Chapter 152: Miko the Small Fry
Her family, as usual, was busy with work, leaving early and returning late. Iino Miko, on vacation, woke up in the morning and went out to buy groceries alone.
Upon seeing someone bump into an old lady and try to leave without a care, the girl, imbued with a strong sense of justice from her parents' upbringing, was somewhat scared but still stepped forward.
She had thought that even if the other person was scary, as long as she held out until the supermarket staff arrived, the problem would be solved. But Iino Miko didn't expect someone to come to help before that.
Kaede was not the petite Iino Miko. The strength in his hand made it impossible for the small-time hooligan to break free. When the hooligan tried to use his other hand to retaliate, Kaede immediately twisted it and subdued him.
"Please, if I dare to step up, I naturally have some skills. Although I've switched to writing these days, my foundation is still there. If you don't want your arm dislocated, don't move around."
"You bastard!"
After applying a little force, causing the thug to cry out in pain, Kaede looked toward the old woman. "Are you injured?"
Shaking her head, the old woman said, "No, I'm fine, but this man..."
The old woman was clearly worried that the two children who had stood up for her might get into trouble.
"That's good. Don't worry, this guy doesn't have the guts to retaliate."
After replying, Kaede looked at the thug and said, "Hey, you still haven't answered my question. Do you know whose property this is?"
"Who cares whose it is? You brat, you're dead, you know that?"
"Oh? Really?" Kaede narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled. "Even if this place is property of the Shinomiya Family, would you still dare to say that?"
Eriri, who had moved closer, showed a surprised expression when she heard Kaede say that. "The Shinomiya Family's property?"
Then, she curiously turned her head to look around and indeed saw the Shinomiya Group logo in a small corner of some billboards.
"I knew it. Kaede-kun wouldn't act without considering the consequences. So he already knew this belonged to Kaguya-senpai's family."
"Backup?" Utaha heard Eriri's words and asked doubtfully, "Do you two know someone from the Shinomiya Family?"
"Hehe, we'll talk about that later. Let's wait for Kaede-kun to sort things out here first."
Just then, several supermarket managers finally rushed over, accompanied by two security guards.
After reviewing the surveillance footage and learning what had happened, the supermarket staff immediately took control of the thug from Kaede's hands and dragged him away without further discussion.
The manager leading the group unapologetically slapped the thug on the head, then apologized to the surrounding customers: "I apologize. It was my negligence that allowed someone like this to sneak in. All customers can receive a coupon and a small gift at the checkout counter. We guarantee that similar incidents will not happen again."
After the customers dispersed, the manager also apologized to the old woman. After confirming she was not injured, offering some compensation, and exchanging contact information in case of future issues, he finally spoke to Kaede and Iino Miko. "Thank you both for your courageous intervention just now. I am the supermarket manager. I was inspecting newly arrived goods in the warehouse, which is why I wasn't notified immediately."
Iino Miko waved her hand and said, "It's nothing, it was just the right thing to do."
Kaede shrugged and said, "I'm fine, but you guys should focus more on security in the future."
"Yes, yes, yes. The thugs in this area have indeed been restless lately. We need to teach them a good lesson."
After apologizing again, the person in charge left with his subordinates. However, before leaving, he took a few extra glances at the petite girl, seemingly recognizing her identity.
"Just in case, I should confirm that everything has been taken care of."
Eriri and Utaha finally walked over. Eriri came to Kaede's side and checked him, asking, "Kaede-kun, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, didn't you see everything?"
After reassuring Eriri, Kaede looked at Iino Miko, who seemed a bit overwhelmed. "You really have guts, daring to stand up alone."
"Ah, this is just what I should do. My parents taught me since childhood never to lose my sense of justice!" the girl said gratefully. "But thank you for stepping in, too. I really couldn't have managed alone, as most people just stood by and watched."
"Well, that's human nature. Most people don't like trouble. I'm the same, but seeing that you were a Shuchiin student and knowing this place was property of the Shinomiya Family, that's why I decided to help."
"You are also from Shuchiin?"
"No." Kaede smiled and shook his head. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Asakura Kaede, a first-year student at Toyogasaki Academy. However, I do know a few Shuchiin upperclassmen."
Eriri and Utaha immediately introduced themselves as well.
"I see." The girl nodded and said politely and gracefully, "Hello, I am Iino Miko, a first-year high school student at Shuchiin Academy."
Utaha looked at Iino Miko in surprise. "Eh? Aren't you from the middle school division?"
"Of course not! I just haven't grown that tall yet!"
Having her sore spot about height mentioned, the girl's face flushed red, and she retorted loudly while standing on her tiptoes.
Meanwhile, Kaede looked at Iino Miko with an expression of disbelief. He had just happened to see a Shuchiin student and helped her out a bit. Who would have thought he'd end up meeting Miko the Mob?
Did this count as truly having met everyone in the Shuchiin Student Council? Even though Iino Miko hadn't joined yet.
Compared to the surprise shown by Kaede and Utaha, Eriri's expression held more relief than mere astonishment.
It turned out her own height wasn't so short after all; Iino Miko, who was around the same age, was significantly shorter than her.
One hundred and fifty centimeters? She must be shorter than that, right?
While she was thinking, Iino Miko finally realized who the Shuchiin students Kaede knew were.
"Eh? Aren't these all members of our Student Council? I didn't expect Asakura-san to know both the Student Council President and the Vice President, and he even knows Fujiwara-senpai!"
When she mentioned Fujiwara Chika, Iino Miko's voice instantly dropped. "That's truly enviable..."
"Hmm? Did Iino-san say something?"
"No, no." Shaking her head repeatedly, Iino Miko said, "I just think it's quite a coincidence that we could meet like this, even though we don't go to the same school. Thank you again for your help today, Asakura-san."
"One thank you is enough."
Kaede smiled and waved his hand, pointing to the shopping cart next to Eriri. "Alright, things are settled. We need to check out now. Iino-san, you came here to shop too, right? We won't bother you any longer."
"Mhm, goodbye!"
After watching the three of them leave, Iino Miko only realized after a while, "Ah, I should have gotten their contact information so I could thank them properly another day!"