The TV producer who framed Miku and the boss of her former agency both received the punishment they deserved.
They d all their assets, resigned from their positions, and publicly apologized to "Yoimachi Tsukino," revealing the truth along with exposing all of their own dirty secrets.
Afterward, they even streaked through the streets of Tengu City as an act of apology—and in the end, they were arrested by the police.
A complete social death, to say the least.
Everything had gone just as Souta had proposed in his original punishment plan.
Without the power of a Spirit, pulling something off would've been next to impossible.
No doubt, it was Miku who took matters into her own hands.
Souta frowned slightly as he read.
Not because he thought Miku had gone too far—if anything, based on the filth they'd revealed about themselves, they got off easy. Ten public apologies still wouldn't be enough.
It was something else.
What left Souta feeling helpless... was that everything just ended like that.
Yes, the whole thing only stayed in the spotlight for less than five days before being drowned out by a wave of new headlines.
Forgotten by the public.
Sure, it caused a bit of a stir. Plenty of people condemned the two as scumbags and monsters. Online, there were fierce posts like "So angry I'm shaking—my hands are cold in the middle of summer, sweating all over... Hell is empty, the devils walk among us!"
But in terms of attention, it didn't even come close to the scandal involving "Yoimachi Tsukino."
Back then, over a year ago, "Yoimachi Tsukino" was practically a national punching bag. Crowds lined up to criticize her. Outrage flooded every corner of the internet.
Compared to that level of attention, the streaking incident was barely a blip.
Many of the same people who'd vilified "Yoimachi Tsukino" turned around and hurled insults at the streakers.
And then... that was it. Done and over with.
In fact, people were more fascinated by the streaking itself than the fact that "Yoimachi Tsukino" had been wronged.
Souta shook his head.
Some things just make you furious—the more you think about them, the worse it gets.
But that's reality. Even if you're mad, what can you do?
You can't exactly hypnotize the entire internet and force them to apologize to you, right?
In the end, it's all just a facade.
"People only want to see what interests them. They just want to know if something's entertaining—if it can make them laugh."
Suddenly, a sweet, melodic voice echoed in Souta's ears.
He looked up from his computer and turned his head toward the floor-to-ceiling window.
Standing outside, in her elegant school uniform, was Miku, gazing straight at him with a gentle smile.
Her bluish-purple hair flowed down her back, her tall, curvy figure was impossible to ignore. A stunning mix of elegance and allure—she exuded both sophistication and a quiet fire that made him want to rip off her clothes and discover the uncharted treasures hiding beneath her calm surface.
Even through the glass, her voice reached him clearly:
"And as for the truth, when it's not wrapped in something amusing... who really cares? Don't you think so, Souta?"
Souta glanced at her, guessing she must've noticed what he was looking at.
Before he could respond, Miku walked to the entrance of the café.
She entered and sat down right across from Souta.
"Waiter, one latte please."
She called out to a nearby waitress, who was taking someone else's order. Upon hearing Miku's voice, the waitress immediately dropped what she was doing and followed her instructions.
Clearly, Miku had infused her voice with Solo.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Miku noticed Souta looking at her like he was about to speak, hesitating.
The expression on his face was more complex than the joy of reuniting after a long time.
"Miku, if you do that, she might get complaints from the customers and lose her job."
Souta offered a helpless reminder.
Miku turned toward the table the waitress had just been serving, and with her power-laced voice, said:
"Could I ask you to pretend you didn't see anything?"
The two men at the table immediately nodded with flattering smiles, like they'd just been acknowledged by their goddess.
Miku turned back with a smile. "There, that's settled, right?"
"Ahem, that's not what I meant." Souta rubbed his head in frustration. "I just want you to limit how much you use your Angel. It's fine in emergencies, but casually bending other people's will like that... it's not right."
In urgent situations, Souta had no problem using such powers himself—like the time at the hospital when he hypnotized a woman about to scream in panic.
But doing it for personal convenience? It felt... wrong. Like something out of a villain's playbook.
Even if Souta wasn't perfect himself, he still had the right to speak up about it.
"You're still the same as always, Souta. I don't hate that about you. But..."
Miku brushed her hair back and spoke in a carefree tone:
"Isn't power meant to be used?"
"Then put yourself in their shoes. If someone used their power to force you to do something you didn't want to, how would you feel?"
"Of course I'd hate it. But... that's not going to happen to me, is it?"
"Why wouldn't it?" Souta raised a finger, a golden glow flickering at the tip. "I could hypnotize you right now, twist your thoughts, and make you fall in love with me. Would that be okay?"
"Sure," Miku replied with a sweet smile. "If it's you, Souta, I wouldn't mind at all."
"...You've changed," Souta sighed. "If you're mad that I didn't come back to see you sooner, I apologize."
"No," Miku shook her head. "You had things to deal with, didn't you? I'm not mad. Actually... I was more worried."
As she said that, a look of relief washed over her face.
"I'm glad you're back. I'm just happy you're okay."
"Then why...?" Souta asked, puzzled. "Why do you seem so different now? The Miku I knew wouldn't have done something ."
Miku fell silent for a moment.
During the pause, the waitress returned with her coffee.
Aside from a polite smile, her expression was neutral—no flattery. Clearly, Miku had released her from the mental influence.
She took a sip from her cup, then finally spoke:
"Souta, do you think humans... are worth taking seriously?"
Souta immediately understood what she meant. He didn't reply with something tone-deaf like, "Aren't you human too?"
Instead, he thought for a moment and asked:
"You're upset about how people on the internet responded to the public nudity apology, aren't you?"