12. Without Morality, There Can Be No Moral Blackmail

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Tokyo, Shibuya Ward, Takashimaya Department Store.

A creative café by the window.

Ryuka Hoshino lowered her head slightly, her fair right hand holding a slender coffee spoon, stirring the coffee before her, causing the ice cubes within to swirl.

Across from her, Tsukasa Harano calmly glanced at his phone, showing no intention of conversation.

But the more he forced her out and then remained silent without urgency, the more unsettled Ryuka felt. Her mind filled with chaotic speculations, all of which boiled down to feeling deeply troubled.

Under normal circumstances, she would never have accepted an invitation from someone she rarely interacted with.

Yet here she was, partly because she happened to see Harano driving a Mercedes and rolling down the window to ask her to wait when she was near Takashimaya, and partly because two days ago, due to her own actions, Harano seemed on the verge of resigning.

She didn’t understand.

How could a simple accusation of tardiness escalate to someone wanting to quit?

Was the section chief in a bad mood that day?

Or was there another reason?

Ryuka had no clue and didn’t want to delve into it. She only wished to understand the true meaning behind Harano’s sudden invitation today.

When pushed to the brink, people can do anything.

She firmly believed that.

The more she believed it, the more uneasy she felt about Harano’s unusual behavior. She couldn’t tell if he had been provoked into considering some extreme form of revenge—and that was a very real possibility.

Tokyo was full of wealthy people.

But even more were overworked corporate slaves.

Ryuka’s stereotypical impression of Harano was that he was honest and mild. From her years of experience with bullying, such people would silently endure minor torment but could snap if pushed too far. In contrast, someone like Ryota Takizawa might complain loudly but wouldn’t act rashly.

Originally, the false accusation was just meant as a warning to keep others in line, ensuring a smooth promotion to section chief. But it backfired spectacularly.

Moreover, Harano wasn’t as simple as he seemed.

Even though many Tokyoites had multiple credit cards and enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle—she herself would grit her teeth and splurge on luxury items occasionally—it was unlikely he could afford a luxury car through loans or by scrimping on daily expenses.

That was why she patiently sat here, pondering how to clear up the misunderstanding. At the very least, she didn’t want someone who hated her secretly watching her every day.

“Why, Director Hoshino? Not used to going out with strangers, or feeling unwell today?”

Harano’s voice was abrupt.

Ryuka paused her stirring, forcing a faint smile. “We’re not strangers, are we?”

“Indeed not. After all, we’ve worked together for two years. Of course, Director Hoshino is my senior.”

Harano put down his phone and smiled.

He studied the woman before him.

Ryuka seemed only a year older than him. Her brown hair was pinned back, revealing an oval face with fair skin. Today’s light makeup made her delicate features even more refined, while the bright lipstick glowed softly under the café’s warm lights.

She wore a white blouse with fitted sleeves, topped with a coffee-colored cardigan that accentuated her alluring curves. Small, sparkling square earrings adorned her delicate earlobes; her figure was slender yet shapely.

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At the ward office’s Health and Welfare Division, some might gossip about Ryuka, but no one ever said she wasn’t beautiful.

Her appearance was simple yet flawless—at least to anyone with normal aesthetic sense, Ryuka was truly attractive.

But judging by how Harano repeatedly twisted his coffee spoon, the esteemed Director Hoshino wasn’t as calm as she appeared. Harano glanced at her "malicious thoughts" list and couldn’t help but acknowledge her reputation as a notorious troublemaker.

[Malicious Thoughts Target: Ryuka Hoshino]
[Malicious Thoughts List:]
[1. It’d be great if Harano died (Purple)]
[2. Harano, please don’t take revenge on me (Blue)]
[3. The bag next to me looks like a new Louis Vuitton—wish someone would give me one (Blue)]

“Harano-kun, I’m sorry.” Ryuka set down her spoon and gently brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“Sorry?” Harano shifted his gaze from the faint blue glow of the malicious thoughts list to the slightly regretful expression on Ryuka’s face. “I don’t quite understand why you’re apologizing to me.”

In her mind, she was wishing for his death.

But her lips uttered an apology.

So this was how bullies treated honest people.

Just for that reason, Harano wouldn’t recklessly act to gain rewards from fulfilling malicious thoughts.

Nor would he blindly spend money.

In his grand plan to exploit gold diggers, this was actually a win-win: to get rewards, one must fulfill the malicious thoughts, which requires spending money—a sort of alternative exchange. But Harano wasn’t about to rush to spend money just because someone wished him dead.

Three-legged frogs are hard to find, but two-legged gold diggers are everywhere in Tokyo.

Compared to maximizing the benefits of money spent, aside from gaining rewards from the malicious thoughts list, there were only a few things Harano wanted without responsibility.

As for whether these actions were immoral—his moral boundaries were flexible.

Without morals, one cannot be blackmailed.

Besides, preaching morality to women like Ryuka or Masami Kato would only invite more backstabbing.

“Is this about you tattling to the section chief two days ago? If so, you don’t need to take it to heart. In any workplace, there are colleagues like that. Losing a job or being sidelined isn’t a deep grudge—not to the extent of killing someone out of revenge, as often reported on TV.”

Harano sipped his coffee, his tone devoid of resentment or threat. But to Ryuka, those words felt like a plunge into despair.

“If you think I invited you out to confront you, there’s no need. I’m not petty enough to ruin my life over this. Even if I wanted revenge, I wouldn’t invite you out just to give a meaningless warning. I’ve worked with you at the Bunkyo Ward Office for two years and actually had a good impression of you. Now that I’m leaving, I wanted to take a walk with you. That logic should hold up, don’t you think?”

Where was the logic in that?

Suppressing the urge to retort, Ryuka calmed her breath, now almost certain that Harano clearly hated her because of this incident.

They had barely spoken in two years.

Now, after she slandered him behind his back, causing his resignation, he suddenly invited her out. No one would believe there was no intent for revenge.

Moreover, Harano today was nothing like the quiet, invisible man she knew. He spoke with layers of hidden meaning in every sentence, flawless yet unnerving.

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Perhaps she could detect the flaws, but because of her guilt and the car she saw earlier, she couldn’t voice them.

Ryuka knew she couldn’t lose the initiative in this conversation. She forced a gentle excuse, “Although you misunderstood me this time, I want to clarify that I was wrong about the other day. My watch wasn’t calibrated, and with the metropolitan inspection…”

She deliberately left the sentence hanging, not because she couldn’t continue, but to emphasize her innocence.

Though, judging by Harano’s unusual demeanor today, the chance he believed her was nearly zero. Still, explaining was better than not.

“So it was a watch issue…”

Harano’s expression brightened with understanding. “Looks like I overthought it. Director Hoshino, I suppose that’s understandable.”

And yet he claimed he wasn’t holding a grudge or planning revenge!

She bit her lip, about to say more.

But when she looked up, she met Harano’s half-smiling, ambiguous gaze and was instantly silenced.

After a long silence, she couldn’t fathom Harano’s true intention in calling her out today. As he said, if he wanted revenge, he wouldn’t start with meaningless threats. And if that car was his, he likely wouldn’t act too rashly like an ordinary corporate drone.

So…

What did he really want?

Just as Ryuka was about to ask directly, Harano spoke.

“Actually, I came today because I heard you have great taste in clothes. I’ve seen you a few times outside work, and besides being pretty, you really know how to pick outfits. I’m leaving soon and planning to restart my life, but my fashion sense is terrible. So I wanted to ask you to help me choose some clothes—and clear up the misunderstanding between us.”

“Just help you pick clothes?”

Ryuka’s eyes widened slightly.

Harano put down his coffee cup and smiled, “Otherwise? Didn’t we just clear the air? Even without you, Director Hoshino, I was planning to leave anyway.”

Ryuka was stunned for a moment before responding, “So... are you planning to switch industries?”

“Yes, I am. I once failed at a startup during my senior internship, which left me disheartened and led me to this job. But now I’m ready to try again.”

Those words stirred something inside Ryuka.

In this era, starting a business anywhere requires substantial financial backing, or failure is almost certain.

For Harano to say this so casually and intend to continue, unless he was lying, it showed he came from a wealthy background—a side she had never seen before.

Thinking this, she pursed her lips and said, “Past failures aren’t bad; they’re experience. I believe you’ll succeed this time, Harano-kun.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Director Hoshino.”

“Harano-san, since you’re leaving, no need to call me Director anymore. Just call me Ryuka.”

Now that they had truly cleared the air, it seemed the only awkward reason for this meeting was that. Harano didn’t bring up her previous false accusation. Instead, they chatted about entrepreneurship. As the atmosphere lightened, Harano smiled and asked, “Shall we go somewhere else?”

“Sure.” Ryuka agreed.