"..."
How had I somehow gotten tangled up with being called a scumbag...
I had lived two lives, and with the original owner's memories included, I had lived a total of thirty-three years. And you were calling me a scumbag?
Why did it feel like this person's favorability was so hard to raise? I had used every trick I knew to flirt with girls, only to earn the title of scumbag.
Forget it...
Scumbag it was, then. As long as I could complete the System Quest, that was enough. The rewards from these two quests were crucial to improving myself and would determine whether I could go toe-to-toe with Todo Aoi later on.
The two entered the alley.
The moment they stepped inside, a burly crew-cut man in a black suit reached out to grab Mitsuchi Mi.
It all happened in an instant. By the time Mitsuchi Mi reacted, it was already too late to dodge. A huge hand was reaching for her head.
Just as she was about to close her eyes, the hand before her stopped. Before the man could let out a pained scream, it turned into muffled whimpers.
As the tall man dropped to his knees, she finally saw what had happened. Natsu Hiraku had his right hand tightly gripping the shoulder the man had extended, while his left hand covered his mouth. Shaking his head, he said softly, "Scream again and I'll cripple one of your arms. If you scare them off, I'll cripple both. Rather than suffer yourself, why not shift that pain onto someone else? Like your two teammates... You know what to do now, right?"
Feeling the agonizing pain in his arm, the man saw the child before him as a cold-blooded demon. His icy gaze seemed to be looking at a corpse.
Listening to the demon's whispers, he hurriedly nodded. "Mm! Mmph!"
"Good boy."
Natsu Hiraku released his left hand and asked quietly, "Did Mitsuchi Shinichi send you?"
"I don't know, anyway..."
Before the suited man could finish, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck. His vision blurred, and he passed out on the spot.
Tch, I looked like an idiot. I obviously knew it was him, yet I still had to ask. Everything I'd just said made me seem like a complete idiot.
Natsu Hiraku was speechless. Maybe he had watched too many movies; whenever something like this happened, he instinctively asked the question.
"Hey, Jiren, are you done? If you are, get out here already. Bring them back so we can collect the bounty."
A hoarse voice came from the entrance to the alley.
"Done. You two wait there, I'm coming."
The moment Natsu Hiraku finished speaking, he charged out of the alley and struck each of the two men on the neck before they could react, knocking them both unconscious.
To Mitsuchi Mi's astonishment, he dragged the two men back in. She praised him inwardly, So strong! No wonder he lasted ten seconds against Captain Shuichi. His strength is beyond question, and he's still so young. Treating him like a little brother was definitely the right call!
Natsu Hiraku placed all three men together and began rummaging through the spoils. Although he would receive ten million as soon as he returned, a special-grade Cursed Tool cost several hundred million. That money was merely a drop in the bucket. He still had to loot what he could; even a mosquito had meat on it.
"These sunglasses are nice. I'm taking them."
"Oh, this watch is nice too. All shiny and gold. I like it."
"As for the clothes... I'll leave you your underwear. It's not like I'm some bandit."
You were absolutely a bandit...
Mitsuchi Mi covered her eyes with her hands, blushing furiously. Yet every so often, she peeked through the gaps between her fingers. She looked rather adorable.
Once he finished looting them, Natsu Hiraku nodded in satisfaction. He hung all three big gold watches from his left wrist. Never mind whether they were real; that nouveau riche aura shot straight through the roof.
And these sunglasses—once he put them on, the world went dark. Never mind what his field of vision was like; their light-blocking effect was top-notch.
He then walked up to Mitsuchi Mi and said harmlessly, "Let's go, sis. I've dealt with all of them."
"Oh... okay, let's hurry and go."
Looking at this innocent-faced "little brother," Mitsuchi Mi felt nothing but overwhelming security.
Night fell.
"This is the room we arranged for you, little brother Natsu. I'll be staying next door. If you can't sleep tonight, you can come to big sister's room~!"
Harukaze Chizuko smiled faintly, then returned to her room. Her door remained slightly ajar and unlocked.
"..."
"I was only joking..."
Natsu Hiraku grumbled. He glanced at his room, but rather than pushing the door open to admire his new quarters, he went looking for Ido Shuichi's room.
It was already eight in the evening. Although he did not need to guard Mitsuchi Mi tonight, it felt like she did not need guarding either...
A Quasi Grade 1 Cursed Spirit was stationed there. Anyone who came would just be delivering themselves to their deaths, so long as they threatened Mitsuchi Mi's life.
There were also bodyguards on night duty. Ido Shuichi seemed to be one of them, so he should be visible once Natsu Hiraku went outside.
In the silent hallway, weak lights glimmered like fireflies, illuminating the dark space. From time to time, a few Cursed Spirits floated past in the air.
They muttered, "That room is terrifying. The air feels so oppressive."
Natsu Hiraku merely gave them a glance before wiping out every floating Cursed Spirit.
He did not know whose resentment they had come from, but the room they were talking about had to be Mitsuchi Mi's.
Pushing open the villa's door, he looked at the two guards standing outside and asked:
"Where's Captain Shuichi? I need to see him."
Hearing that someone was looking for their captain, the two turned around. When they saw Natsu Hiraku, who had defeated their captain that morning, they said happily, "It's you, Vice-Captain Natsu. Come with me. I'll take you to the captain."
"Vice-Captain? What the hell?"
Natsu Hiraku looked baffled, apparently unable to understand how he had suddenly acquired the title of Vice-Captain.
The other man explained, "It's like this: since you defeated the captain this morning, the Vice-Captain automatically gave up his position to you."
"Uh... is this Vice-Captain named Murata Shoichi?"
"Yes. Vice-Captain Natsu, you have a good memory. I didn't expect you to remember him after meeting him just once this morning. I was watching from the side too. Seriously, it was the first time I'd seen someone last that long against the captain, especially a kid. It made all of us lose confidence. Can I ask what you normally eat, Vice-Captain?"
Cheats—every young man deserved one. It might have been irresponsible to say so, but that was simply the truth.
Natsu Hiraku cleared his throat twice and said, "Since you recognize me as Vice-Captain, I won't keep it from you. Listen carefully, because I'm only saying this once."
"Please tell us, Vice-Captain."
Even their tone had changed. They clearly craved the training method that could defeat their captain.
"One thousand push-ups, one thousand sit-ups, one thousand squats, and a hundred-kilometer run every day. As for food, eat whatever you want. As long as you stick with all that, a powerful physique will be yours. Keep it up!"
"..."
That was already beyond the scope of human capability, wasn't it?
Vice-Captain, you were only fifteen. Were you already giving up on being human?
No matter how they looked at it, that training plan was impossible...
The two wanted to say it aloud, but found themselves unable to. Aside from that brutal training regimen, there was no other way to explain why the Vice-Captain was so strong.
"Hahaha, kid, stop fooling those two. Come with me."
Ido Shuichi's voice came from the corridor. Murata Shoichi was following behind him.
"Good evening, Teacher Shuichi. I wonder what you'll teach me first tonight?"
Natsu Hiraku replied enthusiastically.
"Hahaha, naturally I'll start with the basics. Of course, if you learn quickly, I'll keep teaching you more. Shoichi, take care of the patrol. Let me go teach this monster."
Ido Shuichi patted Murata Shoichi on the shoulder.
Feeling the heavy responsibility on his shoulder, Murata Shoichi did not decline. His voice held a trace of pride. "Who told you to lose, Captain? Leave this place to me."
"Alright."
After a brief handover, Natsu Hiraku was led away by Ido Shuichi beneath everyone's envious gazes.
After all, those were the martial arts skills the captain had learned over his entire life. To ordinary people, in this law-abiding society, what use was having big fists? They could just call the police, lie on the ground, and sue you for everything you had.
But to these men, those skills were more precious than beautiful women—priceless, something money could not buy.
After walking through a maze of winding paths, they arrived in the backyard, where a small building stood before them. Natsu Hiraku once again felt the gulf between the rich and poor. This yard felt larger than two football fields, and it had taken them a full five minutes just to walk here from the villa entrance.
But this was no time for envy. Strength was what mattered most. Once he had mastered his studies, the day would come to exorcise Cursed Spirits.
Click—
The heavy iron door opened. Ido Shuichi turned on the lights inside and said to Natsu Hiraku, who was standing outside, "Come in. Stop staring."
"Okay."
The moment he stepped inside, he saw the training equipment. The iron training dummy was full of dents and pits, as though it had been struck by some hard object. Faint rust stains showed that it had been used for a very long time.
Had Shuichi trained day and night until he deformed thick iron with his strikes?
Although he could not be sure, Natsu Hiraku could only assume so. After all, this was something Shuichi used for training.
Aside from the absurd training dummy, everything else was fairly normal: gym equipment, tables and chairs, and a worn-out punching bag hanging in the center of the room.
"Teacher Shuichi, when did you get here?"
"When?"
Ido Shuichi thought for a moment and said, "About half a month ago. I took on a two-month security job. Once it ends, I'll be heading to another country to continue working as a mercenary."
"A mercenary..."
Natsu Hiraku hefted a dumbbell from the floor and asked, "Mercenaries risk their lives every day. Teacher, you look like you're already in your thirties. Why not go home and enjoy life?"
"Enjoy life?" Ido Shuichi seemed to recall something. His eyes were full of helplessness as he sighed. "Only when I die on the battlefield can that be called enjoying life. This is just the kind of life I have. I can't stay idle."
His tone was filled with helplessness, making Natsu Hiraku curious about his cheap master's past. Although Natsu Hiraku did not know when he himself might kick the bucket either, he would still struggle to survive.
Yet his master seemed to be looking forward to dying on the battlefield, or perhaps looking forward to meeting someone capable of killing him.
It gave off the same vibe as Teacher Gojo—too invincible to find an opponent. But that was probably true. Without jujutsu sorcerers, with his powerful body, unless someone ambushed him, he would not lose to anyone.
"Alright, stop playing with the dumbbells. What's the point of a monster whose physical body has already graduated using those things? I'll demonstrate it once. How much you learn depends on yourself."
Hearing Ido Shuichi urge him on, Natsu Hiraku looked at his right hand, which struggled just to lift the dumbbell, and grumbled inwardly, It would be nice if I could use this thing with my physical strength alone.
He put the dumbbell back, rolled up his left sleeve, exposing the three big gold watches underneath. He took them all off and placed them on the table, put on his sunglasses, then sat in a chair with his hands clasped on his lap.
"Teacher, begin."
"..."
"Do you think I won't beat the hell out of you?"
Ido Shuichi glanced at the three big gold watches on the table. Judging by their appearance, every one of them looked real. Was this kid showing off right in front of him?
And he was even wearing sunglasses?
"Don't worry, Teacher. These sunglasses are specially made. They can effectively help me learn." As Natsu Hiraku spoke, he activated his Sharingan. "Teacher, take whichever gold watch you like. I just robbed—uh, three warmhearted citizens gave them to me this morning."
"Really?"
Ido Shuichi naturally did not believe there were sunglasses that could help someone learn effectively. But considering this cheap disciple of his was a freak, and that he would only teach once, the kid could not possibly have time to slack off.
If he really did slack off... even if it cost Ido Shuichi his life, he would break the kid's legs!
"Of course it's true. I can't learn without sunglasses."
Natsu Hiraku spoke righteously, as though it were all true.
"Then... fine. I'll demonstrate it once."
Ido Shuichi compromised. If he had acted like this in the past, his own master would have broken his legs. Of course, the same still applied now...
Watching his master take a deep breath and begin throwing punches, Natsu Hiraku focused with one hundred and twenty percent of his attention.
Beneath the sunglasses, the tomoe in his crimson pupils spun rapidly. Every move was filled with power and viciousness.
If there had been a real person in front of him, the sequence of attacks would have been: rush in and break their guard, strike the abdomen with a left punch, smash the neck with the right arm, then kick the groin.
The moves flowed together so smoothly that one could not help wondering whether such underhanded tactics were really okay.
Before you continue