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

Perhaps, the Happiness Cult attracted its followers using this very tactic.

They first enticed people to consume their specially made honey and then somehow induced those who ate the honey to develop a fondness for the cult's missionaries, gradually drawing them into the sect.

However, this tactic wasn't foolproof.

Because Ms. Kurosaki did not mention the Happiness Cult to Kagura Hikaru, she just chatted with him about trivial matters, discussed a bit about Kagura's medical condition, gave some ambiguous treatment suggestions, and then excused herself on the pretext of being busy.

If that jar of honey really was so effective in converting people, she wouldn't have acted so cautiously.

Kagura Hikaru didn't feel disappointed, as he didn't think he could penetrate the inner circle of the Happiness Cult just on his second encounter.

Gaining their trust would likely take a significant amount of time.

But it probably wouldn't take as long as he initially thought.

The persona Kagura Hikaru had crafted for himself was a rich young heir with severe psychological issues and a heavy dependence, the sort of easy target that a wealth-grabbing cult like the Happiness Cult wouldn't pass up.

To make them believe he really came for treatment, he had deliberately stayed for an hour at the sanatorium, even asked the management for utensils and ate almost half a jar of honey in front of them, subsequently engaging in chit-chat with the others in the sanatorium.@@novelbin@@

Half the people in the Happiness Sanatorium were probably like him, all under observation by the Happiness Cult, potentially to be recruited or already in the process of being indoctrinated.

They had one thing in common: all of them had mental disorders.

While it wasn't to the extent of clinical insanity, each had their heavy life burdens that pushed them to seek companionship in a place like the Happiness Sanatorium.

Such mentally fragile individuals were the cult's favorite targets, easy to manipulate and bleed dry of their family wealth with little effort.

No wonder a sanatorium like this existed, it was practically a dark church.

Under the smiling gaze of the administrator, Kagura Hikaru walked out of the sanatorium carrying the honey, moved away from the possibly imaginary watchful eyes all around and took a detour back to Kafka Cafe.

Last time he had met Inspector Yamazaki here, and today he was waiting for him again.

As soon as he entered the cafe, Inspector Yamazaki spotted him and waved his coffee mug from a corner seat to greet him.

"Finally back. Any findings?"

"Sort of,"

Kagura showed him the newly acquired honey. "I spent six thousand yen on this, can I get reimbursed?"

"Only if you can prove it's a expenditure relevant and meaningful to the case."

"It's part of gaining their trust."

"Then that's fine," Inspector Yamazaki pulled out six thousand yen in cash to cover him, mentioning he would file for a reimbursement later and then spoke on the matter, "So, tell me what you observed."

"Well,"

Kagura explained about his encounter with Ms. Kurosaki and their conversation.

After listening, Inspector Yamazaki pondered for a moment, "Right... try to visit the sanatorium daily. Since you're adopting the 'dependent rich young master' role, it's best to keep purchasing those honeys until they recruit you. Plus, whatever the Happiness Cult's followers give you, regardless of what it is, you absolutely must not consume it. Keep it at home, and once this is over, I'll personally come to collect it."

"Don't worry, I know my limits,"

Inspector Yamazaki immediately looked skeptical.

A young man who casually ate cult food right before him claimed he knew his limits?

"I should head back now," Kagura said, getting up with the bag of honey jars.

He didn't want to continue eating this honey but also didn't plan to hand it over here to Inspector Yamazaki. If someone from the Happiness Cult noticed the disappearance of the items in his possession upon leaving the cafe, it could arouse suspicion.

If he was going to be an undercover agent, it was best to be cautious in all respects.

That's what he thought.

However, when Kagura Hikaru turned to leave, he could not help but reveal an imprudent expression upon seeing a woman appear abruptly before him.

"Suse?!"

"Good afternoon, Mister Hikaru."

Kohinata Motoyo stood not far away, a coy smile on her face, "What a coincidence, you're here for coffee too. Would you like to join us?"

Us?

Kagura Hikaru came to his senses and noticed that behind Kohinata Suse stood another girl, Kiryu Hina.

His expression gradually darkened, "No, I was just about to leave."

Kiryu Hina pursed her lips, silently watching him.

Like a child who quarrels with parents in a fit of anger but knows they are wrong and can't bring themselves to apologize.

"Is that so?"

Kohinata Suse smiled and nodded, glancing at Inspector Yamazaki, who had just been chatting with Kagura Hikaru at the same table and now pretended not to recognize him while sipping his coffee, her gaze thoughtful, "Mister Hikaru, may I have a word with you outside?"

".....?"

He followed Kohinata Suse out of the cafe.

"What's wrong, what happened?" Kagura Hikaru asked.

"The problem is on your side," Kohinata Suse shook her head, "Mister Hikaru, why would you get involved with Happiness Cult? It doesn't fit your style at all. Surely, you weren't instigated by that inspector, right?"

".....What do you mean?"

"Playing dumb won't help, I'm serious."

"..."

Had Kohinata Suse sent someone to follow him?

No, with his counter-surveillance capabilities, he would have noticed. It must be electronic.

Kagura Hikaru unzipped his briefcase and began rummaging through it without a word.

In a few moments, he found something in the little compartment that should not have been in his bag—a strange-looking black patch.

"A tracker?" Kagura Hikaru's voice was questioning, but his eyes were confrming as he looked at Kohinata Suse. Read exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

She awkwardly averted her gaze, "....It wasn't me."

"You're a terrible liar." Kagura Hikaru forcefully broke the tracker into pieces with his fingers and stuffed it into his pocket, "The last time you 'coincidentally' appeared downstairs at Kiryu Hina's apartment, was it because of this device? And now too?"

"...Alright, it was all me, my own idea." Kohinata Suse pouted slightly, glancing at him from the corner of her eye, "On one hand, I was worried you might encounter danger, and on the other hand, I... I wanted to create some chance encounters."

Kagura Hikaru rubbed his forehead, head aching.

My god.

What kind of person puts a tracker in someone's bag just to have chance encounters with a boy?!

Lately, Suse had been less aggressive, and he had almost forgotten that she could be obsessively possessive.

"....But then again, I wouldn't expose something this embarrassing just to warn you in person without a good reason. You should realize the seriousness of the situation by now."

Kohinata Suse's expression turned grave, "Mister Hikaru, don't provoke Happiness Cult, they are not a simple cult. That inspector probably knows nothing and was just thrown into this case. But you shouldn't get dragged down by him. Stop while there's still time."

"That being said, you seem to know something." Kagura Hikaru furrowed his brows, "If you don't provide me with a reasonable explanation, it's hard for me to heed your advice."

"Okay."

Kohinata Suse had anticipated this question, she nodded and slowly revealed the truth she knew about Happiness Cult.