I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

In that case, let's start with tracking... let's start with observation!

△

Ding--

As she removed her hands from the keyboard, Yuu Tenkuji opened her eyes, her fingertips still trembling slightly.

The fact that he shortened the over one-hour Goldberg Variations to a twenty-minute version also means that he played the piano for twenty minutes here.

I'm a bit tired. If I keep playing, I might not be able to maintain my perfect skill level.

This is probably the only drawback of a perfect-level skill—it doesn't improve the user's hardware performance. If the hardware can't keep up with the skill's consumption, it either won't be able to be activated or will be interrupted directly.

Thinking this, he looked away from the piano, his body trembling slightly.

I was scared.

Yuu Tenkuji knew that there were quite a few people watching her performance, but she didn't expect there to be so many.

The large crowd formed a circle around the piano, all looking completely absorbed in the experience, creating a quiet yet strange atmosphere.

—Tsk tsk tsk, is this the power of a perfect level?

It feels like a concert; it's easy to get so engrossed that you forget the passage of time.

After confirming the performance results, Yuu Tenkuji decided to make a quick getaway.

He was wearing a mask, not afraid that the video of him playing the piano would be uploaded online and make him famous; there are plenty of big shots online, he's not an exception.

But if the scene is cordoned off, that's a different story—

At best, he'll get hit on; at worst, it'll delay his time to go home and have dinner with Qiong.

So before those people could recover from the perfect performance, Yuu Tenkuji quickly slipped out of the crowd, crossed the ticket gate, and stepped onto the platform before finally letting out a sigh of relief while pulling up her mask.

"Phew... I'd better not be so flamboyant next time."

He declined such celebrity treatment, saying it was best left to those who enjoyed being in the spotlight.

Twisting his sore and numb wrists and fingers, Tenkuji Yu glanced up at the train schedule. As he looked away, a black-haired girl happened to come into view from behind him.

She wore a refreshing yet figure-flattering summer outfit, modestly displaying her curvaceous figure; below were a pair of perfectly proportioned long legs, with black stockings outlining the subtle flesh color, shimmering alluringly in the afternoon sun.

Her fair fingertips held the cover of the paperback, making her look more like a knowledgeable young woman of literature than a model.

After only a fleeting glance, Yuu Tenkuji politely looked away, but a deep impression remained in her heart, and she was deeply moved by it:

"Compared to white stockings, Sora actually suits black stockings better..."

As for the black-haired girl's appearance, he didn't see her from the neck up, so he didn't know and didn't care.

blow--

The afterimage of the train carriage flashed past, stirring up the evening breeze of the city.

As Yuu Tenkuji boarded the tram, the sky was tinged with twilight, vast and distant.

Almost home.

Chapter Twelve: I'm Really Not a Lolicon

Thinking about the system on the tram, I arrived at the station without realizing it.

As she exited the station, Yuu Tenkuji discovered that the woman with those enormous, long legs, like those in black stockings, had gotten off at the same stop as her…

Out of curiosity, he raised his gaze and finally saw her face clearly—perfectly matching her beautiful figure, she had a quiet and mature temperament, and a dignified and beautiful appearance. A white headband was placed on her long, smooth, ink-black hair, and her slight smile was like a poem or a painting.

She is a pure and beautiful girl who could debut directly as an artist.

"Although I don't recognize him, I feel like I've seen this face somewhere before..."

Turning his gaze away, Tenkuji Yu tilted his head, pondered for five seconds, and then put the question out of his mind.

I guess we bumped into each other a few times on the way, since we got off at the same stop.

Without paying much attention to the beautiful girl, Yuu Tenkuji took off her mask, breathed in some fresh air, and headed towards her home.

At this moment, the clock hands have already moved into the evening.

The horizon glowed orange, and the dark gray road was bathed in a vibrant sunset, as the scenery of the slope slowly unfolded before our eyes.

Amidst the varied residential areas, a tranquil atmosphere subtly emerges.

Even the hoarse cawing of crows blends peacefully into this everyday scene.

As Yu walked along the familiar street, he passed by the basketball court. The sounds of dribbling, shouting, and the screeching of shoes scraping the ground were familiar yet strange to him.

He used to play basketball here, just once, but later he realized he didn't have much talent for basketball, so he never touched it again.

Basketball courts like these, built near residential areas, are mostly used by energetic young boys on weekdays. High school students usually choose to show off on the school's courts, while middle-aged people only come to play a couple of games on weekends when they have free time.

After all, basketball is far less popular here than baseball and soccer.

After a brief pause outside the court, Yuu Tenkuji quickly gathered her thoughts and continued forward.

An orange-red basketball suddenly rolled to their feet.

"Um, excuse me!"

A young girl's voice rang out from the other side of the court. As Tenkuji Yu picked up the ball, he turned his head to look.

A little girl with short pink hair, tied in a side ponytail, stood at the edge of the court, waved to him, and said somewhat shyly:

"Could you please throw the ball back? It rolled away by accident..."

Along with her, there were four other young girls on the field who also politely called out to him:

"Thank you for your help!"

Please~

"Oh, this is troublesome..."

"Oh~ Big brother, please throw the ball to us~"

As his gaze swept over those people, Tenkuji Yu couldn't help but feel slightly surprised.

Are they elementary school students who live nearby? Although one of them looks a bit like a high school student... it's really a rare sight to see girls playing basketball.

It wasn't sexism, it was just a fact—he'd passed by this court several times, and this was the first time he'd seen girls playing there, and a group of adorable young girls at that.

'Once Qiong's condition stabilizes, perhaps we can bring her here to play sports with them?'

Thinking of this, Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but smile—he was looking forward to seeing his sickly younger sister sweating it out on the court.

"Then you're all set to receive it."

After nodding kindly to the little girls, Yuu Tenkuji prepared to throw the ball back.

At that moment, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he suddenly brought up the system panel and looked at the skill bar.

Sure enough, the "Throwing (Master Level)" reward was faintly glowing, indicating that it could be used.

This was the first reward he received from Yukino Yukinoshita, and it was more useful than lullabies or anything like that. He kept it, thinking he might need it soon.

However, using it now has two advantages:

First, the familiar skills and expert-level effects can be compared with the perfect-level experience from not long ago.

Secondly, he derives a twisted sense of satisfaction from having little girls look at him with adoration and hearing them exclaim in their sweet, delicate voices, "Big brother, you're so amazing!"

About 70% of those things are jokes.

While Yuu Tenkuji likes women younger than himself, he's not so perverse as to prey on even elementary school students.

He simply believed that initial skills could be used as an investment. As long as the mine of Yukinoshita Haruno didn't collapse, he would soon acquire more and more useful skills, so there was no need to save on them.

After all, there's a famous saying that goes: "He who can't give up anything can't change anything."

Therefore, in conclusion—not to show off in front of elementary school girls, but for a brighter future, Tenkuji Yu resolutely used his throwing skill!

His hands trembled for a moment, then quickly regained their balance.

He slammed the ball to the ground, his technique a little clumsy, but the moment he picked up the basketball and made a shooting motion, the lines of his legs, waist, and arms were like a slingshot, taut and ready to be released. His eyes were also fixed on the basket, exuding a confident aura of "I will definitely make this shot".

'Is this what it feels like to be a master...?'

Calming his mind, Yuu Tenkuji silently contemplated the situation.

There is indeed a big difference between the expert level and the perfect level; just by holding the ball, the sense of difference is immediately apparent.

But before he could analyze the differences in detail, a questioning voice came from the basketball court:

"Um...big brother?"

When he came to his senses, he found that five little girls were looking at him with strange eyes, seemingly wondering why he was holding onto the elementary school basketball.

Fearing being misunderstood as a lolicon, Yuu Tenkuji had no choice but to temporarily put aside her research and smiled at them.

"If you don't mind, can I try throwing a ball?"

"Huh?" The pink-haired girl at the front blinked in surprise, looking back and forth between him and the basketball hoop, before hesitatingly speaking:

"It's possible, but this distance..."

It's roughly two-thirds the length of a basketball court—that is, about twenty meters in length.

At such a distance, even professional players can't guarantee they can score on their first shot, right?

'Is it just that I'm itching to try my luck...?'

The little girl realized this very quickly.

Although somewhat helpless, they pulled their friends aside, ready to help this somewhat childish older brother retrieve the ball at any time.

He noticed her obvious distrust of him, but Tenkuji Yu wasn't surprised—if he didn't have faith in his 'skill,' he also didn't think he could have scored that goal.

So I didn't say anything, but I prepared myself mentally, jumped up slightly and raised my arms, letting the basketball overlap with the orange sunset in that instant.

Sakuragi once said that his left hand was just an auxiliary hand.

With his body straight in mid-air, he suddenly exerted force with his right hand, sending the basketball bouncing diagonally upwards and arcing through the air.

Every muscle, every sensation of the basketball slipping from the fingertips, was clearly transmitted into the nerves.

His honed skills flowed through his entire body, allowing him to throw the ball with fluid grace before it landed lightly.