Ch.10Chapter 2. Bread and the Heroine (4)

Do you know something?

It hurts more when you’re dropped after being lifted up than when you’re at rock bottom.

This morning, I woke up in a soft blanket.

Maybe because it was the first time I slept with a proper pillow since coming to this world, my neck didn’t feel stiff in the morning. I was amazed that I didn’t have to rotate it several times to relieve the tension.

Though I said “it’s not that cold,” there was still an enormous difference between sleeping with a blanket and without one. At least I didn’t have to shiver from the dawn chill when I woke up.

Thanks to that, I woke up quite late today.

I barely had time to wash my hair before leaving, but I missed my morning cornet bread.

My stomach, which had been filled with tonkatsu for dinner last night, quickly became empty.

My back felt slightly damp because I couldn’t dry my hair properly, even though I hadn’t been sweating.

Fortunately, I wasn’t late, but that wasn’t the real tragedy.

Perhaps because I had a taste of heaven yesterday, this carbohydrate lump I bought for lunch tasted terrible. Even with salt!

My body… was craving protein!

“Sigh.”

Of course, even though I felt such a drop, I had adapted to this lifestyle for quite a while, so I wasn’t that shocked. I just felt a greater emptiness than usual.

It wasn’t enough reason to sigh so deeply.

“Sigh…”

That sigh came from beside me.

After sighing deeply, Yuka Yuuki dipped the end of her cornet bread slightly into the salt dish I had placed beside me and put it in her mouth.

Do Japanese people really like salty things? Does she like salty things too?

As someone eating from the same salt dish, I shouldn’t talk, but I only dip mine very, very slightly. I think that’s enough. If I dipped too much, it would taste like one of my kidneys might go on strike in a few days.

And honestly, if it’s just salty, it gets tiresome in its own way.

“Sigh…”

The third consecutive sigh.

I stopped moving with the cornet bread in my mouth and turned my gaze. Yuka seemed highly aware of my gaze but didn’t seem like she would speak until I initiated the conversation.

“…”

Finally, I took my mouth off the cornet bread.

“…What’s wrong?”

Only after I asked did Yuka roll her eyes wide and open her mouth.

“No, well, just. I feel like nothing’s going right these days.”

She seemed to want to lament about something.

In the original work, Yuka was a tsundere. She often snapped at the protagonist, and the broad-minded protagonist handled it well. Perhaps because of that, Yuka later came to rely on the protagonist often.

When the protagonist asked her to open up, she would pretend she didn’t want to talk but would end up sharing anyway.

To be honest about my feelings right now—why are you telling me this?

Aren’t we only meeting for the second time?

The reason I opened up to Sasaki was because the two of us shared a secret.

Yuka is a yokai hunter, and Sasaki is one of the few classmates who knows that fact, so it makes sense. Teenagers often don’t know how to keep their worries to themselves.

But we don’t have anything in common except eating cornet bread.

Even our reasons for holding cornet bread are different. I had to eat cornet bread because I had no money, while she had no choice but cornet bread because she lost in a competition.

Well, I guess we both only have cornet bread as an option.

“…What’s wrong?”

I know I’m walking into a trap, but I don’t want to spend the entire lunch break listening to sighs from beside me.

Despite appearances, I enjoy this time.

“No, well, I can’t tell you in detail, but—”

If you can’t tell me, then don’t.

It’s a bit frustrating when she talks like this, even though I can roughly guess what it’s about.

“I came to this school because I had something to do, but now that I’m here, I can’t find what I’m supposed to do. Seriously, if there’s a goal, they should tell me clearly what it is, not ‘it seems to have disappeared for some reason.’ What nonsense is that after making me transfer schools?”

She must be talking about her family.

There’s no hunters’ association in this country.

Oh, of course, the government is somewhat aware. They just don’t try to solve it themselves.

In this world, yokai or similar entities are spread not only in Japan but in other countries as well, and each country deals with them in their own way. In my opinion, Korea might have something like a “hunter registration card”? Or maybe they all died tragically during the Korean War.

In this country, there are “families.” Isn’t that such a Japanese light novel setting?

Yuka is the eldest daughter of such a family’s main house. Through various circumstances, she ended up shouldering the family business. I’m not sure if she’s the head of the family or not.

For hundreds of years, these families have been exterminating yokai on their own, and they’ve reached agreements with the government to continue their family business… That’s probably the setting.

I put the cornet bread back in my mouth.

“To think they’d make me bring that to school, I thought they were crazy. It’s a crime in today’s world, a crime.”

She must be talking about a sword?

I thought as I chewed the cornet bread with my molars.

“The family elders are all old people. There’s only one son in the branch family. I just wish they’d let me live a normal life. I came all the way to Hanakawa, but I can’t even enjoy school life and just search for traces on my way home.”

Hmm.

I could somewhat understand why she was telling me this.

I look like I don’t have friends.

Well, I don’t have that many, and I wouldn’t tell others about this anyway. She probably thought I looked that way.

In a sense, she found the right person.

And she’s leaving out the most important parts of the story. Even if I asked what she was talking about, she probably wouldn’t tell me properly.

“…”

I silently chewed my cornet bread.

“Sigh.”

Yuka sighed deeply again. But this sigh seemed somewhat lighter. Because she had vented?

“…Sorry. Were you not interested?”

If I had to choose between interested and not interested, it would be closer to the former. After all, isn’t she a heroine? Back in the day, I really liked tsundere heroines.

But if I had to choose between wanting to get involved or not, I’d choose the latter.

“…What are you doing in front of a child?”

You’re the only child here.

I’m more of an adult than our homeroom teacher, Ms. Suzuki.

“Sorry, did you not want to hear it?”

Yuka said with a bitter smile.

After contemplating what to say, I chose not to answer.

As I silently ate my bread, Yuka seemed a bit embarrassed. She scratched her head and stuffed her half-eaten cornet bread into her mouth.

She chewed vigorously and then gulped it down.

“Phew.”

After exhaling softly, Yuka grabbed my hand, which had just finished eating the cornet bread, and pulled me up.

With bread still in my mouth and unable to respond properly, Yuka said to me:

“I’ll buy you milk. As payment for the consultation.”

I blinked and looked up at Yuka.

Ah, if she’s paying, I’ll listen to any consultation, of course.

When I nodded, Yuka led me to the school store.

Unfortunately, only white milk was left, but that’s better than nothing.

How long has it been since I had calcium?

*

Anyway, I thought Yuka’s words made quite a bit of sense.

Not the part where she complained about her family. The part about school life.

The part about coming all the way to Hanakawa High School but not being able to enjoy school life at all.

For me, it would be best to find a job as soon as possible, but since I haven’t received a call about rent yet, I think I have some leeway in that regard. The place itself isn’t expensive to begin with.

So, wouldn’t it be okay to join a club first and then worry about part-time jobs?

…Even I think I’m making up strange reasons to procrastinate, but what does it matter?

I’ve already died once in my previous life, and in this life, I almost got brutally murdered.

Wouldn’t it be okay for me to live comfortably for a few weeks?

With that thought, I headed towards the old school building where the clubs were gathered.

The school building is shaped like an “L.” The horizontal part is the new building, and the vertical part is the old building. It seems the new building was added later.

There are also annexes and a gymnasium, but I don’t need to explain those now.

Anyway, most of the important facilities—like science labs, music rooms, and other facilities needed for studying—were newly built in the new building, and all classrooms were moved there. As a result, the old building became relatively empty.

It seems the school is allocating classrooms in the old building to clubs that mostly have indoor activities.

Naturally, the literature club was there too.

They weren’t the protagonists of this novel, but in light novels, the literature club is often portrayed as a good club for protagonists to join.

Because the club itself is quite manageable, isn’t it?

Most activities just involve sitting and reading books, and occasionally when asked to verify activities, you just write a few pages, staple them, and submit them. Yet, it’s awkward to disband, and strangely, in stories, it’s often “on the verge of being disbanded.”

In summary, it’s a club with very good conditions for me to join.

It wouldn’t matter if I missed it because of part-time jobs, right?

Tap.

I found a classroom with a nameplate that read “Literature Club” and stood in front of it.

It’s a very old-looking nameplate.

Alright.

I turned towards the door and slowly raised my hand.

Hmm. I’m getting nervous about knocking.

Just as I was about to take a deep breath—

“Wait!!!”

A shout came from the end of the right corridor.

Startled, I turned to see a female student sprinting towards me.

Uh, wait a minute.

If you run like that, can you stop—I guess not.

That female student collided with me.

Fortunately, we didn’t fall.

The girl, who embraced me with her whole body and skidded about 2 meters forward with her indoor shoes, supported me as I was half-falling and said:

“Are you a new student?”

“…Yes.”

Although it was almost May, so calling me a new student was a bit of a stretch.

She didn’t seem to be a first-year.

Her face looked tanned by the sun. Her hair was cut short. She hadn’t dyed it, so she didn’t give off a delinquent vibe like Fukuda.

If I had to describe her, she gave the impression of an enthusiastic track and field club member.

“Hmm.”

That enthusiastic track and field club member made a nasal sound and showed a very strange smile.

What’s with her?

As I stiffened, she put me back in place. Then she smoothed out the wrinkled parts of my sailor uniform, stepped back about one step, placed her hands on her hips, and stared at me.

“Good, excellent!”

Excellent? What?

She’s not trying to recruit me for the track and field club, is she?

Although I had a job that used physical strength in my previous life, I didn’t want to run around as a high school girl.

“Do you want to join our club?”

“…Track and field?”

“Ugh, n-no.”

When she heard the words “track and field,” she made a face as if she was hit somewhere sensitive.

Why is she reacting like that?

But I didn’t have time for the next question.

Slide, tap.

Before I could open my mouth again, the club door I was about to knock on opened.

“…Ka~o~ru~!”

The woman who opened the door called out that name while trembling.

She was a model student, but with a slightly different vibe from Miura.

Her hair was braided separately on both sides and draped over her shoulders, and she wore thick, perfectly square-framed glasses, different from the ones Miura wore. At least she didn’t have bangs. That’s a relief, I guess.

If Miura was an energetic, popular honor student and insider, this one seemed more like a timid literary girl or a gloomy outsider.

The timid-looking girl raised her head, and her glasses flashed in the sunlight.

“Why are you intercepting someone who came to join the literature club!?”

“Oh, were you listening?”

“Of course I was listening! I even heard her walking down the corridor and stopping in front of the literature club! I was waiting for her to decide whether to come in or not!”

“Ah, sorry. But I think it’s better if I take her. The occult club is short on members.”

So it was the occult club.

I immediately understood why she specifically called out to me. It’s because I look like Sadako with my hair tied. I heard Sadako was originally beautiful? But futanari. …By the way, I don’t have that now. I used to have it but not anymore… anyway, let’s not talk about that now.

By the way, her appearance doesn’t match her club at all. Was she originally in the track and field club and quit?

“You were in the track and field club! And there’s no such club as the occult club in this school!”

“That’s why you should join. And the literature club member who’s just a name on paper too. With her, that’s four people, right? That satisfies the minimum number requirement and leaves one extra?”

So it was a club that didn’t even exist.

“Don’t talk nonsense. We can’t disband the literature club, which has never disappeared since the school’s founding, for such a new club! Besides, you haven’t even found a faculty advisor!”

“That historic literature club is also on the verge of being disbanded. That one member you have is just someone who lent their name.”

At those words, the literature club member seemed angry and pushed up her glasses with her finger, exclaiming:

“That’s why this girl should join our club! She looks like she loves reading books!”

I do like reading light novels. I wonder if web novels… ah, this is still the era of rental novels, not web novels. I’m curious about Japan. In Pe○sona, they rented DVDs and such.

“Look! If you tie her hair on both sides like this, she’s a perfect literature club member!”

The literature club member grabbed my hair, dividing it into two sides, and exclaimed.

“Ah, what are you doing!”

The track and field… no, the prospective occult club member slapped that hand away and shouted.

“This hairstyle is perfect as it is. Look, doesn’t she look like she could crawl out of a TV?”

I think so too, but honestly, I also think that comment is a bit rude.

“Come on, prospective member? Don’t be like that and come inside. It’s warm, and there are snacks.”

“I’ll help myself.”

As I was about to follow the literature club member into the literature club room, the track-occult club member grabbed me with a desperate expression.

“Hey, where are you going? Are you the type who follows when a bad man offers candy? You shouldn’t do that. You’ll definitely get into trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“She’ll go on and on about Dazai Osamu’s ‘No Longer Human’ and give a long speech. I know it. She’ll definitely talk about how no one appreciates your novels while identifying with Oba Yozo!”

Ah, I understand that feeling.

I’ve been there too. Identifying with characters from novels I’ve deeply read. Like H○ruhi’s K○on, or Shinji, or Okazaki. Those male characters I identified with. Those days were… not particularly bright, but they were a fairly fun youth.

For reference, not H○chiman. He came out much later.

“Anyway, let’s talk inside. If you stay with her, stupidity will definitely rub off on you.”

“What stupidity? My math score was higher than yours!”

“You just guessed one more question correctly! It’s only 1 point higher!”

I see.

It seems neither of them is good at math. I gained information I didn’t particularly want to know.

But anyway.

“…Snacks?”

“See, I told you people should be lured with food. It’s even written in the Bible.”

I think the nuance in the Bible is a bit different, but it didn’t matter. Anyway, if there are unlimited snacks, it will definitely help with calorie replenishment.

“…Alright.”

Kaoru, as she was called, released my hand.

Then she took out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket.

“Then, let’s ask Kokkuri-san.”

The paper she took out was what we call “bunshinsaba” in our country.

“…”

“…Seriously?”

“Completely serious.”

“…”

The literature club girl narrowed her eyes and glared at Kaoru through her glasses, then turned around and grabbed my arm.

“Come on, let’s go. Again, if you play with a fool, you’ll become one.”

“Ah, why~ Let’s do it, let’s do it!”

As I was dragged into the literature club room, Kaoru followed behind on her own.

They’re such noisy people.

Actually, does it even matter which club I join?

Inside the literature club room, desks were gathered in the middle. That is, two desks were put together, and two more desks were put together next to them, forming a ‘ㅛ’ shape.

And in the middle of that ‘ㅛ’ shape was a large basket full of snacks.

It wasn’t just snacks and candies; there was even dorayaki!

“Here, here, new student, sit here.”

Noticing that my attention was drawn to those snacks, the literature club member showed a triumphant smile and seated me.

With superhuman patience, I resisted reaching for the snacks. No matter what, it seemed impolite to reach for snacks before joining.

“Here’s the club application form. It’s a paper that Kaoru over there can never give you.”

“Acting all high and mighty over a mere piece of paper.”

But it seemed true that it wasn’t a paper Kaoru could provide.

I took the paper and quickly wrote my name. Kotone Kurosawa.

“Hmm, so that’s your name. It’s a nice name. The sound of a koto.”

The literature club member nodded and said that, then placed her hand on her chest and said:

“My name is Izumi Ikeda!”

Saying that, Ikeda flipped over the club application form and wrote the character 泉. It means “spring.”

“And you don’t need to know about that one over there.”

“That’s harsh.”

The girl called Kaoru reached out and grabbed a dorayaki, and while opening the wrapper, she said:

“I’m Kaoru Kaneko. You can just call me Kaoru.”

“We’re both second-years.”

Ikeda said as she sat next to me.

“I’m the president of the literature club.”

“A president in name only. You’re the only one who’s actually active.”

“Not anymore! Now I have a proper club member!”

“Ah, right.”

About to put the dorayaki in her mouth, Kaneko placed the Kokkuri-san paper she had on the desk back in the middle of the desk, as if she had forgotten.

“So, are we doing this or not?”

“What are you talking about? Kurosawa is already a literature club member.”

“No, no.”

Kaneko waved her finger and said:

“You haven’t submitted that application to the student council yet. So she’s not a member yet. Before submitting it, ask Kokkuri-san.”

“…What kind of logic is that?”

Regardless of Ikeda’s snort, Kaneko took out a 10-yen coin from her pocket and placed it on the paper.

“Come on, come on, hurry.”

“…”

Hmm. I just want to sit here, eat dorayaki, and leave. It’s been hours since I last ate cornet bread.

But somehow, it seemed like Kaneko would win against both me and Ikeda even if we both attacked her.

Ikeda seemed to think the same, as she sighed deeply but carefully folded the club application form and placed it on the president’s desk, which was somewhat away from the ‘ㅛ’-shaped desks, then returned to her seat.

“Fine, fine. So how do we do this?”

Kaneko moved the snack basket to the side. Ah, my daily food is moving away.

“First, we spread the paper like this.”

“Ah, wait.”

Looking at the paper Kaneko had spread out, Ikeda said incredulously:

“Why is there a pentagram instead of a torii?”

Yes, no, the Japanese fifty-sound table, and numbers.

At the top of all that was a pentagram drawn inside a circle.

…Somehow, it looks familiar. Actually, I can see it anytime if I want. I just need to lower the thick hair tie on my wrist.

“Of course. Don’t you think Satan or something seems much stronger than a fox yokai?”

“…”

Ikeda made a face that suggested she had nothing to say.

“Come on, come on, hurry.”

Kaneko placed the coin randomly on the paper and said:

“You put your finger on the coin.”

“…Sorry. My friend is such an idiot. Making you do stupid things on your first day.”

“…No.”

Let’s just get this over with and eat snacks.

I exhaled softly and placed my index finger on the coin along with Ikeda.

As if Kaneko was holding it firmly, the coin didn’t move at all.

“Now, we all chant the spell together.”

“How?”

“Just follow me. Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please come~”

Kaneko closed her eyes and chanted the spell.

“…”

Hmm.

I don’t want to say this to someone I just met, but honestly, it seemed a bit foolish.

Shouldn’t there be a creepy atmosphere when doing something like a séance? But this is too comedic.

Ikeda and I looked at each other again, and as if resigned, we closed our eyes.

And then—

“Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san. Please come—”

At that moment.

“Here I am.”

…

The coin didn’t move at all.

I just heard such a voice in my ear.

How…?

“Humans sometimes think that I can only approach when they draw elaborate magic circles.”

The voice giggled in my ear.

“But in reality, there’s no need for that. The summoning circle on your wrist is proof of that, isn’t it?”

No, the summoning circle on my wrist is much more complex than this.

It has strange writing on it too.

“The point is not complexity or accuracy.”

But the voice ignored my thoughts and said:

“Whether the one who wants to answer, answers or not. That’s the most important thing.”

…

Someone gently placed their finger on top of mine.

And slowly pushed it to the side.

I opened my eyes slightly.

Kaneko and Ikeda were both still frozen with their eyes closed, just as I remembered them last.

But only our fingers were moving.

And—

Inside the pentagram in the middle, there was an eye that looked like it had been roughly drawn with a pencil.

That eye was looking at me.

“While I wasn’t conversing with you, I tried to read your mind. But it was completely impossible.”

Swish, swish, the finger moves.

“I even suspected that the one who took over the avatar I created might be someone who descended from a higher place than me. But seeing that you can’t resist in this state, it doesn’t seem to be the case.”

A small laugh.

“I have a few things I’d like to ask you. Ah, no need to worry too much. I am very satisfied with you. In fact, isn’t it enjoyable to deduce things from a state of not knowing anything? Just three things. I’d like you to answer just three questions. Then I will tell you my name.”

The coin slowly moved and was placed between “yes” and “no.”

No, why are you asking when there’s no choice?

“Now, here’s the first question.”

‘She’ asked:

“You are not a person of this world, are you?”

The coin slowly moved and pointed to “yes.”