Seeing Saki like this, Ryuji suddenly smiled.
"I saved you before, and now I have to take care of you. Saki, it's a bad habit to get things for free," Ryuji teased, and Saki couldn't help but lower her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"You have to give something in return."
"Pay?" Saki was startled by Ryuji's words. She quickly crossed her arms, eyeing him suspiciously.
"What do you want?" she asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice, though maybe even she didn't realize there was a slight tone of excitement there as well.
However, Ryuji merely looked her over, as if contemplating something, and then smirked.
"Tsk, forget it. Let's go. I'll take you home," he said, brushing off whatever thought had crossed his mind and started walking in the direction Saki had pointed, not waiting for her reaction.
"...?"
Saki was stunned for a moment, standing frozen as Ryuji walked ahead. It wasn't until he was almost out of sight that she snapped back to reality.
"What did that look mean? Do you think I have nothing to offer?" she muttered in frustration.
Ryuji shook his head in amusement, his expression one of slight regret, as if Saki didn't have anything about her that interested him.
That only infuriated her more.
Saki fumed silently. I may not have the best figure, but I'm still a beautiful girl! How dare he look down on me like that!
"Are you coming or not?" Ryuji called back, interrupting her thoughts. "Or do you want to walk home alone?"
Saki gritted her teeth but couldn't argue. "I'm coming…"
Even if she was annoyed, she wasn't stupid. After what had just happened, walking home alone wasn't something she wanted to do.
"Thanks," she muttered as she walked ahead to lead the way.
Ryuji chuckled. "Well, I can't just let a beautiful girl disappear into the night."
Saki couldn't help but blush at his remark. Was he teasing her again? Or did he actually mean it?
Despite her irritation, she found herself smiling. Maybe he was just playing with her, but it felt nice to hear him call her a beautiful girl. Could it be that all his teasing earlier was just a joke?
With that thought in her head, Saki's mood improved significantly, and a cheerful tune escaped her as she led the way back to her home.
---
As for Ryuji, he knew that if he pushed a bit more, he might have convinced Saki to do something reckless like stay at a hotel together. But he wasn't in any rush.
There was always plenty of time, and honestly, the process was often more fun than the result. He didn't need to hurry.
"Let's see what kind of entry I triggered from Saki," he murmured to himself.
He hadn't triggered any new entries from Nanami during their conversation at the bar, but maybe Saki had something interesting.
"Tsk. Nothing."
"Purple entry: Stay Up Late!"
Ryuji stared at the new entry for a moment, silenced by disappointment.
"Stay Up Late: Greatly reduces the mental fatigue caused by staying up late."
This was basically an office worker's dream ability.
"To think I triggered something like this from Saki. Innate office worker body, huh?"
It wasn't an ability Ryuji needed. With his ever-growing physical stats, he could stay awake for days without feeling tired. This entry was useless to him.
"Decompose it."
With a simple command, the purple entry dissolved into points.
Checking his status, Ryuji nodded in satisfaction.
[Talent entry system]
Host: Ryuji Hoshino
Bloodline: Human
Loaded entries: Soul Devouring [Red], Yin-Yang Eyes [Gold], Presence Concealment [Gold],Tranquility [Gold], Reverse Cursed Technique [Gold], Monster Attracting Physique [Gold], Third Dimension, Dreamwalker [Gold], Physical Strengthening [Gold], Cursed Speech [Gold], Iron Fist [Purple].
Points: 74,120!
"Not bad," Ryuji thought. "Even though I haven't gained many new abilities recently, the ones I have are already powerful enough."
Besides, his points were growing rapidly. He was optimistic that before his points reached 100,000, he'd get the chance to draw a free purple entry.
The system had also informed him that once he collected ten entries of a certain level, he would receive a chance to draw a free entry of the same level. And nothing made Ryuji happier than getting things for free.
With that thought, his steps felt lighter as he made his way home.
---
The next morning, as Ryuji left the house with Miko, they happened to run into Izumi Sae, who was walking her daughter Sagiri out.
"Sister Sae!" Ryuji greeted.
"R-Ryuji-kun!" Sae stammered, her face flushing slightly as she saw him.
However, her eyes widened when she noticed Miko standing beside him.
"Who is this?"
"Hello, I'm Yotsuya Miko, Ryuji's girlfriend," Miko introduced herself politely, smiling as she spoke. Since they hadn't met before, Miko was simply being friendly.
"Girlfriend…?" Sae's voice faltered. She looked at Ryuji, her eyes filled with a strange mixture of surprise and something else, almost like disappointment.
"Mom?" Sagiri tugged at her mother's sleeve, noticing her strange reaction.
Sae quickly snapped out of it, shaking her head. "It's nothing, sweetie."
Ryuji, noticing the slightly awkward atmosphere, decided to change the subject. "Sister Sae, are you taking little Sagiri somewhere fun?"
"I'm taking Sagiri to school," Sae explained with a sigh. "She's too much of a homebody, so I thought it would be good for her to meet some friends."
Izumi Sagiri, who had been hiding behind her mother, pouted unhappily. "I don't want to go to school. I don't want to make friends…"
Ryuji chuckled. "Sagiri, you're so cute. If you stay home all the time, it'd be a waste of that cuteness."
Sagiri, embarrassed by the compliment, blushed and lowered her head, muttering a quiet, "Good morning…" as she greeted Ryuji shyly.
"Come on, Sagiri. It'll be fun," Sae urged, feeling a bit helpless about her daughter's introverted nature. "It's good for you to get out of the house once in a while."
Sagiri grumbled but didn't argue further, calming down under her mother's gentle persuasion.
"Well, we should get going," Ryuji said, waving goodbye as he and Miko headed off to school.
Sae watched them leave, her eyes lingering on Ryuji's back, her thoughts swirling with emotions she couldn't quite place.
"Mom?" Sagiri asked again, noticing her mother's distracted gaze.
Sae shook her head quickly, regaining her composure. "It's nothing, let's go."
---
At school, the atmosphere had changed subtly. Hayama Hayato, who had once been the center of attention in the class, had become more of a background figure. Meanwhile, the girls from his old group—Yumiko, Yui, and Hina were now regularly chatting with Ryuji, much to the confusion of their classmates.
Ryuji, however, was more concerned with his own thoughts.
"Another day of zoning out," he muttered to himself as he sat down in class. While he had hoped that going to school in this new world would feel different, in reality, it wasn't. He still spent most of his time in a daze, barely paying attention to what was going on around him.
Just then, Yumiko approached him with a smile. "It looks like you'll have to be more serious today, Ryuji-kun."
Ryuji looked at her curiously. "Why?"
"You don't know?" Yumiko looked genuinely surprised. "There's a test today. Didn't you hear the teacher mention it yesterday?"
"...Test?" Ryuji blinked. He had been so lost in thought the day before that he hadn't even realized there was an exam scheduled.
"Well, it's not like I'm worried," he said, shrugging. With his enhanced mental abilities, all the information from the textbooks was already in his head. Even if he spent the whole class zoning out, he could ace the test with little effort.
But still, he couldn't help but complain. "There really isn't anything more annoying during school than exams."
Yui, who had been listening nearby, quickly jumped in. "Exactly! We agreed to have happy education, right? Why do we need tests?"
Yumiko shook her head at her friend's outburst. She knew Yui's grades weren't exactly stellar, so it made sense that she'd be dreading the exam.
Then Yumiko turned back to Ryuji with a mischievous grin. "Since you're so confident, how about we make a bet?"
"A bet?" Ryuji raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"If I score higher than you on the test, you have to do something for me, anything I ask."
Hina and Yui both looked over, equally curious.
Ryuji smirked. "And if I win?"
"We'll figure that out later," Yumiko said, her eyes gleaming with mischief. She clearly thought she had something up her sleeve.
Ryuji leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Alright, Yumiko, challenge accepted. But don't cry when you lose."
Yui and Hina exchanged amused glances. "Did Yumiko just challenge Ryuji-kun to a bet?" Yui whispered, looking both shocked and entertained.
"It seems so," Ebina replied, her expression full of curiosity. "This is going to be fun."