"Ren Kuroda, Ran Mouri, I made these bento myself—please, accept them."
The next day at lunch.
Ren Kuroda arrived at Class 2-B, holding two neatly packed bentos. He handed one to Ran and one to Sonoko, hoping to express his gratitude and sincerity. Since he was already making lunch for himself, why not make extra for them too? Whether they liked it or not was their problem—he just wanted to show his goodwill.
"Wow! Ren Kuroda actually made this himself? Thank you so much!" Ran's face lit up as she accepted the bento. Then she shot a glance at Shinichi, a triumphant sparkle in her eye. See? I told you Ren wouldn't just take the money and run!
Shinichi scratched the back of his head, giving Ren a long, appraising look. Could it be… I misjudged him? he wondered.
"I feel so guilty… I didn't do anything to deserve this," Sonoko said shyly.
"If it weren't for your forgiveness, I'd probably be in a detention cell right now," Ren replied, shoving the bento into her hands. "So don't hesitate."
"Thank you… Then, why don't you join us for lunch, Ren?" Sonoko offered warmly.
Ren nodded. Even if she hadn't said it, I'd have done it anyway—to keep things friendly. He dragged over a chair and sat down, glancing at Ran.
"Ran, I probably won't need that money after all. I'll go home after school and return it to you," he said casually.
"Eh? Why?" Ran blinked in surprise.
"That loan office got burned down," Ren said, a faint smile tugging at his lips, not bothering to hide his amusement.
"Ah!" Shinichi's eyes widened in recognition. "You mean the news alert last night—the Niu‑Niu Finance office?"
"Exactly," Ren nodded. "By the time I arrived, the fire was already raging. There were fire trucks, but they never made it—they were stopped. And I noticed several of the people borrowing money that day were there too."
Ran shrugged. "Good. Those loan sharks had it coming."
Sonoko nodded. "Even the heavens couldn't stand them, it seems."
"That wasn't an accident," Shinichi said, opening his bento as he spoke. "I watched the follow-up news. They found two charred bodies inside, and the bullet holes indicate they were shot with a rifle."
Ran tilted her head. "Is that strange? Gangsters fight and kill all the time, don't they?" She opened Ren's bento and gasped at the neat presentation.
"True enough. Stay away from gangsters—they're dangerous," Sonoko agreed, sharing her bento with Ran.
Shinichi, meanwhile, had already started analyzing the case. "This isn't gang warfare. Witnesses saw a strange masked figure leaving the office. I'd bet the culprit is one of the borrowers who couldn't repay. Using a rifle implies they had experience—maybe someone already connected to the underworld…"
Ren chuckled quietly. Ran and Sonoko ignored Shinichi, instead showering praise on his cooking.
Typical cherry-blossom girls, he thought. Always giving emotional value… even if the food tastes terrible, they'll compliment it politely.
He didn't mind—they genuinely enjoyed the bento, finishing it all. To his surprise, they even washed the containers and returned them to him. Their manners left him feeling a little ashamed.
After lunch, he promised Ran he'd return home to collect the money and then headed back to Class 2-D.
Sitting down, Ren opened the Bandit System interface.
Current Task: Accumulate 100 million yen in stolen funds.Progress: 173 million yen.Mission Complete! Reward: Gene Enhancement Serum.Gene Enhancement Serum: Optimizes advantageous genes, improves disadvantageous genes.Bandit Store Open!New Task Issued: Accumulate 1 billion yen in stolen funds. Progress: 0.
Ren had tried the serum yesterday after returning home—it was surprisingly pleasant, sweet and tangy. He researched the effects:
Advantageous genes: make you taller, stronger, smarter, more enduring, or more attractive.
Disadvantageous genes: baldness, large nose, prone to illness.
It was a complete genetic optimization, not a bad reward.
The Bandit Store offered all sorts of weaponry:
Handguns: 50,000 yen each, free five magazines.
Assault rifles: 100,000 yen each, free five magazines.
Sniper rifles: 200,000 yen each, free five magazines.
Grenades: 50,000 yen each.
The prices were absurdly low, with freebies—clearly the system was pushing him toward trouble. Ren admitted he was tempted, itching to spend. But he restrained himself.
Being a bandit had no future. Every bandit eventually gets hunted down, no matter how strong. Even if you're skilled, someone could fly in with a helicopter and end it all.
Ren's path is detective work, he reminded himself. That's the bright road to the future.
Instead, he examined the skills section:
Basic hand-to-hand combat: 100,000 yen, can upgrade for double.
Basic shooting: 100,000 yen, can upgrade for double.
Basic explosives: 100,000 yen, can upgrade for double.
Four skill tiers: Basic → Proficient → Expert → Master. Fully upgrading a skill cost 1.5 million yen—basically a steal.
The system was practically giving him everything to become a professional bandit—but Ren didn't care. He picked only the skills useful for survival and investigation, leaving 5 million yen in reserve after returning Ran's "ransom."
Looking at the dense system interface, Ren felt dizzy. He had been here less than a day—and already maxed out his attributes.