Tokyo: Starting with the Gear-Conscious Male Gods!

Chapter 17 Redemption in the Dark

Masako Takahashi, however, did not notice his odd behavior and spoke first, "Why are you only arriving now? We've already disbanded."

The voice was loud, but it lacked confidence.

This was the excuse she had just come up with in her haste, as long as the other party couldn't go up there!

Disband? So soon?

At this moment, Shirakawa Yuta had forgotten his original purpose and only had that piece of golden equipment in his eyes. However, the other party's decision to disband seemed to have given him a convenient excuse.

So he tentatively asked, "Is the door upstairs locked too?"

"Yes! You're right, the door is locked, you can't get in."

Masako Takahashi nodded her little head earnestly.

"Oh, what a pity. My game controller broke, and I was just thinking of borrowing one from the e-sports club to use for a couple of days, but I was too late and it was already closed."

Masako Takahashi breathed a slight sigh of relief; it turned out the other party just wanted to use the controller.

But the words had already been spoken, and she couldn't go back on her word.

Just as she was thinking about whether to bring one for him tomorrow, she noticed that he was staring intently at her... handle.

She quickly hugged the controller to her chest, watching Shirakawa Yuta warily.

"This is mine!"

Yuta Shirakawa nodded, somewhat amused, and said, "Of course I know this is yours. But, Takahashi-kun, how's our relationship usually?"

"Well, it's alright. You see, we still use honorifics in our address system."

Yuta Shirakawa felt a little embarrassed, but he acted as if nothing had happened and said smoothly, "What are you saying, Masako? I was just afraid I would feel offended."

"Really?" Masako Takahashi may seem a bit dull on ordinary days, but she becomes quite shrewd when it comes to games. "I won't lend it then."

"Uh, okay then, I guess I'll just have to try my luck in the esports club."

As he spoke, Shirakawa Yuta tried to walk past Takahashi Masako upstairs.

Although he didn't know why the other party didn't want him to go up, he could clearly hear the shouting from upstairs.

That desperate, strained shouting could only come from a group of hard-working gamers.

As for how he knew, well, he was one of them before.

Based on his understanding of her, this somewhat vain young girl, having already said that, would be even less likely to let him go up now.

Sure enough, after taking only a few steps, he saw Masako Takahashi running over and blocking his way.

"I already told you, it's closed upstairs, why are you still going?"

Yuta Shirakawa casually said, "Let's go up and try our luck. Maybe we'll run into a teacher or something, and then we can borrow it."

"The teachers have all gone home."

"Really? I don't believe it."

Seeing that Shirakawa Yuta was still going up, Takahashi Masako steeled herself, closed her eyes, and handed over the controller she was holding.

"Use this first."

Yuta Shirakawa's eyes flashed with joy when he saw that she was finally willing to hand over the controller, but he still pretended to be hesitant and said:

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate? After all, it's yours. What if you need it when you get home?"

"Can I use this at home?"

A bitter and helpless expression flashed across Masako Takahashi's face. "I'll be studying all the time when I get home, so I won't have time to play games. It's okay to lend it to you. Just return it to me after school tomorrow."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "A few days later is fine too. My family signed me up for a literary event these days, and I want to participate. Anyway, I don't have time to play around."

Her voice was filled with reluctance and helplessness.

Yuta Shirakawa roughly knew about her family situation; she came from a single-parent family, and her mother had passed away when she was very young.

Her father was a government official, I heard, working at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, mainly responsible for culture-related matters. He was very busy, so after her mother passed away, she was placed in her grandfather's house.

Her grandfather was a writer, somewhat famous in Japan. Although not a literary giant, he had several works that were consistently bestsellers, making him one of the representatives of serious literature.

He was not only "serious" about his own works, but also about the same demands he placed on his descendants.

Since Masako Takahashi came to his home, she has spent almost every day with books, and he also gives her writing lessons from time to time.

Starting from junior high school, he dragged her to participate in all sorts of essay competitions, and she wrote all kinds of articles, such as reading notes.

They acted as if they wanted to groom Masako Takahashi into a female writer or even a literary giant, without considering Masako's own feelings at all.

Or rather, her feelings were never important to him.

Yuta Shirakawa opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

This is, after all, her family matter, and he has no right or status to get involved.

As if realizing that the topic she was discussing was somewhat heavy, Masako Takahashi suddenly smiled, dispelling her previous gloom, and said as if nothing had happened:

"You'd better protect this controller; it's the freest thing I've ever had in my life."

Yuta Shirakawa nodded vigorously. He suddenly felt a little ashamed of himself for tricking her out of the controller, but since he had already gotten it, there was no reason to return it.

It would be better to wait until he receives his first payment for his comic book and then buy her a new game console.

After leaving the campus, Shirakawa Yuta examined the rare golden equipment as he walked home.

Redemption in the Dark (Gold)

【Equipment Effect: 1. After equipping this item, all your game levels will reach the Grandmaster level.】

2. Hidden attribute reaction +2, stamina +1.

[Synopsis: A forgotten game console in a corner becomes the only salvation in a girl's life, which is controlled by others.]

Current status: Not owned.

Another hidden attribute?

Yuta Shirakawa originally thought it would increase intelligence, but he didn't expect it to increase reaction and stamina.

Although these two attributes would be very effective in playing games, they are not as useful to him as he imagined right now.

He still wanted to get the equipment, but he wasn't as eager as before.

Back home, Shirakawa Yuta once again enjoyed some precious time alone.

However, he didn't do anything strange. After taking a shower, he returned to his bedroom and continued his work of copying texts.

Chiba Sena came back once and stood at the door to tell him the good news that Uemura Nozomi's mother's surgery went smoothly.

He kept drawing until late at night. Fortunately, high schools in Japan generally don't assign homework, which allowed him to continue drawing so easily.