"I didn't expect you to be surprisingly easy to talk to..."
After Mutou Judai received the letter from the old man and was planning to go back to read it, he encountered Erina, who then brought him to meet Okuya Ken and... Himuro Ryo, who had recovered after the one-hour buff period had passed.
Originally, Mutou Judai thought this would be a scene of enemies meeting with particular hostility, but actually...
"Of course! After all, it's better to have fewer troubles than more. Besides, offending a powerful fighter like you wouldn't benefit me... hahaha."
Okuya Ken said this while burping from alcohol and laughing heartily.
Mutou Judai had Jack Hanma's experience and judgment in dealing with people, so he could tell that Okuya Ken was speaking completely honestly.
Moreover, the other party wasn't trying to win him over or obtain any obvious benefits from him. As for hidden benefits—if they didn't significantly affect Mutou Judai himself, then whatever.
Besides that, Okuya Ken seemed to genuinely want to be friends with him.
That's why Mutou Judai felt Okuya Ken was truly impressive.
"If you ever need anything, feel free to come to me for help... Of course, if you want to be our representative fighter, forget it—I have Himuro, which is enough."
Okuya Ken was very clear that Mutou Judai would never become his representative fighter, so at this moment he directly took a step back.
This action clearly stunned Himuro Ryo, who was somewhat moved.
And Mutou Judai also felt it was very comfortable talking with smart people.
After Okuya Ken said this, he gave Mutou Judai his private phone number, then stood up with his wine glass.
"I'll leave this to you young people. I'm going over there to drink~"
Saying this, he swayed away.
Himuro Ryo watched him leave, then moved his neck slightly and glanced at Mutou Judai.
"Mutou Judai, your earlier attack targeted the nervous system, similar to pressure point techniques from neighboring martial arts... Honestly, when I was learning Jeet Kune Do and heard about such things, I thought they were from those martial arts novels next door. I never expected there would really be such magical fighting techniques. I really lack experience."
Himuro Ryo said this, then without giving Mutou Judai any chance to explain, he stood up like Okuya Ken and glanced between Mutou Judai and Erina.
"I'll leave this to you two lovebirds. I'm going to drink with Chairman Okuya."
After saying this, Himuro Ryo walked away without looking back.
Pressure points, seriously...
—Even if I used pressure points, I couldn't hit your temple!
Mutou Judai raised an eyebrow.
When he turned to look at Erina, he found her ears had turned red.
"What lovebirds! We're just partners!"
She first shouted at Himuro Ryo's retreating figure, then turned to look at Mutou Judai, explaining frantically:
"You, you too, don't overthink it!"
Seeing Erina's reaction, Mutou Judai sighed.
"...With your reaction, even those who weren't overthinking would subconsciously start overthinking."
"I, I wasn't!"
Mutou Judai was very clear that he and Erina hadn't known each other long, and she was probably just mentally sensitive and shy from reading too many shoujo manga, not actually liking him.
So at this moment, he just waved his hand.
"Whatever... Nakiri, although I think you should already be prepared, I'll still ask—you're ready for tomorrow morning's preparations, right?"
Hearing Mutou Judai say this, Erina snorted lightly and barely recovered her usual state.
"Who do you think I am... Such things are naturally already prepared."
Saying this, Erina suddenly thought of something and took out a number plate, handing it to Mutou Judai.
"Consider this a thank-you gift for your help these past few days. I've reserved a spot for you too, so come with this number plate."
Mutou Judai looked at the number plate with the digit '1' written on it and blinked.
"Speaking of which... Nakiri, you originally lost the Shokugeki to me, so you're supposed to cook for me for a year, right? And wear a maid outfit... Seeing that you're opening a shop, I'll forget about the maid outfit, but reserving a spot for me seems like something you should do anyway..."
Hah!?
Hearing Mutou Judai say this, Erina exploded like an angry cat and tried to snatch the number plate from Mutou Judai's hand.
But Mutou Judai raised his hand high, and with his height, even if Erina pressed against him, it would be very difficult for her to grab it.
Okuya Ken and Himuro Ryo in the distance watched this scene and smiled slightly.
Himuro Ryo took a sip of alcohol and shook his head slightly.
"Still saying they're not a couple... Sigh, today's young people are open in some strange ways and particularly shy in other strange ways. Really can't understand them."
Initially, Himuro Ryo thought Erina and Mutou Judai—especially Mutou Judai—might just look young but be in his twenties.
It wasn't until after the fight that he learned the other party was still a minor—
While marveling that the other was a monster, Himuro Ryo inevitably felt he was getting old.
Hearing Himuro Ryo say this, Okuya Ken showed that silly smile that only drunkards would display.
"Don't say that, Himuro, you're also young, aren't you? If you keep complaining about these things, your heart will age, and you'll gradually grow old too."
"I understand, Chairman Okuya."
Himuro Ryo clinked his glass with Okuya Ken's.
Then, even though there were no proper drinking snacks, watching Mutou Judai and Erina in the distance was like eating something delicious, making the alcohol go down smoothly.
Perhaps...
—This is youth.
...
Both Mutou Judai and Erina were minors, so they didn't drink.
So compared to Okuya Ken and Himuro Ryo who were still drinking, they found two rooms early at the Great Universe Bar.
Erina would probably stay up late preparing for tomorrow morning and the entire morning's operations, publicity, menu, and various other issues.
With the manpower provided by Okuya Ken, Mutou Judai, who wasn't good at cooking, went directly back to his room.
He went straight to sleep.
When he was awakened by the sign-in notification, he clicked on the third day's sign-in.
[Sign-in reward: Light novel "A Certain Magical Index"]
As Mutou Judai received the sign-in reward, he felt the entire content of a light novel appear in his mind—every word, every illustration, he remembered clearly.
And not just the Old Testament, but also the New Testament and Genesis Testament.
Moreover, a USB drive appeared in his hand—according to the system's introduction, this contained the complete content of the Magical Index trilogy and all illustrations and covers.
Amazing!
This is what you call a modern system!
Instead of just giving abilities and making you write yourself, directly giving me a light novel that could run for over ten years—isn't that instant graduation!
And this light novel also gave Mutou Judai some additional abilities.
After this memory infusion ended, his improvement in writing novels, plotting stories, and even drawing illustrations was very noticeable. With this level of improvement, he could write even if asked to now, but since the system gave him ready-made content, why not use it.
This was very strong.
"Looking at it this way, after things settle down, I'll directly submit manuscripts..."
When Mutou Judai said this, he noticed Okuya Ken's business card that he had casually placed on the table yesterday.
Chairman of Kinokuniya Bookstore...
Kinokuniya Bookstore... Mutou Judai hadn't paid much attention to this name before, but thinking about it now, he seemed to have seen it inadvertently when looking for light novels...
If he remembered correctly.
Kinokuniya Bookstore... this seemed to be a leader in the publishing industry, right?
Then...
"After things settle down, should I talk with him?"
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