Comprehensive Anime: Making Money Starting from Saki

After a long silence, Amae Koromo asked quite suddenly, "Do you regret it? That things turned out this way..."

Kageyama Sora was taken aback, then said with a helpless sigh, "What kind of person do you take me for? If I said I regretted it after doing what we did, how would that be any different from being scum? Since it has already happened, I absolutely, absolutely do not regret it."

Chapter 35: Kissing Amae Koromo

Amae Koromo buried her face deep into Kageyama Sora's warm chest, like a young beast clinging to its nest.

Golden strands of hair brushed against the hollow of his collarbone, sending a faint, tingling sensation through him, like willow catkins grazing his neck on a spring day.

She suddenly let out a soft laugh, but the tail end of the sound was like petals crushed by the evening breeze, scattering into the humid air with a mist-like melancholy.

The wind outside the window swept past the treetops, carrying the scent of night-blooming jasmine and slicing the bright moonlight into fine silver foil. Those flickering spots of light filtered through the sheer curtains, casting rippling shadows across Amae Koromo's bare back, like restless silver fish.

Perhaps it was the vulnerability that followed such intimacy, but her voice now was so soft it seemed she feared shattering the moonlight filling the room: "Do you know? I have always liked talking to... animals, or perhaps, insects."

Kageyama Sora's Adam's apple bobbed, his fingertips gently combing through her silk-like hair, tucking the stray locks behind her ears.

When his fingertips touched the tips of her ears, the cool sensation made his heart tremble, as if he were touching some fragile treasure.

He had naturally heard rumors about Amae Koromo, but at this moment, he only wanted to be a quiet listener, hearing the most secret whispers from the depths of her soul.

"The day my parents had their accident, I was squatting at the entryway, chatting with a passing frog." Amae Koromo's voice was like silk soaked in ice water, cold and devoid of warmth: "When the phone rang, I was staring at the frog's bulging cheeks, and I suddenly realized I couldn't even cry. My parents had given up the chance to work at a top-tier laboratory abroad just to spend more time with me... Perhaps, if it weren't for me, they would have gone abroad long ago, and perhaps they wouldn't have died."

Kageyama Sora's heart tightened sharply, and he instinctively tightened his arms, pulling her even closer into his embrace.

He could clearly feel the jagged butterfly bones on her back pressing against his palms; those fragile protrusions made his heart ache uncontrollably.

The rumors about Amae Koromo swirled in his mind—the genius girl, the undefeated myth, the absolute Demon King of the mahjong world.

Yet, the person curled up in his arms was clearly just a little girl who had grown up in an empty house, forced to talk to insects during countless lonely nights.

"We never know when an accident will happen; this is not your fault." Kageyama Sora's voice was a bit strained: "Besides, they don't restrict firearms in the West, and as researchers, it might have been even more dangerous..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them; they sounded like a curse, and he felt that such pale comfort was so powerless.

Amae Koromo wasn't angry; instead, she was amused by Kageyama Sora's flustered attempt to explain himself, which had come out as a jumbled mess.

The smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and she continued: "Later, Ryumonbuchi Toka started taking me to play mahjong, and I started winning, winning constantly." Her eyelashes cast an almost indifferent shadow beneath her eyes, "And those people, every time they played against me, they wore expressions as if they were seeing the end of the world, which only made me feel even lonelier..."

At this point, she stopped abruptly, as if stung by her own words, and buried her face deeper into Kageyama Sora's chest.

She suddenly pushed herself up, the moonlight giving her skin the luster of mother-of-pearl.

Those beautiful blue eyes were now brimming with moisture: "Actually, I don't like mahjong... I just think it's interesting to use mahjong to toy with those idiots..."

Despite saying she didn't like it, despite talking about toying with people, she looked as if she were about to cry.

Kageyama Sora raised a hand to wipe away the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, his fingertips stinging from the heat of them.

He suddenly remembered their first meeting, the way she had looked like a Demon King intent on ruthlessly crushing him at mahjong.

"Perhaps, meeting some interesting people will make you like mahjong more." He pulled her back into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head: "At the national mahjong tournament, maybe you'll meet people just like yourself."

"People like me..." Amae Koromo couldn't quite describe the feeling, so she just buried her face in Kageyama Sora's chest again.

Watching Amae Koromo rely on him like this, Kageyama Sora felt as if his heart had been lightly brushed by a feather, leaving it aching and soft.

He lowered his head and pressed a kiss as light as a butterfly's wing onto the top of her head: "Trust me, I've already met a few people like that."

Amae Koromo's shoulders trembled slightly. After a long while, she looked up, the corners of her eyes red, her glistening, watery eyes staring straight at him, "Really? Can I really make friends who understand me like that?"

"You can." With that, Kageyama Sora gently rubbed the corners of her reddened eyes with his thumb, wiping away the damp tear tracks beneath them.

Perhaps fearing that the atmosphere between them was becoming increasingly awkward, Kageyama Sora didn't speak again.

Their breathing intertwined, and in the quiet room, the sound of each other's heartbeats was clearly audible. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his gaze fell involuntarily onto her slightly parted lips, which still held a lingering flush, as if issuing a silent invitation.

Unable to suppress the surging emotions in his heart any longer, Kageyama Sora slowly leaned down, his nose brushing against hers with a sense of hesitation and cherishing.

Amae Koromo's eyelashes fluttered; she didn't dodge, and her warm breath sprayed onto his face, carrying a faint sweetness. Finally, his lips gently touched hers, as if he were afraid of shattering a priceless treasure.

They had already shared an even more intimate relationship, so what was just a kiss?

The kiss began softly and with restraint, but it became fervent when Amae Koromo took the initiative to wrap her arms around his neck.

She took the lead in deepening the kiss, turning all her grievances, gratitude, and love into entwined tongues and overlapping lips.

Kageyama Sora cradled the back of her head with one hand and held her waist tightly with the other, wishing he could melt her into his very bones.

And this time, Kageyama Sora didn't go any further; after all, Amae Koromo's small frame couldn't handle it.

Just like that, Kageyama Sora fell asleep holding a satisfied Amae Koromo.

Perhaps they were too exhausted from the night before, as they actually ended up oversleeping.

Meanwhile, in a place Kageyama Sora knew nothing about, something rather interesting was happening.

The situation was this: when Kageyama Sora went out with Haramura Nodoka, they were photographed by reporters, and to avoid causing trouble for Haramura Nodoka, Kageyama Sora had claimed to be her cousin.

Kageyama Sora hadn't taken it to heart at all.

But as it happened, the young lady Ryumonbuchi Toka saw the report—she had gone to look it up because she heard there was an interview with Haramura Nodoka, only to see the enlarged face of her own cousin.

Especially since her cousin had said in the interview that he was Haramura Nodoka's "older brother," which made Ryumonbuchi Toka even angrier.

"That hateful Haramura Nodoka, she's even trying to steal my brother!" Following this, Ryumonbuchi Toka immediately found an outlet for her frustration: "That hateful Kageyama Sora, just how many 'good little sisters' do you have!"

Chapter 36: Just How Many Good Little Sisters

Chapter 35: Just How Many Good Little Sisters Do You Have?

"Damn you, Kageyama Sora, just how many good little sisters do you have!"

Ryumonbuchi Toka slammed the newspaper onto the sandalwood table, the black ink of the headlines glinting sharply under the crystal chandelier.

In the front-page photo, Kageyama Sora stood beside Haramura Nodoka, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips, while the camera flash blurred the outlines of the two of them together.

She grabbed a diamond-encrusted hair comb and jammed it into her hair, the ahoge reflected in the mirror trembling from the force of her agitation.

As the clock struck seven, the morning light seeped through the lapis lazuli window lattice, casting dappled spots of light onto the Persian rug.

Ryumonbuchi Toka stepped into her ten-centimeter red-bottomed heels and snapped her pearl earrings onto her earlobes with a fierce motion.

In truth, she rarely wore high heels, but this time it was purely for the sake of her aura—her aura!

Fueled by this burning rage, Ryumonbuchi Toka went to Kageyama Sora's room to find him, only to come up empty-handed: "Where on earth did that wretched guy go? Could he have gone to find Haramura Nodoka?"

The butler stood by the door holding a silver tray, offering a timely reminder: "The young master stayed at Miss Amae Koromo's villa last night."

Of course, Ryumonbuchi Toka had no complaints about that; after all, she doted on Amae Koromo herself and felt it was perfectly normal for Kageyama Sora to worry about her and keep her company if she was scared.

Considering the hour, Ryumonbuchi Toka decided to head to Amae Koromo's place to catch Kageyama Sora and demand to know exactly how many good little sisters he had.

As she passed through the wisteria-covered corridor, the morning dew dampened the hem of her dress.

Amae Koromo's villa loomed in the morning mist, its white marble exterior glowing with a cold light.

Ryumonbuchi Toka's knuckles turned white as she gripped the newspaper, her nails leaving crescent-shaped indentations on the smooth brass door handle.

The carved wooden door was left ajar, and a faint, warm scent mixed with the subtle aroma of cedar drifted out—it was the scent of Kageyama Sora.

She stormed up the stairs, and as she raised her hand to push open the carved wooden door, she heard the sound of suppressed breathing coming from within, accompanied by a distinct, heavy atmosphere.

Ryumonbuchi Toka was no longer a child; she was a proper young lady, and she knew a thing or two about what was and wasn't appropriate.

Ryumonbuchi Toka held her breath and peered through the half-inch gap, seeing the morning light gently bathing the bed.

Amae Koromo tilted her swan-like neck, her snow-white skin covered in kiss marks of varying depths, looking exactly like cherry blossoms knocked down by a spring storm.

Kageyama Sora leaned over her, his shirt collar wide open to reveal his collarbones, his lips trailing downward along Amae Koromo's neck as their overlapping figures cast an ambiguous silhouette against the wall.

"Kageyama Sora! You pervert!" The carved wooden door swung open with a boom as her heels struck it, the sound of her shoes clicking sharply against the floor: "To think you'd lay a hand on your cousin! I should have known what kind of person you were when you barged in on me while I was bathing the first time we met. I never should have let your abilities change my opinion of you!"

The ahoge atop Ryumonbuchi Toka's head swayed wildly; she was clearly furious.

Ryumonbuchi Toka rushed into the room, but her heart gave a sharp, painful tug when she saw the pale face of Amae Koromo curled up in the bedding.

The uneven kiss marks on Amae Koromo's neck made her pupils shrink, and the newspaper fell to the floor.

Faced with this scene, Kageyama Sora wanted to ask if Ryumonbuchi Toka had any manners at all, barging in while people were in the middle of things.

But realizing that would only make matters worse, he kept his mouth shut and tried to explain.

"Toka, it's not what you think!" Kageyama Sora hurriedly pulled the quilt over them, his earlobes as red as ripe cherries. He reached out to straighten his disheveled shirt but accidentally knocked over the glass lamp on the bedside table.

"Don't you dare try to lie your way out of this!" Amidst the crisp sound of shattering glass, Ryumonbuchi Toka grabbed a celadon vase from the table, the beautiful roses inside scattering as their petals fell like blood droplets onto the Persian rug. "You're just a two-timing liar! Koromo, don't let him fool you!"

Amae Koromo's noncommittal attitude only made Ryumonbuchi Toka more incensed.

"Yesterday you were in the news with Haramura Nodoka, and today you're laying a hand on Koromo!" Her voice trembled with rage, her ahoge shaking violently with every movement: "You barged into the bathroom the first time we met, and even after you gave all those excuses, I shouldn't have let your abilities change my view of you!"

Memories flooded back—the steam in the air that day, the red flush on Kageyama Sora's ears as he turned away in a panic; now, it all felt like the most ironic joke.

Amae Koromo suddenly threw off the quilt, revealing the lingering kiss marks on her shoulder: "It was my own choice... We were talking about the past last night, and the mood was just right..."

Amae Koromo desperately wanted to say that she was the one who had taken the initiative.

Her fingers, clutching the corner of the quilt, trembled slightly, yet she met Ryumonbuchi Toka's gaze head-on.

But... in Ryumonbuchi Toka's eyes, Amae Koromo wasn't the type to initiate such things, so she shouted immediately: "Don't you dare speak up for him!"

Ryumonbuchi Toka was furious; this was the first time she had ever yelled at Amae Koromo.

"Quiet!" Her voice carried a tremor she hadn't even noticed, but she stopped mid-swing with the vase—she couldn't bear to hurt Amae Koromo in the slightest.

She turned her target back to Kageyama Sora, "You were arm-in-arm with Haramura Nodoka in the news just yesterday, and today you're doing this to your own cousin, Koromo. Just how many good little sisters do you have!"

"What news?" Kageyama Sora was momentarily stunned.

But to Ryumonbuchi Toka, Kageyama Sora was just playing dumb.

The increasingly enraged young lady lunged forward to grab Kageyama Sora by the collar, and as they grappled, her knee accidentally brushed against his lower abdomen, unexpectedly making contact with his morning arousal.

The air froze instantly, and Kageyama Sora recoiled as if electrocuted, his back slamming into the vanity and sending items tumbling to the floor.

Ryumonbuchi Toka's face flushed a deep red, her raised hand frozen in mid-air, the temperature from her fingertips seemingly still burning.

She felt as though she had suddenly lost the upper hand despite her aggressive start—how could such a ridiculous blunder happen?—Ryumonbuchi Toka screamed internally.

Outside the window, a crisp birdsong rang out, breaking the suffocating silence.

"What news?" Kageyama Sora's voice was laced with an imperceptible hoarseness as he looked down to straighten his crooked collar, though he dared not meet her eyes.

Ryumonbuchi Toka sneered and slapped the crumpled newspaper against his face: "Why act so innocent? Isn't this you in the photo!"

The newspaper fluttered to the floor, the image of the two of them smiling at each other on the front page stinging the eyes of everyone in the room.

Amae Koromo suddenly climbed out of bed, her bare feet touching the cold floor: "Hmm, so this is the Haramura Nodoka that Toka is so concerned about? She's quite cute..."

Hearing Amae Koromo's indifferent, and even highly complimentary, attitude toward Haramura Nodoka, Ryumonbuchi Toka felt like she was losing her mind even more: "Taking a step back, she's your romantic rival, right? What's with this appreciative look on your face!"

Chapter 37: Toka Can Try It Too

Morning light flowed like melted honey over the glossy paper of the newspaper, and Kageyama Sora's distinctively jointed fingers rested naturally on Haramura Nodoka's slender shoulder. The pink-haired girl's clear pupils reflected the morning glow, and the butterfly bones faintly visible beneath her Kiyosumi High School uniform rose and fell gently with her breathing. The silhouette of the two standing side by side was blurred by the morning mist, looking like lovers who had stepped out of a medieval oil painting.

Even though the report stated that Kageyama Sora claimed to be Haramura Nodoka's older brother, the atmosphere between the two didn't look like siblings no matter how one viewed it.

The expression of the two smiling at each other in the accompanying photo hid a certain intimacy that transcended blood relations.

Or rather, they weren't siblings to begin with.

Ryumonbuchi Toka had originally intended to ask Kageyama Sora why he would call her destined rival his younger sister; it was practically helping Haramura Nodoka steal her spot.

But after seeing the scene between Kageyama Sora and Amae Koromo, Ryumonbuchi Toka realized that everything had veered off from her original intention.

What was even more absurd was that Amae Koromo, who should have been genuinely angry, was acting as if she appreciated Haramura Nodoka, which made Ryumonbuchi Toka feel that something was even more wrong.

Her ahoge swayed wildly as she felt the whole world had gone mad: "Taking a step back, she's your romantic rival, right? What's with this appreciative look on your face!"

"She's not a romantic rival, Toka." Amae Koromo tilted her head, blinking her moist, almond-shaped eyes, and shook her head with a look of pure innocence: "Sora is my cousin."

Ryumonbuchi Toka certainly knew that Kageyama Sora was her cousin, but the blood relation wasn't that close; even if they wanted to get married, it would be permissible.

But one thing was one thing, and another was another. They had clearly been treating him as an older brother lately... How could such a thing suddenly happen? Ryumonbuchi Toka truly couldn't fathom it. How did it develop to this point in the short time she hadn't been watching!?

"Then you two still..." Ryumonbuchi Toka's interrogation stuck in her throat, and she found she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"But Koromo was lonely, and occasionally there would be... needs..." Amae Koromo recalled her state of mind from last night, feeling that she wouldn't regret it...

At the very least, Kageyama Sora had indeed entered her heart through that way of entering her body, and aside from the initial pain, it had been very comfortable afterward.

That feeling of her very spine dancing in the sky made her feel extremely comfortable, and she didn't feel it was a shameful thing at all.