"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"
Artoria, sitting in the back seat with Rika Orimoto, noticed Rika's low spirits.
Rika Orimoto looked up at Artoria.
She felt no ill will from this person, but rather a comforting sense of security.
However… Rika Orimoto subtly glanced at Eichi, who was driving, out of the corner of her eye.
This man was a bit frightening.
Although he wasn't radiating any malice, Eichi gave her the feeling of a dark abyss.
Darkness has always been terrifying.
Based on Rika Orimoto's experience, she should say she was fine, just a little nervous, at this moment.
The correct choice would be to wait until that man in front was gone and then ask the beautiful elder sister beside her in private.
'But if I don't say anything now, I'll be taken to Tokyo, forced to separate from Yuta, Yuta…'
Rika Orimoto made up her mind.
"Um, can I stay and live here?"
Rika Orimoto's small voice carried a strong sense of unease.
"What's wrong? Don't you want to live in Tokyo?"
Eichi asked, feigning ignorance.
"No."
Rika Orimoto shook her head; she was afraid Eichi would think she didn't want to be adopted by them, and then she might be sent back to her previous home or to an orphanage.
"It's just that I go to school here, and if I go to Tokyo, I won't be able to see my friends…"
Rika Orimoto said cautiously.
"Is that so."
Eichi nodded, pretending to be deep in thought.
"But we usually live in Tokyo. If Rika wants to stay in Miyagi, she'll have to live alone."
'Live alone?'
Upon hearing this answer, Rika Orimoto not only didn't feel troubled or scared.
Instead, she was somewhat happy.
"I can take care of myself. Living alone is not a problem."
Rika Orimoto requested Eichi with a firm tone.
Because she wasn't favored at home, Rika Orimoto had strong self-care abilities.
And she was also looking forward to living alone.
'If I can live alone, I'll call Yuta to come over. Yuta definitely won't refuse. Then it'll just be the two of us…'
Thinking of this, Rika Orimoto's gaze became even more determined.
"I see, that's not entirely impossible."
"Really?"
Hearing Eichi's words, Rika Orimoto smiled very happily.
'I can live alone now, I can go find Yuta to play anytime, and I can bring Yuta home to play…'
For a moment, countless non-existent memories appeared in Rika Orimoto's mind.
"However, it's definitely not okay for a child to live alone. We happen to be visiting a family next, and they have two children around your age. We'll see if they can look after you as well."
Eichi's words interrupted Rika Orimoto's mental fantasy time.
"Who are they?"
Rika Orimoto asked curiously.
From the moment Eichi started speaking, Rika Orimoto could feel his aura more clearly.
She also noticed that although Eichi's presence was intimidating, he held no ill will towards her; instead, there was a kind of inexplicable goodwill.
'Could this uncle like little girls?'
Thinking of this, Rika Orimoto secretly glanced at the petite Artoria beside her.
Then she shook her head vigorously.
'No, I shouldn't overthink things that aren't confirmed yet.'
"It's the Okkotsu Family. After visiting them, we will return to Tokyo."
"Okkotsu!"
Rika Orimoto's mouth dropped open in surprise.
"Speaking of which, among your friends, there seems to be a little boy named Yuta Okkotsu, right? Is he the friend you can't bear to leave?"
Eichi squinted, just like Suguru Geto, and observed Rika Orimoto's expression through the rear-view mirror with a wide smile.
"N-no, we're just friends."
Rika Orimoto's face flushed slightly.
Although she wasn't a tsundere, expressing her feelings to Yuta was one thing; being teased by outsiders was another.
Eichi looked at Rika Orimoto's slightly shy expression with amusement.
Perhaps only when Yuta Okkotsu was mentioned would Rika Orimoto show an age-appropriate expression.
At other times, Rika Orimoto always displayed a maturity unsuited for her age.
After teasing Rika Orimoto for a while with the topic of Yuta Okkotsu, the group arrived at the Okkotsu Family's home.
Although the Okkotsu Family's Bloodline came from Sugawara no Michizane, making them distant relatives of Gojo Satoru.
However, the Okkotsu Family had not produced a Jujutsu Sorcerer for a long time and was a normal family.
Yuta Okkotsu was a case of skipped-generation inheritance.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
"Coming."
Click.
"May I ask, oh, Rika!"
Yuta Okkotsu, who opened the door, looked in surprise at Rika Orimoto, who had suddenly appeared at the entrance.
"Good evening, Yuta."
Rika Orimoto put her hands behind her back, leaned forward, her forehead almost touching Yuta Okkotsu's head.
"Oh, too close, Rika."
"Hehe."
The two children quickly started playing together.
"Yuta, who's there?"
Yuta Okkotsu's mother, seeing that Yuta, who had opened the door, hadn't come back inside, decided to come out and see what was happening.
"Oh, it's Rika! Please come in quickly. Are you Rika's relatives?"
Seeing that it was Rika Orimoto, who played well with her son, Yuta Okkotsu's mother immediately smiled and led the group into the house.
Since it was the weekend, Yuta Okkotsu's father and sister were also home.
"Excuse me, are you Okkotsu Kenichi?"
Upon entering the room, Eichi directly found Yuta Okkotsu's father.
"I am. May I ask who you are?"
Okkotsu Kenichi looked at the young man, who seemed to know him well, with confusion.
"Hello, I am the HR from Oriental Financial Technology Company. I wonder if Mr. Okkotsu is interested in working for our company."
Eichi took out a contract and handed it to Okkotsu Kenichi.
Oriental Financial was a company Eichi had established in 2008. By preparing for the 2008 crisis in advance, it had earned a considerable amount of money and become a sizable financial company.
In addition, due to the advantage of foresight, Eichi's companies had always been at the forefront of trends. Coupled with Eichi's willingness to provide overtime pay, bonuses, and other benefits.
Thus, the company recruited many Geniuses.
The company was dynamic, had the correct direction, and was even supported by the Zenin Clan.
Therefore, the company developed very quickly and was now almost reaching the scale of a conglomerate.
"Are you really…"
Okkotsu Kenichi looked at Eichi with some suspicion.
On one hand, Eichi was too young and didn't have the typical demeanor of a working professional.
On the other hand, he found it hard to believe that such a good opportunity had suddenly fallen into his lap.
If the contract was real, his income would at least multiply several times, and it wouldn't be long before he moved from being well-off to middle class.
After so many years in the workforce, he already knew he was no Genius.
He had also lost the drive and confidence he had when he first entered society. Now, as a mature man, he was more afraid of burdening his family due to wrong choices.
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