Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

The World God Only Knows:Volume 1 Chapter 4

2012-02-20T01:46:31Z

203.116.187.1:

==Chapter 4: Minus World==

Katsuragi Keima led the way, and the girl was fidgeting somewhat, and she said with a stiff voice to hide it,

“He, hey, Katsuragi! Where are you bringing me to? I, I’ll say these bold words first. I’ll refuse if you want to do anything bold to me! I’ll really refuse you! We have to go in order.

“…”

Keima suddenly turned his head back.

He stared through the girl with a piercing expression, and the girl could only look around helplessly. They were at a shrine somewhat distant away from the road.

There wasn’t anyone else there.

No, there was someone there.

The person who seemed to be observing them came out stealthily from behind the trees…

(Who, who’s that?)

The girl didn’t know what to do. A girl with a skull-shaped headdress appeared there.

Katsuragi Keima was asking that girl something.

It seemed that those two people knew each other.

“Elsie, how is it?”

The girl called Elsie shook her head.

“Not her.”

“…In other words.”

“No. This person doesn’t have a wandering spirit.”

Katsuragi Keima sighed loudly.

“I see. Thinking through it carefully… maybe I should have realized it. I had a direct thought-through and thought that the girl with a wandering spirit would have some problems. And because of that, I was searching a girl without problems for problems. After clearing the smokescreen, it wasn’t even a dual character.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“I was really naïve! No, rather than that.”

He grimaced.

“Elsie, there wouldn’t be this problem if you had followed me after school. I wouldn’t have been bothered by such a low-level trick…well, the reason why I put you in charge of Amami Tooru was because you’re the only one who could detect runaway spirits.”

He sighed.

“This time, the smart one got misled.”

The girl called Elsie stared at the other girl.

“She really looks the same.”

The girl panicked.

She was anxious.

Katsuragi Keima and this girl called Elsie were saying something strange right from the beginning. She was thinking that ‘it seemed that Katsuragi-kun’s not some bad person, so my mission should be over with’. However, these good feelings scattered away.

Her instincts were scaring her, burning like oil being lit.

Who is this person?

Katsuragi-kun.

Who is this person?

Keima glanced at the girl.

“Fuu…‘what do you want?’. Actually, that was my line. Well, it doesn’t matter. I can roughly guess why you wanted to do this. So just confess, you’re not Yoshino Asami.”

“!”

The girl widened her eyes. Keima raised his hand and pointed at her.

“…You’re.”

He said this.

“Yoshino Ikumi. Her sister, and twin.”

The girl.

Yoshino Asami’s twin sister, Yoshino Ikumi stood there, stunned.

She was confused.

She looked around in a flustered manner, and the girl called Elsie was looking at her in an interested manner. Yoshino Asami—

Or rather, Yoshino Ikumi who was pretending to be Yoshino Asami felt Keima’s cold gaze pouring through her,

“Thi, this, that.”

First, she raised the one question that bothered her the most.

“Let’s ask this…how did you know my name?”

Even after been seen through, she didn’t get angry due to embarrassment, and neither did she laugh at Keima. She was just panicking honestly.

At this moment, a certain aspect of Yoshino Ikumi showed through, or rather, she basically revealed herself there.

Keima sighed.

“It’s simple. I asked your elder sister a question back at school, and made a request.”

“Eh?”

“I asked her if ‘you had a twin sister?’. Then, it was ‘don’t tell your sister what I asked you today when you got home, but you can follow whatever else she says’.”

Yoshino Ikumi widened her eyes. Keima then said.

“Yoshino Asami…your elder sister answered yes to both questions. She looked incredulous, like you now. She had never told anyone the existence of her twin sister at a different school, and how I knew—like that.”

Keima then continued.

“It’s because of this, right? You heard from Yoshino Asami…your elder sister. She had never told anyone at school about you, so logically, I wouldn’t know of your existence. Thus, you tried to trick me and pose as Yoshino Asami…your elder sister to understand me, right? To know me personally.”

“Ah, un.”

Yoshino Ikumi was stunned.

“Then, when did you realize it?”

She was completely lost.

“You didn’t show any change in expression even until the weekend.”

Keima looked somewhat self-mocking as he laughed.

“No, that was a coincidence…one that you won’t understand even if I tell you. A girl would look so different, then maybe the opposite can hold true. In other words, two girls may look like one person under set conditions. I just thought of that.”

Keima glanced at Elsie.

For some reason, Elsie was all happy, and Keima stared back at her with a somewhat kind look.

“…”

After a moment of silence, haha, Yoshino Ikumi laughed stiffly.

“That’s amazing.”

She lamented from deep inside her heart.

“I could even fool mom since young if I was serious. To think that you saw through it.”

Keima then added on.

“…But you weren’t serious at all.”

After revealing this, Yoshino Ikumi looked somewhat embarrassed.

“U, tha, that’s because…”

“It’s likely.”

Keima pushed his glasses and said with a heavy tone.

“If you were serious, you may be able to be just like your sister. That ‘ordinary’ personality can be completely duplicated, right? But you showed your true personality in front of me because you weren’t aiming to make fun of me or play a prank on my. Your aim was simply just to understand me.”

Yoshino Ikumi was showing fear in her eyes.

Because Katsuragi Keima.

This good looking boy in front of her was practically saying the truth.

Fu, Keima grimaced.

“…Speaking of which, even if you weren’t serious, I was fooled by you. Twin switching should be the basics of basics.”

He clicked his tongue slightly.

“Two conquests overlapped…so I had the idea of taking the initiative. I was too naïve too.”

He continued to remind himself.

“But, well, since you took action like this, I found a way to solve it, and this outcome’s rather delightful too.”

Keima used his long and narrow eyes to look at Yoshino Asami.

“You’ll tell me, right? Tell me about your sister’s troubles, Yoshino Ikumi. That’s why you approached me, right? If it’s me.”

Keima said confidentally.

“I’ll definitely save your sister. I can do it.”

Yoshino Ikumi timidly shouted out.

“HOW MUCH!?”

She practically shouted her lungs out.

“HOW MUCH DID YOU KNOW, KATSURAGI-KUN?”

The shout was filled with the fear the ordinary girl had on the insightful boy. Keima widened his eyes, but just for that moment.

“…How much?”

Fuu, he laughed confidently.

“Everything! Everything! I know everything! Yoshino Ikumi, everything!”

Keima waved his hand as his declared that.

Elsie nodded her head too without hesitation as she folded her arms.

“Hm~as expected of kami-sama.”

“…”

Yoshino Ikumi looked at Keima and Elsie, showing obvious fear on her face.

“You said, eve, everything…”

She said with a hoarse voice.

“Yo, you.”

She finally managed to find her words.

“You’re not god!”

Then.

“…”

Keima’s expression suddenly went serious. He turned around and muttered to himself.

“Speaking of which…this is the second time I was called ‘kami-sama’ since I started this conquest. However.”

He again turned to look at Yoshino Ikumi.

“I’m really.”

He gave an expression that was overwhelming and wouldn’t allow for any objections, and it can even be called pressurizing.

“I am God! I’m the conquest god!”

It wasn’t just an expression itself as Yoshino Ikumi was wavering from the expression. Elsie seemed to be really impressed as she said,

“Hey, that’s true, you know? Kami-sama’s really god!”

“…”

Yoshino Ikumi was speechless. It’s like a certain part in her brain short-circuited, and that she felt numb. (Actually, this was really Keima’s aim, to use a forceful tone to show his confidence to her.)

And then,

“Aha!”

Yoshino Ikumi suddenly showed tears in her eyes, and at the next moment.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

She started laughing like she had a loose screw. Elsie was shocked, but Keima merely cocked his eyebrows.

“…Is it strange?”

He asked coldly.

“Is it strange that I called myself god?”

“Ah, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Yoshino Ikumi was laughing so much that she was gasping, and shook her hand.

“No! That’s not it, ahahaha!”

Finally, she managed to hold back her laughter, and her fingers wiped away the tears that came out.

“Un.”

She suddenly nodded her head with a relaxed expression.

“Un!”

Her eyes were full of confidence. Keima’s lips showed a smile. This was exactly,

The outcome that he wanted.

Yoshino Ikumi declared.

“I got it! I’ll trust Katsuragi-kun completely! Please! Solve onee-chan’s problems!”

“…”

Keima smiled with his lips, and also his eyes.

He simply said.

“Understood.”

That was something that happened a long time after that. Yoshino Ikumi still remembered everything as she said to her friends in amazement.

“Katsuragi-kun’s really.”

Her words were full of honesty,

Though she more or less misunderstood about the term ‘Conquest god’, this was more or less something to take heart from!

“Really’s a guy who conquered earth!”

And,

However, this would be what happened after. Right now, Yoshino Ikumi was wholeheartedly describing her sister’s situation to Katsuragi Keima. Keima, Ikumi and Elsie went to the back of the shrine, found a bench to sit down on. They were drinking the canned juice Elsie went to buy, and Yoshino Ikumi started to talk,

About her sister’s situation.

“Onee-chan, she really hates humans.”

She said such a shocking thing so easily, took a deep breath, exhaled greatly, and looked at Keima.

However, Keima was,

Completely unmoved.

Yoshino Ikumi smiled.

(That’s great.)

She thought.

(It’s great to have someone like this.)

Then, she hurriedly said to hide her delight.

“It’s not just an expression.”

She said to Keima, who in turn nodded her head.

“I know.”

“Aren’t you surprised? This onee-chan of mine looks so ‘ordinary’, so approachable, doesn’t have any special characteristics and looks so well-behaved hates humans, you know?”

“Why?”

Keima similarly asked back.

“Is there something to be shocked if she merely hates humans? And,”

He showed a knowledgeable expression as he added,

“I’m thinking of whether it’s this sort of reason…or rather, this kind of reason. That ‘ordinary’ was just a mask of Yoshino Asami, right? For convenience in her life.”

“Aha.”

Yoshino Ikumi chuckled.

“No wonder onee-chan would be so concerned about you, Katsuragi-kun?”

“…”

Keima prompted her to continue on with her eyes. Yoshino Ikumi nodded her head hard too. On a side note, Elsie was the only one who was confused.

The girl didn’t understand more than half of her words.

However, Yoshino Ikumi and Keima continued with their conversation as they left Elsie aside.

“Ever since we were young.”

Yoshino Ikumi started saying,

“Ever since we were young, we were often told that ‘you sisters really aren’t like each other’. Ah, of course we’re not talking about our appearances. About that, we’ll occasionally feel that we’re facing the mirror. I feel that twins are more similar to each other.”

Keima nodded his head.

Yoshino Ikumi smiled slightly and said with a complicated expression.

“But.”

She said with a sad expression.

“She’s completely different inside.”

“…”

“Katsuragi-kun, what about me?”

Yoshino Ikumi hurriedly turned to look at Keima.

“I guess you can tell from the time you were with me, but I like humans! I like being with humans! I have lots of friends, I like school, and I’m really happy to talk with Katsuragi-kun now. But,”

She sighed,

“Onee-chan’s the opposite.”

Keima remained silent. Yoshino Ikumi continued on,

“But onee-chan, she’s the complete opposite of me. She hates humans, hates gatherings, hates being with people, and a school with lots of people is something that depressed her. Interacting with people and being with them would cause her to feel like she’s suffering.

Keima thought.

(In the karaoke bar…in the theme park, at the bowling alley…so that’s the reason why she doesn’t feel comfortable.)

Yoshino Ikumi said,

“As for onee-chan, she said that she really liked to read books alone, play games, watch movies. That’s her dream.”

Yoshino Ikumi grimaced.

“When we were young, both of us had a dream. Mine was to be a kindergarten teacher. Guess what onee-chan’s wish was? To hide in a nunnery deep inside a forest, and that was during elementary school, you know? What kind of student is this!? A lot of people would have thought.”

Keima didn’t say anything.

Yoshino Ikumi shook her head.

“But,”

She added on with a depressed look.

“The biggest problem is.”

She paused and then muttered,

“Onee-chan hates this aspect of hers the most.”

Keima’s eyebrows never twitched at all.

Because this was exactly what he expected.

If not, she wouldn’t be wearing that mask to live on.

“Onee-chan, she.”

Yoshino Ikumi continued,

“She said that she always envied me, seeing that I’m on so good relations with others, envied me for laughing together with everyone else. That’s what she said. We’re sisters. Is it because we’re twins? No, that’s not it. Onee-chan herself would have exceptions when it comes to hating people. Family members are basically alright, so at home, onee-chan would often…no, would always talk to me, and then.”

She smiled.

“It was the first time, really the first time. Onee-chan started talking about all sorts of things that happened in school. More accurately…”

She sealed the lid to look at Keima’s expression.

However,

“…”

Keima’s expression didn’t show any change at all. Yoshino Ikumi then smiled slyly as if she wanted to crush Keima’s poker face, and said,

“She started talking to me all about this guy called Katsuragi Keima.”

“…”

However, as expected.

Keima still remained silent.

This was also as expected.

“And then?”

Keima prompted her to continue. Yoshino Ikumi looked somewhat bored as she said,

“Aren’t you shocked? That onee-chan would only talk about how you, Katsuragi-kun, whether it’s ‘whatever happened to Katsuragi-kun today’ or ‘he enraged a teacher today’ and would continue talking! Her eyes were blazing! Isn’t this love or something! Onee-chan’s really an ordinary girl!”

(Is that so?)

Keima had a question mark in his mind.

(It’s not love or anything. Absolutely, at least for now.)

However, he didn’t say this to Ikumi and merely asked.

“So.”

He stared at her eyes and said,

“So to check my behavior, you disguised yourself as Yoshino Asami, your own sister?”

“Yes~!”

Yoshino Ikumi nodded her head heavily.

“I was really shocked the first time I met you! At that time, I knew that Katsuragi-kun stayed near our house. I was shocked when onee-chan was really happy as she said ‘I walked home with Katsuragi-kun!’. That’s because you were really there, Katsuragi-kun, and more importantly, your appearance was just like what onee-chan told me! ‘Pretty-looking face and looks like a rich kid hikkikomori!’ or something like that.”

“…”

“Before that, I heard onee-chan that ‘otamegane, he’s called otamegane’, so I thought that onee-chan’s description of Katsuragi-kun’s appearance would be an image created from a girl in love, so I was half-doubting it. But I was really shocked when I met you. You’re really like a rich kid.”

Yoshino Ikumi giggled.

Keima himself was giving off cold sweat.

Should he be happy about this at this point…

“Ahaha, it’s late, but I have to apologize to you, right. Anyway, I still tricked you, Katsuragi-kun.”

Yoshino Ikumi lowered her head.

On a side note, at this moment, Elsie was…sleeping.

Kukaa~she was sleeping soundly. It seemed that she logically gave up on understanding the topic at hand as it was too complicated. Keima glanced at her and sighed.

“It’s alright. This shows that you’re worried about your sister. So your sister’s not really good with socializing with others, and if you understand me really well, it’s obvious that it’s not suitable for her to dive into a relationship with me. So you wanted to try me out to see whether I can match your sister.”

“To be honest.”

Yoshino Ikumi scratched her head in an awkward manner.

“To be honest, I was a little curious as well. I was really curious how this Katsuragi-kun onee-chan kept talking about was like.”

“…Which was why you didn’t disguise yourself completely to be like your sister.”

“Yes.”

Yoshino Ikumi admitted.

“Because, if possible, I wanted to look at how you would respond to my sister with a different mask on, a different ‘me’…how you would respond to onee-chan inside school and outside school. Well, this can be a conclusion somewhat.”

Keima smiled,

“It’s true that I was troubled.”

“Really?”

“Because a lot of scenarios overlapped with each other.”

“Hey.”

Yoshino Ikumi lifted her eyes and looked at Katsuragi Keima.

“I could have told you the truth earlier, but I didn’t do so. I delayed it for a while…well, I actually wanted to confess about this to you…do you know why?”

Keima gave a wry smile and said,

“It’s because you saw Amami Tooru…that girl who was just like an angel, right?”

“That’s absolutely correct! At that time, I was thinking that even though this guy’s called otaku, otamegane, is he really a flirt? I don’t know how you managed to attract such an irritating onee-chan, but were you fooling around with that onee-chan or something like that.”

“…You’re mistaken.”

Keima plainly stated.

“I.”

He stated casually,

“I’m not popular with girls at all. Normally speaking, that’s the case.”

“…”

This time, it’s Yoshino Ikumi’s turn to break out cold sweat.

This time, it’s Keima’s turn to ask.

“You just said that Yoshino Asami, your sister, started talking about me from the first day on. That’s likely something that happened long ago, right?”

Yoshino Ikumi nodded her head.

“I guess it’s around the time when she was in the same class as Katsuragi-kun.”

“I see. This is just my guess, but was there a huge change in Yoshino Asami during the few days after she met me? For example, did she say lots of self-loathing things, especially about human relationships?”

Yoshino Ikumi widened her eyes.

“Why.”

Either way, her voice trembled in amazement.

“How did you know?”

“Just as expected.”

Keima sighed.

“…”

Yoshino Ikumi continued to stare at Keima silently for a while, and then sighed in the same manner, looked forward and said,

“Un, that’s how the case is. I don’t know how you knew this, Katsuragi-kun, but it’s just as you said. Onee-chan was always envious of me, but it seemed to have become even more intense. ‘Let alone you, Ikumi…I guess I want to be a girl who can interact with others too’—that was what she said. We, well, I guess that’s it. She felt even more bothered after liking you, Katsuragi-kun, I guess. Maybe she thought this way because she wanted to on good relations with you?”

“…

Keima didn’t answer.

But in his heart,

“I see. It’s shaping up…seems like Yoshino Ikumi was correct.”

He muttered deep inside his head.

He then answered with a question.

“But your sister always wanted to correct herself. That’s why she joined the tea ceremony club which requires one on one communication with others, something she’s most inept at, right?”

“Ha, haha.”

Yoshino Ikumi laughed stiffly.

“That’s right, that’s completely right. Onee-chan joined the tea ceremony club because of this reason. Onee-chan had been worried about her personality and wanted to correct it, correct how she hated humans. Thus, she would try to join gatherings, and would even work hard to participate in club activities.

“…”

“Hey!”

Yoshino Ikumi grabbed Keima’s hand.

“Please! How can we cure her? What should we do to make onee-chan more sociable?”

Her eyes were full of trust in the almighty insight of Keima.

“If it’s Katsuragi-kun! If it’s you, Katsuragi-kun, you’ll know, right? What should we do?”

“…”

Keima didn’t respond as he raised a question that’s slightly deviated from the topic at hand.

It wasn’t really a question that was directly linked with the conquest, just something that this boy called Katsuragi Keima himself wanted to know, something he wanted to understand about Yoshino Asami.

“How’s your sister when she’s not wearing a mask? How’s she at home?”

“How’s she at home?”

Yoshino Ikumi said with some doubt,

“Ah, no, you’ve been talking about some mask up till now, Katsuragi-kun. But onee-chan won’t really change personalities immediately, and she would be delicate and kind to others just like she would be to us. She would also listen to my complaints too. I feel that she was even gentler because she’s not really good with people. It’s just…onee-chan would never show her burdens to others, ever. It seemed that she would be pained to let others see her real weak side. Thus, she always wanted to be a good girl. I said before that onee-chan would let me share my complaints, but that’s the difference. Onee-chan, she,”

Yoshino Ikumi paused for a while,

“Actually, she’s really a good girl who tries to overcome her weakness.”

She concluded.

Keima was silent for quite a while.

“…Is that so.”

And he merely answered and stroked her chin. Elsie rubbed her eyes and got up in a dazed manner. Keima glanced at Elsie and then said,

“I got it. I’ll find a way. It’s definitely possible.”

Yoshino Ikumi’s eyes were shining.

“Rea, really?”

At this moment, Keima answered with a stern expression and said,

“But your assistance will be necessary. You’ll help me, right, Yoshino Ikumi?”

At this,

“Of course!”

Yoshino Ikumi raised her hands in approval.

And Elsie,

Was standing there blankly.

That day,

Yoshino Asami was invited by her younger sister Ikumi, who just returned home.

“My friends and I will be going to Dean Land tomorrow. You you want to come along, onee-chan?”

Of course, Yoshino Asami wasn’t really interested. However, the younger sister said,

“Well, I feel that it’s a good training for you as you try to get along with others well, onee-chan.”

Also, she added a ‘and also’, which shook Yoshino Asami’s heart.

“Katsuragi-kun’s coming along too, that Katsuragi Keima-kun onee-chan often mentioned.”

Of course,

“Eh?”

Yoshino Asami couldn’t help but ask as that face of hers was full of,

(Why???)

Such questions. Yoshino Ikumi answered,

“Coincidentally, my friend’s friend is Katsuragi-kun!”

On hearing that,

“I’ll go.”

Yoshino Asami answered as if it was instinct.

Her younger sister Yoshino Ikumi was nodding away in a satisfied manner.

The next day was a bright sunny day.

Yoshino Asami’s heart was beating hard as she reached the entrance of the Dean Land. Over there, there’s the bronze statue of the founder of Dean Land, Ikegoma Gakkan. This was the gathering place.

For some reason, her little sister Ikumi,

“I’ve got something on, so I’ll go first, okay?”

And after saying that, she smiled and left the house.

Yoshino Asami thought,

(Since we’re living together, shouldn’t we just go together…or rather, even though I don’t know what you have, I can still accompany you.)

Even so,

“Ahahaha, you must enjoy yourself today, really enjoy yourself, onee-chan~”

Seeing her little sister give such a bright smile, she couldn’t say anything.

Facing this sister of hers who had a completely different personality, Yoshino Asami always felt that there was something she couldn’t match her in.

She was heavily reliant on her twin sister, Yoshino Ikumi.

She had reached the age of youth, and she couldn’t fawn around with her parents like when she was young (even though this was the case, there wasn’t really much of a family issue, just a little feeling of isolation, especially to the father). Her sister was basically the only person she would talk to.

Even though she would also have her own troubles or talk about school, whenever the little sister complained about youth things that ‘studying for tests is so hard~’ or ‘there’s a handsome guy in class…’ (Even though they look the same physically, in this aspect, Yoshino Asami would be a late bloomer, so she was rather restrained in front of guys, often being very shy) she would listen attentively.

Even removing this factor, the twin sisters were on good terms with each other.

But even though she’s the elder sister, the decision making between these two girls would always land on the younger sister, whether it’s about school or about Katsuragi Keima.

“Onee-chan, tell me more!”

Ikumi would always prompt her to talk me. She knew that her sister was worried about her.

Worried that she still had inter-personal problems.

Her sister was always so worried.

‘You hate humans.’ That’s how the sister would describe Asami, but to Asami, it was a little different.

She’s just not good with humans.

Asami wasn’t really good with building relationships with others on the surface.

Thus, if there’s a need to say that she ‘hated’.

It’s more like she hated,

‘Communication with others’.

She hated it…

No, that’s not it.

More accurately,

‘She hated ‘herself’ for being unable to communicate with other successfully.”

In fact, she didn’t really hate ‘humans’, or rather, it was the opposite. Asami loved to read books, and she basically read highly-rated books, biographies, and of course, light novels too. However, she’s engrossed with the characters that appeared in the books because she liked the existences called ‘humans’. As she couldn’t be involved, Yoshino Asami liked to see people interactions.

For example,

“Onee-chan, in our class, a classmate close to me likes a certain guy from another class, but he.”

She liked to listen to her sister Ikumi talk about these unnecessary things. To be honest, what shocked Ikumi was that Asami was very clear about her sister’s relationships with her friends, and also, she understood her classmates’ personalities, standpoints, history and so on.

It’s not that she didn’t care about humans. She’s really interested in them. However,

Once she got involved, she couldn’t take it.

Yoshino Asami really liked happy people.

Ikumi was able to describe things things so happily because she could always build rapport with anyone around her, and she liked to look at classmates who could get along well from afar.

However,

She herself.

Couldn’t do it. Once she got involved, she felt like she would crumble. How should she put it? It’s like the harmonious balance would collapse once it enters ‘her’. She would not know how to react, and would then feel uncomfortable, and then her body would feel uncomfortable. Thus, human thought that ‘onee-chan hated humans’ as a response.

Also,

She’s really frustrated with herself for having such strong thoughts.

She wondered when was it that she couldn’t get along well with people.

It wasn’t that there was any chance.

Before she realized it, she found her sister dazzling, and then always envied her, and then felt unhappy about it—that was when she was still a kid.

She wrote that she ‘wanted to be a hermit in the mountains’ as her dream, and her homeroom teacher was extremely worried and told her parents, who were in turn extremely angry.

However,

These were her true thoughts. It’s not that anyone wasn’t good with her, but that she just couldn’t do it.

After they reached their youth, the difference in personalities between her and her sister became more obvious, and Asami tried her best to correct her personality…

Even though she felt anxious about that, but this was a major reason why she agreed to go to Dean’s Land. Asami was still fearful about human relationships, but she would often take part in class activities or social events, and she chose the tea ceremony club because she hoped to use one one one communication to improve her interaction ability.

But in fact.

Most of the situations couldn’t work. She couldn’t smile too much when she was playing with others (she didn’t feel like she was smiling), she was worried about whether she irritated them, whether she made them unhappy, got really anxious until she felt uncomfortable. Then, she would be more cautious about the people around her and would feel even more embarrassed. She would always inadvertently compare herself with her sister.

‘’Why am I always like this?’’

And would feel dejected because of it.

But to be honest, she had a little expectation that came with this anxiety.

That was…

“Un…here?”

After she got off the bus a walked down a gradual downhill slope, she looked around and found the meet-up location. There was a stern-looking male bronze statue beside the entrance, and 2 people were already standing there.

Arre?

Ikumi and Katsuragi-kun aren’t here yet?

Thinking about this, she wanted to turn to the opposite direction to look for him, and found him there.

“Ah!”

Her heart beat wildly as Katsuragi Keima was standing there alone.

However,

He was still playing his handheld games. Asami was troubled as she wondered if she should talk to him. After hesitating for a moment.

“We, well, Katsuragi-kun.”

She summoned her courage to utter out those words.

“HA!”

Katsuragi Keima suddenly spread his arms wide and kicked his right leg like he was using to the handheld console in his hands to catch something that’s falling from the sky.

Yoshino Asami was taken aback as she backed away.

“Hm?”

Keima’s eyes returned back to the screen.

“Okay, success…good morning.”

He spoke.

Yoshino Asami heaved a sigh of relief.

“Ah, u, un, good morning.”

She found her senses and put on her usual ‘ordinary’ mask. This was the only skill of interaction Yoshino Asami had.

Yoshino Asami, who’s not good with getting along with others, thought of the only way to mix with the crowd.

A low profile.

Average.

Ordinary.

Not making people unhappy or be too forthcoming. That’s,

Yoshino Asami’s method.

“You’re really early.”

She said with a calm tone as she looked for a way to start the conversation.

“Your younger sister…Elsie-san, she’s not coming?”

It doesn’t look like it was a problematic question, and logically, she felt that Keima would answer,

“Un, I like buns, but I’ll take anything you make for me.”

“?”

Yoshino Asami was bothered.

“Eh?”

She couldn’t help but ask back.

“So you don’t have to depreciate your own cooking.”

“Ha?”

“Ha?”

Unable to establish a conversation, Keima then said to the handheld game,

“I, TOLD, YOU, I, LIKE, BUNS!”

“…”

Yoshino Asami was speechless.

“We, well, Katsuragi-kun?”

The moment she asked this question, Keima said,

“I, LIKE, BUNS!”

No matter how she looked at it, there’s only one dangerous weirdo. Yoshino Asami finally realized that Katsuragi Keima was talking to an in-game character.

The proof was,

“Un…NO! I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE COLOR OF UNDERWEAR I LIKE, REALLY!”

She frowned.

“Un…it’s nice to download this morning breakfast event, but the voice recognition device still can’t work. This will be bad for conquest. Got to let the manufacturer correct it. Hm?”

At this moment, Keima finally noticed that Yoshino Asami was staring at her blankly. After glancing at her, the first thing Keima said was,

“Hey, you’re here?”

Yoshino Asami was stunned…

Katsuragi Keima.

Has she really fallen for him?

To her sister, it was,

“Well~it’s love love! You’re definitely thinking about Katsuragi-kun now, onee-chan!”

And that was what she said.

As she reported her daily school life events to her sister, the mysterious boy called Katsuragi Keima kept popping up more often, and her sister pointed that out.

On hearing that.

She should more or less be honest with herself.

It was a fact that she was blushing, and her heart was beating even faster. Her sister happily said,

“Hey~ just as expected!”

She clapped her hands.

“No, that’s not it!”

Yoshino Asami shook her head and her hands. She thought that she couldn’t possibly have this feeling.

Normally, when she talked about him, she would be merely a little more shy than usual.

However,

Ignoring this rationality, it’s just like what her sister said. Her heart did waver. Was this—falling in love?

At the beginning, she was often mindful of this boy called Katsuragi Keima. During lessons, lunch break, inside the classroom.

Even when they brushed by each other on the corridors.

Before she realized it, she was shocked to find that her eyes were always following Keima. To be honest, recently, she had been going home with Keima, and even though she looked like nothing was going on, her heart was secretly beating wildly.

Love…

Nobody knew whether it was really love or not, and to be honest, she didn’t really understand this thing called love.

There’s just one thing.

There’s just one thing she could be certain of.

And it was,

She was very mindful of Katsuragi Keima, this boy.

She couldn’t deny that she had feelings for him.

She didn’t know the reason.

Thus, she checked this thought of hers which she couldn’t really understand. Even if it’s a little, if she talked more to Katsuragi Keima, maybe she could sort out the messy thoughts that couldn’t be sliced off. However…

She just felt uncomfortable on meeting him.

What made her even more troubled was—the next thing Keima said,

“Alright, let’s go in, shall we?”

And just like that, he brought Yoshino Asami into the Dean’s Land. Asami was panicking.

“Eh? Th, this?”

Right in front of Keima, the ‘ordinary’ mask she always managed to put on successfully was shed.

“Wait! Where’s my sister? Everyone else?”

“Hm?”

Keima stopped.

“What? Didn’t you hear? Your sister and Elsie will be here one hour later, and the rest seem like they’ll be here after that. There are only 2 of us right from the start.”

On hearing these words,

Yoshino Asami was rooted for a moment.

“EEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!!?”

And couldn’t help but shout out as it was completely unexpected.

Then, Keima hurriedly entered Dean’s Land, and Yoshino Asami looked lost as she followed in.

Keima looked at the crowds of people that entered and said without hesitation.

“…I don’t feel like changing clothes. What about you?”

(This is a facility that only allows access after getting into cosplay.”

Yoshino Asami blinked her eyes and blushed.

She didn’t know what to do, what to cosplay.

It was alright if she was with her sister, but it would be too embarrassing to do it alone with Katsuragi-kun!

“No, no!”

She couldn’t help but say these words, and then realized something as she stuffed her mouth. However, Keima’s mood didn’t seem to be affected.

“Of course. Really, I don’t know what those people who like cosplay are thinking. It’s impossible for 3-D to beat 2-D.”

He muttered to himself, and Yoshino Asami’s mind was thinking about all sorts of things.

(Eh? Ar, are we going to be alone together? Wha, what do I do now? I can’t sing karaoke, I can’t play games, I, I can’t hang on!)

Asami was bothered by this as she started to panic again. But soon, all these thoughts were for naught. Keima’s expression suddenly,

“…”

Went completely serious.

“?”

Yoshino Asami reacted to where Keima was looking at. Over there,

“Bishoujo game~Uniform enhancement week~”

There was such a poster on. Keima looked around with an even serious expression, and Yoshino Asami also looked around.

So that’s how it was.

She wasn’t sure, but there were really girls wearing strangely glamorous uniforms around.

Perhaps these uniforms were all worn by girls in games?

At this moment,

“Is that the uniform of Izumi Academy in ‘Poninyan’? But the color of the sash isn’t right…and what’s that!? The uniform of Grand Sand Academy from ‘The Time Without You’ and the Furuhara High School uniform from ‘The Smiling Summer Vacation’ is all mixed up!”

It seemed that Katsuragi Keima really couldn’t stand seeing the slight mistakes in the uniforms.

“That uniform’s insignia’s reverse! I said that there’s a bird together with a tree on the insignia of that Ohno bird patch! Or else that last flag would be meaningless!?”

To be honest, Yoshino Asami didn’t understand what Keima was saying, but…

“Really unbelievable!”

She could thoroughly understand why Keima was angry. Then, he answered the statements of ‘hey you, do you have any right to say that’ with action.

Completely ignoring the existence of Yoshino Asami, who was accompanying him, he stormed to the reception and ranted,

“This so-called uniform has huge problems!”

He complained to the workers of Dean Land, and then sad meticulously,

“Then, remove the scarf here, and that should be all. There should be gold thread used to make prince clothing, right? It would look more like a student from Neville Academy.”

He continued to raise point after point of improvement. At first, the workers were all incredulous, but as what Keima pointed out were direct and would have a huge effect with just a little correction, what happened was that it wasn’t just the counter girl who listened, but also the superior, until,

“That, that’s really amazing! Please be our costume consultant!”

He held Keima’s hands in a touched manner and tried to convince him. As for Keima,

“If I can do so for costumes related to gal-games.”

He readily agreed.

Just like that, an hour passed.

Until the time Yoshino Ikumi and Elsie arrived.

At first, Yoshino Ikumi heard about everything that happened and called out.

“Eh~? No way! You two didn’t go play!?”

To this, Yoshino Asami could only agree with it. Elsie was the only one who looked guilty as she gave a bitter expression and looked at Keima who was slamming the table at the counter and saying things.

(That’s really just like what kami-sama would do.)

It was somewhat a little reluctant.

Thus, Keima and Yoshino Asami were joined by Yoshino Ikumi and Elsie, and even Keima didn’t intend to stand in front of the counter and talk about gal-game clothing. ‘’Really’’; he gave such an expression before following the Yoshino sisters and Elsie.

The one excited was Yoshino Ikumi, as she looked like she wanted to bring her sister closer to Katsuragi Keima as this sister of hers looked like she was unable to get near Keima,

“Over here! We’re going in here!”

She loudly declared as she pointed at the selling point of the 7-levels Dean Land, ‘entering a haunted house with a swimsuit’. Yoshino Asami was blushing, Elsie was shocked, and Keima was merely giving a blank face.

What’s with this facility?

That’s what his expression was arguing.

Let alone cosplaying and walking inside the facility or the jet coaster outside, the designer of Dean Land took it too far. Also, this ‘wearing swimsuits and entering a haunted house’ was a rather brilliant concept.

The entrants would have to change into swimsuits at the entrance (both male and female versions were available for loan), and they would enter a building where the water’s at their knees.

It was designed as an ‘underwater complex’.

As of his understanding, it’s a haunted house combined with a swimming pool. The entrants would have to wade through the water-filled complex.

The ‘Water moving at knee level’ was the crux.

For example, they’ll find that the water that was all clear up till a certain point became bloody red, or that someone grabbed their ankles from within the water.

Whether it’s an increase or decrease in temperature, ordinary humans will feel a large psychological burden.

There were too many unknowns that were concerns.

The unknown water.

That’s rather scary.

In a certain sense, it was an outstanding creation.

Another reason was that as they have to wear swimsuits, a lot of couples were attracted as they were looking for thrill. Yoshino Asami was hesitant at first, but bought an entrance ticket on Yoshino Ikumi’s forceful request.

They came out separately from the men and women changing rooms on the left and right sides respectively. Yoshino Asami and Ikumi were wearing striped one-pieced type, while Elsie was wearing a separate thing with a towel wrapped around her.

What’s amazing was that even though the twins were wearing the same swimsuits and had the same face, Yoshino Ikumi gave a lively impression while Yoshino Asami just looked pathetic.

Also, Elsie’s figure was unexpectedly good.

Even Keima, who was rather cold to real-life girls, was somewhat moved.

After that, Keima, the only guy, and the 3 girls entered the haunted house and dipped their feet into the warm water as they walked into the labyrinth attraction. It was rather scary, and Elsie and Yoshino Ikumi were walking in front, and Keima and Yoshima Asami were following behind.

Every single time there was a drop of water from the ceiling or a zombie popping out to scare people, Yoshino Asami would let out a pained cry and cling onto Keima.

It was impossible to resist it.

She didn’t mean for this to happen, but that her body was saying its own thing and responding in such a manner. Keima blushed slightly as well, but never ever rejected Yoshino Asami.

She would cry at one moment and make a ruckus at the next moment. The four people finally finished this one-of-its-kind facility, and Elsie and Yoshino Ikumi seemed like they really enjoyed it.

After completing everything, they changed back into their own clothes inside the changing room. Even after walking for quite a while from the haunted house, Yoshino Asami’s heart was still beating wildly.

And this,

Was unlikely to be because of fear.

They ate their slightly late lunch at a restaurant in the theme park. At that moment, Yoshino Asami just felt like she let go of everything as she would talk and joke with Keima and criticize Keima with Ikumi, and even to Elsie, whom she never really talked to…even though there were some restraints, she could still talk normally.

She was happy.

So she could talk to people other than her own sister.

She was so shocked,

About this new discovery.

She wanted to thank her sister,

And she wanted to thank this boy called Katsuragi Keima even more. However,

“Ah, that’s right! My friends will be here this afternoon~”

Her sister said that. On hearing Yoshino Ikumi’s casual words, Yoshino Asami’s abdomen ached slightly. The intense happiness suddenly wilted, and it felt like she got a dampener.

At this moment.

Katsuragi Keima was silently looking at this Yoshino Asami,

While eating his omelette rice with his spoon,

He naturally,

Had an expression that looked like he could see through everything.

Katsuragi Keima’s request beforehand to Yoshino Ikumi was extremely simple.

“First, let’s have Yoshino Asami and I have some time alone in the Dean Land…let’s see, about an hour. Then, it’ll be you and Elsie. Finally, your friends will show up in 2 hours’ time. Get some optimistic and forgiving people who are really sociable here.”

On hearing this, Yoshino Ikumi said,

“I got it! So we’re going to get onee-chan to get used in steps, right? First, Katsuragi-kun, then, us, and finally, the rest. In that case, even onee-chan who’s not used to group gatherings can ease her burden a little~I see. As expected of Katsuragi-kun!”

She said that in amazement. Elsie also said,

“Un~ as expected of kami-sama! This method’s really nice!”

She said as she flailed her arms. At this, Keima merely,

“…”

Smiled slightly.

Thus, Yoshino Ikumi followed what Keima instructed. Once it was afternoon, Ikumi’s friends slowly gathered at the Dean’s Land one by one.

The group was then so large that there were 7 people altogether.

Keima, Elsie, the Yoshino sisters, a tall boy, a kind looking boy and an energetic girl with a really cute smile.

“Okay~ everyone! Let’s enjoy ourselves today!”

The tall boy who had that leader attitude declared.

That girl happily said,

“I always wanted to come here to play!”

“Ah, I came here a few times. Un, I recommend..ahh, before that, let’s introduce ourselves first, okay?”

The kind looking boy seemed like he was thinking for everyone. After that, everyone decided to head back to the counter to change before playing.

Yoshino Ikumi was extremely excited.

“Hey hey, what clothes is everyone changing into today?”

She asked her friends as she looked really happy.

In response,

“U~n, let’s wearing something we couldn’t wear the last time. Hey? Onii-sama?”

Elsie was also completely into playing mode as she asked Keima. Yoshino Asami looked rather ordinary as she said,

“…Katsuragi-kun may be really suited to dress up like a prince.”

She smiled.

“…”

Only Katsuragi Keima,

“…”

Was playing the PFP silently.

Everyone ordered the costume they wanted to cosplay from the counter and changed at the changing room. After changing, they started to cheerily evaluate each other’s clothing.

And then, they went for karaoke.

They all sang for 2 hours, and then changed clothes before moving to the bowling alley.

It was really exciting.

They were split into two teams in a competition.

Right now, the competition was intense. Teammates were high touching with each other, and it was really bustling. Then, everyone was having tea inside Dean Land and chatting away.

Excluding Yoshino Ikumi, who recruited everyone, they all met for the first time. However, everyone got together rather well, and the boys and girls with quite the good personalities didn’t seem to show any estrangement. Elsie and Yoshino Ikumi were laughing from start to end, and the important Yoshino Asami looked rather ‘normal’ as she blended in.

She was still smiling.

After a while, everyone decided to head to the game center. The boy joked about, and everyone burst into laughter. Then, everyone started to jab each other with words, and Yoshino Asami was laughing while covering her mouth.

Elsie, who was walking last, whispered secretly with a soft voice that nobody else could hear to Keima, who was walking beside her.

“As expected of Yoshino Ikumi’s friends! Everyone’s all really good people.”

“…”

Keima remained silent.

Elsie said in amazement,

“I see! Creating such a joyous atmosphere and getting a few sociable people can correct Yoshino Asami-san’s ‘human hating’ presence. Lookie look, kami-sama! Yoshino Asami-san has gotten on well with everyone!”

“…”

Keima looked at Yoshino Asami’s thin profile. She was answering someone, and looked rather happy.

“Is that so?”

And then, he turned to look at his PFP again.

“I can bet that things won’t be that easy. A lack of communication skills can’t be treated so easily.”

“Eh? Then, then why?”

The unexpected words caused Elsie to stop as she didn’t know what to do. Keima left her behind.

“…”

And remained expressionless.

But just for a moment, his eyes sparkled.

He was waiting.

It looked like he was waiting for something.

After that, they had dinner, and everyone head towards the dance hall level. There, one person changed for some reason.

That person was Yoshino Asami.

Yoshino Asami should have Keima, Elsie and Ikumi with her, but unknowingly, Keima wasn’t with her.

At the event place, he was called out by the workers to head out through the back door. It seemed that they were asking for suggestions for the sudden ‘gal-game clothing consultant’ that suddenly appeared, and she couldn’t help but wanted to keep him with her.

However, she couldn’t find an excuse. Thus, Yoshino Asami swallowed her words.

That’s right.

Normally,

Keima didn’t have any direct links with her. As she responded, she found her sister Ikumi saying something to the 2 boys.

She was alone.

She didn’t know how to get involved. She didn’t know what to say.

The remaining girl Elsie was looking around blankly.

To Asami, there’s nothing more painful that getting together with the people around her. Once she entered her youth, she unknowingly had the ‘ordinary’ as a manner of response, and after such a long time, she finally reached her limit.

She felt even more pained.

She felt that it was harder for her to smile.

To get along with others,

Her heart was starting to ache.

It was painful.

That’s why she hated herself, and Ikumi, who was like her split personality, was able to talk with others so happily.

The discomfort on her body started to strike her.

She wanted to puke.

Her body couldn’t help but tremble.

It was like for a few times, and she was really unhappy. She wanted to go, she wanted to get involved, she always wanted this to succeed.

She wanted to be like her sister, to get along well with others in an ‘ordinary manner’.

However,

She would face a huge setback every time.

Why?

Why couldn’t she just be ‘ordinary’?

A simple chat with anyone,

Anyone could do it.

But she couldn’t do it if she didn’t borrow the power of the mask she constructed. So that’s how it was.

She had such a huge flaw.

It couldn’t be helped then.

Her forehead was sweating, and unknowingly, she couldn’t take it, and couldn’t smile anymore. As she watched Elsie and her sister Ikumi getting along well with everyone, she couldn’t keep a calm heart. ‘’Let’s apologize then, apologize to my sister later, and apologize to Katsuragi-kun after that.’’

She covered her mouth with her hand, forcing herself to hold back the strong urge to puke.

There were cosplayers wearing all sorts of costumes. And at this moment, she,

Ran out of the event hall, not looking back as she ran off, down a staircase where no one was, stuttered down half the level, and turned back after she found a certain boy who passed by her.

Standing over there was,

Katsuragi Keima, who was holding the PFP tightly.

He kept his back facing her and said,

“Are you going back home like this?”

And so,

“Ka, Katsuragi-kun…”

At the corner of the stairs, Yoshino Asami looked up to see Keima’s back and muttered. Keima turned around,

[[Image:TWGOK 01 225.jpg|thumb]]

“Before you run back home.”

He sighed, lowered his head and looked at Yoshino Asami before asking,

“Yoshino Asami, let me ask you something.”

Facing the lost Yoshino Asami, he took a step down and said,

“…You.”

He raised a question,

“Why must you make friends with others?”

“!”

Yoshino Asami was stunned. Keima continued to walk down the stairs and say,

“I had been observing you, trying to know you. You’ve been forcing yourself, right? Is it really that important to talk and joke around with others? Was there a need to chat happily with others? Do you have to worry about being left out in a friendly group? Ha! That’s stupid! Watch a person’s mood? Why do you have to observe a person’s mood? Atmosphere? Just let it be messy if it’s messed up! What’s so bad about being haughty? Just being alone! If that suited you, be proud of your own solitude! Don’t be lost, Yoshino Asami!”

Yoshino Asami immediately understood.

She was seen through. That Katsuragi Keima,

Saw through all the problems she had.

She had always been struggling with her feelings, and had given up on the true nature.

“As for me.”

Keima stared at Yoshino Asami with a sad expression,

And took the next step down,

“I’m like this, Yoshino Asami. I had always been like this.”

He was just like an eagle flying in the blue sky and looking down at a pathetic animal that was crawling in a lonely manner.

He knew.

He knew that.

Keima,

Always been like this, he had always been like this. He was proud of it, and never complained about living alone.

He saw through her existence.

So,

That’s right.

She must have always admired this boy called Katsuragi Keima for not being swayed aside by anyone, standing alone there with superhuman will.

“Bu, but.”

Yoshino Asami’s voice was trembling. She finally realized that she, Yoshino Asami was really admiring Keima, and had feelings for him.

But, she realized it.

She couldn’t be like Katsuragi Keima.

“Because!”

Her tears flowed out, and her body couldn’t help but tremble. She covered her mouth with her hand and cried out,

“BECAUSE! I CAN’T DO IT! I’LL FEEL HURT!”

Words naturally flew out of her.

“I DON’T WANT TO BE ALONE! I’M SCARED OF BEING ALONE! I, I’M NOT STRONG LIKE YOU, KATSURAGI-KUN!”

Whenever she saw that her sister was getting along well with others, she felt the unspeakable loneliness, anxiety, and that her sister was about to leave her.

So.

That’s why she always followed it. Her split personality.

“…”

As for Keima,

He smiled kindly and said,

“Yoshino Asami. You don’t actually hate humans.”

He slowly walked down the stairs and stood at the same height as her as their eyes met,

“You’re just simply afraid, afraid of being hated by people…just a little more afraid than ordinary people, just a little.”

“!”

“If it’s the original you, will you feel lonely?”

“Be, because!”

“You won’t.”

Keima said firmly. He kept his kind smile and placed his hand on her shoulder. At this moment.

Keima’s eyes were showing sincere light.

Perhaps it was concern for the girl who seemed similar to her but was in fact not. He said,

“Aren’t they here? Don’t you have a sister who’s thinking of you no matter what? Who says that you can’t live normally with people?”

“Eh?”

“If there’s a choice between ‘you’ and ‘the world’, she’ll undoubtedly choose you. You’re not alone. You’re not alone, Yoshino Asami.”

And,

He added as he brought his face closer in.

“I’m also…”

‘’Ah.’’

Yoshino Asami’s body stiffened for a moment as Keima’s words invaded her heart and soul at this moment.

“I’m right beside you. I’ll accept the normal you. On this basis…”

Un.

Yoshino Asami closed her eyes, and Keima’s lips gently closed in.

Then,

A kiss.

That forgave everything, accepted everything, approved everything.

Keima’s kiss.

The kiss that had Keima’s ‘belief’.

Yoshino Asami was thoroughly released at this moment.

That was the first conquest for the day.

Swoosh. The runaway spirit flew out from Yoshino Asami’s body, and Elsie, who was waiting at the stairs above,

“It’s time!”

Immediately reclaimed the runaway spirit. Keima opened his eyes and sighed in his heart.

He seemed to feel a weird stare.

That’s to be expected.

Keima’s eyes met with the girl who was looking up at the two of them in a surprised manner.

The possibility of meeting was unexpectedly high…

But he managed to trigger an encounter.

“!”

The ‘Denpakei’ girl, Amami Tooru was standing there.

After that, the chaotic series of events happened. Amami Tooru was clearly shocked as she widened her eyes and turned around before fleeing.

“We did it! Kami-sama! We got the runaway spirit!”

Elsie was extremely happy.

Yoshino Asami was still leaning on the wall in a dazed manner, and she shall lose all her memories of this conquest. At this moment, the workers from Dean Land came rushing over.

“Ah, so you're here, fashion consultant! You see, the dance had already started. It's thanks to you that this dance event was really successful!”

They said that as they pulled Keima.

Keima hurriedly said,

“Wait!”

However, they never let go, and Keima was forcefully brought back to the event hall and pushed up the stage as he was given the support from everyone as he was lifted up.

“Hey, wait a sec! I'm busy! Let go of me!”

Even after Keima said that, the crowd were just cheering loudly.

They must be thinking that it's some form of entertainment.

The happy music echoed.

Then,

Keima looked up.

“...I guess.”

And sighed.

“It's necessary to follow the original plan, isn't it...”

Katsuragi Keima was seen kissing a girl directly, and having bore such a negative impression that would be hard to take back, he started his final conquest...

She stayed in a very luxurious mansion

Her father was a big boss.

He ran a few famous enterprises.

Her mother was a famous aristocrat.

Her entire family was extremely rich.

Ever since young, she had nothing to worry about. She had full-time maids and butlers, which would be unbelievably rare in modern Japan, a chauffeur, bodyguards and specialized chefs. Also, there were Japanese and western food.

Ever since young, she had 4 outstanding home tutors taking turns to teach her. Her garden's really bad, and German Shepherds would be released at night.

There was also a large lake.

A few white birds were swimming on the lake, and their wings were clipped—to prevent them from flying away.

It sounded like a joke, but there was even a personal golf course in the garden. It was an interest of her stout father.

Her father was one with such great wealth.

No matter how sumptuous they lived, they had such wealth that there seemed to be no problems.

It was so great that it probably wouldn't be shaken even if the next three generations continued to spend. Her life was that envious.

When she wakes up, her maids would be waiting for her at a corner of the rest.

She would walk to her personal bathroom, and someone would hand her a hot towel, wipe her face and choose her clothing.

For breakfast, the emphasis is on the ultimate harmony of healthy and delicious food.

Her parents belief were that,

Everyone must be present for meals. That would then be a happy breakfast befitting that of a prestigious family.

And so, all 3 members of the family must be present. After having breakfast, she would go to school, and there would be a black limo sending her there. Normally, this kind of sending would be extremely exaggerated, but the school was one where extremely rich kids would be studying at, which made it quite a common thing there.

There were princes of large enterprise companies, daughters of politicians, girls of foreign royal blood and sons of famous international pianists. Everyone was obviously outstanding, not worrying about the things in the world. Each one of them were obviously rich, and each one of them were served by others and accepted them accordingly.

There was a world that was completely different though.

They definitely won't know.

In school, she would use the 'keigo' tone that nobility would use as girls were always like this.

So thus, she was like this too.

That's the kind of education she had.

And she did it.

If she didn’t do so…

She was the only daughter, a girl who was to inherit the vast fortune of her father and the highly prestigious bloodline of her aristocratic mother. She was always given lots of expectations and love.

While she was rather healthy, she once fell ill when she was young.

While it wasn’t an exaggeration, all the staff of an entire hospital was summoned to the house, and her parents felt that this should be the case.

However, she still felt somewhat guilty.

Of course, she was bathed in the highest class of love, and she had the most advanced care, and even the highest level of education was often prepared for her.

As a child of a respectable family.

Education was something that was necessary.

Flower arrangement.

English conversation.

Violin, piano and even riding were taught to her.

And she even learned table etiquette before she learned how to talk.

Standing posture, mannerisms or even verbal gestures; all these minor details were checked by her father,

Mother,

And the specialized home tutor. She would be told off if she broke the rules slightly.

‘Minus check’.

This seemed like it was implemented from her mother’s family, from the time of her maternal grandmother.

Once she showed any signs that didn’t fit that of a daughter of a respectable family,

“Minus check.”

She would be told off. As her mother,

“That’s our love for you! That’s why we have to harden our hearts and show our scowls!”

She teared up as she said that. At a certain level, she would receive a penalty.

Like for example, being unable to go out.

Like for example, not allowed to have her meals.

Like for example, being smacked lightly on the hand.

“When my mom did this to me back when I was young, I really hated for it, but now, I’m really grateful to her for training me to be such a refined lady.”

Her mother would emphasize this in a teary manner.

And she,

“…Yes.”

Answered dryly with a dull expression and accepted it.

She accepted it.

To become a highly refined girl, she had to try her best not to disappoint her parents. Her father would only,

“Un un, mama’s right.”

He would often agree with her mother, and then, to his own daughter,

“Minus Check.”

And he wouldn’t hesitate about it. That’s because it’s his love to his daughter.

It’s all for his daughter’s sake.

So,

She,

Would have the voices ringing inside her head.

“Minus Check! Minus Check!”

And it would never become positive.

It was always negative.

Under the education as points continued to be subtracted off instead of being added.

She grew up under such an environment.

She had a unique habit in that she liked to imagine ever since she was young. For example, as she look out from her room through the window and into the night sky far away, her mind would start to weave a story.

She would use a story that she knew as a basis and illustrate the prince on the moon and the princess on the stars, and then rethink about it again and again and enjoy herself.

No one would obstruct her.

This was a sweet world that belonged only to herself.

For example, if she saw the white clipped birds and the German Shepherds with the chains on them, she would come up with a story of a remarkable friendship between a hurt traveller and an artist who lost his lover and his will. The intricate details of this story would even amaze her.

That’s her only shelter.

During the storm of Minus Checks.

She used her imagination that spread her wings out in this situation. Most of the source of this imagination were mostly from the current books or manga she had.

She had secretly bought a lot, hid them and browsed through them.

In contrast to her age,

There were a lot of books that were more like children books, and she liked to read books or manga that were aimed at a younger age.

But one day,

They knew about it.

‘I guess this person should be alright’. After deciding this, she said this to a maid after she went out, and yet she told it to her mother, and her mother threw out all her collection. Seeing her stunned like this, her mother said,

“These books and manga are for kids, not for a refined lady like you at all! You actually hid this from your mother…”

Minus check.

And that’s what happened. Once the points were accumulated to a certain extent, she would be hit on the hand.

However,

That pain didn’t matter.

The physical pain on the body wasn’t much as compared to the pain that she felt inside her heart, and she couldn’t even cry out.

That night, as she returned back to her room,

She looked outside the window listlessly, bathed under the bright moonlight, and thought.

(I want it to be always a plus.)

Normally, she wouldn’t imagine with herself as the main focus, and she had never imagined herself to be the protagonist in her imagination.

But that day was different. She imagined and thought.

In this planet…where the guiding stars were shining, there was a treasure that’s called ‘an eternal plus that won’t fade away’. Even though she didn’t know what it was or how it looked like, but she started on an adventure. This was a journey of infinite imaginations as she looks for herself, relies on the guidance star and finds it. Sometimes, she would be an angel, and sometimes, a princess, and sometimes, a female detective, and sometimes, a female swordsman. However,

She had to become a character that’s far different from herself.

To find an ‘eternal plus’.

That would change her heart. So let’s try it.

She wanted to search for it in the real world.

From that day on, her preparations were all set. She skilfully arranged the time such that she had enough remaining time for herself after school, extra-curricular activities and as she moves to and from home.

Though there were only 1 or 2 times at school.

It wasn’t impossible at all. She was smarter than what her parents thought as she used the internet to buy clothes, download the maps, and had already planned her journey one time after another.

She tried it that day.

She was always cautious as she went home. There was a large 5-sided star painted on the building, and she snuck in as her parents went out. As that building had restaurants, manga cafés, and billiards shops, nobody could stop her once she entered.

As she completed her cosplay as an angel, she looked up the emergency staircase, and thought that it didn’t matter even if she was seen.

Because she was an angel now.

She had become an angel.

She wasn’t,

She wasn’t that princess who was always stuck inside the huge mansion and had to take Minus Checks.

At a turn up the stairs, she met a male smoker who walked in. That man widened his eyes in shock after seeing her dress-up.

She was a little ashamed, but she felt more like teasing him. Unlike the usual get-up she would show, she pushed the initiative with the next daring action.

“…I’m an angel. I’m looking for an ‘eternal plus’. Do you know what it is?”

She looked serious as she asked.

The man took a few steps back before running out of the staircase, and a happy feeling swelled up in her.

Fufu. She chuckled.

She used this time to run up the staircase. Ahaha, before she realized it, she was laughing, and then she arrived at the rooftop.

An endless landscape appeared in front of her.

The unlimited blue sky covered the streets in front of her.

Ahahahaha, as she laughed, she felt.

She felt that the thick fog in her heart was cleared from her eyes, and for some reason, she cried for a while for some unknown reason.

After that, she just needed a chance to repeat this and make some minor changes. However, no matter what costume she wore, her basis of ‘looking for this eternal plus that wouldn’t fade’ never changed. She continued to believe that ‘I’m looking for it’, and turned this daring entertainment into a decisive action.

Her parents were even stricter on her.

It’s because of this, because of this, that what looked like another form of entertainment opened up in her like a window…

On a certain day, just when she was dressed as an angel like usual and looking for her ‘eternal plus’,

“Fire!”

There was a fire, and she was shocked about such bad luck. Anyway, she decided to get to safety first. However, as she was the only one at the rooftop, so it was slightly too late the moment she heard the alarm. As she reacted, the surroundings were already covered with smoke, making her really scared.

However, she used her handkerchief to prevent herself from breathing in smoke and successfully managed to head down the emergency staircase. At this moment, she managed to get an encounter.

A boy collapsed onto the floor while hugging a brightly colored bag to his chest.

“…”

At first, she couldn’t help but be stunned.

However,

“Are, are you alright?”

As a kind girl, she obviously went to save him. The boy stared at her in a dazed manner for a while, but quickly lost consciousness.

As a delicate girl, it was already a miracle that she could save him. Another reason was that the boy himself was rather light, but there was a strange force that she had never felt before filling up her body. This time, it was because of that power.

“Because I’m an angel!”

That’s what she really thought back that,

“So I have to save him!”

Before she realized it, she had already reached the bottom of the body and laid the boy’s body on her back onto the floor. After exhaling a huge breath, she felt like she really accomplished something.

But once she felt the sounds of the ambulances and the fire engines coming over, this sensation wilted and quickly became fear. If they stayed here and talk about who saved the boy, someone would contact her family, and her secret adventure game may be discovered by her parents. She felt terrified about it.

She hurriedly left the scene and subconsciously turned behind.

Un~ He moaned.

It seemed that he was okay, but she was still worried.

After barely managing to squeeze some time out, she decided to take a look at him. Thus, she checked on the boy, who he was and what hospital he was staying at.

To her, who’s good at collecting information, money and contacts, this wasn’t something hard to her.

On a certain day, she went to the hospital and met with the boy. It was really a coincidence that they met on the rooftop, and after seeing that the boy was really healthy, she wanted to head back, but as the weather was too good, she couldn’t help but enjoy the scenery as she looked out from the roof.

After that, the boy followed her…

“In that case.” She jumped down and talked to him. She felt that his eyes were really beautiful. As she talked to him casually and saved him, she was an angel.

Thus, she continued to disguise herself as an ‘angel’.

She saw that he was really puzzled, and deep within her heart,

(Well, we won’t be meeting for a second time already.)

That was what she thought,

Bye bye. She waved her hand and left that place. It was supposed to end there.

However, the boy appeared there for the third time.

It was a break day, and she found an alibi, left the house and walked around on the streets. As she was looking around for the star-shaped building, the boy again talked to her.

He said,

“Shall I help you find something?”

The girl was shocked. She was really happy to see him safe, but she had never even thought that they would meet each other again. While talking, she found that the boy continued to stick to her.

Suddenly, she thought.

Was this.

“A request to go on a date?”

“Does he have an interest in me?”

In fact, she was already used to being talked up by young guys on the road. She knew of such animals.

She had already learned that guys are animals who would want to attract the attention of girls. She also knew that she was rather attractive to guys.

She really felt like playing tricks on him.

Thus, she continued to act an angel. She felt that the boy was trying to make a good impression, and that if she continued to talk about things from her own imaginary world, he would run away eventually. The other guys were like this without expression.

Like for expression, if other guys would say to her,

“Hey hey, do you have time now? Let’s go out to play.”

At this moment, she’ll just say,

“Sorry, I’m looking for my guidance star!”

Or,

“I’m looking for treasure! I’m a runaway princess! You’re wearing such shiny costume. Are you a soldier?”

As long as she smiled and said this, the other party would definitely reveal an ambiguous expression and say ‘ah, it’s alright, never mind, sorry’ before running away.

Thus, she thought that this boy would be the same too, and would quickly surrender before retreating…

However, this boy was different. He never took a step back as he continued to follow her until the end. No matter what nonsense she did by bringing him to the entertainment center that he was always interested in,

No matter how she tried to make him cosplay.

No matter how she dragged him selfishly along for a roller-coaster ride.

He always tried his best to respect her view on the world, which shocked her. Up till now, nobody would do this for her.

Her parents denied her inner world without exception.

The rest viewed her as a strange creature from her imaginary stories.

However, the boy,

Still believed with those beautiful eyes.

Her actions, her world, her worlds, her behaviour.

The boy accepted all of that while he was with her, and embraced this with her. No matter how others viewed her with strange looks, he never backed down.

He did that proudly.

Not flattering her at all.

He just continued to look at her.

She…never had this feeling before.

This person.

“What was going on?” She thought. However, happy times would fly so fast. There was contact on her handphone, and it seemed that her mother started to doubt her excuse.

She had to go back.

As she would be lonely,

She never said goodbye.

Maybe she acted until the end.

And because like a lost angel,

She disappeared.

The fourth encounter was too disastrous. She met him while walking on the street at an open terrace café.

After walking by happily,

She found a cute girl with him, and the shock she had was so huge that it was far more than what she expected. So, that’s how it was, she thought.

As expected, she was just a guy who really liked girls.

Maybe it was just out of interest that he went out with her, and she really couldn’t take it as she hurriedly left. That day, for the entire day, she was really restless.

Then, the worst thing happened that day.

Her parents,

Found out that she was walking on the streets.

The reason seemed to be,

The check carried out by her home tutor.

Perhaps it was the one positive amongst all the mishaps as the reason why she did so was undetected. Her parents just thought that she made up the schedule to play on the streets.

She took numerous ‘Minus Checks’ and endless punishments. She was forbidden from going out except with her parents, and got scolded over and over again.

“That’s not what a refined lady should be doing!”

“We had such high expectations for you!”

“You betrayed out trust!”

Minus check. Minus check. Minus check.

She heard those words until her mind was all blurred, and while she cried unhappily at first, it didn’t matter in the end.

Perhaps her mind was breaking.

Every time there was a Minus Check, her body would have black fog around her, and looking at it, it was a ‘-‘ sign after another. The ‘-‘ sign continued to cover her like garbage and dust, taking her vision away.

But her parents didn’t seem to realize it.

The girl was imprisoned by the ‘-‘.

Her dreams vanished.

Her imaginations wilted.

What swallowed her was the corrosion of reality.

This was her final resistance. Her greatest wish. She tried hard to search through her happy memories and arrived back at the Dean Land where she had fun with that boy.

The time was really tight, and she felt that she could see those clear eyes of the boy clearly.

And then, they met,

The boy was kissing another girl…

Nothing else really matter then.

The girl already,

Gave up on thinking.

The girl’s name was

Amami Tooru.

That day, Amami Tooru had lots of Minus Checks. As she sighed heavily and returned back to her own room,

She was lethargic during the past few days.

Especially,

After seeing that boy, Katsuragi Keima kissing another girl.

The minus fog that covered her was too much.

It was too thick,

It was hard for her to move forward,

Taking extremely fatigued steps,

The girl,

Amami Tooru,

Opened the door to her room, and then,

She met him for the sixth time.

Basked in the moonlight that shone directly into the room, he whispered,

“Hello, princess-sama.”

Yes, he smiled.

Katsuragi Keima was standing there.

Amami Tooru was stunned. What was most unbelievable was the fact that he was there. The security in this house was extremely tight, and it couldn’t be imagined how he would break in through the front door, escape the guards, prevent the German Shepherds from barking and being undetected by the security snesors.

It was impossible.

“H, ho, how? Why?”

Amami Tooru muttered and looked up. And she was even more,

“!”

Stunned. A huge hole opened in the ceiling, only the ceiling in Amami Tooru’s room. The gentle moonlight shone in from there.

It was like spotlight shining down from heaven.

The boy who was shining brightly like a prince.

“I’m a prince, so I’m here to save the imprisoned princess.”

Keima respectfully placed his hand in front of his chest and said that. Amami Tooru was so stunned that she couldn’t say anything.

“How, how did you do it?”

She repeated. Keima smiled,

“Didn’t I say it? I’m a prince. I used lots of ancient magic. The moon tonight is really beautiful, and magic is really effective now. I rode a silver carriage and flew in the air before arriving in this house’s garden. The soldiers guarding you raised their spears at me, but I chanted a magic spell to make them sleep.”

“St, stop kidding around!”

Amami Tooru was angry,

Unknowingly, their positions were reversed.

“How, how could there be such a thing?”

Keima described his fantasy, and Amami Tooru denied it.

“…”

Keima smiled and took a step closer. Amami Tooru instinctively took a step back.

“Then.”

Keima started to come up with another story,

“I’m like what you said. I’m god. I borrowed the power of a demon to look for the lost angel.”

“You liar!”

“Why?”

Keima asked calmly.

“Wh, why? Why? Be, because.”

Amami Tooru was confused.

“Wh, why!? Why are you here!? Why must you come here!?”

“Because I like you.”

It was direct.

Straight into the core. Amami Tooru’s eyes lifted up. The reason why she rejected Keima wasn’t just because he appeared in that room like magic,

“You, you kissed that girl already!”

She was angry, clenching her fists and growling.

“YOU’VE ALREADY KISSED!”

Keima’s expression never changed.

“Actually, I had a deal with a demon.”

He said casually,

“That kiss was actually to save that girl. To prevent that girl’s soul from being eaten by other demons, I could only do that.”

“I, I don’t believe it!”

“But, this.”

Keima said.

“This is the real story that belonged to me. It’s like the story you said, a quality, real story.”

Amami Tooru was confused,

“What are you…”

Her body started to tremble,

Her legs started to tremble.

The black fog that surrounded her got thicker.

“Who exactly are you?”

“Didn’t I say it?”

Keima narrowed his eyes slightly.

“I’m the prince who came to save you.”

He stretched his delicate hand out.

“…To save a princess who’s bound by such a minor mark.”

A beat later,

“!”

Amami Tooru widened her eyes.

Nobody could see that ‘Minus’.

Nobody could,

See that imprint that was placed on her soul!

“You, you can see this?”

Seeing the shocked Amami Tooru, Keima merely nodded his head.

“Of course.”

“I, I.”

Amami Tooru shook her head.

Showing the wavering in her heart.

In front of Keima,

Her real thoughts,

The soul that was hurt and suppressed shouted out.

It cried out.

“I’M NOT SOME PRINCESS! I’M JUST A USELESS GIRL WHO’S ALWAYS CALLED OUT FOR SOME MINUS MINUS THING! INCLUDING THOSE BOOKS! I JUST HATED MINUS! I HATED IT! BECAUSE I HATED IT!”

She hugged her head.

And started shouting out in an almost maniacal manner,

“I HATED IT! I HATED MINUS! I REALLY HATE IT! I DON’T WANT SUCH A WORLD! I WANT TO BE, I WANT TO BE MYSELF THAT’S DIFFERENT! THAT’S ALL, THAT’S ALL!”

“…”

Keima closed in on Amami Tooru with a pained expression, and at a distance where they almost touched.

“…I like your story. I like the you that’s narrating the story. I like this you right now. Even if you change, I’ll definitely,”

“YOU LIAR!”

“I have a belief, I face reality with that belief. Your story, the one you created where you’re fighting with ‘now’.”

He looked straight in her eyes and asked,

“Don’t you have any belief?”

Amami Tooru timidly said,

“Bu, but I’m covered in minus! What can I believe in!?”

She shook her head,

Tears flowed out of her eyes.

“My story already had flaws! I’m powerless!”

“…Flaws? Where?”

Seeing Keima question her so calmly, she shouted out at the top of her lungs.

“THAT’S WHY I SAID THAT IT DIDN’T EXIST! I’M LOOKING FOR THAT ‘ETERNAL PLUS’ OR SOMETHING! I KNEW IT RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING! THIS THING NEVER EXISTED RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING!”

“Yes it does.”

Keima interrupted.

He suddenly changed his expression and said clearly,

“The eternal plus is here! Now, right in your heart!”

He pointed at Amami Tooru’s chest.

Over there, it was the cross that was hanging on Amami Tooru.

The shape of the ‘plus’, the symbol.

Keima smiled and said,

“I have a belief. With this belief,”

“All minuses will become plus.”

(As long as you have a belief that you want to save the other party with all your heart.)

As if time stopped, Amami Tooru was frozen for a while.

Her mind accepted Keima’s words,

Chewed on it,

And swallowed it.

And dissolved,

All the entanglements.

(I see. So that’s how it is…)

Warm.

Something warm appeared, and the moment it exploded.

The cross let out a glow.

The minus signs were blown away, and the light shone like a storm as the chains of minus gradually broke, the negative thoughts that bound her words broke. In the midst of this light, Keima smiled, stepped forward and kissed her. Amami Tooru never tried to avoid Keima.

Or rather, she took the initiative and accepted Keima.

His words,

His everything,

His thoughts.

Covered everything.

That,

[[Image:TWGOK 01 261.jpg|thumb]]

Light of hope.

After a while.

Having heard the explosion, the parents rushed into Amami Tooru’s room. They were stunned. First, it was the large hole in the ceiling.

The furniture that was all over the place.

And a seemingly restless Amami Tooru.

Her face looked flushed like she was drunk.

“It feels…like there was a prince here.”

Then, she turned around,

And smiled.

That smile,

Wasn’t an expression of a princess that relied on her parents’ expectations to survive.

But one that realized something important,

An energetic girl’s smile.

At the same time, Elsie, who was in the air, said to Keima.

“It’s finally over now!”

She was the one who used the power of the hagoromo to pierce the ceiling, captured the runaway spirit that flew out as Keima kissed, and brought Keima away from the scene.

At this moment, Keima sighed tiredly,

“That was really a long night…”

He muttered.

However, he looked rather satisfied.

<noinclude>{{Nav|{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{TWGOK List v1}}|The World God Only Knows}}</noinclude>

The World God Only Knows:Volume 1 Chapter 3

2012-02-20T01:33:33Z

203.116.187.1:

==Chapter 3: Double Bind==

On the night when Amami Tooru and Yoshino Asami left at the same time.

Katsuragi Keima remained silent, and ignored Elsie completely after he got home as he continued with his gaming.

First, it was dinner.

Keima’s mother had something on and had to go out, so Elsie made it. At least it’s safe. Or rather, that’s what Elsie believed.

Keima glanced at the crawling food (which looked like a skeleton’s hand).

“…”

Normally, he would start grumbling about it.

“…”

He wordlessly put the food into his mouth and continued to play his PFP. Elsie couldn’t help but break out a little cold sweat, but Keima remained silent.

Elsie too,

“…”

‘’It, it’s not good for digestion when you play game and eat at the same time!’’

Or

‘’Let’s talk as we eat!’’

Would suggest something like that usually. But as she failed very badly today, she couldn’t tell Keima off.

Dinner proceeded silently. After Keima finished eating,

“I’ve finished.”

He said these words quietly and moved straight to the sofa at the living room as he continued with his game. It was silence, silence that came with extreme pressure. Elsie’s expression was obviously nervous, not knowing what to do. Anyway, she decided to clear the dishes and watch Keima as she washed the plates.

Keima was completely silent.

Elsie finished washing and wiped her hands. Keima was still silent.

“Er, erm, kami-sama…since we just finished dinner, I want to peel some fruit. What do you want?”

Silence.

“The, then, there’s apple and pear, you know?”

Still nothing.

Elsie,

(U~!)
Held back her urge to cry out as she walked towards Keima. She sat down beside him, her knees bent together as she placed her hands on it.

“Eh, ehehe.”

She gave an engaging smile as she leaned her shoulder over.

“Ka, kami-sama. Well, today, that’s, erm.”

Just when she was about to apologize.

“I’ll take a shower.”

After saying this, Keima stood up and hurriedly left the living room, leaving behind Elsie who was crying away.

Keima was playing the PFP which was waterproofed in the bathtub. Even though Elsie was really worried,

He wasn’t angry.

He was thinking.

About the conquests this time.

He felt a little repulsed.

The ‘Denpakei’ Amami Tooru and ‘Dual Character’ Yoshino Asami. For some reason,

It felt like he left out something important.

Actually, Keima didn’t feel that the meetings with the two girls were tough. He was spinning his head at full speed to set a guideline. He nodded his head, and just when he was about to get out of the bathtub,

“Er, erm, kami-sama!!”

At that moment, the bathroom door suddenly opened.

“At, at least let me scrub your back!”

After saying that, Elsie gave a determined look as she rushed in. Just like how she and Keima met just before, her white naked body was only covered with the towel that was transformed from the hagoromo.

Her curves were unexpectedly ample.

And this figure was now hidden.

After Keima tensed up for a while,

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!”

He screamed out.

After thinking of ways to chase Elsie out of the bathroom, Keima changed and returned back to the living room while looking like he was enduring a headache.

Elsie also changed back into her original clothes.

“I’m sorry~, kami-sama, I’m sorry~”

She was rubbing her face as she shed tears. At this moment, Keima finally noticed that Elsie was depressed over her mistake just now.

“…”

He was speechless for a moment, and he then turned his reddened face away like he was hiding his embarrassment.

“I’m okay with it already! This isn’t some major mistake anyway, Elsie.”

“But~ but~”

“…Listen up, Elsie?”

Keima sighed and said.

“You saw many of my conquests from close up, right? Sometimes, the tactic of giving girls a bad impression may be an effective move.”

“But~but~”

“Once I make her angry, once I’m hated by her, there’ll be a hint on how to conquer her successfully.”

“Bu, but~ but~”

“Minus points, Elsie. It’s sometimes linked to plus points.”

Keima said.

“We just need to believe.”

He merely stood up and placed his hand on his chest.

However.

“I just need this belief. To be able to do something for this girl, to definitely be able to help this girl.”

To Elsie, that handsome and clean looking face of Keima, who just so happened to be facing the light, could be described as pretty.

This was just like a real one,

Like a game imported expression.

A guy’s expression while he’s full of belief.

Elsie inadvertently

“…”

Blushed.

“The, then.”

However, Keima didn’t seem to notice Elsie’s expression.

“As proof that I didn’t really mind it, I’ll give you the same mission, got it?”

“…”

“Elsie! Are you listening!?”

“Ah, ye, yes!”

Elsie slowly recovered and hurriedly answered.

“What, what is it, kami-sama?”

Keima’s face was still a little red.

“Really.”

And he narrowed his eyes with a disappointed expression.

“That’s good, Elsie. We’re working separately. I’ll chase after Yoshino Asami. You will go find Amami Tooru.”

“Eh?”

“Of course, we’ll be working together in school, but the efficiency will be higher once we separate after school. I’ll interact with Yoshino Asami inside school and outside, and if possible, I’ll conquer her. During this time, you will look around on the streets and find Amami Tooru.”

“…Erm, search out?”

“Find her and bring her home. If you can’t, try finding a way to contact. If there’s a need to track Amami Tooru down to her house, so be it. Anything. As long as we can find out any clue about her background.”

“Clue…clue?”

“Yes. You have the runaway spirit sensor, right? And you saw it in Amami Tooru as my younger sister. In the current phase, she probably doesn’t have any negative feelings about you. So you have to walk around the streets, thoroughly.”

“We, well.”

Keima nodded his head.

“We’ll have a battle on two fronts, a simultaneous conquest. So while you make contact with Amami Tooru, I’ll start my conquest on the other side.”

“…”

Keima sighed as he said this.

And then, he blushed as his finger scratched his face. He said softly,

“I still trust you, and find you reliable.”

Softly,

“Somewhat.”

“!”

Elsie’s eyes immediately widened.

That brain of hers which definitely couldn’t be called smart digested the meaning of the words Keima just said.

‘’I trust you.’’

‘’I find you reliable.’’

The meaning behind it.

The weight behind it.

To Elsie,

It was all enough…

“Kami-sama!”

She stood up tearily and hugged Keima.

“Thank you!”

She thought that this person was really a god.

“I’ll do my best!”

In response, what Keima said was,

“Wah, hey! Le, let go of me! Don’t get too close!”

Just that.

His face was redder than before.

After being all delighted, Elsie let go of Keima and asked,

“But.”

She placed her finger on her face and asked in a puzzled manner.

“…Erm, it’s not that I’m making irresponsible remarks about kami-sama’s plan, but why not conquer them one by one?”

It was a simple question.

“…”

Keima remained silent. Elsie then said,

“I find that it would be less difficult.”

At this moment, Keima started laughing, ‘fu’, and pushed his glasses.

“Well, I’m actually a single route follower, but it’s not like I can’t conquer both at the same time.”

And then, he muttered,

(I haven’t really seen it before, but there’s a game with really bad balance such that I can’t conquer one person without trying to conquer more than 10 of them at the same time…)

And then, he clenched his fist and said,

“Anyway, a gal-gamer won’t be scared of trying to conquer at the same time!”

Facing these forceful words, Elsie could only,

“Ha, haa.”

Nod her head away. Keima was burning ridiculously for some reason.

On the next day, Keima and Elsie observed Yoshino Asami while they were in school. Both of them kept their faces near each other while watching her read a book at the seat at the back of the classroom.

(Are we right?)

They were whispering to each other.

(That’s right…it’s her. She had a runaway spirit.)

Elsie answered. Her runaway spirit detector was reacting. Doro doro. Keima stared at her.

“…Is that so?”

He merely muttered that.

Keima just felt that there was something he couldn’t figure out…

Anyway, he kept his doubts to himself. First, they started collecting information about Yoshino Asami. It was at this point that Elsie made a huge contribution.

Or rather, since Keima, who couldn’t integrate himself into the class at all, would be completely useless, only Elsie, who was extremely sociable and gets on really well with both genders, could do so; and this would be the more precise explanation. Either way, Elsie made a huge contribution.

Then,

The reason why it was like it was because Elsie’s personality was such that she really couldn’t act, causing Keima to have all sorts of information on Yoshino Asami from all angles.

Witness account number 1.

A girl who provided the first information, called A.K.

“Ee-chan, why are you so mindful about Yoshino-san…well, it doesn’t really matter. Yoshino-san, eh…well, I’m not really clear about that person at all. It’s not that she’s being bullied or hated or anything, but well, it seems like she couldn’t get along well. We went to play darts together. Yeah, it was like a class outing. At that time…arre, it’s a little too much to say it to you like that, Ee-chan, but the one who was far away from everyone and didn’t take part at all was your brother. Ee-chan, your brother Keima-kun always give that vibe, often…are, what’s that? Game? Anyway, it seemed like he was always playing games, and Yoshino-san went back home because she said she had a cold. Thus, our relationship’s still not very close now.”

Witness account number 2

A boy who sits beside Yoshino Asami, called E.K.

“Me? Un? Soccer club~ I’m the ace and the forward, and also 16 years old. Trying hard to gather girlfriends…eh? You want me to tell you about Yoshino-san instead of this? Ah, hahaha, okay, okay. I got it, Elsie-chan. Eh, Yoshino-san who sits beside me, un…actually, as far as I know, that girl looks a little frail. I once invited her out before. You see, Yoshino-san’s pretty good looking too, right? I like those ‘ordinary-looking’ girls. And then, we went out to sing karaoke with other guys and girls. Then, she didn’t seem to be feeling well then and kept resting outside…more than that, Elsie-chan. How about we go for karaoke next time? Eh? What? ...ah, hahaha. So you need your brother’s permission? Is, is that so?”

Witness account number 3

A girl who’s also from the tea ceremony club, called T.Y.

“What nya? You’re talking about Asa-chin? Asa-chin…well, I don’t really know Asa-chin~. She’s really ‘ordinary’~. H, but I do know about this, you know? Asa-chin looks like she’s easily sick~last time, everyone went to the theme park, and she didn’t seem to feel well after taking that spinning thing. She tried her best, but ended up resting on the bench~ but, Asa-chin will never say anything bad about others, and she would sweep and clear the rubbish quietly. I think she’s a good person hya~n.”

“Number 3.”

Keima read through the reports that was collected during lunch (repeating what Elsie just said into a notebook), and couldn’t help but give off cold sweat.

“…That’s really intense.”

Besides feeling interested in it, there were other aspects he was interested in.

“I see…‘ordinary’, is it?”

Will this person really change outside school…no, once she’s in normal clothing?

Keima narrowed his eyes as he remembered Yoshino Asami who was so lively and talkative yesterday. At that time, she gave the impression that she liked hanging out with others, that she was really lively.

Keima pondered.

Such a person like her…

Why would she become like this in school?

“…”

“And then, there’s this.”

Elsie, who linked her table together with Keima’s as they were eating their bentos together, looked around and brought her face close.

“This report’s really a little unconfirmed…”

“?”

Puzzled, Keima prompted her,

“What’s wrong?”

Elsie stuttered and said,

“I don’t really believe this,”

“So, what is it?”

“…Ah~! It’s strange! I feel that there’s no such thing!”

“El..sie—!”

“Ah, okay, okay. It’s about…this.”

Elsie continued to stutter, but after Keima glared at her, she started waving her hand frantically and said,

“Eh, this…the 3rd person said that. Yoshino-san, she may have someone she likes.”

“Oh?”

Keima coolly accepted it unhurriedly.

The possibility was small.

But he didn’t deny this possibility. A possibility that the ‘dual character’ was a result of having a crush on someone.

“And then.”

Keima drank his green tea as he calmly thought and waited for Elsie to add on.

“She said that the person she liked could be you.”

“GUHHAA!!”

Keima choked as the tea was splendidly spit out.

“Ho? Wha, what? What did you say?”

Keima hurriedly wiped his mouth as he turned to look at Elsie.

“Is this true? What’s going on?”

“Who, who knows?”

Elsie chuckled in a vague manner,

“It, it’s strange, isn’t it?”

“THAT’S WAY TOO STRANGE!”

Keima concluded. Not understanding what’s going on, Elsie said,

“Th~that’s right. It’s great that she’s the one being conquered. Kami-sama, the problem is that you haven’t done anything…”

And thus, both of them eliminated the one possibility that girls would have any feelings for Keima if he didn’t do anything.

“I heard from that person as well…but.”

Elsie kept her voice done and said in a scary voice like she was talking about ghosts,

“According to that person.”

Keima swallowed his saliva. Elsie then said,

“Yoshino Asami-san, it seemed like she would often look at kami-sama…”

Once she said that, Keima and Elsie seemed to have thought about something as they looked back.

In the end.

What will happen…

“!”

They looked straight in the eye at a very shocked Yoshino Asami. She looked like she was watching here all this time…

Yoshino Asami’s attitude was,

“…”

“…”

After seeing Keima and Elsie stare at her blankly,

“!!”

She hurriedly lowered her head and pretended to be studying. It’s a rare sight as even her neck was red.

Keima too,

“…”

And Elsie too,

“…”

Were stunned. After that, both of them said at the same time.

“No way.”

“I’m thinking the same thing too.”

"It was just that inexplicable.”

Katsuragi Keima continued to think as he sorted out information.

(Being called ‘ordinary’…frail? No one she’s really close with, and everyone’s comment about her were all the same. ‘Ordinary’, ‘ordinary’ and ‘ordinary…)

He made some assumptions before school ended as he played games during lesson time.

“Katsuragi~! Ka~tsuragggiii!”

He continued to ignore the teacher who was lecturing him.

“Katsuragi Katsuragi Katsuragi Katsuragi~!!”

Even with the teacher gritting his teacher and seething with anger, he continued to ignore him.

He continued playing his game as he placed his hand on his face,

“…”

He turned his head to the other side, and finally,

“Uu, Katsuragi…uu, Katsuragi~kun”

The teacher dejectedly left after giving up, yet Keima didn’t respond at all. Also.

Yoshino Asami was watching all these from behind.

And nobody knew whether Keima noticed this stare or not.

After school,

Keima separated from Elsie at the staircase,

“I’ll leave it to you then, Elsie?”

With such an emphasis, Elsie responded with a radiant smile.

“Please leave it to me! I won’t disappoint kami-sama!”

It seemed she was really happy about getting Keima’s trust.

She ran off quickly and lightly as she ran off to look for Amami Tooru on the streets, as according to the plan.

“Fuu.”

Seeing her back, Keima sighed. He had his own things to do, and first, he had to talk alone with Yoshino Asami.

Keima decided to wait for her here…

It was time for the students to end the club activities and head home. It wasn’t really the same as dismissal time, but the stairs were rather busy.

As compared to the sports club players who were changing or have to practice late into the night, there were more students from the culture clubs, which end at a more regular time.

Amongst them,

“…”

Yoshino Asami passed through the crowd and changed into her shoes at the shoe cupboard,

“…”

And walked out of the school building.

Over there.

“Yo.”

A boy talked to her.

Stunned, Yoshino Asami lifted her face.

Standing over there was,

“What a coincidence, I’m going back too. Can we go back together?”

It was Katsuragi Keima.

“…”

Yoshino Asami was silent for an instant,

And then,

“Un.”

She smiled.

“Okay.”

What was that little moment of hesitation about?

Or was it that she was stumped by the unexpected words?

Or rather,

Was it his imagination that her face went red? Or was it that the sunset turned the surroundings red?

Keima deliberately chose not to get close to Asami as he deliberately created the same scene from yesterday.

He chose a scene when both of them were walking together.

There were two reasons.

The first was to use the same action as yesterday to gauge Yoshino Asami’s reaction better, to observe if there were any changes. Thus, the road back home, their distances between each other and the arrangements were all the same as yesterday.

The only thing different was that as there was the tea ceremony activity today (which Keima had investigated through beforehand), Yoshino Asami was a lot later getting home.

There was another reason, a somewhat rare instinct for the rational Keima. It felt that even when both of them were together, they should avoid doing so in school.

This,

Was something he just thought of…

No, that’s not it.

He was shaking his head deep inside. He decided not to lie to himself. This was his own will.

As for why…

“…Katsuragi-kun, where do you want to go next?”

“Nn?”

It was a little tough for Keima to act calm.

“Un, there seem to be something here. I’ll walk down this way during this time.”

“Oh~”

Yoshino Asami didn’t inquire further as she nodded her head. She continued to look forward. Even though she was smiling,

It was really impossible for others to know what her expression was about. Keima swallowed his saliva.

It was too tough to handle.

‘Yoshino-san may have feelings for Katsuragi Keima’. Elsie’s information may be more binding on him than what he thought.

Thus, to prevent himself from panicking, he chose to head home after school dismissal as he wanted as little interference from other students as possible.

Keima continued to try and raise some questions at her from time to time, and Yoshino Asami would take these questions seriously as she answered.

“…Yes, club’s really interesting.”

Also,

“Speaking of which, it’s about time for modern language. I’m not really good at comprehension, so I’m a little worried here.”

And also,

“It seems like our classmates are planning to go? Our classmates are really on good terms with each other. I’m looking forward to it…will you be going too, Katsuragi-kun?”

And things like that. Yoshino Asami’s answers were not importantly. Just like how he’s reading a manual,

Keima was sighing deep down inside.

And as for the last question.

“Nope, I’m not going.”

Keima answered readily.

“How could I possibly go?”

At this moment, Yoshino Asami, who had been giving only ‘normal’ responses up till now, seemed to be mindful of something as she turned her head around and looked at Keima.

Keima too was,

“?”

Staring back at Yoshino Asami with a surprised expression.

Then,

“!”

Yoshino Asami’s ‘ordinary response’ collapsed for the first time at this moment.

“No, nothing.”

She blushed, and also,

“That, that’s all. So, we’re at my…my house now!”

She hurriedly entered the house door that she just reached. Keima was a little bewildered.

What was that all about?

Did she really…

Have feelings for me right from the beginning?

Keima was thoroughly confused.

His confusion was compounded after that. After taking a few steps away from Yoshino Asami’s house and intended to meet with Elsie,

“Katsuragi-kun! It’s me! Hey hey! I’m going out now! How about we go play together? I still have lots of things I want to talk to you about!”

The PFP received the mail from Yoshino Asami. (Keima sent a mail to her yesterday, telling her his address.)

Right now, Keima had no choice.

The Yoshino Asami that appeared was wearing cute clothing.

A pink miniskirt, a blouse, a look that felt just like a girl’s. It was different from how she looked when she was in uniform, and she was really energetic, so she ended up being a really charming girl.

At this place where Yoshino Asami arranged to meet Keima,

“Here, let’s have fun, Katsuragi-kun!”

She grabbed his arm and walked,

Glamorous,

She was smiling really brightly and energetically.

After that, she and Keima were at a game center. Yoshino Asami said,

“Katsuragi-kun, you’re good at all sorts of games, right? Show me!”

And then, she started playing all sorts of games. Though Keima was slightly lacking behind in rhythm games and touch games, he showed overwhelming prowess in puzzle games and quiz games. Yoshino Asami clapped happily,

“That’s amazing! Katsuragi-kun’s really amazing!”

Just like it.

After that, as according to Yoshino Asami’s proposal, they went to a fast-food restaurant to order something to eat. During this time, Keima tried to probe into her real nature, but what was shocking was that,

“Hey, hey, what have you been doing during the holidays, Katsuragi-kun?”

And,

“Where did you go with your sister?”

And also,

“You said you liked bishoujo games. What sort of games? They’re a little ecchi, right?”

And things like that as she blushed and asked a series of questions just like a machine gun. Keima was really taken aback and didn’t know what to do. Amongst all the conquests up till now, nobody had shown that much interest in Keima himself.

It’s a definite that Keima wanted to know about Yoshino Asami.

Thus, he came out with her out to talk with her.

To get close to her.

To gauge the emotional distance between each other.

“But you don’t really hate humans, right? Because because, you’re talking a lot to me now, right?”

And also,

“Katsuragi-kun. Let me ask you. For example, what are you thinking while I’m talking to you?”

Yoshino Asami was wholeheartedly trying to understand Katsuragi Keima.

Yoshino Asami was serious.

“Well.”

She was stuttering, but kept staring at Keima.

“Then, let me ask you. I’m sorry if it makes you unhappy, but that, last time, who’s that girl who appeared when Katsuragi-kun was talking with me?”

“…”

“Katsuragi-kun’s dating with her…no, sorry. I shouldn’t be asking this…but I want to know, who’s that girl to Katsuragi-kun?”

“…”

What’s going on?

Keima thought.

The difference between the one inside school and outside school.

No, the difference between the one in uniform and the one out of uniform.

“That girl.”

Keima clearly stated.

“Wasn’t any of those. She’s just an ordinary friend.”

He merely,

Concentrated his will into his expression.

Perhaps Yoshino Asami felt it as she chuckled.

“Really?”

She merely continued to drink the cola through the straw, and smiled.

“That’s good then.”

She didn’t ask on, heaving a sigh of relief just like a girl who knew that the guy she likes doesn’t have a lover.

“Hehe.”

And in a shy manner,

“That’s great.”

Normally, guys would be able to conclude this already. First, Yoshino Asami kept looking at Keima when they were at school. Even Yoshino Asami’s friends noticed that she often looked at Keima, even though Keima himself didn’t realize it.

But once he knew that she had a runaway spirit, the attitude Yoshino Asami had at Keima were rather good (as compared to the other girls). And today, she even blushed when she went home with Keima, and even wanted to know about where he was going.

Yoshino Asami in plainclothes was undoubtedly interested in Keima, and wanted to go out with him, to understand him.

Normally speaking, this is,

Yes.

Yoshino Asami had feelings for Katsuragi Keima in a boyfriend and girlfriend sense.

It could be concluded this way.

However.

Keima felt that this wasn’t it.

Keima felt that there was something that didn’t match deep inside him.

That’s strange.

Something’s not right.

There’s a problem.

It’s strange.

No.

However,

He just didn’t know.

On the same day, after he separated from Yoshino Asami, Keima sank into deep thought, and felt that something was just not right.

‘Yoshino Asami’s conquest route.

It could be said to be completely clouded.

And worst of all, Elsie, who came back home at a very late time, dejectedly said,

“I’m sorry, kami-sama~”

She looked like she was going to cry.

“I couldn’t find Amami Tooru-san no matter where I looked! I had already set the search area to the largest…but this.”

And then, she stuttered,

“It’s like she vanished somewhere.”

“…”

Keima just kept thinking.

This route was starting to get tough too.

‘Amami Tooru’s conquest route.

It’s like there was an invisible wall blocking.

The next day, Keima continued to try and talk enthusiastically to Yoshino Asami inside and outside school, and Elsie went through the streets, looking for Amami Tooru.

However,

There wasn’t any results on both sides.

Keima would feel troubled whenever he talked to Yoshino Asami.

And Elsie’s search for Amami Tooru didn’t show any progress.

Both of them were spent.

They were tired.

Keima was mostly drained mentally,

And Elsie was mainly tired physically after walking around for so long and yet unable to find Asami Tooru.

Both of them,

Returned home tired and laid on each other’s backs.

“Kami-sama, it’s really tough when both sides don’t have any clues.”

“…”

“It would be good if at least one side could give some information as a little hope.”

“…”

Keima was silent.

Silently waiting for something.

But on a certain day, there was a huge break.

That day was a rest day.

It was raining from morning on, and Keima and Elsie were walking around on the streets. Normally, Keima would focus his conquest on Yoshino Asami, but as there was no need to go to school today, he and Elsie were looking for Amami Tooru.

Both of them were moving with heavy footsteps, and they were talking very little.

Even the normally cheery Elsie said in a depressed tone, probably because of the rain,

“I’ve been using the runaway spirit detector like this recently, but there’s no response.”

After saying that, she placed her hand on the skull headpiece.

“Where’s Tooru-san?”

Just when she sighed and muttered.

Dorodorodorodorodoro.

There was a tremendous response.

Keima and Elsie couldn’t help but face each other.

And then,

“Over here!”

Elsie looked like she was knocked aside as she turned around, and Keima went chasing after her. Both of them made about 2 to 3 turns before getting onto a main street.

Elsie panted and said,

“That’s right, Amami Tooru-san’s.”

She pointed at a certain direction.

“!”

She was speechless. Keima was also panting heavily as he looked over there.

“?”

He blinked his eyes. The one over there was.

“…What’s that, a car?”

There was a large black limo parked there. A man dressed in black suit, most likely the chauffeur, opened the back door of the car in a respectable manner, and a rich-looking over passed through the street and walked there. But of course, Elsie’s spirit detector wasn’t responding to the skinny middle-aged woman in brand clothes and glamorous jewels all over her…

“Arre? Really, eh?”

Elsie rubbed her eyes. Keima himself however,

“…”

Remained silent. A girl followed that followed the middle-aged lady as they walked out of the building in front of them.

She was…

“Was that really…Tooru-san?”

Amami Tooru.

At first, Keima and Elsie couldn’t recognize her as Amami Tooru as she was completely different. First, her clothing was different.

It wasn’t those casual and loose clothing Keima saw those few times.

But a proper-looking jacket.

The blond hair was properly tied up, and her shoes were shiny black leather.

She’s undoubtedly an ojou of the upper levels of society.

The only thing that was the same was the cross-chained necklace that was hanging on the neck, and to be honest, if it wasn’t for the response of the spirit detector and that cross, Keima and Elsie wouldn’t be able to tell that the girl who walked out of the building was Amami Tooru.

The difference in impression was this big.

What changed wasn’t just the clothes, but also her expression. It wasn’t the expression of the Amami Tooru Keima and company knew.

That fantasy story-like energetic pretty girl was already gone, and she just looked like a girl with a mask on in front of Keima, looked all proper and like she got something on her mind. The eyes that once boasted ‘I’m looking for my guiding star’ were now showing a blank black.

The energetic angel disappeared.

What replaced it was a stiff puppet.

Or it looked that way.

And also.

“Eh? Wha, what’s going on?”

“…”

Keima said softly,

“Maybe.”

He was now discussing based on their premises.

“…She got affected by a runaway spirit.”

Up till now, he had met an idol who would disappear when they don’t meet, or a female martial artist who would split into two people, so Keima made this decision quickly.

Amami Tooru had something strange on her as well.

As she followed the middle-aged lady and walked towards the limo, there seemed to be a black fog surrounding Amami Tooru that started to cover her body.

Keima and Elsie were specchless about this. At this moment,

“Here! Tooru-chan! You have to listen to your piano teacher and French teacher once you get home, okay? You have to learn what you lacked, got it?”

The middle-aged female cackled in a shrill voice.

“…Yes.”

Amami Tooru answered simply. They sat on the back seats of the limo, and the chauffeur then closed the door, returned back to the driving seat, and started the limo. Keima and Elsie couldn’t move until the limo left.

What should they do now?

Both of them had no idea. And until the end, Amami Tooru didn’t detect their presences.

[[Image:TWGOK 01 161.jpg|thumb]]

After a while.

“Ka, Kami-sama…”

Elsie seemed like she was finally released as she asked.

“Wha, what do we do now.”

Keima still remained there, not moving at all. His eyes were staring at a certain point in the sky. Elsie sighed,

“For some reason.”

With a pained expression.

“It doesn’t feel like Tooru-san. She’s the person yet she felt like someone else…don’t you feel that way, kami-sama?”

“Elsie.”

At this moment, Keima moved. His voice had a little hot air in it. Though it was little, he was really trembling. He had an inspiration from what Elsie said, but Elsie herself didn’t realize it at all.

“Ye, yes? What is it?”

Elsie answered normally.

Keima asked a question.

A very important question.

A question that could cover all the scenarios.

“Elsie, that person was really Amami Tooru, correct?”

“Ye, yes.”

Though Elsie was blank for a while.

“That’s right. My spirit detector did show that it was Amami Tooru-san.”

“Is that so.”

At that moment.

(They’re the same person, but why does it feel like they were completely different people? On the other hand~Yoshino Asami’s ‘ordinary’~, the possibility of having feelings~ frail~why is she so different? After school and during school? And Elsie’s existence~ I saw a ‘Denpakei’~searching for the reason~Amami Tooru’s reason to look for something~why did she disappear after saving me~Yoshino Asami~Amami Tooru~ Yoshino Asami~Amami Tooru~Yoshino~Amami. After connecting the similarities and differences between these two.)

(All the answers.)

Keima’s thinking ability suddenly kicked into active gear.

Fuu, he chuckled. He used his fingers to push his glasses and said,

That classic line.

“Elsie.”

Nonchalantly.

“I can see the ending.”

And without hesitation.

And Elsie could only stare blankly at Keima.

<noinclude>{{Nav|{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{TWGOK List v1}}|The World God Only Knows}}</noinclude>

The World God Only Knows:Volume 1 Chapter 2

2012-02-20T01:32:27Z

203.116.187.1:

==Chapter 2: The Front and Back Sides of the Coin==

On the next day after they lost Amami Tooru at the Dean Land.

Katsuragi Keima, the ‘Capturing God’ dragged his feet and walked around on the street. His body was tilted forward, his shoulders were slumped, and he looked very listless.

“Haa.”

Keima sighed while still in his school uniform.

After school, he came out without even changing his clothes. Beside him, Elsie was also in school uniform as she walked beside him.

“…There’s no response. Right now.”

Elsie muttered as she touched the skull hairpiece,

“I tried looking around yesterday, but Tooru-san seemed to have escaped outside my detection range.”

After saying that, she watched Keima in an apologetic manner. Keima said with a listless expression.

“It’s alright. One characteristic of a ‘Denpakei’ is that it’s rare to meet them.”

“Is, is that so?”

“Un, basically, we don’t know her residence and background, and there are also cases when we don’t know whether it’s a real name or not. One of the biggest reasons why the Denpakei is so troublesome is that we can only walk around randomly on the streets and hope.”

Just when he just finished saying that.

Dorodorodorodorodoro.

Elsie’s runaway spirit sensor suddenly had a reaction.

Both Elsie and Keima were stunned.

“It’s here!”

Elsie said.

(That’s too fast…)

Keima muttered deep inside. Elsie pointed her finger and said,

“That way.”

Both of them looked over. At the entrance near a shopping street, a girl was walking slowly in a horizontal manner at the arcade.

Then,

“Who’s that?”

“Eh?”

Both of them were stunned. That person,

Wasn’t Amami Tooru.

To actually,

“Ee?”

“Ha?”

To think that it was a completely different girl from Amami Tooru!

“WA! WA! WHAT’S GOING ON!?”

“Calm down!”

Keima chided.

“It’s alright. That’s just another girl with a runaway spirit.”

“But, but. How did it happen! Eh?”

Just when Elsie was panicking, another change happened.

Dorodorodorodorodoro.

The runaway spirit detector again reacted. This time, it was in a completely opposite direction. Elsie and Keima instinctively turned around.

“Uu.”

Keima couldn’t help but bemoan.

“WA~ WA~! It’s Tooru-san this time…”

Elsie looked lost as she said that. In the corner on the opposite side, at a place directly opposite from where the girl was, Amami Tooru was walking alone.

She didn’t seem to realize what was going on here.

“WA~ WA~! THEY’RE BOTH WALKING AWAY!”

Elsie flailed her arms about.

She looked up at Keima and waited for his decision.

“…”

Keima quickly made his decision, and immediately after thinking, instructed Elsie.

“Elsie! Go chase after Amami Tooru! I’ll go chase after that new girl!”

“Bu, but!”

“Just go already! Catch up and try to delay Amami Tooru! You hear me!? And as for contacting…no, just bring her to my house if possible!”

After saying that, Keima ran away to chase after that unknown again.

Elsie didn’t hesitate too.

“I, I got it! I’ll do my best!”

And thus, she ran off in the opposite direction.

Keima’s judgement was simple. One simple point; Amami Tooru and Elsie knew each other. In other words, Elsie could get Amami Tooru to stop even after chasing after her.

However, in contrast, Keima had no information on this unknown girl he was facing, and he could only check her situation out personally. Only Keima could say hello to her or call her. Thus, Keima let Elsie chase after Amami Tooru, and he went to chase after the other girl.

Luckily, the girl was walking in a rather casual piece, and even Keima could catch up successfully. (Even so, Keima was already panting hard).

“!”

Soon after, Keima saw her back and frowned.

“Eh?”

Keima was shocked.

“Is it from…our school?”

The girl was wearing the uniform of Maijima Private High School where Keima was studying at, and also,

“…”

The girl who heard Keima’s footsteps, and what she said when she turned around stunned Keima.

“Arre? Katsuragi-kun?”

Keima was shocked, and stopped.

She,

Was a girl in the same class as Keima…

Keima would hardly interact with other people at school. Whether it was during break time or lessons (and even PE lessons!), he would always be holding his handheld games and playing his bishoujo games, so he became a weirdo to the rest.

Keima himself wouldn’t talk to girls in real life who he thought were imperfect existences, and the girls would tease him as an Otomegane who only knew how to play games from day to night, and no one would try to interact with him actively.

Thus, instead of saying that Keima himself won’t remember these girls names…

(I remember…)

Keima thought.

(Yoshino Asami, that’s her name…)

That wasn’t the case. Katsuragi Keima had an exceptional memory. Keima could still remember these girls name if there was a chance where he would do duty together with someone or when someone was called by the teacher to do something.

Keima also remembered the other personal particulars of this girl.

(Member of the Tea Ceremony Club. Sits at the back row of the classroom. Would often read books alone. Extremely quiet.)

The fragments of information.

Keima knew all these, but.

(A person who’s not special per say.)

“…Keima-kun too.”

The girl,

Yoshino Asami said with a calm tone,

“Are you going in this direction too?”

“Eh?”

“Home?”

“Ah, ahh.”

Keima’s response lagged for several moments, but was extremely quick.

“No, I just had something to do, so I came over here.”

He shook his head. He continued to observe Yoshino Asami, and was perplexed. It was tough, there was no clues at all.

She had a nice face, and her body profile was also rather good. However,

There was nothing that gave her the ‘beauty’ impression like Amami Tooru. It wasn’t like ‘cute’ or ‘active’, but even so, she did have a mouth, and she’s not expressionless.

She was smiling,

There were a lot of girls who made fun of Keima, so it’s rare to see someone like her take the initiative to talk.

But it wasn’t like she had feelings for Keima, and it wasn’t out of loving compassion.

Her voice was normal.

Her expression was normal.

Her dress attire was normal too. Everything was normal, everything was plain.

“…?”

As Keima was suddenly silent, she frowned slightly as she didn’t understand. However,

“…Ehh, if possible, can we walk together for a while?”

After Keima asked that,

“Sure.”

She smiled and nodded her head.

However,

This expression was normal too.

She wasn’t a sportsgirl, and he never heard that she was rich. She looked like she liked to read books, but it’s not like this literature girl didn’t have a mouth. She wasn’t a fighter, and yet not an idol. She didn’t avoid Keima, but wasn’t especially close to him.

She was just plain.

Plain, the sort of feeling when she would talk to a classmate when she’s on the way home. Keima felt extremely troubled as he was walking beside Yoshino Asami.

Up till now, the experiences he had showed that those with a runaway spirit would have obvious traits, either good or bad. For example, being very eccentric or being very aggressive. Then , he would take on these traits, find a gap and tackle them.

But this Yoshino Asami was way too ordinary.

A shocking contrast from the ‘Denpakei’ Amami Tooru Elsie should be chasing now.

“…Today.”

Keima asked.

“There’s no club activities?”

“None.”

Yoshino Asami answered as she walked.

“If I remember correctly,”

Keima then asked,

“It’s the Tea Ceremony Club, right?”

Keima really needed clues urgently, no matter what it was or how little it was. On facing these questions, Yoshino Asami was slightly surprised,

“Arrea? You’re really sure about that, Katsuragi-kun.”

“One of the notes on the class noticeboard is a review of clubs, right? That one where we see who join which club. I did that on my duty day, so I remembered.”

“Oh~”

On hearing that answer, Yoshino Asami looked amazed,

“Katsuragi-kun’s memory’s really good.”

She smiled.

Keima felt anxious.

All these were too plain. To Keima, it might be better if she tried to avoid him or even feel disgusted by him.

What is this girl?

Keima thought.

Thus, he tried a little jab in his words.

“As for you, Yoshino-san.”

He deliberately made a mischievous expression.

“…You would actually remember my name. The name of an Otamegane who only knows how to play games.”

“…”

Yoshino Asami didn’t really have any special response.

And then,

“Because,”

She smiled calmly,

“You’re very famous, Katsuragi-kun very famous. Definitely more famous than what you imagine.”

She answered in an extremely ordinary manner.

Keima was troubled.

It felt that there’s a wall between him and Yoshino Asami, but he wasn’t clear about what this thin wall was about. This wall that gave an ‘extremely normal response’ was a troublesome one.

Soon after.

“Ah, Katsuragi-kun, I’ve arrived at my house.”

Yoshino Asami smiled as she said and waved her hand.

“See you at school tomorrow.”

She sounded so calm even at the end. She walked into a bungalow that was opposite.

“Eh…un, see you tomorrow.”

Seeing her like this, Keima couldn’t help but think,

(Even the house looks so normal!)

[[Image:TWGOK 01 103.jpg|thumb]]

It was really a standard bungalow amongst standards.

--

“It can’t be helped.”

After looking at this bungalow that didn’t have any unique feel to it, Keima could only shake his head. It doesn’t feel like there would be any benefit for him to continue looking at Yoshino Asami’s house.

Anyway, the girl with a runaway spirit was Keima’s classmate, and he confirmed her residence. It was fruitful as compared to Amami Tooru, who he didn’t know anything of. Now he should met up with Amami Tooru and Elsie first.

As he made this decision and was about to step forward, Keima suddenly realized something.

(Speaking of which,)

Yoshino Asami should be in school today. However, Elsie’s spirit detector didn’t have any response to it.

In other words…

(Maybe a runaway spirit went in when she went home. I better check with Elsie tomorrow just to be safe.)

He nodded his head.

And then,

“Oh?”

He suddenly stopped in his tracks. As he was talking with Yoshino Asami up till now, he didn’t realize that there was a small old bookstore beside her house.

A small shop.

The type where they were placed like a wagon sale.

Keima’s eyes than sharply noticed a few magazines that were placed on the shelves of the wagon.

<<Bishoujo Game Guide>>

And also,

<<From Tsundere to Yandere~ a certain game developers own words~>>

It was selling books that looked like they were about to move his heart

“Mu.”

Keima really couldn’t ignore them.

“Ummmm.”

He took a few books that were lined up with a heavy expression and started browsing.

Even if he wanted to buy them, he had to check their contents.

--

After about 10 minutes later,

“I’m going then~”

A lively voice came from next door, and a girl jumped out. Keima suddenly lifted his head.

This voice,

He couldn’t be mistaken.

It was Yoshino Asami!

The girl then stopped.

“?”

And after realizing that Keima was behind her, she showed a surprised look.

“…Katsuragi, kun?”

Perhaps bothered that the person she just left was still here, Yoshino Asami frowned and looked at Keima, and Keima was thinking,

“Ah, arre?”

For some reason,

(There was a huge change in her expression…)

The girl saw Keima holding the <<Bishoujo game Guide>>,

“As expected.”

She smiled as she said that.

“You’re Katsuragi-kun, aren’t you?”

“Ah, ahh.”

“That’s so like you~”

“Eh?”

“Reading game books like this.”

“Un? Ahh…well, Yoshino?”

“What is it?”

Having changed into casual clothes, Yoshino Asami casually tied the hair behind her head and smiled at Keima. She didn’t show any real concern about Keima like just now, but now, it’s rather…

“Are…are you really Yoshino?”

Yoshino Asami was stunned for a while.

And then she smiled,

“Ahahaha, really! I’m Yoshino!”

And then she showed a mischievous smile.

“I’m Yoshino, Yoshino Asami!”

Keima was shocked. As for way,

The impression Yoshino Asami gave others had a huge change.

Was it because she was wearing plainclothes?

Or was it because she had makeup on.

Unlike before, she looked really energetic. Just 10 minutes ago, as she entered her own house, it felt like she was wearing clothing of ‘equal value’ which gave an impression of not have any special characteristics.

But now, she was giving off a vibrant and energetic vibe.

From head to toe, he could feel that she was full of self-confidence and delight, and what was more unbelievable was the way she was talking lively,

“Hey, Katsuragi-kun.”

Yoshino Asami lifted her eyes slightly and said with an impish-like sweet voice.

“…You look very bored. How about you go for a drink with me?”

She became a really cute, really charming girl.

Keima really couldn’t understand.

This girl.

Was a complete mystery!

Before he even knew it, he was sitting down at a nearby sweets shop and having tea with Yoshino Asami. The first floor was of a wooden open deck, and there was a blue umbrella covering them from above. The table and chairs were of the more delicate kind, and it was a cafeteria with quite the sense.

The shop attendants uniforms were cute too.

They were at this tea shop,

“…And then, I watched this TV program the last time.”

Yoshino Asami said some pointless things.

Keima stared at her blankly,

(I see…so it’s ‘dual personalities’.)

Once he recovered, he continued to observe the girl.

It wasn’t dual personalities.

But dual characters.

Characters. Basically, he’s taking down girls in a galge manner, so to Keima, it wasn’t about ‘personalities’, but ‘character’.

Dual characters would mean that the girl had two different ‘characters’.

Like how she would look proud in front of others and yet look so humble when it’s two people. Or when the girl’s normally capable, but would act like a bumbling onee-san in front of the protagonist in a mero mero manner.

The biggest characteristic girl with such dual characters would be that they would have completely different responses and actions in a fixed situation.

(This girl’s situation…)

Keima’s eyes flashed.

(So the switch’s inside and outside of school, right?)

But it was too early to conclude that.

The girl with a runaway spirit definitely had some problem.

This problem is related to the girl’s actions and words. This was what he understood greatly after conquering a few girls.

If,

Like what Keima deduced, that this Yoshino Asami has dual characters, this trait of hers would have a direct relation to her problem.

“Hey.”

Suddenly, Yoshino Asami waved her hand in front of Keima and asked,

“Were you listening there, Keima-kun?”

“Eh? Ah, ahh.”

Keima recovered and looked at Yoshino Asami.

“Sorry…where were we?”

“Really~”

And Yoshino Asami puffed her cheeks.

“I said that it’s troublesome that the tea ceremony club couldn’t draw people in.”

“Really? Sorry then.”

Yoshino Asami smiled.

“It’s alright.”

And then said jokingly,

“So how about you treat this one?”

After saying that, she continued drinking her iced coffee from the straw as she gave a mischievous expression. Keima smiled.

His eyes were giving off a warm light.

“I’ll be happy to do so.”

“!”

Yoshino Asami’s face went a little red.

Keima’s looks were really primp and proper, and the girl’s heart seemed to be moved by it as she frantically said,

“Really~ really~ I was joking…Katsuragi-kun, you’re unexpectedly serious.”

“…”

“Speaking of which, Katsuragi-kun…it may be a little rude of me to say this.”

“?”

“Lo, looking at you closely, are, aren’t you quite handsome?”

Keima frowned. He wasn’t unhappy, just a little shocked.

“Ahahaha! It’s very different from what I hea…heard from the other girls. Aren’t you called otamegane?”

“A few of them do…”

“But, you’re quite a looker, right?”

She grinned and narrowed her eyes.

“You have a girlfriend already, right? You’re a playboy, right?”

“…”

Keima didn’t know what to answer.

The most important thing was that he felt,

What was this girl worrying about?

Yoshino Asami was so carefree, so worry-free. The strange wall he experienced when they went back home together disappeared completely.

(In other words.)

Keima’s eyes shone.

(The dual character problem was in school, isn’t it?)

In this situation, the key would be that he had to meet her again in school. As Keima was thinking about this,

“Ah, arre?”

A soft voice came from beside him.

“Are you…prince?”

On hearing this voice, his heart pounded wildly.

(Do, don’t tell me!)

It shouldn’t be like this.

It couldn’t be like this.

It mustn’t be like this.

This situation…

(eh!?)

As he turned around, he thought.

(What were you doing, Elsie!?)

Standing over there was,

“…Good afternoon, prince.”

The ‘Denpakei’ girl Amami Tooru…

In bishoujo games, there were often situations where the girls that were being conquered at the same time would appear at the same time to create a ‘Shuraba’ event.

Based on the event, there would be a likelihood that the protagonist could create jealousy in the girls and move in further. However, if he ended up losing the trust of both parties, it would be a direct Bad Ending.

It was an event which required very deli~cate decision making.

Keima quickly looked at the expressions of the two girls.

First, Yoshino Asami.

“Fuu~n.”

She made such a sound as she narrowed her eyes, putting her arms on the table as she smiled at Keima in a very interested manner. On the other side, Amami Tooru,

She,

“…”

Was looking at Keima sadly.

“Ah, no, this isn’t,”

Keima hurriedly answered.

This, this is bad!

His heart was thinking that this was bad, that this couldn’t do, but he didn’t know what to say.

Speaking of which, why was Amami Tooru here?

“…I went over there.”

Amami Tooru pointed at the street opposite the tea shop.

“And I saw a familiar back profile, prince.”

Guwaa~

It’s already hard for them to have an encounter, but she appeared here in such a scary moment.

That’s why ‘Denpakei’ were hard to handle!

“Well.”

At this moment, Yoshino Asami casually took out a notebook from her bag, ripped a piece of paper out and wrote a series of numbers with a pen she brought out.

“That’s my mail.”

She smiled and said,

“You must send mail to me, pri-nce♪”

She blinked an eye lightly and stood up.

“Ah.”

Keima immediately tried to stop her without thinking as he stood up, but at this moment.

“…”

Amami Tooru turned around wordlessly.

“Wa, wait a minute!”

To Keima, this reaction was way too awkward, but it couldn’t be helped.

That super-precise of his,

(It’s hard to meet Amami Tooru, so it seems that she had some misunderstanding between Yoshino Asami and me, so I should call out to stop Amami Tooru, but in this case, I’ll end up moving away from Yoshino Asami, who I managed to get closer with. Also, Amami Tooru’s response really puzzles me. It may be better to let her misunderstand…but the opposite effect may happen too!)

Was spinning at high speeds.

Yoshino Asami and Amami Tooru. Who should he talk to?

Who should he explain things to?

Who should he call out to?

Facing this fated question,

“It’s practically 50-50!”

No.

(There won’t be any good outcome no matter who I call!)

He got this conclusion.

“Ah, that’s right!”

Facing

“How about you treat then? Thanks for the ice coffee♪”

Yoshino Asami waved her hand and left with light steps, and,

“…”

Amami Tooru gave an icy expression that could scare Keima as she again wordlessly glanced at him. Keima couldn’t make an effective move before they left the terrace. Whether it’s Yoshino Asami or Amami Tooru, both of them left Keima alone at the tea shop.

“Wha, what’s going on…”

At this moment, Keima didn’t have any clue.

This was completely unexpected.

Or rather.

“Elsie…”

If she had kept Amami Tooru busy well, this ridiculous event wouldn’t have happened.

At this moment.

“Ka, kami-sama~!”

Dededededede. The person who caused this event to happened came running over. She looked like she was going to cry and said,

“I, I’m really sorry~ I lost sight of Tooru-san!”

“You,”

Keima said this, and then,

“YOU IDIOT!!! SHE WAS HERE JUST A WHILE AGO!!!”

In response to Elsie’s mistake,

Keima couldn’t help but hug his head and scream out…

<noinclude>{{Nav|{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{TWGOK List v1}}|The World God Only Knows}}</noinclude>

The World God Only Knows:Volume 1 Chapter 1

2012-02-20T01:20:30Z

203.116.187.1:

==Chapter 1: The Descent of an Angel==

During a weekday, Katsuragi Keima randomly entered a game software shop ‘OG map’, but the moment he entered the shop, the atmosphere in the shop showed an obvious change. He was famous as the ‘God of Conquest’ in the gaming world, but in the real world, no one knew that he was the god of conquests.

Even so.

“Swap with me.”

The supervisor in charge of this level patted the new worker at the cashier and asked to swap over.

“Eh?”

The new worker looked surprised.

The supervisor shook his head silently and pointed in a certain direction.

“…”

Right where he was pointing at was Keima, who was looking at the row of countless new works through the transparent clothes.

Behind him, Elsie was looking rather bored.

“It’s a little tough for you.”

“How, how could it be?”

Wasn’t he just an ordinary customer?

Just when the newcomer was about to say this, he realized that Keima was obviously different from the other customers, and was obviously of a different dimension from the rest.

“…Uu.”

He moaned. The supervisor gave a one liner that’s like those in Western movies.

“That’s great. Looks like you still have some foresight.”

The supervisor chuckled.

“If you can’t spot the strange nature in that action, you have no hope of being born here, and I can’t hand the Galge counter over to you.”

The supervisor narrowed his eyes and looked at Keima.

And several other customers in the shop,

Some old-time gamers with foresight noticed it. Some people,

(Wha, what’s with this boy?)

Were amazed, or,

(This guy again…who in the world is here?)

Showed an inexplicable look. To put it, that Keima,

“…”

Was just looking at the games with a depressed look.

He was just going,

“…As expected, I can’t tell without coming to the shop to see the actual item.”

Or,

“Has the price dropped?”

He muttered as he went between one shelf after another. To put it properly, it was said that highly skilled martial artists could use the motion of chopsticks to rate each other.

A pianist could hear the quality of a keyboard through a performance. A top-rate sushi chef could tell the level of another through even the basics of fried egg.

In other words, a person’s subconscious action could present its hidden ability completely.

Keima was merely shopping around for game software, but to the bystanders,

''What kind of amazing gamer is he?''

From his gaming style that no one else could match, to the speed and processing ability, even if no one knew whether it was true, they could conclude to a certain extent. Also, there was one thing everyone in the shop could feel. That was,

This boy’s really an enigma!

That’s all.

''I can’t handle this.''

With this fear, this thought appeared in the newcomer’s mind. ''I can’t handle this at all.''

His body couldn’t help but tremble.

The supervisor smiled.

“If you can sense this, this shows that you’re good. Hurry along, I’ll handle this boy.”

And shook his head.

“To be honest, this is really a little too much, but someone has to do it, don’t you say?”

Keima continued to choose the items in a flowing and graceful manner before finally putting the items down gently onto the cashier, and the supervisor,

“…”

Continued to remain silent as he scanned the barcodes.

“…”

He immediately readied the bag and put the games into it without too much unnecessary action.

“The total will be 67,850 yen.”

After stating that, he handed over a special edition poster and a little handbook to Keima before he could even say anything.

“Ho?”

Keima’s eyes sparkled.

“Well, you really know your work. The goods in this shop are all in order, and there’re people who knows what the customers want.”

“…”

The supervisor looked like he got the highest honor as he put his hand in front of his chest and bowed.

“I’ll come back again.”

Keima turned around and continued to walk out of the shop leisurely. The supervisor continued to remain bowed, and the newcomer looked somewhat touched as he watched Keima leave.

The other customers who were watching this were all going ‘oh~’ in amazement as they watched Keima leave with somewhat admiring eyes.

Elsie was the only one who remained stunned.

After that, as Elsie,

“I always wanted to come to such a place!”

Because of such a strong request, Keima and Elsie entered a little café near the ‘OG Map’. At the third level of a certain shopping mall, the main road could be seen completely. The wooden colored wallpaper and the viewing plants looked really lush. It was a really a small mountainside-styled café.

Keima simply ordered red tea, and Elsie,

“Erm, un.”

After lots of trouble, she finally ordered hot chocolate.

“Why eat at some café?”

Keima grumbled.

“Isn’t my house open for you to enter anytime?”

“Well well, it’s important to research on other shops you know.”

Elsie delightedly calmed Keima down. As there were many game shops like ‘OG Map’, there were many customers who were like Keima, holding bags. Inside, there were 3 customers at a table, looking at a notebook computer and seemingly deciding on something.

“As expected.”

Also,

“Wasn’t this option here because the last flag wasn’t fulfilled? Looks like we should start all over again.”

And also,

“No, we can’t decide that. Emily hasn’t returned to the country yet. We can’t deny completely that we entered another route.”

The trio was all serious.

And working hard.

Elsie glanced aside at those people and asked Keima.

“Kami-sama, can I ask a question?”

“…”

Keima remained silent with his eyes closed as he took a sip from the red tea. That pose…if it was only the pose, it would be as elegant as a noble.

Elsie treated his silence as a silent agreement.

“Eh, it’s a very basic question.”

She put her fingers at her chin and summarized what she wanted to ask.

“…What’s so interesting about games?”

At this moment.

“!”

Keima’s eyes suddenly widened as his eyes blazed.

“Wa! Th, this…cha, charm! I just want to know what’s so attractive about games! Be, because you see, there’re many people other than kami-sama who’s interested.”

“Haa.”

Keima sighed hard.

“That’s really a ‘basic of basics question’, Elsie.”

He coldly glanced at Elsie, and Elsie timidly shrank back in apology.

“Uu.”

“Well, I’ll just explain in a way you can understand.”

He waved his arm like a kabuki-actor.

To Elsie.

‘An imperfect reality, a perfect game’.

She seemed to see the words raised in a banner behind Keima. Keima’s face looked like there was really a mask, and there was red hair reaching out from behind the mask.

These were all a hallucination. In fact,

“An imperfect reality, a perfect game.”

Keima only said this. He continued passionately,

“Get it? The female lead in a game can’t possibly have those unreasonable actions that girls in real life will do. All the actions or circumstances are all set up for only the beautiful ending.”

He said that with passionately.

Elsie thought that ‘once kami-sama got involved with games, he could be really ‘fired up’. As for Keima, he was thinking that he had to explain it.

Both of them,

Suddenly looked at each other.

““HOT!!””

Suddenly shouted.

For some reason, the surroundings were really hot, and white smoke floated in as the fire alarm rang.

During the short time after.

Keima and Elsie were left in a dazed manner.

“A fire?”

“Everyone, calm down! Please evacuate in an orderly fashion!”

The customers in the shop were all panicking in shock, and the shop attendants did their best to guide them to the emergency staircase. Even though the fire was nearby, the instructions were precise. Even though it was an old building, the precise instructions allowed the evacuation to be smooth.

“Really.”

Keima watched everyone around him panic and sighed.

“People really show their human instincts at this moment. Listen up. You have to remain unmoved like me to.”

Just as he was lecturing Elsie who was panicking,

“DAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNNNNN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTT!!!!”

He couldn’t help but cuddle his head.

Elsie was shocked by this shout.

“Ka, kami-sama!?”

Keima’s eyes flashed.

“…Elsie, I’m going back into the shop.”

“Eh?”

Elsie used a split second to understand the meaning behind these words.

“EEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!???”

And then shouted out. Though they couldn’t see the fire, the thickness of the smoke itself meant that going back into the shop was suicidal. However, Keima gripped his fists hard and said,

“This is really embarrassing.”

He said this with much remorse.

“I left the game software the shop attendant gave me on the table!”

“Weren’t you holding it? That bag!”

Keima adamantly refuted Elsie.

“No, it’s the one I carried along to play today! Elsie, I’ll hand this over to you!”

Keima handed over the bag of games he bought to Elsie,

“I’m still too naïve!”

And then turned around adamantly as he ran up the stairs at a speed no one could associate with his normally frail image.

“Ka,”

Elsie screamed out,

“KAMI-SSAAAAAAMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Just as she was about to chase Keima.

“Get out of my way!”

“Oi, move aside!”

The people who were coming over from up and down the staircase, coupled with the smoke, caused her to lose sight of Keima.

With amazing willpower, Keima darted into the shop filled with thick smoke and used terrifying instincts to find the seat he was in. Then, as his sight was completely ineffective, he used his love for the games to successfully find what he lost.

“Alright!”

He looked like he was hugging the games.

“Come, let’s escape!”

And seemed to be talking to someone as once he finished shouting, he intended to leave.

However,

Even if it’s him, no matter what state his heart was in, his body still reacted in a biological manner, and it couldn’t be helped.

“…Arre?”

First, just as he was about to get out of the shop, his heart wavered greatly.

“Er, mm…”

His eyes started to become blurry.

“…re?”

His wavering feet started to disobey his commands and collapsed just like that.

“U, ugh…”

Though he really wanted to move forward.

“U…uu.”

His body wasn’t strong to begin with. He lasted till now,

All through his love and passion for games.

Once he got his games.

“…Ugh.”

The nerves of tension immediately snapped, and Keima’s blurry consciousness started to think.

(Am, am I going to fall just like this…me…)

Amazingly,

There was no fear, no pain.

(Ah, ahh.)

Keima thought.

(At least allow me to conquer this game…)

Just as he smiled weakly and was about to close his eyes.

“Are you alright?”

He heard a voice.

Keima turned to where the voice came from.

“!”

He was shocked.

In the midst of the smoke, a girl in pure white clothes appeared, pure white clothes that looked like what the Ancient Greeks would drape over themselves. She was wearing a white mini-skirt and sandals, had flowing long hair and a mysterious shine in her eyes, snowy white skin, and most importantly,

The wings behind her back.

[[Image:TWGOK 01 037.jpg|thumb]]

“An, angel?”

The girl reached her hand out, and Keima’s consciousness just so happens to fade…

The next day, the nurse in Maijima General Hospital went all angry,

“Oi! Mr Katsuragi! Can you please stop playing your games!?”

And shouted this at Keima, who’s dressed in white inpatient clothing.

“…”

He continued to remain seated on the bed, watching the game screen wordlessly. Elsie was right beside him,

(Ka, kami-sama’s always the same no matter where he goes…)

Watching Keima play the video game while breaking out cold sweat. In other words, Katsuragi Keima was hospitalized.

Luckily, there weren’t any serious external injuries or aftershocks. It was just a precaution. He would be out in another 2, 3 days.

“Speaking of which, it’s really great…that nothing happened.”

While accompanying Keima up to the rooftop, Elsie put her hand at her chest and said,

“My heart nearly stopped yesterday when I thought about what would happen to kami-sama.”

After Keima was found to be alright at the back door of the shop, Elsie couldn’t help but cry. Keima’s mother, Mari was with them just now, but because she had to run here ‘Grandpa’ Café, she went off early and left the rest to Elsie.

Keima,

“…”

Was silent for a while.

One of the reasons was that he was playing games. But actually, he was thinking about something.

(Was I saved by her? By that…girl who dressed up like an angel…)

Actually, his memory of this wasn’t really clear, and at the moment he regained consciousness, he was already lying at the back door of the shop. Probably, the girl he met in the smoke brought him out of the fire that was spreading through the building and allowed him to escape…

Was that reality?

Or was that all imagination.

Right now, Keima still couldn’t be certain of that. Besides, if that girl really saved me.

Why did she disappear from right in front of me?

He really couldn’t understand that.

Keima couldn’t understand why the girl left him unconscious and went away. And it seemed that no one at the fire seemed to see that girl. Thus Keima was somewhat doubting whether it was just his imagination.

“…The weather’s really fine.”

He sat on the rooftop, looked up at the sky, and muttered.

If he thought about things under such a bright sun, probably everything that happened yesterday was a dream, and not just the girl herself.

“Yeah.”

Elsie followed suit and sat down on the concrete ground. Then, she suddenly jumped up.

“That’s right!”

She looked at Keima and said,

“I have something to say to okaa-sama! I’ll go make a call!”

And then ran off through the exit of the rooftop as she treaded her way through. Keima watched her leave, and sighed slightly.

“…Such a busy person.”

He then held the handheld PFP in his hand and lay down.

“!”

And froze.

There was a penthouse and a water supply tower that was higher than the rooftop, and he saw a girl letting her feet down and sitting there, looking at him. This girl seemed to be looking down at Keima, waiting for Keima to discover her.

Once her eyes meet Keima’s.

“Ahahaha, we finally meet~”

She easily jumped off from there.

Gently,

The girl was just like an angel as she descended in front of Keima. Her fingertips raised the edge of her skirt slightly as she bowed elegantly.

“Hello, the prince with the beautiful eyes♪.”

This was the second encounter with the girl.

The girl smiled.

“…Prince?”

“…”

Keima was thoroughly stunned. The girl was looking down at Keima, who in turn was lying down. Thus, he could see what’s under the skirt from this angle…

White.

“…”

Really an underwear of underwear, Keima thought. He remained unmoved as he stood up and patted away the dust on him and wordlessly looked at the girl.

The girl didn’t seem to mind and said,

“Ahahaha, the prince looks really energetic. That’s great!”

“…”

Keima’s mind started to spin.

He furrowed his eyebrows.

(The girl yesterday?)

The memory yesterday started to return. The girl narrowed her eyes and said,

“You took in some smoke, so I was worried.”

And then, she smiled.

“That’s great! Looks like you’re alright!”

Keima managed to make a conclusion and say it out,

“Don’t tell me…you saved me yesterday?”

Then, the girl,

“Un!”

Nodded her head hard.

“I was in that building back then as I was looking for something.”

“Something?”

Feeling that she was surrounded by the girl’s unique presence, Keima asked. The girl energetically and forcefully said in a tone that’s hard to capture,

“Yes, ''it’s a quest''!”

She said it clearly,

“Amidst the endless sea of stars, the stars that are shining regularly will definitely be my destination!”

“…”

Keima remained silent, and the girl on the other hand didn’t mind.

“I will continue to look for such stars one after another. My quest is to look for the stars.”

“…”

Keima’s language processing ability was outstanding, and he was great at logical thinking. Normally, when conquering girls, he could sort the logic out from the cognitive wavering in the target’s words. That’s why he was able to find out the girl’s hidden secrets, and designate their doctrine or personality. But on the other hand, if the other party wasn’t cognitive in the first place, words that weren’t logical were hard to deal with.

His mind was starting to sort this girl into a certain element.

“There’re a few points.”

Keima asked,

“That I don’t understand. Did you say that you’re looking for something?”

He asked patiently.

“What is it? What is it that you’re trying to find?”

The girl chuckled happily.

“About that, it’s an eternal plus that will never change, a present that’s eternal. No matter how many minus there is, it won’t change this eternal plus.”

“…”

Keima started to feel a headache, and his eyelids felt like twitching.

“Really…can you find it?”

The girl said seriously,

“No.”

And then,

“…”

“…”

Both of them went silent. The girl put both hands behind her back and smiled. Though Keima was showing a smile too, it was obviously forced and barely held there. His eyelids were twitching. He took perfect timing,

''Then.''

He will take this time to leave.

''Thank you for saving me. Did you come to visit me today? Thank you for that. Then, I think I still have some stuff to do, so I’ll make a move first. Bye!''

And will hurriedly leave.

Thus, just as he was aiming for this moment to say ‘then’.

“Oh prince.”

The girl turned around and looked at the streets from the handrail of the rooftop.

“The weather’s great today~ the streets are all lively.”

Keima’s tempo was messed up, and he couldn’t leave. He pondered for a while, and sighed hard.

“…I’m not a prince.”

This was the only resistance Keima could make to the girl ever since she started spouting all sorts of nonsense just now. The girl happily turned over.

“You’re a prince!”

“…”

“Because you have such beautiful and clear eyes…so pretty, those eyes that looks like they can see through everything, these crystal-like eyes that have god’s will in them.”

The girl took a large step and moved closer.

She smiled.

“Tha, thanks.”

The girl stared at Keima’s eyes in a curious manner, and Keima said in an annoyed manner,

“…Thank you for saving me. Did you come to visit me today? Thank you for that. Then,”

He was about to say the line he prepared.

“…You really like games. I like them too. I’m going through such a quest ♪”

Thus, the girl’s answer was again a little off from what Keima said. Keima really felt like cuddling his head, and then,

“I see, so this person’s!”

He concluded,

“This person’s a Denpakei<ref>電波系 - somebody who has wild fantasies; someone who hears voices; someone who is crazy</ref>…”

The most incompatible type to the logical Keima.

And what she said up till now,

Couldn’t be comprehended!

Keima couldn’t help but look around desperately for help, and just at this moment,

“Kami-sama~!”

Elsie appeared on the rooftop. The girl glanced, and said,

“Your little sister?”

She left.

“It’s about time for me to leave.”

Keima heaved a sigh of relief, but she was his savior after all,

“Tha, thank you…again.”

“My name’s Amami Tooru.”

[[Image:TWGOK 01 049.jpg|thumb]]

“Katsuragi Keima.”

“That’s a nice name.”

The girl showed a kind smile and waved her hand.

“Bye bye, Keima-kun. It’s enough for me that you’re alright. A human’s life more important than anything else~ ♪”

Then, she put her hands behind her back, hummed in a lively manner, and left.

Elsie went by her.

And watched her leave with a strange expression. And then,

Dorodorodorodorodorodoro.

Elsie’s hair decoration let out a sound, and she was so shocked that she held her head. She looked dumbstruck as she again pointed at the girl who was heading down the stairs.

“In other words.”

Keima tried his best not to kneel on the floor, and muttered,

“That girl has a wandering spirit, is it…”

He had a bad feeling about this…

And he was actually correct.

“Kami-sama!”

Elsie shouted as she ran over.

“That person!”

“I know.”

Keima used a stern expression to look at Elsie,

“I know. There’s a runaway spirit inside, right?”

Elsie nodded her head, and then asked in a curious manner.

“She looked like she was talking to kami-sama…do you two know each other?”

“Basically, it’s our first meeting.”

Keima didn’t elaborate further. He was already thinking about how to conquer that girl…that girl who called herself Amami Tooru.

The runaway spirit rests in the gap of a soul, and they let the girls with these souls fall in love to conquer their hearts before claiming the runaway spirits. This was Elsie’s mission as a member of Hell's ‘runaway spirit squad’, and also her partner Keima’s mission.

That intricate and sharp brain started to move. In his mind, there were countless games he conquered, the routes and even the words of the female leads he conquered imprinted deep inside him without mistake. He recalled.

He pondered.

He deduced, summarized, and continued.

“As expected…a ‘denpakei’, or an ohanabatake<ref>お花畑タイプ - flower garden type (when thinking about boyfriend, happy thoughts come first)</ref>.”

And then, he shook his head.

“No, it’s too early to designate the type, but we can only go in this direction.”

He looked at the exit where Amami Tooru left, and clicked his tongue slightly.

“I don’t know the school she studies at, and I don’t know where she lives. Really, looks like this conquest’s going to be really physically tiring.”

Elsie asked in a passive manner,

“Then, kami-sama…a ‘denpakei’ is.”

She looked like she was searching through her memeory.

“That,”

And said with somewhat little confidence.

“…The type of girls kami-sama said that you aren’t good with, right?”

“…”

Keima glanced at Elsie,

And then,

“Even if I’m really forced, even if I am really forced to do this, I have to protect this. Please play in my garden!”

Elsie seemed to see several cute and exaggerated flowers sprouting out from behind Keima, and rubbed her eyes.

“…Fuu.”

The bright flowers were gone, and what was left was the sighing Keima.

“Anyway, let’s get out of hospital first, and after that.”

He forcefully pointed out Elsie’s mistake and corrected it.

“IT’S NOT THAT I’M NOT USED TO OHANABATAKE-TYPES!”

I just don’t want to get too troubled.

He said. And Elsie couldn’t help but remain rooted and stunned.

Three days later, there was a girl.

Amami Tooru was walking on the streets. She had sepia-colored hair, a flowing one-piece white dress on, a cross-shaped necklace and violet sandals. Her good looks and outstanding figure caused the men who went past her to be attracted by her as they looked at her. They couldn’t help but turn their necks back to look at her.

This girl’s really cute~

Most of the men would think that, but the girl herself didn’t mind the stares. She continued to look up at the row of buildings that were lined up.

She was holding onto a notebook, even though her stand was unclear,

“Ah, there’s a guidance star here.”

The girl muttered and used a pen to write something. Then, she used her handphone to take a photo of the building.

“Ahaha.”

Then, she just went ‘un un’, nodding away and writing something inside the notebook. After that, she put her notebook and handphone into her bag and continued to sway and walk.

Suddenly, she stopped.

“?”

And tilted her head in a puzzled manner.

Amidst the crowd, there was a boy who was leaning on the wall, folding his arms in front of his chest as he slowly got up. He, Katsuragi Keima, stood in front of Amami Tooru.

(First.)

“…Can I help you find something?”

(Let’s enter her world!)

The girl’s body went stiff for a while, and then, she called out.

“Ah~prince!”

Being called out like this in the middle of a crowd, Keima was somewhat scared, but,

“Please allow me to accompany you, princess.”

After that, he politely put his hand in front of his chest. Deep inside, this really needed to put a lot of effort, but he really looked gentlemanly there.

“Wa~ prince! That’s great, you’re out of the hospital!”

The girl suddenly ran at Keima and hugged him immediately. The pedestrians nearby all gave shocked looked.

Keima himself was shocked too.

“Tha, thanks to you.”

Once the girl separated from him, she held onto Keima’s hand and jumped all about.

“Prince, you recovered really quickly!”

And again hugged him,

“Nn~looks real. I thought you were a treasure in the smoke, but you don’t look like treasure when you’re assembled like this, right?”

He couldn’t understand what she was saying.

And,

“Uu.”

The breasts that were larger than average were bouncing around, and he couldn’t possibly not notice it. This elasticity…it’s soft.

But Keima,

“…”

Continued to let her rampage on. He was already prepared to have even more endurance in the future…

A girl was looking at them from an utility pole slightly far away. It was Elsie.

Keima thought her.

(I’m going to jump into her story.)

She didn’t really understand the meaning behind this, but Elsie trusted Keima and watched them from behind.

“That’s really a coincidence, prince!”

Are you finally satisfied? Amami Tooru let go of Keima, and then seemingly out of habit, but her hands behind her back and smiled.

Keima heaved a sigh of relief and looked at Amami Tooru.

(Alright. Doesn’t look like there’s something worth noticing on the outside…for now.)

Immediately, Keima’s sharp eyes inspected Amami Tooru entirely. She was really unique, but there wasn’t anything strange about her.

He just felt this again.

She was really a stunningly beautiful girl. He was already bothered the first time he met her, whether she was a mixed-blood or quarter-mixed-blood. The impression she gave was that she was an angel that walked out from some western painter’s painting. She had an ample figure that a Japanese wouldn’t normally have, and she just looked unreal as it seemed to be strengthen this impression.

To be honest, it didn’t seem that she had life.

She was just like a real angel…

“What’s with you today?”

Amami Tooru gave a clear smile and asked,

“How about we buy something on the streets?”

Her voice was as clear as a bell, but this enforced the feeling that she wasn’t a human of flesh and blood as it was a vague speech mannerism.

Keima said,

“You have something…that you wanted to find, right?”

And after that,

Amami Tooru blinked her eyes.

“I’ll find it too, princess.”

''First, I have to be sincere.''

“…”

Amami Tooru continued to stare at Keima for quite a while. Keima then said,

“Let’s look for this eternal plus you’re looking for together.”

''I have to be slightly forceful. The character impression has to be like a magician.''

“…”

“Please allow me to accompany you.”

''Make sure I sound like a loyal knight.”''

“…”

“Wa, wa~! How exciting. The adventure’s about to being!”

''How about a little childish and impish feeling there?''

“…”

“I, I want to see that eternal plus you want to look for too.”

''Like a noble that descends from high above, or a magical item that lasted for a long time.''

Just like that, he continued to change tones.

“…”

Even so, Amami Tooru continued to stare at Keima.

The pedestrians were all looking at Keima with weird looks as he spouted those strange lines, whether they were coming from the front or the back. Slightly far away, two aunties were muttering.

''How pitiful.''

And,

''So young…and so energetic.''

And stuff like that as they continued to gossip.

Actually, Keima also wanted to run far away at this point.

''Who wants to carry on like this!''

He roared deep inside. He could feel the shame rising up in him, and his face was becoming redder. Even so, Keima continued to organize his words.

Words that could touch the other party’s heart.

The door that leads to the other party’s word, the words that were meant to look for the key.

“This is just my gratitude to you, princess.”

That was what Keima wanted to do.

Once he understands her world, he will blend in, not just emotionally and design, but also in all other aspects. When dealing with ‘denpakei’ girls, this was a must.

What she was looking forward to.

What was she looking at.

What kind of personality did she have.

When dealing with such girls, if one wants to achieve the mutual understanding before people can fall in love normally, they have to go through a number of tedious phases.

That was why Keima continued to let out little jabs in his words to try and probe into her view of the world. For this, he tried many ways to talk.

“…The guidance star.”

Suddenly, Keima’s eyes showed a steady reflection.

“There’s one in this building.”

After sensing the rule in the girl’s words, Keima said,

“…You.”

Keima’s finger pointed above, and Amami Tooru’s eyes followed.

‘Bar—Lucky Chance’.

The street they were on had this signboard right above, a neon light that was extended out from the third level of the building.

When it’s night, it’s likely to let out beautiful lights.

And on this signboard.

“Are you looking for such a star?”

It was a decoration that was yellow, seemingly representing a shooting star. Amami Tooru still remained unmoved.

Keima waited slightly.

Suddenly,

“Aha.”

Amami Tooru laughed, and Keima immediately gulped.

Did he succeed?

Did he fail?

Keima remembered that when he met her for the first time, even inside the building that was on fire, there was a star-shaped signboard of relatively retro games. Also, there were the words she said at the rooftop of the hospital when they met again.

“My quest’s to look for stars!”

This line was inside Keima’s detailed memory as well. Thus, he tried to piece these two theories together.

“That’s right! Amazing! How did you know! How did you know that I’m looking for this star?”

“…”

Keima heaved a sigh of relief inside. Looks like he was correct. Amami Tooru’s eyes suddenly gave a strong light.

The vague words showed her true passion.

“Ahaha! You’re amazing, prince! You really have all-seeing eyes!”

The girl clapped her hands together and shouted excitedly. The crowd started to turn back and look at Keima and the bishoujo girl who was making an abnormally loud voice. Keima felt his eyes hurting, but he still smiled.

“I know all about you.”

Matching her view of the world.

Matching her heart.

He had to gradually understand the other party. The ‘eternal plus’ she was looking for was likely to be the decisive key to understanding her inner heart.

Thus,

“I said that I hope to look for it with you.”

Keima took a step forward.

“Un!”

The girl nodded her head.

“You’re a prince! You’re really a prince!”

The girl easily accepted this.

“Let’s look for this, this ‘eternal plus’!”

“…Un, an ‘eternal plus’.”

Keima’s eyes let out a calculative shine.

“How should we look at it?”

He wanted to understand Amami Tooru’s inner heart.

Keima started to probe. Amami Tooru suddenly froze. ''Not good.'' He clicked his tongue deep inside. Was he rushing things a little too much?

However, Amami Tooru,

“Ahahaha, I don’t know about this at all! I don’t know where it is, what shape it is! I don’t know at all!”

She clearly answered without being bothered at all.

“I see…”

Keima answered as he lowered his head and thought,

So it was such a setting…I see.

But at this moment, he didn’t notice it.

“…”

Amami Tooru’s expression showed a slight change.

(Fu~n)

It was an expression an ordinary girl would have, as if she was looking down from high above at Keima, trying to test him. What’s ironic was that at this moment, Amami Tooru’s beautiful face was showing some real human emotions—observing from afar, Elsie couldn’t help but go ‘oh?’. But at this moment, Keima’s eyes lost Amami Tooru completely.

“Then, let’s going! To the place we’re most interested in! Let’s go there!”

Thus, once Amami Tooru went back to that gentle expression and that lost voice, Keima himself didn’t realize the change in this.

“Of course.”

He smiled and answered.

Keima gave himself a pass…but at the next moment, what Amami Tooru called out next really surprised him.

“Let’s go ahead. The little sister over there too!”

She lifted her head slightly, and smiled as she said to Elsie, who was hiding behind the utility pole.

Keima himself was shocked inside. Amami Tooru, who didn’t look like she was noticing her surroundings, suddenly invited Elsie along, and she never looked over in Elsie’s direction whenever she was talking to Keima.

However, she was talking to Elsie without hesitation, even though she and Elsie only went by each other at the rooftop once.

When did she start to realize Elsie’s existence?

Amami Tooru looked over at the troubled Keima and Elsie, who Keima himself was panicking over, and smiled as she walked off.

After that,

After they tumbled around on the bus for another 2 stops.

“Jyan! This is our destination!”

Keima and Elsie were speechless.

It was a large entertainment facility. The streets Keima and Elsie were staying at were in a more rural area, but it had lots of empty land. It had a school, library, city hall, sports hall and all sorts of public facility, but also had more of such large-scale public entertainment facilities.

Right now, the one in front of Keima and company was the ‘Dean Land’, one of these buildings. The building that’s built in the middle of the busy street was an entire theme park itself. From karaoke and bowling alleys to manga cafes and cafeterias, there were all sorts of things inside this building.

What’s more amazing was that there was a track extending out from a side of the building, spinning about in the air once before returning back to the building.

Periodically.

“KYAAA~!”

“WA~!”

With the cries of several people, the roller-coaster will rush out from the side of the building, spin once before rushing back into the building again.

In other words,

“This is really unbelievable…”

Keima gave out cold sweat as he said this.

A roller coaster occupied half the building. Are the safety standards of this building really alright?

“…”

Keima still remained silent.

And Elsie,

“Wa~”

Clasped her hands together tight as her eyes were sparkling. Amami Tooru said happily,

“Look! There’s a large guidance start over there!”

She pointed to the roof, and there was really a large star decoration over there.”

“Let’s hurry and go in!”

Keima and Elsie were again grabbed on the hand by Amami Tooru and forcefully dragged in.

Keima already had a bad feeling the moment he saw the outside of this building, but he was already prepared the moment he decided to follow Amami Tooru.

No matter what, he will continue to see what’s inside her world.

However,

Even so,

“Gu, kuku!”

After registering at the first level, he separated from Tooru and Elsie and head into the men’s changing room. After changing into a certain costume, Keima couldn’t help but wince and grimace.

“Why do I”

He clenched his fist hard,

“Wear something like this.”

His shoulders naturally trembled slightly as the humiliation and awkwardness rose up in him. But in contrast, Elsie,

“Waa~! Kami-sama, it really suits you!”

She clapped hard and raised her approval. Amami Tooru too said,

“Un, it’s really ideal for you to be a butler, prince. Definitely.”

After making a ridiculous conclusion, she nodded her head in a satisfied manner. And she herself was dressed like a princess with a crown on. All her clothing were changed except for the cross necklace.

And Elsie was a maid.

As for Keima…

“Uu, I really didn’t expect it to be such a messy spot…”

Was cosplaying as a butler. But like what the girls said, Keima, who had the presence and the looks, was really suited for such outstanding clothing.

The lady at the counter smiled and asked,

“Princess, maid and butler, my I know if there’s any problems?”

“No problems at all. Right, Elsie?”

“Yes~, just, just like you said ♪, princess.”

The girls immediately got into character and answered. Then, the lady at the counter, Amami Tooru and Elsie turned to look at Keima. They were all looking rather enthusiastic, looking forward to it. Keima backed away a little on seeing their blazing eyes, but he couldn’t just keep a poker face all the time. Besides, Amami Tooru was right in front of him.

He barely forced a smile.

“No.”

He answered,

“No problems at all, princess.”

He politely put his hand in front of his chest and answered, just like how he met Amami Tooru for the first time today. The girls all cheered ‘KYAAA!’

It’s true.

Keima was really suited to cosplay as such…

‘Dean Land’.

The biggest unique thing about it was that it was a theme park that allows cosplayers to take its rides, a rare sight even in the entire country. Of course, one can wear plain clothes, but most of the customers here would put their clothing inside the clothing storage (these were all managed by computers, and they can be examined through the archive of computers). The cosplayers will choose after a long time what’s most suited for them to wear or what they wanted to wear most. The costume choice of ‘Dean Land’ was extremely big, and right now, besides the princess and butler themes Keima and company were wearing, there were also all sorts of clothing of manga or anime characters, or even doll clothing of animals or mascots, and even pilot suits and nurse uniforms.

There’s measurements of different sizes for males and females, and though there are cool girls wearing manly male clothing or little kids cosplaying as magical girls, they would basically wear things that will fit their gender.

If they really didn’t know what’s suited for them to wear, there’s a system where they will go to the lady at the counter to be an advisor. Thus, it seemed that as it was Keima and the rest’s first time, they went to the counter lady to help choose the clothing.

It really suited their appearances.

Keima wasn’t willing, but he knew this.

There were more young couples or friends gathered here in Dean Land, but what’s unexpected was that there were also many singles or families. At the higher levels, there’s also a damper (a stage for cosplayers to dance on) for people who’re meeting for the first time to gather. Mothers and fathers were smiling and watching their children in cute clothing jumping and dancing about.

One of the reasons was that it was a holiday, as the hall was buzzing.

Keima was already admitting defeat somewhat.

“Then, Missy.”

And restraining himself as he tried to act like a butler.

“Where shall we head to first?”

Amami Tooru widened her arms and smiled.

“Let me think~ first, let’s play bowling! Bowling!”

And thus, Keima and Elsie were dragged around by Amami Tooru, and once they reached the bowling alley on the fourth level, they were bowling in cosplay.

“Ehh!”

Amami Tooru did splendid motions as she knocked down pins after pins.

“Yeah!”

Then, she spun around elegantly in her princess cosplay, showing her white teeth and giving a victory pose. As she spun, the skirt floated up, showing her white calves. As a super beauty did such a thing, all the customers around them were looking over in surprise. At this moment,

“Ka, kami-sama? Is, is it like this?”

Elsie chose a light ball that was suited for herself and stiffly hit the pins down. Seeing her enjoying herself like this, one really couldn’t tell that she was bowling for the first time.

In the end.

“Waa~ I, I knocked them all down!”

She actually hit a spare. On seeing this, Amami Tooru was really happy.

“Alright! Good job! Ell-chan!”

“Tha, thanks!”

Unknowingly, she was being called by her nickname, and they were even hi-fiving.

And thisn,

“Ugh!”

Rolls.

One or two pins.

He would occasionally hit spares.

This wasn’t something worth bragging,

But the panting Keima,

(More or less enough here, I guess…)

Thought this way.

After bowling, it was karaoke. The system of ‘Dean land’ was that no matter how many times they changed clothes, there’s no need to pay additional fees.

Thus, Keima and the rest (mostly through Amami Tooru’s suggestion) used this system to change clothing. The trio changed into famous international anime clothing. As for karaoke, Amami Tooru showed off her amazing vocals, that’s all. After that, they changed into contemporary drama clothing.

“Let’s go! We might as well ride this now that we’re here!”

Basically, they were forced to take the roller coaster ride by Amami Tooru, the one that looked like a giant snake surrounding a rock.

Amami Tooru and Elsie were already excited,

But Keima, who was more rational than ordinary people, was,

(Is this building and transportation…really up to standard?)

Looking uneasy as he looked in front.

In more ways than one, the ride was really scary…

The roller coaster was moving about at a shocking speed on the twisted track. Once the safety was opened and as they got off the roller coaster, while the girls were chattering away happily, Keima was all tired already.

[[Image:TWGOK 01 075.jpg|thumb]]

Anyway, Keima was being dragged around.

Then, they went to the game corner. They played racing games, ice hockey, rim basketball and test of strength punch. During this time,

“O, oi, wait a sec, this, this too!?”

Or,

“Oii! You too, Elsie?”

Or things like that. Keima didn’t even have time to rest. However,

“…”

Once he entered the row of video games, Keima went silent. His erratic breathing immediately calmed down, his sweat went back into him, and he pushed his glasses.

“…”

He silently looked at the game of guessing and problem solving. It was called.

‘~Really smart~test’.

A national versus type intelligence game. It was a game with a number plate that challenges the intelligence of all the gamers in the country. It tests a variety of things, from general knowledge, to mathematical proving, from logical solving to language ability. All sorts of questions were raised,

“Humph.”

But Keima looked uninterested as he won overwhelmingly again and again.

His hands,

Just looked like they were moving in a flash as he immediately pressed the correct answers, and the speed he did so caused everyone else to be left amazed.

“A, amazing~”

Amami Tooru called out, and Elsie,

“Wa! Wa! Kami-sama won again!”

She was grabbing onto the chair Keima was sitting on and being all excited,

The ranking of the players with the top scores will be shown on the large screen, and thus, lots of people started to gather unknowingly.

“Wa! What’s going on? He just won another one with a national ranking.”

“…What is he? A genius?”

They were muttering away behind, and finally, Keima ended up facing the 7th ranked player in the country.

''“How about this game?”''

The opponent raised what looked like a game that’s a mix of submarines and international chess. Keima answered,

''“...I don’t mind.”''

With the customers in the shop and hundreds of viewers watching.

“…”

Keima narrowed his eyes. His thinking time was longer, and the big screen showed that Keima was at a disadvantage in the game.

Under the opponent’s attacks, the sequence disk looked like it was being suppressed.

Amami Tooru held her breath.

Elsie didn’t understand the rules at all, but she increased the force of her grip on the chair. And then,

“Fuu.”

Keima’s body relaxed.

Just like that.

His clear mind saw through the enemy’s opening. It was an opening an ordinary person couldn’t realize, one really minor and inconspicuous; a logical opening. But to the god of gaming Keima, this was enough. At this moment, a large comeback started.

“Ohh!”

The crowd couldn’t help but cheer for this beautiful fightback as smooth and quick movements accompanied the instantaneous calm thoughts.

Quick direct attacks.

Skillfully set traps.

He continued to attack and weaken the enemy’s base like torrents.

And then,

''“I lose. You’re too strong.”''

As if seeing the wry smile on the opposing gamer from the other side of the network as he watched this glorious win, Keima smiled.

''“Nice fight.”''

He sent a reply praising the brilliant performance. At this moment, the people behind exploded into thunderous claps.

The people who were watching the competitor, one who appeared in many national rankings continuously, face off against an unknown challenger in an intense battle all gave their praises.

Red or yellow text were dancing about.

“…Fuu.”

Finally, Keima seemed to be a little tired as he sighed and left the game console. Amami Tooru was thoroughly amazed.

“Prince! You’re really a prince! That’s amazing! That’s so cool! But, eh?”

She looked puzzled.

“Why a game?”

What she asked wasn’t really clear. Perhaps it was ‘why are you so strong in games?’

As for this question.

“…”

A delicate expression appeared on Keima’s face as he observe the person…but the one who answered was Elsie, who was completely immersed in the victory.

“U~! Ka, Kami-nii-sama!”

And she sounded really excited.

“Kami-sama’s really a god!”

At that moment.

“…”

Amami Tooru’s movements went stiff, and then,

“?”

“…?”

Right in front of Elsie and the mystified looking Keima,

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

She started laughing like something was broken.

“God! I see, the prince is a god!”

If,

She said, and smiled.

“I was right when I cosplayed as an angel, right? Kami-sama? Ahh, I see! So that’s how it is! That’s great, I turned into an angel and saved god!”

“…”

Keima continued to remain silent through, and Amami Tooru said with a clear expression,

“You’re god, and I’m the angel, so that means,”

She pointed at Elsie,

“You’re a cute devil, right, Ell-chan?”

It was an inexplicable,

And an ambiguous expression.

“Now the three of us are god, angel and devil!”

Elsie was shocked even though it should be merely a coincidence.

However, it felt like she said the truth…

And then,

“…”

Keima remained silent as he continued to stare at Amami Tooru’s expression.
“…For some reason.”

Elsie whispered to Keima.

“Tooru-san really gives an inexplicable feeling, isn’t it?”

After what happened then, the three of them arrived at the activity floor at the top.

They were surrounded by all sorts of cosplayers. As the Dance Event was about to start, lots of people were gathering here.

Giving an expressionless face, Keima was looking through his glasses at the back profile of Amami Tooru, who went to get the free drinks from the drink corner.

“…”

And now, he turned around silently to look at Elsie.

Elsie lowered her head and corrected,

“No, she doesn’t just give an inexplicable feeling. She’s really inexplicable.”

Kokukoku, she nodded her head.

It’s unknown when she noticed Elsie’s presence. Even though she probably didn’t mean it, she did mention Elsie’s real identity and so on.

“…Kami-sama. Are ‘Denpa-type’ people really inexplicable people with such sharp intuition?

Elsie asked Keima again.

Keima considered about the question for a while.

“Is that so.”

And he nodded his head.

“Denpa-type people would often display an inexplicable instinct. This may be a woman’s sixth sense or some signal that was received…this is still something unknown, so listen up, Elsie.
Keima lifted his finger up and started to explain.

“The Denpa-type can mostly be sorted into the ‘genuine receiver-type’ and the ‘flower field-type’. Both of them have very huge differences in their appearances. The ‘genuine-nature type’ has a plain skin color and is expressionless, and most of them would have short hair or really short hair. In contrast, the ‘flower field-type’ girls would pretend by wearing ordinary girls’ clothing, and there’s an 80% to 90% chance that they would have long hair or medium long hair.”

He raised these characteristics with the tone of a lecture.

‘The ‘genuine receiver-type’ would normally have a dark side under normal circumstances, like saying something weird out of a sudden or making strange gestures. Like what the term implies, this group of people will normally take do eccentric things once they receive some bad waves, and this element can be extremely dangerous…I got involved in a few dangerous moments of hell before.”

Keima’s glasses shone.

“In other words, it’s really troublesome.”

Elsie was dripping in cold sweat.

“Really troublesome?”

“Very.”

Keima sighed.

“Well, Amami Tooru’s the latter, the ‘flower field-type’, a direct opposite of the ‘genuine receiver-type’. First, they would take any eccentric actions, and they’re a type of people who have a unique set of rules as they view things from a unique world. To think that they are confused with the ‘natural’ characters, but,”

Keima twitched his neat eyebrows slightly.

“BUT THEY’RE DIFFERENT! COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!”

“…How are they completely different?”

The moment Elsie asked this, Keima stared back at Elsie, who asked this question, with a slightly cold expression.

“Do you think ice cream and sorbet are the same?”

Once again, Elsie seemed to see the large images of the ice cream and sorbet behind Keima. Just like that.

‘Ice cream. A frozen product that’s made by adding milk, sugar, flavoring, gelatin to cream and freezing it!’

And,

‘Sorbet. A frozen food that’s made by adding sugar solution to fruit juice, mixing them up and freezing them!’

And the explanations.

But as expected, these were just hallucinations.

“It’s true that the common point between these two is that they’re cold desserts, but the contents are different.”

Keima continued with his lesson.

“First, the ‘natural’ won’t make up stories. Though their concept of reality may be a little off, it is still based on reality. In the end, this ‘natural’ would mean that the current reality and the ‘natural’ reality is slightly different. However, the ‘flower garden’ type is different. Their concept of reality is completely different from reality. Quite the opposite, we ordinary people can only establish a common link with them if our difference in values would at least have some overlaps. The ‘flower garden-type’ is one that’s guided by some invisible fairy’s voice. There’s definitely a consistent view of the world behind her.”

“…”

Elsie remained silent. What Keima said was way too hard to understand. She could only put her index fingers on back sides of her head as her eyes look lost.

Keima gave a thinking look as he crossed his arms and supported his chin with one hand.

“However,”

He muttered,

“…I don’t know what’s the ‘story’ of Amami Tooru based on.”

For the entire day, Keima was watching Amami Tooru, and even though his physical body was all tired, that sharp mind of his was thinking calmly.

The nature of the story Amami Tooru.

The key to getting close to her inner heart.

However.

(She was an angel when I met her, and I guess she was in princess mode when she called me ‘prince’. But after that, they were all anime characters, contemporary drama style, and even other costumes like thief and bunny outfits, and again calling herself an angel…impossible. Normally, the ‘flower garden-type’ would come up with a story that flows according to how they build themselves, a single world, and stick themselves to a certain character. Amami Tooru’s situation’s completely different. We’re in a free cosplay facility, but the changes in the image are way too much. Not just the appearance, but also the content of the dialogue.)

Keima continued to wonder about this problem. His mind was moving at full speed.

(Amami Tooru doesn’t have a defining personality. Why is that?)
He would often find chances to ask Amami Tooru all sorts of questions.

Randomly.

Sometimes forcefully.

Regarding the ‘Guiding star’ she was looking for and the cause and effect of this ‘eternal plus’.

Or rather, the specific image of this ‘eternal plus’.

Speaking of which, why was she dressed as an angel cosplay when they first met?

Anyway, he tried his best to talk to her as he tried to look for clues.

However,

“I don’t know, or rather,”

It even seemed that Amami Tooru would often evade the questions skillfully. He tried his best to ask things that were close to her world in order not to affect her mood, but he just couldn’t grasp this world itself.

“Don’t tell me.”

Keima suddenly thought of an unpleasant conclusion.

(…Was she faking it? Was Amami Tooru pretending to be a ‘Denpakei’?)

However, he quickly denied his own thoughts.

(No, that’s impossible. It wouldn’t be beneficial for her to pretend to be a ‘Denpakei’ type unless she was targeting Elsie and me right from the beginning and thought of a few tricks. Also, that’s the biggest difference between a ‘natural’ and a ‘denpakei’…therefore.)

Thinking till here, Keima finally realizes something abnormal.

“Arre? Speaking of which, where’s Amami Tooru?”
She said that she went off to get drinks, but after a long time, she wasn’t back yet.

Keima himself seemed to be buried in his own thoughts as a long time was spent, and Elsie, who just went ‘uu~’ up till now while listening to Keima’s lesson, hears Keima’s words,

“Ah, are? Speaking of which!”

She looked around.

“This, this is bad! Kami-sama! Tooru-san, she’s not here!”

Keima opened his eyes, and growled,

“Ku, so…”

It seemed that the matter he was most worried of happened…

This was a scenario a while back, as a girl who was dressed in a bunny suit was watching Keima and Elsie from afar.

Her eyes,

“…”

Were full of sadness.

She looked at the handphone and saw the name that was shown on it.

“So…I have to go back now, is it?”

Her blurry expression was suddenly awake.

Kya kya, the happy smile of hers wasn’t there anymore.

She wasn’t like an ordinary girl, and the relaxing atmosphere became a heavy tired on. The angel soon became a human again.

Not in any image,

Only a human.

Back to a girl called Amami Tooru.

“Goodbye.”

For a moment, she stared at Keima reluctantly,

“I don’t know why you accompanied me until the end.”

She turned around, raised a hand and said,

“Thank you, I had fun today.”

This,

Was a farewell speech to a boy she never intended to meet. Just like that, she walked straight towards the exit of the banquet.

After a while,

The dance event started, and exciting music started to flow as the surrounding people started dancing about. At this moment,

“THA, THAT’S WHY, THAT’S WHY I HATE THE DENPAKEI!”

Keima shouted to his heart’s content.

“NOW I HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN!”

<noinclude>
===References===
<references />

{{Nav|{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{TWGOK List v1}}|The World God Only Knows}}</noinclude>

Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 2 Chapter 3

2012-01-08T09:07:32Z

203.116.187.1:

==Chapter 3==

Standing in front of the door to the rooftop, I reconfirmed the time on the liquid plasma screen of my phone in the darkness. It was two thirty at night. As I was badgered by Alice to wake up just now, so today, I have to work from dawn as well. When the spring break ends, would I be able to return to the normal days when I wake up every morning to go to school?

This rooftop was quite cramped and was surrounded with a wire fence. Only a lone rack for drying clothes could be seen on the six meter area. Further at my right, a small silhouette appeared in the dim light.

“Vice Admiral Fujishima, you’re so slow.”

Major didn’t even raise his head when I walked near. While munching on the German sausage in his hands, he kept his eyes glued to the telescope that was aimed downwards, and used his free left hand to adjust the wheel. The five small screens arranged in an arc around his feet became a faint source of light.

“I went to Alice’s place first.”

“Why didn’t you come here directly?”

“Because Alice made a 3D model of Kusakabe Masaya’s face with a simulation software, and even forced me to remember what he looks like from the side and the top.”

As for why Alice has such a high tech-program, I heard that it’s because it was stolen from a research lab from some company.

“Oh, I see. That is indeed a mission that is suited for Vice Admiral Fujishima. Although I’m still worried because you’re in charge of this.”

Major finally stood up after saying that, leaving me sitting on the floor while surrounded by monitors. In front of the telescope, there was a twenty four hours supermarket at a corner of the junction, the red and blue lights of the neon light illuminating the city at night. Though it was already past midnight, the flow of customers going in and out did not stop.

“Someone saw Kusakabe Masaya there?”

It was somewhat distant from the station, but it is still in the same district.

“That’s right. There were two witnesses, so it’s worth a look. Running away from home and hiding in this area, these twenty four hours shops are indispensable.”

“But why did we get the information so quickly? Didn’t we give the photo to Yondaime just yesterday?”

“They distributed the photo to the NEETs in the city, and they’re usually quite free.”

How many hundreds of NEETs are there in the city? While gazing at the late night crowd though the telescope, I thought to myself. These people are idle all day, and they form a strong network of contacts after being handled by Yondaime.

“Even so, do we have to start from late night?”

“You just think from Kusakabe’s point of view. If he’s really hiding in this area, if he wants to buy something, he would probably do so at dawn, when there are less people.”

I was about to say: If he chose to do so at late night when nobody’s out, it’s easy for the shopkeeper to remember his face, so he would avoid it; but I didn’t want to be misunderstood that I said that just because I wanted to continue sleeping, so I shut my mouth.

“Then let’s start the discussion. This is a system that can do the spying work of six people with just one person, and as humans only have two eyes, you’ll have to depend on your determination to increase it.” I’d be a psychic if I can do that……

Major proudly explained the locations that have a spying device on it and the method to control the focal length of the camera lens, saying something like: “From now on, Vice Admiral Fujishima might take part in these spying jobs more often, so you can just use this chance to get used to its method of operation!” It is said that he made these high tech devices personally, and I could only feel pity for him to waste his talent.

“What is this string for?”

There were wool threads tied to each monitor and the stand of the telescope, while the end of the strings were tied together and vanished in Major’s backpack.

“Oh, that is used for packing up all the tools in an instant to run away if someone reports that there are suspicious people on the rooftop and the police appears. You can just pull on this, and all of the things would pulled into the backpack.”

“Wa- wait a minute, you’re using this rooftop without permission?”

“Duh, who can you ask for permission anyways?”

That’s not wrong, but…….

“But there’s only one entrance, how can I escape then?”

“If you’re in a pinch, just jump down from here. Don’t worry, you won’t die if you’re patriotic.”

I’ll definitely die if I jump down!

“It’s okay if Vice Admiral Fujishima dies in battle, but please take care of the devices. Break a leg. I’ll go set up the spying devices now. I’ll change shifts with you after four hours.”

After saying a whole lot of irresponsible words, Major disappeared into the building. I really feel that he’s rather active this time.

So that it would be easier to contact people in an emergency, I took out my phone and placed it beside the telescope stand, then erected the collar of my jacket and started to stare at the screen. Although it was already April, it was still exceptionally cold on the rooftop at night because of the wind. The light of the monitor shone on my face, and I suddenly thought of the incident on the dawn of that day when I squatted down. It happened on a rooftop as well.

The words that Alice dug out from the grave— the words that Ayaka left.

They are still burned in my mind.

I tried to focus my attention on the faces of the pedestrians, but I couldn’t do it.

I recalled Ayaka’s face, the face that was devoid of happiness, sorrow or even anger, lying weakly on the bed in the hospital.

I wonder where Ayaka is right now.

In the depths of the eyes that were open wide, was Ayaka’s soul really in there?

It’s useless even if I think more about it. No matter where she is, it’s impossible for her to return, and I don’t even have the courage to visit her now.

<center>*</center>

The monitoring job is really tougher than what I first thought. One of the members of Hirasaka-gumi, Major and I had to take shifts of four hours each; but the four hours of sitting did not get us any new information, and time felt as though it was as long as the winter break. Drinking the canned coffee alone after changing shifts, its tasted like I was drinking newspapers.

Even so, I really think that this job really suits me. That’s because I don’t have to think of what I can do and so on.

The third time changing shifts— Tuesday, a whole day after we started working, I felt like an empty shell. Not only my body, even my eyes don’t have the energy to move anymore, so I could only repeatedly eat and drink. The plastic bag of a convenience store was stuffed full of the packaging of onigiris and sandwiches.

On my retina that had almost turned into a machine, silhouettes going here and there were reflected from the screens and the telescopes. Monitoring the people in a state of blankness might be more effective instead—

As it seems like something is happening.

My consciousness was gradually pulled back to the rooftop before dawn, like it was struggling to slowly drift to the surface of a bottomless swimming pool.

I wasn’t sure how I stopped spacing out at first. There wasn’t even a shadow of a person on the screens, so I hurriedly looked through the telescope to observe in more detail. A few people could be seen moving in the range of the shop, two workers were squashing a large amount of cardboard boxes behind the vegetable area, while another worker was behind the counter. And also—

No, it’s impossible. I focused y whole attention to look at the face of the man who was paying his bill at the counter, from the side. The man in the photo I saw was not wearing glasses, unlike this man, and he was wearing a baseball cap too, making him look even younger. What is he buying? I increased the magnification of the telescope to the max— So it’s a kitchen knife, and…… hair gel? No, is it a deodorant? Envelopes, a small item placed in a plastic box, and a lot more odds and ends.

Seeing the man walk out of the door after paying his bill, I felt even more certain of it. Other people would not notice it even if they put in more effort to see, but I was very sure of it.

That man is Kusakabe Masaya.

The man walked to a trash can near the shop, took out an item from his bag, tore apart the packaging and threw it; I realized at that moment that it was a disposable battery used for phones. Now I get it, I recall that the yakuza said that he was asking around about something on the phone.

I never would’ve thought that we could really find this person by just monitoring a shop. Kusakabe’s silhouette was shown on the leftmost part of the monitor. Although I immediately focused on him, he vanished from the screen very quickly. I stood up— I can’t stay here anymore, for fear of losing his trail.

Sprinting out of the door and running down the stairs of the building, I couldn’t see Kusakabe Masaya’s silhouette by the time I reached the junction. I ignored the red light of the traffic light, rushing in a slanted path to the slope. As the lights of the store could not shine on here, the streets were suddenly plunged into darkness. I saw a silhouette with the corner of my eye, and I immediately chased the person to the alley after running through the road. The sounds of exhaust engines became fainter and fainter. I quickened my steps, going forward on the cold asphalt road. Did he really walk towards this direction? Actually, the silhouette of the man was long gone, so I could only chase him by intuition.

Turning left after going past a few corners, a bone-colored wall appeared in the darkness. It was the sound insulating wall of a construction site; the folding door open merely thirty centimeters or so.

I tried to have a closer look, and saw that the signboard that should have the names of the construction unit and project had rusted long ago, while the words on in was indiscernible.

I stealthily poked my head to the other side of the wall. I couldn’t have a good look as it was too dark, only the uneven ground could be seen. There weren’t any large machinery in the construction site, and only a temporarily built hut made of steel plates was at the right corner of the site. It looks like there was some movement at the other side of the window.

Is it there? Though it looks like it’s suitable to be used as a hideout…… But if that’s just my imagination, what should I do? Besides, is that man really Kusakabe Masaya? I was getting more and more uncertain.

Ah, this is bad! I forgot Major’s telescope, his monitors and the power generator on the rooftop. I have to go back.

Right at that moment— a faint noise drifted over.

Originally planning to leave, I stopped. The sound came from the construction site, and it seems like it came from the hut.

I silently stared at the windows of the hut that was shrouded in darkness. A silhouette was moving in it.

There’s someone inside.

I gulped, and stepped into the construction site. The feeling of the sticky mud felt like a swamp that accumulated soft darkness. I lowered my body and went closer to the hut.

This time, a clear voice could be heard.

“…… please. No, not in the country…… That’s right. You probably have an account in Singapore, right…… I won’t ask for all of the two hundred million, so please give me a hand.”

The man said with a low voice.

Two hundred million.

It was Kusakabe Masaya. I found him. I actually found him!

Indeed, he haven’t left here yet, but why? I listened closely to the contents of the conversation with bated breath. He’s probably on the phone, huh?

“…… No, it’s the flight this weekend. Can’t you help out with that….. Yeah. No, it’s me who’s asking too much from you. Sorry for bothering you at this time.”

The voice stopped, and the person in the house tutted. Listening to the faint sounds in the silence, it seemed like an impatient Kusakabe Masaya pressing the buttons of his phone appeared before my eyes. It’s luckier for you to have someone on the phone at this time. Even so, what in the world is he trying to do? Is he really planning to escape to another country? And he even mentioned Singapore too……

Unknowingly, my knees that were in a squatting position started to tremble slightly. What should I do? I never thought that I could even find him, much less how to handle it when I find him.

And I can’t just barge in. He doesn’t even know me, and just now— he bought a kitchen knife. Is that used for self-protection?

In the end, I could only think of calling Major or the others. I could just monitor him until reinforcements come, and I’ll just let that person handle it. But I only realized in shock at that moment of my terrible mistake— I forgot my phone on the rooftop too.

Until a long, long time after that, I could still remember the mistake that I made. Does this count as a type of failure? If I didn’t forget my phone, would the results be better? I don’t know.

Anyways, I have to go back. I slowly walked through the muddy ground in a squatting position, then left the construction site.

Walking along the road that I came from, my leg tensed when I was passing through the road.

On the sidewalk opposite to the slope, three silhouettes were walking towards this direction. The streetlights dimly illuminated the purple flowery shirt that was overly conspicuous, and I immediately retreated behind the walls of the house behind me.

It was that guy— one of the two men who chased me at Hello Palace. Though I’m not sure about the other two, the person leading them is definitely that guy. I felt that my heart almost jumped to the bottom of my chin, while both of my legs were paralyzed.

“…… near here, close to the house of Kishiwada’s old man.” “Did he please his old man?” “Probably not?” “Is construction work still done on the site?” “No, it stopped for quite some time now……”

In the silence, the contents of their conversation could be clearly heard. They’re here for Kusakabe Masaya, it can’t be wrong. I must inform him— tell him to run away quickly. But my legs couldn’t move, as though they were sealed on the spot with cement.

On the other side of the road, the three passed by me. It can’t be helped now. It’s too late to hurry back now, even I would be noticed by them. If they notice me…… If even I was noticed—

I unknowingly squatted down, my hands tightly holding my thighs trembling violently. The footsteps of the three gradually disappeared.

I stood up and ran for my life. I almost fell down due to a loss of balance when sprinting madly down the slope, but I did not stop because of this. If the three went near him at the same time, Kusakabe Masaya would probably notice it, so it’s okay, he’d be able to escape, so it’s fine even if I don’t go back and tell him. While running away, I thought of reasons to explain why I ran away. Each time my feet stomped on the asphalt road, the pain that spread to my gut made me feel like throwing up.

When I finally saw the lights of the twenty four hours supermarket, I stopped and hugged a tree beside the sidewalk, covering my mouth and swallowing the feeling of wanting to puke back into my stomach. Though I knew that no one was looking at me, I didn’t feel like looking back.

As the feeling of wanting to puke gradually vanished, disgust at myself spread through my whole body.

Why did I run?

Why didn’t I turn back and inform him even though I saw those people?

It was I who abandoned Kusakabe Masaya But it can’t be helped, right? The opposing party is yakuza. What if the guy in the purple shirt remembers me? If I hurried back while Kusakabe Masaya had already escaped, and I was caught instead, wouldn’t that be ironic? So it is better like this, that is—

I swallowed my bitter saliva, unsteadily walking past the junction while staring at my feet. The cars that drove on the road horned loudly, driving past my back while brushing against the back of my hair.

When I returned to the rooftop, the monitors, telescope, backpack and my phone were still arranged neatly, awaiting my return. The screen showed the interior of the deserted shop, feeling as though it was blaming me.

I held back my tears that were about to fall and picked up my phone, dialing Alice’s number after hesitating for a long time.

<center>*</center>

“I didn’t think that we would have trouble so soon.”

Alice said coolly. The words that came into my ears along with the sounds of the cold wind from the air conditioner were extremely cold.

When I went back to the NEET Detective Agency, the sun was already up. Alice used her computer while sitting on the bed, completely ignoring me, who’s squatting beside her.

“I sent a lot of things to Kusakabe Masaya’s phone, accelerating the rate of battery drain. This method is effective, but it’s both good and bad.”

So she can use this kind of trick? This girl…… you really shouldn’t make an enemy of her.

It’s just that all of Alice’s elaborate planning, Major’s high tech devices and Yondaime’s contacts, all of them were wasted by me. I hugged my knees and buried my face between my arms, the cold wind on the back of my neck hurting me. And we found him after so much effort……

“What is it? You’ve been as quiet as an overcooked hermit crab. You aren’t thinking that it’s because of you that Kusakabe Masaya was caught by the people from Tabara-gumi, are you? And you aren’t even certain if he was caught or not.”

“But, if I hurried back to find him……”

Alice finally turned her head over, frowning. Is she angry?

“Think about it calmly. Didn’t those people accurately walk to the construction site where he was hiding at? So it’s probably the people who Kusakabe Masaya contacted who sold his hiding spot out to Tabara-gumi. Even if you hurry back and tell him……”

“I know that.”

“You have a higher chance of being noticed by those people. So your decision was correct, it’s just that the opposing party acted quicker than us. My response wasn’t quick enough, so don’t just shoulder my responsibility for the world.”

My decision, is correct?

So what? Being correct or not isn’t important.

It’s just that I ran away, so the end result doesn’t matter.

“Who says that it doesn’t matter?” Alice’s voice was quite stern: “Why are you so dumb? If even you were caught by Tabara-gumi, how do you think the matter would turn out to be? Until now, if you are still ignoring this to show your meaningless courage, then I’m firing you right this moment. Get out!”

My jaw dropped in surprise, and I stared at Alice, who was so angry that her face was all red.

“…… What are you doing? Why aren’t you answering?”

“Err…… I never thought that Alice was so worried of me.”

“Who says that I’m worried of you?” A pillow flew over. “Do you really think that I would be worried of your safety!”

“Well, didn’t you say that you were worried for my safety yesterday?”

“I was being sarcastic, idiot! You don’t even know that!”

For some reason, Alice started to throw empty cans and remotes at me with her face red. So she wouldn’t throw her dolls even when she’s that agitated…… Wait, why is she this angry anyways?

“A…… Anyways, I’m sorry, my apologies.”

I retreated to somewhere near the fridge while covering my head.

“I had enough! You’re a guy who’s so stupid that it’s unforgivable!”

As there weren’t anything else near her that she could throw, Alice could only whack the mat repeatedly while her black hair swayed around.

“I’m really sorry……”

Though I wasn’t sure if I was in the wrong, I still apologized to Alice in a small voice. Alice turned her head to look angrily at the screen.

I collected the things that Alice threw over and picked out the trash, but Alice spoke again as I was about to place the remaining items onto her bed:

“If you were caught, a useless person like you would probably blab about Meo’s hiding spot and the fact that we’re helping her to investigate the matter with little effort from them. You should think of how terrible that would be.”

Ah…… She’s right. But that made me sound really useless.

Did Kusakabe Masaya really got caught? Major went to his hiding spot to have a look, but it was deserted, as expected. I should’ve at least confirmed if he got away successfully, then we could plan our next actions quickly.

“I requested Hirasaka-gumi to monitor Tabara-gumi’s office, and we have Major’s spying devices. If Kusakabe Masaya have really been caught, we would know immediately.”

Even though she had her back to me, she knew perfectly what I was thinking of.

Then, I finally realized the reason for my depression, and it wasn’t because of self-reproach for not saving Kusakabe Masaya.

It was because I never even thought about things.

What do I do if I find him? To what extent is my resolve to take part in things?

When I met the yakuza, if I ran away because I determined that returning to Kusakabe’s side would be dangerous, I might not feel so useless right now. In reality, it was just because my feet were paralyzed in fear.

Yondaime’s words were spot on. When people without strong resolve are present, it would just increase the others’ burden.

This made me feel extremely useless. Maybe I really don’t have the right to stay by Alice’s side as an assistant.

I suddenly noticed Alice gazing silently at me.

“Hmph!” Instead of saying that she’s angry, it’s more accurate to say that it’s a shy reaction. “You really are unbelievably stupid, actually thinking of this kind of thind.”

…… Eh? Did I just talk to myself again? I was so embarrassed that I felt like dying.

“Okay, I get it, you’re a useless person. Brainless! Coward! Fish brain! Working for a detective although you have no resolve, you have no right to be my assistant— are you satisfied?”

I was scolded for no reason. To Alice, the scolding that she gave me wasn’t anything special.

“Though I don’t know what Yondaime said to you, you can just feed the thing called realization to chickens. Have you forgotten what we should do?”

I was completely clueless to what Alice said at first.

“…… To catch Kusakabe Masaya.”

“And to protect Meo. You actually forgot even though you’re the one who suggested that, I’m speechless. Listen, nobody cares if you have strong resolve or not. It’s better for you to confirm this for me if you have time to think about these meaningless things.”

My worries were denied by her in just a moment, causing me to be speechless. A photocopied paper flew to me, while I blankly stared at Alice for quite some time, even forgetting to pick up the paper.

“What are you spacing out for? If you want to make a performance of sleeping with your eyes open, then perform outside!”

“Ah…… Mnn, sorry.”

I picked up the paper, and saw that it was densely packed with a whole of what seemed like names of products, time and price.

“…… What is this?”

“It’s the POS system list for the supermarket that you were monitoring. Large chain shops have the information of the items sold in the branches all over the country, so it’s pretty easy to check.”

Saying that as if it’s so simple, normal people actually can’t do that, can they? Reading the list in detail, that’s right, all of the items recorded on it was the same as the ones on the receipt of the supermarket.

“What are the ones circled with red pen?”

Right after I said that, I realized the answer. The items Kusakabe Masaya bought were: a kitchen knife, an air freshening spray, envelopes, disposable chopsticks, disposable battery, thread and needle, lighter, scissors, bandage, and cellophane tape.

“This is……”

“As there was only one customer at that time, it’s probably accurate; Those were the items bought by Kusakabe Masaya, right? Didn’t you see him paying his bill?”

Alice finally turned her head over to look at me. I nodded in response. I did see things like a kitchen knife and something like a spray.

“But why did you check out what he bought?”

I saw a rare scene at that moment— Alice turned her head to a side and stayed silent.

She didn’t answer for quite some time, so I couldn’t help but tilt my head to look at the side of her face, then shifted my attention to the list of sold goods on my hands. What’s with this? Did Kusakabe Masaya surprise Alice with the things that he bought?

“Oi…… Narumi……”

Alice finally spoke with a faint voice:

“In this case, I don’t want to be the detective.”

“…… Eh?”

I even thought that I heard wrongly. But a familiar, fragile light could be seem from her eyes when Alice looked at the bookshelf that was almost flat because of the weight of the machines on it.

“I’ve told you before, the detective that I meant is actually a representative for the deceased. As for Meo, she doesn’t need that at all. Though there aren’t any deaths yet, my fingers have already started to search for the words that would be lost. I detest myself like this, and I don’t want to do that either. Actually, just thinking of the people who are alive would be enough— but I have no choice, my soul is constantly drawn by death. Protecting a person or saving a person, a NEET detective could never do that.”

There’s no such thing— was what I wanted to say. But seeing Alice’s sorrowful expression, I couldn’t speak my mind.

As for myself— what do I think about this?

Ayaka’s words that were revealed by Alice that time.

Wouldn’t it be better if I don’t know about anything? I have thought about that a few times before. But it’s because of Alice that I can do these things now. What would happen if I was kept in the dark about the truth? In short, is knowing or not knowing better? For me, who knows the truth, this fact could never be understood.

Even so, the person who pulled me out from a bottomless swamp was definitely Alice. I didn’t know what to say. It is always at these critical times that I couldn’t say a thing.

I continued to stay silent, then Alice spoke while looking at her side:

“Even though I am not sure if he was caught by Tabara-gumi, I have already started to imagine the sound of myself tapping on the skull of the dead. What was the sum of money used for? Why did Kusakabe Masaya ask Meo to run away with the money? Why did he hide himself? I am actually more afraid of the truth slowly rotting while being buried in the ground.”

Alice used the mat to wrap her body, then turned around to face me. I could see that she wanted to force out a self-ridiculing smile, but failed.

“Are you thinking: Why don’t we just ask Kusakabe Masaya after we successfully rescue him? I really think that it’d be better if I could think like that, but the fate of a NEET detective is to connect with the world through death. So I could only frantically collect information, trying to reconstruct his words, guessing what he is thinking about.”

I should really interrupt, or Alice would continue to split hairs. So I tried to think of something so say—

“…… Then did you find out?”

But the question that slipped out was an idiotic question like that.

“I have my assumptions, but they have not been proven yet.”

“Maybe he wants to escape to another country? I remember that he mentioned something about a flight this weekend or something like that.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why?”

I could not think of any other possibilities.

“Think about it, he stayed in the area even though he’s wanted by the Tabara-gumi, so he probably has a significant reason. So I tried to filter the information to find out the relationship between the surroundings of the construction site and Tabara-gumi, Hello Corporation, and even Kusakabe Masaya himself.”

“The problem is, do you know how many houses and buildings are located there?”

“After a thorough search of the related addresses and categorizing them, then using a searching program to record the data of the connections and distance, the end result appeared here.”

A second piece of photocopied paper flew over from Alice’s hands. It’s a simple, black and white map. The large, double circle in the middle is probably the construction site that Kusakabe hid at, and heading west from there— about two hundred meters from there according to the scale of the map, there was a place marked with a big star.

Eh? Isn’t this near……?

“Isn’t this the high class residential area?”

“That’s right. A yakuza boss lives in this place marked with a star, and is handling a yakuza organization called ‘Kishiwada-kai’. It is a luxurious mansion surrounded by surveillance cameras.”

Kishiwada? Haven’t I heard of this name before?

“This gang is a gang superior to Tabara-gumi. Which means, the boss of Tabara-gumi is an underling of Kishiwada-kai.”

“Ah……” The three men who looked for Kusakabe Masaya seemed to have mentioned something about Kishiwada’s old man, so they were talking about this.

“Which means Kusakabe Masaya’s hideout is near the residence of a boss of a gang superior to Tabara-gumi. This matter cannot be handled so easily.”

“Wait a sec, I’m a bit confused. Are you saying that the person who ordered the yakuza to look for Meo’s father is among the top echelon of a gang superior to Tabara-gumi?”

“I am not sure about that. Tetsu is investigating the relationship between Kishiwada-kai and this case, and it is still unknown as to how deeply are they involved in the case; but they probably do have SOME connections.”

Deliberately hiding near the house of a yakuza boss who’s searching for himself? Why did Kusakabe Masaya do that? It’s inexplicable.

“That’s why I investigated the items that he bought.”

Hearing Alice’s words, I again shifted my attention to the paper in my hands.

The items that were bought at late night. Kitchen knife, air freshening spray, envelopes, disposable chopsticks, disposable phone battery, thread and needle, lighter, scissors, bandages and tape. What are these? The things apart from the battery baffles me. Buying a kitchen knife and a sewing toolkit, what in the world does he want that for?

Hmm?

“Buying a kitchen knife……”

Concealing himself near the house of his enemy, and he prepared a kitchen knife and scissors. Might that be……?

“He’s probably not that stupid, that’s your prejudice towards yakuza before this.”

Alice saw through my thoughts.

“Trying to assassinate the yakuza boss with just a kitchen knife, it’s meaningless as he would probably be caught before he even enters the house.”

“I can’t say that you’re wrong…… Then what’s with these things? What did he plan to do with them?”

“There’s actually another hypothesis about this, but I’ll keep it to myself for now since it’s too stupid. Though this possibility exists, it’s so stupid that going on a rampage with a kitchen knife would be better. Anyways…..”

Alice showed me a wry smile and shook her head:

“Anyhow, it’s meaningless now. Kusakabe Masaya’s objective couldn’t be achieved. This is only for a detective who’s stepping on his footsteps that collected dirty rainwater to go forward for his own self-satisfaction.”

<center>*</center>

Walking out of the detective agency with a heavy heart, the sun was already high up in the sky.

I was still confused about a part of Alice’s words in my heart. It doesn’t matter if I’m resolved or not? What does that mean? It might actually make me feel better if she just reprimanded me for the mistakes that I made.

As I was about to walk down the stairs, I bumped into Meo who was holding a paper bag. I was startled, and stopped while shifting my gaze. After something like this happened— we lost news of her father that we located painstakingly. This made me unable to face Meo.

“Ah, Mr. Assistant. You came back from Miss Detective’s house this morning too?”

Please don’t say that! You’ll cause a misunderstanding.

I was frantically thinking of other topics that didn’t involve Kusakaabe Masaya when I suddenly saw the clothes and towels in the paper bag Meo was holding.

“Having a bath again?”

“Yeah, because Min-san asked me to just train Miss Detective to take baths herself. It’s like she’s her mother.”

Yeah, Min-san is practically Alice’s mother right now.

“If I marry, I want to give birth to children as cute as Miss Detective.”

“What……!?”

Would that be fine? Though I might not be able to marry and have kids, even if I got married somehow, I wouldn’t want children like Alice. They’d hate eating and be fussy, so it’ll be hard to raise them.

“That girl is in a terrible mood right now, so she’ll go on a rampage if you ask her to take a bath. It’s better if you wait for about ten minutes! She’s really a troublesome kid……”

I learnt something recently, Alice is more dangerous if she feels downcast than when she feels excited. But it seems that the condition would improve after using the computer for awhile.

“Don’t you like kids, Mr. Assistant?”

“It’s not like I don’t like them……” and I’m a kid as well.

“My mother passed away when I was six……” Meo started on the topic while sitting on the stairs. “The sisters who live in the same building took care of me, because dad was usually out because he’s busy. I like a lively atmosphere, so I’m going to have loads of kids after I marry.”

“…… marry your father?”

Ah, that’s bad! I tried hard to steer clear of this topic, but I, myself, broached it.

“Yeah, with dad.”

And she even answered that immediately. Do you even know how to get kids? Do you think that you can just pick kids from a cabbage farm?

“I know that, the sister taught me how to. Do you know? Calculating the ovulation date isn’t a method of birth control, but to ensure fertilization; Hiro-san taught me that.”

“UWAAAA!”

I hastily covered Meo’s mouth. What did that gigolo teach Meo!? Small girls shouldn’t say those kinds of things outside in broad daylight!

“Though dad doesn’t say much, he probably likes liveliness as well. So I’m going to be a mother, then give birth to lots of kids.”

“…… is that so. Then do your best to raise your children.”

I started to think blankly, this is another person’s life anyways. Being able to have this kind of life might not be half bad, and it seems to be more normal anyways.

But her target is Kusakabe Masaya…… Is that really okay? He’s an ex-yakuza who let his daughter face danger while he ran far, far away.

“If I let them drink the soft drink with the special taste, would they look like Miss Detective?”

“That’s impossible!” I should say that it’s an act of child abuse.

“Are you an only son, Mr. Assistant?”

“Do I look like one?”

“Yeah, you look like you don’t have any family members.”

Actually, she was half right. I sat down beside Meo and said:

“I live with my sister.”

“Then what about your father and mother?”

I gave the same answer for this particular question that many people would ask:

“My dad is almost never at home, while my mother passed away.”

Observing the response of the other people when I answer is actually one of my small hobbies. When sneaking a peek at Meo’s face, I saw that she looked as though she was about to cry. What a moody girl.

“…… Was it because of an illness?”

“Mnn? Oh, no…… I don’t know.”

“How could you not know?”

“It means that my mother’s passing away is somewhat muddled in my mind. Though the funeral had been held, I don’t really remember the details on that day. So actually I don’t really understand the reason for her death.”

“…… I don’t really understand what Mr. Assistant is saying.”

Really. I didn’t feel like explaining, so I brushed it away with a smile.

“Won’t you feel lonely? Not having your father or mother by your side……” Nobody ever asked me that directly, so I was rather surprised at her question and couldn’t answer. Why does Meo care so much about these tiny details?

“…… I don’t know, I never thought about it. Basically, having parents wouldn’t mean that I wouldn’t be lonely, right?”

I actually said something like that. As expected, Meo showed me an expression that told me that she wasn’t sure if she should smile wryly, and lowered her head. It’s just because of that, that the people around me would stay away from me.

Meo buried her face into the large towel, then said after “Mnnn”-ing:

“Did I tell you that my dad was a yakuza before?”

“A little.”

“When dad was drunk, I often asked him why he quitted being a yakuza. Then he told me something. He said that he grew up at a youth centre, but the youth centre closed down when he was in high school. After that, he became a jobless person, and met people from a gang when he was hanging out in the streets, so he asked them to let him join.”

She wanted to say why her father isn’t a yakuza anymore, but Meo started to explain from Kusakabe Masaya’s background.

“Do you know? It is said that yakuza is like family. The boss is like their parents, and the people who join first would be big brothers.”

“…… Yeah, I know that.”

The people in Hirasaka-gumi truly consider Yondaime and even Tetsu-senpai and Hiro as their family, that really makes me somewhat envious.

“Dad said that it was because of this that he joined, because he thought that he would have a lot of family members after he entered the gang. But when his rank increased, he realized that all of them were lies. He said that they were only concerned about money.”

The sorrowful moral of the story of the modern chivalrous person is that money is thicker than blood.

“He had a row with them after that, so he left the gang to have a break. He went to many countries nearby, and he met mom at Thailand in the end.”

Deliberately going across overseas to search for family? Is that even possible……

“Then he married mom and came back to Japan, then the big sisters that dad came to know in his travels came to Japan one after another with his help. Working in Japan is very toilsome, right? To let these people work more freely, he cooperated with Mikawa-san that he came to know in Japan, to open a company.”

Was he that popular? He’s an ex-yakuza who’s near forty now.

I could not imagine Kusakabe Masaya’s life as well. Predicting his thought would not only be unbeneficial, it made me more and more confused instead.

“So brought me, who’s about five at that time, to Japan. I think Dad wants more family members, including a wife and kids; he’d feel happy if only he can stay with his family.”

Is that really so?

If he really values his family, then why did he run away while not letting Meo contact him? In the end, he should never have let his daughter to be involved in such a dangerous matter. Is the two hundred million that important? Isn’t that the pressure of money that he hated the most?

And there’s another thing that I don’t understand.

Should I verify it?

I decided to ask.

“…… Meo, do you have a visa?”

“Visa?” Meo tilted her head. “For Japan? Of course.”

“I don’t mean that, I meant a passport for going overseas. For instance to Singapore.”

“Why? I don’t have any plans to go overseas, I never been there.”

She’s right.

Kusakabe Masaya mentioned a flight on this weekend. Which means— he wants to abandon Meo and run away? A bad premonition surged into my head. Letting his daughter hide with a large sum of money, but he doesn’t seem to be interested in where she is hiding. Is he trying to make her the bait? To reduce the people chasing after him, so he left his daughter with a large sum of money then ran away. A hypothesis that is far from reassuring, but it’s terrible of him if things are really like that.

“What of a passport?”

“Nothing, sorry.”

“Did something happen with dad? You’re acting strange since just now.”

It looks like it’s really easy for me show my emotions on my face.

If so— should I just tell her directly? Even if it would hurt her, but the hurt would be less than when she found out through her father.

“…… I found your father.”

“Really!? Where is he?”

Meo’s face was full of smiles, and I could not bear to look at her.

“I don’t know. Because……. Something happened…… we made some mistakes, so we lost his trail again.”

I really couldn’t mention the fact that he might already been caught by the yakuza, and it wasn’t even confirmed. Meo’s expression changed again like the eyes of a kitten.

“Is he still okay?”

“Yeah.”

A wonderful smile bloomed on Meo’s face.

“That’s great……”

And there were even tears glistening in the corner of her eyes. Should Meo really be worried for a father like this? In contrast with Meo’s joy, my feelings sank into a bottomless pit.

“I think your father probably wants to run away from the country.”

I glanced upwards, only to see Meo cocking her head.

“He mentioned something like that in the phone, so he probably wants to ask someone he knows to clear things up. And he didn’t contact you.”

“So?”

“I think he wants to leave you here.”

“It’s impossible— he wouldn’t.”

Meo’s face became pale, but she didn’t rebuke me immediately like last time. Probably because I really did find Kusakabe Masaya this time?

I probably said something rather cruel that time.

“Think of this calmly. Your father did have a phone, so it’s not that he couldn’t receive your phone call, but he didn’t. He didn’t even planned to contact you.”

“Mr. Assistant, did you speak with Dad? Did dad say that to you?”

Meo tightly held my arm, and I shook my head. I should’ve walked in directly to look for him, I should’ve complained to Kusakabe Masaya because of him abandoning his daughter, but I didn’t have the courage.

“Dad would not abandon Meo!”

“Then why didn’t he pick up the phone!? Don’t you feel something off about this? It’s him who didn’t contact you!” I unknowingly raised my voice.

“You don’t know what kind of person dad is!” Meo answered me in a raised voice as well: “Why did you say that? Did dad say that? No, right? You didn’t talk to dad, right?”

That’s right. It’s because I was a coward, so not only did I not talk to him, I ran away without seeing his face because I was afraid of the reinforcements. What do you know? Do you really know how dangerous the world that your dad had a foot in is? All of a sudden, my anger almost leaked out, so I could only bite my lips to refrain from talking.

When I came to my senses, Meo was staring at me while covering her mouth. I might have blurted that out already, I’m really a big idiot.

“Sorry, but, it’s just that……”

Meo’s voice became unsteady. Though I knew she wasn’t blaming me, her expression made me feel hurt.

— Then what do you want me to do?

There is only one answer, to find Kusakabe Masaya; find him even if we have to tie him up and bring him to Meo. I don’t care if the truth is as Meo believes, but if he is really trying to abandon Meo, we have to stop him even if we have to use brute force. I tightly clenched my fists on my knees. We found him after so much effort, we almost had him in our hands, just because of me…… because of me—

“Mr…… Assistant?”

Meo’s voice seemed somewhat frightened.

Probably because my expression was too scary?

I stood up and walked down the stairs without even looking back. Actually I wasn’t feeling impatient because of Meo, but I didn’t understand until that time.

<center>*</center>

Major was standing at the kitchen backdoor. He glanced at me, then said: “Don’t mind it so much, being able to locate his whereabouts is already quite good.” Even Major consoled me now, I feel so ashamed.

Then Tetsu-senpai appeared too, and the two started to check out the contents of the recordings from the spying device.

“Err…… I’ll help out too. Three people would be triple the speed.”

Major took off his earphones and stared at me with a disbelieving expression, while Tetsu-senpai just rolled his eyes, as if he wanted to say something.

“What’s with you, Vice Admiral Fujishima? It’s rare to see you so motivated. Are you sick?”

“No…… Is that alright?”

Though I felt angry because of my own helplessness, the things that I could help out with aren’t much, after all. So……

“I don’t really mind, but don’t leave anything out.” Major handed a pair of earphones to me.

Using the power of three people to listen to the contents of the half day recording, we still used up more than two hours to finish listening to them. Major revealed that this job is actually the most tiring of them all.

“The one that Vice Admiral Fujishima listened to is a more recent one. Did they say anything about Kusakabe Masaya?”

“Not at the moment.”

Talking about preparations of visas, having a shareholders’ conference, the schedule of next month’s conferences and so on, the conversations involved some deep contents, but they just didn’t mention Kusakabe Masaya. Knowing of how tiring this job is after doing it, I started to regret taking the initiative to help out.

“It’s strange. It seems that he wasn’t brought to the office, while Hirasaka-gumi, who’s on monitoring duty, don’t have any news as well.”

“Maybe he wasn’t caught?”

Tetsu-senpai took off his earphones.

“Tabara-gumi has only one office, so they probably didn’t bring him there…… No, it’s hard to say, and he might be imprisoned in a warehouse somewhere.”

“Tetsu-san, did the Kishiwada-kai take any action? Their place is quite big, so there are probably a lot of places to imprison a person.”

“No. Though they know about this, the one taking actual action are only the people from Tabara-gumi. We just don’t know their relationship with Hello Corporation, since not many people knows of the internal matters about other gangs. If I had known this earlier, I should’ve get acquainted with more members of Kishiwada-kai.”

“But Tetsu-san, don’t you hate those enterprising yakuza?”

“Idiot, I hate them as long as they’re yakuza.”

So there are many types of yakuza…… What a confusing world, and the topic of the conversation steered to an eerier side. The days when I went to school seriously seemed to have went further away from me (and it’s the same in reality, as I almost never attended during the third semester) , I wonder how my classmates are right now. I’m fine today as well, and is currently listening to a recording of yakuza’s phone calls.

“Okay, since there’s no new information from the yakuza, maybe we can take action from the company. We’ll have to wait for news from Hiro then.”

Hiro appeared at about two in the afternoon.

“Sorry, I’m late. I heard all about it, thanks for your hard work. It’s lucky that Narumi wasn’t caught too. Have you guys found him already?”

I gave the seat of the large steel bucket to Hiro, while I sat beside Tetsu-senpai on the stairs.

“There aren’t any news from the office. How about you? Have you seen the secretary?”

Secretary?

“Ah, yeah, up till morning. It’s so tiring, I had to go back to have a nap, too. Though the secretary is somewhat cute, our topics of conversation didn’t really match.”

Yet another incomprehensible world. Accompanying the secretary till morning?

“The secretary of the Director of Hello Corporation. Though her job is officially a secretary, she’s actually just a clerk working part time, as the company is small.”

Hiro sat on the large, steel bucket, and handed a long, silver object to Major from his pockets. So it’s an IC recorder. Major connected the recorder to the computer.

“Did you get any new information?”

“Yeah, quite a lot. I’d like to edit it somewhat before handing it to Alice. Can you play it?”

“Edit?” I interrupted from the side.

Hiro wanted to answer me, but he stopped as the contents of the recorder started to play. At first, the noise of conversation and what seemed like the piano accompaniment of a jazz music, sounds of glass bumping into each other. Probably it’s a bar or some place like that?

‘Are you alone? Can I sit beside you?’ It’s Hiro’s voice.

‘Eh? Ah, o- okay.’

The voice of the young woman seemed to be somewhat surprised.

‘Listening to music while sitting here is the best. Didn’t someone play ‘April in Paris’ just now? It’s April right now too, and I wanted to play the songs, but someone picked it first, surprising me quite a lot.’

‘Eh— ? Haha.’

Ohhhh…… So he hits on girls like this! I couldn’t help but to be somewhat touched, though I’d probably be unable to do that.

“Hiro, you seem to be quite knowledgeable about jazz music.”

“Not at all. I just asked the bartender in advance.”

Speechless.

“Major, can you fast forward? The content in front isn’t related to the case.”

After fast forwarding the recording, a blissful voice suddenly came from the speakers of the computer when we played it again.

‘…… Hiro, you’re quite strong. Though your legs are so slender, heh heh. You gave me quite a fright when you picked me up and took me into the bathroom to have a bath!’

“No such thing, it’s because you’re light.’

Wait a sec! Just a little time had passed, and what happened!? Where is this!?

“Abducting her into a hostel after sweet talking her ten times per second, as expected of Hiro.”

“It’s probably because you hit the fast forward button.”

“But you don’t need to go to a hostel, do you?” Tetsu-senpai said.

“Not really, I’m just going along the flow.”

What do you mean by going along the flow? You……

“Fast forward a bit more. Ah, yeah, about this part.”

As I was frantically thinking of how to interrupt, the voice of the lady made me focus my attention on the speakers.

‘…… going on a vacation is great, I want to go too— best to a place where there are hot springs. Play at Fuji Q Highland, then bathing in the hot springs and staying for the night! Is that okay?’

‘The haunted hospital attraction there is very scary, I’d like to go once. I’m free anytime, how about you? How about we go there for a four days three nights stay in the Golden Week?’

‘Ahh— our company doesn’t even let us take a break during the Golden Week, it’s so disappointing!’

Tetsu-senpai and Major came closer as the conversation started to enter the main topic.

‘…… they owe a lot of debts, so I thought the company would close down last year. Then— I thought that I could leave after the company closes down, but then the Director put in quite a lot of effort to save the company. I really don’t know what happened, maybe he won in a lottery?’

The debts of the company— disappeared?

‘But if the company closes down, won’t your retirement pension vanish into thin air?’

‘Ah, you have a point. Oh yeah— then isn’t it better if I just leave right now? The company might have even more debts after this.’

‘It’s possible. Why don’t you be a NEET like me? Then we’ll go have a trip for two weeks.’

‘Haha, that doesn’t seem bad. Ah, look at that, there’s a trip to Italy, and it says here that it’s a twelve days trip.’

The sound of someone rummaging papers could be heard aside from the conversation, maybe they’re reading magazines?

‘But going for so many days, we’d have a lot of luggage. I’m really jealous of other people for being able to go for a vacation with a large bag, but I always feel lazy every time I get to the place where they sell the luggage bags. I’m thinking if I should buy them on shopping channel…… Ah, this Boston bag seems to be nice, I might be able to put in a month’s worth of clothes.’

‘…… Eh? I’ve seen this bag before.’

I stared at Hiro in shock. What in the world happened?

“Aside from Meo’s bag, I planted a traveling magazine in the room of the hostel, pretending that someone else forgot it. You can’t ask these questions directly, so I used a lot of effort to get on the topic.”

Hiro smiled wryly. I’m really speechless. I always have this thought, it’ll be so much better if he uses his efforts on other matters—

‘Didn’t I mention the vice-chairman of our company just now?’

‘Yeah, the ojisan who’s rather bad.’

‘That’s right, he’s somewhat handsome actually. I heard that he was a yakuza before this. On the day when he pays us our wages, he would bring the bag to the company, then when someone calls that day, he would go home directly after going out with the Director. Those two are really troublesome, never leaving a message as to where they went. I wish the Director would be more understanding, I have to answer a whole lot of phones about them too, really! Vice-chairman, too. He skipped work for the whole week. Maybe he went for a vacation?’

Unknowingly, my palm started to sweat. The conversation entered the critical part, and this could be seen from Tetsu-senpai and Major’s excited expression.

As Yi Ling-san said, the bag would be brought to the company on a regular basis. Then the phone— where did it come from? I listened closely to the conversation coming from the computer speakers. The conversation ended without involving the case. Then, only shuffling sounds came from it, and the voice of a blissful lady.

“Ah, sorry, this part ends here, because the second round is going to start.”

“You pervert!” “Stupid hustler!” “Public enemy of females!” “Sex offender!”

Tetsu-senpai and Major criticized Hiro in turn. As for me, I both admired Hiro’s actions, and also felt an inexplicable sorrow. These people are so strange…… Though I understand that, but there’s really no room for me to say anything.

Am I just using the name of an assistant to get closer to these people?

“Oh yeah, Major, can you edit out this part?”

“This is truly unsuited for Alice’s ears, it’d have a bad influence on her sex education.”

“Though I know a lot of things, but then things that I don’t understand pop up as well.”

[[Image:Kamisama no memochou vol02 179.png|thumb|]]
Tetsu-senpai crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“It seems like those aren’t the money of the company, so maybe it’s really money from yakuza?”

“It seems so, but why are they keeping the money for them?”

“And why did their debts disappear?”

“Anyways, Alice would get these things clear.”

Major said in a sure voice.

“Having regular phone calls every time they pay wages, huh? Since the area of investigation is so small now, the rest is just to investigate their phone logs.”

“Ah…… That’s right!” Hiro answered.

Just like that, the threads have been connected.

Hello Corporation, Tabara-gumi, and Kishiwada-kai, possibly a gang superior to Tabara-gumi.

"But that doesn't mean that we found Kusakabe Masaya." Tetsu-senpai said while frowning: "We can now get news from the yakuza, but we must still locate Kusakabe Masaya."

That's true. After all, we don't even know if he's caught or managed to run away to some other place. If so, we have to launch a new investigation.

"The only thing that we can be certain of is, the person called Mikawa is deeply involved in this matter, so we should test him."

"We'll let Hiro and Major handle that."

"That's fine, so we can finally take action--"

At that moment, Min-san's angry roar came from the shop.

"Shut up. I told you that I don't know! Get lost if you're not here to eat!"

I opened the kitchen backdoor for about three centimeters and cautiously looked at the situation in the shop. Two tall men were standing at the entrance, glaring at Min-san behind the counter.

After seeing the face of one of them, I nearly cried out loud.

I subconsciously lowered my body, springing away from the kitchen backdoor.

"What is it, Narumi?"

Hiro asked me, and I signalled to him not to speak.

It's that guy. One of the two men who chased me at Hello Palace, the one with the leather coat. He was wearing the same clothes that he wore that day, which is why I recognised him immediately. The other one donned a dark gray suit, looking quite decent, but his dark brown sunglasses gave him an unusual presence. Why? Why do they know of this place? Were we followed? Surely not!

"Isn't this Hanamaru Ramen Shop? The phone number is xxx-xxxx, right?"

Leather Coat leaned his elbow on the counter, sizing Min-san up with a suspicious expression.

"That's right. So what?"

"She's a dark-skinned girl, fourteen, looking for her father. Do you know what kidnapping an underage girl means? Don't try to harbor her."

I heard someone gulp behind me. Indeed, they know that Meo is here.

"I don't know her. Lunch time is already over, so please go."

Min-san rebuked them fearlessly. I could clearly see veins appearing between the brows of Leather Coat, while Shades kept cool and silent.

"You bastard, don't pretend--"

At this moment, the footsteps came from the stairs.

"Ah, everyone is here! Miss Detective seemed to have fainted because of the heat from the hair dryer."

My heart nearly stopped at that moment. Though we immediately closed the kitchen backdoor, it was too late. Meo's clear voice caused the two yakuza in the shop to react, the two large silhouettes appearing at the entrance between the buildings.

"Meo, get in!"

Hiro rapidly opened the kitchen backdoor, pushing Meo and I inside.

"You two hurry up and hide, don't be seen."

After hearing Min-san's voice, strong arms pressed my head under the counter, while Meo held my arm tightly behind me.

"Stop!"

Leather Coat could be seen walking into our territory from the crack of the door, while Tetsu-senpai was standing in front of him.

"Who are you people!?"

"That's what we would like to ask you."

Tetsu-senpai glared at the slightly higher eyes of the man in the leather coat. As for me, I hid below Min-san's hands, not daring to even move.

"We're here in Kusakabe-san's stead." Shades said in a low voice behind the other man: "We're here to get his luggage and his daughter."

"Why isn't Kusakabe-san here himself?"

"Oioioi, shouldn't you know? Kusakabe-san is a busy man."

Compared with the sneering Shades, Leather Coat obviously gets angry more easily.

"Get lost! We're not here to play!"

Tetsu-senpai blocked Leather Coat, who was about to walk in, with his muscular chest, while Leather Coat rammed Tetsu-senpai away with quite some force.

"Oi, Tetsu! Don't touch him!"

Hiro rushed forward and caught hold of Tetsu-senpai's hand. Leather Coat was also lowering his body, fists tightly clenched. I couldn't help but close my eyes and turn my head around to avoid looking at this, then the sound of someone hitting flesh came to my ears.

I opened one of my eyes to take a look, and could not understand what was happening all of a sudden. Tetsu-senpai was evidently stopped by Hiro, but the leather coat man was still hugging his abdomen, kneeling on the soil ground for some reason. The sunglasses guy hit the leather coat man with his knees, that was what I learnt after quite some time.

"Don't hit ordinary citizens."

Shades stood behind the Leather Coat, then mercilessly kicked the back of the Leather Coat's head. With a thud, what sounded like the sound of bones cracking echoed between the buildings, causing myself to curl up. Blood and spit dripped onto the soil.

"Sorry for that, we didn't educate them well enough."

While treading on the back of Leather Coat who was lying on the ground, Shades showed us a cold, cruel smile.

"But can you tell me why Kusakabe-san's daughter is in your care?"

As his tone was much more polite, it pressured us more than Leather Coat. As Tetsu-senpai was about to answer, Min-san opened the kitchen backdoor and walked out. She pushed away Tetsu-senpai and Hiro, standing in front of the yakuza alone.

"We don't have anything to say to you, scram!"

"Hmmm."

Walking past Leather Coat, who curled up his body like a tortoise, Shades walked to face Min-san. Though she was glared at from a distance of five centimeters or so, Min-san was still unmoved.

"We're here at Kusakabe-san's request. It can be said that you people are kidnapping a teenager."

"Don't speak nonsense, bring her father if you can. You're probably just spouting nonsense, right? Her father is now missing. If you have anything to say, you can call the police."

"Oi oi, how do you think we would know of this place?"

Shades took out a black phone and swayed it in front of Min-san. I nearly cried out loud.

"Missed calls log. What a dutiful daughter, calling him so many times."

Meo said that she called her father a lot of times, but nobody answered-- and she used the phone in the shop as well. Why? Why didnt' I notice? Why didn't I realize this? My feeling right now is like the part of my body below my waist is buried in snow, while the blood flow to my brain is gradually lost.

Kusakabe Masaya was indeed caught by these people.

"Perhaps you should call the police? But if you call the police, you might not see Kusakabe-san anymore. He might just kick the bucket because of a sudden illness. I heard that their relationship is very good, so it'll be nice if they can meet alive."

After saying that, Shades turned around and stamped on Leather Coat's belly.

"How long are you going to continue to sleep? You'll trouble the shop owner!"

Shades continued before leaving:

"We'll come back and do business with you after this, so please take care of the girl and the luggage before that."

<center>*</center>

"Sorry, sorry......"

Meo kept sobbing. Six people were stuffed in the living room of Min-san's house, Min-san sat beside Meo while I sat opposite to her. As there were only three chairs there, Tetsu-senpai and Hiro could only stand, while Major directly sat on the floorboard.

"It's not your fault, so it won't help things even if we blame you."

Min-san said to Meo coolly. It was like my heart have frozen over. Is this all my fault? Talking to Meo so many times, I should've noticed it earlier.

"Why didn't you tell me that even yakuza are involved in this?"

Min-san gave all of us a scolding. I covered my face, while Major stared at the ground with his body rigid; Hiro bit his lip with his head lowered, while Tetsu-senpai looked away with a displeased expression on his face.

"This Alice......"

Meo sniffed.

"I- It's better if I just move out, I can't trouble everyone anymore."

"Why are you moving out for? To look for those guys? You don't even know how they would treat you."

"Bu- But if I stay here......"

"Those guys don't dare to do anything. Didn't one of them hit his partner justnow? That is a threat so that their opposing party would know that there's no difference even if they call the police. Because of the yakuza prevention laws, the yakuza wouldn't dare to take action in broad daylight, which is why they did that."

Min-san petted Meo's head. Meo was going to say something, but was stopped.

At that moment, the telephone at the entrace of the living room rang, giving me a huge fright. In the space that felt as if time had stopped, Min-san slowly rose, passed by my side then picked up the receiver.

Though I couldn't hear the contents, I seemed to be able to see Alice at the other side of the phone, sitting on the bed, hugging her knees, and with her face clouded.

"...... I'm okay. Promising to help without even thinking is my own fault."

This way of saying that felt even more hurtful than her directly blaming us.

Min-san's kindness is kind of cruel.

"Do you know of the current situation?"

Alice seemed to have said something, causing Min-san to glance at me. If Alice had her eyes glued to the surveillance cameras, she probably noticed what happened-- Kusakabe Masaya is already in the hands of the yakuza. I lowered my head due to the hopelessness in my heart. It's my fault. At that time-- If I went back in time to warn him, then things wouldn't turn out like this now.

"Can we still do anything to deal with it? They're yakuza, you know."

'We don't have any choice but to continue. I'm a detective, and I accepted a request. There is no other truth that is stronger than this on Earth.'

The voice from the receiver, seemed to me like Alice forced it out.

Min-san turned her head around again, but did not look at me this time. I felt a strange heat from behind me. When I turned my head around, I saw that Major stood up unknowingly, Hiro and Tetsu-senpai were looking here as well. The eyes of the three recovered their previous gleam. I gulped. It was the same as that time.

"What do we do?" Min-san said, as if she deliberately wanted us to hear it clearly.

Alice answered in a forceful voice:

'We have to get Kusakabe Masaya back.'

Min-san put down the receiver, and said some vicious words: "What a bunch of idiotic kids."

"Erm...... It's, better if......"

"The time when we call the police is the time when you leave this place."

Min-san answered quickly, and grabbed Meo's collar as she was about to protest.

"Don't think that you would be okay if you go away. Didn't you say that you don't want to call the police? Don't you want to save your dad? Meo, you, yourself raised the stakes, so we can only follow or bet some more. If you choose not to follow, those guys would probably be very happy."

Min-san pressed the red-eyed, speechless Meo onto a chair.

"And Narumi, you shouldn't meddle in this anymore."

I raised my head to look at Min-san's face, unable to comprehend her words for the moment.

"Wh...... Why?"

I said in a somewhat sluggish voice.

"These guys don't matter, since they're NEETs without a future, but you're a high schooler! Don't you understand? They're yakuza!"

An inexplicable feeling was stuck in my throat. But I'm an assistant detective! There should be something...... something that I can help out with.

But I couldn't say anything.

I truly felt, when Leather Coat and Shades walked between the buildings, that my feet were trembling, unable to move. I only thought in my heart at that moment, hoping that Leather Coat would not remember my face-- what a shameful prayer.

I really don't know what to do, and suddenly felt like crying.

<center>*</center>

The yakuza took action very quickly, and started to harass the shop from the evening that day. Four or five delinquents gathered outside the entrance of the store. Though the two from the afternoon weren't present, you could see what type of people are they from their appearance and hairstyle.

They're so old-fashioned, really......"

Though Min-san said that, she didn't really seem to mind it. They didn't enter the shop or cause trouble, after all. They just sat on the beer crates outside of the shop, sending messages on their phone or glaring at the pedestrians. It's quite thoughtfully planned business obstructing operation, and the effect is quite good, as the customers were too intimidated to enter.

Tetsu-senpai and I stayed outside the kitchen backdoor, but we could only look at their actions helplessly. It seemed to me that senpai wanted to go out and KO them at once, but he's just restraining himself. If he really did so, he would fall into their frap.

"Blast, these guys, these guys, these guys......"

While muttering to himself, Tetsu-senpai used his fist to hit his thighs repeatedly. The reason that he stayed, was to protect Min-san and Meo. Hiro told me to stay as well, probably because he's worried that senpai couldn't stop himself from hitting them if he's alone?

"Narumi, can I beat you up?" He actually said something like that.

"As you wish."

I answered randomly. Tetsu-senpai looked as if he was shot, and showed me a helpless expression:

"What's with you! You should just cooperate and do a tsukkomi, or I'll really beat you up!"

"I really feel like being beaten up."

But even if I ask other people to beat me up, my helplessness still can't be cured.

Tetsu-senpai sighed after looking seriously at my expression:

"I think you'd better go home."

"If I go back, there'll be nobody to stop you if you lose control."

"Oh, please. If I really lose control, how could you stop me?"

He has a point.

"It's not that, I meant that you don't need to worry. I wouldn't take action myself. Alice is collecting the videos of these people right now, and she would hand it to Yondaime. They would get people to follow them when these people go back. As for Hello Corporation, Hiro is on it, so we can get new information no matter what."

Is that so? Yakuza have a lot of strongholds, so locating Meo's father isn't a simple ordeal. Especially at this time, the harrassment would only increase.

Though I can't help out with anything, a bad prenomition kept expanding in my mind.

"Just go back. You always go home late recently, so your sister is probably worried, right?"

That might be better. As I felt greatly ashamed of myself, it was like my body curled up in a ball.

Looking at the situation in Min-san's house before going home, I could only see Meo curled up in a corner, facing the outside while sitting in the corner of the study and holding the Boston bag in her hands. I couldn't tell if she was asleep, but it really isn't the time to talk.

When I walked out of the ramen shop, Min-san didn't say anything as well. So that the yakuza underlings gathered outside wouldn't see me, I chose to walk away from the back of the building.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 2 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Kamisama no Memochou|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 2 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 2 Chapter 2

2012-01-08T08:25:45Z

203.116.187.1:

==Chapter 2==

Knowing that I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep even if I went home anyways, I directly went to Hanamaru to check out the situation. The steel door of the ramen shop was unexpectedly half open even though it’s so early, and trapezium-shaped light shone on the gray asphalt road. Squatting down to look at the interior of the shop, I could see a silhouette with small braids walking in and out of the counter. It was Meo. What in the world is she doing at this time?

I really don’t know how to mention her father’s problem to me, and since I haven’t sorted out my own feelings yet, I really don’t feel like meeting her. However, Meo noticed me as I was about to leave, and she opened the door for me. By now, I couldn’t escape anymore.

“You’re up early, Mr. Assistant.”

“No, I just haven’t slept yet.”

In contrast with my mind, my body was already extremely tired, so I just sat down on the seat in the middle of the counter.

“Min-san is probably still sleeping, right?”

“No no, Min-san said that she always jogs at this time.”

Oh? She’s quite the athlete.

“In the end, I woke up too. I’m making breakfast right now. Do you want to eat, Mr. Assistant?”

I didn’t really notice until she mentioned it. A fragrant smell was indeed floating out from the kitchen, and made me feel somewhat hungry. I was taken aback by the huge appetite of Yi Ling-san and the others, so I only ordered coffee, but I’m feeling rather hungry right now.

“You cooked for me too?”

“Yeah, it’s going to be done soon.”

The bowl that she brought out was filled with clear soup, porridge, clams and prawns. It was also topped with sesame and leaves of spices. Although she didn’t use any special ingredients (I should mention that most of them were from Hanamaru), the fragrance of foreign cooking filled the shop. She called it Khao Tom, which probably means Thai porridge.

The next dish was a colorful veggie salad, emitting a sweet sour smell, and also had the fragrance of peppermint. This meal is actually quite rich for a breakfast.

“Your cooking is not bad.”

“That’s because I’m learning to be a good wife.”

While washing the pot, Meo answered while smiling. Is she serious or joking?

“How old are you, Meo?”

“Fourteen.”

She’s two years younger than me, but she seems to be more energetic than me.

“As long as your parents agree, you can marry after two years. But you don’t have any people you like, do you?”

“I do. My dad.”

The green pepper in the salad jammed into my windpipe at that instant, causing myself to hack violently. Meo immediately handed me a glass full of water. She’s so considerate. She’ll probably be a great wife in the future…… Ah, that’s not the point!

“…… Is it okay for you to still dream of being your father’s bride even though you’re already fourteen?”

“Why? We’re not related by blood, so we can marry!”

Eh, is that so?

“My real father died before I was given birth. My current dad met mom at Thailand, and they brought me to Japan after marrying there.”

Aside from the skin colour ,Meo’s features are actually quite similar to a Japanese person, I even thought that she came from mixed races. So since he’s a stepfather, then they can probably marry…… Wait, is that really the problem?

…… Maybe it’s this problem?

Though I wanted to comment that it wasn’t that right, I really don’ know how to say that.

“Hiro taught me too: ‘You can just become my adopted daughter, then you can marry your father.’ Then I’ll be both his daughter and his wife! He was very excited when he said that.”

What is that sex offender thinking of……

“But I don’t understand, why is Mr. Assistant so agitated too?”

Now that she mentioned it, I don’t really know myself. Well…… It’s just that…… Is that really okay!?

I swallowed my inexpressible feelings with the porridge, and calmed down after some time. Actually I don’t really have to be agitated, as it’s not my life anyways.

“I just don’t know if dad is willing to marry me.”

“You can say that again……” I would say that it’s almost impossible. “How old is your father?”

“Mnn…… About thirty eight? But the big sisters who live in the same building said that they cannot see that dad is already at that age. Let me tell you, dad’s face is as good looking as a mountain cat when he’s sleepy. I love dad’s sleepy face.”

What does that mean! What kind of sleepy face is that? No, I should say that it’s the first time I heard someone praising a man’s sleepy face. No matter what, this way of saying it is really rare.

“I was not that good at cooking before, but dad would still eat up all my cooking, which is why I decided to work at a restaurant to improve my cooking. Oh yeah, is it good?”

“Mnn, it’s great.”

Meo’s smiling face is just like a fresh tart, and made me rather envious of Kusakabe Masaya for a moment. He actually let such a girl bring along such a dangerous amount of money, where is he right now? What’s he up to?

I thought of ways to explain this dangerous situation. Things have changed so much that even yakuza are involved in it, and I felt moody just thinking about it. I really think it’s better if we could convince her to call the police.

“Actually I want to learn more dishes from mom…… Dad probably likes mom’s cooking best.”

It was as if Meo’s eyes was looking at the skies of Thailand far away. Her mother…… Didn’t she pass away already?

I suddenly remembered the guild that Yi Ling-san and Jennifer spoke of. They introduce Japanese men to the foreign women working in the country, did Kusakabe Masaya do that too?

“I saw it on a photo, the fact that I look exactly like my mother. So dad….. would probably like me…… right?”

Meo’s voice quavered, as if she didn’t have much confidence. Is that so?

“Did you tell your father about your thoughts?”

“No.”

“Maybe you should ask him after he comes back.” Perhaps she would get a scolding at that time?

“You say that like it’s really simple. If you can say these things so easily, there wouldn’t be so many troubled people in this world.”

Mnn, that might be so. I, myself, experienced that first hand in the incident that happened last winter, and I forgot all about it in the end because it didn’t affect me much. While I think about it, why am I chatting with a girl about these meaningless topics in the morning?

“I wonder where dad is right now……”

Meo sat down on the chair in the kitchen with her chin on the table.

“Do you know where he might be?”

Meo shook her head.

“I tried to call him from yesterday, but he didn’t answer.”

“That’s right, tell me your dad’s phone number. If his phone is on him, Alice might be able to find out his location.”

Meo widened her eyes. That’s quite an understandable reaction. But I’ve heard that after three years, people would be able to confirm the location of each phone by using the internet…… I just have this feeling that society would become even more perplexing that time.

“Oh, I see. I didn’t know that because I don’t have a phone.”

It’s rare for people not to have a phone these days.

“Dad says that children don’t need phones. After I grow up, he’ll give me back the phone that my mother used. But it’s no trouble even if I don’t have one, because the only person who I call is dad.”

Meo fluently read out her father’s phone number.

“…… Mnn?”

No phone?

I was lost in thought. Because I thought that having a phone was natural, I overlooked something｡ｪ Kusakabe Masaya couldn’t contact Meo even if he wants to, while Meo can’t reach him as well.

It’s almost like……

“Mr. Assistant, what’s wrong?”

“…… Eh? Ah! No, it’s nothing. Sorry, please repeat the number again.”

It’s almost like Kusakabe Mayasa doesn’t want Meo to know where he is, but I can’t tell Meo about that.

I entered the phone number that Meo said into the phone. The numbers of three foreign women who works in a special profession and an ex-yakuza…… In just one night, my phone memory went through groundbreaking confusion.

“I just met Yi Ling-san and the others.”

“Were they worried of me?”

“Like a mother worried of her daughter.”

Meo showed me a smile, but her expression immediately clouded over again.

“ …… I want to go home.”

I hesitated for awhile, but decided to tell her the conversation with the others in the end:

“Jennifer said…… If we find your father, then go back to Thailand. Since something like this happened, you can’t go back to the company or your apartment anymore.”

Not only the company, they may even have trouble living in the Japanese society. After hearing my words, Meo just stared at the table without saying anything.

“It’ll be okay……”

She muttered while staring at the table:

“It’ll definitely be okay, he’ll definitely be back. The big sisters would be lonely without dad too.”

No, you don’t even understand what I’m saying.

“There’s no chance of recovery if the relationship is damaged even once.”

“There’s no such thing.”

Being rebuked at once made an indescribable depression surface in my heart. I think I’ve heard similar words somewhere recently.

That’s right, it was Alice. When we mentioned Ayaka, she said: “Don’t you believe in miracles?”

It isn’t really the problem of believing or not believing.

At that moment, my phone suddenly started to vibrate, and the noisy guitar music of ‘Colorado Bulldog’ started to blare from my phone, startling me so much that I almost dropped my phone.

“Hello......”

‘Why are you still dawdling down there? You should just come report at the office since you’re already here. Didn’t you just meet Meo’s neighbor?’

Really, so that girl is already awake. Or did she even sleep? I really don’t know what time she goes to bed.

“Alright, alright. I’m coming.”

I sighed and hung up.

“Miss Detective knows that Mr. Assistant is nearby? Does she have psychic powers?” How is that a psychic power?

“Although you wouldn’t notice from its appearance, actually there are surveillance cameras all around the building. If anyone comes, Alice would be able to see him from the screen in her room.”

“Oh, I see.”

Meo looked around, but actually there aren’t any surveillance cameras in the shop.

“Is Miss Detective timid?”

“Perhaps.”

What is Alice actually scared of? The whole world? Is that why she doesn’t go out?

Never mind, it doesn’t matter. It’s because of the fact that she doesn’t go out that I could help, albeit a bit.
<center>*</center>

“The circles under your eyes are really dark.”

Alice glanced at me from her bed, and immediately commented. Because I kept going here and there late night, my body has already frozen, and I almost couldn’t cope with the cold air-conditioner in the office.

“Is it really that bad?”

“It reminds me of the time you took the drug.”

Alice said that, and made me recall the red markings caused by the Angel Fix. Will I have bruises on my face if I don’t have enough sleep now? Please stop joking.

“If you still feel sleepy, then close your eyes and thank God for giving you a chance to sleep.”

She said somewhat unhappily, and turned around to face the keyboard again. The sound of the air conditioner interlaced with the light rhythm of Alice typing on the keyboard. I could still feel a hint of sleepiness, but it drifted about fifty centimeters above me, and doesn’t have any sign of descending on me.

“Alice, what time do you usually go to sleep?”

I suddenly thought of the question. As she’s a hikikomori, maybe she’s nocturnal?

“The moment when I sleep is when everyone in the world sleeps. If only there’s anyone who may threaten me awake, I will not hand myself to Hypnos.”

“Er......”

I still don’t understand what she’s trying to say.

“That means that I almost never sleep. The longest time that I slept is probably about an hour. Some doctors said that it’s an illness, while some doctors said that it’s a physical condition, then expressed their strong desire of wanting to do research on me. That was one of the reasons that I ran away from home.”

“Uh......” Is that problem really okay?

“Strictly speaking, it seems that my brain would go into a half-sleeping mode from time after time. Hmph, it’s the zenith of annoyance. That’s why my life is confined to this small area on my bed. The only time when I can get some rest is when I lie down while tightly holding Mocha Bear. Even then, the fluttering wings of a tiny bug could bring me out of my temporary respite.”

I looked at mocha bears that are much larger than Alice around her. I’ve remembered that Hiro once mentioned, if she didn’t have those bears, Alice wouldn’t be able to sleep. So this statement isn’t completely wrong.

Even if she is cooped up in her room, surrounded by a wall of bears of various sizes, she is still unable to fall asleep.

How would you explain that? It’s definitely an illness!

“To me, the people who would uncaringly hand one third of their time to the darkness are the ones who’s mystifying. Wouldn’t you feel uneasy? The god of slumber and the god of death are brothers in Greek mythology.”

“Do you feel uneasy? Are you that afraid of the things around you?”

“Yes.”

Alice finally stopped typing on her keyboard and looked at me.

“I am afraid of all the things in this world that I am unable to comprehend, preparing to make trouble at a place that I cannot see, expanding and engulfing me.”

“Oh......”

I subconsciously turned my head away.

I could feel it, she wasn’t joking.

“So｡ｪ you, who do not feel fear, just bluntly, lazily sleep without caring about your image.”

“I’m telling you that I can’t sleep!”

I kneeled in front of the bed and said:

“And I’m here to report to you.”

“Mnn, it seems so.”

“The people monitoring Meo’s house are indeed yakuza, and I’ve heard that they’re from Tabara-gumi.”

I repeated what Yi Ling-san, Hua-san and Jennifer told me.

“...... Hello Corporation is a puzzling company.”

“I still don’t know what the company does.”

“It’s a company that provides laborers on the surface, but actually most of the workers are women from south-east Asia and China, and they’re working in a ‘special’ trade. The reason for starting employment courses and so on, is probably for tax avoidance. If yakuza are involved too, it would be better to ask Yondaime.”

“But do we need to investigate the information about the company in such detail?”

Don’t we need to find Meo’s father first?

“The bag that Meo brought had two hundred million yen in it. How do you think that happened?”

“...... Didn’t he defalcate the company?”

“I don’t mean that, I’m asking why is it filled with cash worth two hundred million yen?”

I shook my head. I really don’t know what Alice is trying to say.

“Are you saying that there aren’t that much money in the company? Or are you saying that it’s strange for the company to have that much cash?”

“Those are my questions too, but not only that...... Forget it for now. The information that we have is too little. No matter what, the request that I accepted is to protect Meo and to save Kusakabe Masaya. We can’t just stop after we locate him, so we must first investigate what is happening with Hello Corporation.”

“...... Okay.”

It seems that I can’t help with this matter too. Even if I could, probably it’s just telling Meo the bad news? For example, when her father is proven to be a criminal.

Can I still be the assistant of the detective even then?

“Anyways, we have too little information. Indeed, we started the investigation later than Tabara-gumi, which is why they have more information than us. Thus, we can’t avoid them just because they’re yakuza. If we just investigate the company or the actions of the gang, we might be able to get some threads of information from them.”

“Ah, that’s right. She told me the phone number of her father just now.”

“I’ve already found out his number, and I’m investigating his phone log. Doing this needs a lot of time, if the phone has GPS function, it would be better to locate him.”

After hearing that, I lowered my head weakly. It it’s Alice, it’s not strange even if she checked the phone log from the start. But aside from the phone log...... Have we forgotten about something? What is it? While hugging my knees, I thought about the doubt in my heart, but I just couldn’t figure it out. A person like me, would I be in the heart of things, but still stare blankly with my mouth open like an idiot, looking at things until they turn into regret?

“What are you being autistic for?”

“I’m not being autistic.” I lied: “I’m just thinking, there’s really nothing that I can help with, even though I’m so free during the spring holidays and only work on Fridays and Saturdays......”

“Maybe I don’t sound convincing when saying this, but......”

Alice shrugged and said:

“Please don’t mind your position as a detective’s assistant too much. No matter you’re on tiptoes or is standing upside down, you’re still a high school student. But you’re just going to be a NEET after you graduate anyways, so I advise you to treasure your ordinary life right now.”

“Wow......”

I covered my face with my hand and said:

“Having my employer say that to me really makes myself, who’s in an abject situation although I’m still in the grace period of my ordinary life, lose hope for my future.”

“You can still visit Ayaka.”

My shoulders twitched for a moment. Alice stared at me with cold eyes and said:

“Why are you always so guarded each time you hear Ayaka’s name? Do you really hate visiting friends that much?”

“No, it’s not that I hate it...... It’s just that......”

From that day, I didn’t take even half a step into the hospital that Ayaka is staying at. I just couldn’t bear to see Ayaka slumbering with her eyes open, and I’m afraid that the miracle that made Ayaka open her eyes that day, is actually just a meaningless coincidence, so......

The black hair on the bed swayed slightly.

When I raised my head to take a look, I saw Alice laughing soundlessly.

“...... What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing. I just feel that you and I are very alike.”

I shook my head.

“Sorry, I’m just mocking myself, so you don’t need to think much about it. You don’t know if miracles could happen but you are afraid of losing it, while I know that the world don’t bear any hostility towards me but I am still afraid. But since you did not make fun of me, I will not make fun of you either.”

Alice’s words swirled in my mind, and I suddenly showed a relaxed expression and nodded to her.

Then, Alice turned her back against me, but the sound of her typing on the keyboard felt pleasing to my ears.

‘You say that like it’s really simple. If you can say these things so easily, there wouldn’t be so many troubled people in this world.’

I recalled Meo’s words. It is truly so.

Suddenly assaulted by a hint of sleepiness, I lied down on the bedside, drifting into dreamland.

<center>*</center>

I dreamt that I was chased by a large group of pink and purple bears.

“— Uwaaa!”

And I was woken up by my own shouts.

As I was about to raise my head, I felt something on the back of my head and my shoulders fall down. Eyes made of small black buttons were near my own eyes, shocking me into taking a step back subconsciously. It was after quite some time that I realized that it’s only a teddy bear.

The mat slid down from my back, and I sneezed because of the sudden chill. I fell asleep while lying on the bed, but was covered in bears of various sizes for some reason.

“So you’re finally awake.”

Raising my head, I saw Tetsu-senpai sitting at the edge of the bed, beside me.

Even in the cold air conditioned room, he was still wearing only a T-shirt. His strong chest and muscular arms made me think of the crowd of bears in my dream.

“Erm......”

“Saying that you can’t sleep but falling asleep right after that, you really are astounding. I applaud you.”

Alice said somewhat grumpily.

Ahh, so I fell asleep. As I was about to stand up, the wall of dolls surrounding me collapsed.

“...... What’s with all the dolls?”

“You were sleeping while mumbling something like patrasche and what what not, so I covered you with the mat, but you were STILL shivering. The problem is, there’s nothing else in my room that can be used to keep out the cold, and I couldn’t turn off my air conditioner, and it’ll be troublesome if you just freeze to death here, so that’s how it came to be.”

“Erm, Alice—”

“Since Narumi’s awake now, isn’t it better if we tell him to go to the gang’s place?”

Tetsu-senpai cruelly interrupted my words.

“Mnn, that’s true, it is better this way.”

A gang? They aren’t talking about Tabara-gumi, are they?

“I’m thinking of asking Hirasaka-gumi for help, but their inbox can’t be opened. It seems that the machine broke down. You’re probably more suitable than Tetsu for this job, so inform them about this while checking out what’s wrong with their computer.”

Oh...... So they’re referring to Hirasaka-gumi. Now I have to go to the gang’s office again.

But it can’t be help, I’m indeed the most suitable candidate. As I suddenly had a new job, sleepiness gradually left me.

“I’ll check out the police station, and maybe ask the delinquents over there if they know anything.”

Apparently, Tetsu-senpai knows the police quite well.

“But this matter isn’t really a case, so if the police got to know what is happening at Hello Corporation, it would go against our client’s wishes. But of course, getting new information is nice. So what do you plan to do?”

“I’ll think of something. Narumi, let’s go!”

Still somewhat sleepy, I was dragged out of the office by Tetsu-senpai.

As soon as I walked out of the room, rays of sunlight pierced my eyes. It’s about noon right now, isn’t it? Is this what they mean by a scorcher? I should really avoid burning the midnight oil......

Tetsu-senpai grabbed my collar while walking down the stairs. Eh, what is is? Is he angry? Did I do anything wrong?

“Senpai......”

“You slept in Alice’s room two times, didn’t you......?”

Senpai said in a low voice. When I think about it, it seems that way. Though I didn’t really fall asleep that time, but was unconscious due to the drug, but what about it?

“Why is that so, perhaps you have something special to you?”

Tetsu-senpai didn’t even glance at me, but continued to mutter to himself. I still don’t understand what’s going on.

“Never mind.”

When we reached the end of the staircase, senpai finally looked at me.

“Oh yeah, Narumi, lend me some money!”

Is it me, or is the change of topic too sudden?

“Refused.”

“Please, I’m really confident with the Sakura Gallery. I’ll give you back double the money.”

“The problem is I don’t have any money, why don’t you borrow from Alice? She’s quite rich, actually.”

“How can I do something that embarrassing?”

And borrowing from me isn’t!?

“Really, I wonder how much money we can get from this case......”

“Tetsu-senpai, have you heard about the case this time?”

“I’ve heard all about it when you were sleeping. Meo’s problem, the matter about the Boston bag...... Ah!”

Tetsu-senpai suddenly widened his eyes. At that instant, I immediately knew what he was thinking of.

I ran past the kitchen backdoor and entered the house behind the ramen shop before Tetsu-senpai could have the chance. “Narumi, what are you doing, it’s so noisy!” even though Min-san’s scoldings could be heard, I ignored it. Meo was sitting in the house while holding a steel pan with her legs crossed, using an electronic mixer to blend fresh butter.

“Meo, hurry up and hide the bag!”

“What?”

Suddenly hearing my shouts, a surprised expression appeared on Meo’s face. Then, Tetsu-senpai pushed me away from the back and stepped into the corridor.

“Meo, can you lend me some money?”

“No, dad said to me not to have any money transactions with other people.”

“Then it’s okay even if you don’t lend me, you can just pretend that it’s an investment, I guarantee you that the money would increase twentyfold after the Sakura Gallery next week.”

“Wait...... Tetsu-senpai, what are you saying!?”

“Sakura Gallery—?”

“That’s right. It’s like this. Eighteen horses run around a large field for one and a half minute, then the money will increase.”

Isn’t that a bit too brief!

“Oh, so it’s horse racing, dad told me about that many times. He said that many people who need money would always borrow money from him on each Friday during the days when he was still a yakuza, and later he could even tell this type of people from their eyes.”

Meo used her large, innocent eyes to look at Tetsu-senpai, and made him feel flustered, while I couldn’t even get a word in.

The tense atmosphere disappeared with the severe pain that assaulted the back of my head, and I could see stars dancing around my head.

“What in the word are you guys up to? Narumi, don’t you need to work today? Stop being an eyesore here and get out!”

Min-san grabbed my collar with the hand she used to hit Tetsu-senpai and I and threw me out of the house. Why did I get beaten up too! It’s a pity that I don’t even have a chance to protest.

<center>*</center>

Hirasaka-gumi is a self-proclaimed chivalrous organization, and speaking of what they do, they just (try to) deal with the street fights in a mild manner, taking care of the whole city like this. To be exact, they’re just NEET delinquents.

Many shops around this area has the Hirasaka-gumi emblem on it, for instance clubs, stores for sports goods, boutiques and so on. If you look closely at the corner of their signboards, you would probably see sticker with a swallowtail butterfly, the emblem of the Taira clan, on it.

It is said that these shops had connections to Hirasaka-gumi from the time the shops opened, but I, as a high school student, only heard rumors about this. In reality, the only person who’s doing everything is Yondaime, the leader of the gang. The other members always look very free, cooped up in their office all they.

Because of Alice’s request, I had to go use the creaking elevator to get to the third floor of the broken down building, nervously open the iron door that the signboard of Hirasaka-gumi is hanging on, and then I saw the office stuffed full of members wearing black T-shirts.

“Err, Alice told me to come…..”

As soon as they saw me, almost all of them sprang up from the sofa. About eight people or so.

“A- Aniki, thanks for your hard work!” “Thanks for your hard work!”

These people should be older than me, and yet because of various incidents that happened in the last case, I am now worshipped by these people as their aniki. Most of the members in Hirasaka-gumi are very strong, so when they bowed at the same time, I just couldn’t help but take a few steps back.

However, I couldn’t see the two who are particularly muscular among them, Rocky and Pole, meaning that Yondaime is probably not here right now. Those two are bodyguards, so they usually tag along his side.

“We’re waiting for you, let’s start.”

“Eh? Wh- What?”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“Good thing aniki is here, now we can take it easy.”

I didn’t even know what was happening, but I was dragged to the dark study of the office. There were a wardrobes, bookshelves and a small bed used for resting, and there was a small table with an old computer on it further inside.

“I don’t know how to explain, but it just refuses to move.” One of them said to me.

“No matter how hard we hammered it, flipped it over, pulled the plug out and in again, it’s useless, so we could only ask for ane-san or aniki for help.”

What kind of idiot would think of hammering it? What if it breaks down!

Windows of Internet Explorer kept opening in the screen, filled the taskbar with numerous windows. This is a computer virus that’s lurking in the dark recently, and is a notorious, aggressive and indelible virus. But if they didn’t open any strange files, the computer probably wouldn’t get the virus that easily.

“Which website were you on when the comp got infected?”

“Eh? About that….. No clue.”

They seemed to be smiling shyly like they were hiding something.

“This virus isn’t really special technically, so there’s little chance of being infected. What did you do online?”

“Oh, nothing really. Nono, we didn’t do anything.”

“Of course we didn’t search for a pornographic website.”

“And didn’t click on a hyperlink that said ‘180 minutes of uncensored blonde babe’.”

I sighed. I really should’ve installed an internet child safety firewall before this.

“We can only reset the computer. The data inside would all disappear, is that alright?”

“What? We put in so much effort to search for an uncensored website too!”

“Idiot, don’t speak of that!”

“No- no problem. Please take care of it before Sou-san comes back.”

Oh, I see. They’ll probably get scolded if Yondaime saw that. No wonder they’re so agitated. I heaved a long sigh again and sat in front of the computer.

When Yondaime returned, I was just reinstalling the programs in the operating system. The lackeys cheered beside me “As expected of aniki!” “The speed of aniki using the mouse is so quick that I can’t even see it clearly!” Can’t you guys pipe down? It’s distracting.

“Sou-san! Th- th- thanks for your hard work!” “Thanks for your hard work!”

As soon as they heard the sound from the door, the lackeys who were around me rushed to greet Yondaime.

“Gardening Club kid, what are you doing here?”

[[Image:Kamisama no memochou vol02 097.png|thumb|''While walking into the study, Yondaime glared at me, as if his ferocious gaze was telling me that he’ll cut off my finger if I move.'']]
While walking into the study, Yondaime glared at me, as if his ferocious gaze was telling me that he’ll cut off my finger if I move. He wore a crimson Chinese-styled coat with a picture embroidered on it. If other young people wore it, they would probably be said as showing off, but on this person, it feels rather scary. (I recently heard that the picture embroidered on the coat was sewed by Yondaime himself, so the fact that his sewing skills are at professional level is true.) Rocky and Pole stood behind him, the broadest and tallest men in the gang respectively.

“Well— it seems like the computer has gone haywire.”

The lackeys standing behind Yondaime were pleading with their palms closed, so I didn’t speak the truth.

Yondaime showed an uncaring expression and sat behind the short bookshelf behind me.

He unwillingly thanked me.

“Erm, I’m thinking of limiting the usage of the computer so that people wouldn’t just use the computer as they like. Yondaime, so that you’ll be the only one to use the computer, can you please decide on a password?”

“Didn’t I tell you not to call me that?” He glared at me. Then how should I call you? You’re not telling me to call you Hina, are you? I’ll probably get beaten to death.

“I’m not really good at these things, so just do as you like!”

“Even so, there should still be someone who knows how to operate all the functions!”

“Isn’t it okay if aniki could use it?” Pole said.

“I’m not even one of your members……”

And if it’ll be hectic if I keep getting called here when the computer has a problem.

“Sou-san, what do you think? Why don’t you just use this chance to undergo the sake ceremony with aniki?” Rocky said. I nearly fainted. What is this guy saying!? Yondaime glared at Rocky while frowning, but the other lackeys completely ignored our reactions, and started to get excited.

“Aniki is good at computers, and he’s got brains too.”

“And he’s manly!” “I’ll follow aniki forever.”

Wait a sec, what’s with this situation!? Gimme a break!

“Shut up!”

Yondaime’s roar made the excited lackeys shut their mouths immediately.

“What are you guys thinking of? And this guy is still a high schooler too!”

You can’t enter the gang if you’re not a NEET, it is said that it’s the principle of their leader, Yondaime; And I don’t want to enter anyways. But Rocky said at this moment:

“Really? But I heard Major and Tetsu-san(?) saying that his attendance is lacking and fails almost all of his tests, and is almost confirmed to be kicked out of school……”

Don’t listen to those idiots!

“If aniki joins us, it’ll be an instant boost of our strength.”

“So noisy. Oi, Gardening Club kid! Hurry up and get into the main topic if you’re finished with that.”

“…… Ah, yes, okay.”

I handed the copy of information I got from Alice to Yondaime, a photo of what looks like a clever man was printed on it. That person is Meo’s father— Kusakabe Masaya’s photo that Yi Ling-san saved in her phone, I told her to send it to me. You really can’t tell that he’s almost forty.

Just like last time, I edited the photo to emphasize his face, and his face is really the cat-type.

Yondaime glanced at the photo for a moment and immediately passed it to the others.

“Make five hundred copies of this!”

“Understood! I shall go hone my manly aura right away!”

After some detailed instructions, the lackeys left the room. It’s hard to imagine how quick the bunch of idiots from just now could finish their work that quickly. As long as their leader is present, all of them would become uptight.

When only two of us were left, Yondaime turned around and said while looking at me:

“I’ll distribute the photos to the people around this neighborhood, and tell them to keep an eye open, but we can’t continue the investigation if there’s no more evidence. I’ll take a look at manga stores or hostels and so on, Alice should know that, right?”

“She said that would be enough.”

Actually, it seems that Alice wants to know about the condition of Hello Corporation more. To the NEET detective who doesn’t go out, collecting information from yakuza on the internet is much easier than doing a thorough search on the streets.

“Hello Corporation borrowed money from financial companies when it first opened, so I advise you to hand the money and the cash to the police if you don’t want to get hurt.”

“Financial companies?”

“They’re the companies who target people who can’t borrow money from the bank, underground companies who sometimes charge tenfold for their interest. Those people are important sources of money, and they even have close connections with Tabara-gumi, so it’s best if you don’t get involved.”

So it’s really not a normal company. I recalled the two men chasing me at Hello Company and suddenly felt a chill on my back. If I was caught by them at that time, I wonder what would happen to me now? I might not get off the hook with just injuries. But—

“But Alice said that this is a request.”

“You’ll save anyone just because you accepted the request? They’re not even related to you.”

“Does that mean that you don’t save people unrelated to you?”

“The only people that I will help unconditionally are limited to my people and the friends of my people. We should have a suitable borderline, or it’ll be never ending. How many people on this street do you think have been forced to a corner?”

There are about six billion people in this world. Saving all of them, not even God can do that, but……

“Alice…… She really plans to save all of humanity.”

“I know, she’s an idiot.”

I recalled what Alice had said.

‘…… escaping my own helplessness, escaping the world that continues to be lost because of my uselessness…… But even so, I still cannot find the answer.’

It’s not because of pity or her sense of justice, the detective only tries to solve the mystery entangling her clients to deny her own helplessness.

“Tetsu and Hiro help just because they like it, too. What a bunch of idiots.”

Yondaime breathed in deeply, then stood up and said:

“What about you?”

His words pierced deeply into my heart. Why am I taking action? Yondaime is asking me that. But the most regretful thing is, I could not find a suitable answer.

“Because…… I’m Alice’s assistant.”

The reason that I said after some thought was that. That’s not an answer at all.

Yondaime could probably sense that it’s a meaningless excuse as well.

“Being a layman, you shouldn’t push yourself so much. If a fight really happens, it’ll be troublesome to us as well. So you should tell us the moment you feel something’s wrong.”

“Ah…… Alright.”

Yondaime was about to walk out of the study, but I suddenly halted him. He glared at me as he turned around, making me regret calling him.

“What?”

“…… Yondaime, why are you helping us?”

You’re not even related to us.

“I’m not helping you. I’m helping Alice.”

That’s true.

“Also…… I owe you a favor.”

I suddenly felt confused, and blankly stared at Yondaime’s mouth.

“…… Ah, no, isn’t that matter already……”

“I mean what I said, it isn’t something you decide on.”

Why am I being threatened? While thinking about that, I curled up in fright.

“Just scram if there’s nothing else!”

As I was about to walk out of the study with Yondaime, the blaring ringtone of ‘Colorado Bulldog’ started to ring.

‘Bad news. I asked Hiro to check out a few of Hello Corporation’s shops, and their people are everywhere. They are truly looking for Kusakabe Masaya because they think that he ran off with the money. A lady working at a pub even heard the yakuza discussing ‘a bag that can fill two hundred million yen’, so these people are probably looking for Meo too.’

Alice said coolly, as if she knew that it would turn out like this from the start.

“…… Then what should we do?”

‘What do you mean what should we do? I just want to complete my mission. After we locate Kusakabe Masaya, we hand him to Meo, and the rest is up to Meo, as a person harboring a criminal can’t really be blamed if he’s related to the person.’

“Mnn……”

I hung up with a heavy heart. The person who would be in charge of telling Meo would probably be me, huh?

Yondaime forcefully pushed me out of the steel door and walked out, locked it and said:

“You’re not suited for these things. You should just stop.” He said in a low voice.

“…… Why do you say that?”

“The most important thing when you encounter these annoying problems, is that you must be determined to finish it from the start. A person who doesn’t have a strong resolve would just cause problems.”

While waiting for the elevator, I repeatedly pondered Yondaime’s words. Yondaime’s borderline is very clear. He would help his people and the friends of his people no matter what, and ignore the rest. What about me? For instance, if Meo asked me to help her to hide her father or help her criminal father escape, what would I do?

I really don’t know. I would probably just let Alice handle it, while I’d probably just stay out of it? Because I’m just an assistant— this sentence is so convenient that it’s shameful.

“That’s why I’m saying that you can’t do it.”

As soon as the elevator door opened, Yondaime kicked me inside.

“You….. seem rather friendly today……” I said while rubbing my bottom.

“Huh?”

I curled up my whole body after being glared at by the sharp, wolf-like gaze. A cheeky person who doesn’t have strong resolve, would indeed only drag them down. The strong sense of disgust directed at myself rose up from my body, and felt like it’s forcibly stuffed down my lungs with the help of the accelerating elevator.

I parted with Yondaime after walking out of the building and walked down the slope alone. Walking to the sidewalk beside the road that was in a traffic jam, I supported myself on the railings and sighed, as I finally solved a troublesome matter. But at least I could still do these things, which made me feel that I’m not really that useless.

<center>*</center>

“Ming Hai! Over here!”

Separated by a sidewalk that was crowded with a lot of people, Yi Ling-san noticed me and waved at me while holding her phone. The person who asked me out to the crowded bus stop at the west exit of the station on this Sunday afternoon was Yi Ling-san. She wore a yellow shirt that showed her shoulders with a pair of jeans. Her casual appearance was very different from what she wore at night.

“I wasn’t being followed, so it should be okay.”

Yi Ling-san came closer to my side and grabbed my hand after saying that. Not expecting her action, I nearly fell down.

“It looks like those people are looking desperately for Meo, so we must be more careful.”

“Eh? Ah, that’s right.”

“You probably haven’t had lunch yet, right? I’ll treat you.”

Though I wasn’t too hungry, we decided to go to Rodran Coffee Shop. As it’s still noon, there were a lot of people in the shop. I ordered only coffee ole and sandwiches, found a table by the windows, then Yi Ling-san walked over while holding a platter full of food, as usual.

“These are Meo’s clothes, the ones that you asked me to get.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

Yi Ling-san and I sat opposite to each other, and she handed me a large paper bag. As I wasn’t able to sneak into Meo’s house yesterday, I handed the keys to Yi Ling-san and asked her to get Meo a change of clothes.

“I was just about to go out, and the yakuza came over again. I just live next to them coincidentally! They’re really troublesome, so I told them that I was in a hurry and ran out.”

“What did they ask you?”

“They asked me, what did you say yesterday? Are you keeping something for someone? Do you know where he’s hiding, and so on. They also asked about Meo, because they know that our relationship is quite good. Shouldn’t we tell Meo to call the police? But she’ll get into trouble too…… But not doing that might be even more troublesome…… Hmm……”

“Meo detests the police.”

“I dislike the police as well.”

Yi Ling-san covered her face and shook her head violently.

To them, the Japanese police aren’t people who just protect them, but……

I hesitated for awhile, then told her about the Boston bag. Yi Ling-san pressed her forehead with her hand and sighed.

“So he really did defalcate the company?”

Taking the company’s money and hiding it at home, but failed, so he told his daughter to take away the money. This is actually quite a simple story, but if this became reality, Meo would become an accomplice (even if it wasn’t deliberate). When I started to ponder about the question, Yi Ling-san suddenly asked:

“Would that be our wages this month?”

“…… What?”

“Kusakabe-san gives us our wages himself each month, so it wouldn’t be strange even if there’s some cash at home. And you’re talking about a Boston bag, right? I saw that before this.”

“Eh? Really?”

“Yeah, Kusakabe-san brought the Boston bag to the company sometimes. Because we learned Japanese using post, Kusakabe-san compiled our syllabus each month. I originally thought that he used the Boston bag to bring those to the company.”

Which means, he brought back the wages in the bag after leaving the company?

“But…… it’s about two hundred million yen in total…..”

“Almost all of the people living in that building are employees, so it’s about right……”

Yi Ling-san stared at the sky while counting on her fingers, then heaved a sigh.

“Two hundred million yen is still too much.”

And they even let people see the bag that holds the money? What a strange company.

“Don’t you all have bank accounts?”

“Don’t you look down on us!” Yi Ling-san laughed while flicking on my forehead: “We keep the money in the bank after getting them. After deducting some automated charges, we have to send some money home; so probably there’s not even half left. What a meaningless procedure.”

“Then why are they giving you cash?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Would that be……” because it’s easier to defalcate the company this way?

For example, even if it’s their wages, he used his daughter to get the money from his house and run away, so there’s probably still some hanky panky going on.

“You look like you’re being suspicious of everything.”

Well…..

“It’s because I’m a detective……’s assistant.”

Yi Ling-san laughed heartily, but her laughter soon stopped.

“I really don’t understand. Why did that guy tell her daughter to do such a dangerous thing? He’s wanted by the yakuza too.”

“…… Why is the yakuza looking for Meo too?”

“You’re asking me?”

“If it really is the company’s money, then how does it concern the yakuza?”

“Perhaps the company hired yakuza to help?”

“Then why didn’t they just call the police?”

“Hmm…… Yeah— you have a point.”

Yi Ling-san spaced out while biting her straw.

“Is it because they don’t want the public to know? Or that might not be our company’s money at all, but the yakuza’s money? But Kusakabe-san shouldn’t be able to use the gang’s money…… I really don’t understand.”

I suddenly thought about Meo who was happily mixing the butter behind the kitchen of Hanamura Ramen Shop and felt a chill on my back. A young girl who doesn’t know anything that has a bomb-like amount of money on her hands, is now in our hands.

“Please protect Meo.”

Yi Ling-san pleaded in a low voice. I lightly nodded, but I didn’t really feel confident about that.

<center>*</center>

It was about two when I finally reached Hanamaru Ramen Shop. I feel like I’m practically living here right now. While I think about it, I didn’t go home for two days straight, my sis would probably give me a huge scolding soon.

Although lunch time was about to end, there’s unexpectedly still three customers sitting on the tables. Min-san looked quite busy cooking.

Walking into Min-san’s living room and storeroom from the kitchen back door, I couldn’t see Meo anywhere.

“Min-san, do you know where Meo is right now?”

With her back against me, Min-san answered with her eyes glued to the fire:

“Ah, Meo is at Alice’s place.”

“What?”

I pressed the doorbell of room 308, but there wasn’t an answer. Usually, a blue light would light up, but at this moment only the sound of flowing water came from the room.

Flowing water?

Then, there came a voice saying “Coming, coming— please wait for a moment”. I was startled, and took a step back. It was Meo’s voice.

Meo opened the door and poked her face out of the door. Her hair was wet, the slight steam her body was giving off smelled of soap, while a large towel was wrapped around her body. My hand held the handle, while my body froze.

“Meo, don’t open the door when you don’t even know who’s there, you’re too careless! And my hair isn’t clean yet, hurry up and help me. Uwaa! Shampoo trickled into my eyes, MEO!”

Alice’s hysterical voice came from the room, asking for help.

“Okay, okay. Ah! Would that be my clothes, by any chance?”

She pointed at the paper bag on my hands.

“This…… Er, ah , yes…… That’s right.”

“Thank you. Miss Detective is angry right now, so I’ll have to close the door. Mr. Assistant, you can come in and wait for awhile.”

I was about to say that it’s better if I wait outside, but I was forcefully dragged into the room with the paper bag. Light could be seen from the bathroom close to the entrance (first time seeing that). I accidentally saw long, black hair full of bubbles, so I hastily turned around and stuck my face to the wall.

“Sorry, I’ll wash your hair now!” Meo went back to the washroom, and I heard the sound of the misty glass door closing.

“Miss Detective, don’t move around so much!”

“Uuuu— my eyes hurt!”

An incomprehensible conversation came from the other side of the fog.

` In my sixteen years of living, I have never felt as uncomfortable as I am right now. The six minutes filled with the sounds of splashing water were probably the longest six minutes in my whole life.

“Since you’ve waited until we finished bathing, you should probably have something to report, right? Hurry up, then.”

Sitting on Meo’s thighs, Alice’s tone was extremely annoyed. Of course, both of them are now fully clothed. Meo used a large towel to wrap Alice’s head and rubbed repeatedly.

“Miss Detective’s hair is very long, so it’s hard to take care of it.”

“It’ll dry naturally if you just leave it alone.”

“You’ll get sick like that.”

[[Image:Kamisama no memochou vol02 113.png|thumb|''Does everyone feel like playing with Alice as soon as they see her?'']]
…… I feel like I saw this scene somewhere before. Does everyone feel like playing with Alice as soon as they see her?

“Narumi, stop thinking about Ayaka and start reporting!”

Her pointed remark made me curl up my body. Why is this girl’s sixth sense so accurate when it comes to meaningless things, really…...

“Ayaka?” Meo cocked her head.

“She’s just like you, a girl who likes to wash and comb my hair.”

Eh? So she once bathed with Ayaka?

“I heard that Miss Detective doesn’t know how to take baths.” Meo explained: “Usually Min-san would bathe with her every two days, and help her to wash her hair. But Min-san seemed to be rather busy today, so I volunteered to come.”

“That’s enough. If Master is busy, she should directly forget about my hair.”

I was completely ignorant towards how busy Min-san was. And really, this girl’s capability to survive is almost zero……

“Narumi, what are you here for! Are you here to see my wet look so that you can make fun of me?”

“Ah, no, sorry.” I waved my hands in denial. As they didn’t look nervous at at, it almost made me forget the reason that I was here.

“I heard something from Yi Ling-san about the company, and I was thinking of telling you about that.”

I reported the information about Kusakabe Masaya handing the people in Hello Palace their wages personally, thinking that it probably isn’t related to the case. However, Alice’s gaze immediately sharpened after hearing that.

“She told you that Kusakabe Masaya gave out the wages personally? Are you sure?”

“…… Yeah.”

“So that’s how it is. Which means— UWAA!”

“Dad wouldn’t pocket the employee’s wages, definitely not!”

Meo said while tightly hugging Alice.

“Le- Let go of me, it hurts! I didn’t even say anything like him pocketing the employee’s wages!”

Because of Alice’s frantic struggles, the large towel fell down from her head.

“Even so, no matter how we think…… I think the results would be as we expected.”

“Narumi, don’t jump to conclusions so quickly……” Unexpectedly, Alice was standing at Meo’s side. “There are a few problems regarding the theory that Kusakabe Masaya defalcated the company. Firstly, the structure of the company isn’t so big that someone could just pocket two hundred million yen. Apart from that, the money is in cash. Besides that, the yakuza are looking for two hundred million yen, which matches the sum of money in the bag. But how did they know how much money was in it? Even if the pocketed money was confirmed by the company to be two hundred million yen, why is the money still here?”

“Ah……”

She was right. It’s indeed strange.

“Of course, there is a possibility that Kusakabe Masaya’s hobby is saving money, or he likes to smell the money……” “My dad isn’t that kind of crazy person!” “Saving the money because of certain reasons, but couldn’t use it because the amount of money is too large…… These reasons are plausible too, but there’s now a fact that overturns these assumptions— the fact that only the yakuza are looking for Meo and Kusakabe Masaya.”

“Then……” I don’t really want to think about this possibility: “Maybe he kept money for Tabara-gumi, then he ran away with it……”

I felt Meo staring daggers at me.

“There’s that possibility too. If so, the question why he’s keeping money for yakuza would arise once more. Anyhow, the information that we have is insufficient. Thinking about this is my job, so you can stop making unnecessary assumptions, and do your own job.”

She actually said that I’m doing unnecessary assumptions. Alright, alright. I’m an idiot anyways.

“…… Then my job is?”

“Call the lady, Yi Ling. Ask her who’s she paying the automated charges each month. Or how she sends her money back to China. If there’s a chance, then ask her about the other people living in Hello Palace.”

“…… What?”

Alice told me the things that I should ask in a rapid fire tone, but I don’t get it at all. The public facilities maintenance fees, administrative fees, rental fees and even how much money Yi Ling-san and the others send home, are those even remotely connected to the case?

“It’s because we don’t know if they’re related that we should investigate it. Just hurry up and call her.”

When Major arrived at the NEET Detective Agency, I was just using the fax machine in the room to receive the copy of Yi Ling-san’s savings in the bank that she just faxed over.

“Why is there a faint smell of soap in the air? Vice Admiral Fujishima, please explain yourself!”

He immediately pressed a model gun onto the back of my head as soon as he came in. Ahhhh, another noisy fellow came in.

“You didn’t answer your phone at all yesterday, where did you go?”

“I was in a late night skirmish at Takadanobaba, but then the police came; I was just about to explain the dangers of having a gunfight in the streets, then I was brought to the police station with five of my mates. Hmph, the police are indeed useless.”

You’ll definitely get arrested that way. Are you an idiot? When I turned my head around, I saw a young man clad in military clothing, while his figure looked like that of a primary school student. It’s really surprising that someone like this is actually a college student. Major pushed his goggles onto his helmet, then looked into the bedroom.

Meo was hugging Alice tightly, as though she wanted to protected from an assault, and stared at Major guardedly.

“Meo, don’t just keep hugging my neck all of a sudden, are you trying to throttle me?”

“Because there’s a suspicious person here.”

“It’s okay, his attire can’t be compared with the weirdness in his heart, so just relax.”

Was…… Was she even trying to defend him?

“So you’re the client this time? I’m Major. Vice Admiral Fujishima’s superior.”

“I felt something strange from before, but isn’t a Vice Admiral superior to a Major?”

“That’s why they say rookies don’t know anything.”

Major showed us a casual expression while shaking his head, then placed his gun into his backpack.

“Actually, a Major has the most authority in the army, it’s common knowledge. For instance, the Major in ‘The Last Army’ unhesitatingly killed his superiors.”

“Isn’t that a manga?”

“In the later stages of war in A Baoa Qu, didn’t the Major kill the Major General? But he wasn’t even interrogated.”

“That’s an anime!” And also it’s because he lost the war.

“Oh yeah, did you guys find out where the office of Tabara-gumi is?”

Completely ignoring my objections, Major changed the topic.

“Investigation must start from spying. Look at the pin-shaped spying device, compared to the ones last year, it’s ability to receive sound and lasting power has already tripled.”

Major took out some suspicious devices from his backpack and arranged them on the ground.

“So Miss Detective is friends with a lot of bad people……” Meo said in a low voice.

“This job can’t be done by the kind common people. Major, you should know the address of the company, right? Then set it up there first. Though we only found out one of the locations of Tabara-gumi.” Major recorded the address that Alice said in his phone. “Tabara-gumi is a yakuza gang at the bottom of the yakuza hierarchy, but if they have connections with other gangs of a higher rank , the time required for the investigation would increase drastically.”

“There’s no problem even if we need to set up one or two hundred spying devices, but we need someone to listen to and reorganize the information, and I can’t help out with that. So we can only set it up at two places, at most. That’s my job anyways.”

“We would know the identity of the people related to this if only we know the source of the money. They probably know more about Kusakabe Masaya, too. Compared with chasing a hidden rabbit, it would be easier to follow the hunting hounds…… Mnn.”

Tearing down the paper from the fax machine, Alice looked through the contents for a few seconds, crumpled it up and threw it to her pillow, saying:

“Kusakabe Masaya did not take anyone’s money.”

“Really?”

Meo and I said at the same time.

“Don’t get so happy so soon.”

Alice pressed her head on Meo’s chest as she started hugging Alice tightly again.

“If my assumption is correct, defalcating the company wouldn’t be so troublesome. What a pity.”

“What…… does that mean?”

The problem is, Alice would just say the lines that detectives from anywhere, anytime to answer my questions (as usual)—

“I can’t disclose that information as of now.”

I sighed impatiently. Alice continued:

“I’ve mentioned this before, the truths that I got to know is only a portion of what is in God’s notebook, and is completely meaningless to the common man. To make it into valuable facts, we need to give more effort.”

“…… Mr. Assistant, can you translate for me? My dad didn’t do anything wrong, right?”

Meo said on top of Alice’s head.

“That means that we don’t have enough evidence, so we aren’t sure yet.”

After hearing my statement, Major nodded and stood up.

“Then I shall go forward and put in my best efforts. I’ve been late because there weren’t any incidents lately, but I feel excited when I think that I can try out my new works! I guarantee you that I would even clearly record how many times the yakuza hiccupped for you to listen to.”

After randomly saying some dangerous actions, the silhouette clad in military clothing disappeared out of the room. Alice said:

“Narumi, please remember that we do not need facts in the case this time.”

“…… What?”

“The case this time is different from what happened in Angel Fix. Our job is to protect Meo and to locate Kusakabe Masaya, isn’t that right?”

Alice raised her head to look at me, while Meo nodded in my stead.

“So we don’t need to worry about digging out the truth from the grave. If the case requires it, you must be prepared mentally for the truth and facts to get twisted.”

“Do you mean making decisions without evidence?”

“You really are a person who only knows literary works.”

About these matters, I already decided to do so even though I have not resolved to do it. I am different from Alice, I don’t have a need to know every single thing, it’s just that I don’t know what I should do. And only at these moments, I would admire Alice for her resolve.

“If so, then take Meo back to Master’s room.”

“That won’t do, I haven’t dried your hair yet.”

“You hear that? She actually said something like that. I explained quite a few times that having hot wind blown on one’s face is very painful, but she just wouldn’t listen. Really……”

But I didn’t listen to Alice’s instructions this time. Isn’t it better for Meo to finish taking care of her hair before leaving?

“Oi, let go of me, Meo! Narumi, don’t move, why aren’t you listening to me!?”

Ignoring the noisy Alice in Meo’s hands, I walked out of the office.

<center>*</center>

What should we do next? While walking down the stairs, I thought of what we could do, but it really seems that there’s nothing else to do anymore. The small, dark space behind the kitchen backdoor was deserted, and that made me somewhat depressed. So I’m a person who doesn’t know what to do if other people don’t order me around.

Although I don’t have to work today (As I’m still on probation, I only need to work on Fridays and Saturdays), but since I was free anyways, I’d just go help out Min-san. As I was about to open the backdoor, my phone started to ring.

‘Narumi, please help me.’

Tetsu-senpai’s agitated voice came from the phone all of a sudden.

“Wha- What’s wrong?”

It was the first time I heard Tetsu-senpai so agitated.

‘Where are you right now? At Hanamaru?’ “Eh? Yeah……” ‘I’ll tell you my location, just come here quickly!’ “Ah, wa- wait a sec……”

Tetsu-senpai started to tell me the address. I could hear the voice of another man near him, and there are also the sounds of things colliding. What’s wrong? Where in the world is he?

‘Don’t mention this to anyone, or I’ll get killed. Thanks for the help.’

He said something scary, then hung up. Though my question and queasiness swirled in my mind, I immediately started to pedal my bike.

The building that senpai mentioned was a journey of about five minutes from Hanamaru Ramen Shop on my bike. As there weren’t any notable shops or anything nearby, I only managed to find it after some effort. I rushed to the top of the seven storey building and pressed the doorbell of room 701.

A pale man of about forty could be seen from the gap that opened. His lower eyelid sagged, and there was a deep scar beside his mouth and nose. I was so taken aback that I took quite a few steps back until my back bumped into the wall.

“Tetsu, he’s a kid?”

The man looked back into the room and said.

“He’s the guy I mentioned, let him in.”

Tetsu-senpai’s voice came from the room, causing me to almost fall down onto the floor with relief after I heard it. That’s a relief, he’s still alive.

The man pulled down the door chain and opened the door wide, poking his head out to observe the corridors, then glared at me while raising his chin, telling me to go in.

“Come in!”

“Eh? Ah, erm……”

“Hurry up!”

I stepped into the room with my whole body rigid. The scarred man closed the door, locked it then double locked it with the door chain. Eh? Wait, is there a need to be so cautious?

Being brought into the innermost room of the room that had two rooms and a kitchen, I was dumbfounded by the hellish scene that I saw.

There were three other men in the room surrounding a square table. They were Tetsu-senpai, an afro guy wearing a flowery shirt, and a muscular octopus-like person who had his brows and hair shaved off. And then they’re—

“Pong!”

“Too weak! Tetsu, don’t you cry after this.”

On the table that had a layer of some sort of wooly paper on it, a whole lot of mahjong tiles were placed on it.

“Narumi, you’re just in time. Lend me two thousand.”

Tetsu-senpai, who originally had his back to me, suddenly turned his head over, and stretched out his hand with an agitated expression on his face.

“Eh? Ah, okay……” Because of his agitation, I subconsciously took out my wallet.

“Didn’t I tell you that you could just borrow from me?” Octy said.

“Nemo-san, if I borrowed it from you, you might just demand for ten percent interest after ten minutes.”

“Even so, you don’t need to borrow from some kid, do you?”

“I’ve already reached this state, there’s no reason for me not to show my cards!” Tetsu-senpai snatched the two thousand yen, threw it down on the table and pushed down the rest of his tiles.

“You actually collected that much pins.”

“Which tile were you waiting for?”

“Though I’m not too sure, but shouldn’t I be able to call mahjong if I have a lot of pins?” Tetsu-senpai said.

“The 2,5,8 pins and 3,6,9 pins are six…… Wait!” I unintentionally interrupted, then roared at senpai: “What on Earth are you doing!?”

“Can’t you see? We’re playing mahjong!”

I flew over here just because I was worried about you, you idiotic gambler!

“It can’t be helped, as I don’t even have the money to call yaku. Whoa, tsumo! Dealer wins, three straight wins with three north winds (Z: Mahjong terms are making me dizzy)......”

What do you mean by it can’t be helped? Tetsu-senpai had a huge comeback after receiving my two thousand yen, and ignored me, who was still furious. The gambling that took place on the table was different from my understanding of mahjong. Not only that there’s only three players (The guy who brought me into the room only helps to pour the coffee and change the ten thousand yen, and is not taking part), directly using cash to replace tokens is also something to be in awe of. If anyone wins, cash flew all over the table. The method of calculating the points seemed to be different as well……

The two thousand yen that I provided increased drastically and halved again, making me tremble in fear.

“Tetsu, do you want to have lunch together? What about you, Gu-san?”

After about an hour, Octy stood up. The afro guy called Gu-san shook his head.

“I have to look at some pawned items.”

“That’s too bad.”

Listening to the conversation of the yakuza (probably) from afar, I felt somewhat dizzy because of the tiredness that suddenly welled up in me. Fortunately, senpai won some money. Thank God…… I was just thinking that when— “Nemo-san, here’s the two hundred thousand I owe you.” “Okay!” He immediately handed the stack of cash that he won to Nemo-san.

“That’s all of it.” Senpai’s expression was like he got rid of a huge burden.

` “My two thousand yen……”

“Oh yeah, just let me owe you that for the moment. If possible, just forget about it!”

“How can I forget about it!? Two thousand yen is a lot!”

After walking out of the building, Octy brought Tetsu-senpai and I to a sushi shop for some reason. According to him, it seemed like it was because they needed a player to join their game, so he lent Tetsu-senpai two hundred thousand without interest, even promising him not to collect an entry fee and to treat senpai to lunch, so that he would join their game. That would mean senpai already lost two hundred thousand before I even reached there. It’s too scary. Being squeezed in the middle of senpai and Octy in the sushi shop, my hand holding the cup trembled. And also, why are we sitting like this? Why am I in a pincer attack!?

“Oh, I see. So this is the guy who dealt with the kids who sold the drug. I’ve heard of it before. I really can’t tell that you’re that audacious. I’ll treat, so eat up.”

It seems that the yakuza heard about the incident before this. Octy seemed abnormally friendly. Really, don’t treat me like this. I could only timidly order kappa maki rolls and tamago sushis to eat. Then Octy asked me: “Well? Why don’t you just quit school and join our gang?” He actually asked me a thing like that. Senpai, help!

“Nemo-san, Narumi is a talented person who is shouldering the future of the NEETs, so please don’t ask him to join your gang.” And don’t just tell me to shoulder such a thing!

“So you two are old friends…… right?”

I frantically changed the topic like a coward.

“No, it’s our first time meeting. You could say that we’re friends of a friend. We just had our first conversation through the phone just now, and he said that they’re lacking a player.”

I nearly spitted out the kappa maki roll in my mouth. The first time!?

“I was surprised too.” He doesn’t seem to be surprised to me. “He’s quite famous, so I heard about him. I heard that he’s a crazy idiot. I was just joking, but I didn’t really think that he would actually come, but that isn’t really related to someone’s bravery or anything. What a pity, I wanted to let him owe us some money so that he would join our gang.”

I stared blankly at senpai’s face. Doesn’t he want to live anymore?

“Our gang would grow, it’s a share with potential. And you don’t even have a job, right?”

Ahhhh, that’s bad, he came back to the same topic again.

“I’m really good at palmistry. How about it? Would you like me to read yours?”

Octy forcibly grabbed my right hand and touched the lines on my palm with his fingers.

“See? Your heart line is longer than your head line, this type of palm is extremely suited to become yakuza.” Are there even anyone whose head line is longer than their heart line!? Is this guy an idiot!? But I dare not rebuke him, for fear of being killed.

“I’m good at astrology too. When is your birthday?”

“…… October thirty first.”

“Then you’re a scorphio. Scorpios are really suited! The people born between first of March and February twenty eighth are suited to being yakuza.”

Just say that everyone are suited!

“Nemo-san, what’s your horoscope?”

“I’m a yakuza.” (Z: Horoscopes in Japanese have a ‘za’ behind them. Here, Nemo-san is trying to make a pun)

“I know that!”

Ahhh, I’m finished…… My tongue slipped, so I’ll get killed. Octy laughed heartily while hitting my back, causing the counter of the sushi shop to sway.

“You really have potential Why don’t you just join our gang with Tetsu?”

“I’m not joining such a troublesome job.” Senpai answered. He’s so calm that it’s annoying.

I ordered only kappa maki rolls. I frantically stuffed them into my mouth, focusing on the taste of the cucumbers.

And so the two chatted beside me, and the conversation was steered to the direction of the case.

“Nemo-san, you know Kusakabe Masaya, right? He once worked in Osaka.”

“…… Are you involved in it?”

Octy lowered his voice. I was surprised, and drank a mouthful of tea to dilute the taste of the sushi.

Oh, I see. So Tetsu-senpai wasn’t just playing mahjong for fun, but collecting information.

“Did you play mahjong with me just because of this? Idiot…… It’d be better if you don’t meddle in this. Though only Tabara is involved for now, other gangs might be involved after this. This isn’t a matter that you can get off the hook so easily.”

“You should’ve told me such constructive advice much earlier.”

Octy punched Tetsu-senpai from above my head. A ‘thud’ sound came from above. His punch was blocked by senpai’s palm.

“Hmph!” Octy sat down again, and the chef looked at this side with a scared expression on his face from the other side of the counter.

“What is your relationship with Kusakabe?”

“I can’t say that. Nemo-san, please tell us everything you know about him.”

“Well aren’t you greedy. I’ve already told you all that I know.”

I observed Octy’s actions in fear. His shadow caused by his sunken eyes looked even more frightening from the side. As I was about to catch hold of Tetsu-senpai’s hands and escape, Octy started to say:

“For what reason do I have to tell you that?”

“Didn’t you undergo the sake ceremony with Kusakabe? Though you can’t help in this matter because of your opposing stands, you can just tell me anything you know, you might be able to help him.”

Octy squinted his eyes.

“Where did you learn about this?”

“That’s confidential.”

Tetsu-senpai lightly brushed off the topic, tossing his sushi into his mouth. Then, he suddenly pushed me away and pleaded to Octy with his head lowered:

“Please.”

At that moment, all was silent in the shop, even the chef was waiting with bated breath while holding his knife. As for me, I was so scared that I couldn’t even look at Octy’s face.

Finally, Octy spoke:

“Do you have any proof you aren’t Kusakabe’s enemy?”

“Only my life.”

I felt a chill on my back— both Tetsu-senpai, who said those words, and Octy, who laughed after he heard that, made me feel ghastly.

“We talked on the phone. Though I wasn’t the one who picked up the phone.”

I nearly asked: “When was that?” but forced myself to stay silent.

As Octy looked at me with an expression that I wasn’t sure if it was in anger or in laughter, making me feel extremely intimidated.

“He called yesterday, so he’s probably still in this area.”

“By phone? Why?” Tetsu-senpai asked.

“He asked me to help smuggle him out of the country, but I couldn’t comply with his request as it was too sudden.”

Smuggle him out of the country?

“Is he thinking of hiding in another country?”

“It seems like he didn’t just ask us, but other units as well. He’s asking about Korea, Hong Kong or Singapore, so he’s probably trying to run away.”

Hiding in another country— then what about Meo? I gulped down the bad thoughts and the taste of the kappa maki rolls with a mouthful of tea.

“With Kusakabe’s contacts, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to hide somewhere in Kansai. I really don’t know what he’s thinking, asking about this and that even though he’s on the run. He’ll die if a brainless guy tells Tabara-gumi about this.”

“It’s indeed strange. He could actually run far, far away by now.”

“As for you, you probably know where the girl and the two hundred million is, right?”

Tetsu-senpai’s eyebrows didn’t even twitch because of this question. But when he saw my face, Octy suddenly laughed.

“Tetsu, you really have some guts, but this guy has the answer all over his face.”

I was so abashed that I wanted to run away immediately from the scene, and I sneaked a peek at Tetsu-senpai’s expression. Is this guy really okay? He wouldn’t just sell us out, right? Octy smacked my back and suddenly recovered his solemn expression.

“It’s not the company’s money, obviously.”

“Then what is the relationship between the company and Tabara-gumi?” Tetsu-senpai asked.

“You’re meddling in this even though you don’t know?” Octy wiped his bald forehead with a tissue. “The current head of the company is Mikawa, and he borrowed money from Tabara when he first started the company with Kusakabe. Of course, the debts haven’t been cleared yet, so they couldn’t refuse any request from Tabara. Kusakabe was in the yakuza, so he knew from the start that it would turn out like that, which is why he dislikes that. But no money means no work done.”

“Which means, Kusakabe could only give in.”

“Probably.”

“Then where did the money come from?”

“How would I know about that? I can only tell you about this.”

After walking out of the sushi shop, Octy immediately lowered his voice and said:

“You should get this clear, you should first join them if you want to get information from a gang. Probably many people mentioned this to you before, right? You really should consider it.”

“I’ll be a NEET forever!”

Octy roared in laughter, his voice so loud that it almost broke my back. He then pushed Tetsu-senpai in the chest and left after saying ‘I’ll leave Kusakabe to you’.

Seeing his silhouette disappear from the streets, I used all my energy to heave a sigh. Tetsu-senpai laughed while stroking my back.

“Narumi, you don’t need to be that nervous.”

“…… Why did you let me sit in the middle?”

“Well, I heard that he’s a gay. So that’s just a precaution……”

Oh please, how is that a precaution!?

“Never mind, never mind. They have absolutely no connections with Tabara. Having connections with yakuza can be helpful sometimes.”

Oh, I see. So Tetsu-senpai’s network of contacts is formed like this. I felt extremely weak, and sat on the separator between the sushi shop and the parking lot. I’d probably be unable to move for awhile.

“We had quite the haul today. Narumi, thanks. I was worried of what would happen if I didn’t get a tsumo. I really don’t want to owe them money the first time I meet them.”

“You actually found out that he’s Kusakabe’s friend, how did you do that……”

“Mnn? Oh, it wasn’t that hard.” Senpai answered casually: “I called all the Kansai yakuza that I know, and most of them went ‘What? What nonsense are you speaking?’ , until I hit the jackpot with Nemo-san. I gave a lot of calls, it’s so tiring.”

Is he kidding? This guy really don’t want to live anymore.

“Not giving up is the key to being a good detective.”

I never would have thought that a NEET would tell me to not give up, but I can’t deny that he’s right this time.

“At least we know that Kusakabe is still in the area. It’s lucky that Nemo-san is a person that you can talk with, really.”

“Yeah…… He seemed that he was quite decent.”

He’s unlike the yakuza who I had in mind, the ones who speak rudely and ask unreasonable demands, it’s just that he looks somewhat scary. But senpai’s expression suddenly became solemn.

“Narumi, listen, you have to remember this.”

He caught hold of my hand and pulled me up.

“There is no good yakuza on this world, a good yakuza is a dead yakuza.”

Is that so…….

“…… Yondaime too?” I suddenly thought of him, and asked randomly.

“I killed that guy about fifty times already, so he should be a pretty decent yakuza.”

Tetsu-senpai answered while smiling. Wasn’t he killed for about fifty times as well?

“We could only wait for news from Yondaime now. If he’s still in the city, then Hirasaka-gumi can find him.”
<center>*</center>

I was already deprived of sleep that day, and was also dead tired due to running around, so I fell asleep as soon as I got home.

When I was woken up by a blaring noise, it was already pitch dark. Not knowing that I fell asleep while lying on my stomach, I struggled quite some time even to stand up.

I even forgot that I should just turn on the lights, but kept searching in the dark for the source of the loud noise. It was the music of ‘Colorado Bulldog’, which meant that Alice was calling.

After locating my phone after some time, I saw that it was five minutes after midnight. Why is she calling me at this time?

‘Someone reported that they saw Kusakabe Masaya. The photos Yondaime distributed finally worked, so we’re starting to spy on him. Come here immediately.’

“…… Now……? I’m really tired.”

My mind was still foggy, unsure of the situation. Someone saw Kusakabe Masaya? Didn’t we just send the photos half a day before? Aren’t they quick.

‘I’m telling you to come here immediately. Do you mean to say that sleeping for another hour means immediately in your dictionary?’

“No, alright, I’m coming. But can’t you just wait for another hour?”

‘It can’t be helped if you’re late. But I would confirm that you got lost on the way here, then distribute the photo of you sleeping happily in my dolls with your mouth wide open to, for people to search for you.’

“When did you take that photo!” Any hint of sleepiness immediately disappeared, then I jumped down from the bed.

‘You know that I get nervous easily, so I will only wait thirty minutes because I’m too worried of your safety.’

Then, she hung up. I threw my phone onto my bed, then put on a jacket.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 2 Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Kamisama no Memochou|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 2 Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 2 Chapter 1

2012-01-04T09:19:40Z

203.116.187.1:

One day in the spring holidays, a client suddenly appeared at the NEET Detective Agency, an odd Thai girl who was always unusually excited.

In the bag that her father left behind after disappearing, it was filled with a hefty sum of money— two hundred million yen.

The girl’s request was— “Please save my dad.”

The young NEET detective, Alice, who wore pajamas and wouldn’t take a step out of her room and me as her assistant, borrowed the power of Tetsu-senpai, Major and Hiro of the NEET Detective Squad to start our investigation. Even the leader of the juvenile delinquents, Yondaime was dragged into it, the matter developed into an unexpected direction—

This is the second episode youthful NEET- Teen Story that was somewhat unbearable, somewhat funny but also with a hint of courage.

''Narumi Fujishima''

Until last year, I was still an ordinary high school student.

Due to the incidents that occurred during last winter, my whole third semester was ruined.

Even so, I still managed to advance to second year, just like a miracle, but I still couldn’t follow what the teachers taught, and failed in almost all of my exams. When I finally came to my senses, my tragic life was already at the edge of a cliff.

I knew that I couldn’t just become a useless bum, so I put in more effort and accepted two part time jobs.

One of them is a worker at a ramen shop, while the other is…… a detective’s assistant.

……. It seems like I might have chosen the wrong place to have a part time job, and one of my employers is a NEET too.

Furthermore, NEETs walk all around at the place where I work, everyone trying to bully me into being a NEET.

As for who they are—

''Alice''

This girl is a NEET detective, and is one of my employers.

She’s a hikikomori that almost never went out, so her way of ordering people around is quite impolite.

She thinks that a detective’s assistant (me) is just a useful vacuum machine that could talk.

Being physically weak, can’t live by herself but is good at arguing, whenever I complain even a bit, she would immediately give me a five thousand times scolding.

Really, why must I do things for this fellow?

Actually, I’m not really sure myself, but if I’m not at her side, she probably won’t even eat her meals properly……

''NEET Detective Squad''

Surrounding Alice’s side, the group of people at the boundary of society who would not lose to Alice.

No matter what difficulties they encounter, they still wouldn’t give up, wouldn’t turn back and wouldn’t work, those are their principles. Sigh~ I really can’t stand this.

''Tetsu-senpai''

He studied at my school a few years ago and dropped out, and is now an unbeatable pachinko master.

He learned boxing before, has acute vision like a superman, but it was only used used to bet on slot machines.

Although he’s quite reliable sometimes, his view of money is absolutely terrible.

''Major''

Although he looked like that, he is definitely a university student, and an unbelievable military otaku.

Having programming skills that even university professors admire, but it was only used on wire tapping and taking photos secretly.

''Hiro''

Though he is often mistaken as a model, he’s actually just a gigolo who stays at women’s houses.

Having an appearance that made people want to look twice at him and speaking skills that are like mellow wine, but they were only used to hit on girls.

He made many women cry for him before, and really might be stabbed somewhere some day.

''Min-san''

The boss that opened a ramen shop below the detective agency, my second employer.

She’s one of the rare normal people around me. She kept taking care of me, so I really couldn’t raise my head in front of her.

Her temper is quite terrible, so I’m somewhat afraid of her, and that’s why I can’t say that her ramen is actually not really good.

''Yondaime''

The leader of juvenile delinquents in the town, and has a deep connection with the people in the detective squad.

He’s very foul-mouthed and impatient, but I’ve heard that he’s very good at taking care of people, even better than the guys in the detective squad.

His hobby is sewing, and he has a professional-level skill. I might be killed by him if I accidentally said that out, so I dare not mention it to anyone.

''Meo''

On the first day that I started to work at the ramen shop, I was ordered around by Alice as usual, and was having doubts about my life. On that boring Saturday afternoon, she appeared before me.

She’s a girl who gets excited abnormally easily, and had lived in Thailand. Also, she even asked the detective agency for help.

Although I’m a detective’s assistant, I was still taken aback…… I really didn’t think that someone would actually have a request for us.

I originally thought that it wouldn’t be anything big since she looked for the NEET detective.

In the end—

She brought a Boston bag that was stuffed full of reality—

Two hundred million yen.

That amount of money could just mess up anyone’s life.

Meo said: “Please save my dad.”

And so— the matter started to develop.

Developing towards an unexpected, heartbreaking darkness.

Miracles can happen once to anyone, but when it happens, they never notice.

<My Name Is Shingo> Kazuo Umezo.

<center>*</center>

A small portion of people misunderstood that the twenty third district of Tokyo is just a city full of buildings from north to south, and I was one of them before I moved here. In reality, the only place where there are skyscrapers piercing the skies is only the area near to the station, while flat, short houses surround the place. The asphalt road that was uneven because of the subsidence of the land, the smelly rivers that were emitting a pungent, sour odor, and the cultivated fields that I’m not sure if anyone is tending to it and the high school that I’m going to, all of these are in a two kilometers radius of that area; but it was just separated by a street, the radiance of the neon lights couldn’t be seen anymore.

Though Hanamaru Ramen Shop is also at a place five minutes from the station, it is also surrounded by broken down buildings, one of the shops that are shrouded in darkness. It is just a small shop that had only five tables in it, aside from the occasional drunken people going inside the shop at night, I almost never saw anyone going into the shop in the daytime.

So my employment test was held on the thirty first of March in the spring holidays, on about one thirty in the afternoon when there’s nobody in the shop.

“Listen, if even a little thing spills out, don’t you even think that I’ll pass you.”

Min-san said while piling trays onto my hands; and bowls that were still puffing out white smoke were placed on the tray. She’s the young owner of the Hanamaru Ramen Shop, with her long hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a T-back vest and showing her fit shoulders. White sarashi is used to bind her breasts. It really isn’t hard to see that she went for body building classes, and is really not a person that a physically weak high school person can go against. But I still couldn’t help but retort:

“Erm…… Why am I doing a thing like this for my employment test?”

“Don’t you know how many bowls you’ve broken before!? You’re just not concentrating enough! So if you can get all of these to Alice safely, I’ll hire you.”

I once helped the shop to do things like washing the dishes and serving them, I caused great losses at the same time. Actually, I should really thank kind Min-san for giving me a chance by testing me.

“Ready, start. The time limit is five minutes.”

“There’s even a time limit!?”

Being glared at by Min-san, I could only carefully walk out from the kitchen backdoor.

Alice lives in the eighth room on the third floor of the same building in Hanamaru Ramen Shop. You could reach it after walking up the stairs and then going about five meters in the direction of the corridor, using not even one minute when going there from the shop on the first floor.

But at this moment, I used two seconds just to walk up a step, so my back was soaking wet when I reached the signboard with ‘NEET Detective Agency’ on it.

As both of my hands were holding trays, I could only press the doorbell with my elbow. Nobody answered, but only a blue light flashed.

“Alice, please, open the door for me.” I begged.

‘…… Just enter yourself. The door isn’t locked.’

The impatient voice of a young girl came from the other side of the interphone.

“I can’t use my hands, I’m holding two trays.”

‘You could just place them on the floor!’

“No, it would definitely fall down.”

‘What are you talking about? It’s just placing the tray on the floor, don’t you even know how to do such a simple thing?’

“There’s a tray on my head too!”

Hearing my tragic shout, the door finally opened. A young girl stuck her head out of the door. She had long, black hair that flowed to the ground, large eyes that could sparkle, wore pajamas with cute pictures of bears on it that showed her pale, sickly skin.

“…… Are you performing an acrobatic stunt?”

My hands were holding a tray each, and there’s another on top of my head. Cooly looking at the trays that I was holding while trembling, Alice said in an annoyed voice:

“This scene is actually quite interesting. I feel like taking a commemorative photo of this and showing it to Tetsu, Major and the others. They would be delighted. I’ll get my digital camera, and you just maintain your current posture.”

“No, that’s not important!” I frantically called Alice who was about to walk into the room: “Anyways…… Erm…… Can you please help me to take it?”

I used my gaze to point at the shaky tray on top of my head, but Alice shrugged.

“Please think of the difference in height between you and I, and of my arms. Isn’t that just impossible? Just walk into the room and find somewhere to place it! Remember to take off your shoes first. If you dare to spill anything, I’ll have you in charge of cleaning the place until you wax the floor.”

As usual, Alice is still being merciless.

I could only maintain the posture of my upper body, lightly took off my shoes, walked to the table in the small kitchen, placed the trays on my hands on it and then lightly took down the tray on my head. I heaved a huge sigh that my soul almost came out, and felt like curling up on the chilly floor in this air-conditioned room.

“…… Ah, Master? Mnn, Narumi just came.” The sounds of Alice and Min-san talking on the phone came from the room: “…… No, I don’t think he spilled anything. You’re so kind, Master. If it were me, I would just tell him to take buckets and not bowls.”

This girl really does like to joke around. While complaining in my heart, I placed the three bowls on the same tray and served it to the bedroom.

Three walls in the room are covered with racks that are as tall as the ceiling, and some odd machines are placed on it, while countless wires tangled together around them. A large bed is placed in the middle of the room, while teddy bears of various sizes and types are littered on the carpet; Alice sat in the middle of it, like she was surrounded by a sea of bears.

“You’re not asking me to eat all three, are you?”

Alice glared at the bowls that I served her. Not only is this pajamas-clad girl picky and had a tiny appetite, every time I have to put in a lot of effort so that she would finish all the food. A small amount of different-flavored ramen were placed in the three bowls.

“Perhaps Min-san thought that I would spill one or two.”

“Why didn’t you spill them? You’re even so slow that you wouldn’t notice when a praying mantis stops on your nose too!”

Why am I scolded even for this…..?

I pulled out the moveable table that was like the ones in a hospital ward, placed the tray onto it and pushed it in front of Alice:

“Just choose a bowl that you like, I’ll eat the other two.”

The pajamas-clad girl looked so closely at the bowls that her face almost fell into in, observing each bowl in detail.

“I would like the ramen to be lighter.”

She looked at me with a pleading expression.

“I heard that all of them are new creations, so I don’t know how’s the taste.”

“Ngh—”

After wavering for a long time, she finally chose the bowl with a clearer soup. But after she took a sip, she couldn’t say anything.

“What is it?”

“…… so sour.”

Sour? The ramen is sour?

Ah! When I think about it, Min-san is indeed making odd ramen these days.

“Uuu…… I’ve been tricked by the color of the soup. I’m too careless, there’s actually such a trap in it.”

Alice’s eyes were full of tears, but she still placed a noodle after another into her mouth.

“These two seems to be more normal, do you want to change?”

I held my portion of the ramen while sitting in front of the bed. But Alice glared fiercely at me with her tearful eyes:

“How could I trust a person who can eat the bowl of noodles as if nothing had happened!? I chose this bowl myself, so if I listened to your advice and changed it, but still don’t like it, wouldn’t I be in a bigger predicament? How would you compensate for my reservations then?”

I originally wanted to rebuke her: It’s just a bowl of ramen, nothing special, but after seeing Alice sucking in the noodles while going ‘Uuu— Uuu—‘, I really felt that she’s quite pitiful, so I shut my mouth. I speedily finished the two bowls of ramen and walked to the small kitchen.

Opening the door of the fridge, I saw that the fridge was full of 350ml red cans of Dr. Pepper. I took out one of them and handed it to Alice. Recently, I’ve learnt the subtleties of opening the can first before handing it to her. Alice snatched the can from me with trembling hands and drank it to the finish.

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.”

Alice breathed out deeply, becoming relieved as if her brain had melted. She continued: “Narumi, get me another two cans .” and swung her empty can around. The eating habits of this pajamas clad girl is terrible, and almost lived on Dr. Pepper. Being said that my sense of taste shouldn’t be tasted by a person who drank unhealthy drinks while eating ramen really is unpleasant.

“Humans can only live while supporting each other, I’ve strongly feel agree with this statement at this moment. Good thing you’re at my side.”

Alice said after finishing her ramen and her third can of Dr. Pepper, crawling into the mat while smiling to me. For such a sudden movement to happen, I was shocked and almost spilled the bowl with my elbow. Calm down. This fellow would always say these meaningful things once in a while, and besides I haven’t even been supported by Alice before. No…… Well, I can’t really say that, but how should I say it?

“That’s right, you said that you want to work at Hanamaru, so what brought you here today?”

Alice said, with her head sticking out of the mat.

“I can assure you that you’re a person that lacks any wish to work from the day you were born, so you don’t need to trouble Master just to prove this.”

“I don’t need these assurances.” It’s more like you’re deciding on my life randomly. “I really think that Min-san has too much work, and it’s more convenient for me to work here.”

“Convenient?”

“Then I could come here almost every day.”

Because of the case that Alice solved this winter, I’m now Alice’s assistant. Although Alice is a detective, she’s still a hikikomori who doesn’t go out or meet society, and I’ve never seen other clients having any request for her. So the job of an assistant is usually to help to carry food and Dr. Pepper, and also be bullied by Alice. Compared with this, it might be better if I find some other place to work at, and wouldn’t waste time so much.

“Hmph! I didn’t even know that you were that passionate about your work as an assistant.”

You’re the one who told me to come everyday!

“Anyhow, not many people are willing to work at the ramen shop with such meager wages at this time, so it’s a help to Master, at least. But as soon as Ayaka’s out of the hospital, you’ll get fired at once.”

My hands that were collecting the bowls stopped.

As I was unable to immediately respond to the name that Alice mentioned suddenly, I gazed at the soup in the bowl and turned my head away to look at the bed.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you just planning to work there until Ayaka returns?”

“No…… Mnn, erm…… I’ve never thought about that before. Because……”

Ayaka.

She jumped down from the top of the school building on the start of this year, and is still lying on a bed in the hospital, in a coma. She’s my classmate, and also my only friend. It’s just that she wouldn’t talk right now, and couldn’t walk around.

Ayaka who’s like that…… would she still come back?

“The doctors said too that there’s still a chance, didn’t they? And weren’t you the first person to hear that?”

“It’s not wrong, but……”

I did some research myself too. If Ayaka’s current condition continued for three months and above, it would be called a continuous block of consciousness— people in a vegetative state. If the doctors deemed that there’s no chance of recovery, most hospitals would force their family to handle the necessary procedures for exiting the hospital. Although there were cases of recovery, most of them just recovered to the extent that they could use their facial expressions to convey their emotions, or use their mouth to eat food, that’s it.

If she could return to her normal life, THAT would be a miracle.

“You don’t believe that miracles can happen?”

“Alice, so you believe in them?”

“Of course. Miracles can happen once to anyone, it’s just that most people don’t notice it when it happens.”

I’m not sure who said that, but it’s a really stupid way of thinking. Telling me that miracles would never happen might make me feel better. If things go that way, doesn’t it mean that the miracle of Ayaka and I has already been used up during the time that we spent on the rooftop, and things couldn’t be turned back anymore?

“It doesn’t matter. Since it happened the first time, it would happen a second time. Believe it!” A woolen mat was on Alice’s shoulders, and she smiled while hugging her knees. “ Rainfall in the Sahara Desert, the Golden Gate in the United States and the Taj Mahal in India, test tube babies that are given birth after their parents pass away, Jimmy Hendrix and the Tower of Babel, all of them are miracles, miracles and miracles! So there would be one day when all of mankind would become friends with each other.”

I still can’t understand what’s with Alice’s habit of using allusions, but I still forced out a smile to answer her.

“Our meeting is one, the fact that you are willing to come here is another, and even the fact that you didn’t spill any of the bowls and safely brought the bowls up here is one— all of them are miracles.”

“…… Well, wasn’t that smooth.”

I stood up. That’s right, since I’ve passed the employment test, I should hurry up and get to where Min-san is! I can start work from today.

As I was about to walk out of the room with the three bowls and trays, Alice halted me:

“Master said in the phone just now……”

“What did she say?”

“She said, you must put the bowls on your head when you’re going back too.”

“I’ve never heard about that!”

<center>*</center>

Even so, saying that encountering other people is a miracle is quite a nice way of putting it. Especially to Alice, a hikikomori, while I’m about the same, as we would feel uncomfortable after speaking to a stranger for over twenty seconds.

The people who I met in the past had some influence on me, more or less, and it’s because of this that I’ve not fallen to even lower depths right now. Though I didn’t become a decent person because of this, and I just lived groggily until my sixteenth year. In the wilderness that is filled with limitless possibilities, if I really lived up till now because of meeting other people, then these flags in my life are really precious— although I don’t really think that those are anything to be thankful for.

So the girl that I met right on the day when I started working after passing Hanamaru’s employment test, would probably be a miracle too?

The girl appeared at about three in the afternoon, when I was melting pieces of chocolates using the double boiling method in the kitchen. Min-san stood further inside, and was using an electric blender to blend egg white and make meringue. The true selling point of Hanamaru is actually the ice cream that is even tastier than the one made by professional dessert chef. The sweet smell that fills the whole shop caused the whole shop to become unlike a ramen shop, and there were nobody on the seats anyway.

And it might be because of this reason, the girl that kicked open the door while saying “Sorry for bothering you!” stared for awhile after seeing the scene in the shop. She seriously stared at the steel pan in my pan that was filled with chocolate for two seconds, and then took two steps back to reconfirm the portiere in front of the shop.

She was a striking girl who had coffee-colored skin. She looked about one or two years younger than me, and her hair that reached her chest were casually tied into two braids. White words were printed on the blue shirt that she wore, it seemed like words used by a minority race; while a very, very short Denim pant was on the lower part of her body. The girl’s legs were long and slim, if she said that she just swam past the Pacific Ocean to the Tokyo Bay, I might have really believed her. A coffee colored Boston bag was slung on her shoulder, and it felt somewhat uncoordinated on her.

When our gazes met, the girl clapped her hands together , said ‘Sawasdee’ and lightly nodded her head lightly. I subconsciously answered her with the same sentence. Eh…… Where is she from?

The girl reconfirmed the words on the portiere hanging on the door and asked:

“Erm, are these words supposed to be read as ‘Hanamaru’?”

Her pronunciation of Japanese was quite accurate. But the question suddenly made me feel somewhat guilty, and could only hide the steel pan filled with chocolate beside the sink and answered:

“Well…… Probably?”

“Probably!?” the Boston bag on her shoulder almost fell down. "Sorry, I’m not really good at reading kanji.”

Huh? Is there even a kanji on there?”

“Oh? Then how should you read this?”

The girl pointed at a corner of the portiere and asked.

“…… That’s a drawing of Naruto.”

“So you read this as ‘Naruto’ huh? Japanese is really deep……”

“Not really……”

“That’s odd, or did I just mistaken the place? I’ve heard that it’s a shop owned by an understanding, beautiful big sister.” The expression on the girl’s face seemed troubled, and she looked around repeatedly.

“Mnn, then it’s probably not this shop. Min-san is not understanding at a— OUCH! That hurts!”

Min-san who walked out of the kitchen vigorously knocked on the back of my head.

“What are you doing, why did you lie to her?”

Min-san pushed me, who was hugging the bump on my head, away and put on her apron:

“Welcome. It’s still business time right now, so please have a seat!”

“Ah, sorry, I’m not here for ramen.”

And then the unbelievable words came out from her mouth.

“I’ve heard that there’s a detective agency above the ramen shop.”

Min-san and I looked at each other.

That was the first client of the NEET Detective Agency that I came into contact with.

<center>*</center>

“It’s rare that we have a visitor. Narumi, give her a can of Dr. Pepper too.”

Although she never did offer me cans of Dr. Peppers (I don’t really want them, either) , Alice told me to give the girl a can. She kneeled on the mat, probably because she thought that it was courtesy when dealing with visitors?

As she was about to step into the air conditioned office, the girl hesitated in front of the door because of the coldness of the room; while after she walked into the room and saw Alice’s appearance, she was so surprised that her jaw fell open, the Boston bag on her shoulder dropping onto the floor. What an easily read girl.

“…… You’re the detective?”

“I’m a NEET detective. I’m Alice, and my assistant standing there is Naru…… Uwaaa!”

The girl supported both of her hands on the bedside and stuck her face close to Alice. She observed Alice in detail in an extremely short distance, and seemed like she was sniffing the smell of Alice’s pajamas.

“Wh- What are you doing?”

“Can I hug you?”

“What nonsense are you talking about!?” Alice pushed the girl away with her whole face red and stepped back a few steps.

“Sorry, because I’ve never seen a detective like this, so……”

“So what? A client should behave like a client!”

“Can’t I? What about just a hug?”

“I’m not a doll!” Alice used the dolls nearby to build a wall and went back further to the direction of the bed.

“Really, Ayaka and Master are also like that, why do girls like to hug me so much? It’s so incomprehensible.”

No, I can understand why it’s like that. But I didn’t want to change the topic, so I didn’t speak.

“Hurry up and reveal your identity and the contents of your request. You aren’t here to play, are you?”

Alice said at the other side of the dolls while pouting.

“Ah, that’s right!” the girl shifted her elbows away from the side of the bed and said: “I’m Meo.”

When she was pronouncing her name, the tone of ‘Me’ was prolonged, while the end of the ‘o’ was closer to the tone of ‘u’, a pronunciation that isn’t present in Japanese. Next, she placed her hands on the two sides of her head and waved, just like the ears of an animal.

“Meo? Is that your name?” I couldn’t help but chip in.

“Yes, it means cat.”

“You’re from Thailand, right?” After Alice finished saying that, Meo’s eyes immediately widened:

“You know it? As expected from a detective.”

“It’s just Thai. What does that have to do with being a detective?”

“The way that Thai people gave names is so strange.”

Her name meant ‘cat’, is this a common thing in Thailand?

“Narumi, it’s called cheuulehn in Thai, and it means nickname. Most people in Thailand call people by their nicknames, because the names of some people are too long. Their culture doesn’t really care about names, and it’s said that hiding one’s true name could protect them from danger. As they didn’t want to be caught by the devil, they would intentionally give names of animals or arrange meaningless tones for a name.”

“So it can protect us from danger?” Meo said in surprise: “I didn’t even know that.”

…… Are you really a Thai?

“I came to Japan when I was about five, so I’m not too clear of things in Thailand.”

“Ah, so that’s why your Japanese is that good.”

“I learnt Japanese from my dad, and the big brothers who live in the same block as us. There are many ladies from Philippine and China there, but the big brothers there are mostly Japanese.”

“Mnn? You aren’t staying at the ‘Hello Palace’, are you?”

“Whoaaa, Miss Detective knows everything!”

Meo supported herself on the bedstead, her legs fidgeting non-stop.

“No, Hiro told me once before, he said that there’s a unique worker’s hostel there. What a small world this is.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of this detective agency from Hiro-san.”

Hearing Meo’s words, Alice and I looked at each other. So that’s how it is. Now we have some idea of what’s happening.

“A big sister from China live next to me, and Hiro lived there for a month or so too. It’s probably some time last summer? He taught me a lot of Japanese, and said that his job was difficult, and is called being a gigolo.”

“A gigolo is not an occupation!”

I unintentionally shouted out loud. Hiro is one of the NEETs who always hang out behind Hanamaru Ramen Shop, and is also a gigolo who always stays at women’s houses. What strange Japanese did he teach Meo?

“After that, Hiro was found by the security and was chased out. He told me when he left: If I have any problems, I could just ask for help at Hanamaru Ramen Shop.”

“So that’s how it is.” Alice sighed and shook her head: “Well, just ask Hiro to come over later, I have something to ask him. Anyhow, tell me about your problem first! That’s your reason for looking for me, right?”

After Alice finished speaking, Meo’s cheery expression suddenly clouded over.

“About noon, I received a phone call from dad.”

Meo sat in front of the bed and started to explain:

“He suddenly told me ‘Get the bag in the safe and look for a safe place to hide.’ I was really confused about the situation, but dad’s voice sounded really fierce, so I could only obediently listen to him……”

“This is the bag in the safe.” Meo pointed at the Boston bag at my foot and said.

“Mnn, it’s so heavy that it made me exhausted.”

“Did you try to contact your father?”

Meo’s expression clouded up even more:

“He told me not to contact his company, don’t go home temporarily, and then I couldn’t reach his phone anymore. Although he told me to hide, I didn’t really have any place to go to, so I remembered the detective agency that Hiro-san told me to go to.”

“What is your father’s name? What is his job?”

“His name is Kusakabe Masaya, he’s working at a company called Hello Corporation.”

Alice knotted her brows.

“I think Hiro mentioned this name before. He said that a yakuza man and his daughter lived next to him, probably those are you guys.”

“He’s not a yakuza anymore.”

…… not one anymore?

“I think he entered the gang when we were at Osaka, but he said that he got out of the gang already.”

A yakuza delinquent who exited his gang suddenly called his phone to hide, and to bring a big bag of luggage. This situation is unusual.

I looked at the Boston bag again— there wouldn’t be a bomb inside, would there?

“Have you seen what is inside?”

“No.”

“Then……” Alice lowered her voice, and shifted her foot from her bed to the floor. “If you don’t mind showing me, then please open the bag. But I need to tell you two, opening the bag is like pressing a switch, and you can’t turn back anymore.”

Meo and I looked at Alice at the same time. She still likes to suddenly say incomprehensible things that people don’t understand.

“…… A bomb wouldn’t be inside, would it?”

Meo and I asked at the same time. Alice’s lips curled upwards and shook her head:

“What do you think the thing that made the most people die in the world? It’s not a bomb or a poison, but information— the people who know must die. Even so, I still need to know what happened to your father before I could help you. If you are firm about this, then open it.”

It was as though I could hear the sound of Meo swallowing her saliva. The room was filled with an smell that was hard to describe— I really can’t differentiate the smell at that moment, was that the smell of danger? The smell of desire? Or is it what they call—

“Uu…….”

“Uwaa…….”

Meo and I made a shocked noise at the same time. There were countless Yukichi Fukuzawas staring at us from inside of the dark bag , and the bag was stuffed messily full of wads of cash. Although I knew that the atmosphere of money that was spread in the air was just an illusion, it was still the first time that I saw that much— probably about a hundred million in cash, so I couldn’t help but feel slightly drunk.

Meo’s mutterings broke the silence.

“…… Why is there so much money……”

“Is your family so wealthy that you have so much savings?”

“Our family is not rich!”

“Has this bag always been kept in the safe?”

After interrupting, I immediately realized that it was a stupid question. If the bag was always in the safe, how would Meo know about it? Meo closed her eyes, used her index finger to massage her temple, giving out a ‘Mnn—‘ sound and said after that:

“Sometimes, I would see dad bring the bag from his company….. Ah, I think it’s on each payday. I just felt: Wow, dad has so much wages! That’s so awesome.”

Who would have that much pay anyways!

“Alice, would this be the company’s money……”

“There is a possibility.”

A father who suddenly vanished told his daughter to hide with a hefty sum of cash, he’s probably hiding somewhere himself…… And this guy was once a yakuza too.

“That’s bad, should we call the police?”

I said lightly beside Alice’s year. Meo seemed to have heard my words, and walked slowly towards me while holding onto the bedstead.

“What do you mean? How’s my dad?”

“Nothing……” I couldn’t answer her for a moment, and stared at Alice.

“Your father might be involved in a crime.”

Hearing Alice’s words that were said in my stead, Meo’s expression suddenly froze.

“I think it’s better if we just tell the truth— your father might have cheated the company’s money, and ran away because his plan failed.”

“My dad would never do that!”

Meo forcefully pushed the dolls away and leapt onto the bed, grabbing Alice’s shoulders and shouting loudly.

“Please calm down, I’m just saying that there’s this possibility. Since your father told you not to get near your house or the company, that means that he doesn’t want anyone to know where you are, and there’s no news about him either—“

Meo seemed to ignore Alice’s words. She jumped down from the bed, grabbed the Boston bag and rushed to the entrance.

“Narumi!”

Not waiting for Alice’s words, I rushed over and caught hold of Meo’s shoulders. I, who was usually somewhat slow, could actually take action reflexively, I, myself was somewhat surprised too.

“Let go of me! Freak! Pervert! Old lecythus man! Machikane Fukukitaru! Nagoya chicken meat!”

Where on Earth did you learn these odd vocabularies? And you even pretended to be bad at Japanese ! Is it Hiro? Hiro must have taught them to her! And the ones she mentioned last aren’t even used to scold people! Ouch! Blast, don’t scratch me! Calm down! Stop fidgeting!

Although I was worried that the walls wouldn’t filter noise perfectly due to them being too thin, but I still caught hold of Meo and shouted in her ears:

“CALM DOWN! You don’t even know where your father is, so what can you do if you go out?”

“I’m going to look for him! My dad is not a thief!”

“What could you do even if—“

“Let go of me—“

Her shouts then (probably) changed to Thai, so I really couldn’t understand what she said. In addition, she was struggling frantically, and really stretched me to my limits as I wasn’t too strong.

“Meo, have you forgotten about what your father told you?”

Alice’s loud voice came from behind us. Hearing her words, Meo froze instantly.

“Didn’t he tell you to hide? I am sure that he’s in some sort of trouble right now, and might even put your life into danger. If you just rushed out, wouldn’t that be a waste of your father’s effort?”

“…… But!”

Meo twisted her body and escaped from my hand. I could tell that she was crying.

“It’s best if you just called the police, better than you rushing around like a deer in headlights.”

“…… Call the police?”

Meo’s face clouded over.

“Don’t call the police, dad told me not to call the police too. Those people always do mean things just because of the difference in skin color. The people in our building have permits too…..”

Meo’s tone suddenly became solemn, like she turned into another person.

“……. What happened?”

I tried to observe Meo’s expression, but she only shook her head violently:

“Because dad was once a yakuza, so that’s why he’s being suspected, that must be why.”

Suddenly hearing the cruel fact, I could only stay silent.

To people from south-east Asia, Japan is indeed not a country that they could live in comfortably. Take myself as an example, for instance, I’ve just heard that Meo’s father was once a yakuza, and I immediately thought that he would steal his company’s money. It’s somewhat ill-conceived, but—

Don’t call the police? Even telling her something like that, is there really something that couldn’t be spoken of?

“That’s why I have to look myself.”

“You don’t even know where he is—“

“Turn around and look over here. Shall I remind you who’s the person in front of you right now?”

Alice suddenly said.

Looking back, Alice had got off her bed and was standing at the entrance of her bedroom, with her back to the light that was emitted by the countless monitors behind her.

Being interrupted while speaking, I heaved a small sigh, then left Meo leaning beside the table of the small kitchen. I couldn’t say anything to Alice who had gotten off her bed.

“Miss Detective……”

“I’m not just an ordinary detective, but a NEET detective. Even if I stay huddled up in my bed, I can search through the whole world and find out about the real truth.”

Meo kneeled on the floor, tearfully staring at Alice for awhile. Nobody spoke. Although I wanted to say something, I couldn’t think of anything to say. Between a client an a detective, there’s no room for a mere assistant to interfere— Alice was not looking at me, but her expression said just that.

“Can you find my dad?”

Meo’s voice sounded like she was choking.

“Is that your request?”

Alice’s tone of speaking was still as cool as a cucumber.

“If a NEET detectives accepts a case, he would search for the truth after going through three thousand worlds to look for an answer. If there’s no request, I’m only one of the countless windows that couldn’t speak.”

Meo wiped away the tears in the corner of her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I’m giving you a request—“ She said clearly: “Please save my father.”

A relieved expression was shown on Alice’s face, and I think I know why she felt like that. The hikikomori detective could only come in contact with the outside world through cases. If there’s no official request, she could only save the information alone on her bed. Alice’s loneliness, and her fear of being unable to help out with anything although the world continues to change, I have heard of all of these during the incident last winter.

But—

I really couldn’t stand aside without saying a thing.

“Are you really planning to solve this on your own without telling the police?”

Meo and Alice looked at me at the same time, but the first to answer was Alice:

“A detective must act according to his client’s wishes.”

While Meo just shook her head vigorously . I sighed again and scratche my head.

“So what if there’s really a crime…….”

“Dad is not a bad person.”

Stop that, I get it already! But he could be involved in a crime even if he’s not a bad guy! I just hope that Alice would not face something dangerous.

But Alice said coolly:

“I’ve already decided to accept the case, so there’s no room for you to interfere.”

A dizzy spell came upon me. This guy is serious, and doesn’t even care that other people are worried about her.

“Think properly, why are you actually staying here?”

“……. Isn’t it to serve food and Dr. Pepper for you?”

“If you really think that way, then you should hurry up and leave in my disdain.”

That’s what you said before! I wanted to say that but restrained myself. I sank into a temporary contemplation: No matter what, a detective’s assistant exists just to aid a detective, and not to worry about the detective. Even so……

That made me think about the incident that occurred last winter. At that time, I was to absorbed in my own thoughts and didn’t notice, actually Alice and the others aren’t just relying on the power of the police and were still doing dangerous jobs. Probably Alice, Tetsu-senpai and the others are already used to these dangerous things?

Ah— so that’s why.

I’m not really worried of Alice. I’m just worried that I can’t follow their footsteps. To be exact— I couldn’t follow them at all. It’s because I don’t have knowledge, contacts or even talents.

Actually all of this doesn’t mean anything, it’s just that I’m cowardly.

“…… Sorry.”

Meo looked upwards beside me with an uneasy expression while Alice looked coldly at me while sitting on the bed. Paranoia started to form in my heart, and it felt like they were trying to tell me, a pawn, to shut up. I could only hide behind the fridge, showing only half of my body.

“The- then…….” I felt that aggrieved when I started to say: “If we’re accepting the request, I have a condition.”

“Why are you giving a condition?”

“No, it’s because……” Alice’s gaze was like the freezing wind on February, tearing people to shreds. “Since Meo’s father wanted her to hide, what should she do after this?”

Meo shook her head non-shop: “I never thought about it.” You should think about it first!

“It’ll be troublesome if she rushed out like just now, so if we can’t ensure Meo’s safety, we can’t accept the request.”

Meo looked at me doubtfully, her eyes fluttering. Searching for an ex-yakuza would probably be hard, but if it’s just looking for a safe place for a girl, I should be able to help with that. I looked guiltily at Alice’s expression.

“Are you imagining despicably that you could just use Meo’s safety as a shield on times of need, and then we can just give up on searching for Kusakabe Masaya?”

“Of course not!”

Well, maybe a bit…… Why is this fellow always so sharp?

“Forget about it, you’re not wrong. Meo, so it’s settled.”

“…… How is it settled?”

“You just say that you wish to be protected, or I’ll hand you to the police.”

“Wh- Why does this feel like a threat?”

“I’m not threatening you, this is a necessary precaution to look for your father. So now you have three choices. First, you can just go back. Second, call the police. Third, hand it to us.”

Meo stayed silent while hugging her Boston bag for a moment, then kneeled down and said:

“Please take care of useless ol’ me in the future!”

…… Where did she learn THAT? Really, who taught her these things? Was it Hiro? It’s Hiro, isn’t it?

“So— Narumi, you’ve started this, so hurry up and complete your mission?”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you say that we should hide Meo? There should be some empty rooms at Master’s place, so you go ask her!”

“Ask Min-san?”

Min-san lives at the ground floor of an apartment just behind her ramen shop. Since her father disappeared, she had some rooms empty. If we want to hide Meo, it would be suitable there. But…… Must I be the one to ask her?

<center>*</center>

“Why didn’t you just call the police?”

Min-san didn’t even look at me when she answered, but just continued to cut the celery in her hands. I didn’t know what to answer her all of a sudden, and Meo stuck her head from the kitchen back door, an uneasy expression on her face. I turned around and looked at her, then stared at Min-san again.

“Well…… There are a lot of reasons.”

“What reasons?”

“Ngh……”

I told Min-san about the disappearance of Min-san’s father and him telling Meo to run away, but how could I tell her about the next part?

“You’re expecting me to give her shelter without giving me a reason?”

When I think about it, it does seem like I’m asking for a mile when I just took an inch.

“Forget it, my dad’s room is still collecting dust anyways, just sleep there for now.”

…… Huh? She agreed just like that?

“Erm…… I might give you some trouble.”

Meo’s voice that was full of uneasiness came from my back. Min-san turned her head over only when she heard Meo’s voice, and she said:

“Don’t you mind, if there’s any problem I’ll beat up Narumi first. The room’s a bit dirty, but you can use it as you like, as it’s empty from the start anyways.”

“She said that……” I turned my head over to look at Meo. Her face that had the color of coffee ole was immediately lit up with a smile.

“Thank you, Min-san.”

“But you’ll only get ramen for your meals. Narumi, get a blanket for her from the storeroom in my room.”

“Ah, alright.”

Thus, I brought Meo from the back of the kitchen to Min-san’s house. Min-san ordered me quite naturally, and I didn’t think much about it— but is it really okay for me to go in and out of a girl’s room like this?

Min-san’s father abandoned his daughter and the ramen shop and went missing until now, so his room is now being used as a storeroom, and it was stuffed full of bookracks and cardboard boxes that were once used to fill foodstuff. I randomly stacked together the cardboard boxes that were used to fill dried fish for soup, and finally managed to clear up some space so place the mattress. Meo stood in front of the door with her Boston bag slung on her back, curiously looking around the room and said:

“Is it really okay? It seems like someone is using the room.”

“But you have nowhere else to go, right? And you can’t go home too……”

Meo’s expression turned gloomy, and I hurriedly continued:

“I’ll go check out your home later. And Alice knows a lot of busybody oddballs, so don’t worry!”

As I was about to leave Meo there and walk out of the room, She grabbed the sleeve of my shirt.

“…… Hmm? What is it?”

“Everyone is so kind, Min-san, Miss Detective and also Mr. Assistant……”

Kind? Me?

“I’m really sorry for just now, making trouble all of a sudden. So you were just worried of me…… Thank you.”

I couldn’t say a word for a moment. Actually I wasn’t worried about Meo, so her direct gratitude made me feel somewhat flustered, not knowing what to say.

“I’m just feeling somewhat jealous. Hiro-san kept showing off to me, saying that he’s a homeless gigolo, but he has Hanamaru. Because there’s a beautiful and gentle Mother here, although she only knows how to cook ramen for him.”

I really don’t want a scary mother like Min-san…… the thought suddenly surfaced in my mind.

“Then what is your mother doing right now, Meo?”

Though it seems to be too late for this question, nobody asked this before anyways. Meo’s expression suddenly froze. She lowered her head while sitting on the Boston bag on the floor, then raised her head to look at me.

“…… Mother…… she died due to an illness not long after she came to Japan.”

I gasped. The strange thing is, the girl beside my foot smiled. Her smile was like fog on a summer morning, hiding a faint sorrow.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m still living with the big sisters in the same building.”

People look lonelier when they smile, that was what I learnt from the winter this year.

Though we might be able to find Kusakabe Masaya after calling the police, Meo might have to be all alone after this— I’ve only understood the fact at this moment.

But then, what should we do? I have no idea. If we really could locate Kusakabe Masaya, if he really did take part in a crime, what should Alice do?

As for me— what should I do?

“What’s wrong, Mr. Assistant?” Meo looked up from below at me, who had shut my mouth and was not speaking. As I couldn’t meet Meo’s eyes, I turned my head to the other side and said:

“Nothing. Sorry for asking these strange questions.”

<center>*</center>

Not long after that, Hiro appeared at the ramen shop on about five in the evening.

“I’ve heard that Me-chan is here?”

The person who ran into the shop was a tall, nineteen year old man, and he wore a beige denim jacket and a pair of white silk khaki pants. I’ve never seen anyone more suited for wearing white clothes, including male artists. His appearance was like a model or a hustler, but he’s actually just a NEET, and also a gigolo.

“Ah, Hiro-san!”

Meo, who was eating ice cream in the kitchen, poked her head out.

“So you’ve finished work?”

“Being a gigolo is a job that requires creativity, so our working time is more flexible.”

“Hiro, get over here. I want to make you unable to embarrass the Japanese anymore!”

Min-san glared at Hiro while holding a kitchen knife, scaring him so much that he rushed out of the shop and hid in the alley behind the ramen shop. The back door of the Hanamaru Ramen Shop kitchen was located between two buildings. There, it was stacked full of worn out tires, large flipped over steel buckets, plastic buckets and wooden stands that were used as tables. It’s the best place for the NEETs to gather.

Although it’s the time when I should prepare for opening time of the shop, since there’s nothing much to do, I walked out of the kitchen backdoor to look for Hiro; Meo followed me outside too , for some reason.

“Alice told me about the situation on the phone……” Hiro said while sitting on the plastic bucket. “But I’m still not sure about some parts of it.”

I nodded.

“How much money is in the bag?”

Hiro looked at Meo who sat beside him.

“Hmm, I don’t know. I didn’t count……”

“Seeing as there’s so much, I’d wager that there would be about a few hundred million yen.” I answered for Meo.

“Is Me-chan that rich?”

Meo shook her head frantically.

“That’s true! The company isnt’ big, and you even live in the same area as the people who left home to look for a living.”

“I think it’s the money of their company?”

“Money of their company? Then how could he get out so much? And it’s cash, to boot!”

“This…… that is…… that……” I really don’t know how to answer. “Alice seemed to have found out something just now, that Meo’s father is one of the Directors of the company. If that’s true, then isn’t there a possibility?”

“…… Even if we say that he pocketed the company’s money, does the company even earn that much anyways? I remember that the financial status of the company isn’t really that good.”

“What does ‘pocketed’ mean?”

Meo’s expression was truly innocent, and caused Hiro and I to be unable to answer her for a moment. I could only choose a more suitable way of answering:

“Erm…… That means using his position to take away the company’s money.”

“You’re saying that again, Mr. Assistant! My dad would never do that!”

Meo kept hitting my arm with her face red. Hiro tried to be the peacemaker at this moment, and forcefully caught hold of Meo’s shoulders.

“Are you really sure that he wouldn’t do that?” he asked in a solemn tone.

“Absolutely.”

“Do you trust him that much?”

Medo nodded so vigorously that her neck almost snapped into half.

“Mnn, I get it.” Hiro’s voice regained its gentleness. “Trusting people is Me-chan’s job, doubting people would be our job. There are many things that we can’t be sure of if we don’t doubt it, so just let us handle this nasty job!”

Hiro met Meo’s gaze for awhile, and then showed her a gentle smile.

Meo hesitated for awhile, then nodded.

This guy is really good— I suddenly felt that. To be frank, I wasn’t too sure about Hiro’s statement at that moment, but he always had a way to make people calm down. He probably always uses this talent on indecent things, right? He’s a public enemy for women.

“No matter what, we must still check out the condition of the company and Meo’s family.”

“Hiro probably knows the location of the building, right? And know the people there.”

“Ah— me? The security there already remembered my face, and I’ve already deleted the phone number of my ex-girlfriend.”

When I think about it, he had been chased out by the security. Then what should we do now?

Hiro stared at me silently.

Meo stared at me without saying a word too.

This is……

“Should…… I go?”

“There’s no choice, there’s nobody else.”

“I don’t mind going, but I’m currently at work.”

“What? At work?”

Hiro’s reaction was really too exaggerated, and really hurts my fragile heart. I tapped the words ‘Hanamaru’ printed on the black apron.

“Mnn, Narumi, you’re working here? Really? Why? Becoming a NEET isn’t an illness, so don’t mind it, you don’t need to force yourself to get therapy.”

I’m telling you I’m not a NEET!

“And you don’t even look like you’re working right now.”

Being said that, it made me speechless, because the truth is as Hiro have said.

“So what are Tetsu-senpai and Major doing right now?” I frantically changed the topic.

“I’ve just called Tetsu, he’s at the Tokyo Racetrack.”

Ah, to today is racing day. Since it’s the spring holidays right now, I even forgot what day it is today.

“He said that he lost the money used for taking the train on his last match, so he’s walking back. Really, he could just go bet at WINS, why does he need to specially run to that place that haven’t even started racing?”

The hopeless gambler…… Wouldn’t it take at least four hours for him to walk from there to here?

“I couldn’t find Major too, perhaps he’s playing a survival game?”

“Can’t I go after I finished work?”

“She works at night, so she’ll be out if you don’t go now.” Hiro said. I sighed. It’s like there’s a pair of invisible hands controlling me, not letting me work. I know, I know! I’ll go right now.

I walked back into the kitchen and asked lightly to Min-san who was concentrating on scooping out the dregs in the steaming pot.

“Erm……”

“You’re skipping work the first day at work? You really have some guts!”

Min-san said without even looking at me. Probably she heard our conversation just now.

“So- sorry, just pretend I didn—“

“There’s no difference, since we’re so free right now. But you’re fired if you’re not back by seven!”

Hiro borrowed me a jacket and a pair of cool glasses before I set off. Perhaps those have been given to him by his ex-girlfriend at that building?

As I was about to bring my bike from the alley to the main road, I faintly heard the conversation between Min-san and Meo from the shop”

“Meo, would you like to work in my shop?”

“Eh, that won’t do, I’m working at a Thai restaurant right now…… Ah, but I’m on leave these days, so I might be fired…….”

“Just tell me if you change your mind, I’ll fire Narumi instantly.”

That’s just too much…… She’s so cruel. While suppressing my sorrowful feeling, I pedaled towards the road that was dyed red by the setting sun.

<center>*</center>

Pedaling from the southern exit of the station towards the slope, I turned right after passing through the post office. I got lost between a middle school and an embassy, and went back and forth on the same road for quite a few times, then I realized that the four storey building that was about as big as the school building further to my left was a collection of residential rooms, which is also my destination – Hello Palace. I stopped at the roadside, staring blankly on my bike with my jaw open. I’ve heard that the people who live here are mostly women foreigners from south-east Asia, and thought that it’s just a broken down apartment with seven or eight people squeezed in a six tatami room. I actually had that kind of prejudice, how impolite of me.

So that I wouldn’t be noticed, I parked my bike at a corner of a building that couldn’t be seen from the guardroom.

When I stopped my bike, the large amount of cash that Meo brought suddenly surfaced in my mind. It’s too unusual, what if it really involved a crime? The police haven’t came to Meo’s house yet, have they? If so, I’ll just act dumb.

I took out the pair of glasses that was used for ornamental purposes and put it on.

The guards’ restroom was beside the entrance of the building, and there was nobody in there. But for some reason I naturally started to walk on tiptoe, so what’s the difference between me and a person who sneaks into other people’s houses? I could only console myself that I’m not doing anything, and walked to the forth room of the third floor. The words ‘Kusakabe’ were written on the signboard. Not even a person could be seen there, and that made me a bit more relieved. I pressed the doorbell, waited for about three minutes but there wasn’t any answer; so I turned the handle and found that the door was locked.

Actually, Meo handed me the keys to her house, but I really don’t feel like going in. If I was spotted, I really couldn’t explain why I have the key.

It couldn’t be helped, I could only press the doorbell of the room next to it, the house of the person that Hiro once lived in. After about twenty seconds, the door opened a crack, and a young woman was standing behind it.

“Hi……”

She sounded rather sleepy. The lady wore a baggy T-shirt printed full of simplified characters and a pair of shorts, her long hair tied up messily with a rubber band. Although she didn’t have any make up on, I could see that she was a Chinese beauty with a great figure.

“……. Who are you?”

“Ah, so- sorry!” Was she sleeping just now? “Do you know Kuwabara Hiroaki-san?

When I mentioned Hiro’s name, the woman’s eyes finally focused.

“Hiro? Eh? …… Ah, that jacket……”

“Erm…… Meo is at my place.”

The woman’s brows suddenly twitched, then speedily shut the door before I even finished speaking. After that, the sound of her removing the chains on the door came, and then this time, the door was opened wide.

“Ah— Mnn— I’ve heard about it, wait for awhile, I’ll get it here.”

Eh? Wa- Wait a sec, what’s with this situation?

When I was supporting the door, the woman walked into the room and took out a coffee colored paper bag.

“You can it this directly, but it’s even better after you heat it.”

With my brain in a muddle, the paper bag was stuffed roughly into my hands.

“Eh, ah, erm……”

I’m still not sure what was happening, but the girl hugged me all of a sudden. I immediately felt that she wasn’t wearing lingerie, causing me to freeze. At this moment, she said quietly in my ears:

“I can’t talk to you here, so just pretend you’re just here to get the bag, go home for now!”

I immediately came to my senses. The girl then let go of me, and said to me with a tone like a salesman: “Say hi to everyone for me!” then pushed me out and closed the door.

I was left alone in the corridor with the weight of the paper bag in my hands.

Can’t talk to me here?

Does that lady know of Meo’s current situation? But what did she mean by can’t talk to me here? Did she mean that there’s someone in her room, and it’s bad for our conversation to be overheard?

I couldn’t make head or tails of the matter from the start, but I still followed what she said, took the bag and left ‘Hello Palace’ obediently.

After walking out of the entrance, I immediately tore open the bag. There was a small bun in the bag, while a business card was placed on it— ‘Exotic Pub, Shanghai Love’. The logo on the card was a shining pink, while the name on it was a name written in romaji: Rin. There was also a sentence written below the name in an untidy scrawl—

Wait for me behind the shop at 4.00 am.

It was written on the card that the pub’s business time was until three thirty at night, so does that mean she’s asking me to wait until she finished work? But why did she use so much effort to act out that play just now?

I placed the business card into my pocket, walked to my bike parked at the side of the road and suddenly felt a chill on my back.

I really shouldn’t stop, and I should just ride my bike and leave ASAP; but I stopped walking because of that feeling. I saw two silhouettes from the corner of my eyes, and they were walking towards me from the direction of Hello Palace.

One of the men was wearing a grubby leather jacket, while the other wore a purple flowery shirt that had zero fashion sense, with curly hair on top of his head. I pretended not to notice and sped up. When I reached the shadow of the building, I felt the chill on my back again.

“Oi, you over there!”

One of the men shouted. Just like that, my intuition told me that these two are definitely not people to mess with. This is bad, I should really escape double quick. Just as I was about to ride away on my bike, the footsteps behind me quickened. I raised my head, only to see that the two men were horribly close to me.

“Kid, don’t move!”

Almost reflexively, I raised my hands and threw the bag that I was holding to them, then hurriedly pushed my bike down the slope and jumped onto my bike. I don’t know what happened with the bag, but I could hear the furious roars of the men coming from behind. I was afraid that they would quickly chase me down and grab my collar, so I accelerated the rate of my pedaling, rushing down the slope without even pedaling and sharply turned right as soon as I reached the road. A car flew by my side, leaving behind only the loud sound of the horn.

I steered clear of the main road and circled around the alleys that I didn’t really know that well, and I only stopped and looked around after I reached the four line lane(?) .Of course, the two people are already gone. I gasped for breath, trying to slow down my breathing and my heartbeat, and I felt bouts of pain coming from my lungs.

Who are those two anyways?

The reason that I wanted to run away was not only because the men’s actions gave me a bad premonition, the attitude of the Chinese onee-san caused me to be suspicious as well.

I took out my phone.

“…… ah, it’s me.”

‘How was it? Did you see Yi Ling?’ Hiro asked.

“Erm….. Ah, yes, I did see her.”

So that’s why— her name is Yi Ling, that’s why her nickname is Rin. While thinking of these meaningless things, I adjusted my breathing rate and answered:

“Meo’s house is under surveillance.”

Hiro, who was at the other side of the phone stayed silent.

“They might be yakuza. Hiro, you should really tell Meo not to go out.”

‘Got it. Things are really not that simple, we might need to ask for Yondaime’s help……’

I told Hiro that I’m going back right now, and hung up.

We might need to ask for Yondaime’s help. Although there’s this possibility, I really don’t wish for things to turn out like that. When the shonen yakuza leader of the juvenile delinquents start to take action, it would be hard to prevent bloodshed from occurring.

But my premonitions are the most accurate in these bad situations, and of course it’s the same this time, too.

<center>*</center>

The Hotel Street at four in the morning felt like an insomniac patient who couldn’t sleep, its eyes swollen and bloodshot. Walking along the curved road on the slope, pillars of streetlights were towering over two sides of the road, illuminating the signboards with fee and service content written on it; the side view of a hotel that looked rather blurred due to the blue and pink rays of light shining on it was visible further up the slope.

Walking alone in this place at night, it felt like I would get crushed by the psychological pressure soon, so I forced myself to focus on the fees written on each hotel. I’m not sure if it’s because of the strong competition, there’s a lot of mystifying side services. It looks like not only each hotel provided a microwave, Dreamcast was written on some of the signboards! What type of couples are they trying to attract, anyways?

I came here once before during that incident, but I don’t really have much of an impression of it anymore. There really aren’t much people at these places at this time, so it was extremely quiet.

Climbing onto the slope after walking out of the Hotel Street, I walked to an inconspicuous pub on the road. This place is away from the dazzling grandeur preferred by the young people, a street that exists for the sake of ojisans (probably).

According to Hiro, due to the special revision of the industrial law, the pubs on the streets have decreased, and have now almost disappeared or have changed to providing various services for the hostels nearby..

The pub that’s like an endangered species, ‘Exotic Pub, Shanghai Love’, was just at the corner of the street. Having electric lights that are modeled on oil lamps and an arc-shaped door, it feels just like a pub that any grown man could go. The pink neon lights weren’t too flashy , and it didn’t feel like it’s a suspicious shop. Is this really an indecent place? But the signboard says that it’s a pub.

I looked at the time on my phone, the date had advanced a day, becoming the first of April. It’s now three forty five in the morning, that’s early.

A middle-aged man passed by my side, accompanied by a woman wearing a low-cut shirt, and it looks like she’s occupational. Seeing the two walk to Hotel Street at the same time, I squeezed into the cramped alley beside the shop and hid.

Just at that moment, I remembered the scene when I returned to Hanamaru in the evening. I showed the card given to me by the Chinese onee-san— Yi Ling san, to Hiro and told him about what occurred. Hiro showed me an awkward expression and said: “I think it’s better if I go. You probably won’t be able to go out that late, right?” Maybe his experience of breaking up with Yi Ling-san wasn’t too good?

Although I was worried that they would feel awkward if they met, but the main reason that I went was that I wanted to go. If I need to trouble Hiro for such a simple matter, then I’m truly useless.

To be honest, sitting on the separator of the charged parking lot, I was somewhat regretting my decision to accept this request. What if I were caught by the police and to accept counseling? They’d probably inform the school, right? And I ran out without even telling my sister, what am I doing……

“Waited for a long time?”

Suddenly hearing the voice of a woman, it startled me so much that I nearly fell down. I raised my head to have a look, and I saw Yi Ling-san wearing an extremely short mini skirt that would be almost invisible in the morning streets and a light beige jacket. She bent down slightly and looked at my face:

“Sorry, are you okay? It’s so late right now. I originally thought that Hiro would come.”

“Hiro’s because…… erm……”

“I know, he didn’t want to come, right? Can you help me beat him up for me next time?”

Yi Ling-san said while smiling.

“It’s not that convenient talking out here, I think it’s better if we go to a restaurant.”

She dragged my hand and started to go forward. All of her actions were overly natural. Though I still felt uneasy, I could only follow her obediently.

Then I slowly realized something— the way that Yi Ling-san was walking was somewhat unnatural. You won’t notice if you don’t look closely, but her back was a bit bent when she walked, and the steps that she took didn’t match.

“Erm…… Are you sick? Or do you have a stomachache?”

“Eh? You can see that?” a wry smile was shown on her face. “Well, since I’m still the bread and butter of the shop, only my face wasn’t beaten up.”

“Huh……?”

“I’ve heard that you ran away, didn’t you? That wasn’t good— I even pretended that I knew you very well too, in the end I had to put in a lot of effort to explain, but they didn’t even believe me.”

“Er…… Were they the ones with the leather coat and the curly hair?”

“Correct. Those two are the racketeers of our shop, and they’re monitoring the building to see if Meo comes back.”

Racketeers?

“They’re yakuzas who collect protection rackets. I really don’t know what they would do, so remember to tell Meo, don’t come back here for the moment.”

They’re indeed yakuza. But why are yakuzas looking for Meo? When I wanted to continue asking, a voice suddenly came from my back:

“Sorry for the wait.”

“Who is this child?”

When I turned my head around, I saw two women who were dressed similarly to Yi Ling-san going past the buildings, and were walking to us.

In the restaurant during late night, at a the innermost table of the smoking area that didn’t have any other customers there, I was surrounded by three onee-sans who work at a pub, and I sat among them with my body curled up. Yi Ling-san asked while eating a large bowl of tekkadon: “So who are you, actually?”

There were also a hamburger set meal, clam spaghetti, tomato soup, French fries and a whole lot more food on the table, causing me to be rather shocked because of their astoundingly big appetite. The three of them were rather slim, how could they eat that much food?

“What’s your relationship with Meo? Are you Hiro’s friend?”

Hua-san, who seems to have came from Taiwan, asked in a rapid fire tone.

“Middle schooler? High school?” the onee-san who seems to have came from Philippine interrupted, asking more questions.

“Ah, I’m a high schooler.” Do I even look like a middle schooler? Though I HAD been misunderstood sometimes. “Erm…… It’s hard to say…… Have you heard of the detective agency in the same building as the ramen shop?”

“Oh—“ Yi Ling-san nodded and said: “I’ve heard of it, I think the detective’s a girl, right? What’s she like?”

“What’s she like, huh……”

Actually I don’t really know Alice that well, and I don’t even know what age is she.

“She’s a small, delicate girl who’s about twelve or thirteen, wears pajamas and is cooped up in her room every day. Though she’s quite malicious, her skill of using the computer should be quite good.”

“Really, she’s that young!? How does she count as a detective then, it’s so mystifying.”

With an annoyed expression on her face, Yi Ling-san stayed silent for quite some time. Then, she relit her cigarette, breathed in deeply and then puffed out a large amount of smoke.

“She’s really that young? Isn’t she a detective?”

“Mnn, being a detective should be a self-proclaimed.”

It should be normal when people have this reaction when they learn about Alice, right? The thought suddenly flashed through my mind. But aren’t they being a bit too surprised?

“So that’s how it is, I actually lost to that…… Uwaa, so Hiro is a lolicon! That’s so hurtful……”

She muttered while looking at the ceiling, while the contents of her mutterings really couldn’t be ignored. What does she mean? Does Hiro…… No, how is that possible?

“Yi Ling, you should just forget about that gigolo.”

Hua-san patted Yi Ling-san’s head, meant as a consolation but was pushed away by Yi Ling-san, and then she continued to ask:

“So Hiro is still helping that detective. Does that mean that Meo is there as well?”

“Ah….. yes.”

This afternoon— no, it’s on yesterday— I explained shortly how Meo went to the NEET Detective Agency, and while thinking about it, I really feel that it was really a long day.

“Is the place where Meo is staying at safe?” Jennifer said.

“Mnn— It’s probably quite safe.” If Min-san agrees to help , she is quite reliable.

“Meo is just like our daughter……” Jennifer continued: “I originally hoped to marry someone like Kusakabe-san, and then give birth to a child like Meo.”

“Didn’t your husband get addicted to drugs? He’s quite a match for you!” Hua-san said sarcastically at a side.

“I’ve told him to stop, and Kusakabe-san helped me to beat him up already.”

“But he haven’t found a job, have he?” Yi Ling-san frowned.

“Just tell him to get lost after getting the permanent resident visa!”

The conversation started to stray towards a direction that I couldn’t comprehend, and was mixed with bits of English, Chinese and Filipino. While feeling pressured, I drank my iced coffee with a straw.

“Meo doesn’t know what happened to Kusakabe-san, too?” Yi Ling-san steered the topic back to the main point.

“Nope.” I shook my head, and explained about the phone call from Meo’s father.

“I wonder what Kusakabe-san did……”

“Maybe he got into trouble with Tabara-gumi? But didn’t he leave the gang from Osaka already?”

“Those guys came to the shop just now. Our shopkeeper is an old friend of Kusakabe-san’s from Kansai, so he kept being badgered, and was asked if he’s keeping something for Kusakabe-san. Of course, he didn’t say anything. Hmph!”

The money is indeed the company’s— no, perhaps it belongs to yakuza?

I decided not to tell them about the bomb-like amount of money in Meo’s hands. People who know must die— I thought about what Alice said while interrupting them:

“Erm……”

I felt that my palm was sweating, but I must get this thing clear.

“Is the Hello Corporation…… How should I say this, a criminal company? Or yakuza?”

“Impossible!” The three instantly denied it.

“Then who in the world is looking for Meo?”

“I said that it’s the racketeers from Tabara-gumi. It’ll be troublesome if people make trouble in our business, so we hire yakuza racketeers. But those people are too avaricious, recently quite a lot of shops stopped working with them, but our shop…… It can’t be helped, there’s too many foreigners.”

This made me even more muddled up about Hello Corporation. They have connections with yakuza, opened a pub, and even rented some nice accommodations for their female foreign workers.

“Although I’m not that clear about it……” Yi Ling-san continued: “But those who are in our profession, more or less would have some connections with that side of the people. Hello Corporation. Hello Corporation provides labor services, and they even provide Japanese classes for us.”

“The pay is quite good too.”

“But we owe people quite a lot of money at first. Even if we send the money home, half of it would probably be taken away.”

“This is just an act of extorting money out of us.”

“There’s no choice, because it’s because of the help given by the guild that we can stay in Japan.”

“Guild?” I asked. Topics that I don’t understand crop up one after another, and I almost couldn’t follow it anymore.

“Hello Corporation is a cooperative guild that is formed from teams of women who work here, Kusakabe-san is the guild master, so he lives with us. Besides making it easier for us to get visas, the guild would also introduce marriage partners and so on.”

I noticed something odd from Yi Ling-san’s explanation…… Wait a sec!

“Isn’t this what they call a fake marriage……?”

Jeniffer and Hua-san laughed out loud at the same time and said:

“Well, we live together as well. If we don’t live in harmony, we can’t pass the visa check.”

“But how would this work out in the future? If Kusakabe-san is caught……”

“If a delinquent replaces him, I might not continue to work anymore. If it weren’t for Kusakabe-san, I really couldn’t deal with all this a long time ago……”

“Yi Ling, you’re still single anyways, so it doesn’t matter……”

The three ignored my presence and started to talk about solemn matters. I listened to their conversation from far away, and started to stir the ice cubes in my glass while relaxing somewhat. Not only was I unable to find out anything about Meo’s father, the outrageous topics that followed made me even more muddled up.

The incident that happened last winter was even simpler than this. Strictly speaking, it’s just that some people reaped the evil fruit that they sowed. But it’s different this time.

Can Alice handle this?

The horizon of the night sky was somewhat blue when we walked out of the restaurant. It was already near dawn. There weren’t anyone besides us on the sidewalk, but even at this time, the cars and truck were still busy on the road.

“That’s right, I forgot to ask what’s your name.” Yi Ling-san said.

“Ah, I’m Fujishima. Fujishima Narumi.”

“How do you write that?”

Yi Ling-san took out her phone, so I typed out my name on it.

“Oh— so it’s Ming Hai.”

Hearing someone reading out my name in Chinese— I feel that I’ve read something like that in a manga somewhere.

And so, Yi Ling-san and the others exchanged phone numbers with me while standing in the streets.

“Ming Hai, so you’re helping by the detective’s side too?”

“It seems that I’m her assistant.”

I, myself, feel embarrassed when I say that.

“Really? Then if you find Kusakabe-san, please save him. He should know yakuzas better than us, so it’s improbable for him to make trouble himself. He probably did what he did because of some pressing matters.”

Is that really so? If he knows of a way to stealthily take the company’s money but would not get noticed, the people who can do that would probably still do that— I thought while nodding.

“Really, why didn’t Kusakabe-san escape back to Thailand with Meo.”

Jeniffer muttered to herself.

“Yeah, although we’ll be troubled if he isn’t here, but looking at the situation right now, we can’t bail at all……”

“Narumi, tell Kusakabe-san if you see him……”

Hua-san held my hand and said:

“He’s working too hard at Hello Corporation, tell him to escape to somewhere else!”

“Really….. huh?”

“It’s best if he takes the ashes of his wife back to Thailand too……”

It was like cold water was splashed all over me. I looked at Yi Ling-san’s face.

Meo’s mother died in a foreign country.

“I’ll leave Meo to you.”

The three said so, gave me a hug each and then left.

After Yi Ling-san and the others left, I sat on the fence alone and stared blankly at the morning sky. I just felt that the sleepiness locked in my chest couldn’t be released, and couldn’t creep into my brain. Looking downwards, I could only see the slope that descended in a straight line from the southern exit of the station, and the city lights that were threatening the night sky along the slope.

The matter is utterly out of my comprehension, and it gave me a bad premonition. What should we do? Never would I have thought that both our client and the person that we’re searching for would be wanted by the yakuza. What could I do to help in this matter? Thinking back on the scene when the yakuza were chasing me— ahh, it’s impossible. If I meet them next time, I’d probably run away too.

Why did Alice hire me as her assistant? She was just following the flow at first, I understand that. But what about after the Angel Fix incident ended? I, myself, told Alice that I wanted to continue to be her assistant, and she accepted too. So what expectations do she have for me? I don’t know.

The noisy cries of a flock of crows surrounded me and bugged me. It wouldn’t be any help if I continue to ponder about this.

Anyways, this is my first official job since I became Alice’s assistant.

Could I still stay by Alice’s side— that would depend on this time.

During the incident that happened during the winter, I actually didn’t help out with much. Even so, Alice still said that I’m her assistant; no matter how much she abused me, she didn’t really abandon me. So I could only cling onto the small, hopeless possibility.

It’s the same even now.

I can only do what I can do.

Jumping down from the fence, I patted away the sand on me and took my first step on the sidewalk.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 2 Illustrations|Volume 2 Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Kamisama no Memochou|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 2 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume2 The Final Question

2010-12-08T00:01:46Z

203.116.187.1: /* The Final Question */

===The Final Question===
'''
And finally, let's change it up a bit and have an English Question.
'''
Please fill in blanks '1' and '2'.

“Without '1', the word <nowiki>'</nowiki>''Mother''<nowiki>'</nowiki> would become '2' (someone unrelated)”

'''Himeji Mizuki's answer:'''

“Without <nowiki>'</nowiki>''M''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, the word <nowiki>'</nowiki>''Mother''<nowiki>'</nowiki> would become <nowiki>'</nowiki>''other''<nowiki>'</nowiki> (someone unrelated)”

'''Teacher's comment:'''

Correct answer. Taking the <nowiki>'</nowiki>''M''<nowiki>'</nowiki> away from the word <nowiki>'</nowiki>''Mother''<nowiki>'</nowiki> would give the word <nowiki>'</nowiki>''other''<nowiki>'</nowiki> (someone unrelated). This is really a convenient way of remembering words.

'''Tsuchiya Kouta's answer:'''

“Without <nowiki>'</nowiki>''M''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, the word <nowiki>'</nowiki>''Mother''<nowiki>'</nowiki> would become <nowiki>'</nowiki>''S''<nowiki>'</nowiki> (someone unrelated)”

'''Teacher's comment:'''

No matter whether Tsuchiya-san's mother is called <nowiki>'</nowiki>''MS''<nowiki>'</nowiki> or <nowiki>'</nowiki>''SM''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, sensei really doesn't know what to say about this.

'''Yoshii Akihisa's answer:'''

“Without 'money', the word <nowiki>'</nowiki>''Mother''<nowiki>'</nowiki> would become 'ridding of a family relationship' (someone unrelated)”

'''Teacher's comment:'''

This has nothing to do with English, right?

“Ooowww...i got hit really bad...”

“Damn that Ironman. He doesn't even know how to let up.”

In the end, Yuuji and I were unable to escape from ironman's clutches and were caught. At first, I thought that since we started that commotion—the least we'll get is a suspension, and the worst is that we'll be expelled. But unexpectedly, the light punishment's just a severe warning (But since Ironman was the one punishing us, we also got away with bruises all over our faces.

“Most likely, it's because the old granny was helping out behind the scenes.”

“You're talking about the punishment just now? Yeah, otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten away so lightly.”

“And the old granny got saved. Though she still doesn't show any bit of gratitude.”

“We saved the principal, so the principal did help us back in return.”

Also, another reason why we were let off so quickly was also because of the Head of Teaching Staff. Thanks to the accidental fireworks that landed inside his office, they were able to use the excuse of repairing the office to carry out investigations inside the office. Now that it ended up like, the principal would most likely carry out investigations on the Head of Teaching Staff and yank out his dirty deeds. So unexpectedly, the principal owes us one.

Even so, I still have to thank the principal. Even though I know that it's part of the deal, we can't forget about what others done for us.

“Oh, so you finally came back. You're late.”

“...We're already started.”

“Ah, sorry. We were bothered a bit by Ironman just now.”

As planned, all the Class F students were already gathered in the nearby park. This is a celebration of our success that needn't any special reservations, just some snacks and drinks would do. There's a unique flavour to this, and we don't have to spend a lot of money.

“Now everyone in school knows about you two.”

“...(Nods head)”

“...It's not like I want to be associated with this guy anyway.”

“That should be my line...”

The bad remarks about me continues to spread throughout the school. Maybe I won't be able to get a girlfriend in high school now.

“Since you did such a thing, and you didn't even get suspended, let alone expelled, of course there would be some strange rumours going about. Even I'm curious.”

Minami pours some fruit juice into two cups and passes them to Yuuji and me.

“Ah thanks.”

I thanked her as I received the cup, pouring it into my mouth. It's filled with orange juice, but it taste bitter. Is it some cheap good or something?

“Oh yeah. How's the earnings of the shop?”

I asked Minami, who remained like this after giving the drink over to me. She's the committee member, so she should be most clear about this.

“Well, although it's not a lot, it's not bad for two days worth of earnings.”

Minami passes me that book that's used to record our earnings. It wasn't much, but for just two days, it isn't a small sum.

“Ooo, how much...?”

At this moment, Yuuji pokes his head out.

“We can't possibly buy tables and chairs with this, maybe some Tatami mats and tea sets, but that's it.”

“Hm...looks like those guys that caused the disturbances in the beginning did a lot of damage.”

For a teahouse, no matter how big the crowd is, there's a limit to how many tables we can change, and it, it's a limit to us. Really, it was really a waste when the place was empty.

“Sorry, I'm late~”

At this moment, a cute voice can be heard from behind. Seems like Himeji-san's late as well.

“Ah, Mizuki, how's the situation?”

“Yes! Otou-san agreed to it! It's all thanks to Minami!”

I endured and held back on shouting 'YESS!', which I did not.

Really, we prevented Himeji-san from transferring schools. This is great...

“It's been tough on you, Himeji-san.”

“Ah, Yoshii-kun...”

On seeing my face, Himeji-san gives a delicate expression. Though I'm a bit mindful of it, I regain composure. Did I think too much?

“I'm sorry, but can you please pour me another cup? I just said a whole lot of words, and I'm thirsty.”

“Ah, well yes, you can have it.”

I pass my paper cup over, and nobody would dread to drink orange juice anyway.”

“Thank you.”

Himeji-san received the cup and gulps the juice down.

“Ah...!”

On seeing this, Minami let out a shout.

“Hm? What's wrong, Minami?”

“Eh? Does this cup belong to Minami?”

Himeji-san tilts her head and reveals a puzzled expression. This isn't Minami's cup anyway, it was my cup of fruit juice in the first place.

“No, no, it's not that. That...”

Minami replied in a rare stuttering manner.

“Does Minami want to take a drink as well?”

“Drink as well...? That's, that's right! Sorry Himeji, can I have a drink as well?”

“Ah, sorry, I drank it all up. I'll go get a new cup, so just wait for me.”

Himeji-san runs towards the pile of fruit juice bottles. She really is a good hardworking girl.

“...It's useless to get a new cup...”

Strange, Himeji-san went off to get another cup, yet Minami's still sulking. What's she unhappy about?”

“Oh yes, Aki, I got something to say.”

“Hm? What's up?”

“Yesterday, when you saved me from those weird guys, that...”

Minami shyly lowers her head. Seeing her blushing fully like this, what does she want to say?

“That...when you were throwing a temper and said 'You dare do this to Minami!', I was really happy...”

“Eh? Ah...no...that...this...!”

“I just wanted to say this! Just this!”

After saying ths, Minami ran far away. Wha, what? What's with this extraordinary atmosphere?

“KYA!”

Just as I was puzzled, from far behind, Himeji-san lets out a little cry. I turn around and see Himeji-san holding cans of fruit juice as she fell down onto the ground. It'll be bad if she's hurt.

“Are you alright, Himeji-san?”

“Ah, yes, I'm alright.”

“Really? Then hold on tight.”

Hm? What's with me?

“Yes, I'm going to hold tight now...”

“Hii hii hii Himeji-san?”

She didn't grab onto my hand, but onto my waist. In this current posture, I feel that there's something soft that's grabbing onto me!

“Akihisa-kun smells so nice~”

Himeji-san buries her face into my chest, and at this rate, there's going to be problems. As for what kind of problems will happen, it's either my heart rate going up or something logical.”

“What's wrong with you, Himeji-san?”

I can tell instantly that she's not too normal, and even her eyes are blurry. She looks like she just got drunk.

“Hm? You got drunk?”

At this moment, I remember the drink just now, that bitter taste. Don't tell me—someone in our class bought fruit juices with alcoholic content!

“Akihisa-kun, I'm angry, you know?”

She ballooned her cheeks angrily. She's angry, did I do something wrong? I'm all confused with all the things that's been going on recently, but I just don't remember anything.

“Uuu~ you don't even know the reason why I'm angry!”

“Ib burps! Im preaking!”

She forcefully pulls my face left and right.

“...Promise.”

“Promise?”

“The promise you made with me after coming back from the summoning tournament.”

What promise? Come to think of it, I seem to remember something...

“AH! Behind the school!”

“I was waiting for you there, and yet you forgot about it. You’re too much!”

As I was chasing after the Toko-Natsu pair, I forgot about this! Of course anyone would be angry with this.

“I’m really, really sorry. Though I can’t say the reason, there’s a lot of things happening…”

I gaze into Himeji-san’s eyes as I apologises. If I wasn’t being grabbed, I would even kneel down and beg for mercy.

“Uuu…! I won’t forgive you!”

“Please understand!”

“Absolutely not!”

Himeji-san doesn’t look like her anger’s going to subside anytime soon. To think that she has such important things she wanted to say to me. Looks like I committed a cardinal sin…

“—Just joking.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, this unexpected sentence causes me to make a dumbfounded sound.

“Actually, someone has already told me the reason why Akihisa-kun couldn’t keep the promise.”

“Eh? Who?”

This is truly a surprising truth. Now who on earth told Himeji-san that?

“Thus, the one I’m really angry with—is myself.”

She looks down at the ground.

“For me, Akihisa-kun would work so hard, and yet I was angry just because you couldn’t make it.”

“Ah, it’s not that. It’s because Himeji-san doesn’t know the truth…”

“It has got nothing to do with not knowing the truth. I really can’t forgive myself for being petty over someone who was working so hard for me. Because—”

Taking a deep breath, Himeji-san raises her head, and we stare into each other’s eyes.

“It’s because I knew from a long time ago that Akihisa-kun is such a gentle person.”

“Well, you don’t really have to be bothered by it.”

Being stared straight into the eyes like this, I inadvertently look away.

“It was like this during the summoning battle, and it was the same this time. I’m always getting helped by others, but I don’t know how to express my gratitude…”

Himeji-san picks up the can that’s on the ground. It’s a can I don’t really see, however, there’s the words ‘Adult Orange Juice’ on it—IT’S BEER NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT!! WHO TREATED IT AS FRUIT JUICE AND BOUGHT IT BACK!!

“Erm, Himeji-san, about that drink, I think it’s best if you don’t—”

I was useless in stopping her, and I hear the fizz the moment the stay tab was pulled.

“So, I want to say thanks to Akihisa-kun.”

After that, she gulps the entire can of drink down. WAH! IS THAT REALLY ALRIGHT!?

“…So, Akihisa-kun.”

“Ye, yes.”

Am I being a bit too mindful? I feel that I’m being stared rather long.

“Please take off your clothes.”

“WHY?”

She’s now speaking nonsense. Looks like she’s really drunk.

“Because I’m going to thank you now! Please don’t resist!”

“Wai, wait a minute! It’s obvious that there’s something wrong with it!”

“There’s nothing wrong with it! Everyone’s doing it!”

As I’m being hugged close, my buttons are being undone one by one. I can’t get away from her in this distance, this won’t be good!”

“Oh~Akihisa, you look like you’re having fun here.”

Yuuji walked along with a bottle in his hand. Perfect timing.

“Yu, Yuuji! Just on time. Try and pull Himeji-san away!”

“Hm, you’re right…but I don’t think it’s right to stop her…”

This Yuuji, revealing such a sly smile, it’s obvious that he’s not going to help me. This bastard…!

“If so, then at least activate the platinum bracelet! I’ll think of the rest!!”

“Oh, is that so? Then—activate.”

Yuuji used the platinum bracelet to create a summoning territory. With this, anyone in the vicinity can summon a summoned beast. Come to think of it, Yuuji actually easily agreed to do this thing that’ll run down the grades. It seems like that guy’s drunk.

“Ho. Good thing my summoned beast can touch humans. Let’s go—summon!!”

My mini-me moves up beside me and intends to touch Himeji-san. Though it’s cute, it’s several times stronger than a normal human. I win!

“Uuu…so irritating! Summon!”

--Whoosh!

My summoned beast is instantly reduced to ash.

“Hot, HOT!! MY BODY’S BURNING UP!!”

“It’s because you’re wearing clothes!”

No, it’s obviously because of Himeji-san’s summoned beast. The reflected power was too strong; it makes me unable to faint at all!

“Anyway, I won’t lose to Minami! From now on, I’m going to call you ‘Akihisa-kun’!”

I can’t get through to Himeji-san anymore. Himeji-san really has low alcohol tolerance.

“And—one day—I’ll go with Akihisa-kun—”

Himeji-san’s voice suddenly gets weaker. What is she going to do with me one of these days?

“Himeji-san, are you still awake?”

“…Always…be…together…”

The rhythmic breathing reaches my ears; seems like she’s asleep. To think that she has such low alcohol tolerance; looks like I got to be careful not to allow her to get near any alcohol. Besides, it’s really dangerous to sleep in front of a guy like this.

“…I wasn’t paying attention for a while, and what are you taking doing now…”

[[Image:BTS vol 02 277.jpg|thumb]]

“Eh? Mi, Minami! It’s not that! There’s nothing wrong her…”

Looks like Minami’s drunk as well, since she’s relentless in her vicious attacks as well.

<center>☆</center>

“Good morning.”

“Ah, good morning, Himeji-san.”

The next morning, I met Himeji-san on the road to school. To meet her so early, what a wonderful thing. I’m so lucky.

Oh yeah. Now’s the appropriate time to ask her.

“Himeji-san, I got something I want to ask you.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“Yesterday, you said ‘And—one day—I’ll go with Akihisa-kun—‘, what do you mean by that?”

Those words may have some sort of promise hidden behind it, maybe…there’s something even more important than that meaning. A certain uncertainty makes my heart beat faster without me want to. What’s the real meaning behind that sentence…?

For a moment, Himeji-san can’t say anything. She then nervously says,

“I’m sorry, I don’t seem to remember what happened yesterday.”

“Eh?”

As I was nervous, this answer made me a bit disappointed. If so, this mean that she was really drunk, and really, it’s not weird at all.

“Ah, I, I see. Himeji-san really can’t take alcohol.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t remember anything, Akihisa-kun.”

“Nonono, it’s noth—”

Hm? Akihisa-kun?

“…Yuuji, the marriage proposal was rejected. What a pity…”

“Of course it would be rejected. If you calm down and think, I just reached 17.”

“…So I’ll carefully keep this until next year. Right now, we’re just a pre-married couple.”

“Shouko, can I go to your house and play next time?”

“…Yes, but the marriage proposal won’t be at home, but at the lawyer.”

“YOU’RE SAFEGUARDING IT TOO TIGHTLY!!”

The familiar voices came from somewhere. Should be Kirishima-san and Yuuji. Really, it’s time for Yuuji to give up already. However, it’s just that he’s thoroughly rejecting those premium tickets.

“Come to think of it, how should I use those tickets?”

Yuuji said that it was too dangerous to keep it, so in the end, he still gave them to me. If I’m to use this to go out with someone…

“Hm? Is there something wrong?”

“Ah, no. it’s nothing.”

I seemingly unconsciously gaze at Himeji-san’s face.

However, I’m not sure whether it’ll be useful or useless if I’m to use these tickets. Maybe it might make the situation even more awkward…

“Alright, I should return this to the one who needs it the most.”

“The one who needs it the most? What are you talking about?”

“Let’s treat it as a gift to that dishonest guy and a woman who’s dead set on him.”

“???”

Himeji-san looks extremely puzzled. Even though I feel that it’s a waste, let’s just give these tickets to Kirishima-san as a gift. As for me…I’m fine with things as they are now.

“Oh yes, I was called to head off to the staff room. Sorry, I’m making a move.”

“Ah, okay, walk slowly.”

Himeji-san suddenly brisk walks forward. At this moment—

“—Like you, Akihisa-kun.”

Though she said something rather softly, I can’t hear it as it’s buried among the noises of this early morning.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume2_The_Seventh_Question|The Seventh Question]]
| Return to [[Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume2_Author's_Notes|Author's Notes]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>