Shinkawa Academy dismissed students at 3:15 p.m., and by 3:30, Watanabe Tetsu had already arrived at Nishi-Shinjuku Station.
He worked part-time at a supermarket near the station exit.
"Watanabe-kun, you're here!" The young female cashier, Murai Chiharu, greeted him with a smile as soon as he entered.
"Good afternoon, Chiharu-nee," Tetsu replied politely.
He headed to the staff room, stashed his backpack in a locker, changed into his uniform, tied on his apron, and walked toward the prepared-food section.
"Watanabe-kun, I'm leaving now," said Keiko, who had been showing him the ropes. She quickly set down the tray she was handling.
"Okay," he nodded.
Keiko was in her twenties. After getting married, she had stayed home as a housewife. Once her daughter entered kindergarten and she grew bored at home, she returned to work. Every day, as soon as her shift ended, she rushed to pick up her child.
In the prepared-food section, Tetsu was alone.
He first checked the oden pot—only a few pieces of battered tofu floated in the remaining broth.
Skillfully, he retrieved the pre-prepped ingredients from the refrigerated section: thick white radish cubes, kelp rolls, mochi-stuffed pouches, konjac, and so on. He sorted them neatly, added the stock, and turned on the heat.
Next came the fried items.
The best-selling pork patties and chicken skewers were nearly gone. They had to be replenished quickly.
The oil, used all morning, was still relatively clean. Tetsu slid the chicken skewers in. Yellow bubbles formed on the surface, sending a gentle wave of heat against his masked face.
"Mom! I want this!"
"It's almost dinner time, no!"
"Ahhh—just a little, just a little!"
Tetsu said nothing, patiently waiting for the tug-of-war between the child and the young mother at the counter to end.
Finally, the child gleefully took the freshly fried chicken skewer from his hands and obediently followed the still-chattering mother away.
"Thank you for your purchase."
As that pair left, another group of students wearing different academy uniforms approached for oden.
"One radish, no—make it two!"
"Sure."
Using the tongs, he placed two broth-soaked radish cubes into a disposable container.
"One chikuwa, two kelp rolls, ah, add an egg too."
"That's a lot! Aren't you worried about eating at the upcoming gathering?" a friend asked with a laugh.
"Don't worry, don't worry." The student waved dismissively. "Also, one more mochi pouch, please!"
"Got it." Tetsu obliged, handling each request efficiently.
"I'll take one too!" another student chimed in.
Two minutes later, Tetsu repeated his polite "Thank you for your purchase" and sent the group off. Meanwhile, another person eyed the fried items on the counter.
"What can I get for you? Everything's freshly fried," he said, walking over.
The customer glanced briefly, then turned and walked away.
Tetsu continued like this until 7:30 p.m., after which he briefly left the prepared-food section to label the remaining bento boxes with discount stickers.
The supermarket closed at 9:30 p.m. He, Murai Chiharu, and two other staff members restocked the shelves.
This part of the shift offered more freedom—any shelf could be stocked as they wished. Chiharu followed Tetsu closely.
"Watanabe-kun, payday is coming up soon. Want to go out and have fun?"
"Payday… I wonder how much I'll get?"
"Well, you work five hours a day, three days a week. That's… about…"
At 960 yen an hour, that totaled 57,600 yen a month. Not much, but if he saved a little and ate at the school cafeteria, he could reduce reliance on the money his parents sent from home.
Unfortunately, his fifteen hours per week already exceeded the school's permitted limit, so he was working secretly. Finding another part-time job might allow him to save more.
Tetsu considered this while taking the bag of chips Chiharu handed him and placing it on the shelf.
"About… under sixty thousand? Never mind," Chiharu abandoned the mental math and suggested with a cheerful smile, "A new karaoke place opened behind Nakano Station. Want to go celebrate?"
"I'm saving for a newly released game," Tetsu replied.
"What game costs that much? You won't even use all sixty thousand, right?"
Tetsu glanced back at her and smiled. "I'm not like you, Chiharu-nee. My family isn't rich, so I have to save up for games."
Chiharu pouted slightly. "Alright, then what about next month?"
"If I have the money, I'll go for sure."
"Then I'll look forward to it," she said cheerfully.
After restocking the snack section, Tetsu moved to the toilet paper aisle, with Chiharu trailing behind.
Once all the shelves were stocked, the four employees divided the remaining bento boxes and fried foods and exchanged farewells at the store entrance.
By the time Tetsu returned to his rented, aging apartment, it was already past ten.
The building catered mainly to students from nearby cram schools, higher academies, international students, and out-of-town dreamers.
Rent was relatively cheap, but space was tight. The front door led to a kitchen with only a gas stove. Three steps in was a combined living room and bedroom.
The bathroom was just large enough for a toilet, thankfully separated and equipped with a ventilation fan. The shower area was narrow, though it allowed both quick showers and baths.
A tiny balcony existed solely for drying clothes, not for standing on.
Tetsu had no complaints—it was just a place to sleep, so size didn't matter.
He placed his bento and fried food in the microwave, set it for five minutes, and left it to heat.
He took ten minutes to shower, then retrieved the food.
Next, he popped in an anime DVD borrowed from Kunii Shu—his parents had bought it cheaply, worried that Tetsu might become socially withdrawn in the city and only focus on studying.
He poured a glass of water and ate his bento. His attention wasn't on the show; it served as background noise while his mind wandered elsewhere.
With April's paycheck, he had 150,000 yen on hand. He wondered if it might be enough to convince Tamamo Koumi to agree to be his friend.
But Tetsu had no intention of pinning his life on this friendship system.
If the school found out, let alone having taxpayers fund his future plans, it might even endanger his ability to graduate from the academy.
He couldn't betray his hardworking farming parents back home either.
Finally, he spent no points to buy the Detector.
This meant that Watanabe Tetsu's current goals were only Seino Rin and Tamamo Koumi.
Seino Rin had an IQ of 8, charisma 9, and a cold personality. The Detector had offered little useful information. Tetsu was impressed by her looks but uninterested in investing time in her.
Tamamo Koumi had charisma 8 but an IQ of only 5. Entering Shinkawa Academy was probably her intellectual limit. Even if IQ didn't equal emotional intelligence, she would be far easier to manipulate.
Moreover, she liked money—a very convenient trait.
If money could make her his friend, that was perfect. Tetsu had no interest in real romance. Even if he did, he wouldn't date someone like Tamamo Koumi, whose values didn't align with his.
He resolved to use money to have her agree to be his friend.
According to the Appendix, continuous durations of a week, a month, a year, or ten years yielded sign-in rewards.
Tetsu didn't aim for a year or ten years, but he planned to secure at least the weekly and monthly rewards.
150,000 yen might get Tamamo Koumi to agree to be his friend for a month—but what was her "rate"?
There was another risk: someone else discovering this arrangement.
Tetsu worried most about this. From academy rumors, Tamamo Koumi was notoriously tight-lipped. Yet it was possible another student might just happen to see.
He decided to observe her carefully over time before taking action.
With his bento finished, Tetsu collected the trash, placed it by the door for easy disposal in the morning, turned off the still-playing TV, pushed his desk to the corner, made his bed, brushed his teeth, and went to sleep.