Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 175 No, I'm craving you.

"Huh? What...what are you doing?"

When Natsume Mio heard Hoshihara Ai's words, she was slightly taken aback. Her lips trembled, and she said in disbelief.

Ai Hoshihara still had that smiling expression, and she said, enunciating each word clearly, "L～o～v～e～Love yo～".

As she spoke, she made an "O" sign with her left hand and poked her right index finger inside.

Natsume Mio was surprised that this woman could say such things in front of them without any restraint, even though it was something extremely shameful!
Natsume Mio glanced at Mikazuki Haruna beside her. Haruna was also looking serious, staring intently at the older sister sitting opposite her.

She felt threatened like never before.

If Natsume Mio had only made her wary before, then this woman in front of her was a blatant threat.

This woman not only reached into her plate, but she even started eating!

When Mikazuki Haruna noticed Natsume Mio looking at her, she met her gaze.

Although the two did not say a word, they had already reached some kind of agreement.

Mikazuki Haruna stared at Hoshihara Ai and said, "What... Could it be... that you and Ken have done it? Heh... If you haven't, what nonsense are you talking about..."

Ai Hoshino's lips curled into a smile, but this time she didn't answer. Instead, she looked at Ken Sakamoto and posed the question to him.

Sakamoto Ken's lips twitched slightly. He chuckled and said, "Haruna, don't get the wrong idea. I didn't do it."

This is a lie.

But when he lies, there are no flaws. This is probably something he honed in the Shura Field last time, and it has become a conditioned reflex.

When he finished speaking, Ai Hoshihara looked at him with an even stronger smile.

She smiled slightly and said, "Just because I haven't done it now doesn't mean I won't in the future. If you want, I can do it anytime."

"Tch." Haruna Mikazuki scoffed, "You were talking so confidently just now, I thought you two had already... already..."

At this point, his voice trailed off, and he shut his mouth; ultimately, it was something he couldn't bring himself to say.

Natsume Mio, standing nearby, also breathed a slight sigh of relief and said to Sakamoto Ken, "Ken, this woman is acting strangely. You didn't really contact her just for the sake of the project, did you...?"

"Huh?" Haruna Mikazuki immediately chimed in, "Yeah, Ken, you didn't actually get in through her connections, did you?"

Ken Sakamoto shook his head and said, "Didn't you hear President Aiga's evaluation of my work just now? With the quality of 'Looking Back', there's no need for any back channels."

Ai Hoshino chimed in, "I was very fair and objective when I gave the scores. I didn't give Ken a high score just because I like him."

Upon hearing her mention "like" again, Natsume Mio decisively reached out and grabbed Sakamoto Ken's wrist, then said in a somewhat urgent tone, "Ken! Didn't you say you wanted to be with me..."

Before she could finish speaking, Mikazuki Haruna interrupted, "What do you want to do with me?"

Natsume Mio also gave her a disapproving look and said, "Get your facts straight! We're standing together right now!"

She blurted out those words, and only after saying them did she realize how strange they sounded.

For some reason, I kind of agree with Ken's idea that he should date both her and Mikazuki Haruna at the same time...

Natsume Mio spoke in a low voice, while Mikazuki Haruna pouted and didn't respond.

She said to Ken Sakamoto, "Ken, do you want to be like the male protagonist in a manga?"

Mikazuki Haruna looked at Sakamoto Ken and nodded, saying, "Ken might actually have that idea."

Natsume Mio raised her voice slightly as she said to Sakamoto Ken, "Ken, you need to wake up! That kind of plot... having a harem or something, only happens in light novels and manga. In reality... in reality..."

Her voice trailed off as she muttered, "How could this be possible in real life?"

Mikazuki Haruna said, "That's right, Ken, it seems like you're testing the limits of danger."

Ken Sakamoto said, "Putting myself aside for now, just talking about harems, are male protagonists in harems really in great danger?"

Haruna Mikazuki said, "Manga is manga, and reality is reality. In reality, it's..."

She paused, then continued, "I know a friend, um... a friend of a friend, who was dating three girls at the same time, and they all stabbed him to death."

If it were Ken Sakamoto a month or two ago, hearing her say such things would probably have given him a slight shock.

Things are different now. After these two months, his rank has improved significantly.

If she hadn't said something like "I'll kill you," the risk might have been even higher.

But now that he's already said "I'll kill you," his suppressed emotions have been expressed, and he's actually less likely to actually pull out a knife and stab him.

At this moment, Ai Hoshihara interjected, "Hey? Haruna, tell me more about your 'friend of a friend'? It sounds quite interesting."

Mikazuki Haruna was momentarily speechless when she was asked this question.

After all, she fabricated the events from that dream memory.

Haruna whispered, "What's the point? It's just that a jerk got ripped off..."

Although Natsume Mio has not formally mentioned this to her yet, it was already basically confirmed that one of the other two people who conspired to kill Ken in that memory was Mikazuki Haruna.

Now that she has said this, it completely confirms this conjecture.

Natsume Mio gave a soft hum, but didn't say anything more to Mikazuki Haruna about the matter.

But this woman in front of me...

Although there was no evidence, Natsume Mio had a premonition—

She was the third person in that rooftop scene I remembered!
Many things from that long period of memory have been corroborated by reality.

For example, at the very beginning, she found Sakamoto Ken's apartment entirely from memory, and even went to the convenience store near his house, and even the small park nearby. She and Ken had once been deeply in love in a corner of the park late at night... In short, everything was very familiar.

Then, she saw the red Porsche that appeared in her memory, confirming that Mikazuki Haruna was one of them.

Now, they've encountered a woman who seems to have some kind of ambiguous relationship with Ah Jian...

It's really hard to deny the worst possible guess in my mind.

Just as Natsume Mio was pondering this, Hoshihara Ai leaned back in her chair, looking very relaxed.

She said quietly, "I didn't expect you to have a friend of a friend like this."

Mikazuki Haruna asked in confusion, "What do you mean I have one too?"

Ai Hoshihara said, "Because I also know a man... who was dumped by three girls at the same time."

Natsume Mio's shoulders trembled slightly, and she stared wide-eyed at Hoshihara Ai, feeling as if she had unconsciously held her breath.

When Mikazuki Haruna said that, she knew she was making excuses.

What friend's friend? It's clearly herself!

She must have those memories too.

But now, the woman in front of me named Ai Hoshihara is saying the same thing...

Ai Hoshihara said with a rather sentimental tone, "The friend of mine died a really tragic death. He was stabbed three times in the body. I just wonder if he will reflect on his actions and repent after being killed by three women."

As she spoke, her eyes kept glancing at Ken Sakamoto.

Under the table, Ai Hoshihara's feet climbed onto Ken Sakamoto's shoes again, arrogantly stomping lightly on them, her toes even tearing the laces apart.

Ken Sakamoto chimed in, "No matter what, killing someone is definitely wrong, isn't it?"

Ai Hoshihara said, "But some people just deserve to be killed."

Ken Sakamoto just chuckled and didn't reply.

He was sitting there, and now he really felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

He really wanted to have a good talk with Hoshino Hoshino to find out what she was really thinking.

But with Mio and Haruna both there, it wasn't appropriate to say anything. So Ken Sakamoto simply stood up, pointed to the food counter, and said, "What would you like to eat? I'll go get some."

Ai Hoshino casually said, "You can help me carry it."

Mio Natsume and Haruna Mikazuki both said in unison, "Just take whatever Ken likes to eat!"

Ken Sakamoto responded and quickly walked towards the food counter.

It wasn't until he reached the food counter and was behind the beverage machine that he hurriedly took out his phone and sent a message to Ai Hoshihara.

Ken Sakamoto: "Ai, if you say things like that to them, I'll have a hard time handling this later."

Ken Sakamoto: "You promised to help me? Now you're practically pushing me into a fire pit."

Ken Sakamoto: "Tell me what you're thinking first, so I can cooperate with you."

Ken Sakamoto didn't linger for long. He carried a plate with some grilled meat, sushi, sashimi, and tempura on it.

Without carefully selecting anything, they went back.

As he put down his plate, he glanced at Ai Hoshino and gave her a silent look before sitting back down and picking up a piece of tempura and putting it in his mouth.

Ai Hoshino touched her pocket, glanced at the food on her plate, and said casually, "I'll go get some food too."

After saying that, she got up and walked past Sakamoto Fitness.

As he walked past Sakamoto Fitness, this guy deliberately arched his back a little.

Before Sakamoto Ken could react, her buttocks landed all over his face.

Ken Sakamoto watched Ai Hoshihara walk away. He learned that Ai Hoshihara had sent him the message under the pretense of going to get something to eat.

At that moment, Natsume Mio, who was sitting opposite her, immediately stood up.

Before Mikazuki Haruna could react, she strode over to Sakamoto Ken and sat down in the spot where Hoshihara Ai had just been sitting.

Mikazuki Haruna belatedly exclaimed, "Eh?!"

But before she could finish her sentence, Natsume Mio immediately launched into a tirade: "Ken! That Hoshihara Ai... she was just talking nonsense, wasn't she? Tell me you're not dating her!"

Faced with the two girls' direct gazes, Ken Sakamoto did not answer directly: "Don't listen to what she just said, that's just her personality."

Haruna Mikazuki said, "So it's fake, right?"

Mio Natsume added, "That's a really bad personality!"

Haruna Mikazuki said, "Even if she has a terrible personality, the fact that she would say things like that and even mention doing *that*... means you two must be quite close!"

This time, Ken Sakamoto did not deny it. He nodded and said in a very matter-of-fact tone, "We are indeed very familiar with each other. I also like to read science fiction novels. Didn't I just tell you? I met her because of a novel."

Ken Sakamoto was not lying at all when he said that.

Last week, although the initial encounter was because Ai Hoshihara was drunk and almost froze to death on the roadside, Ken Sakamoto kindly took her home.

However, their relationship deepened later because of science fiction novels.

They often discussed science fiction, and that's how they grew closer.

Then, on another day when she had been drinking, she pounced on him when they met...

From then on, their relationship deepened, and Ai Hoshihara became even more infatuated with him.

As Kenjiro Sakamoto was speaking, he felt his phone vibrate twice in his pocket.

The message must have come from Ai Hoshihara.

He didn't pick it up and look at it right away.

If Natsume Mio were sitting opposite me like before, I would have had a chance to take it out and quickly take a look.

But now Natsume Mio has switched roles and is staring at him intently.

Soon, Ai Hoshino walked over with a plate in her arms.

Her plate contained a variety of seemingly random food items, with only the mousse cake on the far right likely being something she specifically wanted to eat.

Ai Hoshino held a wine glass in her other hand, with red wine swirling inside.

Does she want to drink...?

Seeing Ai Hoshihara drinking, Ken Sakamoto became slightly wary, since alcohol would significantly enhance her fighting ability...

Red wine is fine; its alcohol content is much lower than whiskey, so it's unlikely to get you drunk.

Ai Hoshihara, carrying a plate, first stood by the booth, looked at the spot where she had just been sitting, and then cast an inquiring glance at Ken Sakamoto.

Ken Sakamoto shrugged and said, "Mio switched places, so you can sit in her seat now."

Natsume Mio crossed her arms and gave Hoshihara Ai a rather unfriendly look.

Ai Hoshihara didn't mind at all and sat down directly opposite Ken Sakamoto.

She first took a small sip of red wine, then picked up the mousse cake in the paper cup, scooped a spoonful with a small spoon, and put it in her mouth.

Ken Sakamoto said to Mio Natsume and Haruna Mikazuki, "Aren't you going to get something to eat?"

Natsume Mio showed no intention of getting up. She said, "I'm not hungry anyway, so I'll just eat what's on your plate."

"Me too!" Mikazuki Haruna immediately picked up a fork and poked a piece of roast beef into Sakamoto Ken's plate.

Ken Sakamoto didn't say much, but instead quickened his pace and ate most of the food that had just been served.

He got up again: "I'll go get some more."

Sakamoto Ken walked quickly toward the food counter, still using the beverage machine as cover, and picked up his phone to check the message that Hoshihara Ai had just sent.

Ai Hoshihara: "So, you really do want to be the male protagonist of a harem manga, huh?"

Ai Hoshihara: "Did you think I was playing a prank just now? I was really trying to help you."

Ai Hoshihara: "These two little girls, although they are both a bit slow and seem a little dim-witted, are actually very sensitive to certain things."

Ai Hoshihara: "Speaking of which, I haven't asked you yet, how are you going to repay me?"

Ai Hoshino: "Today I've absorbed all the hatred from those two onto myself."

Ken Sakamoto typed back: "I'll repay you however you want, but the important thing is them, don't bully them."

Ai Hoshihara: "I've now confirmed that they have similar memories from last week's timeline to mine. Whether their feelings for you will deepen or they'll angrily pick up a knife is up to me in just a few words."

Ken Sakamoto: "You were looking at your phone and typing in front of them?!"

Ai Hoshino: "You, don't you even have the skills to be a scumbag? I was all prepared, I put a privacy screen protector on my phone."

Ken Sakamoto: "You just have a knack for being a scumbag."

Ai Hoshihara: "Okay, now you have to promise me one thing."

Ken Sakamoto: "Love, you will always be number one, last time, now, and forever."

Ai Hoshihara: "What was last week's loop?"

Ken Sakamoto: "I've had more encounters with them than you've had with any of them combined."

Ai Hoshihara: "I don't believe what that old scumbag says, unless you prove it with your actions tonight."

Ken Sakamoto: "Isn't that inconvenient? They're here. How about we meet in a dream tomorrow afternoon?"

Ai Hoshihara: "No, I'm craving you."

(End of this chapter)