89: So how many people actually heard that night?

One night, and you're asking me for 5.78 million yen?

Between the two of us, who's really the gangster here?

You're making money faster than outright robbery.

"Well, that's true~"

Takashi deflated.

He was just fantasizing—hoping that some rich woman would see through his strong front and throw money in his face.

To be honest, even he found his idea a little ridiculous.

But with 500,000 system points at stake, he couldn't help but lose his sense of reason.

Arms crossed, Ryuju Momo tilted her head. "Do you owe someone money?"

If Takashi was truly in need, she wouldn't mind lending him some.

It wasn't a big deal for her.

And she definitely wasn't worried about him not paying her back.

At least in Japan, no one had ever dared to owe her money and not return it.

"Let's just say that's the case."

Ryuju Momo didn't press further and instead fell into thought.

She could tell he was lying, but since he didn't want to say more, she had no intention of forcing him.

She wasn't the type to meddle in other people's business.

Maybe it was ten minutes, or maybe just one, but as Takashi waited anxiously, Ryuju Momo finally spoke in a calm tone. "Come with me."

With that, she folded her arms and walked toward a private room.

'Could it actually work?'

Takashi quickly followed, completely forgetting to say goodbye to Haruno and Yamata Kazumi.

Only after they left did Yamata Kazumi finally dare to breathe again.

Haruno, still watching Takashi as he moved, suddenly spoke. "You were the one hosting Miss Ryuju just now?"

"Yes."

Yamata Kazumi plopped back onto the sofa, pulling out a pack of slim cigarettes and lighting one up.

"This street is under the Ryuju Group's control."

Exhaling a slow ring of smoke, she crossed her legs. "If you want to do business here, you have to deal with them."

"In Kabukicho's Ichiban Street, there's nothing the Ryuju Group can't handle."

"They have more authority here than those tax-thieving cops."

Haruno smirked but didn't comment.

She had heard plenty about how incompetent the Tokyo police were.

Unless someone outright died, they would just pass responsibilities around or try to sweep things under the rug.

Otherwise, why would people call them 'tax thieves' in the first place?

"Speaking of which, how did you manage to get Miss Ryuju to come?"

For a small shop opening like this, there was no reason for Ryuju Momo to personally attend.

"My mother attended a banquet last time and happened to meet Mrs. Ryuju," Yamata Kazumi said proudly.

After all, plenty of people wanted to make that connection but had no way in.

"By the way, what's the deal with that Watanabe guy?"

Now that she thought about it, she was curious.

First, he was supposedly Shizuka's boyfriend, and now he seemed to be on familiar terms with Ryuju Momo.

No matter how you looked at it, he wasn't just some regular person.

Even if he really was just a playboy, he was an exceptional one.

"I only met him tonight," Haruno admitted, feeling a bit regretful.

Had she known earlier that Takashi was acquainted with Ryuju Momo, she would have agreed to his request right away.

Now, it feels a bit late.

But since he was Shizuka's boyfriend, she would have more chances to meet him in the future through her.

…

Inside a quiet, private booth, Takashi neatly wrote out an IOU and handed it to Ryuju Momo.

She didn't even bother looking at it before casually stuffing it into her pocket.

Which was lucky for him.

If she had actually taken a glance, she would have seen the top line read:

"Rich Lady Ryuju Momo Donates to Host Takashi – 5.78 Million Yen. Official Receipt."

Of course, he had also properly written an actual IOU at the bottom.

"Cash or transfer?"

"Transfer."

Soon, Takashi's phone vibrated—5.38 million yen had arrived in his account.

The money was in, but the system hadn't issued his reward yet.

'So it still won't work?' Takashi felt a pang of disappointment.

It seemed he had been too optimistic.

Of course, the system wouldn't let him exploit such an obvious loophole.

[Tokyo Host Night Completed. Processing Rewards.]

[Player Receives: 500,000 Points, 1 Random Attribute Point, Elbow Strike.]

Takashi had been ready to return the money to Ryuju Momo when the system notification finally came through.

'It actually worked.'

He was ecstatic.

But before he could celebrate too much, the next message made his expression twist.

[Detected: Host Exploiting a System Loophole. Temporary Mission Added. Tokyo Host Night → The Gangster Heiress's Guardian.]

[Mission Objective: Protect Ryuju Momo Throughout Her Three Years of High School and Provide for All Her Emotional Needs.]

[Three years. Three whole years. Do you have any idea what I've been through these past three years?]

[Mission Duration: Three Years, Starting Tonight.]

[Mission Location: ?]

[Mission Reward: 3 Million Points.]

[Mission Penalty: You're already quite good-looking, but wouldn't you be even more stunning as a girl?]

Holy shit.

They didn't even ask for his consent this time?

What about his human rights?

And what was with that penalty?

Did they mean… turning into a girl?!

Absolutely not!

Takashi admitted he had found a loophole and exploited a bug in the system.

But let's be real here—wasn't it the system's fault in the first place for having such a loophole?

If they hadn't left that flaw, he wouldn't have been able to take advantage of it.

He had used his skills to find the loophole, so why was he being punished for it?

In the end, it wasn't his fault.

It was the system's fault!

Takashi was about to go full villain.

Cue Unravel—let the music play!

"What's with that face? Are you okay?"

Ryuju Momo looked at Takashi, whose expressions were shifting wildly between sorrow, joy, and utter despair.

Was something wrong with his brain?

Takashi glanced at her, trying to force a smile.

But in the end, his face twisted into something more miserable than crying.

"Momo-san, you promised before, right? If anything happens, at least leave me a whole corpse. That still stands, doesn't it?"

The Shijo family, the Kashiwagi family, the Shinomiya family… and now the Ryuju Group.

Takashi couldn't even begin to imagine how tragic his eventual death would be.

He'd probably be chopped into pieces and dumped in the sea.

His name would surely go down in history.

The playboy who was hunted down by four powerful families—he was a rare case indeed.

"…What's wrong with you?"

Ryuju Momo stared at him, baffled by how utterly broken he looked.

"…."

Takashi remained silent.

In reality, he was trying to convince himself to accept the situation.

The system was at fault, but ultimately, so was he.

If he had given up on the mission from the start, the temporary event wouldn't have triggered.

If the event hadn't been triggered, he wouldn't be in this mess now.

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