Stomach Ache Café.
"Shizuka, why is the name of this café so weird?"
"How would I know?"
Shizuka Hiratsuka shook her head. There was only this one café nearby, no other choice.
"Also, I'm your teacher, don't call me Shizuka."
Yukinoshita Haruno smiled and took a sip of her coffee.
"Never thought that Sobu High would merge with a school like Shuchiin, and even Toyonozaki is joining in too."
"Yeah, I didn't expect it either. But my stock portfolio did rise quite a bit."
Letting out a sigh, Yukinoshita Haruno's gaze became deep and distant, looking out the window.
"I don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. Yukino, I'll have to trouble you to put in more effort."
The Yukinoshita family might have some influence in Chiba, but once Sobu High and Shuchiin merge, the situation changes.
Whether it's academic performance or family background, after the merger of Sobu High and Shuchiin, Yukinoshita Yukino could only be described as ordinary and unremarkable.
"Don't worry."
Shizuka Hiratsuka instinctively reached for her cigarettes, but immediately realized that smoking inside a café wasn't appropriate, most of the customers were students.
"You're not honest with your sister. With her kind of personality, a large part of it probably stems from having a brilliant, dazzling older sister like you."
As Yukinoshita Haruno's teacher, of course she knew what kind of person her student was. The awkward personalities of the Yukinoshita sisters couldn't be explained in just a few words.
"Shizuka, I heard your arranged marriage meeting failed again."
Maybe because Shizuka Hiratsuka hit a sore spot, Yukinoshita Haruno quickly changed the topic and brought up Shizuka Hiratsuka's emotional scars.
Maybe it was because of her overly straightforward personality, liking ramen, beer, smoking, her lifestyle habits were more like an old man's than a beauty's. On top of that, her luck with men was absurdly bad, so this beautiful woman in her twenties still hadn't found a boyfriend.
Talking about matchmaking, Shizuka Hiratsuka's smile turned bitter.
"Who knows! You have no idea how outrageous the people my family introduced me to were!"
Shizuka Hiratsuka and Yukinoshita Haruno were sitting just behind Shin-chan. Though it wasn't intentional, Shin-chan still heard their conversation.
'An older single woman who couldn't find a boyfriend?' But when he had just sat down, he clearly saw that the two women at the table behind him both had great figures and were beautiful.
[Ding, system task issuing...]
[New mission has been issued. Please check.]
[Mission Name: Shizuka Hiratsuka's Trouble]
[Mission Description: Shizuka Hiratsuka, already 27 years old, has never dated a boyfriend. Just what is blocking her from romantic luck? Please start with a handsome pick-up and investigate the underlying cause!]
[Mission Reward: 10% shares of Fushikawa Brewery]
Shin-chan, '...'
'Pick-up?' He hadn't picked up anyone in a long time. Ever since he entered middle school, Shin-chan had stopped his childhood habit of hitting on mature older sisters.
Back in kindergarten and elementary school, hitting on beautiful older girls was seen as innocent child talk, no one found it annoying. But after entering adolescence, approaching pretty women to flirt was just harassment.
However, in his skill panel, he did have a passive skill called Pick-up Master.
As for Fushikawa Brewery, Shin-chan had heard of it too. It wasn't a top-tier company, but a decent second-rate brewery that had good momentum in its growth.
A ten percent share, definitely tempting enough for Shin-chan. That was no small amount of money, especially for a high school student like him.
But this mission description was a bit too vague. Just like the mission about Eriri, it asked him to solve Eriri's trouble, but what exactly counted as solving it?
This mission was also confusing, with no clear success criteria.
After hesitating a bit, Shin-chan still decided to follow the system's instructions and take the initiative to hit on this 27-year-old woman who had never had a boyfriend.
If he couldn't even get her contact info, completing the mission would be even harder.
As they talked about matchmaking, Shizuka Hiratsuka started complaining to Haruno non-stop. After a while, Haruno clearly got a bit impatient. She glanced at her phone, then looked up at Shizuka Hiratsuka and spoke.
"Shizuka, I still have some matters to handle at the company. I'll head back first."
"Alright then, go on home."
The way Shizuka Hiratsuka drank her coffee gave off a sense of bold gulps, it was obvious she had plenty of experience with alcohol.
Seeing Yukinoshita Haruno leave, Shin-chan realized this was a great opportunity. Shizuka Hiratsuka clearly still wanted to vent, and that woman named Yukinoshita Haruno looked like a difficult person. Now that she was gone, it was perfect timing.
Downing the rest of the coffee in one gulp, the bitterness in her mouth didn't compare to the bitterness in Shizuka Hiratsuka's heart. She herself didn't quite understand why her luck with men was so bad.
Every man she met was worse than the last, and things ended before they even began.
"Are you here alone?"
The sudden voice interrupted Shizuka Hiratsuka's thoughts. She looked up, and in front of her stood a sunny, clean-cut boy with a smile on his face, looking at her. His toned muscles were eye-catching.
Normally, faced with this kind of pick-up, Shizuka Hiratsuka would immediately chase the guy off without a second word.
But today, maybe it was because of all the venting she had just done with Haruno, or maybe because this boy gave off a friendly vibe, Shizuka Hiratsuka somehow nodded almost involuntarily.
"Mhm. I'm alone."
'Is he a university student from a nearby school? Haruno's school didn't have classes this afternoon, so maybe he went to the same school as her?'
Due to worldview revisions, one had to be 18 or older to enter high school, and the merger of these high schools was also tied to this new policy.
So if Shin-chan was a university student, then he and Shizuka Hiratsuka were basically around the same age.
Maybe because he kept exercising, plus his love for kendo and boxing, Shin-chan looked more mature than his age when he got serious.
Hearing Shizuka Hiratsuka say that, Shin-chan smoothly sat down across from her.
"I'm Nohara Shinnosuke. May I ask you to buy me a cup of coffee?"
"…Sure."
With no dating experience, Shizuka Hiratsuka clearly couldn't keep up with Shin-chan's pace. Of course, Shin-chan himself had no dating experience either.
"I accidentally overheard a bit earlier, someone as beautiful as you, troubled about not being able to find a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, I don't really get it either."
Once the topic came up, Shizuka Hiratsuka couldn't help but sigh again. Following that lead, Shin-chan and Shizuka Hiratsuka started chatting, and he listened as she complained about all the ridiculous guys she had met through arranged dates.
Kazama put down his phone and suddenly noticed Shin-chan was gone.
'Damn it, when did this happen?'
Kazama looked shocked as he saw Shin-chan somehow already seated at a nearby booth, chatting happily with a mature, beautiful woman.
'???'
"Shin's been talking with her for quite a while now."
Bo-chan didn't really care. While Kazama had his head down, Shin had already gone to hit on her. Bo-chan wasn't surprised at all, after all these years, Shin was still the same old Shin.
Kazama, on the other hand, looked devastated, as if Shin-chan being able to chat so happily with such a beautiful and charming woman was too much for him to handle.
'This guy's romantic luck… still terrifying as ever.'
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