Mass release 3/10
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The restaurant Yagami Raito chose was located on the edge of the central district.
This was the busiest time just before nightfall, but the surroundings still seemed a bit quiet. Yet, this particular restaurant looked quite good, with every table occupied.
Kitagawa Marin pulled out her phone to search for the restaurant named
Matsukawabonren. Upon seeing the price, which had five zeros after the main digits, she couldn't help but gasp.
She subconsciously tugged at Yagami Raito's sleeve: "Um... Tsuki-kun, maybe we should go to another restaurant?"
She had no intention of letting Yagami Raito pay by himself. While it had been a long time since they'd last met for both of them, how could she let Tsuki-kun pay alone? That would make her seem like a cheap girl.
In Japan, dining with someone of the opposite sex is common, but it's usually a treat. Unless it's a business occasion, Japanese people generally don't treat others to meals.
A Japanese person treating someone almost only happens when an elder shows care for a junior, which could be a relative or a senior at work.
However, if a man treats a woman without explicitly stating his intentions, it's often implicitly understood as a subtle sign of romantic pursuit. Kitagawa Marin, who only saw their relationship as pure friendship, hadn't considered that possibility, so she had no intention of letting Yagami Raito treat her.
"What's wrong? Not to your liking?"
Yagami Raito casually replied, his gaze through the window fixed on a low-rise building in the distance—that was his main course for the day.
"No, it's just that it feels a bit too..."
Kitagawa Marin looked at the restaurant information on her phone again, and suddenly noticed a string of pink hearts after the name.
The words she was about to say caught in her throat: "This... Isn't this the super expensive, hard-to-get-a-reservation couple's restaurant that Yumiko and her friends always wanted to try?!"
Being treated, a couple's restaurant... The clues connected in Kitagawa's mind, and her heart rate began to rise.
'Is Tsuki-kun trying to pursue me? So suddenly? What a huge, huge, huge idiot!!'
Her moist lips repeatedly opened and closed, yet she couldn't utter a single word of refusal. Her mind was in chaos.
When Yagami Raito turned back, she quickly stammered, "I-I understand! These dishes look good! Do you like them, Tsuki-kun?"
"Whatever, you can order. I'm not picky."
And so, in a state of utter confusion, Kitagawa Marin finished ordering with the server's guidance, put down the menu, and let out a long sigh of relief.
Then came a pang of annoyance, a girl's vexation, at how easily she had agreed.
'Kitagawa Marin, you idiot! You have no self-control!'
'You had already made up your mind to repay that unseen god! How could you agree the moment Tsuki-kun launched his offensive, you idiot!!'
Kitagawa felt a pang of self-reproach, wondering if she was being unfair to Tsuki-kun.
To divert her inner guilt, Kitagawa Marin asked curiously, "Tsuki-kun, how do you have a membership here?"
"Hm? What about it?"
"This place... it's very famous. Usually, you need a reservation to eat here, or you have to be a member. I heard you need to show proof of 10 million yen in assets to pay the membership fee. How did you manage it, Tsuki-kun?"
Kitagawa Marin's eyes sparkled; she was anticipating the answer she had in mind.
If he had made a reservation in advance, it would mean Tsuki-kun had been thinking of pursuing her for a long time. It just so happened that today's date was initiated by her. This feeling of being on the same wavelength made Kitagawa Marin's heart as sweet as honey.
"Ah... are you talking about a membership card?" Yagami Raito rummaged through his bag, pulled out a sleek, high-quality black card, and dangled it before Kitagawa Marin.
"Actually, it was a gift."
"A gift?!" Kitagawa Marin's blossoming smile froze on her face; she hadn't expected such an answer.
"After all, with Makima-san in that position, it would be stranger if she didn't receive any gifts, wouldn't it?" Yagami Raito said nonchalantly, resting his chin in his hands.
He wasn't someone who couldn't tolerate any impurity. Too much purity meant no development.
Compared to what he knew, Makima-san could undeniably be called an incorruptible officer.
"I... I see..."
"If Makima-san doesn't accept them, how can the police superintendent above her accept them?
If the superintendent doesn't accept them, how can the commissioner above that accept them? You agree, right, Kitagawa?"
Kitagawa Marin offered a hesitant smile. "Sounds very impressive."
Yagami Raito took it all in stride.
Makima-san, a woman, even as Yagami Souichirou's protegee, found her connections fading after her father's unexpected death. If she didn't want to rely on the promotion machine, she would have to buy an admission ticket.
And this admission ticket was like this restaurant's membership card. There were many more in his drawer at home, which Makima-san wouldn't enjoy, so they all fell to Yagami Raito's benefit.
He just didn't know that Makima-san was truly the kind of person who, simply by her own "abilities," firmly held her position. Even without an admission ticket, no one dared to challenge her.
Kitagawa Marin didn't know whether to be happy or sad. So, was it all just her misunderstanding? Was it simply a matter of using the membership card since it was free? She rested her chin in her hand, sullenly looking at the beautifully presented dishes.
'Damn it! I used all my big moves!'
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
At the same table, two different dreams.
Yagami Raito's attention remained on the low-rise building in the distance. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth curved upward; his target had appeared.
Outside the window, people came and went, hurrying past.
Yet, there were a few anomalies: they walked arm-in-arm, with meticulously groomed hair, impeccably ironed suits, and proper briefcases in hand, chatting and laughing as they walked. The red true names floating above their heads were unexpectedly dazzling, making it hard not to notice them.
Revenge, so-called, was about ending the lives of these individuals, viler than frog's urine.
Yagami Raito picked up a napkin, meticulously wiped the grease from the corners of his mouth, then used several clean tissues to wipe his hands, and stood up.
"Kitagawa, you eat first. Something urgent just came up, and if I don't come back soon, you should just head home."
"Huh? What's so sudden?"
"It's very important," Yagami Raito winked. "If Makima-san asks later, remember to keep it a secret for me~"
"Oh, okay."
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(You don't need to read this, but since this was attached So…)
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The Paradox of Purity: A Path to Degeneration
The relentless pursuit of absolute purity, whether in ideology, genetics, or social norms, often paradoxically breeds the very decay it seeks to prevent. A society striving for total purity, devoid of impurities or deviations, inevitably stifles the dynamic friction necessary for growth, adaptation and advancement. This relentless sanitization, a form of societal nihilism, ultimately degrades living standards and leads to a stagnant creating a fragile existence.
Consider the biological imperative: genetic purity, while seemingly ideal will most definitely leads to a weakened gene pool, rendering a species vulnerable to novel diseases and environmental shifts.
Similarly, in social constructs, the expulsion of dissenting voices or unconventional ideas, in the name of ideological purity, eradicates the critical thinking and feedback, vital for progress.
Innovation thrives on the collision of diverse thoughts, on the messy interplay of challenge and response. When every variable is controlled, every flaw expunged, the system loses its capacity for self-correction and genuine advancement.
Furthermore, an obsession with purity can lead to a rigid, unforgiving social fabric. The drive to eliminate all perceived
impurities cultivates an environment of suspicion and intolerance, eroding empathy and fostering a dehumanizing perspective. Individuals become mere components in a grand, pure machine, rather than complex, evolving beings. This sterile existence, devoid of the vibrant, sometimes uncomfortable, realities of human imperfection, ultimately drains life of its meaning and leads to a degeneration of living standards, not just materially, but existentially.
The very act of enforcing absolute purity becomes a destructive force, ironically leading to a more impoverished and ultimately, a more vulnerable society.
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