Chapter 130: The Ambition of Kindaichi Shi

"Sora, have you had dinner yet?" Aoki Tsukasa knocked on the door.

"No," Sora's voice was a bit muffled.

Aoki Tsukasa asked with a wry smile, "Then what would you like to eat? Shall I make something for you?"

Sora seemed to ponder inside the room for a moment before replying, "Whatever."

Aoki Tsukasa sighed and knocked on the door again. "May I come in?"

"Whatever," Sora's voice was much clearer now.

Aoki Tsukasa pushed the door open and saw Sora stuffing a snack bag under her computer desk.

Seeing that Aoki Tsukasa had caught her in the act, Sora calmly picked up the snack bag she had intended to sneakily discard and tossed it casually beside the computer desk. "What is it?"

"Don't just eat snacks if you're hungry." Aoki Tsukasa walked over to her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. Under her somewhat disdainful gaze, he ruffled her hair and picked up the snack bag from her desk. "You should throw these in the trash when you're finished. Didn't I just clean out your room's trash bin for you?"

Sora stared at the computer screen, her tone relaxed. Her slender, pale legs, encased in white stockings, dangled from the high chair, swaying back and forth as if she were in a good mood. "It's too much trouble."

"Oh, you." Sora clutched her head, turned away, and puffed out her cheeks in annoyance, staring at Aoki Tsukasa without saying a word.

Aoki Tsukasa withdrew the finger he had just used to flick her forehead. Seeing her adorable expression, he couldn't help but laugh aloud. "If you keep going like this, how will you ever be able to marry anyone in the future?"

"Dummy..." Sora huffed. She settled into her chair and, while playing her game, said nonchalantly, "I don't intend to get married anyway."

Aoki Tsukasa reached out with pity, and under her unhappy, puffed-up glare, he messed up her smooth silver hair. "That won't do. If you still need me to take care of you when you're seventy or eighty, I'll be old and frail—how would I manage?"

"Oh..." Sora's face flushed, but she didn't say anything more.

Live to be seventy or eighty? Sora smiled self-deprecatingly, though her expression showed no signs of dejection.

Aoki Tsukasa had felt that since their last conversation, Sora had become much stronger and more mature. While he felt a sense of relief, he also couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Smoothing out her silver hair again, Aoki Tsukasa said gently, "I'm going to make dinner. Remember to come down and eat in a little while."

"Mm," Sora nodded.

Aoki Tsukasa turned and headed downstairs. Sora stared at the spot where he had left for a long time before turning her attention back to her game.

*If I could live to be seventy or eighty, I would just cling to you for the rest of my life. You're the one who said you'd take care of me, after all.* Sora moved the mouse with one hand, while the other rested tiredly against her chin. A smile hung on her lips, but her eyes held a hint of sorrow.

In the dim room, only the faint glow of the computer illuminated her snow-white skin, her clear eyes looking somewhat dull.

After a long while, she sighed, dropped the mouse, crouched down, and retrieved the medicine bottle she had hidden in a panic earlier from under the desk, tucking it into a cabinet.

*Dummy, when will you ever be able to cure me?*

Sora closed the game and lay back on the bed, exhausted, her breathing slightly labored.

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The next day, Aoki Tsukasa walked through the school gates, squinting and yawning as usual.

Ever since he gained access to the Dream Training Room, Aoki Tsukasa felt his physical condition deteriorating day by day. He had an extra skill slot available to learn something new, but he had no idea what to choose.

He lacked both time and energy; even the time he spent studying medicine felt insufficient.

Could he really learn a "sleeping skill" to improve the quality of his rest?

Aoki Tsukasa pondered this; it actually seemed feasible. If he could become fully energized after just one hour of sleep, wouldn't that be wonderful?

He shook his head, deciding against it. What if the skill evolved into something like hibernation, where he might sleep for a century and end up as a frozen popsicle? That would be insane.

"Boss, good morning." Maeda Tora, also sporting dark circles under his eyes, greeted him from behind.

Aoki Tsukasa waved at him listlessly. "Morning."

"Boss, did you watch 'Gokudo Wind and Clouds' last night? Tora was so cool yesterday!" Maeda Tora exclaimed, spittle flying with excitement.

"Oh, did you finish your math homework?" Aoki Tsukasa stared at the ground with dead, fish-like eyes. He really wanted to go home and sleep more.

"Uh... I was talking about Tora..." Maeda Tora said, rubbing his head awkwardly.

"Did you finish your English?" Aoki Tsukasa yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Uh..." Maeda Tora promptly changed the subject.

The two walked side-by-side from the school gate toward their classroom, chatting away, completely unaware that behind them, two ill-intentioned delinquents were staring at their backs and whispering.

Kaneda Ichishi glared viciously at Aoki Tsukasa's back and spoke to his companion, Kawamoto Haruta, with disdain: "Is that guy Aoki Tsukasa?"

Kawamoto Haruta nodded silently, his expression uneasy. "Are you sure you really want to do this? I feel like... we can't handle him."

Kaneda Ichishi glanced at him and snorted. "I don't know why you're all so afraid of him. I only went to the hospital for a trip, and when I came back, you'd all been turned into this by a transfer student?"

"This guy has made it so we can't even afford drinks at the pool hall every day now. Do you know how guys from other schools are laughing at me?" Kaneda Ichishi bared his teeth and clenched his fists. "I believe I'm not the only one who thinks this. As long as we unite all the forces we can, we can definitely take down this bald-headed guy!"

"Boss, that sounds cool, but..." Kawamoto Haruta said with a bitter smile, "But this guy is really different. Last time I saw him walking down the hallway, it was simply..."

Recalling the accidental eye contact he had made with Aoki Tsukasa, which had left his back drenched in cold sweat and his shirt soaked, Kawamoto Haruta shivered.

Aoki Tsukasa was so vicious he didn't even seem human; he was a monster! A monster! His boss, Kaneda Ichishi, had been in the hospital for over a month due to a fight and had only been back at school for a few days—he hadn't seen Aoki Tsukasa yet. It was understandable; those who hadn't seen Aoki Tsukasa in person could never know how terrifying he truly was!

Kaneda Ichishi stared at him angrily. "Why are you acting like this too? Even that fat pig Miyagawa Keisuke dares to use his name to avoid paying me. If this keeps up, where will we get money to have fun? Look at how smug that fat pig looked today. If you hadn't held me back, I would have beaten him to death."

"But..." Before Kawamoto Haruta could finish, Kaneda Ichishi turned his head away. "Enough nonsense. Let's go find some guys willing to help us take on Aoki Tsukasa. No matter how strong he is, if we catch him by surprise with enough people, he'll be on the ground begging for mercy!"

Kawamoto Haruta looked resigned. "Give it a try then. But I suggest you find out what kind of person he is before you make a move..."

*Heh, in the rumors, Aoki Tsukasa single-handedly took down forty or fifty people and even made the third-year senior Ueno kneel and beg for mercy. How could he be so easily defeated by a first-year like you?*

"Makes sense. Know yourself and know your enemy!" Kaneda Ichishi raised his hand excitedly. "As soon as I take him down, I'll be the boss of Wuyo! I didn't expect the third-years to be so weak. To think I was afraid to cause trouble before—how naive and innocent I was."

"Ah-ha-ha-ha!"

Watching his boss's exaggerated laughter, Kawamoto Haruta sighed and corrected him, "Boss, 'innocent' isn't the right word. And that idiom should be used differently..."

"Shut it!" Kaneda Ichishi huffed, pulled out his phone, and began excitedly gathering his cronies.

*Fine.* Kawamoto Haruta silently pulled out his phone and began searching for what kind of insurance would be suitable for his boss.

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PS: The author walks down the street with an empty rice bowl, his ears filled with the mocking laughter of passersby. He clenches his fists, looks at the empty bowl, and mutters to himself: "Recommendation tickets... as long as I have recommendation tickets..."