Chapter 4

【My name is Shari V. Prudence】

At this moment, Tōnohara, lying on the tatami mat, was very much awake.

However, there was a voice in his mind narrating something, and the scenes that appeared were so real that he momentarily felt as if they were his own past memories...

【I live in Okinawa Prefecture, where my family is very poor. I have a father, who is dead; and a mother, who is also dead. Later, my sister was given away, hoping she could have enough to eat every day】

【I can eat five bowls in one meal, and the days when I couldn't get enough to eat were truly hard. Some people in the village joined the Revolutionary Army to fight against the World Government, saying they could get enough to eat if they joined. I was afraid of hunger, but even more afraid of death】

【I heard that working in New Tokyo could earn a lot of money and provide enough to eat, so I sneaked onto a train and came to Tokyo】

【False! It's all false! Even in Tokyo, I couldn't get enough to eat... sniff sniff...】

The scenes in his mind stopped here, and Tōnohara roughly understood that the so-called "character profile" was probably the criminal's life story. He felt a bit speechless about the experiences of this girl named Shari.

Is it really because you eat too much that you can't get enough to eat?

Tōnohara knew that Okinawa should be the poorest prefecture in the Land of Wa, but in Tokyo, even a random job should be enough to get by, right?

Hmm, couldn't get enough to eat, so you started burglarizing?

Wait!

Tōnohara frowned slightly.

The moment he entered the "character profile," he clearly felt a sense of being watched, as if a pair of eyes were staring at him. He knew that he was now empathizing with Shari, experiencing everything she had gone through.

But what is this... situation?

The character profile in his mind had not ended, and the inner "narration" continued.

【I met a strange uncle while working part-time at an izakaya. He stared at my ears for a while, then gave me a bright orange, which was very tempting. But my father told me when he was alive that girls should respect themselves and not accept things from strangers, so I refused】

【When I got home, the orange was in my bag, which was very strange, but I put it on the table and didn't eat it.】

【The next day, I resisted.】

【The third day, I resisted... The orange might go bad, right?】

【The fourth day, I resisted... The orange is so pitiful if no one eats it.】

【The fifth day, I woke up in the middle of the night, thirsty and hungry, and I ate the orange. It was so sweet!!!】

【I seem to have awakened a power! That's great! Could this be the ability fruit from the Academy City?】

【......】

【Lately, I feel very strange. At work, during meals, and when I go to bed... I always feel like something is watching me. Hmm... Am I just hungry?】

【No, I'm not just hungry! There really is a pair of eyes watching me, every day, all the time. Are they planning to kill me? Shari doesn't want to die! Tokyo is so scary! Who can save me!】

【Today, the izakaya owner told me that a customer wants to be friends with a Nekomimi and will treat me to a meal. Hmm, my father said we are Tora no Mimi... but who cares, as long as I get a meal, hehe.】

【Oh no! That guy is a pervert! He has many girls locked in his basement. I taught him a lesson and freed those girls, but he threatened to put me in jail. I'm not afraid of him, but I feel like a pair of eyes has been watching me the whole time.】

【New Tokyo is no good! I want to go back home! Taking some worthless stones from his house should be enough to pay for the train fare, right?】

【The jewelry store owner gave me 5 million yen, hahaha, I'm rich! I didn't know these stones were so valuable.】

The next scenes and confessions were about the past week of being on the run, with the feeling of being watched becoming increasingly obvious, and even causing nightmares several times.

Until today, Shari found that she couldn't enter the train station, but she could take a long-distance bus to go home. In the evening, she excitedly found a "helpful uncle" to buy her a ticket.

Unexpectedly, she was caught by Tōnohara, ending her week of confused escape.

Ah, this?

Tōnohara was a bit numb after reading it all.

Those jewels only fetched 5 million yen?

Didn't the police say that at least 80 million yen worth of jewels and jade were stolen?

Good grief!

The Tokyo merchants are really ruthless when it comes to cheating people from the countryside!

So, her "Scarlet Eyes" were obtained from an ability fruit?

Didn't they say that ability fruits are still in the clinical stage, highly unstable, and only one in ten survives?

This girl actually awakened after just one night of sleep?

Really... no one can match that.

And those eyes... what are they?

A side effect of the ability fruit?

...

Lying on the tatami mat, Tōnohara pondered for a while after exiting the character profile, but couldn't figure it out. The drowsiness and muscle soreness from his biological clock soon overwhelmed him, and he fell into a deep sleep shortly after.

If he can't figure it out, he'll just put it aside for now. It's not really related to him anyway.

......

The next morning, the light was just beginning to dawn.

Without an alarm, but with a regular sleep schedule, Tōnohara woke up at 5:30.

Sitting on the tatami mat, he rubbed his shoulders. Indeed, last night's "intense exercise" left him a bit sore. He really wanted to stay in bed and sleep a bit more, but this thought was just a fleeting one.

Speaking of which, two years ago, the original Tōnohara, despite only awakening a common speed ability (Sequence 98), was still recommended to the New Tokyo Takehara South Private Academy from a rural junior high school in Shizunai, Shiretoko, Hokkaido.

However, the unfortunate and tragic part was that by the time the original Tōnohara reached the second year of high school at Takehara South, he had already been held back for two consecutive years and was currently in a class for repeaters. In most superhuman academies, students in such classes are generally seen by upperclassmen as "weeds" — meaning they will eventually be "weeded out" (expelled).

If he cannot pass the first-year academic test by the end of February next year, according to school regulations, he will be sadly persuaded to return to his hometown in Hokkaido.

Thinking about this, the last bit of drowsiness in Tōnohara disappeared.

Damn it!

What a mess!

This doesn't fit the穿越者定律 (穿越者: time traveler) at all!

He didn't fear being expelled and returning to his hometown in Hokkaido like the original Tōnohara, who trained himself to death to improve his abilities, only to exceed the physical limits of a teenager and die in the middle of the night.

It was truly a twist of fate.

Fortunately, it benefited him from the planet Aquamarine.

But even now, Tōnohara is still worried about being expelled.

He is worried that, having come to this world similar to the original Japan, and having spent half a year getting used to the surrounding life and learning environment, if he is expelled back to a completely unfamiliar rural hometown in Hokkaido, it would be truly unbearable.

Not to mention, in the original Tōnohara's memories, his parents in the rural hometown of Hokkaido, who were fishermen, and his younger sister Tōno Yuki, who was in elementary school, would make it hard for him to suddenly treat these strangers as family, causing some psychological barriers for Tōnohara.

Therefore, Tōnohara definitely does not want to return to his hometown if he can live in New Tokyo.

Of course, the premise is that he can graduate from Takehara South Private Academy smoothly.

Tōnohara didn't have much hope for this before, but after last night's dream-like encounter, a mysterious "sin manual" appeared in his mind.

Although the fastest and most direct way to gain attribute points is by capturing criminals, it comes with certain risks. If he encounters a vicious and lawless criminal, he might end up in trouble himself.

Fortunately, there is a "dumb method."

That is, exercise.

Exercise is very hard, but life is about "self-inflicted hardship." Otherwise, how would there be the saying "bitterness leads to sweetness?"

Before going to bed last night, Tōnohara had already set a training routine for himself, combining "push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and running" into a "commoner's training" method.

Why not get a gym membership?

Well, he has no money.

The police reward only covered two months of rent and living expenses, leaving no extra money.

However, since the so-called "human limiters" were broken and removed by the sin manual through forced attribute points, last night's simple exercise of push-ups proved to be effective, even if the effect wasn't "obvious." Tōnohara believes that by gradually increasing the intensity of his training, it seems very feasible to improve.

Fat isn't gained in one day.

Tōnohara was fortunate to have a second chance at life.

Before, he had no choice but to give up and let things go.

Now, with the opportunity to establish himself in this world, even if it's hard and tiring, he is highly motivated.

......

After washing up with his sore body, Tōnohara changed into the Takehara South High School uniform — a white long-sleeved shirt, a brown two-button suit jacket with an embroidered school emblem on the left chest, and gray-blue long trousers. He picked up his black briefcase and, as he was about to leave, took a clean tie from behind the door. The tie had a pattern of white lines at the bottom, and he carefully tied it in front of the mirror.

As the saying goes, "clothes make the man."

In Tōnohara's case, although the Takehara South Private Academy uniform is custom-made to be very fine, it gives him a noble and refined look, and no one would guess that he is a boy from a small fishing village in Hokkaido at first glance.

As he was going down the stairs, he happened to meet Nishimaru Shunsuke and his daughter Nishimaru Mii, who were washing up in the hallway. Mii was rubbing her sleepy face and holding a somewhat worn-out toy rabbit with ears.

Tōnohara looked at the time on his phone — 5:42 — and felt a bit puzzled.

Why get up so early?

Nishimaru Shunsuke works at a nightclub and usually doesn't get up until noon.

Nishimaru Mii's elementary school starts at 8:30, and children need plenty of sleep for their growth.

However, since it was her father, Tōnohara, as an outsider, didn't comment and just shook his head and continued down the stairs.

......

Thump thump thump—!

As he was about to reach the third floor, a sudden burst of footsteps reached his ears. Tōnohara didn't turn his head, but a 360-degree image suddenly appeared in his mind.

The all-around view of the "Nine Eyes Six Paths."

In the image, a girl with long black hair, wearing a dark blue windbreaker uniform and long boots, was seen carrying a briefcase, holding a sandwich in her mouth, and skillfully tying her hair into a ponytail with a hair tie. She was running down the third-floor corridor at a fast pace.

Under normal circumstances, the girl would likely crash into Tōnohara in the hallway due to inertia.

Hmm... this fits the plot of a morning drama in the Land of Wa.

But Tōnohara has seen it all before.

He quickly supported his black briefcase with one hand, took a small step forward with his left leg, followed by his right leg, squatted down, and held the "shield" at a 45-degree angle, making a classic "upper block" stance in an instant.

......

"Damn! I'm going to be late! Ugh! My dad insists I come back once a week!"

In the hallway, Aizawa Mai was muttering to herself as she turned the corner, ready to speed down the stairs as usual.

She had lived in this apartment building since she was a child and could run down the stairs of a dozen floors in three big steps when she was in junior high school.

However, the next moment, she suddenly stiffened, seeing a black... briefcase in front of her.

This all happened in a flash,

There was no time to shout.

Bang!

Sure enough, Aizawa Mai's face collided with the briefcase, and her "morning embrace" expression instantly twisted.

It didn't hurt, but it was a bit annoying.

Who is this?

......

"Aizawa-senpai?"

At that moment, a calm voice sounded from behind the