In Koto Ward, Tokyo, Toru finished his day's work and sat by the river, gazing at the distant opposite bank.
Next to him was a bottle of drink and some uneaten rice balls. From behind, he looked like a down-and-out office worker who had bought cheap food at a convenience store and was silently filling his stomach by the roadside.
In reality, Toru did not care too much about eating. In the past, as a Central Intelligence Agency agent, he had undergone extremely harsh training.
When completing certain missions, he ate whatever was available, and it would not be an exaggeration to say he was like Bear Grylls in the wild.
For Toru, he simply preferred sitting alone by the river, enjoying a moment of quiet peace.
Although Toru had handed over many tasks to Arisu to complete, Arisu was still a high school girl after all and had her own studies.
Therefore, Toru, the District Mayor of Koto Ward, always had some work that he had to complete himself.
After a busy day today, Toru also came to the river alone to calm his mind.
"Being a District Mayor is already this troublesome. If I were the Prime Minister, wouldn't it be even more tiring?"
Toru picked up a rice ball, took a couple of casual bites, and muttered to himself.
If it were not for the system saying he could get the final reward if he became Prime Minister, Toru really would not be interested in politics. This line of work was simply too restrictive.
Fortunately, Toru was not in a hurry in the short term. After all, he was only in his early twenties. No matter how gifted he was, it would be impossible to run for Prime Minister at this age.
By the time he reached the age to run for Prime Minister, Toru believed his heart would have settled down, and he would not complain about these small troublesome things anymore.
While eating the rice ball, he held his phone and issued a task.
The task he issued was not work for the Japanese district government, but rather instructions for the Black Organization.
The current Toru was Rum. In the Black Organization, he absolutely could not be a hands-off leader. Even with the help of Vermouth and Mary, most of the work that previously belonged to Rum had to be completed by Toru himself.
These tasks included but were not limited to assassination, kidnapping, threats, and so on.
The Black Organization was inherently an international criminal group. Naturally, it was impossible to issue tasks like helping elderly grandmothers cross the road to its members.
He had to learn from Rum and continue doing his dirty work until he completely controlled the Black Organization, allowing the Organization members to gradually get used to Rum's changes.
Fortunately, in the past, Toru had worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, so he was used to doing dirty and tiring work. He had no psychological burden about doing these criminal acts.
The only difference from the past was that previously, if he committed something, the Central Intelligence Agency would take responsibility. Now, he had to be more careful, such as with investigations by the International Criminal Police Organization or investigations by some national intelligence agencies.
"The Black Organization does indeed cooperate with intelligence agencies in many countries, but for those intelligence agencies, this Organization is probably just a dog that does their dirty work."
"This is also good. With less contact with those intelligence agencies, the possibility of me, the fake Rum, being exposed is lower. I can also try to infiltrate these intelligence organizations through the Black Organization and turn them into sieves."
Toru thought of how S.H.I.E.L.D. became Hydra in the Marvel movies.
Then he, the nominal leader of the Black Organization now, could also turn MI6 into the Black Organization.
He understood the Central Intelligence Agency, and Mary was even the Queen of Spies at MI6. If the two of them cooperated, this matter was truly possible.
So, the current Toru had changed his goal, making the Black Organization do fewer shady jobs.
The Black Organization's current goal was only one: to be cleaned up and legitimized, transforming from an international criminal group into a state-supported intelligence agency!
"This is a long-term project, but it's quite challenging and also quite fun."
"Once the Organization stabilizes internally, I can also use the Black Organization's power to get rid of Spencer. That guy is like a bone stuck in my throat. I won't rest easy until I kill him."
"Moreover, killing Spencer can prepare the ground for me to plant people in the Central Intelligence Agency."
Just by this quiet riverbank, Toru's thoughts wandered as he set his next goals and plans for himself.
At the same time, Karasuma Renya, whether he was truly dead or not, was still someone Toru was relatively wary of, because Karasuma Renya was the only person at this time who could threaten Toru's identity as the fake Rum.
"Fujiwara-kun?"
Just as Toru was gnawing on the rice ball in his mouth, a hesitant and cautious call suddenly came from behind him.
Toru was startled for a moment. He turned his head and saw a girl standing behind him, dressed fashionably, wearing a baseball cap, and with a pair of sunglasses on her nose.
"Misumi?"
Toru had not expected to run into Misumi here.
If he had not met Misumi once before, with her current outfit, it would have been quite difficult to recognize her immediately.
Misumi had a slight smile on her lips and said happily, "It really is Fujiwara-kun. I thought I had mistaken you for someone else."
As she spoke, she took off the sunglasses on her nose.
Misumi still had not taken off the hat on her head. As a popular idol who was currently in high demand, she was also very afraid of being seen by fans outside, especially by the paparazzi from weekly magazines.
Relatively speaking, Toru was also very famous, but he did not need to care about these things.
After all, the current Toru was a politician, completely different from people in the entertainment industry. Coupled with his Fujiwara identity, paparazzi would not dare to follow him.
"Fujiwara-kun, why are you sitting here, and..."
Misumi hesitated for a moment, looking at the drink and the rice balls heated at the convenience store placed beside Toru.
Toru held up the rice ball he had taken a bite of and smiled at her, saying, "Do I look like a miserable office worker in his forties, with a mortgage at home, constantly nagged by his wife for being useless, and insulted by his boss at work?"
Misumi covered her mouth and let out a giggle.
"I didn't expect Fujiwara-kun to be so fond of joking."
"I've always been like this. Perhaps you have misunderstood me."
"Indeed, Fujiwara-kun is now the esteemed District Mayor of Koto Ward. I thought you would be very serious."
Although she had interacted with Toru in the restaurant last time.
But during that interaction, Toru spoke very little, mostly listening to Sakiko's project plan, so Misumi actually did not understand Toru at all.
Seeing Toru again at this moment, she realized that Toru was much more approachable than she had imagined. She had just gathered the courage to try calling his name.
"I'm only a few years older than you, so we're basically peers. Misumi, why don't you sit down and rest for a while? I'll treat you to a rice ball?"
Toru picked up an untouched rice ball from the side and shook it at Misumi.
Misumi thought for a moment, then walked leisurely to Toru's side and sat down next to him.
"Then I'll thank Fujiwara-kun for the treat."
"If others knew that I, the District Mayor, only treated a popular idol to rice balls, they'd probably scold me for being too stingy."
Toru smiled.
"What's wrong with rice balls? When I'm busy, I love eating rice balls the most."
Misumi pursed her lips and chuckled.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
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