Hidden High-Intelligence Attribute and the Legendary Quest Called "Famous General"

The lightbox outside Sakashita Store buzzed in the night like a faulty save point.

When Lu Ren pushed open the glass door, the wind chime rang. The warmth inside, mixed with the scent of overcooked oden radish, washed over him—but what should have been an appetite-whetting smell was now tinged with something called "despair."

Before the shelves, three figures in black tracksuits stared blankly at the completely empty heated display case.

"Gone?" Hinata Shoyo sounded like he was about to cry. "There are really no meat buns left?"

"Gone." The dyed-hair young man behind the register did not even look up, flipping through a crumpled weekly magazine in his hands. "Five minutes ago, those starving ghosts from the Soccer Club swept through here like locusts. They even bought the last two curry buns."

"Ahhh—!" Hinata clutched his head and let out a miserable cry, sliding down the shelf. "How could this happen... I'm so hungry..."

Kageyama Tobio stood beside him without saying a word, but his stomach let out an extremely timely rumble in protest on his behalf.

Tanaka Ryūnosuke clicked his tongue, hands shoved into his pockets as he looked at Hinata with utter disappointment. "Hey, Hinata, aren't you usually pretty fast? How could you lose to the Soccer Club over buying buns? This is a disgrace to Karasuno's Volleyball Club!"

"But... but my legs were weak!" Hinata protested miserably.

"You're too damn loud!"

The young man behind the register—Ukai Keishin, the young owner of Sakashita Store—finally slammed his magazine onto the counter in annoyance. His messy blond hair stuck out in every direction, and his brows were furrowed tightly enough to crush flies. "Go home and argue if you want to argue! If you couldn't buy anything, then hurry home for dinner. You brats are still growing—what muscles can you build if you don't eat proper meals and only snack all day?"

Standing by the entrance, Lu Ren could not help curling his lips at the irritated tone.

He sauntered over and placed a hand on Tanaka's shoulder, his voice sinister like an NPC handing out a murder quest in a horror game. "Tanaka Senior, when I came in just now, I saw that those Soccer Club guys hadn't gone far yet."

Tanaka froze and turned to look at Lu Ren.

Lu Ren narrowed his eyes, clenching his right hand at his side until his knuckles cracked. "If we're 'borrowing' them, it shouldn't count as robbery, right? After all, it's to defend the Volleyball Club's dignity and right to survive."

"Oh?" Tanaka's fierce upturned eyes instantly lit up. He gave a thumbs-up. "Lu Ren, you usually look so lazy, but you've got it where it counts! That's right, as long as we say we're 'borrowing' two buns—"

"Borrow my ass."

A dull thud rang out.

Kiyosawa Mashiba expressionlessly withdrew her hand. Lu Ren clutched his head, and the villain-boss aura he had just been giving off instantly vanished as he grimaced in pain.

"Don't plan criminal activities in the store," Mashiba said calmly, casually shoving Lu Ren aside. "And that's the Soccer Club. They have more than thirty people. Are you going there to feed them kills?"

"Tch, how boring." Lu Ren rubbed his head and muttered under his breath, "Wasn't that just to add some difficulty to the game?"

Just as the dejected group was about to leave this place of sorrow, several light clatters suddenly sounded behind them.

Several energy bars landed on the counter.

"Take them." Ukai Keishin picked up his magazine again and hid his face behind it, his voice muffled. "They're on me. Finish them, then get the hell home for dinner. Stop howling like ghosts in my store."

The group froze for a moment.

"Thanks for the food!"

Led by Tanaka, they all bent over in a deep bow, their voices so loud they nearly shattered the store's windows.

"I said you're too damn loud!"

Outside the store, the night breeze was slightly cool, but it could not blow away the lingering heat from their recent victory.

Lu Ren impatiently tore open the wrapper and took a vicious bite of the energy bar. Its compressed-biscuit-like texture was far from delicious, but to his low-blood-sugar brain right now, it was practically a top-tier Health Potion.

He wolfed it down in a few bites, then his gaze drifted to the side.

Mashiba held her energy bar without opening it, lightly swinging it in rhythm with her steps.

"Um..." Lu Ren stared at the swaying bar, his eyes moving from side to side with it. "Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm fine." Mashiba glanced at him. "It's not like I had to think on the court and scheme against people like someone did. I didn't use up that much energy."

"That was tactics. Tactics, understand?" Lu Ren shamelessly moved closer. "Since you're not hungry, eating something this high in calories will make you gain weight, so why not..."

"Would that really be okay?" Mashiba deliberately raised the energy bar a little higher. "Who was it that said they wanted to keep in shape earlier?"

"That was then, this is now." Lu Ren spoke with righteous conviction. "I'm in a weakened state now. I urgently need supplies."

Seeing his brazenly shameless expression, Mashiba could not help laughing. With a flick of her wrist, the energy bar traced an arc through the air.

"Catch."

Lu Ren caught it precisely, tore open the wrapper, and stuffed it into his mouth. He flashed a muffled peace sign. "Thanks, healer."

The trio walking ahead witnessed the entire exchange.