Cote : I Just Want to Grant Your Wish!

Chapter 776: Chapter 776

"Were you secretly following me?"

The moment they faced each other, Kaoru naturally found the situation suspicious.

Mio had appeared far too conveniently, and she was already holding up her tablet to photograph and record him with Fūka.

It looked calculated.

"Hah?! Who would follow you?!"

Mio’s face reddened as she glared fiercely at him.

"You two were so absorbed in yourselves that you didn’t notice me. Shameless idiots."

From her tone, she had apparently been watching for a while.

Kaoru’s feelings became complicated.

If the person who had stumbled across them had been almost anyone other than Mio, this might genuinely have become troublesome.

Recently, he had become far too easily distracted whenever the girls started teasing him. His awareness of his surroundings had clearly deteriorated.

The moment he stopped paying attention, he became completely absorbed.

"Oh?"

Fūka mischievously nudged Kaoru’s shoulder.

"So what happens now? This is the part where someone discovers embarrassing evidence and gains leverage over us, right? How does the story continue, Mitoma-kun?"

Despite saying that, Fūka displayed neither panic nor embarrassment.

She acted as though the entire incident had nothing to do with her.

Hearing Fūka’s words, Mio seemed to realize just how advantageous her position was.

Her expression became even more triumphant.

"Exactly as I thought. Give you the slightest opportunity and you immediately start fooling around with girls."

Mio muttered angrily.

"If I hadn’t appeared, what were you two planning to do next? The school already warned everyone not to cross certain lines during the exam, yet you still went off somewhere alone together."

She hugged the tablet against her chest and raised her chin.

"Heh. If I hand this evidence to the school, you might be finished, Mitoma."

Kaoru had never imagined that the usually straightforward Mio could genuinely threaten his plans.

If she reported the footage, it could certainly create unnecessary complications.

"Did you really record it?"

Fūka seemed interested for entirely different reasons.

"Did you at least capture my cute side?"

Mio’s aggressive expression briefly collapsed into confusion.

Wasn’t Fūka, as the girl involved, supposed to be mortified?

"I-I don’t know! I recorded you two kissing. That’s enough!"

Mio apparently intended to make her understand the seriousness of the situation.

Instead, Fūka became even more interested.

"Ahaha. That sounds like a wonderful souvenir. Let me see."

She began walking toward Mio.

"You can threaten Mitoma-kun after I inspect the pictures."

Mio might be stubborn, but she was not stupid.

She immediately became wary.

"Don’t come any closer! Take another step and I’m reporting it right now!"

"Hey, I’m one of the people in the pictures."

Fūka’s expression darkened.

"You’re telling me I’m not even allowed to see my own photograph?"

Perhaps because Fūka continued advancing, or perhaps because of their difference in height, Mio began to feel an intimidating pressure.

That was not enough to make her surrender.

"Stay back! Once I report it, you can look at the evidence as much as you want!"

Mio’s attitude remained stubbornly firm.

To put it less politely, she was the sort of person who would keep charging forward until she hit a wall hard enough to hurt.

Fūka’s approach only activated her defensive instincts.

Seeing Mio become increasingly alert, Fūka measured the distance between them and realized she probably could not snatch the tablet safely.

She finally stopped.

"Tch. Underclassmen these days are so stingy. I can’t even look at one picture."

Fūka folded her arms and regarded Mio calmly.

"Fine. What exactly do you want from us?"

Mio’s thoughts abruptly stopped.

What did she want?

She stared blankly.

She had never actually considered that.

She had merely happened to spot Kaoru and Fūka nearby, followed them out of curiosity, and then witnessed the two of them kissing.

The sight had nearly made her shout.

In Mio’s eyes, they had clearly been fooling around instead of taking the exam seriously.

And when Fūka later began tugging at Kaoru’s clothes while arguing with him, the scene became even more suspicious.

Mio felt as though her eyes had been contaminated.

The fact that Kaoru had forced her to witness something so embarrassing made her furious.

So, almost without thinking, she had opened the camera function and recorded them.

Then she had jumped out before things went any further.

Only now did Mio realize she had never decided what she intended to demand from Kaoru.

"None of your business!"

Mio began stammering.

"You did something you shouldn’t have. If you get eliminated because of it, that’s your own fault!"

Kaoru gave her a strange look.

Had she seriously taken several photographs and immediately jumped out without forming any actual plan?

"You haven’t decided what to do, have you?"

Fūka had obviously noticed the same thing.

Her expression became curious.

"Of course I have!"

Mio hurriedly denied it, her face turning even redder.

"I-I’m disappointed in Mitoma!"

Fūka glanced toward Kaoru with obvious amusement.

"Oh? What are you going to do? Someone is disappointed in you."

At this point, Fūka had understood the situation completely.

This small, aggressive girl clearly had some complicated history with Kaoru.

"You secretly follow me and then announce that you’re disappointed?"

Kaoru’s expression darkened.

"I already told you I wasn’t following you!"

Mio snapped.

She had also been participating in tasks nearby and simply happened to notice Kaoru and Fūka along the way.

Strictly speaking, she had only followed them after a chance encounter.

That absolutely did not count as stalking!

"Fine. I’ll ignore that part."

Kaoru looked at her expressionlessly.

"Then why did you photograph me? If you really wanted to report this to the school, there was no reason to reveal yourself. You could have simply found a teacher."

Mio lowered her gaze slightly.

For someone normally so aggressive, the gesture was practically an admission of guilt.

She genuinely did not know what she had intended to demand from him.

She had acted impulsively.

That explanation was simply too embarrassing to say aloud.

As for whether she truly wanted to report Kaoru, Mio had considered it.

But if Kaoru was eliminated this early, wouldn’t the rest of the exam feel strangely hollow?

She had intended to defeat him properly.

If she removed him through secretly recorded photographs instead, was that really the victory she wanted?

Mio became confused by her own emotions.

Did she actually want Kaoru eliminated?

Or was she simply angry?

And even if she was angry, surely she had every right to be.

For the past several days, Mio had been exhausting herself trying to collect points.

She had even felt secretly proud because she thought she might finally outperform Kaoru.

Ever since the rankings were announced yesterday morning, she had been checking them obsessively.

Then she had watched Kaoru suddenly charge into the top ten.

It infuriated her.

She felt humiliated.

Today, she had pushed herself even harder, determined to catch him.

Then, by complete coincidence, she encountered Kaoru himself.

And what was he doing?

While Mio had been desperately chasing points without wasting a second, Kaoru had somehow entered the top ten and still found time to flirt with Fūka.

Just thinking about it made her furious.

"Did I interrupt you or something?"

The more Mio thought, the angrier she became.

"Were you annoyed because I stopped whatever ridiculous thing you were doing?"

Kaoru took a slow breath.

"How about I trade supplies for the photos?"

Mio immediately became even more irritated.

Did Kaoru really think she was trying to extort him?

"Heh. You’re finished, Mitoma."

She hugged the tablet tightly and sneered.

"Who cares about your supplies? If I eliminate you, then at least I’ll have achieved something in this exam."

With that, Mio turned to leave.

Kaoru’s thoughts accelerated.

Given the hostility she usually showed him, there was a genuine possibility she would hand the photographs to the school—or at least show them to Ryūen.

Kaoru was already planning to take a temporary leave from school, but if those pictures spread, Fūka’s reputation could become tangled in unnecessary gossip.

He hated exposing private matters publicly.

Back at 283 Production, reporters and tabloids had repeatedly tried to dig into his relationships with the idols, but none had ever obtained decisive evidence.

Most stories had been speculation—one photograph followed by an entire article of invented conclusions.

Occasionally, they guessed correctly.

Most of the time, they did not.

For now, he needed to stop Mio and get control of the tablet.

The instant the thought entered Kaoru’s mind, Fūka moved first.

Mio had just turned away, completely unaware that she had exposed her back.

Like a small animal with no idea a predator was behind it, she failed to notice the danger.

By the time footsteps and rushing air reached her ears, Mio’s instincts screamed a warning.

Too late.

Fūka caught her from behind.

"I personally don’t mind photographs very much."

Fūka’s voice appeared beside Mio’s ear.

"But taking secret pictures without permission is still rude, even when the culprit is a cute underclassman."

"Guh...!"

Mio’s face turned red—not from embarrassment, but from exertion.

Even using all her strength, she could not break free from Fūka’s grip.

Fūka attempted to take the tablet, only to discover that Mio had clamped it tightly against her chest.

After several unsuccessful attempts, she considered calling Kaoru over.

Then she turned and discovered he was already standing in front of them.

"Senpai, this isn’t going to solve anything."

Kaoru looked at Mio.

"Let’s discuss this normally. My earlier offer still stands. Want to trade the photographs for supplies?"

"Heh. You’re only scared I’ll release them!"

Even while restrained, Mio stubbornly refused to soften.

"Of course I’m worried."

Kaoru answered.

"If they spread, Kiryūin-senpai could get dragged into rumors she never agreed to."

Even though the photographs were only of kissing, Kaoru did not consider that irrelevant.

Choosing to date openly in front of friends was one thing.

Being secretly photographed during a private moment was another.

Fūka blinked.

She personally did not care much about a photograph.

But since Kaoru had claimed she would be embarrassed, she decided she could graciously pretend to be embarrassed.

"We can still negotiate."

Kaoru continued.

"If I have to physically take the tablet, things could become unnecessarily messy."

"Then try it!"

Mio shouted, her face red.

"I’ll bite you if you come close!"

Kaoru cautiously reached out.

Mio immediately snapped toward his hand.

He pulled it back just in time.

"My, my. This underclassman is vicious."

Fūka looked thoroughly entertained.

"Didn’t you say you had some kind of hypnosis app? Why not use it now and make her cooperate?"

Mio immediately became alarmed.

She glared viciously at Kaoru.

"Don’t you dare hypnotize me!"

"I don’t have anything like that."

Kaoru sighed.

Why did everyone believe that ridiculous rumor so easily?

"Then this is troublesome."

Fūka offered another terrible idea.

"Perhaps you should let her bite you once. Great achievements require sacrifices."

Kaoru seriously wondered whose side she was on.

Then he remembered something.

Technically...

He did possess something vaguely similar.

The Affection Ring.

It was an old reward whose effect increased the target’s positive feelings toward him. Kaoru had always thought of it as a bargain-bin version of fictional mind-control nonsense.

He had no idea whether it would work here.

Mio’s attitude toward him had always been terrible.

Her starting affection might genuinely have been somewhere below zero.

Still, he only wanted her calm enough to have a normal conversation.

He selected Mio as the target and activated the effect.

Kaoru waited.

Mio seemed briefly dazed.

Then she looked at him with exactly the same hostile glare as before.

There was no obvious change whatsoever.

Kaoru wondered whether the effect had failed to activate.

Refusing to believe it, he tried once more.

Mio still glared at him.

Kaoru’s mouth twitched.

Did this girl genuinely dislike him that much?

"You two have been staring at each other for a suspiciously long time."

Fūka looked between Kaoru and Mio.

For some reason, she had the distinct feeling something strange had just happened.

Mio silently looked away, the tips of her ears faintly red.

"I’m thinking."

Kaoru had originally intended not to take the matter seriously.

But Mio’s stubbornness was beginning to irritate him.

He searched his memory for some other old reward that might help resolve the situation without harming her.

Eventually, he remembered one.

The Ruler Bracelet.

He had obtained it long ago alongside Emotion Perception.

Its function was extremely powerful: once activated, it created a binding command link with a target.

Kaoru disliked using it precisely because it interfered too heavily with another person’s choices.

When he had once used similar effects against Shiho and the others, he had deliberately imposed limits and expiration conditions.

He had no intention of rewriting anyone’s personality or emotions.

Here, he only needed a momentary opening to retrieve the tablet and stop Mio from doing something impulsive.

Kaoru activated the bracelet.

Immediately, he felt the connection establish itself.

Mio noticed something as well.

"Don’t move."

Kaoru spoke firmly.

"Give me the tablet for a moment. I’ll return it afterward."

He reached toward the device.

This time, Mio did not attempt to bite him.

Kaoru took the tablet from her arms without resistance.

Surprise flashed through Fūka’s eyes.

She had only been joking earlier.

Could supernatural mind-control nonsense actually exist?

Mio looked even more shocked.

Her face immediately reddened.

As though trying desperately to prove that she was still herself, she bared her teeth like an angry puppy and attempted to lunge toward Kaoru.

Kaoru remained still.

Apparently, the bracelet had not erased her awareness or emotions.

That reassured him slightly.

Mio could still think, feel, and resent him exactly as before.

The only difference was that she had been unable to resist that specific command.

Kaoru could sense that the connection potentially allowed much more invasive control.

He had absolutely no intention of using it that way.

Unfortunately for Mio, her consciousness blurred a moment later anyway.

Not because Kaoru activated another effect.

Fūka suddenly struck her sharply on the side of the neck.

Mio went limp in her arms.

Kaoru stared at the unconscious girl.

Then he stared at Fūka.

"Senpai... what did you just do?"

"Isn’t that how they do it in movies?"

"..."

What kind of movies did this woman watch?

Kaoru had never expected to see someone actually attempt the famous cinematic neck-chop knockout in real life.

And somehow it had worked.

"You knocked her unconscious. What are we supposed to do now? Leave her lying here?"

Kaoru looked increasingly exasperated.

They obviously could not abandon an unconscious Mio in the middle of the forest.

"Hmm... perhaps that was slightly unnecessary."

Fūka scratched her head.

"Your little staring contest startled me. Are you absolutely certain you don’t have a hypnosis app?"

"I don’t."

Kaoru lied without blinking.

Fūka clearly doubted him.

Still, she looked toward the tablet Mio had used for the photographs and decided there were more immediate concerns.

"Then delete the pictures before she wakes up."

The instant she spoke, she noticed Kaoru’s expression becoming even more helpless.

"I would love to."

Kaoru turned the tablet toward her.

"But she has a password."

The lock screen stared back at them.

"You’re joking."

Fūka sounded offended.

"This girl is unbelievably devious. She even put a password on her own tablet because she was worried someone might steal it?"

Kaoru silently stared at her.

He had always considered himself shameless.

Apparently, he still had much to learn from his senpai.

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