Hoisting his secondhand bicycle out of the squad car's trunk, Ren Kuroda looked at the flood of students streaming across campus and let out a long, defeated sigh.
Given everything he knew now, he shouldn't need to attend school at all.But his mother's nagging was relentless.
Every time he so much as hinted at dropping out, his mother would immediately unleash her ultimate technique: tears.
She'd wail that Ren was fighting all the time, coming home bruised and battered, and now — now! — he didn't even want to go to school? Was he planning to become a full-blown delinquent?
And whenever he said he wanted to drop out so he could earn more money, she cried even harder, insisting she was nothing but a burden to her children.
In short: Ren's mother was a world-class crybaby.And her tears?A near-guaranteed critical hit against him.
After losing to that attack several times, Ren gave up trying to argue.Having lived alone in his previous life, he valued this fragile, imperfect little family too much to hurt them.
When he reached his shoe locker, he opened it like always—
—and an avalanche of letters decorated with heart-shaped stickers poured out like a tidal wave.
"Great… looks like there's even more than yesterday."
Staring at the sea of "Love Letters for Ren," he felt his soul trying to leave his body.
With his mature mindset, his grades were naturally top-tier, even if he spaced out in class half the time. And thanks — apparently — to the unknown man who was supposedly his adoptive father, Ren was annoyingly handsome.
Or to put it more arrogantly: he woke up every morning blessed by his own good looks.
Demons were known for their beauty. Even the legendary oni king Shuten-dōji was said to be absurdly handsome — a monster who lured beautiful young women with ease, only to either violate them or use them as drinking companions.
And on top of being good-looking and academically top-tier, Ren was also the Kendo Club's third seat. The captain and vice-captain were graduating next year, meaning he was guaranteed to take over leadership eventually.
How could someone with good looks, brains, and athletic talent not be popular?
In anime terms, Ren probably counted as a full-blown "ikemen protagonist."
This was also why his human reputation far surpassed his yokai-side reputation.
Ren's system allowed him to gain reputation in two ways:(1) Completing missions(2) Receiving admiration from others
Of course, admiration didn't stack infinitely. Each person could only give him reputation once per category.
For example, if the Kendo Club admired his sword skills, he'd get reputation for that.But next time he wanted reputation from the same person, he'd have to impress them through something other than kendo.
"I seriously didn't expect you, of all people, to be this popular at school," a voice suddenly remarked behind him."But when I think about it… with that face of yours, it's no wonder those innocent girls fall for your act."
Ren nearly dropped the letters. He turned around sharply.
"Miss Kujo, is this really necessary? I'm already at school. I know you've been ordered to protect me, but do you really have to follow me inside? I'm a perfectly good citizen, you know. Treating me like some suspect is going way too far."
He glared at the petite girl walking up behind him. She had a baby-faced, loli-like appearance, yet she dared to call other students "naive little girls." And despite being a total rookie, she kept trying to act like a seasoned detective.
"I wasn't spying on you," Kujo Hinano said, puffing up her cheeks. "I'm just following the captain's orders. Besides, missions like this are the perfect chance to take a break! It's been so long since I've been back on campus — think of it as bonding between fellow alumni."
Her logic was ridiculous, but also technically correct. Before leaving, Captain Yuzaburō had warned her very sternly to stick to Ren like glue.
Hinano had taken that order so seriously she'd practically begged the school gatekeeper on her knees to let her in.
And so, Ren experienced firsthand what it meant to be the center of attention.
He was already somewhat famous on campus.But now?
Teachers and students alike stared at him with the fascination reserved for rare animals at the zoo.
Which wasn't surprising, considering that less than three steps behind him, a girl in a police uniform followed his every move.
When Ren walked, she walked.When Ren stopped, she stopped.When Ren breathed, she breathed two seconds later.
And she did this for the entire morning.
"Miss Kujo, don't you think you're going overboard? I'm starting to feel like you're taking revenge for earlier."
Ren sat in his seat, glaring at Hinano, who was leaning across the window, keeping an unwavering eye on him like a surveillance camera.
This was absurd.Even hardened criminals didn't get monitored this intensely.
"What are you talking about? I'm a responsible detective. I won't interfere with your student life," she said earnestly, waving him off like an annoying fly.
"Are you sure you're not interfering?"
Ren tilted his head. Half the class was staring at Hinano now. Even the teacher had stiffened up at the sight of the pink-haired gremlin peeking into the classroom.
Who wouldn't feel anxious with a detective eyeballing them for no reason?
"Miss, if you don't have business here, please stop disturbing the class."
The teacher finally snapped and ordered Hinano to leave.
But unfortunately for everyone involved, Hinano Kujo was stubborn to the core. Her family had always opposed her becoming a detective. Now that the captain had entrusted her with a major assignment — one that might secure her a permanent position — she refused to give it up.
"No. I must protect this student's safety. I cannot let him out of my sight."
The teacher shot Ren a helpless look — either get this girl out of here or get out yourself.
Frankly, even when Ren stayed in class, he usually muttered to himself or zoned out anyway.
"I'm starting to wonder… are you here to protect me or sabotage me? Or are you just jealous of how handsome I am, so you're trying to ruin my school life!?"
"W–What kind of delusional nonsense is that!?" Hinano sputtered. She had never met someone with such shameless confidence. Before today, she'd thought Ren was some calm, cool, mysterious pretty boy.
Clearly, she had been horribly mistaken.
"I'm watching you only because it's my mission!" she snapped. "You're not escaping my sight!"
In the end, Ren had no choice but to ask for leave and go home.If he'd known it would turn out like this, he never would've come to school at all.
Hinano wasn't just a little slow — she was dangerously persistent.
When he went to the restroom, she tried to follow him inside.
At that moment, Ren knew he could no longer remain on campus.
If he actually brought her into the boys' restroom, he'd be headline news by tomorrow morning:
"School Heartthrob and Innocent Girl Caught in Scandalous Restroom Incident!"
Nope.Absolutely not.Ren would rather die.
So he dragged the troublesome Kujo Hinano away with him as quickly as possible.
"Where are we going now? Are we going to capture the culprit already? I should call the captain and the others!"
Hinano clutched her phone tightly, eyes sparkling with excitement. Since her internship began, she'd only been assigned grunt work. Nothing like the heroic policewoman image she'd imagined.
But this time — a real case. A dangerous case.The kind of case she'd dreamed of since childhood, driven by her strong sense of justice.
Watching her drift into heroic fantasies, Ren massaged his temples.
The girl clearly had no idea what kind of creature they would be facing tonight.
"First, I need to go home," he said. "There are things I have to prepare."
The number of rat demons was unknown, and with extra burdens tagging along, Ren had no choice but to make proper preparations.