The train swayed rhythmically. Hayakawa Masako held onto the handrail, gazing at the night scenery flashing past the window, her mind still immersed in the trivialities of today's work and the preparations for tomorrow's meeting.
She was a gentle female superior, her proper suit and neatly styled bun outlining her quiet, orchid-like temperament.
At first, she just felt that it was a bit more crowded behind her than before, and didn't pay it any mind.
But soon, a nauseating, foul stench—a mix of cheap cigarettes, stale alcohol, and the sour smell of sweat—irresistibly forced its way into her nostrils.
Yako's body stiffened instantly.
Immediately after, an overly close body temperature, clearly not belonging to the normal crowding of a train car, pressed against her back through her thin summer suit.
"Could I be overthinking this... Something like this... shouldn't be possible, right? After all, there are so many people here."
Yako quietly changed her standing posture, leaning slightly forward.
But the person was like a maggot attached to a bone; he followed her again.
At this moment, she could even clearly feel the outline of an adult male's body, and... the heavy, ragged breathing, hot and full of desire, spraying onto the hair at the nape of her neck.
An unspeakable sense of fear invaded her entire body, making her almost unable to breathe.
She gripped the cold metal handrail tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Her mind went blank. This was the first time she had encountered such a situation.
What should she do? Scream? Push him away?
"Countless thoughts collided wildly in her mind, only to be suppressed by deeper concerns."
"No... If I cause a commotion here..."
"What if he bites back... What about tomorrow's meeting? What will the rumors be within the company? The prestige she had worked so hard to build in the company..."
Reputation, work, the normal life she had maintained so carefully... All of this was like an invisible shackle, pinning her firmly in place.
In an instant, various negative words surfaced in her mind.
She could only shrink her body as much as possible, leaning slightly forward, attempting to create the tiniest bit of distance, hoping against hope that this disgusting contact would stop.
But her minor resistance seemed to stimulate the other party instead; the pressure of the contact became even more pronounced, even accompanied by subtle rubbing.
Yako bit her lip, summoned courage from the bottom of her heart, and tried hard to look back and glare at the person, hoping to warn him to back off.
But when she saw the man's ugly, lecherous expression, she shuddered all over and dared not look at him again.
"Wuwuwu~ It's so scary."
Despair surged up like a tide, drowning her reason.
She tried hard not to make any sound, but her eyes uncontrollably began to heat up and moisten.
Yako couldn't help but cast a look of seeking help at the people around her, but the response she got was only an incredibly cold gaze. Some, even worse, took out their phones to record, revealing the same lecherous expression as the person behind her.
Even though there were so many people around, it felt as if she were in a deserted wilderness, isolated and helpless.
"Why is it like this? Please, someone save me—"
Just when she was about to be swallowed by this humiliation and fear—
A female voice, with a hint of a delinquent tone and an unquestionable quality, cut through the suffocating, viscous air:
"Hey! You punk, where are your hands? Are you horny or something?"
Yako jerked her head up. Through tear-blurred eyes, she saw that Natsuhi had already stood in front of the pervert, shielding her firmly behind her.
That nauseating sense of oppression seemed to dissipate suddenly with the appearance of this voice.
"It's because of trash like you that my life is so difficult."
The man seemed to say something impatiently...
"How strange. Someone has already stepped in to help, so why can't I stop these tears?"
Not only did the tears not stop, they flowed even more uncontrollably. At that moment, the young girl's back in Yako's eyes—was so tall and imposing.
Natsuhi wasn't doing this because of a system quest; it had nothing to do with benefits or strength. She simply couldn't turn away in the face of someone else's suffering.
Looking at the girl who was firmly gripping his wrist, the middle-aged man gave an unsatisfied "Tsk."
"There are so many idiots these days who love to meddle in other people's business."
He was around forty years old, wearing a rumpled suit, his whole body emitting a sour stench of alcohol mixed with sweat.
He looked Natsuhi up and down. In his murky eyes, a flash of annoyance at being disturbed was immediately replaced by a nauseating interest.
"Huh?"
He sneered, intentionally drawing out his tone, sounding very impatient.
"Girl, which eye saw me doing anything? I'm standing here properly waiting to get off the train. Am I in your way? What, is there a law that says I can't stand near a woman?"
He spread his hands, revealing a rogue's face, and cast his evil gaze toward Yako behind Natsuhi.
"Ask her, did I touch a single finger of hers? Hmm?"
This old geezer, after being caught red-handed, didn't panic at all but instead argued shamelessly. It seemed he hadn't done this kind of thing just once, displaying an arrogant air of having nothing to fear.
Veins bulged on Natsuhi's forehead. She could barely stop herself from beating this bastard to a pulp, but a final shred of reason pulled her back; striking first would really put her in the wrong.
Yako shuddered all over under his gaze, subconsciously shrinking closer to Natsuhi. Her lips moved, but she couldn't make a sound due to fear and shame.
Most of the other passengers in the car averted their gazes, either looking down at their phones or gazing out the window, the silence suffocating.
The atmosphere froze for a moment, which only further fueled the man's arrogance.
His gaze slid from Natsuhi's taut face to Yui, who had followed behind her.
And when he saw that unique blue-purple gradient long hair, his eyes suddenly lit up, flashing with greed and lewdness.
"Yo-ho!"
He raised his eyebrows lecherously, his voice rising a few notches.
"What kind of lucky day is it today? Another even more beautiful young girl! Look at this hair, this face—she'd look so pitiful and lovely if she cried... tsk tsk."
He completely ignored Natsuhi and actually tried to bypass her, leaning in toward Yui.
"Little sister, where did you dye your hair? It's really something! Why don't you tell uncle? How about uncle treats you to something good?"
He grinned, revealing his smoke-stained yellow teeth, his breath reeking.
"I guarantee it'll be much more interesting than meddling in things here."
Yui was provoked by his disgusting gaze and words, taking half a step back. The color drained from her face, replaced by extreme disgust and a hint of fear.
But she still glared stubbornly at him, not backing down.
"You... don't come near me!"
"Oh, don't be so shy."
The man pushed his luck, continuing to reach forward with his hand.
Just at that moment, a cold voice suddenly echoed in his ear:
"If I were you... I absolutely wouldn't do something this stupid."
As the words fell, the man felt his body being restrained. Natsuhi grabbed him by the collar, dragging him hard back in front of her.
"Don't look at my kid with those lecherous eyes."
They were extremely close. The middle-aged man could clearly see the unconcealed ferocity in Natsuhi's eyes, like a wild beast—cold, violent, as if she would tear him to pieces the next second.
"You... what are you trying to do?!"
The man was stunned by this sudden murderous aura, shouting with feigned strength, but his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"What am I doing?"
Natsuhi's lips curled into an extremely cold arc.
"Teaching you how to be a human being."
Humiliated by a woman like this, the man was enraged by shame. His other free hand balled into a fist and swung fiercely toward Natsuhi's face!
He didn't believe it; how much strength could a little girl have!
A gasp rang out in the carriage!
However, his fist was blocked in mid-air by Natsuhi, who raised her hand seemingly casually.
"The motion range is so wide; looks like he's never fought before~"
Mentally playing the role of an old master giving an evaluation, Natsuhi suddenly exerted force in the wrists holding his collar and arm, twisting her waist—
"Bang—!!!"
A clean, crisp, and powerful shoulder throw!
Counterattacking the moment she blocked—even a professional athlete would have to be careful, let alone a forty-something old geezer.
The middle-aged man's body traced an arc through the air, landing on his back and slamming heavily onto the carriage floor with a heavy, loud thud.
The entire carriage was deathly silent, with only the noise of the moving train and the man's weak groans remaining.
All the passengers stared dumbfounded at the young girl and the man lying like a pile of mush at her feet.
"Ding! Successfully subdued D-class threat 'Commuter Pervert'! Reward issued."
"Thanks to the host's intervention, there will be no more evil acts by subway perverts in this world!"