Tokyo Soft Rice King.

No wonder even gods can't obtain faith 'directly'; they still need people's help...

Ok?

Gods…faith…thoughts…karma…miracles…agents…live broadcast…!

In that instant, Kuroba Akira had a flash of inspiration, and all the information about the gods in his mind came together.

Yes! Live broadcast!

The gods seek out agents to gather faith, using the abilities they bestow upon these agents to perform miracles, accumulate people's karma and thoughts, and ultimately extract faith...

However, to be honest, the efficiency of this method is really too low!

Because of the coexistence of humans and gods, the gods have to prioritize choosing people of high status and power as their representatives. Since they cannot reveal their true forms to more people, the gods must find those in power who can speak for them to the greatest extent possible.

At the same time, those in power in this world need the support of the gods to maintain their power and status. Then, in order to concentrate power more, those in power will choose to hide the existence of the gods from the general public...

Simply put, it's the superiors who are in control of the gods.

This is why Saotome Fuyumi said that 'gods' are actually something similar to 'capital'.

This has resulted in the number of gods never increasing, because powerful gods take away too much faith, while weak gods may disappear as soon as they are born.

Essentially, it's caused by the 'cake being too small' and 'uneven distribution'.

However... once live streaming emerges, there will be no need for middlemen like agents!

It's difficult for deities to appear directly in front of people, but what if they were 'through a screen'?

Those in power would never allow a deity to appear on television, but live streaming is something anyone can do!

People can live stream...

Even God can!

And you don't even need to turn into a human... a suit will do!

Let the gods be virtual idols!

Gods will no longer be mysterious beings known only to a very few high-ranking individuals, but can truly 'descend' before the public through live online broadcasts!

Furthermore, with the advent of smartphones, everyone can go online to watch live streams and short videos, making it easier to unite people's beliefs. If we can unify everyone's thoughts online...

They can even create gods out of thin air!

Teeth are so white! They really are white!

"Ha ha!"

Live streaming is truly poised to become a revolutionary product, potentially even changing the very fabric of the world!

Kuroo, you should also ride the wave of the times and debut as a virtual idol with cat ears!

Stop being a lazy, lazy cat who just wants to freeload!

I'll earn my own faith!

Only I can live off a woman; you, Kuroo, don't even think about living off me!

Chapter 346 Miss Ziyin Doesn't Rob You

Kuroo had no idea that he was about to be kicked out to work by that despicable human, Kuroba Akira, who was also under his command.

At this moment, she was tucking her little paws in, waiting for Grandma Kobayashi to put the cut cake on her special plate, and then sticking out her cat tongue to lick the cream on top.

The piece of cake given to Kuroo happened to be the last one. When she bought it, Grandma Kobayashi thought there would be some left over, but she didn't expect that they would all be eaten in the end, so she couldn't help but sigh.

"When my husband was still alive, he never celebrated Western holidays... but when there are a lot of people around, it's nice to celebrate them occasionally..."

"Yes, let's build a Christmas tree in the yard next year, I'll pay for it."

"Now that you have money, you should pay the rent you owe this old woman first."

"Oh, I'll pay it, old lady. Why are you in such a hurry? Anyway, my rent isn't even enough for you to make money for an afternoon of pachinko."

"Ha! Bai Zi, you little brat, you're probably planning to drag this out until I'm in my coffin, aren't you?"

"Haha... Don't say such pitiful things, it's not that I'm unwilling to spend the money."

After receiving royalties, Kuroba Akira has now escaped poverty and even has so much money that he spends it on women. However, there is one real need for money that he has completely overlooked: paying rent.

The landlord didn't collect it seriously, and he didn't intend to actually hand it over.

Kuroba Akira felt that if he paid the full rent, he might be considered as capable of being independent and kicked out by Kobayashi's grandmother.

Actually, after Akiko came to work as a housekeeper at Kobayashi's house, Kobayashi's grandmother had been thinking about having Kuroba Akira move to Takanashi's house.

And it wasn't just Kuroba Akira; the old woman treated everyone else with the same attitude of 'you should all graduate from my school around now.'

Hijikata Isamu has been staying at the company lately, or sometimes he stays at Nishimura Tatsuya's place for one night. He rarely goes back to Kobayashi's room anymore, so Shion can shout louder at night without worrying about disturbing the neighbors... But that's not the point. The point is that since Hijikata Isamu is practically living outside now, Kobayashi's mother-in-law hasn't been nagging him.

However, for Tashiro Koka, who had never been late with rent, Grandma Kobayashi surprisingly told her, "Since your new job is not stable yet, you don't need to pay the rent for now. Once you have a stable income, you can move to a better place."

This also shows that she only tries to persuade people who intend to continue living in Kobayashi's house.

This attitude inevitably made Kuroba Akira a little worried. Could it be that something was wrong with Granny Kobayashi? Perhaps she had suddenly been diagnosed with some illness, or realized that her time was near...?

So Akira Kuroba asked Kuroo, and Kuroo said that Granny Kobayashi was still very healthy and could live to be a hundred years old without any problem.

Despite receiving the gods' assurance, Kuroba Akira still felt a vague unease in his heart.

Everyone probably felt the same way, so even though everyone was very busy, they still gathered together to eat cake on Christmas Eve, which warmed the hearts of the elderly.

However, there wasn't much entertainment afterwards, so the party had to end after the cake. The Kobayashi family's entertainment options were still too limited; they didn't even have a deck of cards.

Just as the little gluttonous cat Kuroo was about to finish her piece of cake, Kuroba Akira suddenly noticed that Hijikata Isamu had taken out his phone, glanced at it, and then stared blankly. Curious, he woke him up and asked.

"Uncle Yong? Is something the matter? Are you going back to the company to work overtime?"

"Uh... this time it's not about work, it's about family..."

Hijikata Yu scratched his head, a bitter smile on his face, and said with mixed feelings.

"Actually, I received a message from my wife..."

Kuroba Akira's eyes widened instantly as he shouted.

"Huh?! Has your wife contacted you?!"

In this world, Hijikata Isamu has a wife and daughter, but the resurrected Hijikata Isamu has never seen them. Because he is afraid that his huge debts will implicate his wife and daughter, he has never taken the initiative to contact them.

But Kuroba Akira felt that a more likely reason was that Fang Yong from another world was not yet psychologically prepared to meet his two 'suddenly appearing wives and daughters'.

"Yes, she told me she bought her daughter a small cake and prepared a present, but her daughter told her... she wished to Santa Claus that her dad would come home..."

"Gurgle...!"

Kuroba Akira clutched his clothes at his chest, revealing a gritted-teeth expression. Hijikata Isamu, seeing this, asked in bewilderment.

What's with that expression?

"That expression of forbearance! I can't stand these heartwarming family stories; I feel like I'm about to burst into tears!"

"Haha, Amin, you're exaggerating too much..."

While the reactions of the others weren't as exaggerated as Kuroba Akira's, they were all somewhat moved.

Kuroba Akira saw the hesitation in Hijikata Isamu's heart, which stemmed from the sense of displacement that every transmigrator experiences, the difficulty in accepting the new identity and the past he had never experienced. So he erected a fourth wall between them.

Even though he inherited all of his memories from this world, he still felt a sense of alienation, as if they were irrelevant to him.

But now that Kuroba Akira has moved on, as a pioneer, he decided to give Hijikata Isamu a hand.

"Hey Uncle Yong, it's not past midnight yet, there's still time... Today, the parents are Santa Claus!"

"Um……"

Hijikata Isamu understood what Kuroba Akira wanted to say, but he still hesitated.

"So as a father, you should fulfill your daughter's wish!"

"Uh, but..."

"No buts! Don't you want to see your wife and daughters?"

"I do want to see them... but, how should I put it, my feelings are a bit complicated. It feels like I've become a father unexpectedly... and I don't know how to face them right now... I feel like I can't face them until I've paid off my debts..."

"I understand, I understand, I understand this feeling of guilt all too well..."

Kuroba Akira nodded in empathy and murmured.

He felt that it was similar to the feeling he had when he hugged Ziyin at home and then went to school to see the class monitor, or when he hugged another woman outside and then went home to see Ziyin. In his "wise man" mode, he felt like he was doing a ridiculous "two-person show".

As long as you are human, you will feel guilty and remorseful after doing something you believe is wrong. These feelings will not disappear until you achieve the goals you set for yourself.

Kuroba Akira's goal is to help them realize their dreams, while Hijikata Isamu wants to pay off his debts so that he can start over with his family in this world.

But these are the ultimate goals. Does that mean we can't even meet before we achieve them?

There's no need to be so hard on yourself. This isn't some kind of challenge to quit smoking, drinking, or abstinence. If it were something harmful to your health, that would be one thing, but meeting with family isn't exactly a taboo, is it?

Since Hijikata Yu wasn't researching a major national-level classified project, he had no reason not to see his wife and daughter. As for his safety, once Hijikata Yu moved into Kobayashi's house, no fool would dare to provoke his wife and daughter anymore.

So do what you want to do. Don't suppress your thoughts too much, or you'll develop problems or misjudge opportunities, and by then it will be too late, leaving you with regrets.

Akira Kuroba decided to pass on the life philosophy he had learned from Makoto to Isamu Hijikata, so he patted him hard on the back and said this.

"Why think so much! I'll just ask you one question, Uncle Yong: do you want to see them with your own eyes? Do you want to know if they're doing well now?"

By simplifying complex matters, you can find the direct answer to the problem at hand by asking yourself honestly.

"……!think!"

"That's enough. At times like this, a man should take action first!"

“Amin, you’re right… If you put yourself in my wife’s shoes, she mustered up a lot of courage to message me. Even the woman took the initiative first, and I’m still hesitating here. I’m not a real man…!”

Hijikata Isamu, who has memories of this world, is more likely to resolve his inner conflict than Kuroba Akira because his sense of immersion in this world is much stronger than Kuroba Akira's. Therefore, he only needs a few words of guidance to understand the feelings of others and himself.

Nishimura Ryuya wiped the cream off his lips with the back of his hand, then jumped off his chair and patted Hijikata Isamu on the shoulder.

“Let’s go, Yong-ge, tell me the address, and I’ll take you there on my motorcycle.”

"Ah Long...! But weren't you planning to go back to the company after you finished eating?"

"Compared to work, things here are more important. I call you Brother Yong, and it's only right that I've gone to this extent."

Hijikata Yu was deeply moved; even the seemingly cold and ruthless Nishimura Ryu was actually quite humane.