Chapter 720

He looked up at the clock.

The hands had passed six o'clock and were approaching seven.

Unknowingly, he had actually exercised outside for more than an hour.

This made him realize again that relying solely on streets and parks for exercise, the efficiency might still be limited.

Unfortunately, he was still not well-off financially.

Buying the sports watch for Fujiwara Aoi cost about sixty thousand yen, and now he only had one hundred thousand yen left in his hand.

This money needed to be calculated carefully and could not be squandered at will.

Therefore, although he knew clearly that using professional gym equipment could improve strength and agility more efficiently, he could only press this thought down for the time being.

Natsume Chikage calculated, waiting for the next shogi competition.

As long as he won the competition, he could obtain a prize of sixteen thousand yen.

By then, added to his existing savings, the necessary expenses for the next few months would be guaranteed.

At that time, going to apply for a gym card would be completely feasible.

He took a quick shower to wash away the stickiness after exercise.

Natsume Chikage walked back to the room while wiping his hair, and found that his younger sister was still immersed in dreamland.

He smiled and didn't disturb her.

It was a rare weekend, and it was good for his younger sister, who was in the growth period, to sleep a little longer.

He turned and walked toward the kitchen, intending to prepare a breakfast of love for his sleepy sister.

However, just as he opened the refrigerator door and was pondering what to make—

Natsume Ruri's "younger sister radar" seemed to be activated instantly.

She hummed groggily, rubbed her eyes, and sat up.

When her vision focused and she saw Natsume Chikage's back standing in front of the refrigerator, her remaining sleepiness vanished instantly.

Natsume Ruri's cheeks puffed up quickly like a pufferfish, and she shouted angrily:

"Brother! What are you doing?!"

Natsume Chikage turned his head in surprise.

"You're awake?"

"I was just thinking, if you were sleeping in, I'd make you some breakfast."

Natsume Ruri immediately crawled out from under the covers, stepped in her little white socks to the kitchen entrance, put her hands on her hips, and wore an expression that said "absolutely not allowed."

"No!"

Her voice was firm and decisive.

"Brother, your quota for cooking for Ruri this month is already used up! Starting today until the end of the month, you are not allowed to enter the kitchen again!"

As she spoke, she reached out with both hands and pushed Natsume Chikage away from the refrigerator, looking puffed up with anger.

"Go away, the kitchen is Ruri's territory! Now, Ruri is going to make breakfast!"

Natsume Chikage was pushed back two steps by her, and watching his sister quickly tie on her little apron with a serious look of defending her "kitchen sovereignty," he could only smile helplessly.

He turned instead to tidy up his sister's scattered bedding, skillfully folding it neatly and stuffing it back into the wall closet.

Next, he moved the small low table to the center of the room and set it up.

After all, Yukimura Suzuoto and the others would be visiting before long, so preparing in advance was never a bad idea.

Just at this moment.

A faint sound came from the windowsill.

The white cat Nani-o, which had been nowhere to be seen all day yesterday, had jumped up again at some point.

It seemed to have smelled the aroma of breakfast in the room, meowing and gently scratching at the window frame with its little paws, looking like it wanted to come in.

Natsume Chikage was quick-eyed and fast-handed, scooping it into his arms before it could jump in.

He lifted one of Nani-o's front paws to take a look, and sure enough, it was stained with some dust and grass clippings from outside.

"What are you doing, you stinky cat, wanting to run inside with such dirty feet?"

He "scolded" it, feigning seriousness.

Nani-o couldn't understand at all; it just tilted its head up, rubbed its furry head against his chin to curry favor, and continued to act spoiled with "meow-meow" sounds.

Although he complained, Natsume Chikage still acted like a considerate pet owner, picking up a wet towel and carefully wiping every part of its four little paws that might dirty the floor.

At the same time, information about this cat automatically appeared before his eyes.

【Nani-o】

【Quality: Blue】

【Effect: After equipping, people around you will have a 5% chance of falling into a confused state for two seconds; this effect can be triggered at most once per hour.】

【Description: What are you doing?】

Natsume Chikage's wiping motion suddenly paused.

He realized then that the sentence he had just subconsciously said to the cat was exactly "What are you doing."

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

Had he triggered the effect himself?

Just as he was holding the cat with clean paws and tearing open a cat treat to feed it, a notification message suddenly popped up in his field of vision.

【You have not yet gained the recognition of this special equipment and cannot register it!】

"You guy, when will you finally accept me as your true master?"

Natsume Chikage held the furry Nani-o up with both hands so it was level with his eyes, unable to help but tease it with a smile.

Nani-o was held in the air, just tilted its little head, its amber eyes full of innocence, and "meowed" again.

Seeing its description of "What are you doing?" again, Natsume Chikage felt even more speechless.

Suddenly.

A bright idea struck him.

Perhaps... he could buy some catnip?

When the time came, combined with the effect of the "Damaged Ladle of the Oden Immortal" that increased flavor by 20%...

Wouldn't that make this little guy so happy it wouldn't know which way was up, and completely fall for him?

"Hehe, by then, you'll have to obediently call me..."

"Call Brother what?"

Natsume Ruri turned from the small kitchen with the breakfast she had just made, having caught the second half of the sentence.

She blinked her bright, large eyes, looking curiously at her brother and the cat.

Natsume Chikage's face turned slightly embarrassed; he quickly pulled the white cat back into his arms and coughed twice to cover it up:

"N-nothing."

"Let's... eat breakfast first."

Just as the siblings were sitting around the small table, beginning to enjoy their simple yet warm breakfast.

The doorbell of the room rang with a crisp "ding-dong."

Natsume Chikage paused, stood up, walked to the door, and pulled it open.

Outside the door stood Kaga Reisa, dressed in casual clothes.

Today, she was wearing a simple, elegant light-colored dress with a knitted cardigan over it, looking exceptionally fresh and beautiful.

Only, her face still carried that familiar, timid, and shy expression.

Seeing Natsume Chikage open the door, her fair cheeks flushed slightly, and she greeted him in a small voice:

"Natsume-brother... good morning."

Natsume Chikage was a bit surprised.

"Kaga-san? You woke up and came over this early?"

Kaga Reisa lowered her head slightly, her fingers unconsciously twisting the handle of her bag.

"Mm... at home, I woke up naturally very early."

Natsume Chikage stepped aside to clear the way.

"Don't stand at the door, come on in."

Kaga Reisa nodded gently, said "excuse me" in a small voice, then took off her shoes to enter the room and knelt properly beside the small table.

Natsume Ruri saw her good friend and greeted her happily:

"Reisa-chan! Have you had breakfast? If not, I'll make you some more!"