Ch.15Chapter 3. If Only There Was a Conscience (1)

Do you know what?

If you fold a blanket lengthwise, you can use it both under and over you at the same time.

This is possible because the width of the blanket Ms. Suzuki gave me was wider than expected, and my body is thinner than I thought.

Actually, doing it this way leaves my left arm slightly sticking out, and it covers my face like a shroud over a corpse, but it works well enough.

Plus, if I lie on my side and keep my arms close to my body, I can fit completely inside the blanket without anything sticking out. It even solves the problem of the blanket covering my face. It’s like a makeshift sleeping bag, I suppose.

The blood… I couldn’t remove it completely in the end.

Surprisingly, there was a coin laundry nearby, so I tried washing it, but a light brown stain still remained.

Well, it’s not like I’m showing it to anyone else, so it’s fine. If I flip the blanket over, I can’t see it anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

Still, I should probably buy another blanket to cover myself with sometime soon.

Breakfast and dinner were the same convenience store bread as always, but lunch menus became more varied. Yuuki seemed to think of me as an employee at her family’s business or something, because she bought me different kinds of bread whenever she went to the school store.

Thanks to her, I ended up being dragged by the wrist into the midst of students fighting over bread, but that was enjoyable in its own way, so I didn’t mind.

Yuuki has helped me a lot. Besides getting free lunches, I received her spare uniform to replace mine that was ruined by blood.

It felt a bit like a uniform bought for a middle school child that was too loose in anticipation of growth, but I’m unconditionally grateful for getting a free uniform.

And eating convenience store bread for dinner has become a bit more bearable now. Partly because I’ve gotten used to the taste, but also because I have club activities where unlimited snacks are provided right up until dinner time.

“…”

Today again, as I was heading up to the literature club room where dorayaki awaited me, I noticed something strange.

At the corner where the stairs meet the hallway, there was a piece of bread.

It was an intact piece of bread still in its packaging. A croquette bun from the school store. It contained meat instead of potato, which made it popular among the boys.

Of course, among the girls too.

I stopped climbing the stairs and quietly stared at the bread for a moment.

Did someone drop it while passing by?

This top floor corridor wasn’t really a place where many students wandered. It was a hallway full of unpopular clubs, and most of the clubs were the kind where members could just stay inside their rooms.

In other words, once students entered their club rooms after class, they rarely came out again.

Hmm.

After organizing my thoughts, I began to understand why the bread was sitting there all alone.

I carefully walked up the stairs and examined the bread more closely.

And I quickly noticed something strange.

At the sealed end of the plastic packaging—the part you tear open with your hands—someone had made a hole.

It was a perfectly round hole, as if made with one of those office punchers used to put papers in binders. And attached to that hole was a string.

Huh.

Really.

Huh.

It was obviously a trap meant to make a fool of someone.

They attached bread that looked ready to eat at the end, connected it with string, and used it as a fishing rod to catch people.

What kind of idiot would fall for that?

…

Well, I wasn’t stupid enough to fall for such a trap.

I wasn’t stupid, but I was curious about who had set the trap. Above all, I wondered what the purpose of setting such a trap was.

It’s absolutely not because I was tempted by the meat croquette.

And to find out who was holding the string of this trap, I needed to follow it.

Right?

So when I reached out my hand, it was to grab the string, not the bread.

As I slowly approached the bread and extended my hand, the bread moved slightly.

About one step’s distance.

It was obviously trying to lure me.

Did they think I would chase after the bread?

I paused for a moment, then—

Papat!

I quickly lunged toward the bread.

But the bread narrowly escaped my grasp. Fortunately, I didn’t fall.

“…”

For a moment, I wondered what I was doing.

Really, no matter how hungry I was, to be enticed by bread on the floor.

Even if that bread was a meat croquette rich in protein, famous for its outer layer that somehow doesn’t get soggy despite being factory-made, and always the first to disappear from the school store so that even when Yuuki dragged me there, I couldn’t get one—it still seemed a bit much.

“Haah…”

Lamenting my own foolishness, I straightened my back and stood up.

I smoothed out my wrinkled sailor uniform with my hands, and elegantly walked slowly toward the literature club room with my back straight.

The bread, seeming to know I had given up, didn’t move.

I passed by the bread with an indifferent expression—

—or rather, I didn’t pass by but lunged at the bread again!

But the bread, as if it had anticipated this, quickly darted forward. Damn it!

Still, this was the closest I had gotten to the bread so far. I ran after the bread again, and finally caught it in front of a classroom—

“Got it!”

—or so I thought, when someone suddenly hugged me tightly.

“What’s this, Kut-chan! Getting caught by something like this is too cute! You really wanted to join the occult club, right? Huh?”

“…”

Kaneko, who was hugging me tightly, had a subtle smell of sweat.

And that smell brought my mind sharply back to reality.

Wait, what was I doing?

I was chasing after bread in the hallway.

“…Where is this?”

“Oh, this is the photography club. I heard they’re all going out to take pictures today, so I’m just borrowing the room for a bit.”

That’s trespassing.

Indeed, cameras were lined up on the metal shelf against the wall.

Surprisingly, there weren’t many film cameras. Come to think of it, 2004 was when DSLRs were gaining popularity. A few years later, mirrorless cameras would take their place. The cycle is quite short when you think about it.

…As I was lost in thought, Kaneko spoke.

“Hm? Oh, sorry. Are you upset because I played a prank with food? Here, this was meant for you anyway.”

Kaneko handed me the croquette as I remained silent.

Whatever.

Food isn’t to blame.

And people who share food are never bad people.

“I forgive you.”

“…Were you not going to forgive me if I didn’t give it to you?”

Kaneko asked as she released me.

“…What are you two doing?”

Having heard Kaneko’s shout, Ikeda slightly opened the literature club door and looked at us with an incredulous expression.

“I was fishing for Kut-chan with food.”

By the way, what kind of naming sense is “Kut-chan”? I really don’t understand. Well, it’s just a nickname Kaneko uses.

Aren’t nicknames usually based on first names? In Korean terms, that would be like calling someone “Kim-chan.”

As someone not used to Japanese nicknames, I guess I’ll just have to accept it. Well, Japanese surnames are long, and it’s rare to have duplicate surnames in one class.

“…Kurosawa, if someone ever offers to buy you a meal and asks you to follow them, you absolutely must not go, understand?”

As we completely left the photography club room, closed the door, and approached the literature club, Ikeda said with a worried expression.

I absolutely wouldn’t follow them anyway. Who in the world would follow a stranger who offers to buy a meal…

…Oh, but I did follow Sasaki and got a free pork cutlet.

“What’s with that face? You look like something just occurred to you.”

Kaneko said with a surprised expression. Hey, why are you so perceptive only at times like this?

Could this person actually have some kind of psychic ability? Despite looking like a track and field ace, could she actually be naturally gifted in this area?

Come to think of it, she did once summon a foreign spirit with the Kokkuri-san game. Well, technically it was responding to my call, but still.

…That’s what it was, right? Surely it wasn’t that this person actually had talent in that area and had no choice but to respond?

No, no matter what, someone who doesn’t even appear in the main story couldn’t possibly pull off something like that.

“Kut-chan, are you serious!?”

“What’s going on?”

The door slid open and Yuuki entered, asking.

“Yuka! Listen to this! Kut-chan says she’s eaten food from a stranger!”

“No way.”

Yuuki immediately denied it.

And after putting her bag down on her usual desk and sitting in her chair, she said:

“Even Kurosawa must have some sense of caution about her surroundings.”

That’s… true. I’m being completely honest here, if a middle-aged man on the street offered to buy me pork cutlet and asked me to follow him, I wouldn’t go. Even I can make that kind of distinction.

…

Wait, what does she mean by “even”? Isn’t that a bit harsh?

“Right, Kurosawa?”

“…”

But I couldn’t answer Yuuki’s question.

After all, I did accept food from someone.

“Hm? Kurosawa?”

As I silently went to my seat, put the precious croquette in my bag, and reached for the snack basket, Yuuki asked again.

“Don’t tell me you actually did!?”

This seems like it will get blown out of proportion if I don’t answer.

After thinking for a moment, I said:

“…I plead the Fifth.”

“Kurosawa!?”

Ikeda jumped up from her seat.

Not just Ikeda. Yuuki, who had been sitting, also stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor.

Well, Kaneko was already standing.

“What are you saying? Are you serious?”

Um… it seems my witty joke didn’t land at all. Yuuki questioned me pressingly.

Looking around at the three people staring at me with their jaws dropped, I let out a small sigh.

“…It was a classmate. He was wearing our school uniform.”

“A boy you’d never met before bought you a meal? Why?”

Ikeda asked with great interest. Hey, you usually act like you have no interest in romance, so why are you like this now? Besides, you completely ignored the part about him wearing our school uniform.

Well, she always did carry romance-related books. Though she always claimed to despise them.

Looking at Ikeda, who pushed her glasses back up with her finger, I said:

“…We bumped into each other on the street, and as an apology…”

“So you’re saying you were just walking down the street, bumped into someone, and he bought you a meal just to apologize for that?”

Kaneko neatly summarized.

But since it was Kaneko, I carefully reviewed her summary once more.

Hmm, there doesn’t seem to be any problem. At least there’s no room for misunderstanding in each individual word, I judged.

“Yes.”

“That was deliberate.”

And immediately a landmine exploded.

“It’s a common tactic. Bumping shoulders with someone on the street, then looking at their face and asking, ‘Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?'”

Kaneko said firmly with a serious expression.

“Ah, I’ve read about that in books too!”

Ikeda exclaimed.

No, don’t apply book romance to real life. It wasn’t even romance to begin with.

“…Is it really that serious?”

At least Yuuki, sitting next to me, had a sensible reaction.

“…His little sister was there too, so it was fine.”

“Little sister? Are you sure?”

“She was wearing a middle school uniform—”

“Then she’s only a year younger than you. Couldn’t they still be dating?”

Does it work that way?

A high schooler dating a middle schooler somehow feels like crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

And the Sasaki siblings are two years apart. At least on that point, Kaneko’s guess was completely wrong.

“Did you get his name?”

“…”

I thought for a moment.

Would it be better to say the name here? Or should I just let it go?

“Sasaki.”

I think it’s better to say it.

The original story has already been twisted, and the connection between the protagonist and Yuuki has disappeared.

Sometimes when I pass by the classroom, I look inside under the pretext of greeting Yuuki, and Sasaki and Yuuki still occupy seats one behind the other. However, there doesn’t seem to be any particular interaction between them. I’ve never seen them talking.

Moreover, Yuuki doesn’t seem to have made any friends, just like in the original story.

Is she friendly with me because she thinks I’m a colleague?

“Sasaki? You don’t mean Sasaki Souta, do you?”

Yuuki immediately reacted.

“I think so.”

I nodded. While I remembered exactly, it seemed a bit… open to misinterpretation to remember the name of someone I’d just met so clearly. Especially a male student.

“Do you know him?”

Ikeda asked.

“He’s in my class. Unless there’s someone else with the same name in this school.”

Ikeda and Kaneko exchanged glances and made a fuss, but I just ate my snacks without any particular reaction.

If there’s going to be a connection, it would be better for Sasaki to have one with Yuuki rather than with me.

“…”

Though Yuuki’s gaze, staring intently at me, was a bit concerning.

*

May.

In my previous life, I lived in Seoul from birth until death.

Although Seoul’s weather became terribly hot, possibly due to global warming, from what I know, Tokyo’s weather is even worse.

That makes sense, considering it’s right next to the sea. Minato Ward is especially close to the ocean. In terms of map location, it’s closer to Incheon than Seoul.

Even though it’s only mid-May, the weather was gradually getting hotter.

Hanakawa High School’s sailor uniform is black. Although there’s a white line along the collar, that alone is absolutely insufficient to deflect all the direct sunlight.

Just lightly brushing my hand over it, I could feel that the uniform had absorbed May’s warm sunlight and was heated to a warm temperature.

The time it took to get from home to the subway was becoming increasingly difficult. Summer uniforms start on June 1st, but I wonder if I’ll melt before then?

Really, if they were going to create an avatar, couldn’t they have added some features? I don’t understand why they made it exactly the same as a human in this regard.

Couldn’t they have added functions like cooling the blood to turn the body into an air conditioner or something?

Though I suppose I’m also quite remarkable for not cutting this long black hair at all.

“…Come to think of it, I need to buy a summer uniform too.”

I sighed deeply.

Although I “inherited” a uniform from Yuuki, she didn’t have a summer one. That cursed foreign spirit didn’t even prepare that much.

…No, that’s not right.

Thinking about it, couldn’t they just create things? If they can make whatever they need when they need it, it’s not strange that they didn’t have everything prepared in advance.

Anyway.

My nutritional situation has improved compared to before. Besides the contract with Yuuki’s family, I also found a part-time job. Well, I’ll talk about that later.

The problem is that I still need money.

Tokyo’s minimum wage is 710 yen. The hourly wage at the place where I found a part-time job is 850 yen. Considering the cost of living, it’s a level that should allow me to get by somehow, but I’m still anxious. After all, I’m not working full-time.

I wonder if a yokai might pop out somewhere? Even though I’ve been looking around with my eyes wide open thinking that—well, I couldn’t find any. In this world, yokai aren’t something you find with your eyes anyway.

“Haah…”

I sighed deeply again.

As I was staggering along with my bag in one hand—

“Are you okay?”

Someone asked.

I turned my lowered head to look beside me. I thought it was a kind voice befitting a male protagonist, and indeed, there was a boy with a kind expression standing next to me. Politely keeping about one step’s distance.

Hmm…

“You’re Kurosawa, right?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“Your walk looked unsteady.”

“…I’m fine.”

This unsteady walk isn’t because I’m in pain, but because I don’t want to go to school.

People are so fickle. When I was working in society, I envied school with its relatively early end times compared to work and regular vacations, but now that I’m actually attending school, I just want to lie down at home and do nothing.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“…I’m fine, really.”

Only after I refused once more did he say he understood with a slightly embarrassed expression and moved away.

Judging by his expression, he seemed ready to grab my arm and support me if I said I wasn’t okay.

Sorry, but while I don’t mind falling into a high school girl’s arms, I’d rather decline having a guy support my body like some knight.

…Well, come to think of it, I used to do that kind of thing often in my previous life.

Why don’t you try getting closer to Yuuki instead of me? She sits right in front of you.

But I can’t just say something like that so casually. After all, I’m supposed to be in a position where I don’t know such things.

“Haah…”

I sighed deeply again.

The ground didn’t cave in.

*

If the time period had been the 2020s, I would have tried internet broadcasting.

Actually, such broadcasts existed to some extent even in this era. But broadcasts where hundreds or thousands of people come in and throw donations hadn’t been created yet.

It’s 2004 now. Did you know? YouTube first launched its service in 2005. Even if time progresses smoothly, the service will only start next year. And things like live streaming are another story entirely.

Niconico, Afreeca, none of these exist yet.

So my way of earning money was simply to work hard without shortcuts.

And the job I somehow chose was—

“…Welcome, Master.”

I said, bowing at the waist.

…Well, yes. Among the jobs I looked into, this one had the highest hourly wage and allowed me to work according to my after-school schedule.

Yes, even I think it’s a choice too heavily influenced by anime. There’s no room for excuse, I think.

In fact, I was regretting it tremendously right now.

For a job that serves the general public, I should have considered that I might run into people by chance.

“…Kurosawa?”

But this is a bit annoying.

What kind of crazy person comes to a maid café with their little sister?

“I’ll show you to your table.”

I completely ignored Sasaki calling my name and gestured toward a table.

The two Sasakis followed my hand with dumbfounded expressions.

…Alright.

Since it’s come to this, I’ll keep my expression even more rigid than usual.

I’m just going to do exactly what I’m paid for.