Only by going to the right place at the right time can you prevent accidents that are otherwise bound to happen.
To be honest, that's actually harder than simply throwing money at a problem.
But situations like that are rare, and even harder to line up perfectly.
Most of the time, Asakusa Tōru could only rely on money.
Like when he went a little too far beating up certain pieces of human trash and had to pay compensation afterward.
Like when he loudly spread the ugly truths about certain awful people—something that also cost money.
But in the end, the place that consumed the most money was always the same.
Hospitals.
When it comes to suffering, the word illness probably takes up the largest share.
Congenital diseases. Acquired conditions. Psychological disorders. Incurable terminal illnesses.
There were countless patients—so many that it was absolutely impossible for Asakusa Tōru alone to save them all.
So he never intended to help everyone.
He would only help people he knew, people he actually encountered.
For example:
A girl who suffered aphasia after a cerebral infarction and could only spend the rest of her life on a hospital bed.
A girl who was paralyzed from head to toe after an accident and could only lie there.
A good person injured in a tunnel collapse who lost consciousness just as the rescue team finally arrived.
In truth, there were both men and women—but perhaps because animation tended to assign suffering to cute girls, the proportion of girls was unexpectedly high.
Just as Asakusa Tōru himself had said, all of this was nothing more than self-satisfaction.
Saving others and beating others up weren't that different at their core. The fundamental purpose of pursuing money was simply to satisfy oneself.
And that was exactly why, the moment he obtained the diary, he threw all his money-making plans aside without hesitation and decisively accepted three years of closed-off schooling.
"Money power" could never compete with "superpowers."
Not to mention that the amount of money he could earn wasn't even enough to truly qualify as money power—even if it were, it still wouldn't compare to even a single strand of hair from a cheat ability.
Putting money power and superpowers aside for now, back to the point.
Last year, he had been troubled by money.
"If only I had money." That was what he had blurted out at the time.
If he had money, he wouldn't have needed to scrimp and save when helping people.
If he had money, he could have boldly waved his hand at the hospital and said, Use the best of everything. Money's not an issue.
If only he had money.
Even though there were still around a million yen sitting in his bank account, that thought had been his most genuine feeling at the time.
Light novels were still too slow to make money.
He had been forced to clearly acknowledge that fact once again.
If only he could trade stocks.
If only he could trade crypto.
If only he could fully exploit the financial markets.
If he could do that, maybe he wouldn't have been so anxious about money.
He could even say that if he dared to go all-in and dump all his assets into key moments he remembered, waiting for the wind to lift him up, that might have been better.
But the reality was that, in this mixed-up world, nothing from the past could be used as a reference. All prior knowledge carried deviations.
The major conglomerates towering over Japan weren't just background decorations from a story.
Trying to bite into their territory using an information advantage—even trying to sip a little soup—would only get you coldly kicked out of the game.
The son-in-law of the Toyokawa Group was the best example hanging there as a warning.
The outcome of trying to go all-in for overnight wealth, only to be swept away like a stray dog, was something he absolutely could not accept.
…That was a lot of irrelevant rambling.
In short, with that kind of mindset, the person Asakusa Tōru encountered outside the hospital was Ichinose Honami.
Almost at a glance, he could tell exactly what kind of state the girl was in.
So he spoke up.
"You need money."
Not a question, but a statement.
"Eh?"
"Not much," Honami froze, but Asakusa Tōru didn't wait for her to process it, continuing on his own, "but it's an amount you can't easily obtain."
"Coincidentally, I happen to really want to spend money right now."
"So, let's make a deal."
"Sell me one day of your time," he said.
Only then did Ichinose Honami understand what he meant, and she instinctively tried to refuse.
But a thick stack of bills radiating the heavy aura of wealth—Fukuzawa Yukichi—was held out in front of her.
"..."
She couldn't breathe.
Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands… one Fukuzawa Yukichi was ten thousand yen, so this stack was—
N-no, how much money it was had nothing to do with her.
Even if she wanted money, she shouldn't exchange it in this way!
"Relax." Perhaps seeing her tension, Asakusa Tōru smiled and pulled the bills back. "I'm not asking you to call me 'Daddy,' and I don't need you to do anything extra."
"What I want is just your time."
He lightly pulled a single bill from the stack, put the rest away, then took Ichinose Honami's hand and pressed it into her palm.
"This is cheap labor at 416 yen an hour. That's all."
No need to abandon her principles. No need to offer anything up. Just a spur-of-the-moment invitation—just as Asakusa Tōru said, it was nothing more than a part-time job.
A dirt-cheap part-time job paying only 416 yen an hour.
"Well? Interested?"
"..." Ichinose Honami was stunned.
The sensation of holding Fukuzawa Yukichi in her hand made her unwilling to let go. Ten thousand yen felt light, but in her heart it was unexpectedly heavy.
With this ten thousand yen, Mom wouldn't have to apologize.
With this ten thousand yen, her sister wouldn't have to be disappointed.
—With this ten thousand yen.
"C-can I trust you?" she couldn't help asking.
If it were anyone else, she would never have said such a thing—she wouldn't even have hesitated, simply returning the bill with reluctance.
But the person in front of her was Asakusa Tōru—the man who had just resonated with her inner thoughts.
…No, calling him a man might not be accurate. Once she calmed down and looked more closely, she realized he was unexpectedly young.
Young enough that he might even be… the same age as her?
Eh? If he was a student, then this money—
No, no, she couldn't think that way. That wasn't right.
Besides, he didn't seem like that kind of person.
"Whether you trust me or not is up to you. You just need to tell me your choice," Asakusa Tōru said, waving his hand. "Are you going to keep it, or give it back to me?"
He didn't need to offer any guarantees.
After hesitating for a moment, images of her mother and sister from not long ago flashed through her mind, and Ichinose Honami made up her mind.
"Then… can I ask the reason?" She wanted to confirm one last thing.
"Self-satisfaction," Asakusa Tōru tilted his head. "Completely meaningless self-satisfaction."
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