Inside a stylishly renovated bookstore near Ikebukuro Station in Nerima Ward.
"Thank you very much for everything."
Bowing at the customary thirty-degree angle, Luo Shu apologized, said goodbye to the female manager, and successfully quit his bookstore job.
After leaving the bookstore, Luo Shu walked down the street, tugged at his collar, and let out a long breath.
"Phew, good thing the manager's easygoing. Otherwise, quitting on such short notice would probably have earned me a lecture."
In Japan, you had to give notice before quitting a job. After all, work schedules were set the previous week. If you quit and ran off, other employees would have to cover your shifts.
Obviously, Luo Shu, who was starting work at Lycoris the day after tomorrow, couldn't give advance notice. That was why he was so grateful to the manager-she would have to cover his shifts.
Fortunately, the manager had been understanding. She hadn't given him any trouble or even spoken harshly to him, leaving Luo Shu feeling rather guilty.
"These past two days have been one surprise after another. There really wasn't anything I could do... Oh well, I'll stop thinking about it for now and get dinner. It's almost eight thirty already."
Walking down the street, Luo Shu shook his head, looked around, and entered a ramen shop he frequented.
At the ordering machine, he deftly inserted a thousand-yen bill and ordered a large bowl of tonkotsu ramen for 950 yen, collecting a fifty-yen coin in change and his order ticket.
With that done, Luo Shu took his ticket to the counter, handed it to the ramen chef, accepted a towel to wipe his hands, and sat waiting quietly for his bowl.
Since his workplace was nearby, Luo Shu often visited this shop. The chef owned the premises, so he never skimped on ingredients. Occasionally, while stationed at the bookstore entrance, Luo Shu could even see the owner making broth with fresh pig's feet. It was the kind of place where he could eat with peace of mind.
Of course, according to his memories, the previous "Luo Shu" had another reason for coming here so often.
Apparently, Hoshina Utau, currently an immensely popular singer in Japan, often came here in disguise with her manager.
The pleasure of a chance encounter with a singer had also encouraged the former "Luo Shu" to keep coming back.
For the current Luo Shu, however, this familiar ramen shop was a "soundproof room" where he could settle his mind and think things through.
Although the only difference between the two Luo Shus was the awakening of his past-life memories, a change in how he acted was inevitable. His life experience was different now, after all.
The bookstore's shared bicycle is still parked at Utaha Kasumigaoka's apartment. I'll have to ride it back before school tomorrow.
Although the manager said she'd pay me for the past few days, she's covering all my scheduled shifts now that I've quit. Taking the money really doesn't sit right with me. Once I get paid, I'll buy a nice gift and visit her to say thanks.
Since Mika had already transferred an advance salary of five hundred thousand yen into his account, Luo Shu wasn't under much financial pressure now. He could afford a better gift.
Speaking of which, that address Mika mentioned... There's still a year left on the deposit "Mom and Dad" left with the agency. If I move out, those smiling bloodsuckers won't let me terminate the lease so easily.
Should I use Mika's connections? Forget it. I may be a half-baked god, but I still have some pride. Besides, I'd feel a little bad giving up that apartment.
After some thought, Luo Shu decided not to move for the rest of the year. His current apartment was fairly upscale, and his late "parents" had rented it when they came to Japan. It held sentimental value as their first "home" together after arriving here.
Although the system considered his reincarnation a repeat of his previous life, right down to the same DNA, his parents in this life had still raised him.
Luo Shu remained deeply reluctant to erase the last traces of them.
I'll find an opportunity to buy my current apartment. Even if I don't live there, I should keep somewhere to remember them.
As for whether the landlord would sell, or whether he could afford to buy that upscale, 120-square-meter apartment near Ikebukuro Station in Nerima Ward within a year, Luo Shu had a rough idea.
It's only fifty-two million yen, or 3.12 million yuan, right? At my current income, if I don't spend anything on food or drink, it'll take about seven and a half years.
Fuck, seven and a half years? Guess I'll have to keep renewing the lease until I can afford it. Or pull off something big and bring in some cash.
Hmm, I should ask Mika the day after tomorrow if there are any lucrative jobs. Surely agents have special ways to make money?
As Luo Shu thought about that, he also remembered what Mika had said earlier about Chisato Nishikigi enrolling at his school.
But come to think of it, Chisato Nishikigi is enrolling at Toyogasaki too? I'd better give Utaha and Eriri a heads-up later. It'd be hilarious if the Asahi Shimbun ran a story in a few days about SDS agent Chisato Nishikigi cracking the Toyogasaki cult case.
Imagining himself appearing on the news in handcuffs, Luo Shu couldn't help grumbling inwardly.
He had thought school was the perfect cover, only for several female agents to turn up. Most importantly, he had brought them there himself.
Fuck, is this what they mean by "You're the one who led the enemy here"?
Thinking about the predicament he had brought upon himself, Luo Shu could only chuckle helplessly.
Still, to be fair, he really couldn't have turned Mika down in that situation. He couldn't find a suitable reason that would convince those agents.
And besides these little everyday matters...
At that thought, Luo Shu opened the system interface and looked at the notification displayed there.
[Joined the official organization SDS. Gained 3,000 points. Fixed monthly point income increased to 1,000 points.]
The three thousand points are easy enough to understand, but my monthly income went up by a full six hundred points. Is that because my personal influence increased?
[Answer: Yes. After the host joined the official organization SDS, his influence increased, automatically raising his monthly point income.]
After receiving the answer, Luo Shu accepted the tonkotsu ramen from the chef and asked inwardly as he ate:
So recruiting these so-called heroines isn't the only way to increase my monthly point income? Getting stronger myself, doing something, or changing my status can also increase it?
[Answer: Yes.]
Looking at the system's response before him, Luo Shu couldn't help feeling amused.
Are you telling me to hurry up and stir up trouble, make a big splash, then rake in the points?
That said, how to make a big splash, how to clean up afterward, and how to keep himself from being implicated were all things Luo Shu would have to consider carefully.
He had snuffed out the idea of relying on the system to constantly stir up trouble and court death right from the start.
Even the wallet in Tachibana Kirika's possession could screw him over to some extent. Who knew how many abyssal items in this world could track him down?
He didn't want to cause trouble one day, only to end up at the Metropolitan Police Department the next, holding a booking placard and receiving a brand-new striped T-shirt.
What would that be, "I'm a god in a modern prison"? Or "Achieving enlightenment behind bars"?
Luo Shu wanted no part of that.
After finishing his ramen and taking care of dinner, Luo Shu picked up his schoolbag and headed toward the subway.
His apartment was roughly a five- or six-minute walk from his workplace, in an upscale apartment building near a main road. Its tenants were either business owners or high-end white-collar professionals.
In Japan, it seemed to be common knowledge that the very richest lived in large villas, the upper class lived in apartment buildings, and the middle class and below lived in detached houses.
Thanks to his parents having been senior white-collar professionals, Luo Shu's current home was so upscale.
Of course, the former "Luo Shu" had actually planned to move once he started university. With his previous income, if his parents hadn't paid in advance before their accident, he certainly couldn't have afforded an upscale apartment with monthly rent of two hundred thousand yen and another fifty thousand in maintenance and repair fees.
Even spending the entire two hundred thousand yen sent from back home wouldn't cover more than the rent.
Now, though, the two hundred thousand he received every month and his five-hundred-thousand-yen SDS salary would let him keep renting it.
Oh, I remember the housing allowance in the SDS contract apparently covers ninety percent. So the two hundred thousand in rent becomes twenty thousand, plus fifty thousand in maintenance and repair fees, for seventy thousand total? That's pretty sweet.
Thinking how nice it was to get things for free, Luo Shu finally returned to his apartment building and pressed his finger against the fingerprint reader beside the glass door.
With a beep, the glass door opened.
Just as Luo Shu was about to enter, someone suddenly linked arms with him on his right.
Immediately afterward, a woman's hushed voice sounded beside his ear.
"...Are you Luo Shu? Sorry for the trouble, but please don't push me away right now."
Hearing that somewhat familiar voice, Luo Shu stopped.
Wasn't that the voice of his next-door neighbor, Miss Mira Tsubakihara?
Before you continue