The Legend of Level 0 in Academy City

"Ah!! It hurts! It hurts! Have mercy, Ruizi!"

A sudden, sharp pain shot through Inoue Hideka's arm, where Saten Ruiko was holding it, and caught off guard, Inoue Hideka cried out.

Immediately, the shoppers in the supermarket cast disgusted glances at Inoue Hideka, looking at this idiot who quickly covered his mouth as if he were a fool.

At that moment, Saten Ruiko suddenly moved away from Inoue Hidekazu, picked up something from the shelf, and pretended to be choosing something, acting as if she didn't recognize the fool at all.

"That's so mean... Ruiko!!"

Inoue Eika tossed aside the shopping cart, walked behind Saten Ruiko, wrapped her right arm around Saten Ruiko's neck, put it on her other shoulder, and looked down at Saten Ruiko's eyes with displeasure.

"Hmm? Yinghua is thinking..."

Saten Ruiko's face lit up with a smile again as she reached for Inoue Eika's arm, which was draped over her shoulder: "Want to do it again???"

"Forehead!"

After reflexively jumping away from the spot, Inoue Hideka looked warily at Saten Ruiko, lest she trip over the same brick twice.

"Haha! Okay, okay, stop fooling around!"

Seeing Inoue Eika's funny expression, Saten Ruiko smiled happily, then her expression changed, and she said with a slightly serious tone:

"Speaking of which, I've always wanted to ask, what did Yinghua say to the arbitrator later... no, to the arbitrator judge! Also, you really didn't kill him, did you? Let me tell you, his family is one of the top conglomerates in the world. If Yinghua had killed him, he would definitely be in big trouble! Besides, murder is still too far removed from our lives!"

"Huh...? Um, if I really became a murderer, what would Ruiko do?"

Inoue Hideka pretended to be nonchalant and asked a question that had always been on his mind.

He was curious to know how Saten Ruiko and Misaka Mikoto would view him if he really did kill someone.

Will you stay away from him?

Or should we report it to the relevant authorities?

Or...

"Yinghua, are you questioning my feelings for you?!"

Upon hearing this, Saten Ruiko's face immediately fell, and she retorted unhappily. Then, turning to face Inoue Eika, she said seriously:

"I don't care about being a murderer! Yinghua, listen to me, no matter what you become, whether everyone hates you, whether the whole world hunts you down, whether no one understands you, I will never be among them! No matter what, I will always be by Yinghua's side, shamelessly following you! I don't care about the 'if you don't leave me, I will never abandon you' thing, I am... even if Yinghua wants to abandon me, I will absolutely, absolutely never leave Yinghua!"

……

Suddenly, everything went quiet.

Inoue Hideka couldn't hear the special offers announced in the supermarket, the melodious music from the loudspeakers, or the noise of the crowd...

All that could be heard was Saten Ruiko's promise, which sounded like a vow.

Staring blankly at the solemn-looking Saten Ruiko, Inoue Eika's beautiful face held a firmness that could touch Inoue Eika's heart.

After a long while, Inoue Eika finally snapped out of her daze and smiled as she tapped Saten Ruiko's forehead.

"Raiko, you...you're so shameless! But me too!"

"Huh? What??"

Saten Ruiko seemed still immersed in the state she had just been in, looking blankly at Inoue Eika, who had turned and walked towards the shopping cart after finishing her speech.

"W-What?! What do you mean I'm shameless?! What do you mean I am too?! Eika, you cheated! No way! Eika has to say the same thing to me! Ugh! This is so unfair to me, even though I'm a girl! Why do I have to say these things to Eika, a boy?! Are you even a boy?! Don't you have any manners?!"

Realizing what had happened, Saten Ruiko shouted in frustration and caught up with Inoue Hideka, who was pushing a shopping cart and striding out.

"Tears, what are you saying! I said a million sweet words to you yesterday, and you fell asleep by yourself, how can you blame me?"

In reality, there weren't 10,000 sentences, but Inoue Hideka knew that Saten Ruiko was asleep and didn't know exactly how many sentences she had said, so he felt at ease saying that he had said 10,000 sentences.

Of course, he also knew that this statement was not convincing, so he decisively changed the subject and continued to seriously correct Saten Ruiko.

"And another thing! I'm a man, of course I'm a man! If Ruizi doesn't believe me, I can prove it to you!"

"Ew?! How disgusting! In public, Yinghua, is it really okay for you to say such lewd things? I'm going to report you for sexual harassment!"

"Tears are the one with a head full of erotic thoughts. The proof I gave you was going to the hospital to check your chromosomes! What are you thinking!"

"Ugh! You bastard Yinghua! You're not getting any dinner tonight! Oh! Oh right, you still haven't told me the question I just asked! What were you two bastards talking about behind my back?!"

As they walked out, bickering and making a ruckus, Saten Ruiko suddenly realized that the conversation had long since drifted off to a completely different topic.

She started by asking Inoue Hidekazu what he and the arbitration panel had said, but somehow the conversation shifted to how to prove that Inoue Hidekazu was a man.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Showing no mercy, Saten Ruiko used her ultimate tactic against Inoue Eika—forbidding her from eating!

"Oh my god! No, Ruiko! I'll die if I don't eat! I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?! Actually, I just gave the arbitrator a good beating! I vented my anger about almost being cheated on, I really didn't say anything~~"

"Huh? Is that really true? Pfft~~ I was the one who almost got bullied by that bastard! It had nothing to do with Yinghua! Being cheated on... can you stop trying to glorify yourself! Shameless! Humph!"

Chapter 372 Ordinary Physical Contact?

When she came out of the supermarket, Inoue Hideka was carrying large bags and small packages in both hands.

Taking advantage of the rare opportunity, Saten Ruiko bought a lot of things she needed to replenish for the next week without any hesitation, while someone was helping her carry them.

Saten Ruiko was expecting Inoue Hideka to beg for mercy with a mournful face, but to her disappointment, Inoue Hideka walked ahead of her with a satisfied look on her face, carrying various handbags and in a cheerful mood.

Saten Ruiko, who had failed to trick Inoue Eika, was immediately unhappy. She pouted and walked behind, thinking about how to make Inoue Eika beg for mercy.

After a moment's thought, an idea struck her. She strode forward, ignoring the pedestrians on both sides of the street, and jumped onto Inoue Hideka's back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and said sweetly:

"Yinghua, I'm tired. Can you carry me home?"

"Eh? Wait, wait! Tears, tears, you're choking me! I can't breathe!"

With both hands full, Inoue Hideka couldn't free up any hands to support Saten Ruiko, resulting in Saten Ruiko's entire body weight hanging on her neck.

Although Saten Ruiko wasn't heavy, she still weighed as much as a person, so compressing her trachea wouldn't be a problem.

"But I'm so tired~~ Yinghua, just free one hand!"

"Well……"

Inoue Hideka felt increasingly uncomfortable, but Saten Ruiko clearly showed no intention of letting go. Helpless, Inoue Hideka could only quickly transfer everything from her left hand to her right, then crouch down to relieve the pressure on her neck and said to Saten Ruiko:

"Move those tears up a little higher, I can't support you like that!"

"kindness……?"

Saten Ruiko originally only wanted to tease Inoue Hideka so that he would beg for mercy.

To everyone's surprise, Inoue Hideka not only did not beg for mercy, but also indulged her willful demands. Saten Ruiko was stunned for a few seconds, unsure whether she should continue.

"Hurry up and get up here! It's tiring for me to squat like this!"

While Saten Ruiko hesitated, Inoue Eika urged her impatiently.

Hearing Inoue Hideka's impolite tone, Saten Ruiko was not about to give up. She pouted and leaned forward a little, looking annoyed.

You idiot! Don't blame me for making things difficult for yourself!

"Eh?"

Just as she thought this, Saten Ruiko felt a large hand press against her buttocks, followed by a considerable force—

Suddenly, an indescribable feeling traveled along her sensory nerves to her brain.

"hiss--"

Saten Ruiko inexplicably got goosebumps all over her body and struggled slightly to shake off this strange feeling.

"Tears, don't move around. Aren't you tired? If you're tired, then rest properly. I'm holding these things, and if you move around, they'll fall."

Along with Inoue Eika's voice, there was also a clearer feeling in her buttocks—because Saten Ruiko was moving around, Inoue Eika was afraid that she would fall, so she tightened her grip.

"Well!"

Instantly, Saten Ruiko dared not move anymore, obediently climbing onto Inoue Eika's back, her face burning red, even redder than the sunset on the horizon.

That stinky Yinghua, she must have done it on purpose, right?

Yes, it was definitely intentional!

Before tomorrow, when we went to the 21st school district, I didn't have this strange feeling when they carried me back!

asshole!

As expected, this guy is petty and always thinking of getting revenge. I...

Ringing~~ringing~~

Saten Ruiko was lost in thought when the sudden ringing of the bell startled her, causing her to shudder and nearly fall off Inoue Eika.

Sensing the movement behind her, Inoue Hideka smiled helplessly and quickly used even more force to hold Saten Ruiko in place to prevent her from falling to the ground.

"ah!"

A stronger force came from below, and Saten Ruiko cried out in alarm, pushing Inoue Eika away and jumping to the side, shouting in shame and anger:

"What are you doing?!"

"Huh? What?"

Inoue Eika stumbled, dropping the bags in her hands to avoid falling to the ground. She turned around and looked at the startled Saten Ruiko with a bewildered expression.

"What am I doing? I'm the one who should be asking you that, Ruiko. What are you doing? Why did you suddenly push me away?"

Ring ring ring~ Ring ring ring~

The phone was still ringing.

Saten Ruiko blushed, realizing that she had indeed been acting strangely, and quickly changed the subject.

"N-nothing! Answer the phone, is it your cell phone ringing?"

"Well……"

Inoue Hideka stared at Saten Ruiko with a puzzled look.

Meeting Inoue Hideka's questioning gaze, Saten Ruiko guiltily turned her head away, her face growing increasingly red.

She was extremely embarrassed. How was she supposed to know that her body was so strange?

It was just ordinary physical contact, why am I blushing? Why do I feel this strange electric shock sensation?

Still watching!