—from a distance of 1,300 meters—fired first. The bullet struck the robber's pistol with pinpoint accuracy.
Due to the recoil and impact, the robber's palm stung painfully, and he fell to his knees, groaning. Without even turning around, Chisato fired several shots behind her, knocking the robber out for real this time. Afterward, she finished untying the child.
Since she used non-lethal rubber bullets, they wouldn't kill anyone. At most, they'd just keep the robber asleep for a long time.
The child's eyes sparkled with pure admiration. Even as he was led away by his parents, his gaze seemed glued to the beautiful "big sister."
Chisato waved goodbye and collected the mission fee from the clients—the child's parents.
Because they lacked faith in the efficiency of the Japanese police, they were willing to pay a premium to hire private agents for the job. Chisato was the most famous in the industry; even if her prices were a bit high, for powerful people like them, money was no object as long as their child was safe.
Chisato accepted the fee with a wide grin: a total of 30 million Yen. It was split perfectly three ways, with each person receiving 10 million.
On the other side, Shino saw that the mission was complete and began packing up. She disassembled her rifle and tucked it into a tennis racket bag she had prepared for cover.
Ryunosuke looked up at the sky and muttered.
"This money is too easy to earn. I didn't even do anything~"
Chisato was on point, Shino was on overwatch, and he was just a spectator on the sidelines! This was mainly because the specific roles for this mission had been pre-arranged by the two of them. Ryunosuke, being the new recruit, hadn't been assigned a task, so it was only natural he had nothing to do.
Shino stopped in her tracks and tossed her heavy tennis bag—stuffed with weaponry—to the idle Ryunosuke.
"Since you're so relaxed, help me carry this."
Ryunosuke certainly didn't mind; after all, he had just made 10 million Yen for doing nothing. He followed cheerfully behind Shino as they made their way down from the rooftop.
Who would have thought that while Ryunosuke was busy earning "easy money" as an agent, a certain "invisible" girl had already arrived in the city to find him?