I Was Possessed By An Unknown Manga

Chapter 167: I Didn't Lie

In the world of love comedies, the ‘player’ exists everywhere and nowhere.

They were the promised unwelcome guests who only appeared in such convenient plot developments. Perhaps the “easy to pick-up” remark made by Senior Ayabe earlier had set a flag, for they appeared yet again today.

I approached the two thugs, who were actively talking to the three people.

Unlike the spiky-haired guy who had just shouted, the slightly better-looking blonde thug was sweet-talking them.

He seemed to be playing the role of the ‘good cop’.

“Sorry, sorry, this guy’s a bit prickly. There are three of us, too, so the numbers match up perfectly. How about hanging out together? We won’t do anything bad.”

“Excuse me.”

“Huh?”

As I spoke, the spiky-haired thug, who had been scowling, perhaps to intimidate the newspaper club members, turned around with a threatening noise.

However, an entirely unexpected response came from the spiky-haired guy.

“Thought we’d be scared because you’re big? You’re mistaken. If you don’t want to be humiliated in front of everyone, beat it!”

What’s with this baseless confidence?

I stared in astonishment at the thug in front of me, who was so boldly telling me to get lost.

I glanced at the guy next to him, and the blonde with an eyebrow piercing also spoke with a confident expression.

“If we were to describe ourselves, we’re the ‘Seikei Demon Duo’ that even stops crying babies!”

Seikei, what?

I stared in disbelief at the two, who were speaking in incomprehensible nicknames, but they kept bragging about themselves, seemingly lost in their own world.

So, I ignored the thugs in front of me and asked the three people behind them.

“Senior, are you alright?”

Then, Senior Ayabe nodded with a dazed expression.

“Huh? Uh-huh.”

“Step back just in case. I’ll handle this quickly.”

After saying that, I looked back at the so-called ‘demon duo’.

“You dare ignore us! You bastard!”

“It seems like your guts have jumped out of your belly.”

How should I handle these guys to get a good reputation…?

While I was contemplating this…

Suddenly, a third party’s voice intervened.

“Hey! You crazy bastards!”

It was an old subordinate of Kazu, whom I had seen earlier, shouting and running over.

He hit the two thugs on the backs of their heads and then immediately bowed to me.

“I’m sorry! These guys don’t know anything!”

“What the fuck?!”

“Shut up! You crazy bastard! I’m saving your life right now!”

The three from the newspaper club wore bewildered expressions at the rapidly changing situation.

Of course, at this point, I realized something was wrong.

In the midst of this, one of the two thugs yelled out.

“Ah! What the heck are you doing?!”

Then, the guy who was forcefully holding down their heads looked at me and said,

“Do you remember the recent incident where the Devil Riders, Tokyo’s largest biker gang, was disbanded?”

“What does that have to…? Oh no! Don’t tell me!”

“Yes! He’s the legendary guy who single-handedly took down 50 members of the Devil Riders!”

“The strongest in Tokyo!”

‘I’m going crazy.’

My head was already spinning.

Not only have I been called the strongest in school, but now I’ve got this weird nickname of being the strongest in Tokyo.

And more importantly, the newspaper club members were right behind me.

‘How am I going to handle this?’

In the interview earlier, I pretended not to know anything, but now my identity had been unexpectedly revealed.

Unable to get angry under the piercing gazes from around me, I spoke in a calm tone.

“Let’s move away from here first.”

“I’m so sorry! Brother! We’ve committed a crime worthy of death!”

As we entered the alleyway behind the arcade, the thugs who realized my identity immediately prostrated themselves on the ground.

After a deep sigh, I gave them some earnest advice about sizing up their opponents before acting tough, and then let them go.

If there were no witnesses, I might have corrected their bad behavior, but I couldn’t help it today with the newspaper club members there.

After the thugs left as if running away, I looked at the three newspaper club members trembling behind me.

“Uhm.”

“Yes?!”

When I called in a low voice, Senior Ayabe answered with a startle.

“I’m sorry for lying during the interview. But I have a private life, too.”

“Th-that must be so.”

Senior Ayabe, perhaps frightened, suddenly spoke politely and nodded earnestly.

“Please keep what happened today a secret. You can do that much, right?”

“…Yes!”

Senior Ayabe shouted with a tense face.

‘This is a bitter result.’

It was supposed to be a meeting to clear up misunderstandings at school, but it only seemed to have deepened them.

I earnestly asked Senior Ayabe again to keep it a secret and said it was okay to speak casually again.

Then, Senior Ayabe hesitantly said, “Alright,” and relaxed again.

Takagi and Hanami, who were shivering in the corner and sneaking glances, yelped when our eyes met.

I placed my finger to my lips, asking them too for secrecy, and then left the alleyway forlornly.

“Head, what are you going to do?”

In response to the Vice Head Takagi’s question, Ayabe opened her mouth with a stern expression.

“The secret… we must keep it.”

If it becomes known that Kim Yu-seong was the protagonist of the 1:50 fight video that went viral right before the summer vacation, it would definitely be a big hit at this cultural festival.

‘By day a scholarship student who effortlessly tops his grade, by night a delinquent beating up biker gangs?!’ With this headline, the story will sell like hotcakes.

However, the popularity gained in this way would surely come back as a double-edged sword someday.

After all, it seemed like something that couldn’t be managed afterwards.

“As the head, I say we bury this matter.”

Then, Takagi chuckled and nodded in agreement.

“I knew you would say that, Senior.”

“What do you think?”

“Well, he exposed his identity to help us, so I was thinking we should cover it up.”

“You’re more conscientious than you appear, Takagi.”

“What do you think I am?!”

“Haha, just kidding, just kidding.”

Having reached a dramatic compromise, the two finally looked at Yuzuko Hanami, a first-year student.

“What will you do, Hanami?”

Hanami then nodded.

“I’ll also keep it a secret. I want to prove that we can succeed without resorting to sensational articles.”

“Then it’s unanimous.”

Ayabe said this and then summarized the information learned today once more.

“Let’s keep it a secret among us that Kim is actually connected to the yakuza, called the strongest in Tokyo’s underworld, won a 1:50 fight single-handedly, and dismantled the biker gang Devil Riders.”

“Certainly, this explains why he’s surrounded by girls.”

“There’s a saying about heroes and women.”

Hanami said this, her face unknowingly turning slightly red.

Perhaps she realized what she felt wasn’t fear.

And Ayabe also nodded in agreement with the two, acknowledging it.

“His unique charisma seems to captivate women. It’s in women’s nature to be drawn to bad boys.”

Thus, in a place unknown to Kim Yu-seong, the suspicions and misunderstandings surrounding him only deepened.

At that time.

Somewhere in Kyoto.

Clink! Thud!

“Chairman. There’s a message from the Fujiwara family.”

“Really? They’re quite responsive.”

“It’s inevitable. It’s about the reconciliation between two families that have been at odds for a long time.”

“Who are they sending to the meeting?”

“It seems they are sending Sai Fujiwara, the second son of the current head.”

“Sai Fujiwara… The child prodigy who has been famous since his childhood. He’s twenty this year, right?”

“It must mean they are also taking this reconciliation proposal very positively.”

“Then we should also send someone of equal standing.”

“Yes. Do you have someone in mind, Chairman?”

“Hmm, how about Kumiko?”

“Miss Kumiko?”

“She will be eighteen next year. It would be a good experience for her to attend the meeting.”

“Won’t she resist this sudden decision?”

“Kumiko will likely accept it without complaint. She understands the duties of her position better than anyone. That’s why she’s my most cherished grandchild.”

“…Understood. I will personally visit the lady and inform her.”

“Good. As always, I’m counting on you.”

“I will follow your orders.”

Then the kunoichi, Koga Izumo, following the orders of Harunobu Saionji, the head of the Saionji Group, ranked third in Japan’s financial world, and the 27th family head of the Saionji Clan, disappeared into the shadows.

Watching the spot where she vanished, Harunobu Saionji chuckled and put a pipe in his mouth.

“It’s already autumn.”

It was the perfect season for young people to start falling in love.