In the depths of Beika Park, inside a long-abandoned wooden cabin…
Baishi Hui stared in disbelief at the two girls tied up in front of him—Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki.
He rubbed his eyes hard, then looked again.
No mistake.
It really was Ran and Sonoko.
What the hell was going on?
Baishi was completely bewildered. He had just gone to sleep… and somehow woke up in a completely different world? And worse yet, Ran and Sonoko were both tied up here with him?
While he was still reeling, a sudden wave of dizziness hit him.
Memories—fragmented, unfamiliar, but insistent—came flooding into his mind.
Slowly, he began to piece it together.
The "him" of this world was a student at Teitan High. After his parents died in a car accident, unable to bear the grief, he became addicted to pachinko.
And, unsurprisingly, he gambled everything away.
When he had nothing left, he turned to loan sharks—losing even the shirt off his back until he was drowning in debt.
Eventually, under their threats and manipulations, he was driven into crime… specifically, kidnapping Sonoko Suzuki.
"…Damn. Talk about a terrible start." Baishi sighed.
Kidnap Sonoko Suzuki?
That was insane. Did this guy have any idea what kind of family the Suzukis were?
Did he really think the Suzuki Zaibatsu had built their empire through squeaky-clean, legitimate business practices?
Every major company had one foot in the light and one in the dark.
Especially in Japan, where the yakuza practically had legal status.
Any corporation without some serious muscle backing it would've been wiped out long ago.
"But still… as the heiress of the Suzuki family, shouldn't Sonoko have bodyguards around her? How did I even manage to kidnap her?" Baishi frowned.
The memories soon supplied the answer.
The method was ridiculously simple.
The "original him" had written Sonoko a love letter, and she'd actually come here willingly.
Ran had tagged along for fun, and ended up getting tied up too.
"…"
Baishi didn't even know what to say.
All he could think was: love-brained idiots were way too easy to trick.
But whatever. Now wasn't the time to dwell on it. He needed to untie them fast, apologize, and pray they'd be merciful enough to let it slide.
That was when a strange voice suddenly chimed in his ear.
Ding! System initializing…
Bandit System successfully activated.
Host binding complete!
Congratulations, host has received a newbie package.
Rewards: 1 Azoth mask, 1 AK-47, 1 Glock handgun, and 20 universal magazines.
Current Mission: Accumulate a total of 100 million yen in stolen funds.
"…You've gotta be kidding me." Baishi stared blankly, completely speechless.
He was a decent guy—a law-abiding citizen! Why the hell did he end up with this kind of system?
Was it trying to push him further and further down the road of crime?
No way. Absolutely not!
He was a transmigrator. As long as he plagiarized Shinichi Kudo's deductions, he could soar to the top as a "genius detective."
Why the hell would he waste that chance becoming some petty thug?
That'd just be throwing his future away.
Resolving to ignore the system, Baishi walked over to Ran and Sonoko, pulling the cloth out of their mouths.
"Y-you… what do you plan to do with us?" Sonoko stammered, her face pale. "I-I'm warning you, you'd better let us go!"
"As long as you release us now, we can pretend none of this ever happened," Ran said. Though clearly frightened, she managed to stay calm.
"Hm? Really?" Baishi's eyes lit up. "So if I let you go right now, you'll actually act like this never happened?"
"???"
Ran and Sonoko both froze, staring at him in disbelief.
Did they hear that right?
"Then it's a deal! I'll release you, and you'll pretend this never happened." Without giving them a chance to change their minds, Baishi immediately pulled out a knife and sliced through the ropes.
"There. You're free. You can leave now." He even tossed the knife aside and stepped back, showing he meant no harm.
The sudden turn of events left the girls stunned. Even free, they hesitated, unsure of what to do.
Ran and Sonoko glanced at each other, both seeing the same confusion mirrored in the other's eyes.
He… just let them go?
Still, bewildered or not, they both stood and brushed the dirt and grass off their skirts.
"S-so… we're just going to… leave?" Ran asked cautiously.
"Yeah, you can go." Baishi even pointed politely. "The exit's this way. Just follow the path out."
"Th-thank you…" Ran instinctively bowed her head politely before grabbing Sonoko's hand and hurrying toward the exit. Better not question it—just escape first.
"Wait a second!" Sonoko suddenly stopped, refusing to leave.
After being kidnapped and then released so abruptly, her curiosity was burning. She had to know why.
"Why did you suddenly decide to let us go?" she asked, eyes narrowed at the masked figure before her.
"Sonoko! Now's not the time for this!" Ran urged, anxious. What if he changed his mind at the last second?
"Relax, Ran. If he really didn't want us to leave, we wouldn't be walking out of here anyway." Sonoko brushed it off, her gaze fixed intently on the kidnapper, waiting for an answer.
Ran sighed, realizing Sonoko wouldn't budge, and reluctantly stood in front of her, fists clenched in a defensive stance.
"Because… I came to my senses. I made a mistake in a moment of weakness," Baishi admitted helplessly, taking the blame onto himself.
He tried to sound pitiful—well, it wasn't even acting, it was technically his current backstory.
"A while back, my parents died in a car accident. I… I couldn't take it. I turned to pachinko and lost everything. Eventually I got buried in debt."
"Then the loan sharks pushed me into crime. I don't even know why I listened to them… but I ended up kidnapping you two."
He lowered his head, sighing deeply. "Now that I think about it, I was such an idiot. I really hope you can forgive my reckless, immature behavior."
Hearing this, both girls visibly softened, sympathy flickering in their eyes.
Ran lowered her guard, her tone gentler. "I see… but realizing your mistake and choosing to stop—that's what really matters. It's good that you turned back before it was too late."
"Yeah, we forgive you!" Sonoko finally relaxed, then after a moment of hesitation, she leaned forward curiously.
"…Can you take off your mask? I want to see what you look like. Otherwise, I feel like this whole trip was a waste!"
"Sonoko!!" Ran's anxiety spiked. If he thought letting them see his face was too risky, he might not let them leave after all!
But before she could protest further, Baishi smiled and said, "Sure."
Even if he didn't, Shinichi would figure it out soon enough from the love letter clue. And he had already revealed half his background anyway. At this point, refusing was pointless. Better to just be straightforward.
He reached up and pulled off the mask, revealing a clear-eyed, handsome teenager.
Sonoko's eyes lit up immediately, her lips curling into a sly smile. She muttered under her breath:
"…Well then. Since you've already kidnapped me, you'll have to take responsibility!"