The drive to Sendai was a quiet one. Leo and Yusaku spoke very little during the trip, the silence only interrupted by the persistent ⬜⬜⬜ Devil, who relentlessly insisted on Yusaku's death, but was continuously ignored.

As they approached Sendai, Leo noticed a sign indicating their proximity to the city. They were just a few kilometers away from their destination.

While nearing the city, Yusaku stole a glance at Leo through the rearview mirror. Leo's expression didn't betray any excitement about seeing the city; he simply wore a constant smile throughout the journey. When Leo had shown Yusaku his wallet earlier, Yusaku noticed that his hands were covered in bandages. However, he chose not to inquire about it, sensing it might be a sensitive topic.

"Hey kid," Yusaku spoke, breaking the silence.

Leo turned his gaze away from the window and made eye contact with Yusaku through the rearview mirror.

"Yeah?" Leo responded.

Yusaku hesitated for a moment, looking back at the road before focusing on Leo again. "I've been wondering... How did you end up with those bandages on your hands?"

Leo glanced at his feet before responding with a nervous chuckle. "Hehe, you see, I was really excited when I got my bike. So, when I got the chance, I went as fast as I could and ended up falling off, scraping my hands on the road, hehe."

Yusaku winced, feeling a slight discomfort imagining the condition of Leo's hands beneath the bandages. He didn't want to dwell on the details of the accident.

"You're alright though, right?" Yusaku asked, wanting to shift the conversation away from the topic.

Leo nodded. "Uh huh. My grandma took me to the local clinic, and after they poured alcohol on my hands, they said I'd be fine in a couple of weeks as long as I apply Vaseline occasionally and change the bandages."

Yusaku felt a surge of queasiness hearing about the alcohol being poured on open wounds. He cursed himself for asking and fought the urge to vomit at the thought. The pain was unimaginable to him, yet Leo seemed nonchalant about it.

"I'm *gag* glad you're alright," Yusaku managed to say, his face turning slightly pale at the vivid imagery.

While Yusaku's reaction might have deterred someone else, Leo's smile remained unshaken, and it even grew a little as he suppressed the urge to laugh.

Meanwhile, the ⬜⬜⬜ Devil...

'BUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!'

...burst into laughter, thoroughly entertained by the situation.

From that point on, Yusaku refrained from asking any more questions for the remainder of the trip.

They parked on the side of the street, and Yusaku pressed a button on his machine, stopping it and leaving a flashing ¥4,121 on the screen. Leo opened his wallet and counted out the appropriate amount of notes and coins to pay for the ride before handing it to Yusaku.

"Thanks for your patronage," Yusaku said, looking slightly pale, but he didn't bother counting the money.

"Have a good one, Yusaku," replied Leo.

With Leo waving at him from the sidewalk, Yusaku lazily waved back as he stepped back into his taxi.

Looking around the station, Leo noticed that it seemed barren of shops. The nearest convenience store was on the other side of the street, located on the corner. There was a coffee shop nearby, accompanied by an odd vending machine off to the side, and a closed candy store further down. Glancing back at Yusaku, who had turned his taxi back

on and activated his blinker to merge back into traffic, Leo knew it was time to move forward.

Walking down a flight of stairs, Leo entered the underground station and followed the signs, maneuvering around small crowds with his bike in tow. Eventually, he found a map displaying train routes.

"Let's see... How to get to Tokyo," Leo mumbled to himself, tracing each train route with his finger.

"Tohaku-Hokkaido Shinkansen, huh?"

Following the signs once again, Leo debated whether or not to buy a ticket. There was nothing more than a jumpable gate standing between him and a free ride to Tokyo. He considered buying both an adult ticket and a child ticket to avoid raising suspicion. If someone asked, he could simply say that his guardian was in the bathroom, showing both tickets, and then make them forget the interaction. He could repeat this process until he reached Tokyo.

Buying a ticket would also grant him unrestricted access to the train, which he would need to keep his new bike. While he could squeeze himself and the bike into the bathroom, he knew it would be uncomfortable. However, the problem was that he didn't have enough money. Without a reservation, he would have to pay over 9,000 yen for an adult ticket alone. Leo didn't have that kind of cash, so he realized he would have to pickpocket more wallets before he could proceed.

Regardless of the plan he chose, Leo knew he needed more money not only to get to Tokyo but also to sustain himself once he arrived.

So, he got to work.

While waiting for crowds to gather, Leo formulated a plan—a rather simple one.

Step one: Walk in.

Step two: Walk out.

Step three: Repeat steps one and two.

Step four: Profit.

The only downside to the plan was that Leo would end up with an excess of wallets. He couldn't simply burn them, and unfortunately, the Fire Devil would only burn live targets. There was no option for inanimate burning.

Glancing at the train schedule, Leo realized he had only 19 minutes to steal and dispose of wallets before his train arrived. He found a spot to leave his bike where he could keep an eye on it and got to work.

The first few attempts didn't go smoothly for Leo. He either got caught or struggled to get a proper grip on the wallets with his bandaged hands. But with each attempt, he made people forget the incident, and it gradually became muscle memory. He started selecting well-dressed targets with loose open pockets. Some wallets turned out to be empty, while others proved successful.

In the end, Leo managed to pocket 69,518 yen. After purchasing his two tickets, he was left with 54,893 yen.

With five minutes to spare, Leo walked toward his train, honing his craft by pickpocketing along the way—stealing wallets, watches, rings, and anything else he could snatch with his bandage-covered hands.

Now adorned with a watch and rings too big for him, Leo boarded the train and found his seat near an exit. Fortunately, he lucked out with a window seat, allowing him to enjoy the view as the train gradually gained speed, leaving Sendai behind. Leo admired the valleys, mountains, and rice fields just beyond the city. It was all so captivating, making him wish he had stolen a camera.

It wasn't until the halfway point that train attendants made their rounds to check on the passengers. Leo, engrossed in the scenery, didn't notice the attendant approaching until the last moment.

'Oi, Leo.'

"Hm?"

'Human incoming.'

Leo shifted to lean on his side and looked toward the middle passageway where people accessed their seats. Sure enough

, a slim young lady of average height, dressed in a navy blue suit with matching pants, gloves, and a hat, was making her way down the aisle, engaging in conversation with each passenger.

Returning to his previous position, Leo gazed at his reflection in the window, rubbing his cheeks and mimicking a smile using his index fingers.

'...'

The ⬜⬜⬜ Devil stared at him oddly but didn't comment.

As the train attendant got closer, Leo had at some point stopped rubbing his cheeks, satisfied with the expression he had crafted.

"Excuse me," the attendant said when she reached Leo, but she was taken aback to find a child traveling alone. She looked around to see if his guardian had taken a different seat, but there was no sign of one. Crouching down, she saw the name tag on Leo's shirt read "Yuzuriha."

Making eye contact with Leo, she asked where his parents were.

"My dad is in the restroom," Leo answered. "He went there saying he drank too much coffee."

"I see," Yuzuriha replied.

"And which bathroom did he go to? Do you know?" she asked.

Leo pretended to think for a moment before pointing further down the train.

"Alright, you sit tight while I check on him, okay?"

"Okay."

As Yuzuriha got back up, she gave Leo one last smile before continuing further down the aisle.

Seizing the opportunity, the ⬜⬜⬜ Devil suggested one of its ingenious plans.

'Let's kill her, Leo.'

"No."

'Why not? We can use the opportunity to sneak by unnoticed,' it pointed out.

Initially dismissing the idea, Leo did the unthinkable and gave it a second thought. Setting the attendant on fire would create a diversion, allowing him to slip by unnoticed while chaos erupted among the passengers. However, there was one major issue—Leo had already purchased a ticket. Following the devil's plan now would mean he would have to keep the ticket as a reminder of wasted yen.

...Damn devil, where was this plan when they were stealing people's property?

Ignoring the ⬜⬜⬜ Devil's calls for murderous chaos, Leo leaned back and returned to admiring the passing scenery.

While Yuzuriha did eventually return, she asked the same question and received the same answer from Leo, who pointed her further up the train this time. Other than that, the rest of the trip was uneventful.

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