Chapter 175 - Legal Public Image, Illegal Private Life
Since then, Sugitani-san has worked with the ferocity of a rampaging lion.
She had turned into a demon, thinking of nothing but one thing: making the public accept the engagement between an old man and a high school girl.
First, an incident occurred where Rio was groped on a train. According to Rio, as soon as she boarded the carriage Sugitani-san had instructed her to take, someone touched her buttocks, so it was definitely a setup. It must have been calculated down to the very moment that I, who happened to be on the same train, witnessed the whole thing.
I apprehended the culprit on the spot and handed him over to the police.
For a few days, the media reported on me as a hero. It was an almost ostentatious level of sensationalist reporting. They mobilized theater troupes and unpopular actors to act as plants, praising me profusely during street interviews. It seemed they were trying to frame me as an ally of women.
A few days later, a situation arose where a weekly magazine caught a photo of Rio and me walking together.
Public opinion split.
Some criticized hysterically, saying, "An adult man dating a high school girl!" while others accepted it, saying, "But isn't this girl the one Nakamoto-san saved from the groper? If that's how they started dating... well..."
Is Keisuke Nakamoto a lolicon bastard, or a fine young man who pursues pure love?
As a general trend, the older the women were, the more resistance they showed, while the younger the women, the more positively they viewed it.
In other words, my original fan base—the housewife demographic—was stripped away all at once.
I had been rejected by married women.
Thanks to that, I was feeling down for a while, but from there, public opinion shifted once again.
On social media, female celebrities began to support my relationship with Rio one after another.
With comments like "A love story like a movie," "It makes me cry," or "The two of them are so Instagrammable."
When I asked Sugitani-san what the trick was, she said she had gone down the line, threatening celebrities who were hiding facts about plastic surgery or abortions, forcing them to defend me.
Sugitani-san is ruthless, but the number of women who have pasts they can't tell anyone is also quite ruthless.
There were even people who made one go, "Wait, that pure-hearted actress?"
Thus, the public opinion acknowledging my relationship with Rio gained momentum day by day, and the atmosphere gradually became one of "It's fine if it's those two."
The finishing blow was when a popular, sharp-tongued celebrity who hosts a midday information program took my side. The effect of him, who boasts immense popularity among housewives, barking, "If it's Nakamoto-san, isn't it fine!?" was massive.
Sugitani-san merely muttered, "That host has a criminal record from before his debut. It seems he used his parents' money to settle the matter." It was obvious she was using that information to blackmail him.
There were almost no longer any people who showed disgust toward the couple of Rio and me. The few antis only wrote things like "Isn't something a bit strange?" on the internet, and every time they did, they were attacked in a minor flame war. The club used to strike with was incredibly powerful: "How could you attack a hero who saved a girl from a groper?"
Before I knew it, the media began interviewing the Saito Household, and King Leo, who had dyed his hair black, answered, "Nakamoto-san saved me when I was about to be taken down by the Yakuza. It was seriously insane back then."
Without my knowledge, my biography was being formed.
It became that I had fallen into school refusal during the third term of my third year of middle school due to bullying, and had spent my time solely training my body in my room to become stronger. After making an effort to reintegrate into society, I met the Saito siblings, who had become disillusioned due to the poverty of a single-mother household; I reformed them through gentle methods, saved them from the clutches of the Yakuza, and because I protected Rio—whom I met again by chance—from a groper, we started dating. Since Rio is a minor, we are maintaining a platonic relationship.
That became my public biography.
The school, also pressured by public opinion, showed a posture of concession.
Initially, they were reportedly even considering disciplinary action against Rio for improper relations, but since the person herself stated emphatically, "We haven't had sexual intercourse yet," and Rio's mother also recognizes our relationship.
At this point, it is close to being a fiancée approved by the parents.
The principal yielded, suggesting that if one went back to the Meiji or Taisho eras, there would have been female students attending school while having an engagement decided by their parents, so it might not be a problem according to school rules.
Thus, Rio became a high school girl dating an old man legally, a rare sight in this world.
A message arrived on my smartphone from Gondo: "I lost. My husband is number one." It also said, "Moving public opinion just to eat a high school girl is not normal. You are a superstar in the world of eating high school girls."
What is the "world of eating high school girls"? Such a world should perish.
But now, modern Japan itself has become a legal high school girl-eating world.
...Rio is legal.
As long as we are inside the house, no one will complain about anything we do...
Rio and I began living together.
This is because, in order to prevent Rio from being attacked by Erin, I need to keep her close to me at all times. The effective range of the Sacred Circle is around a three-hundred-meter radius. To keep her by my side at this distance always, we have no choice but to live together.
Fortunately, Rio has entered spring break, so she doesn't need to attend school for the time being.
I took Rio with me twenty-four hours a day. I even used Concealment to carry her to my workplace. When I grumbled that she was "like a giant strap," Rio was delighted, saying, "It's exciting to be treated like an object like that."
Rio began to laugh often. At home, she even started cooking, albeit poorly. Even when Ayako-chan disparaged her seasoning with the vibe of a mother-in-law, she didn't mind at all, instead trembling with flushed cheeks. "Your scolding is good," she said, giving a thumbs up and leaving that Ayako-chan dumbfounded.
In addition, there were scenes that would make even the Ooku shudder: Angelica, driven by jealousy, tried to get my attention through phantom pregnancy, or escalated to the terrifying act of phantom water breaking (though I couldn't help but think, isn't that just urination?), and Philia, saying, "If I'm just going to be stolen by a young woman like this," attempted to reverse-rape me (it ended as an attempt because she lost her sanity midway).
It was hell.
Since there was nothing else to do, I would soothe them by kissing all four girls at once, and manage to scrape through by making excuses like, "Don't worry, I'll convert to Islam someday and make you all my wives," while waiting for the time to come.
I don't know how much Erin has become able to utilize the Japanese media, but I am being reported on regarding Rio and me every single day.
Furthermore, every time I am asked about Rio, I say, "When we are alone, I call her Elsa. It's a nickname that people who know, know." Of course, I don't actually do such a cruel thing. It is purely a provocation toward Erin.
She must have seen me at least once, and she must be accumulating considerable frustration.
Hero Keisuke has somehow brought Elsa back to life and is enjoying himself every day. And yet, the barrier is in the way, preventing her from getting close. If Erin interprets it that way, then I've succeeded.
And tomorrow afternoon, I will appear on the information program themed around high school girls, "JK Evolution Theory."
This program is a live broadcast, and I am the host. Rio is one of the regular members.
There, I will deactivate the Sacred Circle and announce that Rio and I are officially in an engagement.
That way, if Erin comes to attack, I can intercept her with a perfect defensive system.
Come, Erin...
Come!
You'd better come, okay!?
Before I lose my patience and "touch" Rio, come and settle this quickly!
I'm running out of time!
When I look at Rio's back as she puts on an apron, ties her hair, and makes meals while wearing see-through lingerie, I can tell my limit is near!
Angelica and the others are also making their seductions increasingly extreme to compete with Rio!
Please come, I beg you! I'll be waiting at the TV station!
[Author's Note]Since the release of Volume 1 is also near, I will increase the posting pace slightly.