A Man Who Was Cheated on by a Bad Man and Had Everything Taken From Him Decides to Get Revenge by Starting a New Life - Chapter 2

Chapter 2- No Taking Her Home

“Hey, how about we go drinking with just the new graduates after this?”

“…Yeah, sure.”

Seven years ago, that was Kotaro Honjo. Still the same flashy guy.

After the orientation, during the workplace tour, Honjo was going around inviting the new hires. Back then, I got drunk and left halfway through the first round of drinks.

I grew up in a single-parent household with my mom. During college, I focused on part-time jobs and studying to support her. Just when I thought I could finally repay her, she passed away in a car accident right after I joined the company.

Maybe because of that, I couldn’t keep up with the lively, college-like atmosphere.

“Alright! Why are you holding that?”

There it was. Honjo’s chugging call.

In a noisy izakaya’s private room on the second floor, they were doing whatever they wanted, taking advantage of the privacy.

Honjo used to brag about getting everyone drunk and taking girls home. But he doesn’t know that the person here now has seven years of experience in the company. I noticed that Honjo wasn’t drinking much while making everyone else chug.

“Ren Koda, here I go!
“Ew, gross! Koda, you jerk!”
“Sorry, Honjo. I can’t drink; I have an alcohol allergy.”
“Then don’t drink!”
“…But I thought it would ruin the mood if I didn’t.”

I spit the beer I had in my mouth onto Honjo’s brand-new shirt. I made it clear I couldn’t drink and made Honjo, who started it, drink instead. He showed reluctance, but everyone else joined in, chanting for him to drink. He’s actually strong with alcohol, so one or two drinks wouldn’t faze him. But every time Honjo tried to make others drink, I stepped in and made him drink most of it.

“Ah, I’m beat. I’m heading home.”

As we left the izakaya, Honjo staggered off alone into an alley. The others, still not done drinking, were taking attendance in front of the izakaya to go to the next place.

“You can actually drink, can’t you?”
“Huh?”

Sakura Konno. A woman I would start dating six months after joining the company. Back then, during the welcome party, she didn’t say a word.

“Anyway, thanks for taking down Honjo.”

At the first round, Honjo had cleverly stayed close to Sakura Konno. He was apparently trying to sneak her out to a second round. Now that I think about it, the girl Honjo bragged about taking home was probably Sakura.

“Hey, are you free this weekend?”

Sakura… I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I decided to go along with it for now.

“Really? Well then…”

Last weekend, a new outlet mall opened in the suburbs. It also has a theme park, and she seems interested. She wanted to go, but her friend couldn’t make it, so she was telling me about it.

I see. I mostly understand the gist of it. But don’t get me wrong. I haven’t forgiven Sakura, just like I haven’t forgiven Honjo…

‘Ping!’

An electronic sound rang in my ear. A red dot appeared next to the “▼” in the upper left corner of my vision.

────────────────
Revenge Points: +10P
────────────────

I couldn’t look up unnaturally during the drinking party, so I went to the restroom to check. There was a mysterious point increase.
Revenge Points?

Why did they increase at this moment? Was it because of my resolve to break up with Sakura? Or because I made Honjo drunk and sent him home?

At any rate, it’s clear that I get these points for actions related to revenge.

The points can be used to increase things like height.

Height costs 2 points per centimeter, inseam costs 3 points. Charm costs 1 point per increase. However, there’s a note that annual income can’t be increased with Revenge Points.

I’ve always been self-conscious about my height since I was a kid, so I want to increase it.

But wait.

Height and inseam are separate. Does that mean I can just increase my inseam and only my legs will get longer?

Currently, I’m not exactly long-legged. In fact, I’m aware that my legs are on the shorter side. So, I decided to increase my inseam by 2 centimeters and my height by 2 centimeters.

The next day, a four-day employee training session began.

The company I joined—well, from my perspective, the company I’ve been with for seven years—is a subsidiary of a major travel company focused on sales.

The other new hires seemed to have a lot to learn and were struggling. Even with seven years of experience, I decided to start from scratch and relearn everything.

Then came Friday.

On the first day of training, we were told something. Out of the 13 new hires, 3 would be chosen as representatives to present. This presentation was like a rite of passage, and rumors among the new hires said it could be as brutal as a public execution. Of course, I fully understood that if you couldn’t answer properly, it would be a disaster.

“Of course, it has to be Koda, who aced the entrance exam.”

They brought it up again. In my previous life, I didn’t notice. But now I understand. Right from the start, Honjo has been aiming to embarrass me.

Seven years ago, I was humiliated in front of the company’s executives when I couldn’t answer Honjo’s question and received cold stares.

But—

“Alright, let’s do it! How about you join me in charging at the executives, Honjo?”
“Nah, I didn’t do well in the exams…”
“Wow… you’re no fun. If you don’t step up, everyone’s mood will drop, you know?”

No matter how much Honjo tries to avoid it, I won’t let him. Honjo, being who he is, won’t spoil the mood in a lively setting.

“Just kidding. I’ll take down the executives!”
“Whoa! That’s the spirit, Honjo!”
“Getting cocky, huh?”

“laughing”

We were all gathered in a meeting room, just the new hires. It was quite lively, and everyone was smiling.

Honjo. Are you ready?