Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 14 I'm a jerk, but not a bad guy.

Sakamoto Ken silently walked to the storage room, took out his uniform from his storage box, and changed into it.

Facing the full-length mirror, Ken Sakamoto frowned in thought.

He hadn't quite caught up with the situation when they first met, but now he realized something.

Why is Mio here?
Will I work at this convenience store?
Kenjiro Sakamoto didn't believe in so many coincidences.

Looking back on everything since my rebirth, from the exam hall to today.

Logically speaking, she shouldn't know where she lives.

The only explanation is that she remembers things from last week's timeline.

So, you came all the way here to apply for a part-time job at a convenience store just to catch me?
But I didn't see any murderous intent in her eyes just now.

If she were continuing with the emotions from the last moment of last week's game, she should have just grabbed a knife and kicked down the door...

correct.

Perhaps it's because she also knows that she has been "reborn" before everything began.

In her view, at this point in time, I am not a scumbag.

Huh? Following this logic, doesn't that mean she has already chosen to forgive?
Besides, even in last week's playthrough, he was just a bit of a jerk, not a bad guy.

A bad man plays with emotions and betrays them, but he didn't.

He liked every girl the same way and gave them all the same love.

So, Mio actually wanted to have him all to herself before he met the other two?

Ken Sakamoto felt that his thinking was correct.

But there's another problem.

Why did she suddenly change her hairstyle?
Last time, from high school all the way to the last scene, she had the same hairstyle all these years, at most she would tie her hair up in different styles.

Moreover, to my recollection, she had never tried braiding her hair.

This hairstyle is actually not very common, because it can look very outdated if not styled properly, so hairdressers generally don't recommend it.

But her hair today must have been specially trimmed.

To be honest, Machima's hairstyle actually suits Mio quite well.

Even their body sizes are similar; in fact, Mio is a bit bigger than Machima.

In other words, she lacks the air of a young lady from a wealthy family.

Does the fact that her hairstyle is exactly the same as Machima's mean that she got her hair done after seeing "Chainsaw Man"?

Although the pen name uses the real name, who in their right mind would specifically search for someone's name on JUMP+?

He wasn't serialized in JUMP+ last week either.

Has the story started to take a suspenseful turn...?

In short, he remained calm when facing Natsume Mio.

Although she is very strong, it takes a lot of effort to subdue her.

But deep down, this guy is an obedient little dog.

Ken Sakamoto is no longer completely escapist.

Haruna copied his manga, and Mio went to work near his house...

Who knows what kind of trouble that older sister, whose IQ is far superior to the combined IQ of the two of them, might cause.

After confirming that they most likely had memories of the previous game, Ken Sakamoto knew that some things were unavoidable.

"Jian~" A girl's voice came from outside the door, "Jian, have you changed your clothes?"

Ken Sakamoto straightened the wrinkles in his clothes one last time, maintained a calm smile, and walked out the door.

Natsume Mio stood obediently in front of the door, and when she saw Sakamoto Ken come out, she bowed slightly like a housewife waiting for her husband to come home.

“Ken took a long time to change his clothes,” Natsume Mio said.

Ken Sakamoto glanced at the time and said, "I start work at 7, so there are still 2 minutes left."

Natsume Mio never expected him to say that, and her emotions suddenly became disjointed.

"Ah... then? So Ken needs to rest for another two minutes before going back to work?" Natsume Mio asked. "I don't mind the pay for those two minutes."

Ken Sakamoto walked between the shelves, took a basket, and began to organize the merchandise that had been left haphazardly by customers.

After walking around for a while, I washed my hands first, then went back to the oden machine next to the cashier and added some soup.

At that moment, a customer walked into the store, took a bento box and a bottle of juice, and went to the cashier.

Mio Natsume skillfully scanned the barcodes on the products.

"Hello, that's 680 yen in total. Would you like it heated up?"

"Need not."

“Okay, cash or…” Natsume Mio moved the plate where cash was placed for customers and pushed it over.

“I have a discount coupon,” the customer interrupted her, placing a piece of paper with the FamilyMart logo and barcode on the table.

"Oh, a discount coupon..." Natsume Mio subconsciously reached for the coupon verification option on the screen, but quickly pulled her hand back.

She smiled slightly as she looked at Ken Sakamoto.

"Ah Jian~ Um, this customer wants to use a discount coupon, how do I do it?" Natsume Mio asked.

"You don't know how to use it?" Ken Sakamoto asked, puzzled.

“Sigh… This is my first day working at FamilyMart. I’ve only ever worked at Lawson before,” Natsume Mio said. “Ken, can you teach me?”

Ken Sakamoto walked to the cashier, clicked the coupon verification button on the screen, and then scanned the barcode on the coupon with the barcode scanner.
"drop--"

"Hello, the price after the coupon is 480 yen," Ken Sakamoto said.

The customer nodded, silently rummaged through his wallet, and finally laid out four 100-yen coins, one 50-yen coin, and three 10-yen coins on the plate before taking the items and leaving.

Sakamoto Ken sized up Natsume Mio, sensing a hint of malice in her gaze.

She shouldn't be unable to use the FamilyMart point-of-sale computer.

After all, they had worked together here for quite a long time last week, doing all sorts of things, such as moving and organizing goods, working as cashiers, and even handing out flyers outside the store.

You're not faking it, are you?

Ken Sakamoto tried to put himself in Sakamoto's shoes.

He himself decided not to tell anyone about his rebirth, and it's likely that Natsume Mio made the same choice.

The two stood in the space behind the cashier, one body length apart.

Mio Natsume suddenly turned to Ken Sakamoto and said, "Ken, I remember you said before that you would publish manga and become a manga artist after graduation."

After a brief moment of thought, Ken Sakamoto decided to turn the tables on her and directly questioned her about why her hairstyle was exactly the same as his heroine's.

"That's right, I've already published it."

Ken Sakamoto paused, about to continue, when Mio Natsume interrupted him: "Hehe, I've already seen it. Last time I searched Ken's name on Google, I found that there is an author with the same name as Ken who has published a serialized work in JUMP+."

She took a step closer, staring intently at Ken Sakamoto: "Chainsaw Man, that's Ken's work, right!"

“Look~” Natsume Mio raised her hand and flicked the braid at the back of her head, then said, “I specially got the same hairstyle as the female lead, does it look good?”

Ken Sakamoto could see the intense emotions in her eyes.

Her next words, even a confession, wouldn't surprise Sakamoto Ken.

We can't push the relationship to that point now, or we'll be caught in a difficult position later.

Having gone through the previous playthrough, Sakamoto Ken's biggest takeaway from the chaotic situation is the importance of balance.

Just like walking on a narrow bridge, if either side is too heavy or too light, you will fall into the abyss.

Moreover, the current situation reminds him of his encounter with Haruna in his previous life, which started with a manga and gradually deepened.

Ken Sakamoto doesn't think replacing Haruna with Mio would make things much safer.

Ken Sakamoto smiled calmly and said in a composed tone, "That's right, it's my work. Thank you for your support."

He avoided commenting on the hairstyle, speaking in a tone as if a famous author had encountered a fanatical fan on the street.

His expression was appropriate, yet he maintained a subtle distance.

Ken Sakamoto has been a scumbag, so some of his thoughts are not unfounded or based on assumptions.

(End of this chapter)