My girlfriend is Saiki Kusunoki

After all, the senior category of the Youth Award is indeed very strong.

As a grand art event for all of Japan, talented young people under the age of thirty can all participate.

In a sense, the monsters here are countless.

Under normal circumstances, how can a high school student's grades be compared to an adult's?

To put it bluntly, some of them may have even won the junior group championship several times.

If this group of people went in, they would be as weak as sardines thrown into a group of sharks.

But what should I do now? I've already promised them, I can't just back out like this, can I?

"However, I don't think I really need to worry about anything. It's all about participation, and no one's asking me to win, right? I can just give up. Speaking of which, how am I supposed to draw this happiness? Ugh, this is really a headache."

Naoto sighed and returned to his room, taking out his oil painting canvas, which he hadn't used in a long time.

Thinking back to the last time I painted an oil painting, it was the last time.

I never imagined I'd be back to being a traditional painter so soon.

However, what Naoto didn't know at the time was that with his participation in the adult category of the Youth Award, someone had already begun to secretly watch him.

Chapter 78: Naoto, begins his research trip.

"Ah, happiness, what a troublesome subject."

Over the weekend, Zhiren and Nanzi went out of the house together for the first time in a long time.

However, their purpose this time was not to go on a date, but to gather material for the Youth Award.

This time, Naoto couldn't start painting as easily as he could last time.

Perhaps it's because of the celebrity effect; if I were to produce an unsatisfactory answer sheet this time, I might really be ridiculed.

However, Naoto was truly clueless about this question.

My last success was largely due to the fact that after a large group of high school students taught a "standard" answer, I found a quiet place to stand out.

To say that he completely outclasses others would be giving him far too much credit.

Although his drawing skills have improved significantly this time, his opponents have changed from high school students of the same age to a group of adults.

If you want to continue using the previous methods, it's very likely that they won't work anymore.

Moreover, Naoto is genuinely clueless about the concept of happiness.

It's not so much that he had no clue; rather, he had too many clues, which prevented him from feeling as deeply as he had last time.

In my past life, there was a saying on the internet: "Cats eat fish, dogs eat meat, and Ultraman fights monsters—that's the greatest happiness."

At the beginning, Naoto drew three or four pictures, but none of them satisfied him.

Was it the first time you received pocket money as a child? Or the first time you went to an amusement park? Or was it secretly eating snacks without your parents knowing?

It has to be said that these scenes are quite touching for even straight people.

To say that I'm unhappy would be a lie.

However, Naoto felt that such small happiness was far from meeting his expectations.

That's why I brought Nanzi out with me.

However, after they came out, the two found that they had no idea where to go.

"Naoto, even though you want to do research, you should at least tell us where we should go, right?"

Although it is already autumn, the tail end of the lingering heat wave is still unbearably hot.

Under these circumstances, it was truly unpleasant for the two of them to be walking down the street.

"Nanzi, if I knew where I could find materials, I would have gone there long ago."

In this sweltering heat, he's the one who's suffering the most.

After all, the camphor tree is impervious to heat and cold, and the seasons have no effect on it.

"Or, Nanzi, why don't you just use your superpowers to speed up my thoughts? Maybe that will give me an idea right away."

Are you sure you want to do this?

"Uh, forget it, I'll figure it out myself."

Faced with Nanko's question, Naoto still chose to back down.

While it's true that Nanako's superpowers are very powerful, Naoto's thinking ability might be stronger than Einstein's after using these superpowers to accelerate his thinking.

However, this does not mean that it is without side effects.

Naoto is certain that if Nanko uses this ability on him, his thoughts can fly directly from Earth to the M78 Nebula.

By then, what I will do will be beyond what I can imagine now.

Straight people don't want to do something stupid and end up in the news.

After wandering around the city, Naoto and Nanko didn't find anything worth paying attention to.

After all, there are already enough trivial matters in life, and apart from some complaints, it seems that people cannot really experience what happiness is.

Naoto was thinking that he might as well just go back today.

Just as the two were about to go back, a crying sound suddenly came from the park nearby.

"Hmm? What's going on over there? It sounds like someone's crying?"

Hearing the sudden sound of crying, Naoto looked towards the park in confusion. Why would someone be crying during the day?

"How about we go and take a look?"

Upon hearing the crying, Nanzi also showed a curious expression, and the two of them decided to go to the park to take a look.

Due to the hot weather, the park was practically deserted at this time of year.

The crying sound came from the swings in the park.

On the swing, a child who looked to be no more than twelve years old sat alone, his eyes red and swollen.

On the right side of his face, a mark resembling a slap is clearly visible.

Seeing the child's aggrieved expression, the two guessed that the child had probably quarreled with his family.

"Hey little one, why are you crying here?"

Seeing the crying child, Naoto kindly stepped forward and asked the child what was wrong.

But the question only made the child feel more aggrieved, and the crying became even louder.

Anyone who didn't know better would think that Nanzi was bullying the child.

"Hey, don't cry! Calm down for a second, can you tell your brother what happened?"

Seeing that the children showed no sign of stopping, Naoto was getting a headache from worry.

I should have just ignored these things. Now look what's happened. If someone comes later, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain myself properly.

Fortunately, Nanzi has a lot of experience when it comes to this kind of trouble.

Before Naoto could react, Nanko's appearance had changed from a high school girl to someone dressed in a strange outfit, looking like a character who had stepped out of a tokusatsu drama.

"Soda Girl Knight No. 2!"

Upon seeing the clothes Nanzi was wearing, the child immediately stopped crying.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed as if stars were twinkling in his eyes.

This move left the straight man speechless. Where did his girlfriend learn this skill from?

"Do not ask."

Faced with Naoto's wild speculations, Nanko simply replied with this sentence.

If she hadn't been forced by circumstances, why would Nanzi have resorted to such a tactic?

It can only be said that even gods in this world fear such creatures as unruly children. Especially when this child possesses terrifying power derived from their mother, even gods would be terrified.

Regardless, the child has stopped crying for now, and there are no parents around. Could this be a child from the neighborhood?

"Excuse me, little friend, could you tell Knight Number Two why you're crying here all by yourself?"

Just when Naoto and Nanako thought that with the special blessing of the tokusatsu hero, they should be able to ask questions with confidence.

Suddenly, the child thought of something, and his eyes started to redden again.

No, is this child a Crimson Godzilla or something? Why does he start crying as soon as I ask this question?!

Episode 79: Family, Happiness

"Because, because I had a fight with my mom, and then I ran away."

Through the child's intermittent narration, Naoto and Nanko roughly understood why the child was there.

Just as Naoto and Nanko had guessed, this brat did indeed have a conflict with his parents, and then ran away when they weren't paying attention.

"So where do you live? Would you like us to take you home?"

Although they roughly understood that the child in front of them was a troublemaker, Naoto and Nanako did not intend to just leave.

After all, aside from a genius like Nanzi, who didn't have a mischievous phase when they were young?

Just like Naoto in his previous life, Naoto not only ran away from home, but also went to other places to play when his parents weren't paying attention, making his parents search for him for a long time.

Fortunately, Naoto was introverted as a child and didn't have a bad sense of direction, so even if he got lost, he could always find his way home, which meant that Naoto was never kidnapped.

Although he understands now that he's older and realizes how foolish it was, the man didn't criticize the child. He's a kid, after all; it's understandable that he has a strong sense of self-esteem.

However, the child's next answer completely stunned Naoto.

"have no idea."

"do not know?"

"I came out shopping with my mom, and after we got angry, I ran away. Now I have absolutely no idea where my home is. Waaaaaah."

When Naoto asked the child, the child started crying again.