Hanako believed it immediately, her somewhat pitiful gaze falling upon Sawada Tsunayoshi: "It's like that, I understand. A police officer's salary is indeed a bit low; you really work hard."
Sawada Tsunayoshi gave a forced, awkward laugh.
The two young men beside him were struggling hard to suppress their laughter. They patted Sawada Tsunayoshi on his shoulders from both sides, their gestures conveying an extremely strong sense of consolation.
Sawada Tsunayoshi felt like crying but had no tears. The matter of the World 73 fusion was difficult yet not difficult, simple yet not so simple; it always required a great deal of tempering. As a mafia boss in the Hidden World, he also needed to appear frequently alongside other factions to serve as a central hub.
The more he participated, the smoother the World 73 fusion would be, after the fusion, he would also need to personally experience other energy systems. Thus, Sawada Tsunayoshi's life became that of a teenager who was simultaneously a police officer, a Special Grade Sorcerer, an Ability user, a member of the Italian Mafia.
His distressed little couple didn't know yet, but Hanako was frightened and moved to another five-star hotel overnight, but fate had decreed that this journey would be a difficult one.
Halfway through their sleep, they were dazed and woken up by a commotion; it turned out the hotel had discovered eight eggs, everyone was rushing downstairs to get a look.
In the midst of her frantic escape, Hanako didn't notice that Kumata had quietly released her hand and fled for his own life; Hanako was still shouting Kumata's name, telling him to be careful.
Kumata let out a sinister laugh amidst the crowd. Heh, it would be best if this stupid woman died here; it would save him the trouble of having to keep up his disguise.
As he thought such evil thoughts, a long-haired man grabbed his wrist the next second, with enough strength to crush it.
Who goes there!
The long-haired, purple-eyed police officer smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, the way you were laughing just now was a bit strange; I thought you were the suspect."
Kumata really wanted to say he was crazy; that commotion had caused Hanako to see them, she quickly rushed over to embrace Kumata. "That's great, darling, you're okay."
Kumata barely managed to squeeze out a small sound, glaring at the police officer. It was all this guy's fault; he had once again ruined the plan to kill Tsukishiro Hanako.
The long-haired policeman raised an eyebrow, looking playful.
A curly-haired policeman walked over, rubbing his head. "Hey, stop wasting time talking nonsense here. That guy Sawada Tsunayoshi already went up. Watch out, or he'll be up there screaming his head off all by himself."
The long-haired police officer laughed. "Be careful, or he'll hit you if he hears that."
The eight eggs were successfully dismantled, but Hanako felt they were somewhat unlucky, so she took Kumata to a temple to pray for peace before heading to Yokohama.
Yokohama is a tourist city with beautiful scenery and a developed commercial sector; port cities never lack opportunities for development.
Tsukishiro Hanako decided to stay and play here for two more days, Kumata was, of course, incredibly supportive, because he had ordered several assassins to target Tsukishiro Hanako; that very night, he dragged Tsukishiro Hanako out shopping to create opportunities for the assassins.
Heaven knows why the security level of the hotels here is so high; as soon as the assassins see that the destination is a certain hotel, they shake their heads, saying they cannot afford to provoke the Minato Mafia.
Kumata was simply speechless; whether it was the fact that the Minato Mafia's hotel business had such top-tier security, or the fact that the assassins couldn't break into a mere hotel, it was all quite exasperating.
Kumata asked Tsukishiro Hanako to meet him in a remote location and waited for the assassin to arrive.
Good news: this place is indeed deserted.
Bad news: the more secluded and deserted a place is, the more suitable it is for evil dealings.
Before the assassin had even arrived, two groups were already fighting in this place, they both saw Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Hanako didn't even have time to be afraid; she looked at Tsunayoshi very seriously. "Sir, is your salary really that low? This is already your third job. Is your health alright?" She spoke with sincere concern.
What else could Sawada Tsunayoshi do? He could only grin foolishly to play it off.
Tsukishiro Hanako was considerate enough not to mention the two police officers.
Once the assassin slowly revealed the truth, he was besieged by both groups together, Kumata's assassination plan failed once again.
Sawada Tsunayoshi finished handling the business of the suspicious drug trafficking and, under Tsukishiro Hanako's pitying gaze, withdrew.
Hanako teased Tsunayoshi: "If you really can't make ends meet, come to my house to apply for a job as a bodyguard."
With that kind of perseverance to work three jobs, he will surely succeed in whatever he does.
Tsukishiro Hanako thought from the bottom of her heart that Sawada Tsunayoshi was truly amazing.
As soon as these words were spoken, Sawada Tsunayoshi's face became even more numb, tears streamed down his face in the wind. He didn't want it to be like this, but what choice did he have?
If he didn't do it, Reborn would kill him, then resurrect him just to beat him over and over again.
In short, Miss Tsukishiro Hanako's travels continued. This time, Kumata was determined to see things through to the end; he planned to push Tsukishiro Hanako straight off the cruise ship.
In Tsukishiro Hanako's incredulous gaze, Kumata laughed loudly, speaking of his desires without restraint.
You stupid woman, do you really think I actually like you? To tell you the truth, even the day we met was carefully planned by me, the little thug who harassed you was someone I brought in.
And when you had a fever and were hospitalized, I took care of you all night. It was me who drugged your food, it was also me who spent two days finding what you lost during that outing. I had actually taken your things long ago, I spent those two days enjoying myself with someone else.
Hahaha, you stupid woman! You're just a woman with a defective brain, yet you've lived such a good life. Now, everything belongs to me.
After you're gone, I'm going to throw out all your stinking dogs and cats. I'm also going to find plenty of beautiful women to live in your house, I'm going to throw your old man into the sea to feed the sharks.
Hahaha, hahaha! Mrs. Kumata was so happy that she didn't notice the scene around her had changed; Tsukishiro Hanako was no longer in the water, but was instead standing before him with a face of grim fury.
Beside Tsukishiro Hanako, there was also a slender, purple-haired girl.
Mm, Sawada Tsunayoshi had already greeted Tsukishiro Hanako last time, this time, Hanako had also hired Chrome to use illusions to lure the snake out of its hole.
As expected, Kumata was exposed.
Tsukishiro Hanako said into the phone, "Dad, did you hear that?"
The person on the other end: "Mm, I heard you. Hanako, you can deal with him however you like; I'll handle the aftermath."
In short, Sicily had gained an insignificant little beggar, but there was nothing to be done about it; that's just how it was here.
Chapter 106: Side Story 4: A Journey Ten Years Later
In the end, it was Vongola who had to lead the charge and clear the way for Sawada Tsunayoshi, because as soon as Sawada Tsunayoshi got into the car, he became a frantic mess. With his hands and feet moving all at once, he jerked the steering wheel left and right until it was a tangled mess, making them nothing more than sitting ducks in the middle of the fray, being jolted and tossed about by the collisions.
Sawada Tsunayoshi, having stepped out of the car, slumped against Vongola, his limbs as limp as noodles.
Next time, I definitely won't come back again.
A grayish-white soul slowly drifted out of Sawada Tsunayoshi's mouth, swaying unsteadily as it prepared to ascend to heaven.
Vongola was shocked: "No! Come back!" He struggled to force the soul back into Sawada Tsunayoshi's mouth.
Let's go eat; the food here is quite good.
Vongola brought Sawada Tsunayoshi to a restaurant filled with childlike whimsy, where everyone inside was a professional cosplayer, Vongola had already ordered the food before Sawada Tsunayoshi could even react.
Once Sawada Tsunayoshi's soul returned to his body, he saw a table of specialty dishes spread out before him, surprisingly, they were all things he loved to eat.
That's amazing.
He murmured.
Looking at the young man across from him, who was resting his chin in his hands, his eyes held a gentle, shimmering light, gazing at Sawada Tsunayoshi without ever looking away, as if the two of them, who had only just met, shared some important connection, as if he, an ordinary middle school student, was someone precious in the other's eyes.
A sense of incongruity welled up in his heart, to the point that even the delicious food in front of him could not bring him joy.
Vongola noticed his silence and asked with some confusion, "What's wrong? Was the food I ordered too bad? Surely not, I recommended all of these to you very earnestly."
Sawada Tsunayoshi shook his head. "No, they're great, they're all things I love to eat." It was difficult for him to say those words; in fact, even his mother wouldn't have been able to list all his favorite foods all at once, let alone this many. He should be feeling joyful.
Why was he so conflicted?
Perhaps he was very afraid that this was all just a dream, where people disperse once the dream ends.
That's wonderful." Vongola slumped onto the table in relief, "As expected, we are so in sync that even our favorite foods are the same. Perhaps we had an intimate relationship in our past lives.
This, this, this, this—he's flirting, isn't he? He's definitely flirting! How frivolous!
Sawada Tsunayoshi's face instantly turned bright red, he muttered softly, "Stop talking."
"Mm, what are you saying? I can't hear you." Reborn's smiling eyes fell directly upon Sawada Tsunayoshi's.
"No, no, I didn't say anything, just hurry up and eat!" Sawada Tsunayoshi closed his eyes shyly, unwilling to follow the other's footsteps.
After finishing the meal, Vongola took him to a place to rest, which was said to have very beautiful scenery.
After they left, a young couple walked in. The man looked at the remaining food on the table and seemed quite happy: "Wow, they actually have ramen and teppanyaki here! Waiter, we'll have whatever is left on this table, thank you."
The girl was also quite happy. "I didn't expect to be able to eat these things in Italy. I've been getting a bit tired of eating other things these past few days; I didn't expect to see some hometown food. This amusement park is truly wonderful."
The waiter said to them with an apologetic expression, "I am sorry, sir and miss, we do not have what you are looking for. Here is the menu, please take a look."
The young couple dazedly opened the menu, a series of specialty dish names met their eyes. No, there was absolutely no difference between these and the things they had been eating for the past few days.
"But, look at that table," the boyfriend said, pointing toward the table where Sawada Tsunayoshi and the others were sitting.
The waiter smiled politely, "That is a special dish prepared by the kitchen for our boss, who is dining with his relatives; it is not on the menu, so please understand."
Well, since it was the boss's business, there was nothing they could do about it, so the young couple could only order some specialty dishes.
After finishing the meal, they rested. Vongola brought Sawada Tsunayoshi to a high platform where more than half of the amusement park could be seen at a glance. Sawada Tsunayoshi could see all sorts of people: children holding balloons and talking happily to their parents, couples smiling sweetly at each other, entire families out together enjoying themselves.
The weather was wonderful today, sunny but not too hot. A gentle breeze softly brushed through Sawada Tsunayoshi's hair. He leaned his arms against the railing, welcoming the touch of nature.
It's so nice.
The young boy's eyes held a brilliance that shimmered like diamonds, his youthful face bore a sense of tranquility along with a certain deeply hidden gloom.
The Vongola heir leaned against the railing, his arms resting naturally, his back to the sun; he only needed to glance sideways to take in the whole of Sawada Tsunayoshi.
Why are you suddenly saying that?
Sawada Tsunayoshi said in a gentle voice, "Because today was very happy, they were very happy too, so that's enough."
Thank you, Vongola. I will probably never forget this day.
He was very happy, so incredibly happy. He had come to the amusement park, of all the sights he saw, the most important thing was that he experienced someone's unreserved and heartfelt care.
He could feel the sincere goodwill Vongola felt for him from the bottom of his heart, something that was rare for Sawada Tsunayoshi, leaving him feeling both overwhelmed and deeply moved.
Vongola rolled over, maintaining the same posture as Sawada Tsunayoshi: "I would be very happy to hear you say that, but you will have many more happy and joyful days in the future. You will meet soulmates and comrades worth entrusting your juniors to; when that time comes, those days spent with them will surely overshadow the unhappy days you had before."
It sounds so wonderful when you say it like that, but how could that possibly be true?
Sawada Tsunayoshi shook his head. "You don't understand."
I understand.
But what do you understand? Do you understand what I have gone through? No one can understand him completely.
The words to refute him were on the tip of his tongue, but looking at the expression on the Vongola's face, Sawada Tsunayoshi found he could not speak.
As if possessed, he asked a question, "Why are you so sure?"
Vongola revealed a mysterious smile: "Heaven's secrets must not be revealed."
So he was indeed being lied to, Sawada Tsunayoshi relaxed his shoulders; even though he had been deceived, his mood had unexpectedly improved for some reason.