Chapter 424

If he could exchange a portrait sketch drawn casually by Kaga Reisa for the special equipment he had coveted for a long time, it was simply the most cost-effective deal.

Moreover, he had indeed quietly checked that literary trinket of Yukimura Suzune's online before; it really wasn't an expensive item, with a market price of only one or two hundred yen.

It belonged to the type of ordinary decoration that could be found in capsule toy machines or hundred-yen shops.

Exchanging for such a small thing, his psychological burden was far lighter than exchanging for Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui's sports watch.

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui's watch was indeed not cheap.

But missing this "legitimate" exchange opportunity, it would be difficult to bring it up again next time.

It was a pity he was strapped for cash now, otherwise he really wanted to buy a new watch immediately to complete the exchange, instead of letting Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui wait.

Although tomorrow was the third round of the shogi tournament.

If he could win, there would be a forty-thousand-yen prize money coming in.

But the current family financial situation really couldn't be called well-off.

And Natsume Chikage also planned to confess his participation in the tournament to his sister after winning.

If his sister knew that the first thing he did after winning money was to spend sixty thousand yen to buy a watch for a female classmate, instead of subsidizing the household...

That would simply be courting death...

Therefore, he would have to wait until he won the fourth round of the tournament and received the eighty-thousand-yen prize before he had the capacity to purchase it for Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui.

Eighty thousand yen was already a considerable sum.

By then, even if he took half to buy the watch, there would still be twenty thousand yen left, and plus his wages, it would definitely be enough to pay for the rent for the month after next, as well as the daily expenses for the siblings, such as living costs and transportation.

But that was a matter for when the time came.

Natsume Chikage looked at Yukimura Suzune beside him.

Now, just by using a drawing he "got for free," he could exchange for Yukimura Suzune's special equipment; Natsume Chikage truly felt this deal was too cost-effective.

"No, no need to change, let's decide on this."

Natsume Chikage shook his head and replied with certainty.

Hearing this, Yukimura Suzune hummed imperceptibly:

"Is that so. Since it's decided, and we happen to have time now, why don't we exchange now."

Saying this.

She took the school bag on her lap to her front, her fingers nimbly untying the deep blue literary trinket shaped like an ink bottle hanging on the zipper.

During the movement, her fingertips seemed to pause slightly for an instant.

Seeing this, Natsume Chikage didn't drag it out either, taking out that "sketch portrait" he had stuffed into his school bag earlier and almost forgotten.

The moment he opened the school bag, he noticed there were quite a few beautifully framed letters inside—all love letters he had received but forgotten to bring home to handle.

Witnessing this scene, he remained silent for a second and chose to ignore it temporarily.

Better to handle it when he got home.

Yukimura Suzune spread out her fair palm and gently placed the literary trinket she had just taken off, which still carried a trace of body temperature, in front of Natsume Chikage.

"Here."

Natsume Chikage also simultaneously handed the rolled-up drawing paper to Yukimura Suzune's hand carefully.

"Here."

The two completed the exchange, each taking the other's item.

Yukimura Suzune took the drawing paper and slowly unfolded it.

On the drawing paper, the lines of Natsume Chikage's side profile were delicately outlined by the pen, his eyes gentle, carrying a trace of imperceptible contemplation.

Her cold eyes gazed at the person in the drawing, a ripple flitting imperceptibly across the bottom of her eyes.

But soon, she realized she had been staring at the drawing for a bit too long, so she quickly coughed twice, pretended to be calm, carefully rolled up the drawing paper, and safely tucked it into the inner pocket of her school bag.

After doing all this, she discovered that Natsume Chikage was still looking down at the trinket he had just obtained, his gaze focused, and the corners of his mouth even unconsciously raised in a clear, satisfied arc.

Witnessing this scene, even for Yukimura Suzune, who was trying hard to maintain her composure, the tips of her ears hidden under her soft, long, straight black hair couldn't help but flush with a faint blush.

In Natsume Chikage's field of vision, semi-transparent information appeared above the ink bottle trinket that only he could see:

【Literary Trinket】

【Grade: White】 (White < Blue < Green < Purple < Gold)

【Effect: The scenes and characters you describe can be reflected in the readers' minds slightly more vividly.】

【Introduction: How should I write this here—a certain literary girl biting her pen.】

Looking at this line of information, the joy in Natsume Chikage's heart was almost overflowing.

He had truly never expected at the beginning how to obtain this piece of equipment from Yukimura Suzune, who had a cold personality and seemed unapproachable, and had been troubled by it for a long time.

Now, obtaining it easily in such an unexpected way, it really, really took such a long detour.

At this moment, he had finally obtained this piece of equipment!

In terms of writing, this was currently the special equipment most directly beneficial to him!

【You have obtained ownership of this equipment; would you like to register it?】

【Yes/No】

Natsume Chikage didn't hesitate to murmur in his heart: "Yes!"

【You have successfully registered 'Literary Trinket'!】

【Would you like to equip this equipment?】

【Yes/No】

"Equip!"

The moment the equipment was finished... Natsume Chikage didn't feel any obvious abnormality in his body or spirit.

Regarding this, he wasn't surprised.

After all, the effect description of this equipment was "enhancing the visual sense of text," which belonged to a passive improvement acting on the creative result.

If he wanted to test the effect, he was afraid he would need to re-examine the text he had written or engage in new creation.

Natsume Chikage estimated that there were still a few minutes before the train arrived at Hibiya Station.

Just enough time to quickly browse through the novel he had written and feel the changes.

Yukimura Suzune looked at the unhideable, even somewhat "silly" smile on his face when he stared at the trinket, her cheeks feeling hot, and she couldn't help but whisper in her usual, slightly poisonous tongue:

"Why are you staring at this and smiling like that... disgusting."

The smile on Natsume Chikage's face froze instantly, and he secretly called it bad in his heart—getting carried away, his expression management had failed.

He quickly laughed it off, trying to muddle through:

"No, nothing... just suddenly thought of a happy thing and got distracted."

Yukimura Suzune hummed, turned her head to look at the billboards flying backward outside the window, clearly not believing his perfunctory explanation.

【To obtain the next free attribute point, you still need to collect two more special equipment!】

Seeing this prompt, Natsume Chikage's mood became even better.

Only two more!

Classmate Classmate Tengyuan Kui's sports watch, the "Teacher's Journal" promised by physics teacher Ishida Shin—both had clearly indicated they were willing to give them to him, so obtaining them was just a matter of time.

It seemed that obtaining the next attribute point was a certainty, just a matter of sooner or later.

Of course.

If these two "scheduled" pieces of equipment weren't counted.

Currently, the special equipment he had seen but hadn't obtained yet included:

His sister's 'One-in-a-Thousand Bracelet'.

Kondo Miyuki's 'Collection-Grade Combat Magazine'.

The mysterious white cat 'Nanio' near his home.

Tsukishima Rin's 'Heart-Thumping Violin'.

Editor Takahashi Jun's 'Wimp Briefcase'.

And Mido Orihime's 'Crimson Folding Fan' and 'Confession Cherry Blossom Tree', and she might even have a third piece of chess-related special equipment in her hands.

Among most of them, Natsume Chikage had his own ideas or plans for obtaining them.

Only those three pieces of Mido Orihime's... currently, the difficulty seemed extremely high, almost impossible to start with.

Since there was no way for the time being, Natsume Chikage wasn't someone who would get stuck in a dead end.

If he couldn't get it, he would put it aside first; anyway, he would always encounter new opportunities in the future, so there was no need to bang his head against a wall.

After completing the registration, Natsume Chikage carefully tucked the literary trinket into his inner jacket pocket, planning to officially "store" it into the system panel that only he could operate when he had a more private space.

And now. ===== CHAPTER 425 =====