Once upon a time, Asada Shino had a few close friends she could talk to about anything at school.
However, after the rumor spread that she had killed someone, those friends gradually distanced themselves. Eventually, like everyone else, they began treating her with cold silence.
Because of that, Shino closed herself off and stopped trusting others. If you don't open up to people, if you don't get close to them, then you won't feel the pain of being abandoned.
If you don't have a heart, it won't break.
But humans are social creatures. No one can stay at home forever without ever facing others.
Financial hardship forced Shino to go out and get a part-time job—quietly surviving in the corner of society.
And even though she tried so hard to live, she was still getting bullied.
That night, she had almost lost the wages she'd worked so hard for.
Even in the store, she was still the one getting pushed around.
Humans are complicated.
Sometimes people could just ignore things—but instead, when facing someone weaker or with lower status, they vent their superiority on them just to feel better about themselves.
"Asada-san, I'm so tired right now. You were late anyway, so how about doing all this work for me? I'll even buy you some pineapple bread after—how about that?"
A long-haired male employee in the store spoke arrogantly to Shino, casually waving his hand as if giving an order.
His beady eyes occasionally swept over Shino's cute face, but it was Shiina Mahiru—who looked like a rich daughter out experiencing working life—who caught most of his attention.
Faced with this so-called "senpai," Shino didn't want to do the work. But in order to avoid trouble, she quietly put down her rag and walked over to help another male co-worker who looked like he wanted to speak up but didn't.
Seeing her act like a doormat, Kurata Masahiro smiled smugly.
Mahiru, seeing Shino quietly doing someone else's work, walked over to stop her.
"Don't do it, Asada-san. We're only supposed to do cashiering and shelf stocking—carrying inventory isn't in our job description."
She gave Kurata a cold glare and said seriously:
"Do your own work. What kind of man pushes it onto a girl like that?"
Before Shino could respond, Kurata immediately cut in.
"Hey hey, Shiina-san, I was just thinking of helping her! You're misunderstanding!"
"Helping? You're kidding me, right?"
Mahiru's eyes widened in disbelief. Pushing your responsibilities onto someone else was clearly bullying.
But Kurata just smiled smugly and looked at Shino.
Then he shamelessly said:
"I'm helping her redeem herself! Shiina-san, you probably don't know, but Asada-san here is a murderer! She's personally taken someone's life!"
At that, Shino closed her eyes.
She'd known this would happen.
Now that Mahiru knew, she'd probably avoid her too. That's just how the world was.
Even her mother and her teachers had looked at her with fear in their eyes. Who would ever truly accept a girl who had taken a life?
Mahiru's eyes widened in shock.
She'd always been a top student. Something like "killing" had never been remotely close to her world.
But even so—even if Asada had killed someone—that didn't mean she deserved to be Kurata's pack mule.
"So what now, Shiina-san? Knowing that, you still want to defend her? Aren't you afraid she'll hurt you or someone you care about someday?"
Kurata's gross expression made Mahiru visibly angry.
But just as she was about to say something back, a familiar voice cut in:
"Then do you even know the person Asada-san killed was a bank robber with multiple lives on his hands?"
Both Mahiru and Shino turned toward the door, eyes widening.
"Hayashi-san!"
"Maki-kun—what are you doing here?"
"Wait, you two know each other?"
They turned toward each other, shocked.
Hayashi Maki smiled as he walked in and gently patted Mahiru's head.
"You're one to talk. Running off to get a part-time job and not telling me? Do you know how long I stood at your door pressing the bell?"
"If it weren't for Aoyama-san telling me you were working here, I'd still be in the dark."
Mahiru flushed, lowering her head as he continued to stroke her hair.
The way he mentioned pressing her doorbell until it nearly broke… she could guess he probably just wanted an excuse to mess with her again. What a scoundrel.
Hayashi Maki then turned to look at the silent, anxious Shino.
"Yo, Asada-san. We meet again. But why is it every time I see you, you're getting bullied?"
Shino lowered her head, face red, too ashamed to make eye contact.
"Hey! Who the hell are you? I wasn't bullying anyone—I just asked her to carry some stuff, what's the big deal? I'm her senpai!"
Kurata, seeing the beautiful Mahiru get so cozy with another guy, was fuming.
Mahiru snapped back at him:
"Senpai? You're a part-timer like the rest of us. Why make things hard for someone just trying to do her job?"
And now she understood—what Hayashi Maki said confirmed her gut feeling. Asada wasn't the "murderer" Kurata was claiming she was.
Kurata turned red with anger.
"What's your problem, you little punk?! Don't you respect your sen—OW!"
Before he could finish, Hayashi Maki slapped him across the face.
Kurata flew back and spun twice in the air before crashing to the ground, spitting out two teeth.
"Who said you could raise your voice at my Mahiru? What if you scared her?"
The other male employee nearby flinched and muttered to himself:
"Jeez… you're the scary one…"
"You think you're someone special just 'cause you started this job a few days earlier? That gives you the right to dump your work on others and slander a girl as a murderer?"
Hayashi Maki coldly sneered. Then he grabbed the wailing Kurata by the back of his collar like a sack of trash and turned to the stunned Mahiru and Shino.
"Sorry if I scared you two. I just really hate guys like this. Don't worry—leave him to me. I'll handle it. You two get back to work."
"And Asada-san… don't take on what isn't yours. You work hard enough already."
And with that, he dragged Kurata away like a dead dog.
~~~
For Every 100 Powerstone = 1 Bonus Chapter! Please Vote for more Chapters!
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 180+ Chapters Ahead of Others!