Five hundred million to beat him into a pulp, one billion to break one leg, and one and a half billion to break both. Special condition: Sogo Doma must be alive. That was the price Captain Bald Eagle had revealed—the bounty on Sogo-san in the black market.
Fortunately, the list only included his bounty, not that useless Imouto. As the saying went, money made people bold.
It wasn't just other people—even cash-strapped Sogo-san was tempted by those prices. Come to think of it, if he beat himself into a pulp, could he cash in on the black market bounty?
Then, once he'd healed, he could beat himself up again. The perfect egg-laying golden goose.
At the direction Sogo Doma's thoughts were taking, Ryunosuke Akasaka felt the corner of his mouth twitch uncontrollably. In all of history, had anyone ever thought of collecting the bounty on themselves?
Fortunately, Sogo Doma could be reasoned with. After Ryunosuke Akasaka talked him out of it (and looked down on him), he finally gave up on collecting his own bounty.
Then a question occurred to him.
"But are you sure the Shinomiya Family didn't put up the bounty?"
"Yeah!" Ryunosuke Akasaka nodded with certainty. "It definitely wasn't put up by the Shinomiya Family. According to rumors, it was issued jointly by a number of families over in Chiba. Also..."
At that, Ryunosuke Akasaka paused, then looked up with a complicated expression.
"Apparently—and this is only a rumor, it might just be an urban legend—but apparently the Doma Family also put more than a hundred million yen toward this bounty. Of course, that can't possibly be true. Hahaha..."
And then.
Sogo Doma stared blankly. "Huh?"
Could it really be impossible? Sogo Doma thought it over. There was no way it was impossible. Just remembering what he'd gone through as a child was enough to convince him that Keiryu Doma had definitely had a hand in this. He might even have been the main instigator...
Otherwise, given the amiable (intimidating) presence of the Doma Family's second young master, those Chiba people wouldn't have dared put a bounty on him even if they'd had the guts of a leopard.
Seeing Sogo Doma's uncertain expression, the smile on Ryunosuke Akasaka's face stiffened. "Sogo-san, you don't think..."
It wasn't a suspicion. He was already certain! Of course, Sogo Doma couldn't say that out loud. He looked up, made sure Ryunosuke Akasaka was watching, and spoke with a benevolent smile.
"Akasaka, let's make a scene..."
Ryunosuke Akasaka: "??"
"Let's make a real scene together. Are you willing?" Though it was phrased as a question, the unmistakable insistence in his voice was clear to anyone.
Ryunosuke Akasaka took another bite of his tomato, but this time, all its rich nutrients couldn't help him. At last, he remembered the terror of once having been under Sogo Doma's thumb.
"S-Sogo-san, what... what kind of scene do you want to make?"
Sogo Doma grinned menacingly. "I want to pick a fight with the world."
Ryunosuke Akasaka: "..."
He could tell Sogo Doma was serious. He really wanted to fight the world—not as a metaphor, but literally. He was completely insane. He had to turn him down...
"I'll give you a lesson in artificial intelligence every week."
Ryunosuke Akasaka: "Sogo-san, tell me. What's your plan?"
So tempting.
Sogo Doma narrowed his eyes and pointed to the sky. "First, obviously, we build up our capital and recruit talent."
"Then how much capital has Sogo-san built up, and how many people have you recruited?"
Sogo Doma: "..."
After a long pause, he muttered, "The organization's funds over the past two months are probably... maybe... around a hundred thousand yen in total. As for how many talented people we've recruited, you and I can be the founding members. Isn't that great?"
Ryunosuke Akasaka: "..."
"Click!"
He ended the call. Sorry to bother you; I'll be going now. Sogo-san was just as overwhelming and persuasive as ever. Unfortunately, Ryunosuke couldn't afford to get involved.
Thinking back on yesterday, Sogo Doma still felt melancholy. Ryunosuke Akasaka, you traitor!
He'd let Ryunosuke off the hook for now. Without the news he'd brought, Sogo Doma wouldn't have known what kind of situation he was in. But now that he did know, he couldn't help feeling so melancholy. Was this good or bad?
There was no clear answer yet. But today, the melancholy Sogo Doma simply helped his little sister complete the transfer paperwork. He only resumed brooding after Umaru walked into her classroom, then leaped up to the rooftop.
Utaha Kasumigaoka was panicking.
After spending all night reading Twitter, Utaha Kasumigaoka was panicking. Yes, her novel was selling like crazy.
But the readers had even more opinions. Some said Mai was the best, some said Sayuka was number one, and some even said the male protagonist named Naoto should just die.
What was she supposed to do?
It was like going from a flop to a bestseller overnight. She couldn't adjust her mindset. In the end, she was still only a sixteen-year-old girl.
Besides, she was writing a romance, not a horror story. How was she supposed to write the male protagonist's death?
She wanted to find someone to talk it over with, but...
Well, she didn't really have any friends.
Maybe she could ask that guy.
After a moment of indecision, Utaha Kasumigaoka thought of someone—Sogo Doma.
However, full of hope, she went to class and saw nothing but an empty desk.
"That guy skipped class again?" Utaha Kasumigaoka was stunned. He'd only been at the school for two days, and he'd skipped class both days. What kind of person did that?
"Ding, ding, ding." When the lunch bell rang, Utaha Kasumigaoka had planned to rest at her desk for a while, but she seemed to think of something and headed straight out.
Thanks to her powerful aura, she was the first to buy food: two pineapple buns.
"Tap, tap..."
"Creak!"
Outside the rooftop, the crisp footsteps and the sound of the door opening came together like a symphony. But what did any of that have to do with Sogo Doma?
Sogo Doma felt that he was always so melancholy. Perhaps he should change his name to Melancholy Sogo-san. Yes, he'd already sunk into his own melancholy. How could anything happening outside possibly wake him from it?
"How boring. Why do I even have to come to school..." At the very top of the rooftop, the melancholy Sogo-san raised his face at a forty-five-degree angle and gazed at the blue sky, looking even more melancholy.
It was only natural.
The bounty on him in the black market was worth more than a University of Tokyo graduate could earn in a lifetime, yet he still had to play the boring game of going to school. Who wouldn't feel melancholy in his place?
"So he really is here!" Utaha Kasumigaoka stepped onto the rooftop, then looked up at Sogo Doma, who was gazing at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. She wondered to herself, Does he have something on his mind?
Perhaps because she hadn't talked to anyone in so long, Utaha Kasumigaoka suddenly had no idea what to say. After a long moment, she finally worked up the courage.
"Um..."
No matter how unwilling Sogo Doma was to face reality, Utaha Kasumigaoka's voice still woke him up. He tilted his head and looked down at the long-haired girl...
Come to think of it, why was it always a long-haired girl? Ryunosuke was a long-haired girl too, except his chest wasn't as impressive. After all, Ryunosuke wasn't Captain Bald Eagle.
"Do you want a bun?" Utaha Kasumigaoka asked, her face turning pink as Sogo Doma looked at her.
As she spoke, she held up the pineapple bun in her hand.
"The school shop gave me an extra one. I might not be able to finish it by myself. Have you eaten lunch?"
That was a lie, but Utaha Kasumigaoka had no idea how to strike up a conversation, so she could only make up an excuse.
Before you continue