Chapter 293: Friends
Eight in the morning came and went.
A group of high school students who had hurried from Saitama were warmly welcomed.
"Shiori, long time no see!"
Minami rushed over to Shiori and hugged her.
"You're so early." Shiori smiled, pushed her away, and introduced a group of people. She was next to two roommates and some key members of the Guardians.
"There's a lot of work today. Could you help us distribute the work at the shop first?" After the introduction, Shiori asked, "We have to help Hinotori Publishing maintain order in the plaza, and we might not have enough staff."
Minami was surprised, "Order? Why do you need our help with order?"
She looked around. The plaza was filled with colorful balloons and ribbons. Although it had just opened, there were already many people. They had to queue for several minutes to get in.
"Hinotori Publishing is short-staffed. They contacted us and the Alliance of Older Sisters and asked for help to maintain order,"
Shiori replied. At first, Hinotori Publishing didn't need many people, but more than expected showed up. Shiori's sisters, who were originally meant to open the shop, also had to look for help, so they were short-staffed.
"Aren't you a group of women?" Minami asked, surprised again. She remembered that Shiori's group was mainly composed of female readers, "Why don't you ask the boys for help?"
"Girls are more convenient."
Yui, Shiori's roommate, explained, "Boys are more likely to get angry and cause trouble when maintaining order, while people are more tolerant of us girls when facing fights; that's what Mirai-sensei said."
Many people have a mistaken way of thinking: they believe that boys are more suitable for maintaining order than girls, and this is true from the point of view of physical ability. However, in such crowded celebrations, conflicts can arise everywhere, and the most effective way to appease people's anger is not boys, but girls.
Some offer to mediate in conflicts, which will have a better effect. Others rarely speak ill of women. Even in the worst case, Hinotori Publishing has employees and security guards to resolve it.
"I see..."
After hearing the explanation, Minami understood, nodded, and said, "Alright, we're willing to help, what do we have to do?"
"We have several shops, you just need to help and pay attention to the situation," Shiori said. Her sisters, in charge of cooking, didn't leave; Minami and the others only had to bring the dishes and clean up.
"And be careful with malicious people..."
Shiori recalled, "It's said that someone is trying to sabotage this celebration. They can easily set a trap for us when we open a shop to sell food. You must watch it closely and not let anyone find us out."
"Our food is very safe. The entire celebration has been inspected many times, and the ingredients are bought uniformly and with strict control. Just be careful not to let anyone drug or release cockroaches..."
Minami was stunned. Then she nodded.
"I know."
She sat down with a group of classmates under Shiori's leadership, put away their luggage, and began to divide the work.
The Guardians have several provisions, not just food, but Minami and the others only need to help with some meals, and there isn't much pressure, so a group can go out to play.
Playing is their purpose. So Minami divided the Saitama students into three groups: one group worked and the other two went out to play, and then they rotated every hour.
This way, they can have fun and enjoy free lunches and dinners.
The model of the Guardians is the same as theirs. Except for a few poor ones who are in charge of cooking, the rest also take turns playing and maintaining order.
The work went smoothly, despite the large number of people. But the situation that worried Shiori did not materialize. Haruka was the second group of people to work. Originally, he was responsible for serving tea and water to the guests, but he always made mistakes and was soon replaced by other girls.
"I can't believe it! Can't you smile more naturally? You look sad, it's obvious the guests are scared of you!"
Minami was furious with Haruka backstage, and Haruka shrank his head. He didn't dare to say a word.
"Well, that's it, you don't have to do those tasks, stay here and watch the ingredients in the back. Don't let anyone get close, okay?"
Minami placed Haruka in the back and asked him to pay attention to the situation of the ingredients in the shop.
Although it was a shop, it was just a simple temporary warehouse, and it's easy to fish in troubled waters. Haruka watched attentively for half an hour, and nothing happened. He began to relax a little.
"So many people..."
Unconsciously, the crowd in the plaza caught his attention. This dense crowd was here for Mirai-sensei. Thinking about this, Haruka felt a little confused.
"But definitely not everyone is here to see Takumi, but to have fun..."
he told himself, reluctant to admit that Takumi was so powerful. After all, this scene was too exaggerated. There were at least tens of thousands of people there!
Haruka had seen the long queues when Weekly Shōnen was released, but the difference between that queue and the current number of people was simply abysmal.
"The people here are here to have fun, just like me... Who would care about this celebration? In a big city like Osaka, tens of thousands of people must be common..."
Haruka thought bitterly. After all, it's a big city. Tens of thousands of people must be the same as the hundreds of people in Saitama. It seems like a lot, but in reality, it's not a big deal.
There are many stars in big cities. Takumi is just a mangaka, and he's definitely not as good as them. This kind of scene must be seen everywhere in Osaka.
"Yes, it must be so..."
"Hey, it's time to change shifts, you can go out to play!" Haruka was stunned, and Minami suddenly appeared by his side and said, "Have you observed well?"
Haruka was stunned. Change shifts? He was stunned for more than ten minutes...
"Yes, no one is coming!"
He nodded quickly. Nothing was happening in the shop, so he wouldn't admit he was stunned. Although he was stunned, no one should have approached him just now... right?
Haruka was a little unsure.
"Can I change shifts? Then... I have to go somewhere." He stood up in a panic, found his backpack by his side, and prepared to go out to play.
"Let me see the message Huizi just sent. Kuro-sensei seems to be on the right... on the right, over here..."
Haruka was walking while looking at his phone. On the way, he crossed paths with several fierce-looking people, and those people seemed to be heading towards the shop he was in.
"What's wrong?"
He felt a little strange, but Haruka didn't care too much. About to reach his destination, he received a phone call.
"What are you doing! Haruka, I misjudged you. You were just absent, right? One of our clients has been poisoned. Come back and explain it to me!"
Minami shouted over the phone.
Haruka was startled and his legs trembled. Poisoned? Impossible!... Shiori had said at the beginning that there was no problem with the ingredients and that it was impossible to be poisoned.
"But Minami is so angry, she shouldn't lie to me, right?"
Although he was a little scared, thinking of Minami, Haruka gritted his teeth, turned around, and went back. He didn't want Minami to misunderstand him.
However, upon returning, many people had gathered outside the shop. Haruka made his way through the crowd and immediately heard a fight coming from inside.
"I can guarantee our food is fine. If so many people ate it, why are others fine? Are you the only one in trouble?"
"Girl, what's wrong with you? Do you think we're lying? We felt uncomfortable after eating fried noodles here. There are also several people with diarrhea in the bathroom over there. If you don't believe me, go and ask!"
"It's terrible. I came because I heard it was Mirai-sensei's celebration. I didn't expect someone could open a shop. Doesn't Hinotori Publishing care about you? It's a disappointment!"
"All our ingredients are bought by Hinotori Publishing. It's impossible..."
"Hinotori Publishing! What? Isn't that even worse? Hinotori Publishing buys low-quality ingredients and then asks you to make finished products and sell them to us?"
The fight was very loud and gradually spread. Haruka became more and more scared. He heard the crowd around him stir.
"It's impossible. Did Hinotori Publishing dare to do this?"
"I just ate barbecue somewhere else. There won't be a problem, right?"
"It seems it's better not to eat..."
Hearing these conversations, Haruka's heart sank. He believed there was nothing wrong with Hinotori Publishing's ingredients, because many people ate in the morning, but no one else had accidents.
Only this small group felt unwell, so after looking around, it turned out that yes...
"Did someone poison the ingredients?" The person in charge of the ingredients was Haruka, which means that while he was stunned, someone secretly tampered with them.
"Gulp..."
Haruka swallowed. He listened to the fight, and his legs grew weaker and weaker. Those who complained were already planning to sue Hinotori Publishing and call the police. The situation quickly escalated, and there were more and more people around.
"Do you want to leave?"
Just as Haruka was thinking this, he saw the scene inside. He saw Minami standing outside the shop, alone, arguing with several adults. The remaining girls were hiding behind her and didn't dare to speak.
"...Minami is scared..."
Haruka noticed that Minami's body was also trembling. No matter how strong she was, she was really just an ordinary high school student. How could she fight against those adults?
"I'm so bad!"
Haruka suddenly felt ashamed. He made all the mistakes, but now a woman had to take the lead. Such a thing...
"Stop arguing!" Haruka felt an impulse invade him and couldn't help but run out. He shouted, "This is all my fault, not hers..."
"Alright, shut up!"
Suddenly, a female voice shouted, interrupting Haruka's words. Everyone in the plaza looked to the other side.
A long-haired adult woman appeared. She brought some men in security uniforms and said, "Stop arguing. You've never eaten fried noodles here, have you?"
Those who were arguing were stunned.
"What are you talking about, you fox!"
"You're from Hinotori Publishing, right? Do you want to evade responsibility?"
"We recovered the surveillance video. Since the celebration started until now, you haven't eaten here. Only that person came, but he didn't order fried noodles!"
The woman pointed at a man with a cold face and said, "Call the police if you want. Our ingredients have been inspected. All the food at this celebration will have no quality problems!"
"Video surveillance..."
The leader felt guilty. He took a step back and suddenly shouted, "Run!"
Those who were complaining immediately dispersed. The woman's expression turned cold and she shouted, "Someone is purposely ruining the celebration! Stop them!"
The people around them understood instantly. Damn it, this is a scam.
"What the hell! Someone is purposely looking for trouble!"
"Don't let them escape!"
The excited people quickly blocked the majority. But there were still some who ran out. One of the young men ran towards Haruka. He was holding a knife in his hand, which scared people and made them dodge.
Haruka also wanted to dodge, but the man approached quickly.
"No way..."
Haruka's face turned pale.
"Brother President!"
Suddenly, he heard a cry of surprise, and then. A figure passed by him, as if in a movie. The man grabbed him by the wrist, threw him to the ground with a shoulder throw, and snatched the knife.
"Oh!"
There were slaps, and Haruka was stunned.
"So powerful..."
He clearly saw the man's face; he was wearing glasses. He was very tall, with two mustaches, and seemed both gentle and disheveled, with a strange appearance, like a 30-year-old man.
"Why do you look so familiar to me?"
Haruka thought, and the man stepped over the young man who fell to the ground, approached him, and patted him on the shoulder.
"You wanted to help Minami a moment ago, right? I was very surprised, I looked at you with new eyes..."
Haruka was stunned, and the voice sounded familiar.
"Idiot, Minami is a good girl, you have to keep trying!"
the man repeated, then looked at the growing crowd, smiled bitterly, and said, "No. If I stay, they'll find me out. I'll go play with you next time. I'm leaving first, see you next time..."
He waved with a smile, turned around, and left with the two women.
"Brother President... what did he just say? Does he know martial arts? It's incredible!"
"Just a little trick. If you practice, you can too."
The three disappeared into the crowd, and Haruka stood there, looking at their backs for a long time.
Idiot... it seems there's only one person who calls him that!
"Hey, Haruka!"
The young man on the ground was quickly tied up. Minami ran towards him, nervous, "Are you okay?"
"Nothing..." Haruka showed a stuttering expression, "Minami, I... I think I saw Takumi a moment ago..."
"Huh?"
Minami was stunned and her eyes widened, "Takumi? Impossible!"
"Yes, it's Takumi, it must be Takumi!" Haruka suddenly got excited, "He was so powerful a moment ago, and he was the same as before, he didn't look down on me at all..."
At that moment, Haruka froze.
"Look down?"
Minami looked at him, her face grim and a bitter smile, "So that's it."
She understood that he was afraid to see Takumi, not out of inferiority, but for fear that the other party would look down on him.
They were friends at first, but precisely for that reason, Haruka sought equality. If Takumi looked down on him, it would be a heavy blow. So he didn't want to see him or be looked down upon by him.
Haruka had a cousin who grew up with him. When he was in third grade, his cousin's family moved to Suhua and became very rich. Once, Haruka went to his house as a guest, and his cousin told him he would take him to play with his friends.
At that moment, Haruka followed him naively, but upon meeting his friends, his cousin introduced him like this: "This is my cousin from the countryside! His family is very poor. Everyone should take care of him!"
Haruka couldn't forget the laughter of a group of boys and girls at that moment. Is his family poor? Haruka never felt that way, but the condescending attitude of his cousin and his friends has left a deep mark on him, and he doesn't want to see him again.
But today, he has realized he is a fool.
"That guy is still the same, how stupid..."
Takumi is still the same, just like when he suddenly came in second in the high school entrance exam, he spoke to him in the same tone.
Now he has become more powerful, but the greeting from a moment ago is still the same. Takumi still considers Haruka a friend, will run to save him, and his last smile is very elegant, unlike his cousin's.
"He's so powerful... Takumi..."
Haruka felt that he could no longer envy Takumi.
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