"???" Baishi Hui wondered if he'd misheard something.
"Sonoko! Snap out of it!" Ran turned to her best friend.
But the look on Sonoko's face made her heart sink. Oh no… she's in fangirl mode again!
"This is not the time to be swooning!" Ran warned.
"I'm not swooning!" Sonoko shot back cheerfully. "If he kidnapped me, it means he's got me in his heart!"
Her smile widened. "Think about it—he could've targeted any number of rich people. But instead, he picked me. That proves he likes me!"
Ran felt like the sky was collapsing. She shook Sonoko desperately, trying to knock some sense into her.
"Wake up!! He didn't mean it like that!! Right, classmate?!" She turned toward Baishi, begging him to back her up.
Baishi, playing along, nodded quickly.
But Sonoko only grew more determined. She brushed Ran aside and stepped closer, her tone turning soft and almost… flirty.
"Classmate, how much ransom money do you want?"
"…"
For the first time, Baishi got a real taste of Sonoko's eccentric personality.
No wonder she'd fallen for a fake love letter so easily.
"I don't need ransom. I don't want to make any more mistakes." He shook his head.
"But… don't you still owe those loan sharks?" Sonoko tilted her head, worry shining in her eyes. "If you don't pay them back, they'll keep coming after you, won't they?"
"…"
Baishi had no counter to that. She wasn't wrong.
He had just transmigrated, and already he was stuck with the blame for this kidnapping and saddled with massive debt.
And not just any debt—high-interest loan shark debt.
The kind of people who wouldn't rest until they'd stripped your bones clean.
"You really shouldn't stress so much." Sonoko spoke gently. "I can tell you're not a bad person. If you were, you wouldn't have tied us up only to let us go later… right, Ran?"
She turned to her friend for support.
"…Yes." Ran hesitated, but nodded. She, too, could tell this boy wasn't rotten to the core. There was hope for him.
"Here's what we'll do," Sonoko said brightly. "I'll give you some ransom money upfront. You can use it to pay off the loan sharks. Once you've made something of yourself, you can pay me back."
Her offer nearly made Baishi's heart skip a beat.
If he could get the debt cleared now, becoming a famous detective later would make earning money easy.
He could return Sonoko's loan with interest, no problem.
And maybe… just maybe… this little detour could even trick the "Bandit System" into counting the money toward his mission goal.
With that thought, Baishi admitted, "I owe a hundred million yen. It's a lot. If I don't pay it back all at once, the interest will keep piling up."
"One—one hundred million yen?!" Ran gasped.
"One hundred million yen?!" Sonoko exclaimed too, eyes widening.
"It wasn't that much originally, but… the compound interest…" Baishi gave a helpless smile.
"…That's all?!" Sonoko patted her chest in relief and laughed. "I can cover that easily."
Baishi froze.
He'd known she was rich. But this?
One hundred million yen—just like that?
How much money did she even have?!
This was wealth beyond human limits!
"Wait here. I'll have my butler bring it over." Sonoko pulled out her phone, dialing casually.
"Butler? Please take a hundred million yen out of my safe and deliver it to Beika Park. Yes, right away. Half an hour? Fine. Call me when you arrive."
She hung up, pocketed her phone, and smiled sweetly. "All set! Just wait thirty minutes, and the money will be here."
"…Thanks." Baishi didn't know what else to say. His worldview was being rewritten in real time.
So this was the world of the wealthy?
One hundred million yen, handed out like pocket change?
Truly, it was envy-inducing.
"Don't mention it! We're friends, after all." Sonoko's grin radiated cheer, infectious in its warmth.
Baishi thought to himself: This friend… I'm keeping her for life.
Half an hour later, at the gate of Beika Park—
Baishi accepted a heavy case of money from Sonoko's butler. It wasn't just cash. It was Sonoko's trust.
"Thank you, Suzuki-san." He turned back to the smiling heiress, speaking earnestly. "I'll pay you back as soon as I can."
"You're welcome, Baishi-kun." Sonoko waved it off. "Use it to start fresh!"
"Yes. And you mustn't make any more mistakes," Ran reminded firmly.
"I won't," Baishi promised.
"Good! Then go settle your debt. We'll see you at school tomorrow." Sonoko waved goodbye.
"See you tomorrow," Baishi replied, hefting the case and heading off.
Sonoko watched him leave, a satisfied glow in her chest. She felt like she'd just saved a classmate who had lost his way.
It filled her with pride—her very soul felt uplifted!
"Ran, it's still early. Want to go shopping?"
"Sure!" Ran agreed with a smile.
Sonoko sent her butler home, then headed into the city with Ran.
During their stroll, they unexpectedly ran into Shinichi.
"Oh? Just the two of you?" Shinichi blinked, surprised. He knew about Sonoko's mysterious love letter.
A thought struck him, and he smirked. "Don't tell me… Sonoko, did someone stand you up? No one showed up, right?"
"Who says? He showed up—and he was handsome too!" Sonoko huffed, annoyed at his smug "I see through everything" expression.
"…Huh? There really was someone?" Shinichi was stunned. He frowned. "Then you need to be careful. Maybe he's only after your money."
"What's his name? I'll run a background check for you! For all you know, he's buried in debt and just trying to squeeze money out of you."
As he spoke, he suddenly noticed Ran and Sonoko's awkward expressions.
His heart sank. "Wait a minute… Don't tell me… I'm right?"
"Baishi-kun is not that kind of person!" Sonoko protested at once. "He had his reasons!"
"That's right! He just acted on impulse and made a mistake," Ran added loyally.
"…You two—!!" Shinichi's stomach dropped. Alarm bells rang in his head.
They'd been conned. He was sure of it.
"You need to tell me everything. Right now. What exactly happened?!"