What the hell did she mean by that?

You stared, dumbfounded by Jouko's declaration as the Mafia Princess stepped back away from you, a beaming smile on her face.

"I plan to take control of the school for my gang, of course." She proudly stated, confidence practically radiating off of her.

Ah, you must've muttered that last thought aloud.

Jouko then stuck out her chest, placing her hands on her hips as she looked down on you imperiously. "And seeing as how I'm part of the mafia, taking over the school will be the first stepping stone for the future of my gang."

"And this involves me how?" you wondered.

"Because you're a nice guy. I figured you would be the best one for my plans."

Seriously? That's your answer?

Wow.

Just wow.

Either this girl was quite naïve, or she had a very sheltered upbringing despite her status as the daughter of the local mob boss. You really had to resist the urge to facepalm upon hearing her rather simple reasoning. No wait. Hang on a second. Pausing to think about it more closely, it actually did make sense as daddy probably didn't want his precious daughter to know anything about the dark side of his work. And given how starstruck the surrounding Yakuza appeared to be, one of them had even sheathed his sword to clap at her declaration, you could easily imagine all of them spoiling her rotten.

Oh great, a spoiled Mafia Princess.

"Don't think of running away Shujin," Jouko interrupted your thoughts, "You will be my partner in crime, and together we shall conquer the school together!!!"

And now you've been roped in.

"Could you please let me go and not let me be a part of this?" You tried one last attempt to appeal, but seeing the expression on Jouko's face, you had a very good idea of her answer.

"No. I still haven't forgiven you for what happened earlier."

All I did was laugh when you fell. 'You would've done the same the in my place'! you mentally screamed.

Well, crap. This was all going downhill faster than a snowball in an avalanche. Ah, fuck it! If miss Mafia Princess was going to continue to be this ridiculous, you might as well go in whole hog yourself. This was Harem Protagonist. An entire world built for the sole goal of you getting a harem through your wits, strength, and cunning.

Scary sword-wielding Yakuza be damned.

"Fine." You huffed, smiling at Jouko, who beamed upon hearing your answer. "I'll help you conquer the school Jouko, but I WILL MAKE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH ME!!!"

"Ehhhh!?!?"

(((That's the spirit Shujin! Show her what you're made of! Make it worthwhile, little protagonist!)))

"Mark my words Jouko... not only will I help you conquer the school but... I WILL CONQUER YOU!!!" You boldly declared, standing your ground even as the Yakuza encirclement started closing in, some of them wearing very furious expressions.

Jouko backed away, obviously creeped out by what you said but she quickly reasserted herself, snapping her fingers to call off her lackeys and still trying to continue her tough act. But you could see that you'd rattled her and even saw a hint of red on her cheeks as she gathered herself.

"Oh really. Can you make a move on me when I have all these lackeys around me?" And to emphasize her point, all the Yakuza held up their blades, the tips pointed right at you.

"Ha!" you laughed, "I will find a way, no matter what Jouko!"

Her cheeks were now dyed completely red, blushing brightly at your bold declaration as you stared her directly in the eye. She fidgeted, looking everywhere except you as she said, "Well, then, I wish you the best of luck."

She turned and quickly started to walk away, her lackeys in tow.

"I'll see you at school Jouko." You called after her, watching her dwindling backside...or rather staring at her bodacious booty until she disappeared around the corner.

(((Shujin my friend. Either you have balls of steel or you're just a complete idiot, but well-done. Fucking well done.)))

"Thank you." You patted yourself on the back before your legs gave out a moment later.

(((Oi! Are you alright there, bud?)))

"Yeah," you murmured, feeling a cold sweat run down your back as all the terror you held back the entire encounter came flooding back in. Your earlier bravado only lasted long enough to get Jouko to back down, but you couldn't stop yourself from trembling once the danger had passed. "Just need to a moment to stop my legs from shaking.”

(((No kidding. I was even getting the chills there. Those guys just looked ready to murder you right then and there. Why didn't you run? Stealth would've made it easy.)))

"Anonymity." You answered, "If Jouko goes to my school, then she's an Esper as well. Suddenly disappearing in front of her and her goons would've netted me the attention of the school's higher ups and that's just something I don't need right now. It was more beneficial to play the powerless normie, at least until I have a better understanding of my powers."

(((Ahh. Playing the crouching moron, hidden badass card.)))

You nodded and when your legs stopped shaking, you hopped back to your feet. Unlike the last event with Izumi, you still had some leeway in terms of time, so you weren't in a major rush but you did need to hurry.

Making it to class a few minutes before the bell, you plopped down in your seat and subtly opened the status window.



Name: Jouko Shiri ...............................................Affection: +7

Age: 19

Sex: Female ..........................................................B/W/H: ???/???/???

Esper Ability: Unknown

Likes: ??? .............................................................Dislikes: Being laughed at.

Weakpoints: ??? ..................................................Preferences: ???

Goal: To inherit and continue her father's criminal empire.

Perversions: Peeking



'Oh! It updated. And I've scored some affection points too.'

Like Izumi, most of the important information wasn't available yet, but you noticed the new addition to the list. 'Huh.', you weren't surprised considering how she blatantly announced that she'll try to take over the school, but it was surprising cute to see what her goal in life was. Though you were right that she was an esper, her ability wasn't on display like Izumi’s power. Maybe you had experience it like Explosion or figure it out on your own.

(((Hmm. You didn't do too bad with her, but maybe next try not to laugh at her. I don't think her lackeys will be so lenient the second time.)))

You nodded your agreement, but you weren't disappointed with the results.

Jouko was a wild card, an unknown unlike the other heroines you've dealt with.

You were just happy to have survived her event and even manage to gain some affections points out of it. Not to mention, she wished you good luck in your endeavor, so some part of her must be willing to humor your advances. And if you could get a nice feel of her amazing ass while you're at it, then a little danger was well worth it.

But, baby steps for now.

You really didn't want to trigger a bad end just yet for jumping the gun.

The bell rang as you closed the status screen, and the teacher began to call roll. Oddly, she seemed to barely recognize your presence and almost skipped over you. After that, class started, and you were doing your best to scribble down notes when an idea popped into your head.

'Hey Narrator.'

(((What is it?)))

'Is it possible to do the stat upgrade quest right now? I mean, this would technically count as me increasing my intelligence stat. And Shujin in the game never had to sit through class while he did it.'

(((Yes, you can but I can't guarantee what will happen next.)))

'What do you mean?

(((Simply, if you do the stat increase then I can't predict what your next event will be. Unlike this morning, if you decide to buff your stats now through the system instead of doing the work yourself, then your next event will be randomized. It'll be a roll of the dice on who you meet after class.)))

'Ah...'

In other words, if you wait patiently and do your work then you get to decide on who you meet next or if you take the system's shortcut, your next encounter will be randomized instead. So, either you play it safe by being a good student or you gamble by taking the risk and going through with the shortcut.

Oh, why not.

You were in a gambling mood today.

(((Alright, then. Don't say that I didn't warn you. Now activating the Advance Supplementary Stat system. Increase to the intelligence stat selected...now engaging.)))

You blinked as the room lost all its color and turned gray...then everything began to speed up. Like pressing Fast Forward on an old VCR tape, you watched as time zoomed by on the clock as everyone rushed about the room. Things only started to slow down once the minute hand began to approach the end of class. When the bell rung, signaling the end of your lesson, color returned to the classroom as everything slowed to its normal speed.

For you, however, a wave of vertigo slammed into you as you were teleported away to your next event.

Who's the star of the next event?