Although Sora now had a legitimate identity in this world, all he really possessed at the moment was that identity and the common knowledge that came with it.
Things like identification documents, his school bag, wallet, and other belongings had indeed been arranged by the Identity Card, but they were all waiting for him back at his apartment in Beika Town.
As a result, Sora had no money on him.
He couldn’t take a taxi home and could only walk along the road at a leisurely pace.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too far away.
The only unfortunate thing was that he had missed the convenience store’s half-price potato chips.
After about half an hour of walking, Sora finally found the apartment building from his memories.
The exterior looked somewhat run-down, like an old apartment building that hadn’t been properly maintained for years.
He spent a while observing its layout and comparing reality with the memories he had received before approaching the manager’s room on the first floor and knocking on the door.
A cute petite girl opened it and poked her head out.
“Sora-kun, do you need something?” Looking down at the adorable girl who looked like an elementary school student, Sora smiled apologetically.
“Miss Miyuri, I accidentally left my key inside my room.
Could I borrow the spare key to open the door?” “I see.
Please wait a moment, Sora-kun.” An understanding expression appeared on Miyuri’s face as she turned and went back inside.
Standing at the doorway, Sora heard sounds of rummaging coming from within.
A moment later, Miyuri returned holding a ring of keys and cheered happily.
“Found it!
Come on, Sora-kun!
I’ll open the door for you!” Sora nodded.
“Sorry for the trouble, Miss Miyuri.” “It’s fine.
It’s rare for someone to rent my apartment long-term, so of course I have to provide good service.” The two headed upstairs one after the other.
As they walked, the landlady chatted with him, curiously asking how things had been at school lately and whether he had gotten himself a girlfriend.
“No.
I’ll think about that after I get into university.” “Eh?
So Sora-kun is that kind of person?” “What kind of person is that?” “The type who only knows how to study.” Miyuri giggled.
“Listen to your big sister, Sora-kun.
This is exactly the age when you should be falling in love!
Studying doesn’t matter.
Enjoying your youth is what’s important!” “Sorry, Miss Miyuri.
Unlike you, I don’t own an entire apartment building that collects rent for me.” “If Sora-kun wants one, you can have one too.” Miyuri turned around and looked at him with a meaningful smile.
Sora felt like her words were implying something.
Wait a minute, lady.
I’m still a minor.
You’ll end up in prison.
After a brief silence, Sora said: “Miss Miyuri, my room is here.” “Eh?
We’re already here?” “It’s only the third floor.” “Third floor is still pretty high for me.” Miyuri picked out a key from the ring and unlocked the door.
“There we go.
Let me see…” She peeked inside.
“Sora-kun’s room is surprisingly tidy.” She took a sniff of the air and continued: “And there aren’t any strange smells either.
You’re nothing like boys your age.” “…” Sora silently swallowed the invitation he had been about to make.
Forget it.
He had confirmed that this landlady was genuinely a little strange.
If he actually invited her in for a chat, he was afraid “come in and sit for a while” might turn into something entirely different.
Fortunately, Miyuri knew when to stop joking.
Putting away the keys, she smiled.
“Then I’ll head back downstairs.
Remember to bring your key with you next time, Sora-kun.” “Alright.
Thank you, Miss Miyuri.” “Come visit me sometime.
Big sister will treat you to some juice.” “…Sure.” After Miss Miyuri left, Sora entered the room.
On the table in the living room, he found his room key and a wallet.
Inside the wallet were several forms of identification, a bank card, and some paper currency.
Sora tried storing the wallet and key.
With a thought, both items disappeared from his hand and appeared inside the inventory.
Much more convenient.
He then went to inspect the bedroom.
Some textbooks sat on the desk.
A school bag rested on the chair.
The pillow and bedsheets on the bed were clean.
“Although it looks old from the outside, the interior is actually pretty nice.” Sora was fairly satisfied with the accommodation arranged by the system.
Compared to the cramped rental room he had lived in in his previous world, this apartment was far better.
He opened the bedroom window.
Somewhere nearby, someone was cooking dinner.
A faint aroma of grilled fish drifted through the wind.
As Sora smelled it, his stomach began to growl.
Walking into the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator.
It was completely empty.
Looks like I’ll have to eat out tonight, then stop by the bank to withdraw some money and buy groceries afterward.
Closing the refrigerator, his eyes landed on the kitchen knife sitting on the cutting board.
After a moment of thought, he stored it inside his inventory.
After all, this was Beika Town—the crime capital.
Running into three or five potential criminals while going out to buy groceries was perfectly normal, so carrying a weapon for self-defense was important.
Returning to the living room, he spotted a baseball bat in the corner and stored that as well.
Just as he stepped outside and was locking the door, a panicked scream suddenly echoed from downstairs.
“Ahhh!
Help!
Help me!!!” That voice…
It was Miss Miyuri!
Something had happened to her!
Sora’s heart skipped a beat.
As expected of Beika Town.
The landlady had just helped him.
Even if it had only been a small favor, he couldn’t simply stand by and watch her die.
He should at least check what was going on.
His thoughts raced.
Pulling the baseball bat out of his inventory, he gripped it tightly and rushed toward the stairwell.
Then he jumped directly down.
Just before hitting the ground, he jumped again.
[Secret Technique: Double Jump] With the second leap, the downward momentum from falling three floors instantly vanished.
It was as though his state had been reset.
Instead of crashing down from a great height, it felt like he had merely hopped down a single step.
He landed lightly.
Neither his knees nor ankles suffered any injury, and he didn’t make much noise.
Carefully, Sora moved to the wall and peeked around the corner to assess the situation.
The result surprised him.
Only Miss Miyuri was standing outside her tightly shut door, desperately shouting for help.
After observing for more than ten seconds and seeing nobody trying to break out from inside, the situation didn’t seem nearly as urgent as he’d imagined.
Carrying the baseball bat, Sora walked over.
“Miss Miyuri, what’s wrong?” “Sora-kun!!” As though she had found a savior, Miyuri’s eyes lit up as she rushed toward him.
“Save me!!” “What exactly happened?” “A snake!
There’s a snake in my apartment!
This long!” She stretched out her hands dramatically.
“It suddenly appeared under the table!
It scared me to death!” “So it’s just a snake…” Sora let out a sigh of relief.
He had thought she had encountered a robber or some dangerous criminal.
“Sora-kun…” The landlady looked at him with tearful eyes.
After thinking for a moment, Sora said: “Leave it to me.
Stay here and don’t move.
I’ll go kill it.” “Be careful, Sora-kun!” Sora picked up a laundry pole from the hallway and carefully opened the door.
Entering the room, he soon spotted the snake beneath the living room table.
It was a black snake about twenty centimeters long, flicking its tongue at him.
Holding the laundry pole in front of himself with one hand to guard against an attack, he raised the baseball bat with the other.
Then he swung at the snake’s head.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Within a few strikes, the snake’s head was flattened.
The entire snake went motionless.
At the same time, Sora heard two unusually crisp clinking sounds.
Two copper coins had suddenly burst out of the snake’s body and fallen onto the tiled floor.