98: Why Do I Even Have to Pay to Look at a Map?!

"So? You're going out to find him in the middle of the night?"

"Huh? Didn't you already calculate his whereabouts?"

About half an hour after Hakuto put Ginko back in the tent, he carried a metal bucket and arrived at Nao's camp.

After handing the bucket to Yusa for her bath, he picked up the newspaper Nao had given him and activated his super-calculation ability.

However, just as he deactivated his ability, he heard Nao issue an order to set out immediately.

"If we startle him and he flies away, then what? I can't fly... Oh, wait, technically, I can—but only in theory."

"Huh? You can actually fly?"

"Yeah, sure, but it just happens to use my life as fuel..."

Hakuto wasn't lying. He really could fly—at the cost of his own life force.

In theory, his super-calculation ability allowed him to stop time while moving freely.

This was because his brain had enhanced every part of his body. So, theoretically, if he strengthened himself enough, he could really fly.

After considering this, Hakuto glanced at Jojiro, pondered for a moment, and added,

"Takajo's teleportation can allow for brief moments of flight, right? We can let him go up."

Jojiro didn't refuse when he heard Hakuto's suggestion. Instead, he adjusted his glasses and said,

"I can... but last time, I ended up falling into a lake. Not sure if I'll be that lucky again this time."

"You're risking your life over a 100,000-yen paycheck?"

Hakuto rubbed his temples. He had underestimated how determined these two were to find an ability user.

A few minutes later, he looked at Nao again and seriously asked,

"Are you really going?"

"Doesn't your ability stop time when you activate it? Why don't you just use it, find him, and capture him?"

Hakuto was stunned. He thought he had misheard her.

"Are you even speaking human language?"

"Oh, right. Your ability must have a major side effect, though I don't know what it is."

At this moment, Hakuto was speechless to the extreme. In the beginning, he just didn't want people to know his weaknesses. But now, it seemed like he had outsmarted himself.

"Can I kick you twice? I'm begging you. I'll even pay for it!"

"Sure..."

Seeing Nao nod, Hakuto immediately ran up to her, cutting off whatever she was about to say.

"Alright, alright! How much? I'll transfer it right now!"

"Your entire savings."

"Do I look like an idiot?"

Nao ignored Hakuto and continued,

"If you agree, I'll squat down right now and let you kick me twice. I promise I won't fight back."

Hakuto rolled his eyes.

"If two kicks are worth that much money, you might as well just kick me to death."

He shook his head, walked to the side, and squatted down. Right now, he didn't want to see Nao's face.

During this time, he glanced at the newspaper again. The ability user in the attached photo occupied only a small portion of the image.

Even if Hakuto activated his charm ability, he couldn't extract any useful information from it.

However, calculating the target's location was still easy. 

Of course, he couldn't pinpoint it from a newspaper alone—he had to consider the surrounding environment as well.

The mountain wasn't that big. The ability user had to be somewhere in it.

And thanks to his super-calculation ability, Hakuto's senses had become incredibly sharp. 

By analyzing slight disturbances in the wind and foliage, he could roughly determine the target's location.

Thinking of this, Hakuto instinctively turned his head—only to find that at some point, Nao had already snuck up behind him, leaning over to watch him.

"As the student council president, are you really abusing your ability like this?"

"Strange... how did you know I was using my ability?"

"If you weren't using it, do you think you could sneak up behind me without me noticing?"

Hakuto pushed Nao's face away and called out to Jojiro in the distance.

"Takajo! Get me a detailed map!"

Jojiro nodded and went into the tent, returning with a map.

Hakuto took the map and spread it out on his lap.

Nao immediately swatted away the hand that had been pushing her face aside and crouched next to him.

"Hmm? Did you calculate the ability user's location?"

"I got a rough estimate..."

Hakuto carefully unfolded the map—only to be dumbfounded.

The map was of Tokyo, and the mountain was merely a small marked section with barely any details.

"Huh? Didn't I ask for a detailed map?"

"This is the most detailed one available. Even the assistants use this kind of map."

"This is just a wilderness, not a tourist spot. It's normal that there aren't detailed maps."

Hakuto was starting to feel that Hoshinoumi was unreliable. However, he didn't complain. Instead, he took out his phone and checked the map app.

"Let's hope there's signal here..."

Muttering to himself, Hakuto opened the app and turned on GPS. After a moment, his current location appeared on the screen.

"Oh, there really is a signal."

"Hurry, hurry, zoom in!"

"You don't have to tell me."

As he spoke, Hakuto pinched the screen, preparing to zoom in on the map.

But just as he was about to get a detailed view of the mountain, a pop-up suddenly appeared on his phone screen.

"?? Please recharge?"

Hakuto instinctively closed the pop-up and tried zooming in again.

The next second, the pop-up appeared once more—this time with a line of small text:

"If you want more detailed location information, please recharge..."

Are you serious?! 

Hakuto nearly smashed his phone on the ground.

He wasn't a cheapskate. He spent money when necessary, but he refused to waste money on pointless things.

And this? This was clearly a pointless expense. What kind of dumb map app was this, demanding money just to zoom in?!

Ridiculous! 

The queen of the shogi world, a bestselling novelist, a renowned doujin artist, a private high school student council president, the daughter of a famous hospital director, an evil-eye wielder...

Has any of them ever gotten a single cent from him?

Now, just because a few black letters flashed on his screen, this app expected him to hand over his money?

For what reason?!

Just as Hakuto was fuming with disdain, Nao suddenly patted his shoulder.

"Alright! Payment complete."

"...Huh? You seriously paid for it?"

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