Ren was more than happy to hitch a ride, so he didn't bother refusing their kindness. As for Yuzaburō's shameless, wandering gaze, Ren ignored it completely.
After wrestling his battered secondhand bike into the trunk with great effort, Ren plopped himself unceremoniously into the passenger seat.
But when he looked at the girl in the driver's seat — a girl so small that the steering wheel practically swallowed her — he wasn't sure who was supposed to be protecting whom.
"So you're a student at Ukiyo-chō Middle School's affiliated campus? Looks like I'm technically your upperclassman," she said.
Once she learned Ren had graduated from the same school, the girl straightened her back a little, trying desperately to reclaim some dignity after her earlier humiliations.
She couldn't be blamed; her performance so far had been disastrous. Despite being a trainee auxiliary police officer, her "brilliant deduction" had been ripped apart by her captain, and when Ren lifted the white sheet earlier, Kujo Hinano had turned green, clapped a hand over her mouth, and vomited on the spot.
Meanwhile, the seemingly harmless boy beside her hadn't flinched. He'd even continued eating his breakfast like it was nothing.
Because Ren lived ridiculously far from school, he was almost always late when commuting on his ancient bicycle. This was his first time riding in a police department vehicle.
And the reason he lived so far away instead of somewhere closer?
Simple.He was broke.
Yes — according to the sacred laws of cliché, a transmigrator should at least be financially stable, if not outright wealthy.
But as reality so helpfully proved, novels lied.
Upon arriving in this world, Ren discovered that everything he'd had in his previous world… he still had here.
He'd been poor back then.He was poor now.And none of the knowledge he brought from his old world was useful for making money here.
His family currently consisted of his mother and younger sister. His mother couldn't work due to a chronic illness, and his sister was only in elementary school — not exactly someone he could rely on for financial stability.
So the entire burden of supporting the household fell squarely on Ren's shoulders.
Still, compared to when he first transmigrated, things were better now. Back then, the three of them had been kicked out of their home and left with nowhere to go.
And the reason for that disaster?Ren's adoptive father — a man he had never even met.
If Ren ever did meet that man, he swore he'd beat him until he saw the afterlife.
The bastard was the very definition of scum — only interested in "planting seeds," never cleaning up afterward. Sure, the guy probably had his fun, but consequences? Apparently not in his vocabulary.
And Ren's human mother was still pathetically hung up on him, constantly praising this waste of oxygen to Ren and his sister.
But looking at himself and his sister — and at his mother, whose beauty was average at best — Ren could guess the truth.
The jerk was probably annoyingly handsome. Handsome enough that even after being abandoned, his mother still couldn't forget him.
Ren's little sister was named Tenjōin Ryūki — a half-demon like him. But unlike the weakling Ren had originally been before the system, Ryūki had been born with frightening demonic power.
Ren might have surpassed her now thanks to his constant battles and the system's support, but he knew the truth better than anyone.
If he hadn't been granted his transmigration cheat, Ryūki would've been the protagonist of this world.
And he…?He would've been the disposable older brother who dies in volume one.
Their mother, Tenjōin Masami, was just an ordinary human. Maybe because of that, after giving birth to Ryūki — a formidable half-oni child — she'd developed a chronic illness that never went away.
Status Screen
Name: Tenjōin Ren (Ren Kuroda)Race: Oni (Half-Demon)Demon Rank: IntermediateDemonic Power: B-Rank → B+-Rank at nightHuman Reputation: 200 (Minorly known human)Demon Reputation: 100 (Obscure small fry)
Skills:• Super Strength• Oni Aura Perception• Intimidation• Half-Oni Transformation• Intermediate Swordsmanship• Keen Sense of Smell
Super Strength:Innate to the oni race. As the strongest species among demons, oni possess terrifying physical power from birth.
Intimidation:Though demons are generally ranked high, your mixed blood lowers your standing.Still, you may intimidate lower-rank demons. High chance of no effect, small chance of breaking their fighting spirit, extremely low chance they submit.
Oni Aura Perception:Even as a half-demon, you can sense demonic auras.
Keen Sense of Smell:Your sense of smell is dozens of times sharper than a human's.
Intermediate Swordsmanship:Basic, practical swordsmanship. You can use various blades efficiently.
Half-Oni Transformation:Usable only at night. Temporarily raises your rank, massively boosting your abilities.(P.S. — High chance you lose your sanity and act on pure instinct.)
Looking at the glowing attribute panel in front of him, Ren felt significantly more confident about tonight's battle.
Even as a half-demon, the oni race was frighteningly powerful. Aside from the swordsmanship he'd painstakingly trained, nearly every other ability was something he'd inherited naturally.
Of course, his current demonic power wasn't something he'd had at the start — it was the result of years of grinding, missions, and near-death encounters.
This wasn't his first time killing a "calamity-class demon." The reputation he'd accumulated came entirely from previous system missions.
As for why he bothered learning swordsmanship at all?
Because tearing monsters apart with his claws was way too gruesome.
Not only did it take forever to scrub his nails clean afterward, he'd come home drenched in blood every time. His mother had often scolded him, convinced her son had fallen into delinquency, picking fights everywhere.
After enough complaining from her, Ren finally caved and learned swordsmanship.It made him stronger — and was a convenient cover story.A win-win.
As for the system's abilities, Ren only understood a portion of them. Mission rewards gave him reputation points, which functioned as the system's main currency for its lottery and exchange functions.
Different amounts of reputation allowed him to draw from different reward tiers — 100, 500, 1000, 5000, and even 10,000 points.
This also explained why his human reputation was only 100 points higher than his demon reputation, yet their evaluations differed so drastically.
He'd already burned through a chunk of his human reputation on lottery pulls.
The outcome…was a deeply traumatic memory.
And the shop's exchange function?
Currently, only two items were available.
Every time Ren opened the system shop and saw them, it felt like someone stabbed him directly in the wallet.