Sogo Doma's Melancholy

Five hundred million to beat him into a pig's head, one billion to break one leg, 1.5 billion to break both legs. Special condition: only valid while Sogo Doma is still alive. This was the price on Sogo-san's head in the black market, as exposed by Ryunosuke Akasaka.

Fortunately, the bounty was only on him, not on that useless little sister of his. Still, the old saying holds true: wealth moves men's hearts.

Never mind others, even Sogo-san, who was short on cash, felt tempted by these figures. Come to think of it, if he beat himself into a pig's head, could he cash in on the black market?

Once he healed, he could just beat himself up again. A perfect golden goose.

Regarding Sogo Doma's train of thought, Ryunosuke Akasaka felt his mouth twitch uncontrollably. Since the dawn of time, had anyone ever thought of cashing in on their own bounty?

Fortunately, Sogo Doma was capable of listening to reason. Under Ryunosuke Akasaka's persuasion (and disdain), he eventually abandoned the idea of collecting his own bounty.

Then, a doubt arose.

"But, are you sure this price wasn't set by the Shinomiya Family?"

"Ah!" Ryunosuke Akasaka nodded firmly. "It definitely isn't a bounty from the Shinomiya Family. According to rumors, this bounty was issued collectively by numerous families over in Chiba. Besides..."

At this point, Ryunosuke Akasaka paused, then looked up with a complicated expression.

"It is said—just said, mind you, it might just be an urban legend—that the Doma Family also contributed over one hundred million yen to this bounty. Of course, that's impossible, hahaha..."

Then.

Sogo Doma froze. "Eh?"

Impossible? Sogo Doma thought about it. It wasn't impossible at all. As soon as he recalled his childhood experiences, he was certain that Keiryu Doma had a hand in it, perhaps even acting as the primary instigator.

Otherwise, given the "kindness" (intimidation) of the Doma Family's second young master, those guys in Chiba wouldn't dare put a bounty on him even if they had the guts of a leopard.

Watching Sogo Doma's shifting expression, the smile on Ryunosuke Akasaka's face stiffened. "Sogo-san, you don't suspect..."

It wasn't suspicion; it was certainty! Sogo Doma, of course, couldn't say such things out loud. He looked up, forcing Ryunosuke Akasaka to meet his gaze, and spoke with a "nuclear" kindness.

"Akasaka, let's cause a scene..."

Ryunosuke Akasaka: "??"

"Join me, let's cause a real scene. Are you willing?" Although it was a question, the lack of room for doubt in his tone was clear to anyone.

Ryunosuke Akasaka took another bite of his tomato, but this time, the rich nutrition didn't help him. He finally recalled the fear of being dominated once again.

"So, Sogo-san, ho-how do you want to cause a scene?"

Sogo Doma grinned with a (nuclear) savage smile. "Me? I want to pick a fight with the world."

Ryunosuke Akasaka: "..."

He could feel that Sogo Doma was serious. He really wanted to fight the world—not metaphorically, but literally. He was like a madman. He absolutely had to refuse him...

"I'll lecture on artificial intelligence training every week."

Ryunosuke Akasaka: "Sogo-san, tell me, what is your plan?"

How delicious.

Sogo Doma squinted at the sky and pointed upward. "The first step, naturally, is to accumulate capital and recruit talent."

"Then how much capital has Sogo-san accumulated, and how much talent have you recruited?"

Sogo Doma: "..."

After a long silence, he whispered, "The organization's funds for these past two months are, perhaps, a total of 100,000 yen. As for how much talent I've recruited—you're joining as a founding member, isn't that great?"

Ryunosuke Akasaka: "..."

Click!

He closed the connection. Sorry, excuse me, goodbye. Sogo-san was still as oppressive and infectious as ever. It's just, sorry, he, Ryunosuke, couldn't afford to play this game.

Recalling the events of yesterday, Sogo Doma still felt melancholy. Ryunosuke Akasaka, what a traitor!

Letting Akasaka slide for now, Sogo Doma wouldn't have known his own situation without the news he brought. However, it was precisely because he knew that he felt so melancholy. Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

The answer remained unclear, but today, the melancholy Sogo Doma simply took his sister to complete her transfer procedures. Not until Umaru walked into the classroom did Sogo Doma continue his melancholy, leaping up onto the rooftop.

Utaha Kasumigaoka was panicking.

Having spent the whole night reading Twitter, Utaha Kasumigaoka was now panicking. Yes, her novel was a bestseller.

But the readers' feedback below was even more intense. Some said Mai was the best, others said Sayuka was number one, and even more demanded that the male lead, Naoto, go die.

What should she do?

It was like a flop suddenly becoming a hit; she couldn't adjust her mindset. At the end of the day, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl.

Besides, she was writing a romance novel, not a horror story. If the male lead died, how was she supposed to write it?

She wanted to find someone to discuss it with, but...

Well, she didn't really have any friends.

Perhaps, she could ask that guy.

After a moment of hesitation, Utaha Kasumigaoka thought of a certain someone—Sogo Doma.

However, when she arrived at class full of hope, she only saw an empty desk.

"That guy is skipping class again?" Utaha Kasumigaoka was dumbfounded. Two days since transferring, and he'd skipped both days; was this something a human would do?

"Clang, clang, clang." As the lunch break bell rang, Utaha Kasumigaoka had originally intended to rest at her seat, but then she seemed to remember something and walked straight out.

Her powerful aura allowed her to be the first to buy food: two melon pans.

"Step, step..."

"Click!"

In front of the rooftop, the crisp sound of footsteps and the opening of the door formed a symphony, yet what did that have to do with Sogo Doma?

Sogo Doma felt that he was always so melancholic. Perhaps he could change his name to Melancholic Sogo-san. Yes, he was already lost in his own melancholy; how could the outside world possibly wake him from it?

"How truly boring. Why must I even come to school..." At the very top of the rooftop, the melancholic Sogo-san tilted his head at a forty-five-degree angle, gazing at the azure sky, which only made him appear more melancholic.

It was hardly a surprise.

The bounty on him in the black market had already exceeded the lifetime earnings of a Tokyo University graduate, yet he still had to play this boring school game. Anyone in his position would be melancholic.

"This guy really is here!!" Utaha Kasumigaoka walked onto the rooftop, then looked up at Sogo Doma, who was staring at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. She pondered to herself, Does he have something on his mind?

Perhaps it had been too long since she had interacted with anyone, but for a moment, Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't know what to say. After a long while, she finally gathered the courage to speak.

"Um..."

No matter how unwilling he was to face reality, Sogo Doma was startled awake by Utaha Kasumigaoka's voice. He tilted his head and looked down at the girl with long black hair...

Come to think of it, why was it always girls with long black hair? That Akasaka person was also long-haired and black-haired, though her chest wasn't as impressive—after all, Akasaka wasn't Captain Bald Eagle.

"Do you want a bun?" Seeing Sogo Doma looking at her, Utaha Kasumigaoka said with a slight blush on her pretty face.

As she spoke, she held up the melon pan in her hand.

"The shop gave me an extra one by mistake, and I don't think I can finish it alone. Have you had lunch yet?"

This was a lie, but Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't know how to start a conversation and could only scramble for an excuse.