Ares_00

101. Saturday (4)

"Reiji-tan? I'm here!"

The duo munching away at the macarons on the dining table turned to the entrance simultaneously, with Yui sporting a confused look compared to Reiji's awkwardness. 

Yui didn't know anyone else was coming today, which Reiji had deliberately concealed in order to catch her off guard.

He felt that if she knew someone else was coming, someone she didn't know, she would bear hostility from the get-go or not come at all.

Neither of which was a goo...

100. Saturday (3)

Reiji's face started twitching involuntarily, his eyelids almost spasming as he tried to understand what had just happened. 

If her actions in his bedroom had fried his circuits, this kiss was the explosion that destroyed the remains. 

He tried to think of something to say, something to do.

Because he knew that this had now completely changed the dynamic between them, with no chances of returning to what it used to be before. 

Her jokes and playfulness w...

99. Saturday (2)

Reiji gave her a quick tour of the house, starting from the gym, which was the closest to them. 

"Oho, so this is where you build up those muscles..... Go on, show me a workout," Yui clapped excitedly. 

"Why on earth would I do that?" Reiji scoffed.

He also couldn't even if he wanted to; just the mere thought made him involuntarily focus on the stabbing pain.

"Tch, what a spoilsport. Fine, I'll let you off if you just take off your shirt for the rest of the d...

98. Saturday (1)

*RIIING ~ RIIING ~RIIING*

"Urgh..."

Reiji groaned, turning to his side to shut off his alarm as he stretched as much as he could.

It was still quite dark outside, with the first rays of dawn barely creeping into his room through the gap in his curtains. 

'Fuck, it hurts!'

The painkillers he had taken last night had allowed him to sleep like a log despite the stressful events, but now that they had worn off, the pain started...

97. Weapons (6)

"Did you have fun?" Reiji sneered through his blurring eyes. 

"....What about you? Was it fun enough for you to hesitate in that moment? Did you think this was a game? Or maybe you were confident that you wouldn't get hurt. You realize that you're lucky that you're even alive right now?" Daichi replied, his voice containing a slight raspiness that wasn't usually there. 

"Haha, who knows? I don't know if it was weakness or arrogance, but I just couldn't pull the trigger. ...

How many 'Heroines' would you like?

I pretty much have already decided who ends up with Reiji by the end of the novel, but I also wanted to check if people would like fewer female leads or even more.

Note:

• The result of this poll may not necessarily change the final number

• I will not spoil who will end up with Reiji and who won't

• You can let me know your predictions and preferences in the comments. But, again, that might not influence my decisions.

• ...
  2025-08-30 17:41:37 +0000 UTC View Post

96. Weapons (5)

"Oooh, that's gotta hurt," Reiji winced as he saw the arrow impale the right shoulder of one of the crossbowmen, who promptly dropped his weapon before collapsing onto the floor with a wail.

"AARGGHHHHH!"

The other two archers, aside from Hayashi, shifted their focus from Reiji's general hiding area to Beardy's truck, which revved with power as the wheels started turning again. 

They simultaneously fired at the large vehicle, but now that it was moving, their aim was ev...

95. Weapons (4)

(Beardy POV)

***

Beardy's heart was thumping as he watched Reiji and the rest move towards the port's gate while he himself hid behind a tree on the way.

'Is he going to be okay?'

The worry was worsening every second, especially when he recalled the group of men wielding crossbows through the CCTV feed.

He knew the danger his Boss was going to be in was no joke, and he was both furious and proud that he was chosen for this impor...

94. Weapons (3)

*THWANG*

Reiji looked up at the arrows that had been fired into the sky, whistling away at a much faster speed than he had anticipated. 

When they reached their peak, they plummeted straight down, gravity doing its duty as usual.

*TCHAAK*

The three arrows embedded themselves into the concrete, cracks forming around the entry point to showcase just how sharp the tips were. 

"Aren't they beautiful?" Haya...

Okamoto Arata (The Hacker)

93. Weapons (2)

"There aren't as many people as I thought there would be," Reiji muttered, studying the camera feeds to see if he missed anyone. 

There were only between 25-30 people, including the ones offloading the crates from the ship, which was quite low all things considered. 

"It's probably because Hayashi hasn't been in the country for long. If he had entered more than a week ago, we'd definitely have found out about it, so that doesn't leave him much time to recruit henc...

92. Weapons (1)

"Now? No, if you go tomorrow, then the danger will be far less. I can summon a lot more men, and there won't be as many crossbows around Hayashi since he'll probably be transporting most of them."

Daichi stood up, denying the alternate proposition. Reiji rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets. 

"Then will you allow me to go have the discussion on Tuesday?" he asked. 

"That will be far too late; tomorrow is the most ideal timing," Daichi replied ...

Endo Satoshi (The Right-Hand Man)

91. Dinner With The King (3)

Reiji tightened his grip on the fork, a bad premonition casting over him. The person who had entered was his father's right-hand man, basically the second-in-command, who had the most power after Daichi. 

Even his stepmother had to defer to his decisions, which is why she had to be more cautious with her schemes.

Endo Satoshi was quite unassuming, especially when compared to Daichi, Baldy, and Beardy. He seemed more like a friendly old grandpa whom people usually felt ...

90. Dinner With The King (2)

"You're late."

Reiji didn't respond, simply pulling back the chair before him and sitting down after unbuttoning his suit jacket. 

Daichi's hands were clasped together on the dining table, his eyes narrowed as he studied his son, who was pouring himself a glass of water from the jug. 

"At least you had the common sense of putting on a suit, even though it's a little big for you," he stated indifferently.

"It's fine, doesn't look too bad, does it? And consider...

89. Dinner With The King (1)

"Thank you again, Reiji-tan! See you tomorrow!" 

Haruna waved happily despite the tired look on her face, poking her head through the car's window. Reiji watched as the taxi drove off, his smile vanishing the instant it turned the corner.

He looked over at the black SUV parked on the opposite side of the street when its headlights turned on. The engine started, and it crept forward, slowly veering towards him as it came to a halt at the entrance of his apartment buildi...

Would You Like to See Scrapped Plotlines and Character Details?

Hello, sorry for the erratic upload schedule lately. I'm moving out and some issues have cropped up that I need to sort out. Uploads will go back to normal in a few days.

Anyway, I was looking over my document where I plan out the novel, and saw some scrapped ideas that I never went with and was wondering if you guys were interested in an occasional post where I break it down? What I'm worried about is that it might influence how you might see the current story and think about how it co...

88. Guest (2)

"...Are you okay now?"

Haruna chugged the cold coffee until the glass was completely empty, releasing a sigh of satisfaction as she licked the last remnants of the drink off her lips.

"Wow, this was really good!"

Reiji's mouth twitched as he stared at his empty glass.

"Seriously? I doubt it was that hot!"

"Hmph, who told you to make it so delicious?" Haruna crossed her arms defiantly, but the teasing look in her eyes was too obvious.

'Oh...