So you can drop a reward? Then what the hell was last night?
Does it mean that the subject must be consciously aware and feel an intense emotion towards me for the interaction to count as successful?
But what's with this jealousy?
Jealousy because I was chatting with your wife?
Seriously, you're reacting like this just to a conversation, but what about all the times you flirt and act ambiguously with other women in front of Eri Kisaki?
Upon hearing the sudden System prompt, a series of questions flashed through Hoshimiya Yuu's mind.
Naturally, his main focus was on the conditions that the System used to determine a successful interaction.
As for Mouri Kogoro's jealousy or Kudou Shinichi's dislike, he couldn't be bothered to care.
As long as they provided him with rewards, he would welcome more interactions.
So far, all five rewards have been related to intense emotions.
The requirement of generating a strong emotion toward him could be confirmed.
Whether conscious awareness was also required, and how intense the emotion needed to be, still needed further experimentation.
Hoshimiya Yuu and the group waited a little longer, and Kudou Shinichi finally arrived, lagging behind.
"Sorry, sorry, I overslept a bit."
Without even catching his breath, he immediately apologized.
Mouri Kogoro was already in a bad mood, and seeing the detective kid he disliked only fueled his anger.
He aggressively questioned him, "Brat, did you forget about Ran's competition today, showing up so late?"
"No, no. I just accidentally stayed up late reading a mystery novel last night."
Kudou Shinichi quickly explained. Even if he had forgotten, he couldn't admit it now.
"Alright, Dad, stop arguing. Let's go inside quickly."
Since Kudou Shinichi had arrived, Ran didn't have time to scold him. Time was running out; if they didn't hurry inside, she wouldn't have enough time to prepare.
Eri Kisaki stroked her daughter's head. "Ran, don't worry, go prepare. I'll handle things here."
Ran naturally trusted Eri Kisaki completely.
If Mouri Kogoro was a hundred percent unreliable, Eri Kisaki was the opposite.
No matter what she was tasked with, she could always execute it perfectly.
"Okay, Mom."
Ran entered the contestants' preparation room, and Hoshimiya Yuu and his group headed to the stands.
They had arrived somewhat late, and the stands were already quite full.
Fortunately, Beika Gymnasium was large enough that there were still plenty of seats, so they could easily cheer for Ran.
Shortly after Hoshimiya Yuu and the others sat down, Ran's match began.
Her opponent was a girl from Haido High School, also a second-year student, named Wada Yoona.
She was an attractive girl with short black hair and an air of vitality.
According to Suzuki Sonoko, Ran had lost to her in the finals last year.
After a year of training, the two met again in the finals.
The match was intense, and the atmosphere in the venue was heated.
Watching women fight is captivating, and watching beautiful girls fight is even more so.
Hoshimiya Yuu wasn't very familiar with the rules of Karate, but looking at the situation on the floor and the reactions of Suzuki Sonoko and the others, he could tell that Ran was at a disadvantage.
She can actually suppress Ran?
Is this Wada Yoona's physical condition actually superior to Ran's?
Curious, Hoshimiya Yuu activated the System's 'View' function.
[Name]: Wada Yoona [Talents]: Muscle Enhancement (Blue), Rapid Movement (Blue)
Muscle Enhancement (Blue): Muscle fibers are more developed. Endurance and explosive power are slightly increased. Rapid Movement (Blue): Agility is improved during movement. Leg strength and speed are slightly increased.
Two Blue talents, both focused on enhancing physical condition.
She was naturally superior to ninety percent of people; no wonder she could train her Karate to this level in her second year of high school.
Wada Yoona's talents were excellent, but they still fell short compared to Ran's. Logically, she shouldn't have been able to suppress Ran like this.
While Hoshimiya Yuu was pondering, Kudou Shinichi's phone suddenly rang.
Answering it and listening for a few moments, he looked excited, immediately stood up, and walked down the stands.
As he walked, he said, "There's a case! I have to go now."
"Ran is in the middle of her match!" Suzuki Sonoko protested, annoyed. "Does this case have to be solved by you? You're not even a police officer."
"I'll go tell Ran. She'll understand."
Kudou Shinichi was unconcerned, or rather, he was completely used to it.
Ran's kindness and understanding had become excuses for his selfishness.
Kudou Shinichi ran to the edge of the competition floor. Taking advantage of the referee separating Ran and Wada Yoona, he waved and shouted loudly.
"Ran, there's a case!"
After confirming Ran heard him, he didn't wait for her reaction and ran out of the gymnasium on his own accord.
At that moment, Hoshimiya Yuu seemed to see a vein pop on Ran's forehead, and a red aura seemed to rise around her entire body.
Soon, the match resumed.
Wada Yoona, who had previously been dominant, suddenly began to be one-sidedly ravaged by Ran.
Speed, power, and technique—she was completely overwhelmed.
This is… going Super Saiyan?
No, it was the effect of her Emotional Resonance talent kicking in.
"Yes, that's it, Ran! Beat her!"
Seeing her friend gain the advantage, the previously worried Suzuki Sonoko perked up, standing up and shouting excitedly.
Mouri Kogoro also let out an exaggerated laugh, wildly gesticulating and showing off to the people around him.
"Hahaha, did you see that? That's my daughter! Isn't she amazing?"
"What does that have to do with you? Have you ever cared for Ran all these years?"
Eri Kisaki looked at Mouri Kogoro with disgust, shifting her ample body to further widen the gap between them.
If she weren't afraid of affecting Ran's performance, she wouldn't even sit next to Mouri Kogoro.
It was exhausting having to constantly maintain the distance, afraid of even touching him.
"Heh, at least I'm better than you, who abandoned your young daughter and ran off," Mouri Kogoro retorted.
Leaving Ran at a young age and walking out was her fault, and Eri Kisaki couldn't refute that.
But bringing it up made Eri Kisaki just as angry. She snapped, "Who do you think has been supporting you all these years?"
If she hadn't been sending money to Ran, Mouri Kogoro couldn't even support himself just relying on that detective agency, let alone Ran.
Mouri Kogoro was spending Eri Kisaki's money on his daily drinking, gambling on horse races, and chasing women.
Just as their conflict was about to escalate, Suzuki Sonoko suddenly shouted excitedly, "Uncle Mouri, Auntie Eri, she won! Ran won!"
Thinking of Ran, Eri Kisaki and Mouri Kogoro suppressed their anger and celebrated together.
Hoshimiya Yuu was slightly regretful that he couldn't hear the rest of the gossip.
While applauding, he began drawing talents mentally.
Taking advantage of Ran's championship win, perhaps he could piggyback on Lady Luck's attention and draw a couple of good talents.
[Obtained Blue Talent: Muscle Enhancement] [Obtained Purple Talent: Photographic Memory]
One Blue and one Purple!
Ran was indeed his lucky charm. Both talents were of good quality, and their effects were very useful.
Muscle Enhancement (Blue) was exactly the same as Wada Yoona's; Hoshimiya Yuu had envied it just ten minutes ago, and now he had it.
Photographic Memory (Purple): Memory is significantly enhanced. From now on, anything you see will be permanently remembered.
With the Photographic Memory talent, Hoshimiya Yuu was now a natural academic genius.
It was a pity that he had already missed the age when he needed this talent the most.
However, this talent only granted him a perfect memory from now on; it didn't clear up his old memories.
To search for treasure clues in his old memories, he would still need to work hard to draw more memory-related talents.