Chapter 129: The Last Reliance

Uesugi Muneyuki's sudden actions shocked Watanabe Minami beside him and Ikeda Erena behind him. When Uesugi Muneyuki signaled for Saito Asuka to go pack her things and wait to leave in his car, temporarily sending the girl away, Miss Minami was both angry and anxious, slapping him on the head on the spot: "Uesugi! What kind of madness are you spouting?"

"I am not mad, I am very clear-headed." Uesugi Muneyuki stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent.

"If you aren't mad, then why are you doing such a strange thing?" Miss Minami was speechless, and she was somewhat exasperated: "Do you have any idea what happens if you get involved with an underage girl... Do you really understand the regulations of this country?"

"I do." Uesugi Muneyuki was very calm: "For orphans of this type, if they are under 12, they will be forcibly sent to a welfare facility and the institution will review and find a guardian. Orphans over 12 can choose a guardian themselves, as long as both parties agree."

"But..." Miss Minami was truly at a loss, and she held her head: "If you say it so suddenly, people will suspect that you have... for her..."

"The matter started because of me, didn't it?" Uesugi Muneyuki shook his head naturally: "If it weren't for me, Saito likely wouldn't have died."

"But..."

"Just tell me yes or no?" Uesugi Muneyuki glanced at Miss Minami indifferently.

"Or!!!" Miss Minami rolled her eyes: "Then you should have waited until she was penniless and dragging her suitcase on the street before... uh, what I mean is..."

"Before bestowing grace, right?" Uesugi Muneyuki understood: "Fine, I won't play so many tricks. I do what I want to do."

"Could it be that you..." Miss Minami was even more shocked.

"I am very sorry, I never have relations with minors under 18. You should be clear about that, and I don't feel the slightest desire for such a scrawny, childish female." Uesugi Muneyuki emphasized helplessly: "I have no such intentions."

"But you cannot explain that to others." Miss Minami still felt it was inappropriate.

"This case is not public, that is what you said." Uesugi Muneyuki was very composed.

"Uh, that is indeed the case..." Miss Minami thought it was over; she had ended up helping Uesugi Muneyuki instead.

"I know that if I don't step in, she might starve to death at home." Uesugi Muneyuki's expression was very serious: "Saito owes at least three million in scholarships, and she even borrowed the tuition for the second half of her second year from me. If I'm not mistaken, as Saito becomes legally dead, the bank will immediately audit this bad debt and then seize all the remaining funds in her account, right?"

"Yes." Miss Minami nodded.

Banks always offer umbrellas on sunny days and take them back on rainy days.

"For the hospital, holding such a grand funeral is already enough, and as for the Metropolitan Police Department, they should symbolically pay a sum of money. I think it should be within 1 million, but this money won't be paid immediately; it needs to go through the entire approval process, am I right?" Uesugi Muneyuki continued.

"You are correct. The fastest it would be is next May, because April is the annual report and inspection period (Japan's fiscal year ends in April). During this time, the Police Affairs Department and the General Affairs Department will try their best to make the ledger data look good." Miss Minami thought this man was becoming more and more terrifying.

"Then what about next year?" Ikeda Erena finally found an opportunity to intervene, and she asked with interest.

"As for next year, we'll talk about next year's matters next year. That's what it means to be a Public Servant." Miss Minami laughed it off.

"So is it possible for her to starve to death?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked next: "I mean, under normal circumstances?"

"Fine." Miss Minami was unfortunately persuaded by Uesugi Muneyuki: "But you shouldn't be so rushed,"

"Because she is almost at her breaking point." Uesugi Muneyuki said softly.

"The grand Dharma ceremony won't end until three days later, the pain will last for three days, and it only takes 30 minutes to get from here to Tokyo Bay by JR. It is winter now, the water in Tokyo Bay is very cold, and soon everything will be fine. The pain of losing a loved one, the pain of losing one's support—the heart will no longer ache, the body will no longer itch, and everything will end beneath the water's surface."

"She has already experienced enough pain."

This time, Watanabe Minami and Ikeda Erena did not dare to respond.

Because they knew, this might be true!

……………………

Leaving the funeral site to Miss Minami, Ikeda Erena drove to take Saito Asuka and Uesugi Muneyuki to a large housing complex in Setagaya Ward to pack her things.

In the car, Saito Asuka was somewhat exhausted and also curious. Although the pain of losing her sister left her depressed, the girl couldn't help but look at him frequently as the "person" her sister spoke of moved from fantasy to reality.

She no longer had any relatives in this world, and at this moment, his appearance lit up the last glimmer of light in her world.

She really wanted to take the initiative and ask why he wanted to take her in.

She was even a little afraid. She generally knew that she was very cute. Ever since she came to Tokyo, the love letters, gifts, and chocolates in her shoe locker had never stopped. Every boy in her class would blush when looking at her, and they would be incredibly excited just to speak a few words to her.

Is he trying to abduct me? Could it be that he wants to...

The girl was a little afraid and a little embarrassed, because her sister had indeed mentioned to her whether she had considered being together forever... limited to being with "that person."

What, what should I say to him? Saito Asuka lowered her head, her slender, thin legs in black Silk Stockings rubbing tightly against each other, making a rustling sound, and her small feet in black silk and Haruta uniform shoes were tangled together in embarrassment.

These shoes were also bought by Uesugi Muneyuki. Saito Asuka cherished them very much; even though she had been wearing the new shoes for about two months, they still looked new under the girl's very careful maintenance.

And the cashmere scarf around her neck, as well as the thick-style Silk Stockings on her legs, were also his.

Although she had never met this man, her life was filled with traces of him everywhere.

"Are there many things at home?" Seeing the girl looking at him frequently, Uesugi Muneyuki asked proactively: "Is one car enough to hold it all?"

"It... it is enough." The girl said timidly and weakly: "I'm sorry, for making you worry, Mr. Uesugi."

"Oh, is that so? I heard that some people pile their rooms full of clutter." Uesugi Muneyuki frowned: "It's good that there aren't many things. Just pack the main items, for example, the Casio watch, the Sony Walkman, the CK makeup bag."

Hearing these words made the girl blush, thinking she had received too many things from him.

"... And the Toshiba laptop." Uesugi Muneyuki added at the end: "No need to bring the bedding, I will buy you new ones."

"Wait! There is no Toshiba laptop at home!" Saito Asuka said instinctively.

"Right, because I didn't give you one." Uesugi Muneyuki answered calmly: "So it's impossible for there to be one."

Mmm…………

Saito Asuka hung her head in frustration. She felt an extremely strong sense of defeat and loss, and from the man's few words, she understood exactly how much they owed him.

But even so, the girl still felt waves of warmth pouring into her heart. Through these things, she seemed to reconnect with this cold, desperate world where she had lost all her kin, and at least this man, this man named Uesugi Muneyuki, could make her feel that someone still cared about her, that someone understood her world.

Thank you, sister...

At the thought of this, Saito Asuka almost shed tears again.

"Sorry, Asuka, it was I who caused her death." Uesugi Muneyuki felt the girl's sadness. In reality, he could perceive the emotions of those around him through his Aizen Myoo Dharma Image, and the man felt somewhat sorrowful speaking of this: "I must admit this point. If we hadn't arranged to meet that night, she might not have died."

"This matter... is not your fault either." Saito Asuka said in a soft, muffled voice.

Although the girl was not an adult and lacked much social experience, from Uesugi Muneyuki's firm attitude and serious request from the start, she could generally feel that Uesugi Muneyuki truly wanted to make amends, and the resentment in her heart was quickly melted away by being moved: "I heard from Officer Tanaka, it was, it was a medical accident."

A medical accident? Heh!

Uesugi Muneyuki closed his eyes, his fists clenching subconsciously.

This was a helpless compromise. If he didn't want the Inner World to be exposed, he could only nod and admit it was a medical accident.

It looked like this attack was huge and terrifying, but that was from Uesugi Muneyuki's perspective. If viewed as a medical accident, it was just two and a half people dead (Nakano Toshito counting as half), and some accidents occurring.

Medical accidents happen every day in Japan, and judging by how the corpse was smashed to pieces by a fire extinguisher cylinder, if the Guard had a small handgun, Saijo Yasue might not even have been the Guard's match.

However, this action of his frightened the girl beside him; she hurriedly lowered her head, not saying a word, for fear of making him angry.

Because he was already the last person in the whole world she could rely on.

Facts proved that Uesugi Muneyuki's decisive decision had saved Saito Asuka once again.

When Uesugi Muneyuki and the others arrived at the large housing complex in Setagaya, the complex management office was already prepared to come and repossess the unit.

The reason was also very simple: only adults can apply for the housing complex, and minors do not have the qualifications to apply, so this unit of Saito Asuka's had to be reclaimed by the management office within a certain period, cleaned out, and immediately allocated to other applicants on the waiting list.

The rules for this housing complex were a twelve-month deposit with one month's rent paid in advance; the deposit would be returned to Saito's account—and if nothing went wrong, it would soon be seized by the bank.

Yet Saito Asuka knew nothing of this; she only knew that she had almost been kicked out of the house she lived in, and because she was a minor, no internet cafe or hotel would accept her, so she had absolutely no idea where she could go.

As for this point, the housing complex management office did not care; rules were rules, and they would not and could not rent the unit to a minor without an adult guarantor, otherwise, they would be the ones punished.

So when the girl finished packing all her things, dragged her suitcase out of the housing complex, and saw Uesugi Muneyuki downstairs with one hand in his pocket, reaching out to wave at her to signal his location, Saito Asuka almost cried again.

Fortunately, he was there!

(End of this chapter)