Chapter 74: The Truly Broken Power of a Programmer!
Saku had no idea what Hayama said to Hikigaya.
Hikigaya didn't tell anyone either.
The only thing Saku could tell was that Hikigaya's expression became even gloomier afterward.
Later, the group visited Kinkaku-ji, where they toured the Shariden, Kyokochi Pond, the Carp Stone beneath Ryumon Falls, Sekkatei, and several other sights.
Even then, Hikigaya couldn't seem to get into the mood.
Fortunately, that had nothing to do with Saku.
He was having a great time.
He'd even taken plenty of pictures with Yukino and Yui.
The only unpleasant part was Miura Yumiko's occasional glare.
Maybe she'd heard something from Hayama, because throughout their visit to Kinkaku-ji, Yumiko kept sending hostile looks in Saku's direction.
The fact that she never actually came over to cause trouble was probably Hayama's doing.
Yumiko might not understand what Yukino meant to Hayama, but Hayama certainly did.
There was no way he'd let Yumiko pick a fight with her.
The group continued sightseeing until dusk before finally returning from Kinkaku-ji.
Although the students came from different classes, everyone was staying at the same inn because they were traveling together.
Naturally, the boys' and girls' rooms were kept separate, and teachers patrolled the halls at night.
They were all teenagers.
If anyone used the trip as an opportunity to do something reckless and caused a scandal, the school's reputation would take the hit.
Even though everyone stayed in the same building, the room assignments were still divided by class.
Saku's roommates were all boys from Class J: Kuroda Tsuyoshi, Takahashi Jun, and Nakamura Yuichi.
Normally, none of them ever bothered talking to him.
Tonight, however, all three suddenly started asking about Yukino.
Saku's answer to every question was essentially the same.
No idea.
As if he would tell these guys about Yukino's likes and dislikes.
Not a chance.
After failing to get anything useful out of him, the three eventually wandered away while deliberately complaining about Saku behind his back.
They didn't even bother lowering their voices.
Clearly, they were trying to get under his skin.
"If you don't know how to speak properly, you can just keep quiet."
Saku didn't even look at them.
"This room isn't yours. Talk more quietly and stop bothering me."
Psychological bullying?
Saku had no intention of putting up with that.
"This room isn't yours either. What's wrong with us talking?"
"Exactly!"
"You don't understand how to get along with people at all. No wonder girls don't like you. A creepy otaku is still a creepy otaku."
Saku snorted.
"You three are so useless you can't even insult someone properly."
He looked over with open contempt.
"Put all three of you together and somehow you become even more useless."
"And those girls you're talking about..."
"Are any of them better than Yukinoshita?"
Saku shrugged.
"Then why should I care whether they like me?"
The three boys' expressions immediately stiffened.
"And you guys are even funnier."
"You don't have the guts to speak to Yukinoshita yourself, so instead you sit here making sarcastic comments about someone who can."
"Where exactly is all that confidence coming from?"
Saku's mouth showed absolutely no mercy.
"If I were you, I'd find a block of tofu and knock myself out with it."
"Staying alive wastes air, dying wastes land, and even breathing pollutes the atmosphere."
The three boys had never experienced someone this vicious.
Their faces immediately flushed red.
They were furious.
Genuinely furious.
All three shot to their feet, fists clenched, looking ready to turn the argument physical.
Saku gave them a dismissive glance.
"Oh?"
"So when you can't win an argument, you resort to violence?"
"Sure. Go ahead."
"Hit me."
His smile became almost provocative.
"As long as you're prepared for the consequences."
"For example, I can call one of the teachers patrolling outside right now."
"Or I could mention what happened to Yukinoshita."
Saku paused deliberately.
"You guys know what the Yukinoshita family does in Chiba, right?"
This was how you used a powerful connection.
Otherwise, why had he worked so hard to tie Yukino onto the same boat as him?
Sure enough, the three boys immediately lost their nerve.
Nobody in Chiba could casually ignore the Yukinoshita family's influence.
If Yukino simply treated them like ordinary classmates, they should already consider themselves lucky.
If they genuinely angered her, they had no idea what might happen.
Their families could even get dragged into the mess.
As for whether Saku was bluffing?
None of them dared test it.
Yukino clearly treated Saku differently from the rest of them.
That alone proved their positions in her mind weren't remotely equal.
Try something today, regret it tomorrow.
The potential consequences were too serious.
So despite their anger, the three could only swallow it.
Their previously furious expressions deflated like punctured balloons.
One by one, they sat back down.
None of them dared bare their teeth at Saku again.
Saku couldn't be bothered with them either.
They barely interacted in the first place, and their earlier questions about Yukino had already disgusted him.
They'd asked whether she smelled nice, what she liked eating, what she usually read, and how Saku had managed to win her favor.
With guys like this, Saku believed heavy-handed retaliation was completely justified.
「There goes my good mood. How did they assign me three creeps as roommates?」
「They seriously asked whether Yukino smelled nice, what she likes eating, what she reads, and how I got her attention. Like hell I'd indulge that. They deserved to get verbally crushed.」
「Don't they know Yukino is already on my side? And they're still trying to steal her? They're asking for trouble.」
Yukino: '⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄ Stop talking nonsense! Who's yours?!'
Yui: 'I knew it. There's definitely something strange between Yukino-chan and Jinnai-kun.'
Mai: 'So everyone belongs to you, huh, Saku-kun? You really haven't changed at all. Though Yukinoshita... maybe...'
Utaha: 'Wait. Aren't you two progressing a little too quickly? Damn it, I can't afford to fall behind either. Just you wait.'
Megumi: 'Am I the only one wondering exactly what "verbally crushed" means? He should still be careful not to get himself hurt.'
Michiru: 'Someone's trying to steal her? Then I support crushing them. Too bad I'm not there.'
Saku cursed internally for a while.
He'd originally planned to call Mai tonight.
But after discovering what kind of roommates he'd been assigned, he'd completely lost the mood.
Just letting these guys hear Mai's voice would disgust him.
So instead, Saku called out to the system.
'Heaven and Earth, please bless my pull.'
'Give me something useful.'
After offering a brief prayer, Saku spent 5,000 Roast Points and opened an SSR-Rank Surprise Mystery Box.
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained: Programmer's Heart (Special/Advanced)]
[Description: The Host possesses complete understanding of the underlying logic behind all forms of programming and can freely integrate and apply that knowledge.]
[Special Bonus: The Host possesses extraordinarily high comprehension of all forms of code. When performing related work, the Host will not experience fatigue and will enter states of heightened inspiration and increased working speed.]
'Holy crap.'
'That's insane.'
As expected of an SSR-Rank reward.
Compared with his earlier Programming Proficiency (Beginner), this ability was on an entirely different level.
Previously, Saku still needed to deliberately absorb and study the relevant knowledge.
Now?
His brain itself felt like a programming knowledge base.
As long as he wanted something, the necessary program structures and solutions would begin forming inside his mind almost automatically.
It was as though someone had installed a massive AI model directly inside his brain.
Except this one operated in real time.
No lag.
No delay.
Combined with the special bonuses, Saku was practically a human quantum computer.
The difference between a basic ability and an advanced SSR ability wasn't merely quantitative.
It was a complete qualitative transformation.
A genuine cheat.
With Programmer's Heart, Saku suddenly felt that bringing Honkai: Star Rail into existence no longer involved any meaningful technical obstacle.
The only thing he lacked now...
Was time.
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