Unable to pay off my debts, I had no choice but to become a Kamen Rider.

Asano Yu's phone screen lit up briefly at 21:42 PM when he swiped his card at Yotsuya Station.

There are still a few unread messages left in the Line group:

[How about we go to that new craft beer place in Koenji next time?]

No problem, but could you please not make the loser do truth or dare this time? It's so embarrassing!

One boy protested, but was quickly refuted by many others.

They said things like that's the fun of socializing, and forcefully labeled that person's protest as "sore loser" and "unsociable."

So, does this count as a form of bullying?

He couldn't help but think of Chinatsu Kirishima.

Their meeting actually ended quite early; she said she had to go to tutoring classes, so they parted ways around five o'clock.

She said she would call Asano Yu later to exchange information with him.

Then Asano Yu went to a familiar logistics company and volunteered to work there, earning some extra money. He was responsible for sorting goods, and his physical strength and energy were much better than before.

I was busy until this time before I finally got off work.

He put his phone on silent and tucked it into the side pocket of his backpack. The strap of the canvas bag was already frayed, but he had no choice but to replace it, and dared not, because it was a gift from Hayami Mitsuki.

He dared not even imagine how expensive it would be.

The last train on the Marunouchi Line, like a weary steel python, slowly pulled into the station, exhaling human bodies that resembled walking corpses.

Asano Yu felt a strong negative energy the moment before he stepped into the car, which made him feel physically unwell.

But in the end, I gritted my teeth and went in, finding an empty seat to sit down.

A few men in suits sat scattered throughout the carriage, their ties askew, their eyes fixed on the pale light reflected from their phone screens.

Asano chose a spot by the door, placing her canvas bag on her lap.

As he emerged from the Akasaka-mitsuke subway station, the neon lights illuminated his eyes, and it seemed that the nightlife was just beginning.

The white light from the convenience store spilled onto the sidewalk as employees threw expired lunchboxes into the trash can, the plastic bags rustling.

He suddenly greeted Asano Yu, since they were both regulars living nearby and were acquaintances.

Asano Yu could only nod in agreement, then quickened her pace, her eyes already fixed on the red sign of the [My Basket] supermarket a hundred meters ahead.

At 21:53 PM, a skirmish line had already formed in front of the refrigerated display case.

A middle-aged man in a real estate agent uniform was scrolling through TikTok while leaning against the shelves, while two hot girls were talking quietly in the salad bar.

Asano walked to the drinks section, pretending to compare the prices of canned coffee. Out of the corner of his eye, a clerk wearing a white sanitary cap was pushing a sticker cart past him.

Asano Yu quickly approached, and a batch of discounted bento boxes with new labels appeared before her eyes—

Today was lucky; usually, only two boxes of half-price white rice are left.

But before Asano Yu could reach out and touch the bento box, the atmosphere around them suddenly became strange.

The older man rushed to the 498 yen deluxe steak bento first, while the two hot girls flanked him on either side with the tax-reduction day salad combo.

More people then surged in, pushing Asano Yu to the front of the 598 yen tonkatsu bento box—

This stuff usually ends up being left over because of its awkward pricing, and it's not really Asano Yu's cup of tea.

It's undeniable that in the first few days after transmigrating, Asano Yuu quite enjoyed eating discounted bento boxes.

I used to watch short videos in my past life and was quite curious about these various bento boxes. After all, who could make fried pork cutlet taste bad?

But this box of fried pork cutlet bento is a prime example of how bad it tastes; it has a gasoline smell and is completely unpalatable.

Left with no other choice, Asano Yu turned to the shop next door. There was a teriyaki chicken leg bento box there. The moment he reached out, another hand reached out as well, and the two of them touched the plastic shell of the bento box at the same time.

Asano Yu looked up and saw a young man wearing a convenience store polo shirt with "Matsumoto" written on the name tag on his chest. He had obviously just gotten off work and was there to grab some discounted items from his company.

The two stared at each other for half a second before the other person let go and turned to the 290 yen curry rice next to them.

After winning the jungle battle, Asano Yu rushed to the self-service checkout. After the scanner beeped, he had only 1270 yen left in his card.

He packed his lunchbox into his backpack and was about to head to the next wilderness area.

I don’t know if it’s because Japanese people have small appetites or what, but this bento box is pitifully small, so Asano Yu has to travel to many different areas every night.

After wandering around three more areas, and buying a box of okonomiyaki for 398 yen and a box of desserts, Asano Yuu finally embarked on his journey home.

The alley leading to the apartment passes a real estate agency that is closing down.

In the shop window, the 1K apartment, a 15-minute walk from Aoyama Gakuin University, was listed with a monthly rent of 238000 yen, while the Showa-style wooden building where he lived, tucked away at the deepest part of the alley, had a monthly rent of 78000 yen and a private bathroom.

However, it is so old that it makes a creaking sound when you walk up the stairs.

Upon entering, the bed is directly in front of you, and the toilet is to the right. There is no kitchen; the space has been converted into a bathroom.

The only kitchen appliance is a microwave oven, so Asano Yu still needs to rely on the power of electrical appliances—

The orange light from the rotating microwave oven flickered in Rokujo's room. Asano Yu took a quick shower, but dared not stay in the shower for too long, lest it short-circuit and cut off the power.

After taking a shower, Asano Yu realized that she had forgotten to put several bento boxes in the box, so she had no choice but to start reheating the food again.

"Buzzing—"

His Samsung phone buzzed, and only after picking it up from the table did he realize it was Hayami Mitsuki.

"Hey~ Miss Hayami."

"It's not work time now, you can call me senior."

"Yes, Miss Hayami."

"..."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Every time she tried to get closer to him, Asano Yu always felt like she wanted to avoid him at all costs.

"You saw Chinatsu today, right? Did she say what it was about?"

"Well..."

Asano Yu pretended to think, thus delaying the time a little.

Kirishima Chinatsu was unwilling to tell Hayami Mitsuki, and even instructed Asano Yu not to relay the message, so he naturally had no choice but to refuse.

"Why don't you go ask her yourself?"

"If she were willing to tell me, I wouldn't be asking you—anyway, Chika is quite important to me, so please keep an eye on her, and I'll give you an extra bonus."

Wow! Earning two salaries from one job! That's fantastic!

"Also, I'm very satisfied with your photos today, keep up the good work—"

"Ding!"

A crisp sound interrupted Hayami Mitsuki's voice. She muttered something in slight annoyance, then changed her words:

"Haven't eaten yet?"

"Yeah, I just got off work. Ah, I went to work part-time after parting ways with Ms. Kirishima. I didn't steal any wages."

Asano Yu carefully took out dinner from the microwave oven as she opened it.

"Yes, I believe you—I'll treat you to dinner another day."

"No need to reschedule, tomorrow is fine."

"Um?"

"Ah, I meant it's late, so I won't disturb your rest. Bye~"

"Uh, okay... goodnight..."

Hayami Mitsuki was forced to hang up the phone, while Asano Yu brought the food to the low table by the bed, ready to feast.

As the cheap spice aroma of the teriyaki sauce filled the air, Asano broke open a disposable chopstick.

Before putting his first bite of food in his mouth, he opened his email and looked through the scholarship interview notice for tomorrow afternoon. This was one of the few ways he could make money with his brains, so he naturally had to pay attention to it.

But suddenly, his body trembled, and a sense of urgency welled up within him—the urge to defecate before leaving the house, the urge to urinate after drinking too much water, and especially the urge to shake his leg to overcome this feeling as soon as the game started.

It wasn't that he had an upset stomach; rather, he sensed something.

Previously, when he first transformed into Decade in this room, he had sensed this fluctuation from a girl with twin ponytails from Guangdong staring at him.

On the streets of Shibuya, watching the young office lady who had been elbowed, he felt the same way, and it was definitely not because he was physically unwell!

So he immediately got up, took out his camera, drew back the curtains, and started snapping photos of the street.

Sure enough, there was a strange person running from east to west, as if hiding from something, looking quite frightened.

Are you being hunted by the lucky four-leaf clover just like Kirishima Chinatsu?

However, he was so fast that he disappeared in an instant.

But soon, an unexpected person appeared in Asano Yu's field of vision—

Duanmu Jun!