A Book Can't Be Judged By The Cover

Chapter 97: Unfazed

It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that Hajime was terribly embarrassed by the entire situation. Not only did he lose his mind in the middle of one of the most crowded parks in the country, but he also had to show that side of him to Megumi, who didn’t even tease him for it.

Once Hajime got back to his senses, the thought of Megumi harassing him to no end about that shameful situation plagued his mind. However, Megumi didn’t show any of her usual arrogance nor did she look down on Hajime. Instead, she handed him a bottle of water so he’d manage to ease down.

One too many reassurances later, Hajime convinced Megumi to join her group as he rejoin his group. Megumi, who was gravely worried that Hajime’s condition would relapse, made sure that Hajime would really go back to his group safely and so she gave him her number. "I can’t believe it took this long for me to give you my number. At least text me, okay?" Megumi said.

Somehow, this chirpy attitude of Megumi felt a bit weird for Hajime’s liking. He should’ve known though that Megumi put up that attitude to hide her own embarrassment after she absent-mindedly handed him her own water bottle.

..... freёweɓnovel.com

Back to the present.

Bodyguarding duties were meant to be straightforward, the type of job that needed no further explanation when it comes to the parties involved. But right now, Hajime was beginning to doubt that such wasn’t the case. Right now, he sat at the opposite table of the group with the premise that he was guarding Megumi. Still, it was unavoidable for him to eavesdrop on their conversation and this in turn caused his face to redden.

Slam!

"Hold out your hands, I don’t want to see anyone moving!" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Three burly men entered the scene, balancing M16s in their hands whilst outrightly threatening everyone to stay in their seats. Panic settled in on the customers while they sat motionlessly still, afraid to even breathe for fear that they’d be riddled with bullets if they did so.

Even with the masks covering their entire faces, it was evident that they all wore an expression of pure panic as they hastily set up a barricade by the door of the coffee shop. Sweats trickled on their forehead underneath their masks as they prayed that they wouldn’t be captured by the authorities outside.

It was a simple job, rob a certain bank near Ameyoko and then flee to the van which should conveniently arrive in time when the robbery was over with. But as misfortune would have it, the van didn’t show up, something about the police flagging it down due to suspicions.

And so, the escape route was compromised and they were forced to retreat to Ameyoko which was filled to the brim with people at this time. They concluded that the massive crowd therein would serve as a distraction for the authorities and once they found the opportune time to skedaddle, they would be able to do so without great difficulty.

However, the policemen who were chasing them were more efficient and coordinated than they thought. The group of policemen then separated into two groups and ’pincered’ the robbers, forcing them to barricade themselves inside a cafe. It was a bold move, but they didn’t have any choice since the policemen were hot on their trail.

Still, it worked out for the better since there were a lot of potential hostages in the cafe. With this, the robbers just had to threaten one and the police would let them out of there while they carry a hostage with them— a cliche line of thought that never once worked in the movies.

Meanwhile, Hajime hid his face behind the menu that was recently handed to him by one of the waitresses. Because of the robber’s perfect timing, Hajime missed the chance to order anything so he just put the menu in front of his face as he scanned through the menu. As for the waitress, she sat beside Hajime and cowered in fear just like a normal person would.

Somehow, even though the robbers were walking around and menacingly pointing their guns at every customer, Hajime remained calm. In fact, he was calmer now compared to when Megumi was talking about him earlier.

"Um, excuse me?" Hajime asked, tapping on the waitress’s shoulder without thinking twice.

In response, the waitress flinched, gasped, and glanced at Hajime with her pupils dilated as if she had just seen a ghost. Her entire body rattled like a rattlesnake due to the intense fright that she experienced.

"Y-y-yes?" Despite being scared out of her wits, the waitress managed to let out a soft whisper to Hajime, asking him why he did that regardless of the current situation.

"I would like to get one of caramel macchiato, and also I want to try out every pastry here. Would that be okay?" Hajime asked out of nowhere. He was ordering in the cafe as if it was a normal thing to do in a hostage situation.

"Excuse me?" The waitress asked, bewildered. How could someone order a bunch of stuff while they were all being held at gunpoint? The waitress could only wonder.

"I figured that no one else would bother ordering. At least this will save us time, no?" Hajime asked.

Of course, his suspicious behavior was immediately noticed by the three masked men. Out of everyone who was in the cafe with them, he was the only one who didn’t seem panicked, not to mention his nonchalant attitude while talking to the waitress— it really hit a nerve on one of the three robbers.

"You, hm!" One of the robbers said, signaling another robber to check up on Hajime and stop him from talking so casually. If it meant putting a bullet in his skull, then the other robber had permission for it.

The other robber, who had been looking forward to intimidating someone in the group, finally got his permission and he approached Hajime with his gun pointed right at his skull. "You, keep quiet!" He growled.

Instead of cowering in fear just like the waitress beside him, Hajime returned the disrespectful stare he received from the robber.

Click!