Umaru's Original Life (Big Fog)

Ryunosuke Akasaka: "..."

There was no helping it. Looking at the screen—at the incredibly spacious study of Sogo Doma, combined with its seemingly understated yet undeniably luxurious decor—Ryunosuke Akasaka felt a toothache coming on.

That was a completely unconvincing excuse! You jerk, the place you live in might not compare to Chiyoda or Minato, but it's still one of the most famous residential areas in Tokyo. Whether for school or work, it's an extremely convenient district; calling it "an inch of land, an inch of gold" wouldn't be an exaggeration at all...

Look at him, Ryunosuke Akasaka, living in a school-provided apartment in Sakurasou, a place where weirdos gather. His room is less than eight square meters, and the lighting isn't even that great—come to think of it, he's already a quasi-high-level professional involved in project development, so why are his living conditions so much worse?

He hadn't thought much about it before, but now that Sogo Doma brought it up, Ryunosuke Akasaka felt terrible. Truly, without comparison, there is no pain...

Should he try to get a place of his own? However, considering the issue of meals, Ryunosuke Akasaka backed down once again. After all, Sakurasou provides food!

Besides, according to Ryunosuke Akasaka's estimates, even if he wanted to buy a detached house like Sogo Doma's, he would likely have to shoulder over a decade of mortgage payments. If it were an average office worker, they wouldn't even dream of it for forty or fifty years.

That's not even counting the renovation. If one wanted the renovation to rival the Doma household, hey, wake up, stop dreaming.

With conditions like that, how could Sogo Doma have the nerve to say, "I can still live here"?

Cough, cough. If you're complaining even with conditions like these, are you afraid you'll want to go live in the Imperial Palace next?

Ignoring Ryunosuke Akasaka's pained expression, Sogo Doma complained, "I'm an honest, law-abiding person. All that talk about me 'fleecing' the Shinomiya Family is just a rumor. You know I still have a little sister to support..."

In truth, Sogo Doma felt genuinely wronged. Was the internet bubble really "fleecing" them? He had simply foreseen that the bubble was about to burst and exited early. How did it turn into him invading the Shinomiya Family?

As expected, the whole family is petty. No wonder Kaguya Shinomiya can hold a grudge for so long over such trivial matters.

However, he didn't stop to think that every time a bubble burst, the Doma Family had eaten their fill while the Shinomiya Family hadn't even tasted the soup, only ending up covered in filth. Once or twice might be a coincidence, but after it happened repeatedly, anyone would be suspicious—the fact that there were only rumors of the Doma Family invading the Shinomiya Family twice was already an exercise in restraint. Of course, these were only rumors spread by the Shinomiya branch families.

There was no helping it. After several bubbles, the Shinomiya Family knew the Doma Family was digging pits, but those pits were just too tempting. The Doma Family would eat until their mouths were oily, which in turn whetted the Shinomiya Family's appetite—

But every time the Shinomiya Family entered the market full of confidence, they would be calculated against by Keiryu Doma and lose everything. If you said no one leaked the information, you couldn't convince the Shinomiya people even if you beat them to death.

Yet, the Shinomiya Family could never figure out who the leaker was. As time passed, the rumors of the Doma Family invading the Shinomiya Family took hold. But the rumors were useless; as one of the biggest beneficiaries of capital, they had to follow the rules of the game.

However, while the Shinomiya Family assumed it was the cunning Keiryu Doma, only Ryunosuke Akasaka, upon hearing the news, roughly guessed that Sogo Doma must have been involved.

Still, he hadn't figured out how Sogo Doma had "invaded" them, and bringing it up today was just to probe him.

If Sogo Doma knew what Ryunosuke Akasaka was thinking, he would surely laugh out loud. So what if you're the darling of the era? He, Sogo Doma, really hadn't invaded them. He just had memories of his past life, used them to roughly predict the Shinomiya Family's movements, and dug a few pits along the way.

The Shinomiya Family is vast and wealthy; him eating a few bites of meat behind them wouldn't hurt, so he'd just consider it compensation for their slander.

Of course, it's best to keep these pit-digging and trap-setting matters to himself. They must never be spread, and even if someone asks, he must deny it completely, even though the Shinomiya Family is also considered a maintainer of the game's rules.

But wealth moves the heart—it was fine when he had the Doma Family as a safe harbor, but now that he's out, who knows what the Shinomiya Family might do? Even if the main family wouldn't act due to their reputation, he believed there would be plenty of people in the Shinomiya branch families who had been trapped by him who would be happy to settle the score with Sogo Doma.

He wasn't afraid, but with his foolish little sister by his side, if she were to be implicated, Sogo Doma might truly destroy this world.

Thinking about it now, perhaps leaving the Doma main house wasn't a great choice. As long as Keiryu Doma was still there and the Doma main house still stood, the Shinomiya Family could only stare in frustration, provided they hadn't lost their minds.

Fortunately, only Keiryu Doma and Taihei Doma knew that Sogo Doma had trapped the Shinomiya Family. Keiryu Doma even attributed the credit for trapping the Shinomiya Family to his own deep schemes and long-term vision. Sogo Doma thought now that, back then, the old man was probably trying to protect him.

Thinking it over carefully, the fact that he could provoke so many family heads and remain unscathed was likely due to the old man's deliberate protection. Thinking of it this way, he actually felt quite sorry for the old man.

However, since he had already chosen to take that good-for-nothing little sister with him, he would just have to keep walking this path. Perhaps this was the old man's intention all along.

Coming back to his senses, Sogo Doma continued to complain: "My sister is so pitiful, she's suffered so much following me..."

Ryunosuke Akasaka: "#^_^"

Enough is enough. How long has it been since you moved out of the Doma main house? Even if she suffered, it's not like it's worth mentioning now, is it?

But once Sogo Doma started, he couldn't stop.

"She should have been a young lady living in this Chiyoda district, with a Rolls-Royce as her daily transport. In her leisure time, she would have a dedicated library, holding a book while pouring a cup of black tea. Ryunosuke, can you imagine that scene? In the afternoon sun, my cute little sister quietly holding a book, drinking black tea..."

"She should have lived that kind of life, but now..."

At this moment, the hamster being described this way was holding a game controller.

"Wahahaha... Die, Onii-chan No. 1, Onii-chan No. 2..."

Cough, cough.

Skip, skip...

Ryunosuke Akasaka: #@_@.

He didn't know why, but he almost couldn't help but retort. However, considering the assets of the Doma main house, it seemed that Sogo Doma's sister really was that kind of young lady.

Foolish little sister, thank me. I've taken care of your image again, Sogo Doma thought while continuing:

"Today, my little sister actually apologized to me for spending money on in-game purchases. You have to know, she is the treasure of our Doma family. To, to actually apologize for spending money... tell me, if I had money, would I be in this position? I've failed her..."

At this moment, The treasure of the Doma family: "Thirsty. What should I drink? Hmm... as expected, cola is the most refreshing! Burp..."

--

Fortunately, Ryunosuke Akasaka wasn't on the scene, otherwise this treasure...

But wait, isn't Sogo Doma's sister a wealthy young lady? Why would she be playing games!?