Alistair watched Kasumi Haruno with a playful smile. Judging by her expression, she must have remembered who he was.
"Um, Subaru..."
"Just call me Alistair."
Kasumi Haruno had just started speaking when Alistair interrupted her. She was silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Alistair-kun, um, Morita-san is your girlfriend, right?"
"Ah... you could say that. Though our relationship is a little strange. Why? Is there a problem?" Alistair's tone was calm and natural. He didn't see an issue; she was probably just worried about the girlfriend situation.
"Then, Alistair-kun, what does that make me...?" Kasumi Haruno sounded a little disappointed.
"Eek!"
Alistair suddenly moved closer until their foreheads touched. Instinctively, she looked into Alistair's eyes. Their gazes locked, and a purple light bloomed deep within Alistair's eyes. Simultaneously, the hidden heart pattern in Kasumi Haruno's eyes flashed.
"A girlfriend is a girlfriend, but who said you can only have one? Right?" Alistair curled the corner of his mouth, saying.
"Mmh, I guess that's true. Marriage is the only thing that's limited to one person... So, am I Alistair's girlfriend too?" Kasumi Haruno felt confused, yet the logic seemed plausible, so she asked.
"Of course. Now, any other questions?" Alistair asked with a beaming smile.
"No." Kasumi Haruno still felt something was off, but she couldn't pinpoint what, so she simply went along with Alistair's words.
"Let's go then."
With that, Alistair took her hand and continued walking outside. Kasumi Haruno, still a little dazed, allowed Alistair to lead her.
Walking down the street, Alistair mused that this new ability was quite useful. It was one of the abilities granted by the Demonic Eye Ring's 10% fusion, allowing for mental suggestion. Although it was primarily effective against Demi-Humans, the fusion allowed it to produce a similar effect on humans, based on Alistair's own mental strength. However, the effect was unpredictable. It had barely worked on Kasumi Haruno just now, and Alistair's mental strength was only at the adult baseline. If he wanted a full-blown hypnosis plot, he'd have to hope for a new item draw.
The advantage was that if the mental suggestion was successful, the suggestion would generally remain active and wouldn't disappear under normal circumstances. Alistair couldn't be entirely sure, as this world had special powers, but for normal daily life, it was essentially permanent unless Alistair activated the ability again to overwrite it. Also, this only worked on ordinary people, and the suggestion would fail if they were exposed to any abnormal power.
If the ability didn't have so many limitations, it wouldn't be called a suggestion; it would be mental restructuring. The effect on Kasumi Haruno was extremely subtle. Alistair hadn't demanded anything complex, only a lingering thought, so she wouldn't be too resistant when he engaged with other girls later. Although Kasumi Haruno had a certain degree of "lustful" tendencies, she wasn't as utterly reckless as the dark-skinned gyaru Nagisa, so he needed to be a little considerate.
That minor effect would quickly be eroded by the residual energy of Alistair's Horse Talisman, but leaving the idea behind was enough.
Alistair held Kasumi Haruno's hand, and they walked all the way to school. The school security was long accustomed to students behaving like this. They checked their student IDs and let them in. At most, their eyes held a look of disdain. Alistair could handle it, but Kasumi Haruno felt a little uncomfortable.
Seeing Kasumi Haruno wanting to explain but not knowing how, Alistair shrugged and said:
"Why do you care about the security guard's look? No matter what he thinks of you, it won't affect you at all; life goes on. Besides, explaining won't help. He's already made up his mind. Anything you say will just sound like an excuse. Let's go, ignore him."
Alistair gave her no chance to speak, pulling her towards the school building.
Ding~ Ding~ Dong~ Deng!
The timing of their return was perfect; it was just the end of the class period. Students poured out of the classrooms, some heading to the restroom, others buying things. Alistair and Kasumi Haruno blended in naturally. Although Alistair didn't care about avoiding attention, the timing was convenient and saved them some trouble.
As the two entered the classroom, they immediately drew attention. The first person to speak was Mina Morita.
"Um, Alistair-kun, what is... Ouch!"
Mina Morita saw Alistair holding Kasumi Haruno's hand and thought Alistair was giving up on her. Her eyes immediately welled up, but Alistair, who had walked over, gently tapped her head.
Seriously, I'm in an R-rated anime world, but why am I running into this kind of love triangle romantic comedy plot? Did something go wrong? Alistair rubbed his forehead, speechless.
"It's fine. I just got a new girlfriend. You're the main one, don't worry."
Alistair's words stunned everyone who had gathered to watch the drama unfold, and Kasumi Haruno didn't even refute him.
There were many ways to solve the problem, and Alistair chose the one that would generate the most live comments. Just as they were getting ready to watch the show...
"Oh, really? Then I'm relieved!"
Mina Morita's look of happiness after Alistair's explanation not only shocked the other classmates but even surprised Natsuha Shinomiyagi, who thought she knew her. This gave her a new perspective on Mina Morita.
Next, Kasumi Haruno, following Alistair's instructions, exchanged LINE IDs with Mina and quickly went back to her seat, lowering her head as if embarrassed. She showed no sign of the resistance or grievance the crowd expected; it was as if this was a perfectly normal occurrence, with only her flushed cheeks hinting at her feelings.
What the hell? Why is she with that Subaru Naoji guy? Wasn't she Takaaki-senpai's target?
Masaru Ogika (Takaaki's friend), who was sitting in the back row and blended in with the crowd, stared at Kasumi Haruno, who was being held by Alistair. His eyes were wide with astonishment, his mind full of questions. He quickly checked his phone to see if his senior, Takaaki Anjō, had sent any messages, but there was only the one from last night confirming that he had taken her away.
As a successful delinquent, he needed a wide network of contacts to find girls and acquire necessary items. He had naturally connected with Takaaki Anjō in the second year and knew Takaaki had set his sights on Kasumi Haruno after meeting her. The party was merely a catalyst.
But Takaaki Anjō clearly took her away last night. Why was she now by Subaru Naoji's side? Did Naoji play the hero?
Masaru Ogika wondered. He didn't care what happened to Takaaki Anjō; he was just looking forward to getting his turn after Takaaki was done. Now, Takaaki had gone silent, and Masaru knew better than to provoke Alistair Naoji.
Damn it!
Masaru Ogika clenched his fist in frustration. With no answers, he cursed Alistair under his breath, wishing for his downfall. Then he noticed the surrounding students' stunned faces. He grabbed one of them and asked.
"Well, Alistair-kun just admitted it. He said Morita-san is the Main and Haruno-san is the Side, and neither of them seemed to mind..." The student who was grabbed was afraid of Masaru Ogika and nervously described the scene.
What?
Masaru Ogika's mouth fell open in shock. It was hard to believe, but this weakling wouldn't dare lie to him, and with everyone watching, he wouldn't casually fabricate a story just to get beaten up. So, Alistair Naoji really did that here. But why?
Masaru Ogika couldn't figure it out. Did Naoji catch her in a compromising situation? Did he film a video like Takaaki-senpai? Or did he subdue her with his ability? No way. He looks so thin and small. He couldn't possibly be that big. I need to find Ryūji Matsuoka. That guy's good with words and has a decent eye for people. I'll have him look into this later.
Masaru Ogika shoved the weakling away and contacted Ryūji Matsuoka on his phone.