Taking Your Money Doesn't Mean I Have to Give It to You—Bai Ye's Inequality Instantly Wins!

Taking Your Money Doesn't Mean I Have to Give It to You—Bai Ye's Inequality Instantly Wins!

"Damn it, Gin! The Tear of the Queen is worth thirty-two million dollars, and you're giving me two million?"

After briefly looking up information on the Tear of the Queen online, Bai Ye crushed his mouse in his hand.

Seeing the estimated value of thirty-two million, Bai Ye wanted nothing more than to go over there and chop Gin to pieces.

He had thought it was normal enough for a middleman to make a little profit off the difference.

But Gin was treating him like some sucker?

You took something worth thirty-two million for two million. How had he never realized Gin was this ruthless before?

Fine!

If Gin was heartless, then he couldn't blame Bai Ye for being unjust.

Taking the money didn't mean Bai Ye had to give him the Tear of the Queen. Gin had only said that Bai Ye should steal the Tear of the Queen himself; he never said Bai Ye had to hand it over after stealing it.

Taking the money didn't mean I accepted the deal. Inequality instantly solved.

"First, I'll steal the gem. Then I'll make a name for the Agency."

Since he was setting up an Agency, he needed to rent a place.

Where he currently lived was obviously unsuitable.

But all of that required money. Since he had already made up his mind, there were some things he needed to handle himself instead of constantly relying on versions of himself from other worlds to send him money.

Missiles were the biggest money sink. Later on, he might even need to get the version of himself in the pirate world an aircraft carrier.

Then he could complete that task. At the same time, stealing things had suddenly opened up a new line of thought for Bai Ye.

What was the fastest way to make money? Finance!

But Bai Ye didn't know how. There were all sorts of technical jobs too, but he didn't have much time for those. Still, there was one other quick way to make money.

Whoever had money, he would steal from them.

How much could he get by squeezing poor people? Whoever had money was who he would take it from!

After replacing the mouse, Bai Ye added this debt to Gin's tab. He would make Gin reimburse him later.

He reopened the intelligence report and scrolled down.

The Tear of the Queen had been a hot topic lately because three major thief groups had set their sights on it: Cat's Eye, Kaito Kid, and Lupin the Third. All three had sent notices to the director of the art museum that housed the Tear of the Queen.

Cat's Eye had been first. Kaito Kid and Lupin the Third apparently wanted to compete over whose thieving skills were superior, so they had all chosen to make their move on the Tear of the Queen at eleven-thirty tonight.

Those three thieves were simply too famous, so recent news had all been about the Tear of the Queen. Bai Ye was thoroughly familiar with the intelligence as well.

"Then you'll become my first step toward fame."

Bai Ye rubbed his chin and fixed his gaze on the three names. Since the three great thieves were all there, wouldn't taking the Tear of the Queen from their hands prove that he was even stronger?

He would still need to cooperate with Gin in the future. At least, there were things Bai Ye couldn't do himself and needed others to handle. Having an organization that could get things done as long as he paid them was ideal, wasn't it?

Then Bai Ye began planning tonight's heist, preparing to make it a dazzling debut.

Yeah. His urge to show off was acting up.

Ring, ring, ring!

Just as Bai Ye was thinking, a phone call abruptly interrupted his train of thought.

"Who the hell is it?! Who messed up my battle plans for today?! If you don't give me a good reason, I definitely won't let you off easy!!"

Damn it!

He had just come up with an incredibly flashy entrance.

Then this call instantly scattered all his thoughts.

"Heh. Bai Ye, you've got some nerve. Not only did you skip class, but you're saying you won't let me off easy? Perfect. I'd like to see exactly how you plan to make things hard for me."

The voice on the other end was icy. The expression of someone who normally kept strangers at arm's length became even colder.

Clearly, Bai Ye's words had nearly made the person on the other end explode with anger.

"Ah?! Is that my lovely teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka? Sorry, the signal's bad here. I'm hanging up!"

Damn it!

How had he forgotten about this demon woman?

With that, Bai Ye directly hung up. Even when Shizuka Hiratsuka continued calling afterward, Bai Ye pretended not to hear.

It was only when the sun was high in the sky that Bai Ye saw Shizuka Hiratsuka standing outside his door with a cold smile and realized something was wrong.

"Teacher, don't forget who solved your parents pressuring you to get married!"

"Yeah, how could I forget? If it weren't for you, you bastard, I probably would've gotten married long ago!!"

That only made Shizuka Hiratsuka angrier.

Back then, Bai Ye had been a troubled youth, but Shizuka Hiratsuka had been unwilling to give up on him, so she launched her so-called rescue plan.

The two gradually became familiar with each other. One day, it had rained nonstop. Seeing Bai Ye soaked from head to toe, Shizuka Hiratsuka took pity on him and had him return with her to take a shower and wait until the rain stopped before going home.

And so, a little post-rain story took place.

It just so happened that Shizuka Hiratsuka's parents came to see her and saw Bai Ye right after he had finished showering. Although the elderly couple hadn't said anything at the time, Shizuka Hiratsuka later realized that her parents seemed to ask much less about her love life.

Even the marriage pressure during New Year's and all the other nagging disappeared. At first, Shizuka Hiratsuka had been delighted. Though she knew they had misunderstood, she figured a misunderstanding was fine since it benefited her, so she never explained.

But as time went on, her parents went from occasionally mentioning that she should bring Bai Ye home to visit, to seemingly deciding that she and Bai Ye were going to get married. That was when she went numb.

She had kept explaining at the time, but her parents took it as an excuse for the two of them not wanting to marry, so they started urging Shizuka Hiratsuka to have a child first.

So afterward, Shizuka Hiratsuka blamed Bai Ye for why she couldn't get married. Bai Ye had ruined her reputation completely. Now everyone in her family knew she had a younger "boyfriend."

"You can't blame that on me. You're the one who can't get married!"

Bai Ye wasn't going to take the blame. In the anime, hadn't Shizuka Hiratsuka simply been unable to get married anyway?

"How is that possible?! How could a good woman like me fail to get married?!"

"Sure, sure. You smoke, drink, and love hitting people, but you're still a good woman!"

It wasn't like Bai Ye had never seen Shizuka Hiratsuka on a blind date.

Good lord.

She would down a few cans of beer before the date even got going, then once she got tipsy, ask whether the other person smoked while looking like she was about to hit him. She was more manly than men, more Donnie Yen than Donnie Yen.

Who wouldn't be scared to go on a blind date with her?

With the way she was, even a dog by the roadside would get punched.

"Have you forgotten something?"

Shizuka Hiratsuka clenched her fists and smiled at Bai Ye. Clearly, she was very dissatisfied with his attitude.

When she had come over, she had already decided that today, she would teach Bai Ye what pain was.

"Teacher, violence is bad. Want a can of beer?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Beer is forbidden during work hours, and stop trying to fool me with beer!"

"Teacher, are you the kind of person who's scared of that? Besides, it's limited-edition dark beer. If you don't drink it, there won't be any left."

As he spoke, Bai Ye turned toward the refrigerator and took out a can of dark beer. It was Shizuka Hiratsuka's favorite brand, but since it was limited every day, she rarely managed to buy any.

"Bribing a teacher. That makes your crime even worse."

Shizuka Hiratsuka's gaze drifted, and she began to waver.

Actually, Bai Ye hadn't committed some monstrous crime. There was no need to make such a big deal out of it!

With that thought, Shizuka Hiratsuka took the dark beer from Bai Ye and took a huge gulp.

Sure enough, drinking beer during work hours—such a morally corrupt act—combined with the joy of drinking itself was simply triple the happiness!

Click.

"Mm, now I have evidence. Teacher, you wouldn't want anyone else finding out that you drink during work hours, would you?"

Bai Ye admiringly looked at the photo of Shizuka Hiratsuka holding a beer with a satisfied expression.

Hearing Bai Ye's words, Shizuka Hiratsuka froze for a moment before staring at him in disbelief.

Are you fucking evil?

"Just kidding. You looked pretty just now, Teacher, so I wanted to capture it."

As he spoke, Bai Ye handed the camera to Shizuka Hiratsuka. In the photo, there was a hint of satisfaction in her expression.

"What?! What kind of photo did you take?"

"Is there something wrong with it?"

"Of course there is! There's a huge problem! Delete it right now!"

As she spoke, Shizuka Hiratsuka pressed the delete button, preparing to erase the photo. But after seeing Bai Ye's puzzled expression, she hesitated. After wavering for a moment, she ultimately didn't delete it.

She looked at the photo and secretly thought that perhaps she was overthinking it. Bai Ye definitely didn't know, and if she deleted it, it would only make him suspicious.

But when she thought about how seductive the photo Bai Ye had taken was, somewhat similar to the expression she occasionally made after taking care of herself with her hands, she felt a wave of embarrassment.

Damn it!

She was already an older woman, yet she had never tasted the sweetness of love. Every time, she still had to rely on herself.

"Why didn't you delete it?"

"Get your ass back to school with me!"

Shizuka Hiratsuka was embarrassed and furious. She drained the beer in one gulp, then grabbed Bai Ye and dragged him toward school.

She wasn't going to explain that sentence to Bai Ye.

Toyosaki Academy.

Originally the school from Saekano, it now had not only Kasumigaoka Utaha, Sawamura Eriri, and Katou Megumi—the original trio.

There was also a club called the Service Club, as well as a music club called the Light Music Club. And recently, it was said that quintuplets had transferred into the class next door.

Yeah.

Next door was Beika High School.

There were quite a few schools nearby. Before learning about Kudou Shinichi, Bai Ye had always thought this place was paradise.

When he had first transmigrated here, he had wondered whether he should get together with Kasumigaoka Utaha, Yukino Yukinoshita, or have a sweet romance with Sakurajima Mai. Or perhaps attend school properly with Shizuka Hiratsuka during the day and attend "school" properly at night.

But after Kudou Shinichi appeared, Bai Ye had only one thought: survival!

So this social butterfly instantly became socially anxious.

After all, in Conan, the death rate for shut-ins was far lower than that of scumbags.

"Byakuya-kun, I heard Teacher Hiratsuka was furious about you skipping class this morning. Are you okay?"

"Megumi, you sound a little disappointed?"

Bai Ye lay listlessly across his desk. He had originally been thinking about his plan of action and how to make tonight's performance more impressive.

He wanted his performance to be perfect.

But Shizuka Hiratsuka had charged straight into his home and dragged him here for class.

"I am, a little."

Katou Megumi had a bit of a mischievous side too. Though she looked saintly on the surface, she wasn't without personality or temper.

She had all the traits that ordinary young girls possessed. It was merely because her presence was normally too weak that her personality had changed somewhat.

But after meeting Bai Ye and becoming his desk partner, Katou Megumi found that her life had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Bai Ye noticed her, and unlike everyone else, he never ignored her.

At the same time, because of his outgoing personality, he had introduced her to quite a few friends.

But Bai Ye changed afterward. Katou Megumi didn't know what he had gone through, but he no longer seemed as outgoing as before. He had become rather withdrawn too, as if he were an entirely different person.

"By the way, do you want to go out together tonight? Byakuya-kun, it's been a long time since we last did anything together."

Katou Megumi turned her head and asked softly.

He had not gone out with them in a long time.

"Doing what? Who's going?"

Tonight?

He probably wouldn't have time.

Bai Ye wanted to refuse, but after looking at Katou Megumi, he decided to wait until she finished before finding an excuse to turn her down.

After all, refusing before she even said what it was seemed a little too cruel.

"Byakuya-kun, have you heard about the Tear of the Queen incident tonight?"

Mm!

The Tear of the Queen incident.

The hype had been built up enormously. It was something that three great thieves had all set their sights on.

It would probably be the hottest topic today. Plenty of people had even come specifically for it.

"Of course. Megumi, I'm telling you, you absolutely have to go tonight. It'll definitely be incredible, and there'll be something unbelievably spectacular!" Bai Ye abruptly changed from his previous listless state. He sat up from his desk, raised a finger, and spoke with absolute confidence. Then he suddenly realized something. "Wait?! You're not asking me to go there, are you?"

"Mhm. Not just me. Eriri and Utaha are planning to go too."

Katou Megumi nodded and replied softly.

Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha planned to go tonight as well. One wanted to watch the excitement, while the other wanted to find inspiration for her novel.

So when Katou Megumi suggested it and said they should "heal" Bai Ye, the other two immediately agreed.

It wasn't just Katou Megumi. Even people who had once been close to Bai Ye had noticed that he seemed very different lately.

And since Katou Megumi, who didn't understand what had happened and knew Bai Ye probably wouldn't tell them, hoped to use this method to help Bai Ye "pull himself together" and become like he used to be.

"So, Byakuya-kun, will you come with us?"

After speaking, Katou Megumi looked at Bai Ye expectantly, waiting for his answer.

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