Hearing the whispers spreading through the crowd, Ren Kuroda felt his mind go blank.If he let this misunderstanding snowball any further, he would officially become the school's resident scumbag.
Sure, there were plenty of ways within the school to earn reputation, and he could even profit from certain situations when necessary.But if Hinano was the cause of a rumor like this, he wouldn't just lose reputation—he'd be branded a heartless playboy for life.
"Miss Kujo, please explain yourself clearly. I didn't do anything inappropriate to you last night. If anything, I'm the one who helped you.And we agreed, very clearly, that once the case was over, we wouldn't have anything to do with each other."
Ren shot a dark glare at the uniform-clad beauty in front of him. He couldn't tell if she was doing this on purpose or if it was just her natural airheadedness. Then again, maybe that ridiculous pink hair really did hide something sinister inside.
"Well, that's true… but we really need your help this time. We don't have any other options."Hinano spoke from behind him as he tried to keep pushing his bicycle forward."And after everything that happened yesterday, we're friends now, right?"
Ren ignored her completely, continuing to push the bike as if she weren't even there.
The misunderstanding from last night had already been settled, and Ren had zero intention of involving himself with Hinano or her group again.
Sure, Hinano was a very attractive girl with a surprisingly easygoing personality, but Ren's instincts screamed that being friends with her meant only one thing:
Trouble. Lots of trouble.
Seeing Ren ignore her and keep walking, Hinano began to panic. Her mission wasn't complete yet.If she let Ren disappear into the school building now, she'd be stuck waiting by the gate another entire day.
And the gatekeeper teacher from yesterday—no matter how much she begged—refused to let any more non-students in after the stunt she pulled last time. He'd already received plenty of complaints because of her.
So, with her back against the wall, Hinano threw caution aside.
As Ren kept walking, she grabbed him from behind and wrapped both arms around him, clinging to him so tightly he couldn't move another step.
Every girl in the vicinity glared daggers at her—jealous of her youthful face paired with… well, that figure.
"Miss Kujo," Ren hissed through gritted teeth, "you're really putting me in a difficult position here. This is not what we agreed on.We promised you wouldn't ruin my peaceful school life. But this—this is definitely going to land me on today's lunchtime gossip headlines!"
Unable to endure the stares any longer, Ren pulled Hinano aside, expression sour and fed-up.
Yuzaburō's plan… Ren had to admit, it was annoyingly effective.At this point, Ren didn't feel like punching Hinano.He wanted to punch Yuzaburō.
Hinano showing up like this was clearly Yuzaburō's idea.
It was obvious: she must have run into another supernatural case—one far beyond what ordinary humans could handle. Which was precisely why they were zeroing in on Ren again.
And as a man, Yuzaburō knew exactly how men thought.If he'd sent another male detective to ask for Ren's help, Ren would've ignored them—or straight-up knocked them out.
But Kujo Hinano?With her childlike face, bright eyes, and a body that absolutely did not match the innocence she projected, she triggered a protective instinct in most men.
And even relationship-wise, having spent an entire night working together, Hinano had a connection with Ren that the others didn't.
Before she joined the team, Yuzaburō had been constantly trying to get her kicked out of the detective division. The job was dangerous—far too dangerous for a young girl like her.
But Hinano's family was wealthy and influential.Trying to remove her was a losing battle, so he had no choice but to keep her as an apprentice.
Now, Kujo Hinano had become their team's trump card.Her performance last night had impressed everyone, even Yuzaburō. On top of that, she was the only one who could approach Ren without being rejected or hospitalized.
And thanks to her timely report, Hinano had officially graduated from "rookie trainee" to full-fledged officer.In fact, everyone on her team—including Yuzaburō—had been promoted because of her commendation.
Hinano was ecstatic.Her wealthy parents hated the idea of their daughter doing such a dangerous job, but Hinano's stubborn sense of justice drove her to help people no matter what.Last night, she had finally been recognized for her courage.
So of course she was thrilled.
"Well, can you blame me? You didn't even let me finish talking."Hinano stuck out her tongue apologetically, realizing she might have gone too far.
"What could you possibly want from me besides something troublesome? Probably another mess like last night."
Ren cut her off before she could explain, irritation dripping from his voice.
Hinano blinked in shock.How did he guess that so easily?Did Onmyoji have some kind of ability to foresee the future?
Seeing Hinano's stunned expression only confirmed Ren's suspicion that Yuzaburō had sent her.This girl genuinely wasn't good at hiding anything.
And Ren had to admit—while he would never fall for her "cute girl bait," he also couldn't bring himself to physically shove her away or yell at her.
Yuzaburō understood men a little too well.
"So," Ren sighed, "tell me what happened this time. I'm not saying I can help, but depending on the situation, I might lend you a hand."
He crossed his arms, adding sternly:
"And you should've learned from last night that normal weapons don't work on those things.So if I do help you again, don't interfere like you did before.Also—you need to promise me this is the last time. If you break your word again, don't bother sending Hinano next time. I'll just go beat up your captain."
Hinano straightened, face serious—and then, relieved, nodded and happily began explaining the case to Ren.
Ren listened quietly at first.But as her explanation continued, his expression grew darker and darker.
Just as Hinano had said, the case was indeed complicated.On the surface, it couldn't be explained by modern science at all.
No wonder Yuzaburō had risked Ren's wrath to send her.