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Chapter 188 - 187: Good Friends?

The Tokyo Tower Observation Deck was vast—spanning five whole levels. Rather than just an observatory, it felt more like a giant amusement space.

Transparent reinforced glass allowed panoramic views of Tokyo, Mount Fuji, and a bit of the bay. 

On the third floor, there was even a One Piece theme park, giving the feeling of floating in midair.

After circling the first floor and viewing Mount Fuji to the south, Takashi and Kotonoha spotted a sign.

It had a detailed record of how many times Tokyo Tower had been destroyed in movies and who the culprits were.

Takashi read through it—the first monster to destroy Tokyo Tower was Mothra, the second was Mecha-King Ghidorah, the third was Godzilla, and the fourth was Gamera... nearly all were from tokusatsu films.

Takashi hadn't watched many tokusatsu films. Aside from Godzilla, he barely recognized the other names.

Even with Godzilla, he had only seen Godzilla vs. Kong.

He idly wondered—did all tokusatsu monsters have to end in "-ra"? Was it because "-ra" made them sound stronger or luckier?

As they wandered around, they stumbled upon a mailbox shaped like Tokyo Tower.

The sign next to it said that if you sent a postcard from here, it would actually be mailed.

Takashi thought it was pretty fun, and seeing that Kotonoha also seemed interested, he bought twenty-five postcards.

Yes, twenty-five.

He had no choice—there were just too many people he needed to send to.

Narii and Hitomi—those two were musts. They had helped him the most during his solo trip to Tokyo.

He also had a gut feeling: if he didn't send them postcards, he was dead.

Ichinose Chizuru—though he hadn't seen her much recently, she was the one who got him started. Half a mentor.

Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, Itsuki—he had to send to all five quintuplets.

Five sisters meant five times the return.

He had already invested so much in them—no way he'd quit now.

But the one for Nino, he planned to send using Watanabe Takashi's name.

That's already eight cards.

He was here with Kotonoha, so of course she should send one too.

Maki, Shizuka, and Eriri—his current main patrons—had to be maintained.

Sometimes sharing bits of daily life makes rich women more fond of you. 

He learned that from the book Tear-Grooved Male Model Makes Rich Women Buy Me a Ducati.

Since he was sending it to Maki, then of course Nagisa needed one too—otherwise that woman would threaten him again.

He was currently chasing Umaru, so sending her one made sense.

Ryujyu Momo had helped him—had to send one.

Adagaki Aki, Shinomiya Kaguya, and Yasuraoka Hanabi—the first two were his goals. 

He figured there was little chance the postcards would even reach their hands, and even less that he'd ever win them over, but hey—man's gotta dream.

What if it works?

With Adagaki Aki and Shinomiya Kaguya, he was just giving it a shot. But with Yasuraoka Hanabi, he felt the letter might actually help.

He didn't think Yasuraoka Hanabi had money, but instinct told him she wasn't exactly a good girl either.

Takashi always followed one motto: "Don't miss out on good girls, and never let the bad ones off—slay them all!"

Finally, there was Shirogane Kei, Kato Megumi, Komi Shoko, and Aoba Nanami—those were purely for friendship.

He'd already sent so many, what were a few more?

Although he bought twenty-five postcards, Takashi couldn't send them all at once.

He was on a date with Kotonoha, after all. 

Thinking about sending mail to other girls while dating one didn't quite match the image of a Tokyo playboy.

He stuffed nineteen postcards into his shoulder bag and carried the remaining six back with him.

Since he wasn't wearing makeup today, he just brought a small shoulder bag.

"Here."

Kotonoha looked at the four envelopes handed to her and blinked. "Kitahara-kun, isn't that a bit too many?"

She thought two would've been enough.

"It's a rare opportunity. Send one to your parents, your sister, and that friend of yours—Saionji Sekai, right?"

Takashi handed her a pen.

Thinking of Saionji Sekai—who outwardly claimed she wanted Kotonoha to be happy, but secretly slept with Ito Makoto—Kotonoha showed rare disgust.

"I don't have any friends."

"Something happened?"

It was Takashi's first time seeing her show such obvious loathing.

Very rare indeed.

"This Friday…"

Kotonoha told him everything that happened on Friday.

"So that's what happened."

"Kitahara-kun, did you already see this coming?"

Seeing the "I knew it" look on his face, Kotonoha suddenly recalled how he had warned her about that so-called best friend.

At the time, she had even defended Saionji Sekai, saying she's not like that.

Looking back now—Takashi had foresight.

"Have you ever heard this: 'If your best friend doesn't like your boyfriend, you'll break up late. If she does like him, you'll break up early.'"

As he spoke, Takashi was already thinking of what to write and started scribbling on the envelope.

"You just don't have friends. You've met too few people, so you mistook Saionji Sekai for a bestie."

"Honestly, her motives from the start were obvious."

Kotonoha thought for a bit—it did kind of make sense.

Takashi really knows a lot, she thought.

She looked at him with a bit of admiration.

The more she got to know Takashi, the more impressive he seemed.

He was like an endless treasure trove, always full of surprises.

Top three in school academically—that was one thing. But he was also great with people. He could befriend guys and make girls blush with just a few words.

She was also a top student, but nowhere near as sociable as Takashi.

Not just her—other high achievers like Komi Shoko and Uesugi Fuutarou also weren't well-connected in class.

She had also heard he was self-disciplined, good-looking but never messed around, seemed to work out regularly, and had a solid, secure chest.

If only I could be as amazing as him, she thought.

(Then you'd play guys like they're dogs.)

If she were like Takashi, she would never have been deceived.

The two of them quickly finished writing their envelopes. After dropping them into the mailbox, they left hand in hand.

Up on the second floor, they discovered a small shrine.

Japan had a massive number of shrines—over 110,000 across the country—forming a vast spiritual network.

These shrines were not only integral to Japanese culture but also a vital part of the people's spiritual lives.

Each shrine worshipped different deities—some rooted in traditional Japanese mythology, others dedicated to influential people or events.

This particular shrine was small—a miniature main hall on a platform, with a coin offering box below marked with tower patterns. 

There were two standing lanterns on either side—not traditional oil ones, but electric.

A sign nearby read: "Tokyo Tower Grand Shrine."

Takashi usually didn't believe in gods.

But the God of Wealth was a different story.

That one? His true love.

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