After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

Kagura Hikaru didn't dare to take out his phone to call the police until he was over three hundred meters away.

The reason why he went so far wasn't because of issues like signal reception, but purely because he sensed danger.

In fact, right after he left the so-called 'Happiness Sanatorium,' he abruptly felt many gazes falling upon him.

The fruit shop owner across the street, the cashier at the small convenience store next door, the old man in the tea shop, the young men and women passing by...

Their looks weren't just out of simple curiosity, those gazes had a purpose.

In that moment, Kagura Hikaru knew he might have gotten involved in some sort of abnormal incident.

So, after walking a good distance and confirming that no one was watching him anymore, he immediately chose to call the police.

He originally thought he was just reporting a pyramid scheme outpost, but the response from the police was somewhat unexpected.

"Uh, the Happiness Sanatorium... is that so?" the female officer on the phone hesitated, "You mean, that group that researches methods of happiness... the association?"

A cult?

Kagura Hikaru furrowed his brow: "Is there a problem?"

"No, not at all. You just said before leaving, you were aggressively given a box of honey health products?"

"Yes."

Kagura Hikaru looked down at the yellow cardboard bag in his left hand, which had 'Royal Honey' in large characters on it, very conspicuous.

It was forcibly sold to him by the person in charge who sent him off from the Happiness Sanatorium, claiming it was free and a benefit for newcomers to the sanatorium.

He didn't even know when he had joined that damned sanatorium.

Kagura Hikaru was planning to find a trash can at the next intersection and casually discard it; of course, he wouldn't put something of unknown origin and obviously homemade into his mouth.

But from the tone of the female officer on the phone, it seemed there was more to it?

"Sorry, can you wait a moment, please? We'll call you back shortly," the female officer said.

After Kagura Hikaru responded, the call was promptly cut off.

Five or six minutes passed, and suddenly a private number called in.

Kagura Hikaru tapped to answer: "Hello, may I help you?"

"Hello, I'm Inspector Yamazaki Kouki from the Organized Crime Countermeasures Division of the police department, and I'm calling you on my personal phone," a young male voice came through.

"?"

The Organized Crime Countermeasures Division... the one that combats the underworld?

"Sorry to bother you, but could we talk a bit about the Happiness Sanatorium you just reported on? Of course, not over the phone."

"...I'm currently at xx Street in Shibuya Ward." Read exclusive chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

"I know the place, let's meet at the nearby Kafka Cafe then. Also, please don't throw away that box of honey for now."

"Hello—"

Before Kagura Hikaru could ask for clarification, the call was ended abruptly.

What's going on?

Reluctantly, Kagura Hikaru had no choice but to head to the meeting location.

Cooperating with police work is a civic duty, he couldn't just refuse.@@novelbin@@

"Welcome to Kafka Cafe~"

The waitress in a green dress greeted him with a bow inside the cafe.

Seeing the familiar decor of the cafe, Kagura Hikaru remembered that this was apparently the place where he and Ayakoji Chiyoko had their first meeting.

...No, to be precise, that wasn't a date, it should be called an encounter.

At that time, after accepting the commission from Kiryu Hina, he had arranged a meeting out of school with Ayakoji Chiyoko to improve their relationship and took her to listen to a live performance. Later, seeking a place to chat, they ended up here at Kafka Cafe.

Back then, Ayakoji Chiyoko had also wanted him to take charge of the Society Discussion Meeting and launch a targeted public opinion campaign against Kiryu Hina.

Kagura Hikaru couldn't help but wonder if the modern-day high school squabbles had evolved to the point where students were forming clubs just to hurl insults at each other.

Although he didn't look back on those days fondly, thinking about them now, they indeed made for some interesting memories.

Kagura Hikaru ordered a cup of Blue Mountain Coffee and waited.

About half an hour later, a young man in a suit, carrying a briefcase like he was selling insurance, walked into the cafe, hurriedly declined the waiter's service, and pulled out a mobile phone to dial a number.

The mobile phone on Kagura Hikaru's table immediately began to ring.

The man's gaze quickly settled on him and he walked over.

"Hello, I'm with the police," the man said in a low voice before sitting down across from Kagura Hikaru without exchanging greetings.

Plainclothes, huh...

The fact that an officer not in uniform had come looking for him hinted that the issues with Happiness Sanatorium might be greater than he had anticipated.

"Inspector Yamazaki, is it?" Kagura Hikaru put down his coffee cup and calmly asked, "May I know what business the police have with me?"

"I think you might have already guessed, it's related to the Happiness Sanatorium you've just visited."

Inspector Yamazaki glanced at the yellow bag Kagura Hikaru had placed under the table, "Is that the honey they gave you?"

"Yes, is there an issue?"

"There is, but before I go into that, there are some basic facts I need to explain," Inspector Yamazaki asked, "Classmate Kagura, are you aware of the 'Happiness Cult'?"

"Wait, how do you know my name?" Kagura Hikaru interrupted.

He remembered that he hadn't introduced himself yet.

"I had already reviewed your basic information before coming here, studying at Haneoka Private High School, excelling academically, I even know about the TV shows you have appeared on," Inspector Yamazaki said.

"Alright... please continue."

"Have you ever heard of the Happiness Cult?"

"No."

"You must pay close attention from now on, It's a cult, and it's inseparably linked to the Happiness Sanatorium, or rather, the sanatorium is one of their sub-organizations."

"..."

In the Island Nation, cults are not uncommon, though they don't proclaim themselves as such.

Some are relatively harmless, merely persuading you to worship Mount Fuji and read the church's self-published newsletters every day.

Others aim to destroy the Island Nation.

It can be said that their range of influence is extremely broad and potentially dangerous.

Recently, there was even a case where an open-minded Prime Minister was shot in public by a cult victim, which goes to show the prevalence of religious issues here.

Locals in the Island Nation grow up learning to reject proselytizing, including Kagura Hikaru himself.

Every time someone came to his door with religious propaganda, he would say he was Chinese and didn't understand the language, getting by with his fluent speech.

"This Happiness Cult isn't involved in any violent activities, it doesn't deal with drugs, pornography, or organized crime. It simply gathers wealth through its followers and performs multi-level marketing activities. But such strange religions can easily cause problems once their numbers grow, so the police have been keeping a close eye on them," explained Inspector Yamazaki as he waved over a waiter to order a Kopi Luwak and casually paid the bill (covering Kagura Hikaru's order too), and explained while waiting for the coffee: "The box of honey health products you received is actually a marking the Happiness Cult uses to identify potential recruits they can accept into their fold. The selection criteria are unclear, but the candidates generally have severe psychological issues."

The detective gave Kagura Hikaru a strange look, probably finding it hard to believe that such a young and normal high school student could have psychological problems.

To that, Kagura Hikaru could only respond in silence and take a sip of his coffee as if oblivious to everything.

"The police have also obtained samples, and after testing the honey distributed by the Happiness Sanatorium, we've concluded that there's nothing wrong with its contents, even in terms of hygiene. However, for some reason, people who consume it invariably return to the Happiness Sanatorium to join their community, after which, the Happiness Cult comes to proselytize, and they have an unusually high rate of success.

Those who return to the Sanatorium all say the same thing — the honey was so delicious they wanted to have it again."