Nakahara exhales through his nose but doesn't answer. Aki, however, brightens again almost instantly, turning back to the old man with renewed enthusiasm.
"But isn't this good? If he beats Shinichi Yanagimoto later, you can just challenge him afterward, right?"
Nakahara gives her a brief cold glance, and then shifts his attention back to Paulo Ramos's dossier on the desk.
"Ryoma wants the world," he says quietly. "The Japanese title is just a stepping stone. Now that we are aiming for the OPBF, there's no reason to cling to that belt anymore."
Then Nakahara's eyes snap toward Aki, sharp and warning. "Don't bring this up to Ryoma. You hear me?"
Before she can reply, hurried footsteps approach the office. Ryoma appears in the doorway, sweat dripping, breathing uneven, as if he sprinted all the way from the far end of the world.
"Old man! Are you okay?"
Nakahara shoots him a dry look. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"
