Patting her small stomach, Fujiwara Chika, who wasn't full at all, heard someone calling her name.
She turned her head in surprise and saw Toru wearing a hat.
Naturally, he couldn't wear a mask while eating, but Toru still wanted to keep a low profile, so wearing a hat was better than nothing.
Chika didn't recognize Toru at first.
Although she already knew she had a brother named Fujiwara Toru and had watched his videos many times online, the internet was ultimately different from reality, and few people could recognize someone they'd never met in person at first glance.
Haibara, who was also eating, eyed Toru as he struck up a conversation with a girl.
Her cold gaze quickly sized up Chika, which startled her.
Wow, this elementary schooler's eyes are scary!
Haibara noted Chika's delicate and cute face, especially staring at her chest for two glances, and snorted coldly in her heart:
Forget it, a twenty-year-old man is at the height of hormone secretion. He's merely influenced by the chemical reactions in his body, which affects his brain's judgment, causing him to approach pretty girls with large chests like this. You can't entirely blame him.
Haibara immediately used all the knowledge she had learned to comfort herself.
Toru looked at Chika, his nominal younger sister.
As the child of his uncle's family, their relationship should be that of cousins.
But Toru preferred to call her "cousin." He felt that the term had more intimacy to it.
"You might not know me, but your father should have mentioned me, right?"
Toru took off his hat, revealing his entire face.
Chika immediately recognized him. She sprang up from her chair, covered her mouth, and exclaimed, "Brother!"
Chika's exclamation attracted the attention of the other diners around them.
Some people looked over, first subconsciously sizing up Chika. Beautiful girls were always more likely to attract the first glance than men.
As for Haibara, because she looked too young, staring at her too long could easily invite trouble, so people subconsciously ignored her.
When they followed Chika's gaze and saw Toru, someone immediately recognized him.
"Is that Fujiwara Toru?"
"Fujiwara Toru? The one who took down multiple knife-wielding thugs by himself in that video?"
"Yeah, that's him. He's being called Japan's superhero now!"
"..."
The diners began whispering excitedly.
Hearing these words, Toru also felt a bit helpless.
As everyone knows, giving random nicknames is a Japanese tradition. What kind of nonsense is Japan's superhero? Are they going to call me Captain Japan next?
Can these titles help me become Prime Minister? If so, then sure, call me whatever you want.
Although the ramen shop had become noisy, no one dared to come over and bother Toru.
It wasn't because the diners were particularly well-behaved. The main reasons were Toru's overwhelming strength, and the group of men in black who rushed in to protect him the moment they sensed trouble.
"That Fujiwara Toru actually has so many bodyguards?"
"With his strength, does he even need bodyguards?"
"Look at the family crest on that old man in front. They're from the Fujiwara clan. Could it be that Fujiwara Toru is part of that Fujiwara?"
"Which Fujiwara?"
"Which other Fujiwara is there in Kyoto? The most famous one in the Kazoku."
"..."
The existence of the Kazoku, Japan's former noble class, wasn't a secret. Any citizen who paid attention to politics knew about them.
And those prominent Kazoku families didn't mind showing off their strength and privilege. In fact, those from families with deep roots were even prouder of their lineage.
The leading butler also saw Chika and exclaimed in surprise, "Second Miss, why are you here by yourself?"
The butler looked around and saw no one accompanying her. She was completely alone, meaning she had run off on her own.
"Hehe, I just wanted to come to Ramen Street and taste the different flavors of ramen from around Japan."
Chika's eyes darted left and right, her smile awkward, and cold sweat formed on her forehead.
She was still somewhat afraid of this stern-faced butler.
Although Chika's personality was lively, you could tell from the fact that she followed the Fujiwara family's many strict rules and rarely made mistakes that she had been strictly educated from a young age.
The butler said with a straight face, "Japan hasn't been peaceful lately. What if something happened to you while you were out like this?"
Chika muttered, "I run around like this in Tokyo too..."
The butler glared at her, and Chika immediately covered her mouth, not daring to speak further.
Toru stepped in to smooth things over. "Tomorrow is Grandpa's birthday banquet. Let's not stress about rules on a happy day."
"Besides, Chika's fine. She seems to be a high school student now, not a little kid anymore. She can make some decisions on her own."
As he spoke, Toru glanced at the butler.
That one glance made this old butler, who had served the Fujiwara family for many years and met countless high-ranking officials and nobles, feel a strange sense of fear.
He sighed in his heart. Truly worthy of being the young master favored by the master. In terms of ability, no one in the entire Fujiwara clan, whether from the main family or branch families, could match him.
What he didn't realize was that the fear he felt didn't come from Toru's noble bearing, but from the ruthless aura and killing intent of someone who had crawled out of a sea of blood and corpses.
With Toru saying this, the butler no longer dared to object.
Seeing this, Chika, who had been pretending to act pitiful, immediately perked up. She threw herself onto Toru's arm and shouted excitedly:
"It's the best having a brother! I've always wanted one since I was little, but my dad's useless!"
Toru's mouth twitched. This girl's personality really was hard to describe.
Haibara, sitting to Toru's right, realized this pink-haired girl with an outstanding figure was actually Toru's younger sister, and finally let out a breath of relief.
What was I so worried about earlier?
She picked up some noodles with her chopsticks and bit down hard, venting her frustrations on the ramen.
Chika then noticed Haibara and asked, "Huh? Who's this little girl?"
Haibara swallowed her noodles, crossed her arms, lowered her head, and glanced at Chika, saying coldly, "You're the little girl. Don't judge someone's age based on appearances..."
Chika was stunned for a moment. She covered her mouth again and exclaimed, "You're not an elementary school student?"
"I already have a doctorate."
Chika looked Haibara up and down again. Her eyes suddenly filled with sympathy, and she said sadly, "I get it now. You're sick. It's that kind of illness where you never grow up."
"That's so pitiful. And even with such a serious illness, you still managed to get a doctorate. That's amazing. I only get average grades in school. I should learn from you."
Haibara almost spit out a mouthful of broth.
What the hell!
At this moment, Haibara was so angry she wanted to curse aloud. Is something wrong with this girl's brain?
Any normal person, upon hearing that, would probably assume she was just pretending to be mature and laugh it off!
Especially with those self-deprecating remarks about her own grades, it was basically insulting Haibara in a roundabout way.
But looking at her silly, clueless grin, Haibara couldn't even tell if she was being sarcastic or genuinely naive.
Watching Chika's boisterous behavior, Toru felt a slight headache. He forced a smile and said, "Her name is Haibara Ai. She's my younger sister. Everything she just said was a joke. Just take it lightly."
Chika blinked, confused. "Younger sister? Since when did Uncle have a daughter? Why didn't I know about this?"
"She's not your uncle's child."
Toru explained.
Chika's uncle was Toru's father, Fujiwara Yoshitaka.
Chika was startled. With trembling fingers, she pointed at Haibara and slapped the table hard.
"Wait, wait... don't tell me, you're my dad's daughter?! I knew it, he's cheating!"
This time, Toru almost sprayed out the ramen he'd just swallowed.
Girl, your thought process is way too wild.
Is Chika stupid? Definitely not. Her intelligence is perfectly normal. Anyone who thinks she's dumb is the real fool. This is the kind of intelligence that hides behind foolishness.
Haibara was completely speechless.
This woman is terrifying. Even with all my ability, I can't out-talk her!
Haibara simply chose to ignore it and focused on eating her ramen.
Toru quickly changed the subject. "Chika, didn't you just say you weren't full?"
At the mention of ramen, Chika immediately forgot about her dad's "affair" and nodded excitedly. "I was just about to order another bowl."
Toru pushed the bowl he didn't like toward her and said, "I'm not that hungry. Want to eat this one? I've already taken a few bites though. If you mind—"
Before he could finish, Chika snatched the bowl, grabbed his chopsticks, and said confidently:
"I'm starting! Let me, the Ramen Immortal Fujiwara Chika, finish this ramen!"
Slurp, slurp!
Toru smiled as he watched Chika devour the ramen in just a few bites.
Although this girl's thought process was unusual, she was completely uninhibited, easy to get along with, and had no spoiled rich-girl attitude. She was a very lovable younger sister, especially good at making people laugh.
After finishing the ramen, Chika held her bulging stomach, saying things like, "Brother, I can't eat anymore," which made people's imagination run wild, then returned to the Fujiwara main residence with Toru.
(To be continued.)