Yukima Azuma smiled and nodded.
"I'll always be looking forward to senpai gift."
Kasumigaoka Utaha hurried up the stairs, heading back to her room.
Until then, her heartbeat still hadn't slowed down.
She looked at the pristine wrist guard on her hand.
How should she put it?
It felt like no matter how many times she looked at it, she never got tired of it.
After admiring it for a while, Kasumigaoka Utaha finally opened her phone.
She went to Twitter and directly uploaded the photo that Yukima Azuma had just taken to her Twitter account.
The caption was simply the two words "Wrist Guard."
Kasumigaoka Utaha's Twitter account had been verified as the official account of "Kasumi Utako."
As a talented light novel author, the name "Kasumi Utako" on Twitter already had quite a few fans.
Only a short time after the post, the likes and comments began to increase rapidly.
[Such beautiful hands, I'm dying!]
[May I ask, should I send my tongue over or will Kasumi Utako-sensei send her hands over?]
[Wow, I searched for something like this because it's so beautiful, but this is so expensive!]
[Eh? How much is it?]
[I can only say, humans can't afford this price! Attached image of shopping software.jpg]
[Wow, okay, never mind then!]
[Am I the only one wondering, who took this picture?]
[Watson, you discovered the blind spot!]
[Right, Kasumi Utako-sensei has both hands in the picture, could it be... her tongue?]
[Damn it, what do you mean by tongue! Ridiculous! Clearly, someone must be holding Kasumi Utako-sensei while taking the photo!]
[No way! I don't believe it! I wish Kasumi Utako-sensei would say otherwise!]
[What the hell is wrong with you, it could just be a female friend taking the picture!]
Since Kasumigaoka Utaha rarely posted on Twitter before, her account mostly had posts related to her books.
She didn't even have a single personal photo.
As a beautiful novelist, this image was mainly spread through her real-life interactions and book signings.
So, even though it was just a photo of a hand, the level of discussion was extremely high.
Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't care about the comments.
She didn't pay attention to these things.
She just wanted to show off a little.
It was a bit like a child who had just gotten their favorite toy.
In short, she just wanted to show off!
Chapter 22: The Pause in "The Rock"
At the end of the month.
Only three days left until the spring break ends.
The tasks that needed to be completed during the break must have already been finished by now.
As for the unfinished ones, it's unlikely they'll be completed in the remaining three days of the holiday.
It's like a pause in the middle of a rock song.
A brief moment of stillness and stop.
Then, the hurried melodies will come again.
Yukima Azuma went out to buy something.
The next match in the official Go tournament would be the day after the new semester begins.
This was an important match that would determine whether Yukima Azuma could reach 6-dan.
At the same time, it was a very noteworthy part of the entire official tournament.
Because this time, the opponent was Yamato Kajin, a 8-dan player.
However, Yukima Azuma wasn't too concerned about it.
Recently, he had also looked over some of Yamato Kajin games.
The impression was that both of their Go skills were quite similar.
Not a difficult opponent to defeat.
Moreover, even if he lost, it didn't matter.
In future official matches, if he won two more games, he could still reach 6-dan.
The tournament would count the total number of wins, so losing a match wouldn't necessarily end his chances of winning the championship.
Yukima Azuma was even more focused on the upcoming school year.
Going to Toyosaki Private School, the school that had existed in Yukima Azuma's memories from his past life.
His mood was somewhat ambiguous.
It felt as though something was about to happen.
A strange feeling between a light novel and reality.
Also, there was another noteworthy thing.
It was about the game that Yukima Azuma had created.
Yes, that's right, Yukima Azuma had made a game.
After leaving the world of Go and seeking another way to make money, Yukima Azuma chose to create a game.
After teaching himself programming and accumulating skills, Yukima Azuma had reached the 4th level of programming.
Level 4, which was the basic level of becoming a professional programmer.
Through Yukima Azuma's experiments, this was the threshold of skills when entering the 'professional' field.
Of course, having only reached level 4 meant he was considered a professional, but there were still limits.
With his level 4 programming skills, Yukima Azuma had created a special game called "Sheep of a Sheep."
(origin: ... I searched Google, it's a Chinese game I've never heard of)
It was an extremely easy-to-play match-3 game.
"Sheep of a Sheep" was the ideal product for making quick money.
Easy to play, easy to make, with cute visuals and viral spread.
The first few levels could be passed without lifting a finger, but as you progressed, even using cheats might not guarantee success.
If you failed, players had to watch ads to revive.
With these features,
In the first month after its release, thanks to ad revenue, Yukima Azuma earned 43 million yen his first earnings. This was the reason Yukima Azuma had recently not been short on money, as mentioned earlier.
Of course, the game had its drawbacks. It was easy to become popular but also easy to get bored with.
By the second month in the Japanese market, the revenue began to decrease.
However, Yukima Azuma had anticipated this. Given Japan's small population, this was not his ultimate goal.
After getting the initial capital, Yukima Azuma quickly connected with international game stores and social media platforms.
He uploaded the game to global platforms, hoping to attract attention from players worldwide.
The following week would mark the calculation of the first month's revenue from international markets.
That number would be the one Yukima Azuma truly anticipated.
Once he obtained that amount, he would have enough capital to execute his next plans.
In short, as stated before, Yukima Azuma wanted to make money, make a lot of money, and then elevate his social standing.
The scene of people from Yukima Azuma "family" after the past incident, coming to claim their share of the family wealth, was something he never wanted to experience again.
In a society like Japan, where social class and hierarchy are very harsh, if you don't rise to a high position, no matter how harmless you are, someone will come along and step on you.
"Bitch, when I succeed, I'll return twice the humiliation you caused me!"
Yukima Azuma muttered to himself.
At this moment, he walked past a park.
Yukima Azuma had passed by, but then he turned back.
The park was very quiet at the moment, and there was no one active.
A girl with long pink hair sat alone on a swing.
Because the girl had her head down, her face wasn't clearly visible.
If he had to find a feature, it might be her incredibly outdated outfit.
She wore a pink sports top on top, and a pleated skirt, but under the skirt were sports pants.
Who wears a pleated skirt but puts sports pants underneath it?!
Yukima Azuma stared for a while, feeling very familiar.
But after a moment, he couldn't remember who she was.
However, Yukima Azuma was not someone who would dwell on things.
He decided to approach her.
Because if it felt familiar, he might as well go over and strike up a conversation.
If he wasn't sure whether he knew her, simply asking her name would give him a clue.
If not, he could ask for her contact info, chat for a few days, and get to know her.
...
The girl name was Gotoh Hitori.
True to her name.
Gotoh Hitori was always alone.
Because of her shy personality, she didn't know how to make friends.
In elementary school, just a little slip-up, and she had become the "forgotten corner" of the class.
Without friends, she didn't know how to interact with others.
And without the ability to communicate, she couldn't make friends.
Gotoh Hitori fell into a vicious cycle.
Then, in the blink of an eye, she graduated elementary school, moved on to high school, but still couldn't make any friends.
Gradually, Gotoh Hitori developed a communication disorder.
By now, after graduating high school,
Gotoh Hitori remained invisible, unnoticed by anyone.
How does an introvert make friends?
The recommended approach on the internet was: wait for an extrovert to come and help.
And today,
Some extroverted person had noticed Gotoh Hitori and decided to help her.
By the way,
To make friends, Gotoh Hitori had taught herself how to play the guitar, and after years of practice, her skills had become quite impressive.
She was a guitar blogger with 30,000 followers online.
Unfortunately, she didn't have a place to showcase her talent.
Even though she had graduated middle school, she had never once participated in a performance at a school festival.
She had sworn that during this spring break, she would definitely form a band at high school.
But clearly, that wasn't going to happen.
— — — — — — — — — — —
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Chapter 23: The Master Command
For various personal and environmental reasons,
Gotoh Hitori had become someone incapable of normal communication with othersa "super introvert."
Her personality gradually grew more isolated, with a tendency to develop into an otaku.
She spent all day holed up in her room, playing the guitar.
Gotoh Hitori mother could no longer stand by and watch.
As a result, today, Gotoh Hitori was pushed out of the house to run errands at the supermarket.
On the way, she noticed an empty park with not a soul in sight.
She looked at the vacant swing.
It felt like a place meant for lonely people like her to gather.
For some reason, she ran over and sat on the swing.
"I don't want to go to school anymore; I can't survive anyway."
"It feels like the internet is the place where I truly belong..."
In her mind, she tortured herself, thinking about all sorts of nonsense.
As a result, because she kept her head down, she completely failed to notice someone approaching.
By the time she realized
"Hello."
Gotoh Hitori was startled and leaned back, nearly falling off the swing.
Yukima Azuma was crouched in front of Gotoh Hitori, at a rather close distance.
It couldn't be helped.
Gotoh Hitori had been bowing her head the whole time.
If one wanted to see her face, there was no other way.
Even so, it was still impossible to see her fully.
Gotoh Hitori hair was far too long.
Her pink bangs even covered her eyes.
Thus, Yukima Azuma still couldn't figure out why the girl in front of her felt so familiar.
"Hello, my name is Yukima Azuma. I live nearby. I've never seen you before; can we be friends?"
Yukima Azuma smiled gently.
This move was incredibly effective.
Perhaps due to the Yuki family genetics, Yukima Azuma had an 8/10 appearancenot just empty words.
To the point that, even with a cold demeanor, countless people would push and shove to get close.
Adding that friendly smile
Even someone as cold as a block of ice would easily melt before him!
Gotoh Hitori eyes widened.
"Ehh? Ehh!? What!?"
Struggling to keep her balance and avoid falling, Gotoh Hitori had no time to process why Yukima Azuma had suddenly approached and started a conversation.
'Sunlight! This is actual sunlight! Such a dazzling presence, like sunshine! I'm melting!'
These were the only thoughts running through her mind at the moment.
To the point where she forgot to respond entirely.
Yukima Azuma raised an eyebrow.
Oh?
So, there are people immune to this move?
"Did I bother you by starting a conversation? Sorry, I just wanted to be friends with you."
Yukima Azuma slightly bowed his head, wearing an apologetic expression.
Gotoh Hitori was nearly blinded.
The light from the person in front of herthe "light of an extrovert"was blindingly intense.
It was stronger than all the "popular people" she had ever met at school combined.
'Friends?'
'Ehh, ehh, ehh!?'
'Gotoh Hitori! Say something! Your potential friend is about to leave!'
'This is bad! It's been too long since I've spoken to anyone! I can't make a sound anymore!'
Gotoh Hitori could only let out a faint noise from her throat: "a...aa."
Yukima Azuma observed the girl in front of him, lightly stroking his chin with a finger.
After a moment of looking at her
He suddenly clapped his hands together.
"Ah, I see! It's not that you dislike me; you're just too nervous to speak."
Gotoh Hitori: !
'Telepathy!? How does he know that!'
"You're thinking, 'How did I know,' right?"
'It really is telepathy! Crab, carrot, watermelon!'
"You've probably started thinking of random abstract words now, haven't you?"
Gotoh Hitori eyes went even wider.
Yukima Azuma smiled faintly.
But this time, it wasn't a gentle or apologetic smile.
Instead, That's the famous smile of Saki Nikaido and Satanichia
It was a grin filled with amusement, as if he had stumbled upon something entertaining.
This girl was so easy to read; nearly every thought she had seemed written plainly on her face.
And her demeanorit was obvious she was the type of person who could be teased at will.
"Alright then, hand me your phone first."
Yukima Azuma extended a hand toward Gotoh Hitori.
"Uh" Reflexively, Gotoh Hitori obeyed, handing over her phone before quietly asking, "Why?"
Taking the phone, Yukima Azuma opened Gotoh Hitori Line app.
First, he added himself to her contacts, then casually edited his name in the notes section.
"Your last name is Gotoh, but what's your full name?"
"Hitori..."
"Oh, then from now on, I'll call you 'Bocchi'."
"Eh? Why call me that"
"Because Hitori means 'alone,' so the nickname 'Bocchi' is easy to remember, right?"
