Chapter 977

Natsume Chikage paused his movements and looked back.

Natsume Ruri asked curiously:

"By the way, Brother, weren't you supposed to have dinner with Tsukishima-san and Araki-san today?"

"It was just a meal, so why are you back so late?"

Natsume Chikage was slightly stunned:

"Eh? Ruri, how did you know I was going to have dinner with them?"

Natsume Ruri curled her lips into a sly arc and explained:

"Because when I was chatting with Tsukishima-san yesterday, she mentioned in passing that she was going to have dinner with Senior Araki today."

"But Ruri didn't expect that you would go too, Brother."

Upon hearing this, Natsume Chikage's expression became somewhat strange.

Thinking back carefully... it seemed that recently, every time he had an appointment with Senior Araki Keiai, Senior Tsukishima Rin would "coincidentally" be there as well.

Was this something Senior Tsukishima did on purpose, or was it truly just because she was close with Senior Araki and they often went together?

He collected his thoughts and explained to his younger sister:

"Before dinner, we went to an amusement park first."

"An amusement park?!"

Natsume Ruri's cheeks puffed up at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a little angry pufferfish:

"You went to an amusement park to play?! Why didn't you call Ruri when you went to the amusement park?!"

Looking at her cute, pouting appearance, Natsume Chikage couldn't help but smile and patiently explained:

"It was after the previous shogi tournament ended. The seniors in the club hadn't been in a good mood because they lost the match, so they suggested going to the amusement park to blow off some steam."

"Besides, those are seniors you don't know, so it wouldn't have been appropriate to suddenly bring you along."

Seeing his sister's still dissatisfied expression, he promised with a smile:

"How about this: when Brother wins the match tomorrow and gets the prize money, I'll find a time to take you to the amusement park, okay?"

"Really? Mm-hmm!"

Natsume Ruri immediately turned from anger to joy, nodding vigorously, her eyes filled with anticipation.

However, amidst her happiness, she also quietly felt a hint of nervousness for her brother's match tomorrow.

She had looked at the tournament summary and knew that starting from the sixth round, the opponents her brother would face would all be professional shogi players.

As a "quasi-professional," could her brother really keep winning?

But this thought only flashed by for a moment.

Soon, Natsume Ruri felt at ease again.

Regardless, her brother being able to break into the sixth round was already a very, very impressive achievement!

And most importantly, the novel her brother wrote was now a super bestseller, incredibly popular!

The publisher had already confirmed a reprint of 50,000 copies, plus the initial 5,000 copies...

When the royalties were settled next month, the family would suddenly have an income of nearly 10 million yen!

Compared to that, the tournament prize money seemed less urgent.

Her brother still had over 200,000 yen on him now; as long as he didn't spend money recklessly, it was enough to last until the royalties arrived next month.

Thinking of this, Natsume Ruri felt much more at ease.

Of course, deep down, she still hoped more than anything that her brother would win.

However, even if by some chance... her brother really lost the match, she wouldn't make a fuss about going to the amusement park anymore and add to his pressure.

Natsume Ruri secretly clenched her little fist.

If her brother didn't do well in the match, then she would wait until her own submission to the manga magazine was accepted and she got the payment, and then she would take her brother out to play! ===== CHAPTER 978 =====