Minamoto Tamako clung tightly to Fushimi Roku's left arm, her deliberately widened almond eyes glistening. A fine sweat was forming on her nose tip, and she bit her lower lip until it turned slightly pale, looking like a little kitten pretending to be pitiful.

Fushimi Roku's suspended right hand froze in mid-air, his gaze sweeping over Tamako's trembling eyelashes. His Adam's apple moved half an inch, his earlobe turning a suspicious shade of pink.

Gotcha!!

Tamako was secretly delighted, shaking Fushimi Roku's arm while constantly acting cute, saying, "Please, please"; while Fushimi Roku himself seemed possessed, clutching the game piece without moving, appearing completely captivated by Tamako.

Hehehehe…

Tamako's thoughts were all over the place, imagining Fushimi Roku being so smitten with her that he couldn't take his eyes off her, then wondering what kind of victory speech she should give. A smile began to creep up her face.

No, he hasn't moved yet, I must hold it in, can't laugh!

Tamako bit her lower lip, her face flushed with a red hue, genuinely captivating but in reality, she was suppressing laughter.

Fushimi Roku just held his hand there, staring at her for a while. Tamako gradually felt something was off, even if he was hesitating, it shouldn't take this long, right?

"Could it be that winning or losing this game means more to you than I do?" She waved her hand in front of Fushimi Roku: "What's wrong with you? What are you hesitating about?"

"Hesitate? I'm not hesitating." Fushimi Roku took a deep breath.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Tamako was taken aback.

Fushimi Roku closed his eyes, looking as if he was enjoying himself, and said, "I'm listening to the pleas of the losing party, it's the privilege of the victor."

"..."

Tamako's bright eyes turned into dead fish eyes.

Fushimi Roku spread his arms wide, continuing, "Ah, just thinking of your delighted smiles earlier, I feel inwardly joyful, maybe this is what they call the 'principle of conservation of smiles'!"

Tamako let go of his arm and even gave him a push, pouting a little: "So you really don't want to give up?"

"Give up? Why should I give up?" Fushimi Roku pointed a toy figure at Tamako's nose, "There's no couples on the battlefield, only competitors! I'm fighting you all with all my heart! Slacking off in a match is an insult to the players!"

After saying this, he raised the toy figure high, speaking in an exaggeratedly dramatic tone, "To honor your commendable effort in gaining a slim chance of victory by any means, I will seriously and with no quarter deliver the final blow to you!"

With a snap, Fushimi Roku pressed the toy figure onto the finish line.

Tamako was stunned.

In front of her, Fushimi Roku hummed a victory tune: "Fight~ Today too, give it your all~ Fight~ Never give up~"

Tamako snapped back to reality, showing an unwilling expression. She was still biting her lower lip, but she couldn't help but clench her fists.

Fushimi Roku leaned closer, lying on the tatami, resembling a famous scene from Kamen Rider on the beach. You could hear him smugly say, "This is what I wanted to see! That jealous look on your face—— Hahaha!!"

"I haven't lost yet!" Tamako shouted.

However, in the next round, Taira Sakurako rolled a six and landed on Tamako's marked spot, advancing six more steps, ending the game immediately.

Fushimi Roku got up, taking the watermelon Tamako had been yearning for out of the fridge. She had planned to have it chilled as a midnight snack, but now it was Fushimi Roku's gain.

"For some reason, this slice of watermelon tastes especially sweet."

Fushimi Roku deliberately smacked his lips in front of her, his mouth full of watermelon juice.

Taira Sakurako also took her share of the spoils, taking the ten thousand yen, secretly leaving Tamako a bottle cap as a consolation prize.

Tamako clenched the bottle cap, storming off in anger. Tonight she would sleep in a separate room from Fushimi Roku; it was a good chance to secretly work on her case files with a flashlight.

Fushimi Roku finished the watermelon and played a game of chess with Taira Sakurako before bathing and going to bed. Learning his lesson from the previous night, he lay down by ten to avoid being woken up early again.

The night passed without events.

The next day, Tamako got up early. She quickly washed up, hid the case files under her belly, covered them with her shirt, and claimed she was going out to gather "rumors," darting away like a rabbit.

Fushimi Roku was still lazing in bed. When he got up after a little nap and sat up from the futon, Tamako was long gone, leaving only Taira Sakurako having breakfast.

"Ohayo." Taira Sakurako greeted him, continuing to slurp ramen.

"Eating ramen early in the morning, you're living quite the life," Fushimi Roku remarked as he flipped the covers, stretched, and headed to the dining table: "Why isn't there any for me?"

These days, a typical Japanese breakfast is white rice with miso soup, or white rice with natto, pickles, and for those more particular, they'll fry a mackerel; for those less particular, it's peanut butter on toast. Ramen is usually eaten for lunch or dinner.

"Didn't know when you'd wake up, soggy noodles don't taste good," Taira Sakurako replied.

"Oh, then go get me some now." Fushimi Roku sat opposite her.

Taira Sakurako was currently still getting paid as Fushimi Roku's personal assistant, responsible for cleaning and preparing meals.

Upon hearing this, she pushed her bowl forward, saying, "Why don't you have mine? I've just gotten full and there's quite a bit left."

"No, you've already eaten all the ramen toppings." Fushimi Roku waved his hand, saying, "Hurry up and go, less talking, I want seafood ramen. If you do a good job, I'll reward you handsomely by taking you out for the day."

He still had to continue investigating the case today and couldn't leave Taira Sakurako at home alone, so he decided to take her out along with him.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.