After waking up, Toru ran on the treadmill in the home gym for half an hour, took a shower, and ate breakfast while watching his iPad.
Today was the first day of school at Tokyo University, and Toru did not want to be late.
After finishing breakfast, he put on a simple and comfortable casual outfit, slipped his usual M9 pistol into his pocket, and after carefully checking the security systems at home, he left.
Toru was quite dissatisfied with the collaboration between Spencer and the Black Organization.
Because it might expose his identity.
As an agent, once his identity was exposed, many missions would become impossible.
Although he knew that as he got older he would eventually have to leave the active field team and enter the management department, which did not require absolute secrecy, for now the exposure was nothing but disadvantageous.
Fortunately, he had obtained the human skin mask technology from Mission: Impossible. With it, he could change his identity for certain operations.
This was something absolutely no one would expect, giving him plenty of flexibility for future plans.
"My identity might be exposed. The Black Organization has considerable influence in Japan. Will they monitor me constantly?"
"No, they should not. That organization is not that stupid. With my anti-surveillance awareness, if I sensed someone following me, I would immediately suspect them."
"Based on my ability as a top Central Intelligence Agency agent and my status as Spencer's adopted son, at least during this honeymoon period of cooperation, the Black Organization would not dare to target me too much."
Even though his reasoning made sense, Toru was still cautious about his home security.
There were no secret files hidden in his house. He stored all important information in his head and rarely kept documents.
But if someone broke in, he would still be furious.
With various advanced security measures installed, even Gin would have no choice but to sigh in frustration and leave. Only after confirming everything was secure did Toru leave with peace of mind.
University life was completely different from high school. There were no fixed seats in class, and studying was more flexible.
The number of courses in the Faculty of Politics and International Studies was moderate.
From Monday to Friday, his schedule was not full, giving Toru a good amount of free time.
On the first day of class, Toru carried a shoulder bag, drove his Panamera to Tokyo University, and sat in a bright classroom.
Since he did not know any of the professors, the first day was mostly introductions. They did not dive into real coursework yet.
As the freshman representative, Toru had gained a bit of fame at the university.
Almost all the teachers and students recognized him.
As a Central Intelligence Agency agent skilled in social interactions, Toru was good at maintaining a balanced relationship with everyone.
He did not live on campus and had no roommates, which would normally make it easy to become distant from classmates.
But with his social ability, he maintained a perfect middle-ground relationship with everyone. Not too close, not too distant, and he managed it effortlessly.
"Fujiwara, you don't live in the dorms?"
"Yeah, my home is close to campus. And living at home is definitely more comfortable."
"That's too bad. I can't find you when I want to go out and have fun."
"You can still find me. If you go out somewhere, just tag me in the Line group."
"Come on, let's go eat lunch."
"Sure."
...
As Japan's top university, the food in Tokyo University's cafeteria was good and very cheap.
In university, since most activities were centered around dorms, male students tended to stick together and female students tended to stick together.
At lunch, Toru was chatting with a few male classmates.
They were all first-year students. Whether they were from Tokyo University or not, boys everywhere shared the same two topics: women and games.
"Hey, that idol had a scandal recently. I spent so much money on concerts and handshake events, and she turns out to have had an abortion!"
"Why chase idols? Who knows what those adult idols are like behind the scenes? Why not chase girl bands instead? Those middle school and high school girls are actually pure."
"Exactly. Girl bands are super popular now. Why chase idols? Let me tell you, girls who play in bands usually come from good families."
"And a lot of real rich young ladies play in bands too. They are all gorgeous and refined. If you can date one, you'll never have to worry again."
"We are Tokyo University students, so we actually have an advantage."
"How about we go to a live show together someday?"
"Sure!"
...
Toru quietly listened to the boys' conversation.
From their chatter, he understood that girl bands were indeed very popular in Japan right now. He remembered hearing about them from Eri before.
Just then, his phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Eri, the very person he had just been thinking about.
"Hello, Ms. Kisaki?"
"Fujiwara-kun, are you free right now?"
"I'm eating, but I'm free. Go ahead."
"I've already arranged the transfer rights for that store in Ikebukuro and completed some investigations. I need you to come in person for the final negotiation."
She paused, then added with a half-joking tone, "...And I still owe you a meal. I'll return that favor tonight. My daughter will be coming too."
"Fujiwara-kun mentioned you were interested in Karate. My daughter won the Kanto regional championship in the national competition, so I think you two will have a lot to talk about."
Toru sounded a bit surprised. "Ms. Kisaki, you're working pretty fast."
Eri laughed. "Since the client gave me that much money, if I work slowly, I wouldn't deserve the commission."
"Alright. I'll see you this afternoon."
Toru checked his schedule. He had only one class in the afternoon, so he could go afterward.
"Okay, I'll send you the address. Just come straight there."
After hanging up, Toru suddenly felt like he had forgotten something.
Ah, right. Today was also the first day of club activities. He would have to skip his club meeting.
Sorry, Haruno.
Speak of the devil. Toru saw Haruno entering the cafeteria.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)