For Watanabe Yu, who had struggled in society for several years before his transmigration, his impression of high school life was reduced to a somewhat vague picture.
—The scorching air, the incessant cicada chirps, the old ceiling fan overhead clicking away but failing to dispel the summer heat, stacks of supplementary books piled on the desk like a fortress, and the endless stream of test papers that seemed like they would never finish.
Back then, his mind was entirely focused on how to escape that kind of life.
But once he truly escaped it, he found himself missing the wine-red evening glow that could dye the entire sky, which he used to see every day and just thought was beautiful.
It was only then that he truly understood what it meant that a person could never simultaneously possess youth and the ability to appreciate it.
And now, transmigrating and starting over, in a sense, allowed him to break free from those shackles and luxuriate in experiencing high school life once more.
However, what he never expected was that the classroom, which he previously detested and felt dragged on forever, now seemed to have the fast-forward button pressed; by the time he snapped out of his focused study state, it was already time to leave school.
Leaving Jonan Private High School, Watanabe Yu, carrying his school bag, and Kiriyama Kazuma entered the subway station and boarded the train home.
“Speaking of which, I saw a post on our School Forum yesterday.”
Kiriyama Kazuma grabbed the overhead armrest, glanced as usual at the packed subway car, then turned to look at the seats where not a single empty spot could be seen, before retracting his line of sight with slight disappointment.
His daily wish probably wouldn't be fulfilled today.
—To get a seat on the subway ride home after school.
“What was it about?”
Watanabe Yu, also gripping an armrest, responded, signaling Kiriyama Kazuma to continue.
“A subway theft incident,” Kiriyama Kazuma paused, lowering his voice. “Another theft occurred on this subway line yesterday.
“According to the poster, who was also the victim, the thief is a repeat offender on this line, having been committing crimes for nearly two months now.
“Although the police officers responsible for this line claim they are trying hard to catch him, there has been no follow-up yet.
“A lot of people have started complaining about those police officers because of this, saying they are tax thieves.”
To be honest, he also felt their efficiency was a bit too low, even if there were objective reasons.
“But aren't there cameras on the subway?”
Watanabe Yu said, turning his head, raising his line of sight, and raising an eyebrow meaningfully.
In the corner where his line of sight was directed, there was an oval-shaped camera.
“But this repeat offender is an old hand; he knows the camera's field of view very well.”
At this point, Kiriyama Kazuma shrugged. “According to the replies under the post, the data captured of him either shows two-thirds of his profile obscured, or just an ambiguous back view.”
“Then there’s really nothing to be done.”
Watanabe Yu withdrew his gaze from the camera in the carriage.
To deal with such a roaming, cunning repeat offender, unless the location of his thefts could be predicted, they would either need to deploy a large number of plainclothes police officers to stake out every car, or they would just have to rely on luck.
“And the victim described the thief as quite tall, and most of his targets are women, since it’s relatively easier to succeed against them,” Kiriyama Kazuma paused, his eyes suddenly lighting up, then lightly bumped Watanabe Yu. “Look, an acquaintance.”
He had instinctively wanted to say, ‘Your little desk neighbor,’ but as the words reached his lips, he immediately caught himself and switched to a different phrasing.
“An acquaintance?”
Watanabe Yu raised an eyebrow and followed the direction Kiriyama Kazuma was looking.
Not far from them, to be precise, just two long seats away, was a striking blonde figure.
Unlike her solitary walk in the morning, Hayakawa Yuki was currently linked arm-in-arm with a girl who had a bob haircut.
Hayakawa Yuki and Takakura Maki, who were already walking this way, also spotted Watanabe Yu and Kiriyama Kazuma.
Hayakawa Yuki subconsciously stopped, grabbed an armrest ring, and nodded lightly toward Watanabe Yu and Kiriyama Kazuma, acknowledging them.
Encountering a classmate on the subway made her instinctively feel a bit awkward, and she wanted to maintain some distance.
But the bob-haired girl, Takakura Maki, openly raised her hand, waved at Watanabe Yu, and then forcefully pulled her best friend’s arm, moving closer to where they stood.
“What a coincidence, Watanabe-san~”
Takakura Maki blinked, her voice carrying a hint of playfulness.
She had heard Hayakawa Yuki finish explaining the apology incident after school, and now that the misunderstanding was resolved, her impression of Watanabe Yu had improved slightly.
“Yes, Takakura-san,”
Watanabe Yu nodded, greeting Takakura Maki.
“Do you and Kiriyama-san always take the subway home after school?”
Takakura Maki asked curiously, naturally pulling her best friend closer to stand near Watanabe Yu.
However, due to their positions, Hayakawa Yuki ended up slightly closer to him.
“Depends on my mood,”
Watanabe Yu answered frankly.
“Depends on your mood, huh~” Takakura Maki turned to Hayakawa Yuki, raising an eyebrow meaningfully, before turning back to him. “What were you guys discussing just now? Kiriyama-san looked quite animated.”
She had seen Watanabe Yu and the others from afar, and she had seen Kiriyama Kazuma talking continuously.
However, due to the distance and the considerable noise level inside the carriage, she hadn't clearly heard what they were discussing.
“A post on the School Forum,” Watanabe Yu was concise. “A roaming subway thief.”
“Oh! That post!” Takakura Maki nodded as if realizing something, putting on an air of knowing everything. “Everyone in the Class Group has been discussing it all morning.”
Everyone in the group had even offered a flurry of advice to the police officers.
“Then it seems my information isn't up to date.”
Watanabe Yu smiled.
He was in the Class group, but he hadn't touched his mobile phone much all day, being too engrossed in studying to notice.
Even if he had seen it, he probably would have just lurked rather than participating in the discussion.
“That’s because Watanabe-san is too aloof~” Hayakawa Yuki teased Watanabe Yu, as she had never seen him post in the group. Then she muttered quietly, “I hope we don't run into the thief.”
She instinctively didn't want to think about or encounter the topics being discussed in the Class line group.
“If you really don't want to meet him, I suggest you shouldn't say it out loud.”
Watanabe Yu felt the subway gradually slowing down beneath his feet, and the approaching platform, and reminded the latter.
“Why?”
Hayakawa Yuki lifted her little face and asked blankly.
“Because once a flag is set, things tend to turn out the opposite way.”
Watanabe Yu sighed; he used to believe in science.
Until he met the Fox Spirit and Principal Guan.
*Snip*.
The subway stopped, and the doors opened.
The four of them followed the tail end of the crowd and were the last to exit the subway.
They were all getting off at Hongo Station.
“Catch that thief! You bastard, you’re not getting away today!”
Suddenly, an anxious roar came from within the crowd.
Upon hearing this, the crowd that had been tightly packed a moment before swiftly parted, creating an aisle like a sardine school driven by a blacktip shark.
In the crowd, an office worker who couldn't dodge in time was bumped by the man running at the front, who seemed to be the one being pursued, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. The speed of the police officers chasing him was also slowed down slightly.
After barely squeezing out of the crowd and gaining a clearer line of sight, the pursued man immediately spotted the subway car door that hadn't fully closed yet and sprinted toward it without a second thought.
But before the man could rush into the car, with a clicking sound, the car door closed a step ahead of him.
The man was thus awkwardly stuck in front of the platform.
The next moment, he turned around, scanned the crowd, and then abruptly fixed his gaze on Hayakawa Yuki, who was closest to him.
Having confirmed his hostage target, he charged toward the four of them.
To avoid unnecessary harassment, he even pulled out a small, gleaming knife from his pocket.
The implication was that being a hero came at a price.
【Hero saving the beauty, though cliché, is always effective when it comes to increasing favorability, isn't it?
【So, should I save her?
Watanabe Yu ignored the cold mechanical voice in his ear, grabbed the wrist of the stunned Hayakawa Yuki, pulled her toward him, smoothly avoiding the grimacing man, and then kicked the man in the lower back, answering with action.
So, the fact that Japan's subways don't require security checks is truly humorous.
*Thud*.
With a dull thud, the man instinctively felt a kick to his lower back, immediately losing his balance, and his face made intimate contact with Mother Earth.
Without hesitation, Watanabe Yu immediately let go of Hayakawa Yuki's hand, rushed forward, pressed his knee against the man's lumbar spine, locked his shoulder joint from behind, and pinned him down.
The police officer buddy who taught Watanabe Yu grappling techniques once told him this: when encountering an armed and dangerous individual, prioritize self-protection; the difference between trained and untrained personnel in a street confrontation with weapons is not as significant as one might think, and injury can occur with the slightest mistake.
So, catching him off guard was normal, right?
However, the effect of the System Bro's 【Body Strengthening（Intermediate）】 seemed ridiculously good; he hadn't expected that initial kick to be enough to knock the man over.
But...
*Snip*.
The man pinned to the ground struggled violently a couple of times, seemingly unwilling to give up.
Tsk.
Watanabe Yu frowned, applied force with his knee, and tightened his grip on the man's shoulder joint with the hand locking it from behind.
“Take a deep breath; dizziness is normal.”
*Snip*.
With a grating sound, the man finally became completely still.
The mechanical prompt in Watanabe Yu's ear sounded belatedly.
【Reward issued: Well-informed and Retentive（Intermediate）】
【Reward uses for this character are exhausted; please wait for the next refresh】
2/2
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