Hayashi Shuichi's face darkened as he strode forward, grabbing his sister's chubby cheeks with both hands and kneading them firmly. "Are you awake now?"
"...Awake, Onii-chan can't possibly be worth this much..." Reiko mumbled incoherently.
Seeing that Hayashi Shuichi was about to raise his hand to discipline her again, the little cousin hurriedly and obediently changed her tune.
"It was my mistake. Ms. Ikenami couldn't possibly have this much money."
"As long as you know," Hayashi Shuichi ruffled his sister's silky hair. "Go to sleep quickly. I'm going to put this money away and go to sleep too. I have school tomorrow."
"Onii-chan, where exactly did this money come from?" Reiko tugged at the corner of Hayashi Shuichi's shirt, persistently asking, "If you don't explain clearly, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep tonight."
"The yakuza gave it," Hayashi Shuichi replied casually while neatly stacking the money on the table. "By the way, Takigawa is dead, so we don't need to worry about him causing trouble at the shop anymore."
"Dead?" Reiko's eyes widened abruptly, her small mouth forming a perfect 'O'. "Onii-chan, did you kill him?"
"You really are my good little sister!" Hayashi Shuichi held his forehead, utterly speechless, his tone a mix of amusement and helplessness. "Can't you think of me in a better light?"
Reiko lowered her head, her two index fingers poking each other uneasily. "But I really can't imagine how you could earn so much money just by going out for a few hours at night."
"Earlier, Inspector Samezaki and the others..." Hayashi Shuichi briefly explained what had happened. "Do you understand now? This money is all legal income."
"Can yakuza money be considered legal?" The little cousin muttered, but regardless, since the money didn't come from Hayashi Shuichi swindling, cheating, or selling his body, she was relieved.
"Onii-chan," the little girl let out a big yawn and rubbed her eyes with her small hand. "I'm going back to sleep now."
As she spoke, Reiko pretended to be casual and shuffled her feet toward her brother's bedroom.
Hayashi Shuichi immediately saw through her little scheme. He reached out, grabbed Reiko by her collar, and lifted her up like a kitten.
"Sleep properly in your own bed, don't always act so precocious," Hayashi Shuichi said, gently tossing his sister back into her own bedroom.
The next day.
Hayashi Shuichi and Mouri Kogoro went downstairs together to meet Kisaki Eri.
Hayashi Shuichi sported dark circles under his eyes and yawned constantly, looking like he hadn't woken up properly.
Mouri Kogoro leaned in with a lecherous expression, winking as he asked, "Hey, you look so listless. Did you actually go out on a date with Ms. Ikenami last night?"
"Don't talk nonsense," Hayashi Shuichi rolled his eyes at Mouri grumpily. "Ikenami and I are just ordinary friends."
"Tsk tsk, ordinary friends," Mouri Kogoro curled his lip, deliberately dragging out his tone. "Just keep being stubborn. The way you looked at Ms. Ikenami when she left last night, your eyes were practically glued to her..."
"Alright, Eri is just ahead," Hayashi Shuichi nudged his friend with his elbow, warning him in a low voice. "If she hears you, I won't have a peaceful day today."
"Eri is good in every way, except she gets jealous too easily," Mouri Kogoro gloated. "After you two get married in the future, you'll have your hands full."
"What marriage?" Kisaki Eri walked over. "Who's getting married?"
"Who else could it be?" Mouri Kogoro said with a mischievous grin. "Of course, it's you and Shuichi."
As he spoke, he deliberately made an exaggerated heart shape with his hands.
"...Who, who wants to marry him!" Kisaki Eri blushed slightly and immediately retorted.
"If you don't marry him, there are plenty of girls who want to marry Shuichi," Mouri Kogoro teased deliberately. "Don't regret it when the time comes."
"I won't regret it," Kisaki Eri huffed, but her gaze involuntarily drifted toward Hayashi Shuichi.
"Is that so? Then tonight, I'll go back and tell Reiko, Yukiko, Midori, and that one from last night what you said."
Mouri Kogoro counted on his fingers, observing Kisaki Eri's changing expression with each name he mentioned.
Kisaki Eri bit her lower lip, clearly embarrassed and angry: "If you dare talk nonsense, I'll make Ruri break up with you immediately."
"Alright," Hayashi Shuichi rubbed his temples and interrupted the two grumpily. "At our age, it's still way too early for marriage."
"Who says it's early?" Mouri Kogoro looked at his friend in confusion. "Eri is sixteen this year, she can already get married. We're the ones who have to wait two more years."
Uh, how could I forget this? The marriage age in Japan is much lower...
Hayashi Shuichi was momentarily speechless.
Seeing Mouri Kogoro and Kisaki Eri looking at him with confusion, Hayashi Shuichi could only solemnly make up an excuse to cover himself: "Getting married too early isn't good for a girl's body. I remember reading a research report that said the optimal childbearing age for women is after twenty."
"Weren't we talking about marriage?" Mouri Kogoro deliberately raised his voice. "Shuichi, are you already thinking about having kids with Eri?"
This sentence instantly turned Kisaki Eri's face as red as a ripe apple.
She and Hayashi Shuichi had already done what needed to be done. If there was a slip-up with safety measures one time, getting pregnant was a real possibility...
If she got pregnant and had a child while still in school, nine out of ten chances she'd have to drop out. Then her future studies...
Thinking of this, Kisaki Eri glared at Hayashi Shuichi in shame and annoyance. It was all this jerk's fault.
Hayashi Shuichi scratched his head, baffled. What did I say wrong now?
At this moment, two yakuza members wearing black clothes and sporting tattoos passed by.
Seeing them, Mouri Kogoro immediately grew tense, his body stiffening involuntarily.
Only after the two yakuza passed the trio did he sigh in relief and wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
"By the way, Shuichi, should we arrange for someone to keep watch at the izakaya at night from now on?" Mouri Kogoro asked in a low voice. "In case that Takigawa sends people to cause trouble..."
"No need to worry about Takigawa," Hayashi Shuichi smiled. "He's already dead."
"Dead?"
Mouri Kogoro and Kisaki Eri exclaimed in unison, causing passersby to look their way.
"What happened?" Kisaki Eri asked in a low voice. "Wasn't he just appointed as the yakuza's... Wakagashira?"
"That guy was a fool. No wonder Ito Ichiro didn't promote him before," Hayashi Shuichi shook his head and recounted the events of the previous night. "From the very beginning, Takigawa was just a tool for that Boss Kiryu. Once his use was fulfilled, naturally, his time to die had come."
"The yakuza really are terrifying," Mouri Kogoro shuddered involuntarily. "A person who was so arrogant and domineering last night suddenly just..."
"Is your ten million really okay?" Kisaki Eri grabbed Hayashi Shuichi's sleeve worriedly. "Will that Boss Kiryu take his anger out on you?"
"I might have worried before, but after meeting him last night, I'm not afraid," Hayashi Shuichi laughed. "This Boss Kiryu is clearly a smart man. He knows what should be done and what shouldn't."
"On the contrary, a brainless person like Takigawa who acts on impulse is much more troublesome."
"Ten million. Now you don't have to worry about your university tuition," Mouri Kogoro said with a face full of envy. "If only I had that much money."
"What use is this little bit of money?" Hayashi Shuichi complained. "In the future, I probably won't even be able to buy a toilet in Tokyo with it."
Calculating the time, the Plaza Accord would be signed in a few years. At that time, Tokyo's housing prices would see hyper-growth.
In Tokyo's prime locations, like Ginza, the land price per tsubo would exceed 100 million yen.
At that time, Japan would claim that the land value of just Tokyo could buy the entire United States.
Even for ordinary residential apartments, the prices would be ridiculously high.
Sigh, in my past life I worried about not being able to afford a house. I didn't expect that after transmigrating, I'd still have a headache over housing.
Hayashi Shuichi sighed involuntarily.
"Housing prices aren't too expensive right now, are they?" Mouri Kogoro scratched his head.
"That's right," Kisaki Eri said softly, blushing slightly as if thinking of something. "If two people buy it together, it would be much easier."
"I'm not talking about an apartment," Hayashi Shuichi quickly changed the subject. "Yesterday morning, Reiko and I went to help an inventor we know move house. Next to his house, I saw a very nice two-story Western-style house."
"A Western-style house? That would cost at least a hundred million yen," Mouri Kogoro's eyes widened, his jaw nearly hitting the ground. "You really dare to dream, kid. When we start working in the future, it might take a lifetime to earn that much money."
"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean Shuichi and I can't," Kisaki Eri said confidently. "As long as we get into a good university, in the future when I become a top lawyer and Shuichi becomes a high-ranking official in the Metropolitan Police Department, earning the money for a Western-style house will be easy."
Chatting idly, the three soon arrived at the school gate of Teitan High School.
Unlike usual days where the dean would hold a bamboo sword to check students' appearance and order, today there were actually many students crowding noisily around something at the gate.
"Isn't gathering at the school gate prohibited?" Mouri Kogoro craned his neck curiously to look. "Doesn't that annoying dean care?"
"Isn't the dean right there?" Kisaki Eri pointed her finger at the crowd.
Hayashi Shuichi and Mouri Kogoro looked in the direction she pointed and indeed saw the dean in the crowd.
The dean, who usually had a stern face and treated students strictly, was now all smiles, looking at the center of the crowd with a benevolent expression.
"What exactly happened?" Mouri Kogoro's curiosity was thoroughly piqued. "I'm going to take a look!"
After saying that, he dove headfirst into the crowd.
Hayashi Shuichi and Kisaki Eri intended to wait for him to come out and explain the situation, but unexpectedly, Mouri Kogoro went in and never returned.
Hayashi Shuichi suddenly became a bit curious too. After handing his school bag to Kisaki Eri, he also squeezed into the crowd.
Using all his strength, Hayashi Shuichi managed to squeeze to the center, and then he saw an exquisite, beautiful face that looked deja vu.
And the girl surrounded by the crowd noticed Hayashi Shuichi's face at the same time.
"Little liar!"
"Annoying brat!"
Both shouted in unison, then curled their lips in mutual disdain, and asked in unison again,
"You're actually a student at Teitan?"
This tacit dialogue clearly stunned the people around them.
"I haven't seen you at school before," Hayashi Shuichi looked the girl up and down.
"I'm a transfer student. I just arrived at Teitan today," the girl crossed her arms and huffed, her tone full of disgust. "If I had known a guy like you was at Teitan, I would have changed schools."
"Now that you mention it, I regret it too. I should have told you my school that night, just to save my schoolmates from being scammed by you."
After retorting, Hayashi Shuichi immediately grabbed Mouri Kogoro, who was beside him looking like a pervert and staring fixedly at the girl, and forcibly dragged him out of the crowd.
"What was going on in there?"
Seeing Hayashi Shuichi come out, Kisaki Eri's eyes held curiosity and a hint of imperceptible wariness.
"I heard a girl's voice. Is it someone you know?"
"A scammer who sets up a fortune-telling stall," Hayashi Shuichi took his school bag from Kisaki Eri. "Last Saturday night, I walked Yukiko home, and on my way back, I ran into her in the underground passage of Nichome."
Kisaki Eri glanced at Mouri Kogoro, who was still looking reluctantly in the direction of the crowd, her tone carrying a hint of sourness: "Is that girl very beautiful?"
"She's alright," Hayashi Shuichi replied casually, then immediately felt Kisaki Eri's dangerous gaze. He hurriedly added with sincere tone, "Still a bit lacking compared to you."
"...At least you have good taste!" Kisaki Eri chided coquettishly, the corners of her mouth curving up involuntarily.
Seeing that Hayashi Shuichi didn't linger on the girl in the crowd, she relaxed and pulled Hayashi Shuichi's arm toward the school building.
Meanwhile, the girl in the crowd was staring intently at Hayashi Shuichi's back.
"Strange, why didn't the Charm Magic work on him at all?"
The girl muttered softly, then shook her head.
"Forget it, better hurry up and find the person who turned my Wheel of Fortune, right?"
The girl's gaze scanned the crowd.
"This one isn't it, this one isn't it either, and this one is wrong, not him either..."
Seeing that the person she was looking for wasn't in the crowd, yet she was trapped in the middle unable to get out, the girl could only stomp her foot in anger.
So unlucky! Why did I use the wrong magic this morning!
Originally, I just wanted to increase my charm a little to make it easier to get along with classmates and then find that person.
I didn't expect that in a moment of carelessness, I chanted the wrong spell and turned it directly into Charm Magic!
Before class time arrived, the students who had already arrived were either gathered in twos and threes discussing the transfer student coming today, or leaning against the windows looking toward the school gate.
A strangely excited atmosphere permeated the classroom.
"So strange," Kisaki Eri looked around in confusion, saying somewhat unconvinced, "Just how beautiful does that girl have to be to make everyone act like this?"
"It is indeed a bit off," Hayashi Shuichi also frowned. He shook Mouri Kogoro, who was still dazing out. "Where exactly was that girl beautiful?"
"I can't really say," Mouri Kogoro looked intoxicated, his eyes dreamy, as if still immersed in the awe from earlier. "I just feel she is really so beautiful. I've never seen such a beautiful girl in my life!"
"Hmph, that's because you have little experience!" Kisaki Eri bit her lip indignantly.
"Could that girl be some kind of celebrity?" Hayashi Shuichi looked out the window and guessed. "Is that why everyone is so excited?"
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