Chapter 17: Standing Up to Injustice

Because Quillan planned to ask for leave early in the morning to hunt for an apartment, he went to bed relatively early the night before.

Living at his homeroom teacher’s place came with one distinct advantage: asking for leave was incredibly easy. Quillan merely mentioned that he needed time off to find a place of his own, and Norika Harada granted it without a second thought—she even spared him the trip to school to fill out a leave slip!

It was clear that Norika was more than happy to see Quillan move out.

That wasn’t surprising at all. Even though she had called him ’Quillan-kun,’ it was purely to go along with the act to deceive her parents and that cousin of hers who was set up as her matchmaking partner!

Deep down, Norika’s impression of men hadn’t really changed. Quillan didn’t force the issue either—after all, Norika was just his homeroom teacher, not anyone particularly important in his life.

Knowing how much Norika disliked men, coupled with how his prank the night before had driven her to tears, Quillan simply woke up early, packed his bags, and left her apartment complex, heading straight toward the commercial street near St. Sakura High School.

Having been there before, Quillan remembered seeing a residential area nestled between the commercial street and the academy, so he decided to head over and try his luck.

In truth, Norika’s apartment wasn’t too far from the commercial street. After wheeling his suitcase for about fifteen minutes, Quillan arrived at the residential area. However, his luck wasn’t great—the path through the neighborhood was currently blocked by several men clad in leather jackets and sunglasses.

The men clearly weren’t up to any good. Four of them formed a tight circle, cornering a girl in a school uniform right in the center.

Quillan recognized the emblem on her uniform at a glance—what a coincidence, she went to the same school as him.

Since this place was close to St. Sakura Girls’ High School, it was only natural for girls her age to enroll there. Looking at the trembling girl clutching her handbag, Quillan furrowed his brows.

The girl looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a bob hairstyle and a clean, fair complexion that added plenty of charm to her otherwise above-average looks. As for her figure, she was far more developed than the average high school girl—especially her high chest, which was unmistakably sizeable...

Don’t ask how Quillan knew so much—this girl had left an impression on him. Remember the classmate who whispered complaints after Ruri Hosokawa went to tattle to her mother?

That’s right—this girl was none other than the ’Haruka-chan’ from Ruri Hosokawa’s mouth, Quillan’s classmate Haruka Himuro!

He had no idea why she was cornered in a place like this by four burly thugs. Could it be similar to what Miyuki Sakurai had encountered before? Japan really was a country filled with perverts, Quillan thought, sighing helplessly. However, he didn’t charge in right away, choosing instead to watch the situation unfold with a cool eye!

"Heheh, she might look average, but this girl’s got a hell of a body!" one of the four thugs remarked with a greasy laugh.

"Hey, Kento Himuro is your father, right? Where on earth is he hiding? If you don’t talk, you’re coming with us..." another thug threatened Haruka Himuro viciously.

Haruka Himuro burst into tears, asking nervously, "What... what are you going to do to me? I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I really don’t know where my father is hiding! He owes you money, but didn’t you already take our house and kick me out?"

"Shut your mouth!" The fierce-looking thug was clearly dissatisfied with her answer. He sneered, "That piece-of-trash house of yours—is it even worth five million yen? Your father owes us five million yen, and that house is worth three million at most. For the remaining two million, if we can’t find your dad, you’re coming with us to film adult videos to settle the debt!"

"Please, I beg you..." Haruka Himuro paled in fright, her legs giving out as she crouched on the ground, pleading, "I’m still in school, I... I can’t leave school! Please believe me, once I earn money in the future, I will definitely pay you back for my father..."

Haruka Himuro probably didn’t fully grasp what filming adult videos meant; Quillan had actually realized after coming to Japan that young Japanese girls were still quite naive and innocent!

"In the future?"

The men burst out laughing. To their ears, her words sounded like the funniest joke in the world. After laughing, the fierce-looking thug’s face instantly went cold: "Do you think I’m running a charity here? Who has the time to wait for your ’future’? And if you run off too, who the hell am I supposed to collect from?"

"Boss, why waste your breath on a little girl?"

A nearby thug gave a meaningful glance and said, "Since that Kento Himuro has vanished into thin air, we’ll just take his daughter to cover the debt!"

With that, the thug cast a deeply filthy gaze over Haruka Himuro, his eyes practically dripping with lust. Anyone could tell what was going through his mind.

With such a raw, unveiled look fixed on her, even the most innocent girl would know what it implied. At that moment, Haruka Himuro felt completely hopeless and helpless. She wanted to cry out for help, but it was just past dawn, and hardly anyone was around.

However... as her desperate eyes scanned her surroundings, they finally landed on a figure that looked vaguely familiar!