Chapter 628

Natsume Chikage felt her kindness and nodded solemnly:

"Mm, I will."

Fukuda Tsukasa smiled, took over the conversation, his tone sounding like comfort, yet also like stating a fact:

"That's right, no matter what, you're still young, and the road ahead is long. Even if you lose this time, there will be another chance; accumulating experience is the most important thing, just do your best."

Furukawa Saio, upon hearing this, was immediately unhappy.

She puffed up her cheeks, which were as cute as small buns, glared angrily at Fukuda Tsukasa, and retorted loudly:

"Big Brother won't lose! Big Brother is super amazing! Even Grandfather can't beat him!"

Having his shortcomings exposed by his granddaughter in front of others, Furukawa Masahiro's old face flushed red, thinking, my good granddaughter, I beg you, please don't say anymore.

He coughed twice in embarrassment and defended:

"Cough... I also believe that Natsume-kun's strength is indeed very solid and should not be underestimated. I do not believe he will be easily defeated in this round."

Fukuda Tsukasa, upon hearing this, almost laughed out loud, thinking, you, an amateur old enthusiast plus a little girl, how much judgment can you have?

But he was an adult after all, and it was a public occasion, so naturally, he couldn't be bothered to argue with an old man and a child about the level of shogi skill, so he just smiled noncommittally and didn't speak again.

Natsume Chikage, on the other hand, looked at his nose and his heart, smiling without a word.

Some things didn't need to be said.

On the shogi board, the truth would reveal itself.

At this moment, Natsume Chikage looked at Tanabe Yuto beside him, who seemed to have adjusted his mindset, and suddenly remembered something.

When Tanabe Yuto had previously proposed that absurd "suggestion", he had said that if he agreed to date Asahina Akatsuki, he could pay 80,000 yen per month as "compensation".

But Natsume Chikage clearly remembered that Tanabe Yuto had explicitly stated while buying clothes that his family was just an "ordinary family".

A high school student from an ordinary family getting 80,000 yen in pocket money from home every month?

No matter how you thought about it, something was a bit off...

Curiosity eventually prevailed.

Natsume Chikage turned to Tanabe Yuto and asked in a volume that only the two of them could hear, with slight hesitation:

"By the way, Tanabe-kun... regarding that matter before, there was one point I couldn't figure out no matter how I thought about it after I went back; can I ask you?"

Tanabe Yuto blinked, a curious expression appearing on his face:

"The matter before? Which matter? Go ahead and ask."

Natsume Chikage weighed his words and asked in a low voice:

"It's about that time you... made that suggestion to me."

"I didn't think about it carefully at the time, but later when I recalled it, you said you could give me 80,000 yen every month."

"But... on the day we bought clothes later, didn't you say yourself that your family was an ordinary family?"

He paused and looked into Tanabe Yuto's eyes.

"After I went back and calculated, if it's an ordinary family, I'm afraid it's very difficult for the family to give you such a high amount of pocket money every month, right?"

"So... where exactly does this 80,000 yen of yours come from?"

"Is it legitimate money?"

Tanabe Yuto's eyes lit up when he heard this question, a look of surprise instantly appeared on his face, and his body couldn't help but lean forward a bit:

"Eh?! Natsume-kun! You suddenly ask this... could it be that you've had a change of heart and are thinking of agreeing to me?!"

Natsume Chikage's expression instantly became very subtle, and he immediately shook his head, clarifying:

"No, I don't have that meaning at all. It's just that I'm purely curious; please don't misunderstand."

Tanabe Yuto's high spirits visibly dropped, and he said "oh" in a somewhat listless manner.

But he soon cheered up again, touched his nose, and even carried a bit of small pride in his tone as he began to explain:

"I see... but Natsume-kun, your question really hits the nail on the head."

"Under normal circumstances, the pocket money I can get from home every month is actually only a few thousand yen, at most a little over ten thousand, no different from an ordinary high school student."

Natsume Chikage was even more confused:

"As I thought... then how do you guarantee you can take out 80,000 yen every month?"

Tanabe Yuto looked left and right to ensure that Asahina Akatsuki and Suzuki Ryunosuke's attention was not on them for the time being.

He lowered his voice and explained to Natsume Chikage with a serious expression that said "this is my secret plan":

"It's very simple! By working part-time!"

Natsume Chikage stiffened slightly:

"Working part-time?"

Tanabe Yuto nodded vigorously, his expression even more serious, and even carried a bit of a planner's rigor:

"I've calculated it carefully! An ordinary high school student, only working one part-time job at a convenience store or restaurant, the hourly wage isn't high, and they might not earn 80,000 yen in a month."

"So—"

He held up two fingers and shook them in front of Natsume Chikage, his eyes firm.

"You have to work two part-time jobs! Fill up your schedule, and make use of weekends and after school!"

"Just two part-time jobs, actually it's nothing! Grit your teeth, persist for a while, and it'll pass!"

As he said this, his gaze drifted gently toward the side profile of Asahina Akatsuki, who was chatting and laughing with Suzuki Ryunosuke, and his tone became incomparably sincere:

"As long as those two can be happy... I feel that me being a bit tired is absolutely no problem!"

After explaining, he looked at Natsume Chikage with anticipation again and pursued in a low voice:

"How about it, Natsume-kun? Now you understand my determination, right? Really... won't you consider it again?"

Natsume Chikage looked at Tanabe Yuto's face, which was written all over with "I have a plan" and "I'm working super hard", and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably a few times.

He slowly and firmly shook his head and spat out two words:

"No... thank you."

Asahina Akatsuki seemed to sense the subtle atmosphere of the conversation here; she leaned over curiously, a probing smile on her beautiful face:

"Mm? You two are hiding on the side whispering, what interesting things are you chatting about? I want to hear too!"

Tanabe Yuto instantly felt like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and his whole body jolted.

He immediately sat up straight, a stiff smile piled on his face, and laughed it off:

"No, nothing! Really nothing!"

"Just... chatting about some ordinary topics between boys about passion and dreams!"

Asahina Akatsuki tilted her head suspiciously:

"Ordinary topics? What specifically?"

Tanabe Yuto's brain turned rapidly, and he blurted out:

"It's... it's in "Perfect Hunter", between the Ant King and the blackened Gon, which one has stronger strength! Yes! That's it!"

Asahina Akatsuki, upon hearing this, had an expression that said "what kind of ghost are you talking about", and speechless, she complained:

"What is what... I don't understand at all."

Suzuki Ryunosuke on the side was also immediately attracted by this topic, leaned over, and without thinking, retorted loudly:

"Is that even a question? It must be the protagonist Gon! Vow and restriction, super invincible, do you understand? No matter how strong the Ant King is, he's just a fart!"

Tanabe Yuto immediately entered the "debate" state and began to cite classics to refute:

"No, no, no! The Ant King's strength setting is breaking through the ceiling! Gon's state is exchanged by consuming life, it can't last..."

The two immediately argued back and forth, chattering about the combat power of fictional characters.

Asahina Akatsuki was caught in the middle, listening to those exaggerated settings and fierce debates, couldn't help but hold her forehead, occasionally laughing and complaining about them being "childish" and "idiots".

Natsume Chikage watched the natural and lively interaction between the three and could feel that their relationship with each other was indeed very harmonious and intimate.

It's just...

No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't fully understand Tanabe Yuto's way of expressing friendship, which was too "heavy" and "peculiar".

After a period of time, as the match approached.

Furukawa Saio, who was beside Natsume Chikage, who had been writing quietly, suddenly shook his arm vigorously.

She stretched out her small finger, pointed toward the entrance of the player channel, her small face full of excitement, and called out in a low voice:

"Big Brother Natsume, look quickly, look over there! It's Senior Sister Mido! She is also in the first session today!"

Natsume Chikage was stunned upon hearing this and subconsciously turned his head to look in the direction her finger was pointing.

I saw two figures stepping into the venue unhurriedly at the entrance of the channel, where the crowd was slightly sparse.

The girl walking in front was wearing casual clothes with excellent tailoring and a texture that was clearly extraordinary at a glance.

Her expression was cold, as if she carried an aura of "no strangers allowed". ===== CHAPTER 629 =====