"Sorry! We were wrong!"

  "Please, let us go!"

  "We beg you!"

  Three mier, the three delis, now beaten to the point they looked like pigs, k side by side in front of Ryuji. Their faces were swollen and bruised, and they were g, begging for mercy.

  If this went on, they genuinely feared for their lives.

  "Tsk, pathetic. What happeo your so-called 'Bushido spirit'? Stand up!" Ryuji said, his face full of disgust. To be ho, he hadn't even ehe fight. Sure, it had excited him at first, but their quick submission had sucked all the fun out of it.

  Why were they kneeling already?

  Ryuji's disdainful words only made Hikawa Okazaka and his ckeys cry harder. Bushido spirit? They didn't care about something like that. They just didn't want to die!

  Please, we'll never bully anyone again, they thought silently.

  "That's enough! Shut up already!" Ryuji waved them off in irritation. Their groveling was getting on his nerves.

  "Alright, here's the deal. In one month, bring me 100,000 yen, and maybe I'll sider letting you off the hook."

  You like bullying others? Fine. I'll let you experience what it's like to be on the receiving end.

  "One… one huhousand!?" The three of them were in shock. That was an insane amount of moheir families werely well-off, and any mohey mao extort from other students was usually spent almost immediately. How could they possibly gather 100,000 yen?

  "Any objes?" Ryuji asked, his tone suddenly ice-cold as he gred at them.

  The trio, who had been on the verge of protesting, quickly shook their heads. No way. They'd figure out how to get the money somehow. Better that than face the same beating again.

  "But… why wait a month?" One of Hikawa's ckeys dared to ask in a trembling voice. Was Ryuji giving them time to gather the money? A whole month seemed too long.

  Hearing this, Ryuji's smile grew more and more "kind."

  "Because," he said, crag his knuckles, "you'll be spending the this month in the hospital."

  "???"

  They were fused at first, but before they could fully prehend the situation, their eyes widened in horror as Ryuji raised his hand again.

  Smack!

  "My hand! It's broken!" Hikawa Okazaka's scream echoed through the woods.

  ---

  After it was all over, Ryuji emerged from the woods looking pletely at ease, like he'd just finished a leisurely stroll.

  He fainted from the pain, huh? Ryuji thought, recalling how Hikawa Okazaka had finally passed out after the st hit. And that was with me holding back.

  "Hmm?"

  Just as he was about to head home, Ryuji noticed a girl standing at the edge of the woods. She was wearing the standard Sobu High uniform and seemed to be frozen iaring at him.

  Did she see everything?

  Ryuji wasn't too worried. He looked at her more closely. She had a white beret, a bob haircut, and delicate features. She wasn't strikingly beautiful at first gnce, but she had that kind of charm that grew on you the more you looked at her.

  Kato Megumi? Ryuji immediately reized her. She was one of the most famous heroines from aurally, he knew about her. But right now, she was just another cssmate, someone he hadn't gotten to know yet.

  "Yo!" Ryuji greeted her casually, raising his hand as if nothing unusual had just happened.

  Kato Megumi blinked in surprise. She had been pnning to sneak away, thinking Ryuji hadn't noticed her, but apparently, she was wrong. Kato Megumi knew of Hikawa Okazaka and his gang. They were infamous at school for bullying, and she hadn't felt the slightest urge to help them. They deserved what they got.

  Still, she hadn't expected Ryuji to notice her presence so easily.

  "Uh, yo," she replied after a moment's hesitation, raising her hand in response. Her face remained calm, her typical indifferent expression, but inside, she was a bit shaken.

  "Quite cute," Ryuji thought to himself, chug. It was no wonder so many anime fans adored Kato Megumi. There was something undeniably charming about her simple, unassuming demeanor.

  Still, Ryuji wasn't in any hurry to get to know her right now. With a carefree smile, he turned and walked away.

  "Cute?" Kato Megumi muttered softly, staring at Ryuji's back as he left. Was he talking about her?

  Although she kept her usual calm outward appearance, inside, her thoughts were in a bit of turmoil. She had just witnessed a rather intense fight, and seeing how effortlessly Ryuji had dealt with those bullies, she had assumed he wasn't the type of person she'd want to get close to. But now, after that casual smile and ent, she wasn't so sure.

  After hesitating for a moment, Kato Megumi decided it was time to head home. She had inally e this way for club matters, but after what she'd seen, she felt it was better to leave for the day.

  ---

  As Ryuji walked toward the school gate, he couldn't help but gnce down at his hands.

  "Have I gotten too reckless because of my newfound strength?" he wondered aloud, his mind drifting.

  Before his time travel, Ryuji had been a regur guy. A det young man who obeyed the w, never got into fights, and rarely even cursed. But now? Now he had just beaten three people half to death, and instead of feeling guilt, he felt... satisfa. Pleasure, even.

  People say that when someone's strength increases, their ego inftes along with it. Maybe that's what was happening to him.

  But then again…

  "So what if I am getting cocky?" Ryuji suddenly ughed, shaking off the doubt. "As long as I bee strong enough, what's the problem?"

  He had already reinated, gained mysterious powers, and had plug-ins at his disposal. If he was still timid and overly cautious, then what was the point of any of it? Why travel through time and spaly to tinue living like an ordinary person?

  "I should do whatever I want to do!" he decred to himself, smiling with newfound resolve. He wasn't quite at the level of those legendary figures he admired, but one day, he'd get there.

  "Ryuji?"

  A sudden voice broke Ryuji's thoughts, and he looked over to see Miko standio him.

  "What were you thinking about, Ryuji?" Miko asked curiously. She had been calling his name several times, but it seemed like his mind had been elsewhere.

  "Nothing much," Ryuji replied, shaking his head. He wasn't about to share his internal monologue.

  Instead, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're out early. Didn't you have club activities?"

  He had promised to help Miko deal with the supernatural weirdness around her house tonight, but he hadn't expected her to be free so soon.

  "I was worried you might have to wait for me, so I asked for leave early," Miko admitted with an embarrassed smile. She was supposed to attend her club meeting, but she didn't know if Ryuji had any club itments, so she figured it was better to meet up sooner.

  Ryuji chuckled softly. "Alright, the's get something to eat first. I've been starving all day."