Tokyo Soft Rice King.

“Miss Hongxiang, you won’t be able to convince Ziyin like this. She doesn’t accept ‘unconditional sponsorship’, you know?”

This sentence served as a reminder, and Tashiro Hongxiang immediately understood. She slapped her palm in realization and then rephrased the sentence.

"I understand. Then consider this my early investment. I'll buy you clothes first, and you can buy me clothes when you make a lot of money. How about that?"

"Well……"

Seeing this roundabout way of achieving their goal, Murasaki could no longer refuse the other party's kindness, so she turned to Kuroba Akira and asked for his opinion.

Kuroba Akira said, his hands behind his head.

“I think it’s fine. As long as you don’t buy anything too expensive, it’s okay. Ziyin, you do need a ‘normal outfit’ for going out right now.”

Neither sailor suits nor gymnastics uniforms are really suitable for going out. They're fine to wear at home, but it would look strange to wear them out.

In Japan, high school girls don't wander around in their uniforms at night or on weekends, or they'll be mistaken for girls and hit on by creepy men.

"Then thank you for your kindness, Miss Hongxiang."

Murasaki bowed her head in thanks, and Tashiro Kurenai took the opportunity to hug her, holding her close and stroking her hair as she spoke.

"Alright, alright, you don't need to be so polite with me."

"Um……"

Murasaki thought to herself, "Isn't this exactly the scene I just imagined? Except the person embracing me isn't Miss Hongxiang, but Myō-kun..."

I wonder when I'll have the chance to be held in his arms...

Kuroba Akira noticed Murasaki's gaze, which carried a pleading tone, and assumed she was asking him for the clothing department's allowance for going out, so he spoke up.

"When you go out later, Ziyin, you can wear my sportswear first. You can't go out in your gym clothes."

Kuroba Akira is currently wearing a long tracksuit, which means he's going to take off his clothes and give them to Murasaki no Miyako to wear.

Upon hearing this, Murasaki no Miyako immediately perked up.

Although she had borrowed Kuroba Akira's sportswear before, it had been washed, but now she had the chance to wear the sportswear he had worn!

Sportswear with the feel of a wise ruler...

Although it wasn't a real hug, it was still an indirect hug... right?

Wearing it is like being enveloped by a wise ruler, isn't it?

I can fully enjoy the taste of a wise ruler... How wonderful!

Murasaki no Miyako became more and more excited as she thought about it, and nodded heavily.

"Ok!"

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll go change my clothes now."

Kuroba Akira got up to go upstairs, but Tashiro Kurenai called him back.

"Why don't you come out with us, Ah Ming? It's almost dinner time, so I'll treat you to dinner."

"Such a good thing? But I also need to buy clothes for Ziyin. Miss Hongxiang, can your wallet handle it?"

Tashiro Kurenai made a V sign and smiled smugly.

"Don't worry, I just got paid recently, so I have enough money."

"Huh... Just us? Where's Hijikata-san?"

"He probably hasn't woken up yet, right? Go check on him when you go upstairs. If Mr. Yong is awake, call him too. I'll go ask Grandma Kobayashi as well... Ah, it suddenly feels like a family gathering."

Family...

Now, when Kuroba Akira hears this word, he can only feel a sense of melancholy.

Because they may never have the chance to see their biological parents again.

Perhaps they were thinking the same thing, because Akira Kuroba noticed that Akira Tashiro also had a somewhat lonely expression on her face.

Then their eyes met, and they both smiled wryly, which turned into relieved smiles, and finally they laughed out loud together.

"Haha...yes, it really does have that feeling."

"Hehe, we live together now, so of course we can be considered family, right? Shion-chan?"

"Hmm...yes."

Murasaki no Miyako also smiled in agreement, but her smile appeared slightly stiff.

She was certain that Tashiro Kurenai didn't have those feelings for Kuroba Akira, but there was definitely a special relationship between them that she couldn't understand.

And so does Mr. Hijikata. The relationship between the three of them is not like that of ordinary tenants who meet by chance, but rather there is an inexplicable bond between them.

It seems like I'm the only one who doesn't fit in...

She recalled Grandma Kobayashi's initial statement that she wouldn't prepare a new room for herself, clearly indicating that she was aware of the special nature of these three people.

Come to think of it... I know absolutely nothing about wise rulers.

Regardless of where his hometown is, why he came to Tokyo to study, why he lives with Kobayashi's family, or why he is so obsessed with making money...

I know nothing about myself...

Murasaki suddenly realized that she seemed to completely misunderstand the person she liked.

I hate... I hate this feeling of being excluded...

After feeling disappointed, she immediately rallied her spirits.

She wanted to know more about the wise ruler and didn't want to miss any information related to him.

When you truly fall in love with someone, you want to know everything about them.

Murasaki no Miyako no Shion has awakened.

Chapter 105 Let's have fun first!

"Unfortunately, I knocked on the door, but there was no response. It seems that Hijikata-san has fallen into a complete coma and will not wake up today."

Kuroba Akira, dressed in his school uniform, shrugged and spread his hands as he carried his gym clothes downstairs.

Hijikata-san was as busy as ever, his usual state was like Kuroba Akira rushing to finish his manuscript, his liver power was at its maximum.

"It seems the rare gathering of the three time travelers is going to fall through," Tashiro Kurenai said with a wry smile.

"Oh, I see... Then let him get some rest. Pack some good food for him when he comes back."

Kuroba Akira nodded, tossed the tracksuit to Murasaki no Miyako, and asked.

"Hmm, what about Grandma Lin?"

“I just went to check, and she doesn’t seem to be in her room or in the yard.”

"That's probably the usual thing, they went to play mahjong."

Don't think that Grandma Lin is lonely because she lost her husband. She has plenty to do. She usually plays pachinko in the morning and mahjong in the afternoon. Occasionally, she also goes shopping at the supermarket for discounted items.

"Honestly, what a rude old lady..."

But it has to be said, it's truly an enviable retirement life; this is the life of lying down that Akira Kuroba dreamed of.

No worries about food and drink, freedom to spend money, play whatever you want, buy whatever you want—just thinking about it is awesome!

To achieve the same state as Grandma Kobayashi, I still need to work hard.

"It seems like it'll just be the three of us this time. We can have the family dinner another time. At least Miss Hongxiang, you can avoid spending a lot of money today."

Kuroba Akira teased with a smile, while Tashiro Kurenai put her hands on her hips, puffed out her cheeks, and acted cute.

"Honestly, Ah Ming, do you think I'm that stingy? I don't care about money! Money should be spent when it's needed; saving it will only cause it to lose value!"

"what……"

I don't know which woman got so drunk that she cried and told me she didn't want to go to work anymore...

If you really don't care about money at all, why not just quit your job?

In the end, it's because they don't have the capital to support themselves by taking a break from their jobs that they have to continue doing the work they hate.

But Akira Kuroba didn't expose her bravado; Akira Tashiro probably just wanted to show them her reliable side as an adult.

In short, why not take advantage of a free meal?

Although you looked pathetic crying and saying you didn't want to go to work, you looked absolutely beautiful when you paid the bill! You're amazing, sister!

"Let's head there then. Let's go to Ginza. There are quite a few nice shops there... Speaking of which, what should we have for dinner? Anyway, it's on me, so you don't need to worry about it."

"Anything is fine with me, whatever you want to eat. Ziyin, is there anything you'd like to eat?"

"Ah! Yes!"

Just now, when Zizhigong got Kuroba Akira's tracksuit, he was completely captivated, just like Elder Jinchi was when he got a kasaya.

She longed to bring Kuroba Akira's original tracksuit close to her face right now and take a few deep breaths, filling her nostrils with the scent of her beloved, but the last shred of girlish modesty made her suppress this impulse.

Even if you want to smell it, you have to do it secretly when you're alone. You can't show a bad expression in front of the wise ruler, and you also have to worry about the dampness in your pants.

Kuroba Akira completely misunderstood Murasomiya's thoughts, thinking she was disgusted by the clothes that the boy had worn, and said that.

"If you think it's dirty, you can wear Miss Hongxiang's clothes first."

"Sure, but my clothes might not be very comfortable for Shion-chan, especially around the chest area where it might feel a bit loose..."

Realizing this was a sensitive topic, Tashiro Kurenai quickly added.

"Ah, sorry, Shion-chan, that's not what I meant... I meant, yours isn't small either! Really! Boys actually prefer your size, right, Akira?"

"Uh……"

Why are you asking me? Besides, aren't you just making things worse by explaining yourself?

Kuroba Akira initially wanted to remain silent, but Murasaki Nyomiya pressed him for an answer.

"Is that so? A wise ruler?"

"Well... I really don't care about size..."

"……Oh."

Murasaki no Miyako's gaze turned cold.

Big liar.