After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

```

"The Happiness Cult is quite famous among the wealthy circles of Tokyo," Kohinata Motoyo said, "They offer something to the rich that's very popular."

"An addictive substance?"

What came to Kagura Hikaru's mind first was drugs.

But if it were drugs, those wealthy people probably wouldn't be interested, what they'd really want would be something exciting without any side effects.

That naturally led him to think of the jar of honey at home that he still hadn't dealt with.

That stuff actually had properties close to those of drugs.

"No." But Kohinata Motoyo shook her head in denial, "They're selling beautiful dreams."

Huh?

Beautiful dreams?

Kagura Hikaru was puzzled, how do you sell beautiful dreams?

"As long as you pay, someone from the Happiness Cult will bring their shrine maiden to perform magic for the client, letting them see the dream they desire most... that's what I heard," Kohinata Motoyo said.

Upon hearing this, he quickly understood.

He hadn't expected that the Happiness Cult had turned their shrine maiden, Komori Ai, into a money-making tool, using her abilities to create beautiful dreams, which was simply the lowest use.

However, he instantly understood when Kohinata Motoyo mentioned the price for a beautiful dream.

A dream for five million yen, high definition, true to life, lasting till dawn, satisfaction guaranteed.

Your average rich person couldn't even afford it.

Not scamming the poor, huh, that's good.

This service was so expensive yet popular, Kagura Hikaru couldn't help but doubt if those people's brains were fried. Was their life really so miserable that they needed a five-million-yen dream to heal?

He set aside these criticisms for the moment; he had underestimated the Happiness Cult for involving upper society contacts.

"In the past, many law enforcement agents have suspected the Happiness Cult of fraud and money laundering, but it all came to nothing," Kohinata Motoyo said softly, "There are many dark aspects of this world that shouldn't be touched, Hikaru, you should understand these principles, don't get in too deep, or you might end up in danger."

"...Sorry, I have my own reasons,"

Kagura Hikaru declined with a calm look in his eyes.

Actually, regardless of whether he was influenced by that honey or not, Kagura Hikaru would have opted to proactively approach the Happiness Cult to find Komori Ai.

The two of them had only met twice and did not have a deep relationship, but they shared a unique connection.

That was being social outcasts.

Unlike Kagura Hikaru, who chose to limit himself in order to fit in with the group, Komori Ai was clearly on the fringes of normal society, fitting the description of 'outcast' even more than he did.

Komori Ai's existence, to a degree, terrified Kagura Hikaru, but he also felt a heartfelt sympathy for her.

Especially after learning about her past under the control of some cult and grasping the root of her twisted nature, an uncontrollable urge to intervene surfaced within him.

Beyond the personal desire to save the girl, Kagura Hikaru also believed that Komori Ai's abilities needed to be contained and not exploited by others, especially not by an abnormal organization like the Happiness Cult.

If all this was actually orchestrated by her, then stop her.

If she was also being coerced, then step in and save her.

Kagura Hikaru didn't consider himself to be a hero, and in normal circumstances faced with such a situation, even if it were a girl just like Komori Ai, if she wasn't Komori Ai, perhaps he wouldn't have gone to such lengths, leaving it to the police and other professionals might have yielded a better outcome.

But the person involved was Komori Ai.

Similar to him, and with dangerous abilities, an outcast.

To ignore it, with the impending disaster that could arise in the future, it would be unreasonable, both emotionally and logically, to pretend he hadn't seen anything.

This was something he felt he had to do.

...However, to think negatively, this might just be an excuse Kagura Hikaru found for himself to stay busy.

```

The oppressively stagnant atmosphere at school recently had him contemplating playing hooky more than once.

After all, now that he had acquired so much knowledge, what was the point of attending school? — this is what Kagura Hikaru often thought to himself lately.

He didn't hold any special opinion about going to school; he neither liked nor disliked it but had recently started leaning towards disliking it, especially regarding interpersonal interactions while at school.

And just so happened, he had a perfect excuse, one that served both justice and personal motivation, that could temporarily justify distancing himself from the school's social circles.

Perhaps, this was yet another instance of his avoidance.

But unlike before, this might be called a 'righteous escape.'

It was just a joke.

Even if there was an element of avoidance, it was far less significant than for Komori Ai.

Ever since he ate that can of honey, Kagura Hikaru found his mind completely preoccupied with her—a total mess, uncertain if seeing her again could free him from this state.
Continue your journey at My Virtual Library Empire

Kagura Hikaru said goodbye to Kohinata Motoyo at the entrance to Kafka Cafe.

Although she invited him to stay and have coffee with them, he politely declined.

He still could not sit down with Kiryu Hina calmly and peacefully.

Kagura Hikaru was aware this was immature, but he had no intention of correcting this behavior for the time being.

He was just an ordinary second-year high school student, not knowing how to forgive others—perhaps that was understandable.

He took the train home.

At the entrance to his house, Kagura Hikaru unexpectedly saw a tall girl in a Yuqiu High School uniform looking around uncertainly.

Pacing back and forth, she hesitated several times with her hand raised to ring the Kagura family's doorbell before stopping herself.

Kagura Hikaru watched her struggle for ten seconds, then stood still, conflicted for another ten seconds, before finally gritting his teeth and walking over.

"...What are you doing here, Ayakoji..."

Ayakoji Chiyoko jolted as if a ghost had tapped her on the shoulder from behind, straightening up instantly.

After a pause, she turned around with her usual stern expression, one hand on her hip, the other tightly gripping the strap of her shoulder bag.

"Nothing much, just here to bring you notes... You missed half of the math class this morning because the homeroom teacher called you in for a talk, so I wrote down the parts of the lesson you missed."

Bringing notes over was such a trivial matter, one that could have been completed at the door.

Yet, Ayakoji Chiyoko stood there with a look of clueless rigidity, not budging an inch.

Kagura Hikaru gave a strange expression: "...Anyway, let's go inside and talk."

"Then I'll take you up on that offer," Ayakoji Chiyoko replied promptly.

Kagura Hikaru felt a complexity within as he took out his keys to open the door, asking, "Leaving school so early, is that okay with the Student Council?"

"If you're concerned, how about coming back to work at the Student Council?"

"I'd rather not, I still prefer going home."

"Is that so..."

Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chiyoko maintained their stiff exchange.

Their interaction felt neither close nor distant.

Ever since Ayakoji Chiyoko abruptly said she wanted to be friends with him, the two of them had maintained this kind of feeling.

Kagura Hikaru was genuinely taken aback by her magnanimity and subsequently unsure of how to interact with her.

Usually, shouldn't someone like him—a complete scumbag—be avoided at all costs? Why would she approach him on her initiative after breaking up?

Although he could somewhat guess the reason... thinking about it that way only made things more painful for him.