Chapter 58: Settlement Time (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Not long after, they entered Shibuya Station.

As it turned out, the time it took to share a meal was nowhere near enough to bypass Shibuya's rush hour.

Just like last time, he proactively took on the role of a knight in shining armor, acting like a high wall that shielded Takanashi Yuki from the surrounding passengers.

Throughout the journey, they remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Shall we exchange contact information?"

Listening to the train announcements, Takanashi Yuki felt her anxiety growing as they got closer to her stop, until she finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Sure."

Ryuichi Sugawara readily agreed to the suggestion.

In this day and age, the most common way to exchange contacts wasn't phone numbers, but LINE.

"My stop is coming up."

After adding each other on LINE, Takanashi Yuki's anxiety vanished. She spoke up as soon as the subway arrived at her station.

"Bye-bye."

Ryuichi Sugawara stepped aside to give her room and waved goodbye.

"Bye-bye."

Takanashi Yuki flashed him a smile and stepped off the train.

As the subway doors closed and the train resumed its journey, a translucent panel materialized in front of Ryuichi Sugawara, with text scrolling across it:

[First date with Takanashi Yuki has ended, settling accounts...]

[Number of heart-pounding moments: 18]

[Number of skipped heartbeats: 4]

[Number of fluttering butterfly moments: 2]

[Overall Evaluation: B — A Date Worth Rememorating]

[Evaluation Reward: Beginner Treasure Chest Openings x2]

"Still a B evaluation? Even though the criteria for excitement are quite lenient, they sure are strict about this aspect."

Seeing the result, Ryuichi Sugawara fell into deep thought.

Frankly speaking, he felt he had done a wonderful job this time, employing all sorts of clever little tricks far more flexibly than on his first date.

Yet even so, he still failed to win the system's full recognition.

"Still, earning 32 points of heart value in such a short time is definitely worth it."

That being said, Ryuichi Sugawara didn't dwell on the score. As he took another look at the settlement results, the corners of his mouth curved upward uncontrollably.

Thirty-two heart points, translated through the simplest and crudest conversion, equaled 3,200,000 yen!

This outcome was entirely thanks to his efforts... especially treating her to a meal after the rental time expired.

If he had skipped the dining portion, the heart value he harvested this time definitely couldn't have surpassed his first date, considering how short the rental duration was.

When acting alone, unexpected events rarely occurred.

Just before reaching the station closest to his home, Ryuichi Sugawara suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Pulling it out for a quick look, he saw a LINE message from Takanashi Yuki.

Snow: "Thank you. I had a really fun time today."

Constellation: "Received."

Since LINE featured read receipts, Ryuichi Sugawara replied out of basic politeness.

Snow: "How perfunctory. Couldn't you at least say you had a fun time too?"

Constellation: "Because I already said that to your face."

Snow: "Oh, right, I suppose you did (giggling emoji)."

Perhaps jogged by his reminder, Takanashi Yuki recalled that he had indeed said it, and instantly felt too embarrassed to make further demands, attempting to play it cute and gloss over it.

————

By the time Ryuichi Sugawara returned home, it was already 8:37 PM.

Most of his time had been wasted waiting in lines... but there was no helping it; living in a big city always came with plenty of unnecessary hassles.

Mindful of his previous experience—where he realized that drawing from the heart value pool was far more cost-effective than converting it directly into cash—he sat on his bed after taking a shower and, without any hesitation, decisively went for a five-in-a-row draw.

[Congratulations to the host for acquiring professional-level talent: Flat-rate Makeup Art.]

[Congratulations to the host for acquiring professional-level talent: Iai Style Twelve Forms.]

[Congratulations to the host for acquiring professional-level talent: Human Body Sketching.]

[Congratulations to the host for acquiring professional-level talent: Double-kick Skateboard.]

[Congratulations to the host for opening a beginner treasure chest and obtaining a one-time consumable item: One Hundred Thousand Fireworks Show.]

Although it was a five-in-a-row draw, Ryuichi Sugawara had actually opened them one by one.

First was flat-rate makeup art—he was quite puzzled when this was the first item to drop, considering he didn't even wear makeup.

However, once he truly received and mastered it, even though he hadn't fully digested and absorbed the knowledge yet, he immediately realized the utility of this talent.

Flat-rate makeup art was specialized for photographic makeup and could form a combo with his previously acquired portrait photography skill, producing a 1+1>2 effect.

Next was the Iai Style Twelve Forms—although he didn't have a sword or a blade on hand, a man's innate pursuit of immense power meant his surprise and joy outweighed everything else.

Then came human body sketching—this was a god-tier skill for flirting, capable of sketching someone's likeness in a short amount of time and bringing a pleasant surprise to a girl.

And finally, the double-kick skateboard—while it had nothing to do with becoming stronger, it was great for looking cool and showing off.

Talents required time to be fully absorbed, but items did not.

"What is a 'One Hundred Thousand Fireworks Show'?"

Instead of immediately absorbing it like the talents, Ryuichi Sugawara was immensely curious about the result of his final draw and set out to research its effects.

One-time Consumable Item [One Hundred Thousand Fireworks Show]

Item Effect: Sets up a romantic fireworks show lasting fifteen minutes for the person you love.

Method of Use: Deploy in an open, unobstructed area.

Precautions: Strictly prohibited from deployment indoors or in enclosed spaces; deploy at your own risk.

"Hmm..."

After reading the item description, Ryuichi Sugawara fell into contemplation, unsure of how to evaluate it.

Compared to the heaven-defying effect implied between the lines of [Flawless Bath Salt], the effect of this [One Hundred Thousand Fireworks Show] seemed rather ordinary; anyone could achieve a similar effect simply by spending enough money.

What bothered him the most was what the "one hundred thousand" in [One Hundred Thousand Fireworks Show] actually referred to.

One hundred thousand yen? One hundred thousand dollars? Or one hundred thousand fireworks?

If it meant one hundred thousand individual fireworks, that would be somewhat terrifying.

Fifteen minutes translated to 6,666 fireworks per minute, or 111 fireworks per second. With such ferocious firepower, just imagining it made him feel awe-struck.

"Good stuff, definitely good stuff!"

Thinking of this possibility, Ryuichi Sugawara's eyes instantly lit up.

The practicality of this item was through the roof, whether he decided to sell it to the organizers of a fireworks festival or use it to put on a romantic fireworks show for the woman he loved.

If he had any enemies, he could just unleash a fireworks show directly on them... With such intense firepower, even a high-rise building would probably be burned down and collapse.

"Buzz~"

After remaining excited for a good while, Ryuichi Sugawara's phone suddenly rang.

Pulling it out for a look, he saw a message from Shota Sato.

Shota Sato: "Back home yet?"

Ryuichi Sugawara: "I am."

Shota Sato: "How was it? Did you have fun hanging out with the gyaru?"

Ryuichi Sugawara: "Too much fun. Too complicated to type out, I'll tell you tomorrow."

Sensing the resentment and jealousy bleeding right through the screen, Ryuichi Sugawara couldn't help but chuckle.

Just then, as he absentmindedly fiddled with his phone, he noticed a few new Twitter notifications in his notification bar.

Opening Twitter and navigating to his direct messages, he saw a message sent by Tsuki Yamabuki.

Moon: "Did you go out to play with the gyaru quartet?"