Although Suo Suto now had a proper identity in this world, at the moment, all he had was that identity and the common sense that came with it.
As for things like his ID documents, schoolbag, wallet, and so on, even though the [Identity Card] had arranged all of them, they were all inside the apartment in Beika Town, waiting for him to pick them up.
In other words, Suto had no money on him.
He couldn’t take a taxi back and could only slowly walk along the road.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too far.
The only pity was that he had missed the half-price potato chips at that convenience store.
After spending about half an hour walking, Suto found the apartment building from his memories.
Its exterior looked a little old, like the kind of aging apartment building that had been neglected for years.
Suto first studied the old apartment’s structure and layout for a while, comparing the information in his memory with the real thing.
Only then did he go to the manager’s room on the first floor and raise his hand to knock.
A small, adorable girl came over and opened the door, poking her head out.
“Suo-kun, what’s wrong?”
Suto lowered his head and looked at the cute girl who looked like an elementary school student, then smiled a little awkwardly.
“Miyuri-san, I accidentally left my key in my room.
I was hoping I could borrow your spare key to open the door.”
“Oh, I see.
Got it.
Please wait a moment, Suo-kun.”
A look of understanding appeared on Asou Miyuri’s face, and she turned back into the room.
Suto stood at the door and heard the sound of her rummaging through drawers and cabinets inside.
A moment later, Miyuri came back holding a set of keys, cheering happily.
“Found it!
Let’s go, Suo-kun.
I’ll open the door for you!”
Suto nodded and said, “Sorry for the trouble, Miyuri-san.”
“It’s fine.
It’s rare for someone to be willing to rent my apartment long-term, so of course I have to provide proper service.”
The two of them went upstairs one after the other.
As the landlady walked, she chatted with Suto, curiously asking him how things had been at school recently and whether he had gotten a girlfriend.
“No.
I’ll think about that after I get into university.”
“Eh!
So Suo-kun is that kind of person!”
“What kind of person is ‘that kind of person’?”
“You know, the kind who only knows how to study… Hehe, Suo-kun, listen to your big sister.
At your age, this is the perfect time to fall in love!
Studying or whatever doesn’t matter that much.
Enjoying your youth is the most important thing!”
“Sorry, Miyuri-san, but I don’t have an entire apartment building to collect rent from like you do.”
“If Suo-kun wants one, you can have one too, you know.”
Miyuri turned back to look at him, a meaningful smile appearing on her small face.
Suto felt like there was some kind of implication in her words.
No, land lady, it’s not suitable.
You’ll go to jail!
Suto fell silent for a moment, then said, “Miyuri-san, we’re already at my room.”
“Eh?
We’re here already?”
“It’s only the third floor.”
“For me, the third floor is already pretty high.”
Miyuri took out the set of keys, picked one from the bunch, and opened the door.
“There, it’s open.
Let me see… Suo-kun’s room is surprisingly tidy.” Miyuri took a small breath, then added, “There’s no weird smell in the air either.
You don’t feel like a boy your age at all.”
“…”
Suto silently swallowed the words he had been about to say, inviting her inside for a seat.
Forget it.
He had already confirmed that this landlady was definitely a little strange.
If he really said it out loud, he was afraid “come in and sit for a bit” might somehow turn into “come in and do it for a bit.”
Miyuri also knew when to stop joking.
She put away the keys and smiled.
“Then I’ll head back down first.
Suo-kun, remember to bring your key next time.”
“Mm.
Thank you, Miyuri-san.”
“Come visit me when you’re free.
Big sister will treat you to some juice.”
“…Mm.”
After Miyuri left, Suto entered the room.
On the table in the living room, he found his room key and a wallet.
Inside the wallet were some of his ID documents, a bank card, and several bills.
Suto tried putting the wallet and key away.
With a thought, the wallet and key disappeared from his hand and appeared in his inventory.
That made things much more convenient.
Suto went to the bedroom to take a look as well.
There were some textbooks on the desk, a schoolbag on the chair, and the pillow and sheets on the bed were clean.
“Although it looks a little old from the outside, the inside is actually pretty nice.”
Suto was fairly satisfied with the living conditions the system had arranged for him.
This apartment was much better than the cramped rental room he had lived in back in his original world.
Suto opened the bedroom window.
Someone nearby seemed to be cooking, and the faint aroma of grilled fish drifted over with the wind.
Smelling it, Suto felt his stomach grow a little hungry.
He walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
It was completely empty.
Looks like he would need to eat out tonight, then go to the bank to withdraw some money before doing a round of grocery shopping at the supermarket.
Suto closed the refrigerator and saw the kitchen knife on the cutting board.
After thinking for a moment, he put the knife into his inventory.
After all, this was Beika Town, the capital of crime.
Running into three or five potential criminals while going out to buy groceries was perfectly normal here, so carrying a weapon for self-defense was very important.
When he walked back to the living room, Suto saw a baseball bat leaning in the corner and put that into his inventory too.
He pushed the door open and went out.
Just as he was locking the door, Suto suddenly heard a panicked scream from downstairs.
“Ah!!
Help!
Help me!!”
That voice… It was Miyuri-san!
Something seemed to have happened to her!
Suto’s heart jumped.
As expected of Beika Town, huh?
The landlady had just helped him.
Even if it was only a small favor, he couldn’t just leave her to die.
He should check the situation first.
Suto’s thoughts moved quickly.
He took the baseball bat out of his inventory, gripped it in his hand, then ran toward the stairs and jumped straight down from the stairwell.
When he was about to hit the ground, Suto jumped again.
[Special Skill: Double Jump].
With the second jump, the downward momentum from falling from the third floor suddenly vanished.
His state seemed to undergo some kind of reset, as if he had only jumped down from a single step, and he landed lightly.
His knees and ankles weren’t injured at all, and he didn’t make much noise either.
Suto quietly walked to the side of the wall and poked his head out to check the situation.
In the end, he only saw Miyuri standing outside the tightly shut door by herself, loudly shouting for help.
Suto observed for more than ten seconds and didn’t see anyone inside trying to break out.
The situation didn’t seem that urgent.
Carrying the baseball bat, Suto walked toward the landlady.
“Miyuri-san, what happened?”
“Suo-kun!!”
Miyuri looked as if she had seen her savior.
Her eyes lit up, and she rushed toward him.
“Save me, quick!!”
“What exactly happened?”
“A snake!!
There’s a snake in my room!
It’s this long!
It suddenly appeared under the table!
I almost died from fright!!”
“So it’s just a snake…”
Hearing that, Suto secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He had thought she had run into some robber or murderer.
“Suo-kun!”
The landlady looked at him with teary eyes.
Suto thought for a moment and said to her, “Leave it to me.
Stay here and don’t move around.
I’ll beat it to death.”
“Suo-kun, be careful!”
Suto picked up the clothes pole in the hallway, carefully opened the door, and entered the room.
Under the living room table, he saw the snake.
It was a black snake several dozen centimeters long, flicking its tongue at him.
Suto held the clothes pole in front of him with one hand, guarding against the black snake suddenly lunging at him.
With his other hand, he raised the baseball bat and smashed it toward the snake’s head.
Bang, bang, bang.
After a few hits, the snake’s head was flattened, and its entire body stopped moving.
At the same time, Suto heard two unusually crisp sounds.
Two copper coins had suddenly burst out from the snake’s body and fallen onto the tile floor.