Unlimited Ambition

"Okay," Chunri readily agreed to my challenge.

After half an hour.

Barley

Why, why would someone as perfect as me lose to that silly girl, Haruhi? It doesn't make sense, absolutely no sense...

In three matches in total, except for the first game where Kasuga narrowly won, all were complete victories—she didn't even give me a chance to make a single shot.

This...this...this could kill someone!

I really have no motivation to continue playing. Besides, for Haruhi's health, this kind of game shouldn't continue. It's just that it's raining so hard outside, there's no way to do anything else. There are some slot machines and Russian roulette tables nearby, but I wouldn't dare let Haruhi touch them.

Just then, Sakuya suddenly appeared outside the entertainment room and saved my life.

"Everyone, it's lunchtime. Please take a break."

Okay, at least we have some buffer time.

Sakuya's cooking was as delicious as ever. Everyone who ate it raved about it.

"Hmm... speaking of which, it really isn't good for high school students to drink. Let's not serve alcohol at any more dinners from now on. Let's have a non-alcoholic night!" Haruhi said while eating. I also brought my younger sister, who was still recovering and could barely walk, to the restaurant.

Hearing her say that, he chimed in, "That's right! Alcohol is extremely harmful to the body, especially to children. My little sister still hasn't recovered."

Tsuruya-senpai and Mikuru, who were unaware of the truth, nodded seriously, seemingly agreeing with my statement. My younger sister, however, rolled her eyes at me, gave a soft snort, and remained silent.

These people can be ignored for now; what truly concerns me is Yuki. From the very beginning, she remained silent, her presence even less noticeable than usual.

She looks so tired—but why? Is it because I didn't go to her room yesterday? Is she angry? Jealous? How cute.

But the reality wasn't as simple as I'd imagined. After dinner, we rested in the restaurant for a bit, and then Haruhi started arranging to go back to the recreation room. I looked at Yuki again—she was dazed, breathing heavily, and could barely stand.

"Yuki?!" I saw her about to fall, so I quickly stepped forward and caught her in my arms.

"What happened?" Haruhi, who was walking ahead, turned around when she heard my call. She looked slightly surprised at Yuki's expression. Then she reached out and touched Yuki's forehead: "It's so hot! You have a fever!"

"Damn it..." I knew perfectly well that with Yuki's constitution, getting sick was absolutely impossible. I couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment, blaming myself for not paying more attention to her. Then I swept her up in my arms: "Sakuya-san, there should be a first-aid kit and medicines in the villa, right? Please bring them over. Haruhi, go get some hot water! I'll take Yuki to her room."

After I finished speaking, I didn't wait for anyone else to say anything, and then I picked up Yuki and ran away.

"What..." Seeing my worried look, Haruhi muttered softly, but she didn't want to be petty at this moment. She went to the kitchen to get some hot water. The others also did their jobs: Tsuruya-senpai went to the refrigerator to find an ice pack, while Mikuru and I stayed by the bedside to take care of Yuki. My sister... well, as long as she doesn't cause trouble, it's fine.

Of course, Yuki's situation couldn't be solved with just fever reducers. In fact, from the very beginning, I started a dialogue with Yuki using telepathy—a new function I gained after acquiring full ownership of Yuki.

"Yuki, can you hear me?"

"...I can hear you."

"I'm sorry I didn't notice you. I apologize."

"It's ok."

"what is going on?"

"...My burden suddenly became much heavier."

Could you be more specific?

“The island’s layout has been altered. We’ve lost contact with the outside world,” Yuki said. “We’re trapped.”

"How could this be?! Isn't this Tsuruya-senpai's villa?" I asked one last time. After that, I didn't hear Yuki's voice again.

Tsk, has he lost consciousness?

I took Yuki's hand. After a slight hesitation, a surge of hellish magic flowed down my arm and into Yuki's body.

"I'm sorry, Yuki," I whispered in her ear, not caring whether she could hear me or not.

The hellish power that forcibly entered Yuki's body began to transform her body according to Kotori's will. It changed her energy attribute from a neutral, absolute spiritual being to a lawful, evil demonic attribute, making her more combat-ready, more aggressive, and more unstable.

This transformation lasted for half an hour. During this time, I continuously channeled hellish and necromantic magic into Yuki's body. The two forces eventually reached a balance within her. Afterward, I bestowed upon her a new rank, enabling Yuki to successfully advance to the level of a Hellish Bone Angel (Archangel level). The entire transformation was then considered successful. I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd like to see who could handle an Archangel-level Hellish Undead.

Of course, to outsiders, it looked like I was taking advantage of Yuki while she was sick, holding her hand and not letting go. During this time, Mikuru, who was staying with her at the hospital, Sakuya, who brought medicine, Kasuga, who brought hot water, and Tsuruya-senpai, who brought iced drinks, all came one after another and criticized my behavior—of course, I ignored them and continued to do as I pleased, until several hours later, Yuki woke up with difficulty.

"What did you do to my body?" Yuki's first words after waking up made the unfriendly gazes of the girls around her even more hostile...

Chapter 32 Uneasiness

After that, through explanations, defenses, and a heart-to-heart talk, the girls finally believed I was innocent. Yuki said that she only did it because she had some inappropriate, 18+ dreams. And the protagonists of those dreams were Yuki and me.

Of course, this outcome wasn't perfect. After that, the girls looked at Yuki with complicated emotions. Who would have known that this usually quiet Yuki was actually so secretly passionate? Who knows, they might just find themselves with another rival in love.

"Speaking of which, there are indeed some boys who like Yuki's type..." Haruhi muttered to herself. After that, she lost all interest in the game and said she was going back to her room to catch up on sleep.

It seems I should speed up Haruhi's magic learning process. I thought to myself, looking at Haruhi's low spirits.

By late tonight, the typhoon had vanished without a trace. The dark clouds had dispersed, leaving behind a sky full of twinkling stars, which was quite romantic. Yuki and I climbed onto the roof, dried the water with a fire, and then sat down. Sitting side by side, it looked like we were on a date.

"Okay, tell me what happened now." I moved a little closer to Yuki and then put my arm around her shoulder as I asked.

“The Sky Cover Domain,” Yuki uttered calmly. “They come from there. They are intelligent entities with abilities comparable to, yet completely opposite to, the Information Integration Thought Entity. Before this, although both sides were aware of each other's existence, they had no interaction. But this attack should definitely be from them.”

This is such a troublesome thing. I'm having a bit of a headache. I've never really focused on mental cultivation, only slightly training my resistance. Using mental means for offense and support is a weakness. If I were to rate my melee combat and agility as S, then my magical attack power would be A++, my defense A+, but my mental strength would only reach B+. Hopefully, that makes sense.

I can more or less understand why they did this. It's for Haruhi Suzumiya—and most likely for me—and of course, the ultimate goal is the possibility of evolution.

They seem more radical and cunning than the Information Integration Thought Entity. They chose to act when we were stranded on the island, and they targeted Yuki, who was most useful in the mental realm. It was a decent plan—just with a slight flaw.

They misjudged my power. Absolutely overwhelming power. They were able to elevate Yuki's rank so dramatically in just half a day. With Yuki now possessing archangel-level power, she was no match for a few small fry. They quickly turned the tide and expelled the invading spiritual energy.

But will those guys just let it go?

That's unlikely...

Their next step will either be to confront me with more aggressive tactics, or to coerce and entice me into sharing some of the profits—the latter is easier to negotiate; there's room for discussion once we sit down. But the former… I do have quite a few vulnerable individuals around me who warrant my attention. And they certainly won't adhere to any chivalrous principles. Hmm, this is getting a bit troublesome.

Over the next few days, Haruhi threw a little tantrum, insisting on going back. It took a lot of coaxing and persuasion to convince her to give up. Here, everyone's together, so it's easier for me to keep an eye on things. But back home, we won't be spending every day together. What if Mikuru and Tsuruya are kidnapped and taken hostage? Should I intervene or not?

But we couldn't stay on this island forever. After a week, everyone got a little tired of the sun and sand vacation, so we took the boat back in a large group.

Forget it, what's meant to happen will happen. Let's see who dies first. Do you know I haven't killed anyone in eighteen years?

So, on my first day back, I locked myself in my room, cross-legged, holding a magic staff, conserving my energy. I was ready to slaughter everyone—but nothing happened all day—except for my sister outside who nearly smashed the door open with a fire axe—and halfway through, Chunri joined in. It was like they were demolishing the house, but Mom didn't care.

Of course, the barrier set up by the fallen angels is absolutely impossible for mortal objects to destroy.

The next day, Chunri called me repeatedly for several hours, but I didn't answer. Then she and her sister found a ladder and tried to climb in through the outside window, only to find it locked. They then resorted to using a fire axe to forcefully break the glass—after which her sister lost her balance and fell. Thankfully, that happened; otherwise, I wouldn't have had a good reason to explain why the axe couldn't break the glass.

Because I anticipated this situation, I replaced the windows with tempered glass a long time ago. What do you think of that reason?

The next day was still calm and peaceful.

Okay, let's continue.

On the third day, Haruhi shouted outside my room that she would die if I didn't come out. So, I had no choice but to open the door, drag Haruhi inside, and lock the door. I didn't give her a chance to speak. First, I gave her a passionate kiss, and then I threw her onto the bed.

A happy ending, I thought. I could only conclude that the enemy seemed afraid. Life went on as usual afterward. No one else said anything, simply attributing my behavior to a series of intermittent bouts of mental instability. They said it would be fine in a few days. Anyway, everything was alright.

The following period was quite peaceful. Although Haruhi found it boring, I didn't think it was a bad thing. Even though our relationship was officially confirmed, our interactions seemed unchanged. We spent roughly the same amount of time together. It's just that whenever Haruhi stayed overnight at my house, she would seem listless the next day. Both sets of parents seemed to have noticed this, but they were all very understanding and didn't ask any further questions.

We're about to get married... Haruhi's parents are looking at me like I'm their son-in-law. Her mother looks at Haruhi the same way.

Oh well, it's not that I hate it anyway.

A few days later, Chunri seemed to find it a bit boring to spend all day with me. So she started organizing club activities again.

"Speaking of which, since the SOS Brigade was founded, we haven't triggered a single decent paranormal event. How can this be? We need to keep working hard."

Sitting in the familiar ice cream shop, Haruhi was still spouting nonsense as usual. And for some reason, even though Haruhi and I came together, I was the only one who ended up paying for the meal.

"So, I've already planned out what we'll be doing in the coming days. Everyone take a look, and see if there's anything to add."

As Chunri said this, she pulled out a piece of paper filled with the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 and placed it on the table. Everyone crowded around to take a look, and saw that it said it would be valid from today until August 31st.

1. Patrol the city and investigate paranormal events. Although paranormal events are basically impossible—and even if they do happen, they will be eliminated by the various heroes around Kasuga—this is still our club's main job, so it took up three days.

2. Catching cicadas, although generally only children do this kind of thing, it is quite suitable for the mental age of spring.

3. Part-time job, time and location undecided, but Kasuga once casually mentioned to me that she owns a supermarket she's very familiar with—of course, if possible, I'll try to make the location the newly opened luxury restaurant by Yakumo Yukari. At least there, the salary will definitely be substantial.

4. Indoor swimming pool. Although we had just returned from a deserted island and were tired of swimming, Haruhi insisted that saltwater and freshwater felt different. So we had no choice but to listen to her.

5. Night markets, although that's better for couples to go on a date. But since Kasuga said so... let's just consider it a variation of a date. Anyway, I'm the only guy there.

As for the sixth item, the Obon dance and fireworks display, they can also be combined into this item.

8. The "Test of Courage" event: In the spring, they originally planned to take us to a suburban cemetery at midnight. However, after my strong objection, it was changed to a city patrol at midnight, followed by a gathering at my house to tell strange stories.

"That's about it." After some debate, Haruhi reluctantly agreed with my opinion, and then asked, "Is there anyone else who wants to do something? Feel free to suggest it, and I'll decide whether to adopt it based on the circumstances."

No one spoke; it seemed there was nothing to add—and in reality, there probably wasn't.

"Mikuru?" Seeing that no one was speaking, Haruhi seemed a little dissatisfied and directly called out her name.

"Ah... well, there's nothing in particular I want to do... Oh right, goldfish, if I could, I'd like to catch some goldfish."

Speaking of which, Mikuru's ability to read people's expressions has really improved. Seeing Haruhi's face gradually darken, she decisively changed her mind halfway through. Great! Here's a little red flower for you.

"Very good." Chunri smiled and took out a pen, adding the words "fishing for goldfish" to it.

"That's settled then. Besides that, anyone who comes up with anything else can speak up—so let's begin the city patrol. Everyone gather together today, and we must find those paranormal events!"

"Wait a minute!" Just then, a great idea suddenly popped into my head: "I've thought of something fun I could do."

"Really?" Haruhi, unsuspecting, sat back down. "Tell me about it."

"The flea market, I saw the ad a few days ago. We can go there to find some things, and if we're lucky, we might find the supernatural items you want in spring."

"Huh? Really?" Haruhi's eyes lit up immediately when she heard me say that.

"Really? It's more real than real gold!" I replied with a smile, secretly adding, "Even if I didn't have it, I'd conjure it up..."

Chapter Thirty-Three: Trust, or Distrust

After that, we finished our cold drinks (my treat). Then we started our usual shopping trip. Our group of four girls and one guy was a sight to behold. Envious, jealous, and hateful glances never left me. Seeing me chatting and laughing with the girls, they all wanted nothing more than to pull me away, drag me into a dark alley, beat me up, and take my place. Some even lost their temper and pulled out their phones, ready to call the police.

But none of that matters. This is the essence of a badass life that needs no explanation. At worst, I can just get an Arab citizenship and then I can laugh out loud without any problem.

But for now, let's tone it down a bit.

"Hey, Haruhi." I called out to my current girlfriend, who was still walking ahead like a fool, completely ignoring everything around her.

"Hmm? Did you find something?" Haruhi clearly misunderstood me.