Seeing Saki like this, Ryuji suddenly smiled.

  "I saved you before, and now I have to take care of you. Saki, it's a bad habit to get things for free," Ryuji teased, and Saki couldn't help but lower her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

  "You have to give something iurn."

  "Pay?" Saki was startled by Ryuji's words. She quickly crossed her arms, eyeing him suspiciously.

  "What do you want?" she asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice, though maybe even she didn't realize there was a slight tone of excitement there as well.

  However, Ryuji merely looked her over, as if pting something, and then smirked.

  "Tsk, fet it. Let's go. I'll take you home," he said, brushing off whatever thought had crossed his mind and started walking in the dire Saki had pointed, not waiting for her rea.

  "...?"

  Saki was stunned for a moment, standing frozen as Ryuji walked ahead. It wasn't until he was almost out of sight that she snapped back to reality.

  "What did that look mean? Do you think I have nothing to offer?" she muttered in frustration.

  Ryuji shook his head in amusement, his expression one of slight regret, as if Saki didn't have anything about her that ied him.

  That only infuriated her more.

  Saki fumed silently. I may not have the best figure, but I'm still a beautiful girl! How dare he look down on me like that!

  "Are you ing or not?" Ryuji called back, interruptihoughts. "Or do you want to walk home alone?"

  Saki gritted her teeth but couldn't argue. "I'm ing…"

  Even if she was annoyed, she wasn't stupid. After what had just happened, walking home alone wasn't something she wao do.

  "Thanks," she muttered as she walked ahead to lead the way.

  Ryuji chuckled. "Well, I 't just let a beautiful girl disappear into the night."

  Saki couldn't help but blush at his remark. Was he teasing her again? Or did he actually mean it?

  Despite her irritation, she found herself smiling. Maybe he was just pying with her, but it felt o hear him call her a beautiful girl. Could it be that all his teasing earlier was just a joke?

  With that thought in her head, Saki's mood improved signifitly, and a cheerful tune escaped her as she led the way back to her home.

  ---

  As for Ryuji, he khat if he pushed a bit more, he might have vinced Saki to do something reckless like stay at a hotel together. But he wasn't in any rush.

  There was allenty of time, and holy, the process was often more fun than the result. He didn't o hurry.

  "Let's see what kind of entry I triggered from Saki," he murmured to himself.

  He hadn't triggered any ries from Nanami during their versation at the bar, but maybe Saki had something iing.

  "Tsk. Nothing."

  "Purple entry: Stay Up Late!"

  Ryuji stared at the ry for a moment, silenced by disappoi.

  "Stay Up Late: Greatly reduces the mental fatigue caused by staying up te."

  This was basically an office worker's dream ability.

  "To think I triggered something like this from Saki. Innate office worker body, huh?"

  It wasn't an ability Ryuji needed. With his ever-growing physical stats, he could stay awake for days without feeling tired. This entry was useless to him.

  "Depose it."

  With a simple and, the purple entry dissolved into points.

  Cheg his status, Ryuji nodded in satisfa.

  [Talery system]

  Host: Ryuji Hoshino

  Bloodline: Human

  Loaded entries: Soul Dev [Red], Yin-Yang Eyes [Gold], Presence cealment [Gold],Tranquility [Gold], Reverse Cursed Teique [Gold], Motrag Physique [Gold], Third Dimension, Dreamwalker [Gold], Physical Strengthening [Gold], Cursed Speech [Gold], Iron Fist [Purple].

  Points: 74,120!

  "Not bad," Ryuji thought. "Even though I haven't gained many new abilities retly, the ones I have are already powerful enough."

  Besides, his points were growing rapidly. He timistic that before his points reached 100,000, he'd get the ce to draw a free purple entry.

  The system had also informed him that once he collected teries of a certain level, he would receive a ce to draw a free entry of the same level. And nothing made Ryuji happier thaing things for free.

  With that thought, his steps felt lighter as he made his way home.

  ---

  The m, as Ryuji left the house with Miko, they happeo run into Izumi Sae, alking her daughter Sagiri out.

  "Sister Sae!" Ryuji greeted.

  "R-Ryuji-kun!" Sae stammered, her face flushing slightly as she saw him.

  However, her eyes widened wheiced Miko standing beside him.

  "Who is this?"

  "Hello, I'm Yotsuya Miko, Ryuji's girlfriend," Miko introduced herself politely, smiling as she spoke. Sihey hadn't met before, Miko was simply being friendly.

  "Girlfriend…?" Sae's voice faltered. She looked at Ryuji, her eyes filled with a strange mixture of surprise and something else, almost like disappoi.

  "Mom?" Sagiri tugged at her mother's sleeve, notig her strange rea.

  Sae quickly snapped out of it, shaking her head. "It's nothing, sweetie."

  Ryuji, notig the slightly awkward atmosphere, decided to ge the subject. "Sister Sae, are you taking little Sagiri somewhere fun?"

  "I'm taking Sagiri to school," Sae expined with a sigh. "She's too much of a homebody, so I thought it would be good for her to meet some friends."

  Izumi Sagiri, who had been hiding behind her mother, pouted unhappily. "I don't want to go to school. I don't want to make friends…"

  Ryuji chuckled. "Sagiri, you're so cute. If you stay home all the time, it'd be a waste of that ess."

  Sagiri, embarrassed by the pliment, blushed and lowered her head, muttering a quiet, "Good m…" as she greeted Ryuji shyly.

  "e on, Sagiri. It'll be fun," Sae urged, feeling a bit helpless about her daughter's introverted nature. "It's good for you to get out of the house on a while."

  Sagiri grumbled but didn't argue further, calming down under her mentle persuasion.

  "Well, we should get going," Ryuji said, waving goodbye as he and Miko headed off to school.

  Sae watched them leave, her eyes lingering on Ryuji's back, her thoughts swirling with emotions she couldn't quite pce.

  "Mom?" Sagiri asked again, notig her mother's distracted gaze.

  Sae shook her head quickly, regaining her posure. "It's nothing, let's go."

  ---

  At school, the atmosphere had ged subtly. Hayama Hayato, who had once been the ter of attention in the css, had beore of a background figure. Meanwhile, the girls from his old group—Yumiko, Yui, and Hina were nurly chatting with Ryuji, much to the fusion of their cssmates.

  Ryuji, however, was more ed with his own thoughts.

  "Another day of zoning out," he muttered to himself as he sat down in css. While he had hoped that going to school in this new world would feel different, iy, it wasn't. He still spent most of his time in a daze, barely paying attention to what was going on around him.

  Just then, Yumiko approached him with a smile. "It looks like you'll have to be more serious today, Ryuji-kun."

  Ryuji looked at her curiously. "Why?"

  "You don't know?" Yumiko looked genuinely surprised. "There's a test today. Didn't you hear the teacher mention it yesterday?"

  "...Test?" Ryuji blinked. He had been so lost in thought the day before that he hadn't even realized there was an exam scheduled.

  "Well, it's not like I'm worried," he said, shrugging. With his enhanced mental abilities, all the information from the textbooks was already in his head. Even if he spent the whole css zoning out, he could ace the test with little effort.

  But still, he couldn't help but pin. "There really isn't anything more annoying during school than exams."

  Yui, who had been listening nearby, quickly jumped ily! We agreed to have happy educatiht? Why do we ests?"

  Yumiko shook her head at her friend's outburst. She knew Yui's grades werely stelr, so it made sehat she'd be dreading the exam.

  Then Yumiko turned back to Ryuji with a mischievous grin. "Since you're so fident, how about we make a bet?"

  "A bet?" Ryuji raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

  "If I score higher than you oest, you have to do something for me, anything I ask."

  Hina and Yui both looked over, equally curious.

  Ryuji smirked. "And if I win?"

  "We'll figure that out ter," Yumiko said, her eyes gleaming with mischief. She clearly thought she had something up her sleeve.

  Ryuji leaned ba his chair, arms crossed. "Alright, Yumiko, challenge accepted. But don't cry when you lose."

  Yui and Hina exged amused gnces. "Did Yumiko just challenge Ryuji-kun to a bet?" Yui whispered, looking both shocked aertained.

  "It seems so," Ebina replied, her expression full of curiosity. "This is going to be fun."