### Chapter 47: Upgrading the Portable Space

"Two million yen, huh?"

On the Ford Taurus, Fujino looked at the system interface's balance of [2,200,000 yen] and murmured, "It seems that newspaper really went all out."

"Wait a minute... If it was just the newspaper, they probably wouldn't casually spend two million yen on information."

Fujino pondered for a moment, then a subtle, knowing smile appeared on his face. "It looks like it's the company behind the newspaper that made the move."

The transaction went smoothly—money for the manuscript, a win-win situation for both parties.

The newspaper got the scandal, and Fujino got the money.

As for whether the company behind the newspaper could bring down Ikeda Chikako, Fujino wasn't worried about that.

As a former benefactor of capital, Fujino knew just how ruthless the wars of capital could be.

Even if someone only showed a hint of a flaw, other capitalists wouldn't let it go easily.

No evidence? Create evidence.

Once the label is attached, even if it's not true, it becomes true if enough people say it.

In this age, people get their information primarily from the media.

And the media belongs to capital.

As for the Mihama Batman... The name actually had no other meaning.

It was purely a moniker Fujino made up on the fly, inspired by the Kyoto local paper's headline "Numaoka Kiichiro Arrested—Who Is Batman?"

Of course, Fujino wasn't a Batman with a fire starter but rather a knight of the dark, wearing a Batman mask in the shadows.

...

In the early morning, just as the dawn was breaking.

The veil of night was lifted by the dawn, and the sky began to show a faint white glow. Outside the window, the world was blanketed in snow, with flakes drifting down like flower petals.

Fujino stood by the window, looking out with a calm gaze. The glass was covered with a thin layer of mist, and through it, the falling snow seemed like pure white flowers.

As the light grew stronger, the snow on the ground created a mottled pattern of light. Fujino looked up, just in time to hide the sorrow in his eyes.

"This timeline in the Kogoro world is really peculiar."

Fujino took out his phone, looking at the display showing Monday, October 7th, and murmured.

It was autumn yesterday, and today, snowflakes were falling.

It was unscientific, very Kogoro-like, but also reasonable.

With a shake of his head, as if accustomed to such anomalies, he accepted it with a sense of familiarity.

October 7th was the second Monday of October, and in Japan, it was a public holiday, Sports Day. As a student, Fujino didn't have to go to school.

After freshening up, he went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Of course, "breakfast" here meant just a self-heating rice meal.

This time, however, there was no golden flash, only a plain self-heating rice meal.

But the system's proficiency in the chef profession had increased.

Fujino opened the system and checked the chef proficiency on the profession interface:

**[Chef: Beginner (95 proficiency points needed for next level)]**

**[Specialist Chef (Beginner): There is a 5% chance that any food prepared by the host will receive random enhancement.]**

Just like other professions, cooking raises proficiency and reputation.

The proficiency points for the chef profession seemed to be earned by cooking different levels of food.

A self-heating rice meal gave only a small increase in proficiency, while instant noodles provided a slightly larger boost.

Fujino hadn't tried cooking other foods yet. 

The reason was simple—Fujino, being a single man, didn't know how to cook.

"It looks like I need to learn cooking skills from Ran someday."

Fujino muttered.

Among the people he knew, Ran's cooking skills were quite good. Though not at restaurant level, her home-cooked dishes were delicious.

Proficiency in cooking home-style meals would definitely be better than instant noodles or self-heating rice meals.

Of course, he could work part-time in a restaurant...

But Fujino was a former wealthy heir, so working part-time was out of the question—he'd never do it!

Shaking off his thoughts, Fujino turned his attention to the portable space in the system:

**[Small Portable Space: Can store items at any time, current size (0.5x0.5x0.5m). Note: Can be upgraded, next upgrade requires: 1,500,000 yen.]**

The portable space, with its golden quality, was currently his highest-level item.

Unlike other purple items or equipment, the portable space could be upgraded.

Currently, the portable space was a 50 cm cube, about the size of a cardboard box.

However, Fujino felt it was still somewhat small.

Especially as he needed to carry more and more items, the limited space became increasingly inconvenient.

"It looks like I need to upgrade it."

Fujino sighed, staring at the amount required for the upgrade and frowning. "But 1.5 million yen seems a bit steep..."

1.5 million yen was nearly the cost of two lottery draws.

Yet, for a utility item that surpassed the real-world level, 1.5 million yen for an upgrade wasn't too expensive—it was even cheaper than some real estate prices.

After spending 1.35 million yen, the portable space was successfully upgraded.

**[1,350,000 yen spent to upgrade (Portable Space)]**

**[Small Portable Space: Can store items at any time, current size (1x1x1m). Note: Can be upgraded, next upgrade requires: 2,500,000 yen.]**

**[Current balance: 850,000 yen]**

"A one-meter cube?"

Fujino marveled at the upgraded space, surprised. "Eight times the original size?"

Suddenly, the feeling of bleeding money seemed to vanish.

It seemed that the system had some consideration, offering an expansion not just double but geometrically multiplied.

If it had been a 60 cm cube, it would have been quite something.

"Ding ding ding!"

Just after upgrading the portable space, his phone rang.

Fujino pulled out the phone and answered the call. A middle-aged man's voice came through, "Is this Mr. Fujino?"

"Yes, speaking. Who is this?"

Usually, clients would address him as Detective Fujino. This time, it seemed to be something different.

"I'm an installer from Mihama Furniture City. The furniture you ordered has been loaded onto the truck. When would be a good time for us to come and install it?"

"How about now? I'm free today since it's a holiday."

"Okay."

Though it was a public holiday, the furniture store's staff were still working.

For workers in Japanese society, rest days were the best opportunity to earn money.

Working overtime on rest days, while tiring, earned them high overtime pay.

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*End of Chapter*