"Shiratori... don't scare me like that..."
Rikka was genuinely frightened. Even when she was taken away by that group earlier, she wasn't as scared as she was now.
Because she was afraid that her only friend would become like everyone else.
Seeing the tears in Rikka's eyes, Hakuto snapped out of his earlier rage.
He let out a deep sigh and looked at Rikka beside him.
"Sorry... I just..."
Hakuto didn't know why he had entered that state earlier. He didn't have many friends, and Rikka was one of the few.
Perhaps it was because he didn't want his friend to have a rough life in the future due to her personality that he got so angry.
Now that he had calmed down, Hakuto sat beside Rikka and gently helped her put her eyepatch back on.
"Sorry, I was too impulsive just now..."
"Shiratori just now... you looked like those bullies..."
Hearing this, Hakuto finally realized what he had just done.
"Rikka... can you tell me what the Wicked Eye means to you?"
Hakuto felt that he had been too caught up in his own thoughts. At the same time, he was curious—what made Rikka so persistent about this?
Although Hakuto was a transmigrator, before coming to this world, his understanding of Rikka was limited to her name and appearance. He knew nothing about this part of her life.
Hearing his question, Rikka nodded and was about to speak when the class bell rang.
"Ignore it. Take your time. I'm here."
"Mm!"
Rikka nodded and, for the first time, skipped class to open up to someone outside her world.
"My dad... passed away not long ago..."
"I have to find the Invisible Boundary Line. I have to find my dad... find him..."
Though her words were brief, they left Hakuto frozen in place.
"I see..."
Hakuto felt a mix of emotions, unsure of what to say.
Even with just those few words, he could piece together the whole picture.
So even something like chuunibyou could save someone. And this kind of salvation wasn't just some joke—it was a real, meaningful salvation.
To others, chuunibyou might just be something childish and ridiculous, but to Rikka, it was the only way to find her father.
To her, it wasn't fake—it was real.
The pain of losing her father had led her to use chuunibyou as a crutch.
Perhaps only by immersing herself in her own world could Rikka remain cheerful and optimistic—only then could she be happy.
She had found a new purpose in life: searching for her father on the other side of the world.
That was why, despite being bullied so often, she could still keep smiling.
Hakuto didn't know if Touka was aware of the connection behind all this.
Perhaps she did, but as an older sister, she had to make certain choices for Rikka's future.
"Shiratori... am I pathetic? I didn't want to make my sister worry..."
Rikka was more aware than anyone that none of this was real. She just refused to admit it.
After all, who would willingly acknowledge that their emotional support was something completely imaginary?
"You and my sister both care about me... but I..."
As she spoke, Rikka placed her hand on the eyepatch Hakuto had just adjusted for her.
Maybe she wanted to stop worrying her family and friends.
Maybe she wanted to escape from this situation.
She wanted to throw away the crutch that had supported her all this time.
But at that moment, Hakuto unexpectedly grabbed her hand.
"Shiratori?"
"I don't know if this counts as breaking my deal with your sister..."
Hakuto shook his head. For the first and only time, he didn't want to complete his employer's task.
Rikka stared at Hakuto, momentarily stunned, unable to understand what he meant.
"Rikka... no, Mistress of the Wicked Eye. You still have a mission to complete. You haven't found the Invisible Boundary Line yet, so you can't abandon this power."
Hearing those words, Rikka's eyes widened. It was the first time she had ever heard Hakuto speak like that.
"Shiratori, you..."
"Shh— I, the Weakest Undefeated Hero, swear that I will never let the Mistress of the Wicked Eye be harmed again and that I will fully support her in finding the Invisible Boundary Line."
As he spoke, Hakuto extended his pinky toward her.
"Want to make a promise?"
Rikka looked at him, and before she could stop herself, tears streamed down her face.
"Hero! Hero! Hero!!"
"I'm here. No need to yell so loud, and you don't have to call me so many times."
Tears filled Rikka's eyes as she slowly extended her pinky and hooked it around his.
"Then... it's a promise!"
"Yeah... it's a promise."
"This is the promise between the Mistress of the Wicked Eye and the Weakest Undefeated Hero."
"Yes, this is our promise."
With Hakuto's support, Rikka didn't abandon her chuunibyou. Instead, she embraced it even more.
And Hakuto, as a transmigrator, felt that he should do something meaningful.
For himself, and for that promise, Hakuto went after every delinquent in his middle school and beat them up one by one.
If one beating wasn't enough, then two. If two weren't enough, then three.
Under his influence, school bullying quickly vanished. The only thing remotely close to bullying was Hakuto himself going around beating up delinquents.
Interestingly, Touka didn't consider it as Hakuto failing his task. She not only paid him in full but also thanked him.
Perhaps, as an older sister, she didn't want Rikka to lose her emotional support either.
But now, with Hakuto around, Rikka could spend her youth in peace and search for her father on the other side of the world without worry.
This was the first promise Hakuto spoke of, the beginning of his bond with Rikka.
And it was also the true reason he became the boss of the delinquents.
"A real-life Oda Nobunaga, huh..."
Sitting in a café, Hakuto reminisced about the past and couldn't help but sigh.
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