Tokyo: After years of stagnation, the heiress of the yakuza arrives.

"Tap tap tap..."

Clear footsteps came from the apartment building. The driver waiting by the roadside subconsciously sat up straight, his gaze passing through the car window and landing on Miyazaki Kiyoshi as he walked out of the apartment lobby.

The girl's expression remained calm as always. Her long hair fell on both sides of her shoulders, and her delicate face showed little emotion. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the roadside trees, falling on her fair face and then gradually gliding across it with each step she took, leaving no extra trace.

On the surface, she seemed no different from before she went upstairs.

At least, a normal person should not be able to tell the difference.

Unfortunately, the driver sitting in the driver's seat was no ordinary person.

As the person responsible for Miyazaki Kiyoshi's daily travel and safety, he had been by this young lady's side for a long time. Not to mention obvious changes in her emotions, even if she walked a little faster or closed a door a little harder, he could keenly sense that something was wrong.

For example, right now.

The young lady walked from the apartment lobby to the car in about two or three seconds less than usual. Her stride was unchanged and her steps were still steady, but the interval between each step seemed to be a little shorter than usual.

What happened to the young lady upstairs just now?

An idea popped uncontrollably into the driver's head. The next second, his hands gripping the steering wheel stiffened slightly, and he felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him, instantly sobering him up.

wrong.

I can't think about it.

Nothing happened. The young lady simply went upstairs and came downstairs as usual, walking a little faster. Maybe it was just because it was windy outside, or maybe the apartment floor was slippery, or more likely...

Wait a minute, isn't this still just overthinking?

forget.

Forget everything you just thought of!

The driver took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind, and began to silently recite the route he would take today, the speed limits along the way, and the intersections that were prone to traffic jams.

What their young lady dislikes most is people around her speculating in front of her, especially those who know nothing but insist on filling in the blanks based on the slightest clues.

As for why I don't like it...

This is another question that shouldn't be considered.

The driver kept his eyes straight ahead, trying his best to become a rock that could only drive, had no thoughts, and was absolutely safe.

The car door was opened from the outside.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi leaned over and sat in the back seat, closing the car door behind him with a crisp sound, and the car fell silent again.

There were no instructions, nor any unnecessary actions.

She simply leaned back in her seat, her gaze fixed on the window, seemingly lost in thought.

The driver gripped the steering wheel and waited patiently.

one second.

two seconds.

ten seconds.

The car remained parked in the same spot, and there was no order from the back seat for him to drive. No one else came out of the apartment building either. Time passed slowly, and the driver couldn't help but glance at the rearview mirror out of the corner of his eye.

The young lady clearly came here specifically to see someone today.

There's no need to guess. After all, when the car just stopped, she went upstairs herself and told me to wait downstairs. Logically, now that the person has been found, the two of them should come down together.

But now...

The young lady returned alone, without driving or saying a word, and the people upstairs showed no intention of showing themselves.

So here's the question.

What exactly did the young lady go upstairs to do?

What about people?

Could it be...?

The driver's eyelid twitched violently.

The thoughts that had just been forcibly suppressed rose up one after another like bubbles at the bottom of water, and he couldn't suppress them no matter what he did. His reason was shouting not to think nonsense, but his instincts had already begun to deduce on their own based on the information he had at hand.

Finally, the driver couldn't bear the eerily quiet atmosphere inside the car any longer and cautiously broke the silence.

"Young Miss, shall we drive now?"

After the voice fell, there was no immediate response from the back row.

The driver's heart skipped a beat.

Immediately afterwards, Miyazaki Kiyoshi slowly raised his eyes and glanced at him calmly through the rearview mirror.

There was no anger, no questioning, and not even any obvious change in emotion in those beautiful eyes. Yet, it was this calm gaze that made the hairs on the back of the driver's neck stand on end.

Oops.

exposed!

"I'm so sorry, Miss!"

The driver jerked his body straight, nearly slamming on the brakes, but luckily the car wasn't running, preventing an even more embarrassing commotion.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi didn't press him about what he had just been thinking, nor did he expose the thoughts that were running wild in his head. A brief eye contact was enough for the driver to reflect on himself from the inside out.

"No need to drive."

Miyazaki Kiyoshi withdrew his gaze, his tone so calm that it betrayed no emotion.

The driver held his breath, waiting for what was to come.

"We still have to wait for the idiot upstairs to come down."

"Yes, Miss!"

The speed at which he answered was much faster than usual.

The driver looked ahead again, his hands resting properly on the steering wheel, no longer daring to let his gaze wander even slightly.

But some things don't cease to exist just because you ignore them.

For example, the phrase "the idiot upstairs" just now.

Having been by Miyazaki Kiyoshi's side for so long, the driver had never heard his young mistress use such a term of address to refer to anyone. If she was truly dissatisfied with someone, she would usually just calmly point out what the other person had done wrong and then resolve the issue in the simplest and most effective way.

An emotional address is meaningless and does not conform to her usual habits.

and so……

No, therefore!

The driver decisively cut off his thoughts and began to recite the road traffic safety rules in his mind.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi, sitting in the back row, narrowed his eyes.

The driver's body trembled, and his recitation speed instantly doubled.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi ignored the other person, lowered his head, and picked up his phone from the side.

The screen lit up, displaying live surveillance footage of the apartment's interior.

In the scene, Shido Kuroba's bedroom is empty. There are only marks left on the bed, and the quilt is piled up crookedly to one side. One slipper is upside down at the foot of the bed, while the other is nowhere to be found.

Most importantly, the person she was supposed to wake up from bed was gone.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki stared at the screen for two seconds, then lightly swiped his finger across it.

Near the corner of the bedroom ceiling, an inconspicuous black camera slowly rotated, its lens sweeping from the bedside to the desk, then from the desk to the wardrobe, and finally even capturing the small space behind the door.

no one.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi's finger fell again, and the image in the monitoring program quickly shrank, turning into a floor plan of the entire apartment building.

Bedroom, living room, entryway, hallway, kitchen...

One by one, the icons that were previously dormant lit up.

The next second, the phone screen was split into several identical surveillance cameras, showing almost every possible hiding place in the apartment to Miyazaki Kiyoshi.

No one was in the living room.

There was no one in the entryway.

There isn't one on the balcony.

There wasn't one in the restroom either.

Even the camera on the bathroom ceiling had been activated, its lens scanning back and forth across the not-so-spacious space, ultimately capturing only a lone roll of toilet paper hanging on the wall.

If Shido Kuroba knew that the surveillance coverage of this apartment was this detailed, he would probably ask a soul-searching question on the spot.

Is this a place for people to live, or a fully enclosed laboratory used to observe the living habits of rare creatures?

Unfortunately, he doesn't know that yet.

Even more unfortunately, Miyazaki Kiyoshi had already found him.

In the kitchen scene in the lower right corner of the phone screen, a familiar figure is standing in front of the microwave oven with their back to the camera, busy at work.

Kuroba Shido had already changed into his school clothes, but the top button of his shirt was undone, and his tie hung loosely around his neck, like a decoration he had just casually put on.

He left his schoolbag by the kitchen doorway and leaned his cane against the counter, within arm's reach.

Judging from these details, he was indeed prepared to go out.

However, he did not go downstairs.

Because compared to the car waiting for him downstairs and the classes that were about to begin, there was something more important right in front of him, something that even concerned whether the poor boy could live to see the sun rise tomorrow.

Eat breakfast.

Inside the kitchen, Shido Kuroba placed a discounted rice ball into the microwave and skillfully adjusted its position.

He bought the rice ball yesterday when he passed by a convenience store. The packaging bag had a prominent discount label. Because it was close to its expiration date, the price was almost half off. It was definitely a strategic resource that a poor boy would lose money if he didn't buy it.

Kuroba Shido pressed the timer with his finger, not setting it directly to the convenience store's recommended forty seconds, but precisely stopping at twenty-seven seconds.

The microwave oven started working, and the warm yellow light came on. The rice balls inside rotated little by little with the tray.

Kuroba Shido crossed his arms and stared at it with a serious expression.

Those who didn't know the situation would probably think he was conducting some kind of extremely precise experiment that couldn't afford the slightest mistake.

In fact, it's pretty much the same.

If the heating time is too short, the rice ball will still be cold inside, making you feel like you're biting into an ice cube when you bite into it. If the heating time is too long, the rice will lose moisture, making the outside so hot you could use it as a weapon, and the filling inside will become an incredibly hot bomb.

There are specific techniques for when to pause, when to flip the food, and when to use the residual heat to dispel the slight chill inside.

These are all valuable experiences that Shido Kuroba accumulated from making countless discounted rice balls.

The number on the microwave oven jumped from three to two.

Kuroba Shido decisively reached out.

"Click."

The cabinet door was opened prematurely, and the heating time, which was supposed to last two seconds, was stopped abruptly.

He took out the rice ball, gently touched the outside of the packaging with his fingertip, then turned it over and lingered for half a second near the filling.

The outer layer temperature is suitable, while the core temperature is a bit low, but it's not a big problem.

Just let it sit for another ten seconds or so using the heat from inside the packaging, and the temperature will be just right.

perfect.

Kuroba Shido nodded in satisfaction, held the rice ball in his palm, and carefully tore open the packaging.

Steam rose from the rice, carrying the aroma of the fillings.

He didn't eat immediately, but closed his eyes, brought the rice ball to his nose, and took a deep breath.

In an instant, a look of ecstasy appeared on that still sleepy face.

Someone was waiting for him downstairs.

At school, the start of regular classes is drawing ever closer.

Upstairs, Shido Kuroba held the freshly heated discounted rice ball as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

"Miss Rice Ball, oh ho ho, it's a new day, please grant me plenty of energy!"

After he finished speaking, he even lowered his head very solemnly.

In front of the phone screen.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki: "..."

The driver had no idea what his young mistress had seen.

He could only see through the rearview mirror that Miyazaki Kiyoshi's hand holding the phone was motionless, and his gaze lingered on the screen for a long time, so long that the driver began to suspect that something serious had happened in the apartment again.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki did not explain.

She was just beginning to wonder once again whether Kuroba Shido was a human who had evolved normally on Earth.

After all, a creature that can pray to a discounted rice ball in the morning when it is about to be late is definitely outside the realm of normal people.

After the prayer ended, Kuroba Shido finally opened his mouth and took a big bite.

"Chew, chew, chew..."

The warm rice had a perfectly soft texture. Although the filling was no longer at its freshest peak due to the discount, it was given a second life thanks to the poor boy's amazing heating skills.

Kuroba Shido's eyes lit up slightly.

Not bad.

The outer layer is at the right temperature, the center is not undercooked, the rice retains its moisture, and the filling is just right to release its aroma.

As expected of him.

Even a simple discounted rice ball can be transformed into something 120% of its potential in his hands.

"Chew, chew, chew..."

Kuroba Shido took another bite, but the look of satisfaction on his face suddenly froze.

wrong.

It seems like something's missing.

He looked down at the rice ball in his hand, his eyebrows gradually furrowing, as if he were pondering a problem that could determine the fate of humanity.

The rice is ready, the filling is ready, the temperature is right, and the poor boy's devout faith in facing a new day has also been infused into it.

But why does this breakfast always feel soulless?

After a brief moment of thought, Shido Kuroba seemed to have thought of something, and his eyes lit up.

He steadied himself on the counter, took two steps on one foot, opened the cabinet door next to him, and pulled out a tightly wrapped bag from the very back.

The bag contained ginseng, deer antler, and several cordyceps that looked quite intact.

These were all high-level strategic reserve materials that he had previously obtained from the principal.

According to normal human consumption methods, whether it is ginseng, deer antler or cordyceps, it should be carefully processed, such as grinding, slicing, soaking in water or stewing in soup, to bring out its value as much as possible.

However, Shido Kuroba is clearly not a normal person.

He picked and chose in the bag, and finally picked out the cordyceps that looked the most pleasing to the eye.

"You're the one, Mr. Cordyceps! Please, grant me strength too!"

Kuroba Shido nodded at it, then casually wiped the outside of the packaging bag a couple of times before stuffing it directly into the middle of the rice ball.

Half of the cordyceps was embedded in the rice, while the other half stubbornly remained outside.

The discounted rice ball, which was originally quite normal, suddenly had an indescribable eerie aura.

Kuroba Shido was quite satisfied with this.

Ordinary rice balls can only solve the problem of hunger.

Adding cordyceps makes all the difference.

This is no longer a simple rice ball, but an ultimate nutritious breakfast that has been improved by a poor boy himself, combining modern convenience store industry with traditional Eastern wisdom on nourishing the body.

Not only can it fill your stomach, it might also replenish the energy and spirit you just lost after being slapped away.

Kill two birds with one stone.

Kuroba Shido opened his mouth, aimed at the exposed piece of cordyceps, and bit into it along with the rice ball.

"Click."

Crispy.

"Chew, chew, chew..."

The bitterness and the flavor of the rice ball filling blend together to create a completely new combination that even the food itself had never imagined.

Kuroba Shido chewed twice, his brows furrowing before quickly relaxing.

It was a bit tough.

The fact that it's bitter is precisely because it's nourishing!

Kiyoshi Miyazaki: "..."

The first silence was because she couldn't understand why Kuroba Shido would perform a morning prayer over rice balls when he was about to be late.

The second silence came when she suddenly realized that her understanding of this alien seemed to be too shallow.

He not only prays, but also adds cordyceps to the rice balls.

At this rate of development, Miyazaki Kiyoshi has no doubt that if things continue to unfold, Kuroba Shido will likely take out deer antlers and ginseng from the cabinet and prepare a deluxe meal for a poor boy in the kitchen that would make any normal person bleed from the nose.

I can't watch anymore.

Continuing to watch will only waste time and will also have an irreversible impact on her standards for judging normal human behavior.

With a blank expression, Miyazaki Kiyoshi exited the monitoring split screen, found Kuroba Shido in the contact list, and pressed the dial button.

Upstairs in the kitchen, Kuroba Shido had just swallowed half of the rice ball with cordyceps when his cell phone rang in his pocket.

He paused.

Who's so blind so early in the morning?

Didn't you see the poor boy performing the most sacred mealtime ritual of the day?

Kuroba Shido held a rice ball in one hand and took out his phone from his pocket with the other, having already prepared about a dozen sentences in his mind to lecture the other person.

As a result, the words "Minister" were clearly visible on the screen.

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."