Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

The man looked at Tsukamoto Miho in thought.

'She seems quite pretty. Could she have some kind of secret relationship with the boss...? It wouldn't be good to keep her out if she really did.'

"Come in."

Thank you.

Tsukamoto Miho walked onto the rooftop, and Ayana noticed her as well; their eyes met.

"..."

Miho was Ayana's childhood friend, and the two had a very close relationship since they were young.

However, the former best friends now seem to have become strangers. Although Tsukamoto Miho, who is in the same class, did not join in bullying Ayana, the two would not say a word to each other when they met.

……

The rooftop has been an important gathering place for Japanese students since ancient times.

People usually come here to enjoy the scenery, have lunch, or go on a date.

Some of the abnormal ones come here to fight, while others come to learn from Cheng Ge.

The people around them formed a circle, with Tokiwa Ren and Isaac standing in the middle.

“Then, if you want to duel me, do it today,” Isaac laughed. “I have some things to do in Shirasaki, so I probably won’t have much time to deal with you later.”

"cut."

Tokiwa Ren spat lightly and rushed towards Isaac, kicking him.

Faced with the sudden kick, Isaac dodged to the side, and in doing so, lightly tripped Isaac's other leg.

This trip caused Ren Tokiwa to completely lose her balance, and she almost fell to the ground if she hadn't reacted quickly.

“Young man, don’t act so disrespectfully just because you’re physically strong,” Isaac said with a smile. “Your movements are completely devoid of skill; to be honest, you’re not even as good as a bunch of greenhorns.”

"Fight? Are you kidding me?"

Tokiwa Ren sneered and pulled a switchblade from her jacket pocket.

"Oh?"

"You second-grader, how dare you carry a knife?"

You think we don't have any, right?

The onlookers were instantly enraged when they saw him brandish a knife. How could they tolerate someone brandishing a weapon during a fight?

People began to pull out small knives from their pockets, and more than a dozen gleaming knives were pointed at Tokiwa Ren.

It's common knowledge that delinquent teenagers carry a small knife with them.

As for why they brought knives... well, they weren't for cutting fruit.

“Tokiwa-kun, you need to understand one thing.” Isaac still had that smile on his face. “Once you take out a knife, the situation changes.”

"You talk too much nonsense."

Ignoring the hostile people around him, Tokiwa Ren picked up her knife and charged at Isaac.

"No!"

Ayana saw this and shouted anxiously.

"Boss!"

Bang!

Faced with the blade sliding towards him, Isaac threw a punch.

The punch shattered the blade and struck Ren Tokiwa's chin.

He felt his vision suddenly go black after being hit, but that wasn't the end of it. Isaac threw him to the ground and stomped on his hand that was holding the knife, breaking it off.

"Ahhhh!!!!"

Even though Tokiwa Ren is always fighting and getting injured, she would still cry out in pain when her arm was broken by someone's foot.

The outcome of the duel is already quite clear.

"Damn it! You dare to draw your knife?"

"Kill him!"

Several thugs rushed at Tokiwa Ren, who was lying on the ground, and began punching and kicking him.

"That's enough, throw him outside. Ayana and I are going to eat here." Isaac stopped them from inflicting further harm.

"Okay, boss."

Chapter 648: The Mysterious Man

Several thugs carried Tokiwa Ren, who had been beaten unconscious, out of the room.

Besides Isaac and Ayana Fujisawa, only Miho Tsukamoto remained on the rooftop.

"Are you Rentaro Satomi?" She walked up to Isaac. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Isaac said with a smile.

Miho Tsukamoto, the beautiful girl in front of me, is, according to the information I have, a patient with congenital heart disease.

And from the aura she exuded, one could indeed sense that the information in the documents was not false; her heart was indeed weaker than that of an average person.

"Ayana and I will be having lunch here. If there's nothing else, please come downstairs."

"Could I take up a little of your time?" Miho suddenly asked.

"Okay, tell me what it is now."

Miho Tsukamoto glanced at Ayana beside her and continued, "There are some things I'd like to discuss with you outside. It will only take a few minutes."

Ayana Fujisawa, who was standing next to her, immediately asked, "Is there something you can't say here?"

Hearing that her former friend had invited Isaac out alone, she couldn't help but feel anxious.

Miho Tsukamoto glanced at Ayana expressionlessly.

"Something rather private."

"what?"

"Okay, but you only have five minutes."

Isaac agreed.

He felt that Miho Tsukamoto was somewhat mysterious; just because the information looked normal didn't mean there were absolutely no problems.

"No problem, I'll keep it very brief."

"Okay."

Miho Tsukamoto walked off the rooftop first, and Isaac followed.

"Ayana, wait here for me for a moment, I'll be right back."

"Um……"

Although somewhat reluctant, I had no choice but to give up.

The door closed, and Isaac and Miho stood at the entrance to the stairwell leading to the rooftop.

"What's on your mind?"

Miho looked at Isaac's face and slowly said:

What exactly is your purpose in approaching Ayana?

"Is this the first question you're asking?" Isaac chuckled.

Admittedly, it's obvious to anyone with eyes to see that there must have been a reason why Isaac came to the school and caused such a huge mess in one day.

Most people in the class believed that Isaac was there to protect Ayana; he might like her, or he might be a bodyguard that Ayana hired.

However, Miho discovered that the matter was not as simple as she had imagined.

Can you answer me?

Are you sure you want to know?

Although Isaac maintained a smile, a dangerous glint had appeared in his eyes.

"This matter involves quite a few things. Are you sure you want me to tell you?"

This question was not only a threat, but also a test of Miho's intentions. If he were an enemy, he would certainly try to confirm her purpose further.

He carefully observed the girl's expression, trying to find some clues.

“No, never mind.” Miho smiled. “Although I can’t know your purpose, I can still tell that you have no hostility towards Ayana.”

“A wise choice, Tsukamoto-kun,” Isaac chuckled, but his suspicion of the girl remained. “Are you done with your questions?”

"Yes, it's over, but I have something to tell you now."

"what?"

"Keep an eye on Yamase Yuya. If you really want Ayana to get out of this?"

"what?"

"Let's leave it at that, otherwise Ayana might worry."

After saying this, she walked down the stairs, muttering, "Cowards are even afraid of happiness. Take good care of that girl, Mr. Knight."

"A knight? I am not worthy of that title."

Her quote was from Osamu Dazai's novel *No Longer Human*, and I don't quite understand why she suddenly said that to me.

I guess cultured people all like to use witty remarks, otherwise, how could they be called literary figures? (laughs)

Isaac went back up to the rooftop and saw Ayana looking at the door he had walked out through with great concern.

"I am back."

"Did Miho... say anything to you?" Ayana asked nervously.

“Nothing special, she just recited a couple of lines of poetry with me. I don’t know much about humanities stuff,” Isaac laughed. “But she’s still a suspect.”