Chapter 836: Thirty thousand copies... doesn't that mean 14.4 million yen?!

Around six o'clock in the evening.

Natsume Chikage pushed open the door to his home.

What came into view was an entrance and hallway that appeared incomparably spacious and bright compared to the previous three-mat shack.

The ten-mat space was meticulously arranged to be clean and tidy, with the atmosphere of a fresh start permeating everywhere.

Almost at the same time the sound of the door opening rang out—

From the direction of the living room, there came a rustling movement.

Two small heads, one left and one right, like startled small animals, carefully poked out from the wall at the entrance of the living room.

Their gazes were cast in unison toward the entrance hallway.

When they saw the familiar, tall figure at the door, bright, undisguised joy instantly bloomed on their two small faces.

"Brother—!"

Accompanied by a crisp and cheerful shout.

Natsume Ruri, wearing clean little white socks, "pitter-pattered" on the slightly cool wooden floor, like a fledgling swallow returning to its nest, and rushed over quickly.

At the boundary between the entrance and the hallway, she opened her arms and threw herself lightly into Natsume Chikage's embrace.

Her hands tightly wrapped around her brother's waist, her small face buried in his chest, her voice full of reliance and joy:

"Welcome back!"

Natsume Chikage was pushed back half a step by this enthusiastic "attack," but then steadily caught his sister.

A gentle smile naturally bloomed on his face; his arms gently wrapped around her, and he patted her back.

"Yeah, I'm back."

Behind Natsume Ruri, Kaga Reisa also walked out slowly.

She stood a few steps away, her hands somewhat nervously clasped in front of her, her clear eyes looking at the hugging siblings, envy flowing deep in her eyes.

Such intimacy and trust were things she secretly longed for in her heart but could not easily possess.

She could only suppress that agitation, lowered her head slightly, and when she raised it again, her face had already changed to her usual, slightly shy, sweet smile, and she greeted softly:

"Natsume-brother... welcome back."

Natsume Ruri only then raised her small face from her brother's embrace.

Her fair cheeks were flushed with a faint blush due to excitement, and her eyes looking up at Natsume Chikage were sparkling, as if filled with stars.

"Brother!"

"Congratulations on successfully advancing to the sixth round!"

"The prize money for this round is 160,000 yen!"

"So much!"

"Plus the 150,000 yen you saved before, we've suddenly become well-off!"

"Now, we can rent this 60,000-yen-a-month house continuously, even for half a year, and it's completely no problem!"

Natsume Chikage looked at his sister's happy and leaping appearance, and his heart was also filled with warmth.

He nodded with a smile.

"Yeah."

Natsume Ruri smiled happily, pursing her lips, her heart feeling like a honey pot had been overturned.

Recalling last month, when they were still tossing and turning, counting every yen for next month's rent, utilities, tuition, and living expenses...

It felt like it was just yesterday.

And now, that heavy, suffocating sense of anxiety seemed to have quietly begun to melt away the moment her brother stepped onto the shogi tournament stage.

Looking at it this way, her brother's decision to hide it from her and resolutely decide to participate in that tournament was really a very correct, and even life-changing, decision.

Kaga Reisa stood to the side, those beautiful eyes that were always slightly weak and shy now also rippling with softness.

She looked at Natsume Chikage and said softly and seriously:

"Natsume-brother... Ruri-chan and I watched your tournament live stream together today."

"It was really... super amazing!"

"Congratulations on successfully advancing."

Natsume Chikage turned to her and returned a gentle smile.

"Thank you."

The three of them talked and naturally walked back to the living room.

In the center of the living room was a small table, on which were scattered several open shoujo manga and sketchbooks.

The LCD TV hanging on the wall was playing a program, emitting a soft background sound.

At this moment, what was playing on the screen was not a currently popular comedy variety show, but a fresh-styled shoujo manga adaptation anime called "Kimi ni Todoke."

However, the two girls in the living room at the moment clearly had no intention of paying attention to the anxiously slow progress of the male and female leads in the show.

Natsume Ruri sat next to her brother, looking at him without blinking.

Her small face was intertwined with happiness, pride, and a little bit of confusion that could finally be released, carrying a hint of coquetry.

She suddenly reached out, shook Natsume Chikage's arm, and muttered in a low voice:

"Brother..."

Her tone carried inquiry.

"When exactly did your shogi... become so amazing?"

"You could even win against a semi-professional player?"

"I clearly remember before... when you played shogi with Dad, it seemed like you didn't even win a single game?"

The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she felt, her eyes narrowing slightly, like a little cat that had discovered a secret.

"Could it be... that your shogi situation is the same as your drawing, that you've actually always been very good, but were just too lazy to play seriously with Dad, so you deliberately lost, and then took the opportunity to sneak back to your room to play games?"

She proposed a "conspiracy theory" that she herself felt was very reasonable.

Kaga Reisa on the side also couldn't help but be attracted by this guess, curiously blinking those beautiful big eyes, her gaze falling on Natsume Chikage's face, waiting for his answer.

Natsume Chikage was slightly stunned by his sister's sudden "deduction."

Of course, he couldn't explain the existence of "panels" and "special equipment" which were surreal.

Since his sister had imagined such a reasonable explanation herself...

He was happy to go along with the flow.

And so.

Natsume Chikage laughed it off: ===== CHAPTER 837 =====