Takeo's parents never asked him to help out at their restaurant. He was only asked to get the best possible academic achievement while helping his siblings study. And because his two younger sisters were still in kindergarten, the task of helping them to study was more like accompanying them to play, bathing them, and making sure they weren't late to eat.

Every night, while Takeo studied and did his schoolwork, his twin little sister would color a sketchbooks by using crayons. After that, Takeo would read bedtime stories for them.

While grabbing the Thousand and One Nights storybook from the shelf, Takeo said, "Kei, Rei, it's time for bed."

""Mhm.""

Kei and Rei Ishida, a pair of cute twins who always followed Takeo wherever he went, nodded together before tidying up their sketchbooks, then hurried to their bedroom with Takeo.

Takeo was just about to start reciting the Thousand and One Nights story, when Rei looked at him with her clear eyes and asked, "Big Bro, do we really have to leave this house?"

"Huh?"

Takeo was instantly shocked. Even though his parents had huge debts, their restaurant was still crowded with visitors and provided a decent income. Therefore, as long as they were given time, paying off their debts was not impossible. Although there was a possibility that he would have to give up the opportunity to go to the college.

Takeo immediately tidied Kei and Rei's blanket before asking gently, "Rei, why do you think we have to leave this house?"

Rei innocently answered, "This afternoon two people from the bank came and argued with daddy."

Kei then added, "They said this house and daddy's restaurant will be confiscated and we can't stay here anymore."

On reflex, Takeo smiled before saying, "Don't worry, we won't leave this house. Dad and Mom will take care of everything."

Kei and Rei then nodded together, and without delay Takeo recited the Thousand and One Nights story.

---

After his two younger sisters slept, Takeo went into his parents' study. Every day, his parents came home at least at 11:00 pm. So he still had about an hour.

Takeo carefully examined his father's desk and PC. Without difficulty he found that in addition to 8 million Dillar debt, his parents have also mortgaged their home and restaurant. Even worse, they had been in arrears for three months in installments.

Takeo instantly slumped in the chair, while Hide's ridiculous offer crossed his mind. Previously, he had ignored the offer without hesitation. It was only natural that no matter what, he had a hard time imagining two high school kids could make 1 million Dillar.

But now, it seemed he had to try every possible option. No matter how ridiculous it was.

"I hope Hide's offer isn't a nonsense or I'll beat him up."

Takeo then tidied up his father's desk before going back to his room.

---

Knosses, a mid-class restaurant on the south side of Nichiko. It was very popular with the locals. All of its main menus used chicken as the base, and were prepared using culinary traditions from Hellenix.

As the son of a restaurant entrepreneur, Takeo was well aware of Knosses potential. The restaurant was located on the main road that connected downtown Nichiko with the beach on the south side of the city, in the middle of an open field to a 12 km radius without any other buildings.

Under these conditions, a restaurant would close in six months if the menu was not engraved in the hearts of its customers, and had characteristics that could not be found anywhere else.

At exactly 9:00 am Takeo arrived in Knosses, and he found Hide sitting in a corner while making little notes. If he's not out of options, Takeo really didn't want to talk at length with Hide. Therefore, he instantly frowned when Hide chose to eat first.

The problem was, after they finished three servings of Roasted Lemon Chicken Breast served with yogurt, Hide still hadn't said a word regarding the job he meant yesterday, but paid the bill before taking him to the bus stop in front of the restaurant.

While giving Hide a sharp gaze, Takeo said, "Your way of joking is too much."

Hide smiled slightly before answering, "I'm not joking and you are also savoring the Roasted Lemon Chicken Breast. So don't give me a sword stare."

"Fuck!" Without delay, Takeo took his wallet.

However, before Takeo took out his money, Hide casually said, "We're going to rob Knosses."

"Haaaah?!"

With wide eyes and a wide open mouth, Takeo looked at Hide, who looked back at him calmly.

"I'm still sane and I'm not kidding."

Takeo was stunned for some time before saying, "For your information, most restaurants will deposit their income once a week or when it reaches a certain amount. So getting one million Dillar from a restaurant is impossible."

"Our target is not the money Knosses makes, but what is stored in it."

"...?"

"Knosses is used by an ex-Pararoble Cartel from Mexico, to hide the money and gold he stole from his former boss."

A question mark appeared on Takeo's forehead while he stared deeply at Hide. "Assuming the information is correct, how are we going to do it?"

"This job is very dangerous. So think about it for three days before you decide." Hide was quiet for a moment before adding, "And don't think about telling Knosses' owner for a reward. He'll kill you for the sake of keeping his secret."

Silence then enveloped the bus stop. Hide deliberately gave Takeo time to digest his explanation, and waited until the bus that was going to take him to the Kitaro appeared in the distance.

"I have to pick up my little sister so we part here. Thank you for coming and listening to my offer."

"Yeah."

Takeo replied with a small nod and fell into contemplation for some moment, then he looked at the bus moving into the distance.

On reflex, Takeo muttered under his breath, "Why was he so different from Hide in my memory?"

*****