Does gravity make me stronger?

Hachiman immediately looked toward Toyokawa Shoko's workstation.

It's possible that Jiu saw Hachiman's actions. The minister added, "That kid has already submitted his resignation and will be working until next month."

"Oh."

Hachiman did not express any opinion on this. After obtaining permission from the minister, he went to the finance department to settle his wages.

By the time all the formalities were completed, it was already dark.

What should we have for dinner?

[Changed jobs, shouldn't you treat yourself to something nice?]

"You're right, let's have two rice balls today, one tuna flavor and the other crab flavor."

【…】

Hachiman, who had bought two rice balls from a convenience store and was eating dinner on his way home, suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure.

Toyokawa Shoko.

Beside her were two boys wearing small round hats, who were talking to each other with amused expressions.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that Toyokawa Shoko's gravity value is rapidly increasing.

7-> 20

20-> 34

Toyokawa Shoko has always been a relatively emotionally stable person.

At least Hachiman has never seen Toyokawa Shoko's gravity value exceed 20, and even when she receives harassing phone calls full of foul language, she can still answer them fluently.

If it were Hachiman, he probably would have been spewing profanities by now.

It's online anyway, so who's afraid of who!

As for the real thing offline, sorry to bother you.

But right now, Toyokawa Shoko's emotions have become very unstable.

Hachiman felt a little curious about what was happening to the other person at this moment.

...

As Toyokawa Shoko walked out of the company, she kept thinking about how long it would take to get out of her current predicament.

It's not that she can't accept a life of poverty, it's just that she fell from grace so quickly that she hasn't been able to accept it yet.

Also.

Her father had been an alcoholic for a long time, and his self-destructive behavior was completely unbearable for her.

You are the one who caused this situation...

Toyokawa Shoko took out her wallet from her handbag; inside was her recently received salary.

The pocket money I never used to have to give me now has to be earned penny by penny, and I have to agonize over a long time before buying a cup of coffee that I used to be able to buy easily...

It is these small places that come together to form a despair that can devour everything.

but.

She has found a solution to all of this.

And she had already come close to success once.

All you need is to form a band that can generate quick profits.

Of course, the idol project proposed by Hachiman Hikigaya could also make money, but because it takes too long and is more uncertain, Shoko Toyokawa was not interested in trying it.

Of course, if you ask her if she is confident in becoming an excellent idol, the answer is yes.

"Speaking of which, Hachiman is clearly very smart, but he seems to have a low self-esteem."

The young man she met at work left a good impression on Toyokawa Shoko.

He has strong observation skills, keeps his promises, and has a good appearance. Apart from his eyes being a bit of a pity, he is a person worth getting to know better.

However, now...

She no longer has that kind of leeway.

"Oh, isn't this Ms. Toyokawa? What a coincidence!"

Two extremely scruffy-looking men appeared out of nowhere at the street corner, like wild Pokémon.

"Who are you...?"

Shoko Toyokawa observed them for a moment and then remembered their identities.

The debt collectors from my father's side.

"What do you want from me?"

"What else could we be here for? Of course, we're here to collect debts."

"If you want to collect the debt, please contact my father."

"That's why we came to you, we couldn't find that guy. Sorry, little girl, we don't like bullying kids, but we can't help it."

A blond-haired man was holding a butterfly knife and pretending to play with it, making a lot of fancy and difficult moves.

With such skills, why not go pro and make a name for yourself, instead of hanging around in society?

Toyokawa Shoko stared intently at the butterfly knife, worried that the other person might cut their hand at any moment.

"The repayment period shouldn't be over yet."

"It hasn't arrived yet, but the payment for last month hasn't been made."

"What? I didn't give the money to my father... Could it be that he used it to buy alcohol again?"

The Toyokawa family's finances are currently controlled by Toyokawa Shoko. If they were handed over to his father, any amount of money would end up in hotels and pachinko parlors.

Her face looked rather pale.

"So, we're not deliberately causing trouble. We need to eat too. Here's what we'll do: give me back last month's money first."

"it is good."

Without wasting any words, Toyokawa Shoko immediately handed over the agreed amount of money to the other party.

However, this meant that not much of the salary I had just received was left.

The debt collection duo happily accepted the money, then stopped Toyokawa Shoko from leaving again.

"Is there anything else?"

Toyokawa Shoko raised her eyebrows in displeasure.

"What about this month's payment?"

"The time hasn't come yet!"

"If you submitted it late last month, you have to submit it early this month. Do you understand how to balance things out?"

"you...!"

Toyokawa Shoko clenched her fists, but faced with the two men's unreasonable arguments, she couldn't think of a particularly good solution for the time being.

Should we give them all the money?

But as a result, she lost even the most basic living expenses.

As for the culprit behind all this, his father is probably drunk in some tavern right now.

As soon as she thought of this, a loud buzzing sound rang in her mind, and Toyokawa Shoko felt a crack appear on a string deep within her spirit.

Why did it turn out like this...?

Beside her, the blond-haired man looked on expectantly, his playful gaze sweeping over Toyokawa Shoko's entire body, making her instinctively feel disgusted.

"What, give me an answer. If you don't give me the money, I might as well give you to me, hehehe."

As he said this, the other person anxiously reached out and grabbed at her.

"Let go!"

Toyokawa Shoko forcefully pushed away the blond-haired man's right hand, staring intently at them with her eyes wide open.

What are you doing? Ouch!

"This month's money... you can have it, right..."

"of course."

With her eyes tightly closed, Toyokawa Shoko struggled with the decision for a long time before finally reaching into her bag.

"Is this Toyokawa-kun?"

"Hey?"

Suddenly, a dead-eyed boy barged in and blocked Toyokawa Shoko's path.

Chapter 21 021 Now it's time for fantasy!

Hachiman had imagined countless scenarios of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress. For example, a long sword would fall from the sky, and he would gracefully arrive with his hands behind his back, leaving the opponent dumbfounded. Or, when the opponent made a move, he would flash by, block the attack, and calmly say, "Can you give me some face?"

But when the opportunity finally came his way, he acted so casually.

Damn, why couldn't their entrance pose be any cooler?

Hachiman tried hard to suppress the tension and excitement in his heart, and gave Toyokawa Shoko a wink.

"Toyokawa, I've been looking for you for a long time. Your father asked me to tell you that he has paid back the debt from last month."

"Hachiman, what are you doing here...?"

"Who are you to call yourself a hero? You should know when to play the hero and save the damsel in distress!"

One of them angrily pressed down on Hachiman's shoulder.

Let's rewind a few minutes.

Hachiman spotted Toyokawa Shoko cornered by two thugs by the roadside.

To be honest, Hachiman had no intention of intervening until the two thugs started groping Toyokawa Shoko.

Self-preservation is always a wise choice, no matter the circumstances.

But if something happened to Toyokawa Shoko because of his inaction, his conscience wouldn't allow it.

and so.

After one of them physically harassed Toyokawa Shoko, Hachiman stopped being a bystander and rushed in.

Of course, it's not reckless blunder, but scientific and rational blunder.

The moment he decided to intervene, he had already activated his ability to read minds.

A series of thoughts kept entering his mind, and then Hachiman caught a crucial piece of information: the other party wasn't there to collect a debt at all, but to extort Toyokawa Shoko.

In short, the two men accepted the debt paid by Toyokawa's father, but pretended not to know it. They then forced Toyokawa Shoko to pay the debt back, and the money became their own.

It seems unbelievable that anyone would fall for such a scam, but these two are very cunning. They carefully selected their targets and even had accomplices within the debt collection company.

It's common knowledge that Toyokawa Shoko's relationship with her father is on the verge of a complete breakdown.

And that's exactly what the other side took advantage of.

They capitalized on the information gap.

In addition, this trick is not very risky. Even if others find out, you can just pretend to be stupid and say that you did not confirm with the company.

They've got a good plan.

They almost fooled us.

Hachiman considered many things at once.

There's a saying that goes, "It's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you."

Even after driving those two away, Toyokawa Shoko will likely continue to be harassed.

Even worse, it could provoke despicable retaliation.

To prevent the two from continuing their entanglement, Hachiman decided to take a small step.