Chapter 14: I’m a Scumbag, But I’m Not a Bad Person

Sakamoto Ken silently walked to the storage room and took his uniform from his locker to change.

Facing the full-length mirror, Sakamoto Ken frowned in thought.

His mind hadn’t quite caught up when he first saw her just now, but now he realized a problem.

Why is Mio here?

Working at this convenience store?

Sakamoto Ken didn’t believe in so many coincidences.

He recalled all his experiences since his rebirth, from the exam hall until today.

Logically speaking, she shouldn’t know where he lived.

The only explanation was that she remembered things from the previous life.

So, she specifically came here to apply for a part-time job at the convenience store, just to catch me?

But from her eyes just now, he didn’t see any killing intent.

If her emotions were a continuation from the final moments of the last life, she should have come kicking down his door with a knife…

Right.

Perhaps it’s because she also knows she has been “reborn” to a time before everything started.

In her eyes, at this point in time, I’m not a scumbag.

Huh? Following this logic, doesn’t that mean she has already chosen to forgive me?

Besides, even in the last life, he was just a bit of a scumbag, not a bad person.

A bad man plays with feelings and betrays them. He didn’t.

He liked every girl the same and gave them the same love.

So, Mio actually wants to monopolize him before he meets the other two?

Sakamoto Ken felt his line of thinking was correct.

But there was another problem.

Why did she suddenly change her hairstyle?

In the last life, from high school until that final scene, for so many years, she had always had the same hairstyle. At most, she would tie her hair in different styles.

And in his memory, she had never tried a braided ponytail.

This hairstyle wasn’t actually very common, because if it wasn’t worn well, it would look very plain. So, hairdressers generally wouldn’t recommend this style.

But her hair today was definitely specially trimmed.

And he had to admit, Makima’s hairstyle looked quite good on Mio.

Even their figures were similar. In fact, Mio was a bit bigger than Makima.

She just lacked a bit of that young lady’s aura.

For her hairstyle to be exactly the same as Makima’s, does that mean she only got her hair done after seeing Chainsaw Man?

Although he used his real name as his pen name, what normal person would specifically search for someone’s name on JUMP+?

He hadn’t serialized on JUMP+ in the last life either.

Are things starting to develop in a suspenseful direction…

In any case, he wasn’t flustered when facing Natsume Mio.

Although her combat power was very formidable, and it took a lot of effort from his old back to get her to be obedient every time…

…in her heart, this girl was actually an obedient little puppy.

Now, Sakamoto Ken was no longer in a state of complete avoidance.

Haruna had copied his manga, Mio had come to work near his house…

Who knew what kind of trouble that older sister, whose IQ surpassed the sum of the other two, would cause.

After being convinced that they most likely had memories of the previous life, Sakamoto Ken knew that some things were unavoidable.

“Ken~” From outside the door came the girl’s voice. “Ken, are you done changing?”

Sakamoto Ken gave his clothes a final smooth-down, maintained a calm smile, and pushed the door open to walk out.

Natsume Mio stood obediently in front of the door. Seeing Sakamoto Ken come out, she even bowed slightly like a housewife waiting for her husband to come home.

“Ken, you took a long time to change,” Natsume Mio said.

Sakamoto Ken glanced at the time and said, “I start work at 7. There are still 2 minutes left.”

Natsume Mio hadn’t expected him to say that, and her mood was suddenly disrupted.

“Ah… then? Then should Ken rest for another two minutes before starting work?” Natsume Mio asked.

“I don’t really care about the wages for these two minutes.”

Sakamoto Ken walked between the shelves, picked up a basket, and began to tidy up the products that had been misplaced by customers.

After making a round, he first washed his hands, then returned to the oden machine next to the cash register and added some broth.

Just then, a customer walked into the store, picked up a bento and a bottle of juice, and came to the cash register.

Natsume Mio skillfully scanned the items.

“Hello, that will be 680 yen. Would you like it heated?”

“No.”

“Okay, cash or…” Natsume Mio shifted the tray for the customer’s cash and pushed it forward.

“I have a discount coupon,” the customer interrupted her directly and placed a piece of paper with the FamilyMart logo and a barcode on the counter.

“Oh, oh, a discount coupon…” Natsume Mio subconsciously went to tap the coupon verification option on the screen, but quickly pulled her hand back.

She smiled slightly at Sakamoto Ken.

“Ken~ Um, this customer wants to use a discount coupon. How do I do that?” Natsume Mio asked.

“You don’t know how?” Sakamoto Ken asked, puzzled.

“Well… it’s my first day working at FamilyMart. I’ve only worked at Lawson before,” Natsume Mio said. “Ken, can you teach me?”

Sakamoto Ken walked to the front of the cash register, directly tapped the coupon verification button on the screen, then picked up the scanner and scanned the barcode on the coupon.
“Beep—”

“Hello, after the coupon, it’s 480 yen,” Sakamoto Ken said.

The customer nodded, silently rummaged through his wallet, and finally placed 4 100-yen coins, 1 50-yen coin, and 3 10-yen coins on the tray, then took his things and left.

Sakamoto Ken looked at Natsume Mio, feeling that there was a hint of mischief in her eyes.

She shouldn’t be unable to use the FamilyMart cash register.

After all, they had worked together here for a considerable amount of time in the last life. They had done all sorts of tasks, from moving and organizing goods, to cashiering, and even handing out flyers outside the store.

You’re not pretending, are you?

Sakamoto Ken put himself in her shoes for a moment.

He himself had decided not to tell anyone about his rebirth. He assumed Natsume Mio had made the same choice.

The two of them stood in the space behind the cash register, one person’s width apart.

Natsume Mio suddenly turned her head to Sakamoto Ken and said, “Ken, I remember you said before that after graduation, you were going to publish a manga and become a manga artist.”

Sakamoto Ken thought for a couple of seconds and decided to put her on the spot, directly questioning why her hairstyle was exactly the same as his female lead’s.

“That’s right. In fact, I’ve already published it.”

Sakamoto Ken paused, about to continue, but Natsume Mio interrupted him, “Hehe, I’ve already seen it. I searched for Ken’s name on Google last time and found an author with the same name as Ken who published a serialized work on JUMP+.”

She took a step closer, staring intently at Sakamoto Ken. “Chainsaw Man, that’s your work, right!”

“Look~” Natsume Mio lifted her hand to flick the braided ponytail behind her head, then continued, “I specifically got the same hairstyle as the female lead. Is it pretty?”

Sakamoto Ken could see a very passionate emotion in her eyes.

He wouldn’t be surprised if her next sentence was a confession.

But he couldn’t push the relationship to that point right now. He would be caught in a difficult position.

Having experienced the last life, Sakamoto Ken’s biggest insight into matters like a Shuraba was the need for balance.

It was like walking on a log bridge; if either side was too heavy or too light, you would fall into the abyss.

Moreover, the current situation reminded him of his first meeting with Haruna in his past life. It had started with manga with her, and then it got deeper and deeper.

Replacing Haruna with Mio, Sakamoto Ken didn’t think it would be much safer.

Sakamoto Ken smiled calmly, maintaining a placid tone, and said, “That’s right, it’s my work. Thank you for your support.”

He avoided commenting on the hairstyle, his tone like that of a famous author meeting an ardent fan on the street.

His expression was appropriate, but it maintained a subtle distance.

Sakamoto Ken had been a scumbag. Some things were not just wild thoughts; they were not taken for granted.

(End of Chapter)