"…So, it's already been three months since I came back to Tokyo."
Ryo Jin brushed his teeth in front of a cracked mirror, his hair still a mess from sleep, marveling at how fast time had passed.
This was Kawasaki City, right next to Tokyo—technically part of Kanagawa Prefecture.
He lived in a run-down rental house.
Though it was only two subway stops away from the heart of Tokyo, that small difference made housing prices here completely different. For half the rent, he could afford a house twice the size.
The downside? The house was sixty years old, a genuine antique.
While being detached and two-storied made it spacious by Tokyo standards, the ancient air conditioner could only cool, not heat, and the weeds in the yard grew taller than a person. Once spring came, the snakes, insects, and rodents would surely return.
This was where Ryo had been staying for the past month—his temporary residence.
Oh, right. Ryo Jin was also a transmigrator.
But he hadn't come from any specific parallel world, nor did he have memories of a past life. He was the kind of protagonist who started out with amnesia.
If you asked how he knew he was a transmigrator, it was because he possessed instinctive, complete knowledge of modern 21st-century society—and could speak nearly every language fluently.
That knowledge was etched into his very soul, inseparable from the name Ryo Jin itself.
With this gift alone, he could easily work as a multilingual translator and live comfortably.
But even beyond that, his abilities were… unusual.
He had the power to steal people's desires.
He had once acted as a "Phantom Thief of Hearts," secretly solving crimes that the law couldn't touch.
However, because of a certain incident, he had decided to retire from that world.
"…No point thinking about that now."
Ryo splashed cold water on his face, washing away the leftover foam, and practiced his business smile in the cracked mirror—making sure anyone who saw him would think he was just a friendly, harmless high-school boy.
During his travels across Japan two years ago, he'd met a bearded man who once told him something he'd never forgotten:
"Heroes have expiration dates."
Now, Ryo couldn't agree more.
He'd outgrown that childish phase of wanting to play the hero.
Having "graduated" from his life as a Phantom Thief, he was ready to become an ordinary high-school student.
When the new term started next week, he'd be transferring into Shujin Private High School as a second-year student—becoming the senior of the Yoshizawa sisters.
It would be his first time seriously attending school since arriving in this world, and honestly, Ryo was looking forward to it.
When Ryo finished washing up, changed into casual clothes, and went downstairs, the Yoshizawa sisters were already waiting for him at the table.
The old kitchen of this crumbling house had been renovated who-knows-how-many times. Now, the wall between it and the living room was gone, creating a spacious open layout—even with a bar counter.
The previous owner might have run an unlicensed private bar here.
Since the living-room coffee table was too low to eat comfortably on the sofa, the three of them always had breakfast together at the narrow bar.
Sumire Yoshizawa used a fork and knife to cut a small piece of fried egg, chewed delicately, then swallowed.
Even such a small motion looked graceful as a swan. Ryo thought that if someone filmed these sisters eating and posted it online, the video would easily hit a million views. The only thing stopping him from "monetizing" them was his selfish desire to keep their beauty to himself.
Or, if he flipped that idea around—
They were basically worth millions of views every day, and he got to enjoy that scene exclusively every morning. Wasn't that like receiving millions of likes and shares for free?
Thinking that way, Ryo suddenly felt a wave of extravagant satisfaction—he really was the happiest man alive.
Of course, the modest little sister had no idea what kind of thoughts were running through Ryo's head. If she did, she'd probably squeal with joy and tackle him on the spot.
Sumire covered her mouth politely, her bright eyes flicking toward the second floor.
"Ryo-senpai, should I go wake Momoka? If she doesn't come soon, breakfast will get cold."
Momoka Kawahara—Ryo's roommate.
She was twenty, unemployed, and self-proclaimed as an independent musician. In truth, she was living the typical Tokyo migrant-worker life, doing odd jobs to pay rent while chasing her musical dream.
"No need," Ryo said, shaking his head.
"Last night she got into another fight with rival bands over performance spots. She even flipped them off, so I had to carry her for half an hour to avoid being chased down. Then she decided that counted as a victory, insisted on throwing a celebration party—and, of course, got completely drunk."
"She's working the same shift as me today, so I'll wake her later. Just put her breakfast in the fridge. Sorry for always making you do this."
Sumire smiled sweetly, her eyes narrowing in delight.
"No, I like making breakfast for you, Ryo-senpai… and for Momoka-san too. Since she's your roommate and my sister and I visit you so often, it's only proper etiquette."
At such a young age, she already understood manners and neighborly courtesy so well. What a perfect little sister… Ryo couldn't help but feel protective toward them.
Even though he was only a year older than the twins, and they had known each other for just three months, he already felt like treating them as family.
That had been right when he first returned to Tokyo—at the start of the new year.
Most students were enjoying their New Year holidays, but as professional athletes, the Yoshizawa twins had resumed training early, braving the winter cold.
It was on one particularly cold, rainy day that Ryo had happened to pass by and save Sumire Yoshizawa from being hit by a truck. That was how he met them.
Thinking back, he'd just come home to Tokyo at the time—intending to retire from the Phantom Thief life and live quietly.
So why did things turn out this way again?
He sighed. But no matter how much he complained, Ryo couldn't have just stood by and watched a young girl get hurt. A hero's instinct was hard to shake.
Just then, while munching on toast and scrolling through her phone, Kasumi Yoshizawa suddenly gasped.
"Ah! The Phantom Thief Request Channel just updated again! There's a new post trending at the top—listen to this: 'My friend has been harassed by her coach during school club practice. There's also long-term corporal punishment, and it's getting worse! Please, Phantom Thief, help me! I'm afraid something even worse will happen when the new term starts…' That's what it says."
Kasumi read the post aloud dramatically, her large, sparkling eyes lifting toward Ryo.