This soft "puff" sound was very obvious in this quiet small meeting room - a meeting of port mafia cadres, with only cadres and leaders present.
Everyone looked at him curiously. They didn't expect that this habitual hypocrite would suddenly laugh out loud in the meeting.
Mori Ogai stopped and asked calmly, "Natsuki-kun, did I say anything funny?"
—As if silently saying, "I am the leader, are you dissatisfied?"
Hojo Natsuki made a fist, put it to his lips, and pretended to cough twice: "… Sorry, I have a cold."
"Did you catch a cold?" Dazai, who was enjoying the fun, replied, "I thought Natsuki was playing with his phone and saw something funny. It turns out I misunderstood."
Hojo Natsuki calmly replied: "Really? I saw you lost the PVP ten minutes ago, why haven't you logged out of the game yet?"
Dazai: "You are seeing things, your eyesight is not good."
Xia Shu: "You are a mean person, speculating maliciously about me."
Dazai: “You…”
Seeing that a good meeting was about to turn into a quarrel among elementary school students, Mori Ogai immediately stopped them and said, "Everyone, please be quiet. You are wasting the time of all of us present by making noise in the meeting. Instead of arguing about such unimportant things, why don't you help me choose which tea dress to buy for Alice?"
He took out a tablet and said, "The red one is the little bear, and the sky blue one is the rabbit bear, which is perfect for my daughter..."
Humanoid Psychic Alice suddenly appears and kicks Mori Ogai.
This move worked immediately. Dazai and Natsuki shut up. After a few seconds, they looked at each other in tacit understanding. They could see from each other's faces that "Mr. Mori is such a pervert." The quarrel ended and the two fell silent.
Alice pointed at Mori and cursed: "Rintaro! I said I don't like either of them, and you..."
"I'm sorry, but I have a few more things to say now, and Alice should be quiet for a bit."
Mori Ogai waved his hand, and Alice's figure disappeared as if it had been erased with an eraser.
He regained his serious expression and handed the task of negotiating with the Special Powers Division to Hojo Natsuki. He also mentioned the recent abnormalities at the port and asked Nakahara Chuuya to send someone to investigate... After giving the instructions, Mori Ogai leaned back in his chair and said, "Finally, this year's Port Mafia annual meeting will be held at 5pm next Friday. Everyone must make time."
Although it is a mafia, as a large legal organization, team building is an essential activity every year, but...
Dazai was the first to complain: "Friday night is a day off, who wants to come to work at the port?"
Xia Shu agreed: "I suggest changing it to team building during working hours."
Nakahara Chuuya said tactfully: "I can do anything."
Ozaki Kouye smiled slightly and concluded: "Mr. Mori, it seems that they are not very happy."
Mori Ogai: "You all don't support me? I am such a failure as a leader."
Hojo Natsuki suggested: "No, after all, it's an annual event. If it's a paid team building..."
"Port Mafia's finances are not optimistic recently. It's very expensive to support so many people." Mori Ogai rejected his proposal immediately and said with a smile, "Everyone will come reluctantly in the end anyway, so let's not change the time. Gentlemen, adjourn the meeting."
Hojo Natsuki was not surprised at all, and lamented that he still had a long way to go in terms of not being a human being.
After the meeting, he returned to his office, dealt with all the miscellaneous tasks, and then slowly made a repo for the frog postcard.
[Natsuki]：I received a postcard
[Natsuki]：So handsome! So cute! Very satisfied! Any more
The frog came back quickly.
[Gin]：That’s all.
[Natsuki]：But we agreed on three
Then it stopped replying, pretending to be offline, and all the little croaks trying to get away with it were like this. It kept its eyes on the nose and its nose on the heart, ignoring the messages sent by the players and concentrating on practicing sniping. Although it pretended to be flattering and sent a straight male selfie, Qinwa was still the CS that ignored people at any time.
Internet addiction.
Hojo Natsuki has plenty of ways to punish it, such as the "Your Bo.Retta is gone" which worked not long ago, but as a father who gives everything he wants, he is so tolerant to his son. Since Qinwa has cooperated so rarely, he is not going to use threats again in the short term.
He watched the internet addict sniping and began to worry about Qinwa's education.
Since it offended the Kushiya Group and the Izumi-kai, Koto Frog dropped out of school (it was so foggy that it never went to school at all). Now that its revenge has been paid, it has to get its life back on track. It can't let Koto Frog play games every day anymore! What will it do when it enters society in this state
Natsuki: [Okay, forget about the rest of the selfies. I think you should continue to go to school.]
Qinwa stopped pretending to be dead and quickly replied with a question mark: [? ]
The high school entrance examination question bank is no longer difficult for it, so -
[Natsuki]：You should go to high school.
[Gin]: No
[Natsuki]：I looked around and found three good ones in Tokyo and one in Kyoto.
[Gin]: No
Hojo Natsu has set a flag that he will not use Beauletta to threaten Xiaogua in the near future, so he said: [Okay, your simulated shooting range is gone]
[Gin]： … … …
[Gin]：Wait, there are two selfies left
The frog probably thought that he was using a tactic of retreating in order to advance, but it was too naive. Hojo Natsuki had already been pleased by the postcard that said "The photo is me and you are not satisfied", and entered the next stage of training - he couldn't let his frog become illiterate!
In the past few months, the message limit of the communication app has been increased from 20 messages a day to 40 messages a day (although Qinwa's favorability is still negative), and Hojo Natsuki can now happily scroll through the screen.
[Natsuki]: No, this is over.
[Natsuki]: I have checked, these four high schools are all pretty good, with good conditions in all aspects, so you don't have to worry about tuition fees.
[Natsuki]：[Enrollment Guide·Tokyo XX Private Middle School…]
[Natsuki]：[School Introduction·Tokyo…]
[Natsuki]：Pick one
He carefully sent out four or five school recruitment advertisements, and Qinwa immediately fell silent, stopped touching the gun and playing CS, as if there was no hope for his life from that day on.
[Natsuki]：Or, you can study at home, but you must complete the educational courses I arrange.
Qinwa responded quickly, as if he was worried that this promise would be invalidated in the next second: [Oh]
Then, the next second: [[Natsuki] withdrew a message]
The "oh" comes right after "choose one", as if Qinwa had obediently responded to the request to go to school.
[Gin]：
[Natsuki]：Just kidding =w=
Hojo Natsuki opened the mall, found the [Education] column, and skillfully sorted by price in descending order, selecting the most expensive one.
[Do you want to build [Gua Tutoring] for [Qinwa]? [Y/N]]
[Price: 350,000 clover]
[Introduction: [GuaGua Tutoring] is equipped with the best educational resources, AI famous teachers come to guide, one-on-one targeted tutoring, and knowledge level is rapidly improved. Whether you want to teach your GuaGua to read or win the top scorer in the Japanese college entrance examination, this is your best choice! … Let your GuaGua win at the starting line! ]
It was still that familiar sales quote, and it was still the rhetoric that Hojo Natsuki couldn't refuse.
After the purchase, he immediately bought Qinwa and went to experience [Gua Tutoring].
[Gua Tutoring] simulated a high school classroom, and there was even a couplet next to the wall clock that read "Work hard for a hundred days, I want to go to Tokyo University!"
Qinwa reluctantly trudged to the door of [Gua Tutoring]. Before he entered, the alarm lights in front of the door suddenly began to flash, and a red light wall with [Appearance! Warning!] in the middle dropped down.
[[Qinwa] was rejected by [Gua Tutor] because he [didn’t wear school uniform] and [had messy hair]]
[[Gua Tutor]: Put on your school uniform! Tie your hair up! You don’t look like a student at all! ]
Qinwa has the following six points to say about this:…
The sound of “…” kept popping up above its head, making it speechless.
Whenever her son Gua was unhappy, Hojo Natsuki became happy and placed an order for three sets of [DK Gua uniforms] in different colors on the spot.
The frog slowly tied itself into a ponytail. The frog's high ponytail looked even more weird than a frog swimming freestyle. Then it squatted down, and said "..." to its uniform again for a while. It picked up a black tie with disgust and tied it around itself (?), then went in again.
Perhaps because he detected the tie, [Gua Tutor] approved of this 'Emperor's DK Uniform' and let the frog into the door.
Kotowa started to study with a depressed look on his face. Hojo Natsuki was satisfied and opened the [Simulation Business].
System: [Summary of [Frog Organization] work this week]
[Capital chain]
His frog employees still work so hard and are loyal to their puppy boss, whom they have never met.
There have been some subtle changes in the column of the comprehensive attribute panel.
[Organization name: Black Organization (Frog Organization)]
[Number of people in the organization: Wine code name members...]
Hey? Why is there an extra bracket outside the Frog Organization
[Due to some coincidences, two members who were not codenamed as wine discovered the terrifying real name [Frog Organization]. It only took them ten minutes to go from "unbelievable, how could such an awesome organization like ours have such a stupid [beep—] name" to "Universe Frog"]]
[Fortunately, they are loyal to you, so they decide to keep their mouth shut and take the name of the organization to the grave as the most important secret of their lives.]
[Current organization name recognition: 0]
Help! Is the name of the Frog Organization so hard for Gua to accept?! He actually wants to take it to the grave as the most important secret of his life!
Are you all right? Wake up!
Hojo Natsuki couldn't figure it out. He was not a frog, and it was difficult for him to understand the thoughts of a frog. But considering that the employees worked hard and dedicated their lives for his big house and luxury cars, it was not impossible to change the name of the organization.
He wanted to contact [Rumquat], but the system showed that [Rumquat]'s current status was [lurking], probably performing some mission, so Hojo Natsuki lowered his gaze and found [Vermouth Quat].
Oh, beauty frog, but plastic.
[Do you want to call [Vermouth Qua]? [Y/N]]
[Yes]
When Vermouth saw the encrypted number pop up on the screen, her keen sixth sense told her: the person calling was the mysterious new boss.
“Hello, Vermouth.” He used software to change his voice, making it sound like a distorted child’s voice. “How is the progress of the task assigned to you?”
Vermouth called out "Boss", the comfortable smile on her face faded, she looked around to observe the environment, walked quickly to a hidden corner, and replied softly: "It will take about two more days..."
The greeting, which had no real meaning, ended quickly.
Boss asked: "Vermouth, what do you think of the name of the organization?"
Vermouth: “…”
Facing the reporters who were attacking her with accusations, Vermouth's silence was never as long as it was at this moment. She remained silent for several seconds.
The witch, who was good at inciting people, had no idea what kind of response the Boss wanted.
Vermouth commented fairly: "It's very special." - So special that it's hard to put it into words.
Hojo Natsuki in front of the screen: “?”
Hmm? Is the [Frog Organization] special? What's special about it? But what else can you, a group of little frogs, be called
He recalled his alternative choice from a few days ago: the Tadpole Organization.
No, they don't
Do you really think you are still a baby? I don't want to grow up. I won't have a tail when I grow up? I will lose it (the tail) when I grow up
Vermouth waited with bated breath for Boss's reply. Soon, she heard him laugh: "Do you still think you are a child?"
This is really just a question, without any deep meaning.
But in an instant, Vermouth understood: Do you think you are a child and have the right to be willful? Don't even think about it.
Vermouth lowered her head, and the golden hair tucked behind her ears fell down and onto her shoulders.
She silently laughed at herself and at fate.
Vermouth replied in a matter-of-fact tone: "Of course not."
[Vermouth]: [Of course not]
Hojo Natsuki, who is looking for a way to change the organization's name: "..."
The Tadpole Organization is not okay either... What do they want to be called? Help!
This is really a complete mess for him.
Is it that frogs are a species that are inherently difficult to deal with, and can’t do this or that
Does he have to use non-violent coercion like he did with the frog
If you think about it this way, Qinwa's favorability is still negative, but he no longer resists his gifts and will obediently accept some conditions.
Could it be... they are all playing hard to get
They actually like this name very much? ... That's why they will take it to their grave.
Hojo Natsuki realized it, but felt that his understanding might not be right. However, he still successfully convinced himself with this chain of logic. After all, he didn't really care about the ideas of his employees. He had already given them opportunities and had been as democratic as possible. It was just that the little frogs headed by Vermouth were unwilling, so there was nothing he could do.
As a result, the members of the Black Organization successfully lost an opportunity to change their name in confusion.
The frog that was tortured by [Gua Tutor] started to lose favorability again, and it was still the same way of increasing and decreasing as before. Its favorability would increase when it received firearm-related gifts, and it would take its anger out on the players if it couldn't do the questions or was mentally humiliated by [Gua Tutor].
Qinwa is very smart. According to the evaluation given by [Gua Tutoring], it is [Beneficial to read the exam papers] and [Tokyo test-taker]. It can be seen that the future of Tokyo University is just ahead.
After twenty-one days in the game, Qinwa was able to finish most of the test questions for the first year of high school.
Seven days have passed in reality, and the Port Mafia annual meeting, which Hojo Natsuki least wanted to attend, has finally arrived.
You can be disrespectful to Mr. Mori at ordinary times, but you have to give face to the leader at critical moments.
Hojo Natsuki obediently endured the stylist's torment for two hours, and then attended the dinner in a glamorous manner. He even took two allergy pills in advance - he was mildly allergic to alcohol, and his throat would swell and sore after drinking, but it was impossible to completely avoid occasions like tonight.
The team building of the Port Mafia is no different from that of other companies, big or small. Each department and organization sits at a separate table. Everyone eats and drinks, chats, and racks their brains to flatter the leaders.
The only difference is that the Port Mafia is very wealthy, and the raffle prizes are dizzying in terms of both price and variety. They also invited popular idol groups to perform to warm up the audience.
Hojo Natsuki was still slacking off at first, but by the time the party was about to end late at night, he was a little dizzy from drinking.
Nakahara Chuuya next to him had already had a drunken bout and almost drove a dirty car half an hour ago. Fortunately, Dazai Osamu was there and stopped him with the Disqualification from Humanity, thus avoiding the fate of having to rebuild the port building.
Zhongyuan Zhongya was tired and stared at the hairy crabs on the table in confusion.
"Chuuya." Hojo Natsuki patted his shoulder and said slowly, "Have you ever played the game of raising frogs?"
His attitude was calm and composed, as if he was not drunk at all, but his voice was soft and it was as if he had a candy in his mouth.
After he asked, he raised his head slightly with dignity, waiting for Nakahara Chuuya's reply.
If Dazai Osamu was present, given their (fake) friendship of more than ten years, he would definitely be able to tell at a glance that Hojo Natsuki wanted to show off something at the moment, but was too embarrassed to show it off too directly.
Nakahara Chuuya said frankly: "No, raising frogs doesn't sound fun.
”
Natsuki: “It’s fun.”
Chuuya: “Not fun, not exciting.”
Xia Shu stubbornly retorted: "It's fun, I'm not kidding, it's exciting. ... By the way, can your frog play CS?"
Zhongyuan Zhongye was confused by his question: "Huh? Why does Frog play CS?"
“It really does.”
Hojo Natsuki narrowed his eyes, revealing a bit of cunning that could not be hidden, he staggered out his phone, unlocked it, and muttered, "It can not only play CS, but also do math problems. Now it's in school, you see..."
Nakahara Chuuya burped and muttered, "So powerful? Let me see."
Xia Shu was so dizzy that he couldn't see the screen clearly. He clicked the [Travel Frog] icon several times before he finally selected it with great difficulty.
[[Qinwa] is out]
[Do you want to use Stoka? [Y/N]]
Use Stoka.
The view switches to outdoors, and two-thirds of the screen is occupied by a large blue river.
The frog held a sniper rifle, lay in the grass, and aimed at the carp that was making a phone call by the river.
[boom-]
The carp's forehead was pierced and began to bleed. The phone fell out of its fins and soon the whole fish fell down weakly.
Nakahara Chuuya was stunned: "... Uh... You actually know CS?"
Xia Shu held his face and said proudly, "I'm not lying to you."
Nakahara Chuuya: "It's killing this carp... Is your frog... also a mafia?"
Natsuki retorted, "How could that be? My frog is DK and he's still in high school."
The frog looked around, croaked stealthily, dragged the carp by its tail, and swung it into the river, thus disposing of the carp's body in a hasty manner.
Nakahara Chuuya frowned and said seriously: "… It is destroying the body and covering up the traces. It is very skilled. It is a killer."
Xia Shu was stunned and couldn't refute him. He lowered his head and rested his forehead on the back of his elbow, as if he didn't want to face this cruel fact.
Things have changed, and now the proud person has become the drunken and childish ghost version of Nakahara Chuuya, who said firmly: "I tell you! Your frog is a mafia."
Hojo Natsuki continued to bury his head, made a few hypocritical "wooooo" sounds, and then bleated: "The koto frog actually released the little carp, how kind-hearted."
Nakahara Chuuya was stunned, and after a long moment he asked, "...Ah? Is that so?"
Xia Shu: “That’s right.”
Chuuya: “Is that so?”
Natsuki: "Yeah. Yes."
Nakahara Chuuya pulled the ring of the tin can next to him and took two sips of Coke, trying to sober up.
A few minutes later, he suddenly put down the Coke bottle and said in a tone of sudden enlightenment: "Oh, so it's about releasing carp, I didn't expect that..." Then he raised his voice, "... Wait, are you kidding me! I am a little drunk, but I am not a fool!"
Hojo Natsuki complained: "You are so mean, are you not satisfied with my frog? It is just a small frog."
Nakahara Chuuya always felt that something was wrong, but he was often kidnapped by others for being morally upright. So even though he was confused, when Natsuki's tone became accusatory, he felt that he seemed to have said something wrong and immediately changed his words: "... Oh. Sorry. ... I shouldn't have said that your frog is a mafia?"
Xia Shu nodded with satisfaction and emphasized again: "I said it's DK."
At this moment, the DK frog (? ? ) Kurosawa Jin, who was looking at his phone, suddenly sneezed.
On the screen that lit up in his palm, there was a short message -
[… …
. You can call me Rum.]
(End of this chapter)