150: Hakuto was Somewhat Shaken

"Who is it?" Hakuto asked cautiously. He had just placed his order and hadn't even entered his payment password yet. If Ginko came back now, all his efforts would be wasted.

However, the person outside the door didn't respond. Just as Hakuto was about to check through the peephole—

Boom!

His front door exploded open!

??

Bro, seriously? My security door?! Did you use explosives? TNT?!

Before Hakuto could react, a fully armed figure rushed inside. The next second, a white cloth was pressed over his mouth and nose.

"What the hell?!?!"

Hakuto struggled violently, but it was all in vain. He couldn't understand—when did human traffickers get this bold?!

Fortunately, at least, Ginko had already left. That was a small relief amidst the misfortune.

Hakuto felt his body growing weaker, his eyelids heavier. Before long, everything went dark.

When he opened his eyes again, the delicate face of Shane appeared before him.

Seeing Hakuto awake, Shane smiled.

"Oh~ You're up?"

"Sorry about that, there was a little... situation."

Hakuto was now certain that Shane was someone with influence. But since she didn't bring it up, he didn't bother to ask.

"Thanks. Your singing was amazing. I'll come to your concert in a few days."

"Well, thanks for your support. And also, thanks for bringing me out to eat okonomiyaki..."

"It was nothing." Hakuto shook his head. Only now did he fully snap out of that dream-like experience.

That feeling... It wasn't like a dream or an illusion at all.

Even with just those fragments, Hakuto could roughly guess what had happened in the past.

He and Ginko were still the same—childhood friends. And judging by everything, he had entered the Shogi Tournament and won the title of Dragon King.

However, back then, it wasn't Hoshinoumi that found him first—it was the researchers.

No... Rather, at that time, Hoshinoumi probably didn't even exist yet.

From the images he just saw, Hakuto deduced that his past self hadn't been aware of his supercomputer ability.

So when faced with armed soldiers, no matter how many fights he had been in before, he stood no chance.

Hakuto wanted to know what happened next, but for now, it could wait. He would find out at the concert.

After finishing their meal, the two of them left the restaurant.

Hakuto glanced at Shane, who was holding a white cane, and instinctively asked,

"It's already so late. Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"

"I'll be fine. Just make sure to call me on the day of the concert, okay?"

"Mm... Now that I think about it, this is the first time I've ever asked for someone's contact info."

"Oh? I'm honored."

"No need to put it that way. Stay safe. See you at the concert."

"Yep, see you there."

Watching Shane's figure fade into the distance, Hakuto let out an unconscious sigh. Then, he took out his phone and called Nao.

"Moshi moshi, this is Tomori Nao."

"Moshi moshi, this is Shiratori Hakuto."

"Hah? What's with the polite greeting? You called me, didn't you?"

"Nothing much, just felt like imitating the way you talk."

For some reason, Hakuto couldn't help messing around when talking to Nao.

"If you called just to be annoying, you can hang up now."

"Not really. I wanted to ask if you have any tickets for Zhiend's concert in a few days."

"Huh? Why the sudden interest? Weren't you never into concerts?"

"I just happened to run into Sala Shane on the street and heard her sing live. It got me interested."

"Hah? You randomly ran into Zhiend's lead singer? What kind of luck is that?"

"Too bad I didn't get an autograph for you..."

"No need, I'm not that interested in Zhiend's vocalist..." Nao waved it off. "So you're planning to go to the concert?"

"Yep, which is why I'm turning to you, Zhiend's biggest fan."

"Hah? That's how you ask for a favor?"

"Just tell me if you have a ticket or not."

"Tch, damn chibicon, so arrogant..."

Nao had actually managed to snag two Zhiend concert tickets.

And among the people she knew, Hakuto was the only one remotely interested in Zhiend, so she had originally planned to give him the extra ticket anyway.

But his indifferent attitude was kind of annoying.

"Make sure to dress properly. Don't embarrass me."

"Do you really need to say that?"

"Yeah... After all, you're a professional chibicon."

"I thought you'd at least be grateful I'm going with you."

"Hah?"

Nao wasn't in the mood to argue. She had already bickered with Hakuto enough for one day.

After hanging up, Hakuto was about to put his phone away when his eyes instinctively landed on a contact saved as "Ginko."

After hesitating for a while, he dialed the number.

Before long, Ginko's calm voice came through the phone.

"Hello, Ginko."

"What's up?"

"I just... went through some things, and I felt like calling you..."

"Mm? You won't be able to make it to the match the day after tomorrow?"

"No, it's not that, just..."

Hakuto didn't know how to put this feeling into words. He thought about it for a while but couldn't come up with a good description.

At that moment, Ginko was sitting by her board, preparing for her promotion match.

She sensed that something was off about Hakuto's tone, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

Glancing out at the pitch-black sky, Ginko set down her piece and asked,

"Do you need me to come find you?"

Ginko didn't know how to read emotions, but she did know that if Hakuto was feeling down, the only thing she could do was keep him company.

"No, no, just focus on your match. I'm looking forward to the day you become a pro shogi player."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, I told you, I just went through something that made me want to call you..."

"What happened?"

"Mm..." Hakuto hesitated for a moment, then decided to half-jokingly say, "I dreamed that you became my girlfriend."

The moment those words left his mouth, he could hear Ginko's breathing suddenly quicken.

"You... you idiot... And here I was, actually worried about you..."

"I'm telling the truth, though."

"I'm hanging up. I need to study my shogi matches..."

After ending the call, Ginko refocused on the board in front of her. But no matter how she looked at the game, Hakuto's words kept echoing in her mind.

"A dream, huh..." Ginko tightened her grip on the rook piece. "A professional shogi player, huh..."

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