During dinner that evening, Lucy was seated next to Ryu as a guest. Perhaps out of consideration for her, to prevent the guest from feeling too constrained, Ruri, being a girl as well, was also asked to join the table, seated on Ryu's other side.
Sawai Sōichirō, having finished his business early today, also returned to dine with the Kuse family. It was his first time meeting Lucy, and he showed a hint of curiosity toward this mixed-race young girl.
The unrestrained temperament Lucy carried from the Cyberpunk era was a novelty even to someone like Sawai, who had seen it all.
...The atmosphere of this dinner was slightly subtle, and Ryu felt a rare twinge of unease.
The girls on his left and right both appeared quiet and demure; even Lucy, usually accustomed to being bold, followed Ruri's example, eating elegantly according to table manners.
The Kuse couple, on the other hand, were chatting and laughing, occasionally asking Lucy kindly if she was comfortable staying there and if she was adapting to life in the country.
Ruri didn't escape either; Junpei and Kaede assumed the role of elders, caring about her studies and health, and scolding Ryu that he shouldn't dump all the work on the maid. They insisted he should find a few more capable elite "corporate slaves" to properly build up his own team.
Ryu didn't think much of it in his heart. There were too many aspects of his affairs that required secrecy; finding a subordinate who was absolutely loyal and lacked curiosity was no easy task. However, it wasn't easy to refute them directly, so he just ate silently and gave noncommittal answers.
Ruri and Lucy, however, couldn't escape and were thoroughly "cared for" by the couple... The dinner somehow lasted for a whole hour!
After it ended, the three of them—Ryu and the girls—fled quickly, each returning to their rooms to rest.
Junpei and Kaede exchanged a glance, their smiles holding a bit of amusement. Sawai, who had quietly remained behind, smiled and spoke: "Your son seems to have some troubles. Are you two going to just let it be?"
"It's not bad for young people to have some troubles. Being too unrestrained makes it easy to become arrogant and complacent... Besides, as parents, isn't it also a kind of joy to watch how your child is troubled by problems and how they strive to solve them?"
It was clear Junpei was in a rather happy mood: "Do you know how many class hours he missed this semester? He didn't go to class today either. He really is too free."
"Oh?"
This surprised Sawai: "In my view, your son already possesses sufficient knowledge reserves. His conversation and breeding are impeccable, and his business achievements are dazzling. Is there any need for him to accept general education step-by-step?"
Junpei exchanged a glance with his wife, then looked at his old classmate with a slightly more serious expression: "Different perspectives lead to different thoughts. In the eyes of you and others, Sawai, my son Ryu has had the appearance of a prodigy since childhood and is destined to walk an unusual path. But for us as a couple, that is precisely what we worry about!"
Sawai was also a wise man; after a brief contemplation, he understood the Kuse couple's concerns.
"The dilemma of a genius? Sigh~"
"Geniuses are often lonely"—this phrase should be viewed from two angles.
First, people cannot understand the genius's thoughts. Second, the genius is unwilling to understand others.
The "genius" here doesn't refer to the kind found in the news every day, whose resume is full of honors but whose actual track record is lackluster.
A true "genius" is born different from ordinary people, possessing overwhelming talent and endowment in a certain field, allowing an entire era to be engraved with their name!
For such a person, their achievements are certainly incredibly dazzling, but whether the individual is happy is a different matter...
Ryu had shown traits in this regard since childhood. He had very few friends and seemed to not need such a thing as friendship at all, being mentally strong to a degree that was worrying for a child.
After all, even when making money, Ryu showed little emotional fluctuation. It felt less like he was doing business and more like he was completing some mission quota.
Although he had many hobbies, due to his talent being too good, all sports posed no difficulty to him. Once he grasped the essence, he would lose interest.
If this continued, the Kuse couple worried that Ryu would turn into a monster dominated by talent, unable to enjoy the emotional life and various pleasures belonging to a normal person.
That was why they looked at Ruri with special regard—because that was the first time Ryu had actively indicated, "I want this person," and that enthusiasm had been maintained for such a long time. Apart from Ruri, no one else had been able to stay by his side.
Now, seeing the number of girls around their son gradually increasing, the Kuse couple felt more and more relaxed:
They would rather he grow up to be a playboy than turn into a humanoid computer!
Including sending him to school followed the same logic. Perhaps he couldn't learn anything there anymore, but those social connections couldn't be severed.
"I don't think you husband and wife need to worry too much. In my view, your son doesn't have a tendency toward isolation. He just has clear goals in whatever he does and doesn't care about minor details, so he often appears indifferent."
Sawai recalled his few meetings and chats with Ryu and smiled slightly: "Rather, he is actually a person with very rich emotions. When talking about topics that interest him, his mood clearly becomes heightened... You should have a good talk with him."
"This..."
"Care from the shadows is far inferior to an honest conversation. Most things in the world are very simple; it is the barriers and suspicions between people that make problems complex."
"Indeed, that makes sense~"
Kaede nodded in deep agreement, then patted Junpei on the shoulder.
"Then it's up to you to say it."
"Ah..." Junpei's eyes went wide. "Why me?"
Having a heart-to-heart with a grown son... the pressure was simply exploding for an old father!
Little did they know, the transcendent genius they were discussing was currently sighing in his own room.
The reason was quite incredible:
He was short of money!
Of course, not currency in reality, but Destiny Coins!
He had previously resolved the "SAO" incident and obtained over fifty coins in one go, which had kept him happy for a long time.
However, redeeming skills like `[Demon Brain]` alone consumed 18 coins. This new System Card had an otherworld entrance and two high-level skills he was determined to get, which together would cost 26 coins!
Although he had some income during this period, calculating it all out, he would only have "14" Destiny Coins left a month later!
It wasn't exactly a small amount, but compared to before...
Ryu was just venting his emotions. He soon calmed down and seriously analyzed his current situation, discovering that this was actually quite normal:
The reason consumption was so fast was that "Combat Type" System Cards had refreshed for two consecutive months, offering too many things that tempted Ryu!
Under normal circumstances, the randomness of the System Card was high. It was possible to get "Daily Life" talents unrelated to combat for two or three consecutive months, or low martial levels with nothing that caught Ryu's eye.
In short, this was the result of Ryu's "capital" rapidly converting into "strength," just like a cutting-edge startup using all its liquid assets for expansion—it only looked a bit destitute on the surface~
As a mature entrepreneur, he couldn't wait until the capital chain broke to think of a solution, watching helplessly as opportunities slipped away... He had to plan ahead!
The balance of Destiny Coins had to be maintained at around "30" at least, so Ryu could feel a sense of security!
"That's easy to say, but how to do it? Finding someone like Akihiko Kayaba isn't easy."
Ryu muttered to himself, holding a pen in his hand and occasionally writing things down. A closer look revealed they were all character relationships and plot trajectories; anyone who didn't know better would think he was writing a novel.
"Being the core of the story, playing an irreplaceable role, and being able to influence the fate of a large number of characters..."
The reason the SAO incident generated so many Destiny Coins was mainly because Sword Art Online itself possessed many independent storylines—sequels, spin-offs, and the like—which together constituted a massive worldview network.
Such a massive worldview and core characters were hard to find...
For example, Conan, Daigo, or... Sawai!
There really was a target beside Ryu who could generate a large amount of Destiny Coins:
If Sawai didn't establish the TPC, how much would the stories of Tiga and Dyna change?
Without a doubt, it would influence all major characters, and the harvest would be even greater than SAO!
——But Ryu wouldn't do that, nor would he allow anyone to hinder Sawai!
In the worldview of Ultraman, the Giants of Light were never "omnipotent gods," but "powerful yet fragile heroes."
A hero's success requires human support; otherwise, even an Ultraman cannot defeat the darkness!
Without the TPC, there would be no way to pull all of humanity onto the same front line. Do you rely solely on boiling Daigo into soup to deal with the big snail?
What a joke. Even if you turn on the idealistic hacks, you still have to follow the Basic Law!
Ryu wasn't shortsighted to that extent.
Conan would be somewhat better. To explode gold coins from him, one only needed to stop him from going to the amusement park, or prevent him from seeing the transaction scene. Easy and without future trouble.
Because in Ryu's eyes, the Black Organization belonged to the "harmless to humans and animals" type among villains. At most, they killed a few people and conducted a few experiments!
It wasn't that he disregarded life, but compared to the demons and monsters in various works, this organization was really already very low-key.
——Their goal was actually making money and eternal life. What simple wishes!
Their destructive power was even inferior to certain companies in reality!
There were only two problems:
First, the specific time the event occurred was unknown. He would need to arrange people to closely monitor Kudo Shinichi, and this high school detective was obviously much harder to deal with than Akihiko Kayaba.
Second, Ryu was a bit afraid...
Calling him the "grade-school God of Death" was just a joke, but this world had Ultraman. Eccentrics emerged one after another. What if Conan had some passive aura on him?
With his current combat skills, he wasn't particularly afraid, but what if it accidentally affected the people around him?
You can't explain things involving the laws of causality!
"I won't move on him for now; I'll treat him as reserve food and talk about it when I have an urgent need... So, the only feasible option left now is this."
Ryu wrote a name down on the paper:
"Delicious in Dungeon · Falin!"
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