Volume 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)

From the day I arrived at Nanae until now has been at least 3 weeks.

Starting my new life at this level is pretty acceptable.

It was 7 in the morning, and I woke up to the ringing of my phone's alarm. I stood up from my bed, opened the curtains, and breathed in the salty air.

”Morning, Nanana-chan.”

I then greeted the spirit who had spent the whole night grinding an online game.

”Hm, morning, Juugo.”

Nanana-chan greeted me back with a smile.

Since the days when that detective came to mess things up. Nanana-chan then canceled the order from the Nanana Government that 'she won't talk with them for a while'. Which made me relieved whenever I greeted her and get an answer.

After talking to Nanana whilst watching the TV and finis.h.i.+ng my breakfast. I then started dressing up properly and exited the room.

”I'm going.”

At the time, it was a little over 8 o’clock which meant I was late. The distance to school could be covered in 20 minutes. And the distance that is a little rough to walk. I was still considering whether I should buy a bicycle or not. Since I don't really hate walking to school, the possibility of me even buying it is low.

The sound of footsteps of somebody running towards me from my back, pa.s.sing me onwards, then slowed down until I caught up, then she touched my shoulder.

”Morning Juugo, today's weather is very positive!”

Even though she had pa.s.sed me like anyone should, but Tensai or the self-proclaimed great detective slowed down to walk beside me.

”Morning Tensai, even though just now the weather wasn't so good.”

I greeted reluctantly.

”Then let's do our best learning.”

She never listens, like usual.

I still don't know why I'm such a jackpot to the great detective that I met many days ago.

Might sound weird, but talking about trivial things with Tensai has become a norm.

The reason it was weird was, I have always thought since a child that male and females are different things, and I never talked to any woman besides my family. Why? That's because… It's because I'm shy. So I always default to speaking mannerly as a habit. So the other side will usually think I talk to them with respect, I guess.

That's why it came to this. Sometimes I try to find an excuse for being such a shy guy. Another important change in my growth is the weird feeling that I never muster towards the great detective. To say clearly, Ikkyu Tensai is a cute girl, so cute to the point that just her looks alone can make an innocent boy blush.

But I don't know why I use words that originally I use with males to talk with this sparkling girl.

”What's the matter? You got the chance to walk beside such a cute woman in the morning, so why do you look so dry?”

”I'm suspicious of this woman who calls herself cute.”

”Ah, that's a good decision. That girl must have a pretty rotten personality.”

I was a little irritated.

Oh, so I must thank this personality of Tensai. Because ever since we first met, I don't harbor a shred of respect towards her, so my feelings towards her weren’t disturbed.

But thinking about it, talking like this, Tensai doesn't seem to have any bad intentions. Since to Tensai, she couldn't remember the dialogue between us a second ago at all. The people involved in this event, the person who Tensai left behind and cried while chasing after us like that little follower. To it, Tensai can do anything to it and it will try to forget about the things she does. And it seems that the follower once said 'Saying I can't remember is the evidence that truly you do not think so' Why did he say that? To this day I still don't understand the reason.

”Hey Tensai, before this you stayed at Nanana's number 1 island school, right? Why did you move here?”

Many days ago when Tensai and the follower became a point of focus more than me. Since she was a student that had moved away from Nanae's island #1. That was after taking away my blue jewel. She moved to the third island and even moved to my room. I really don't understand at all.

”Since it will become profitable in the future.”

Tensai will usually answer with just that. But the person herself seems to think that the other side of the conversation can understand everything. Tensai isn't very proficient at sharing what she thinks. Not that she's a bad communicator, but because she speaks while regarding the other side as of equal intelligence. So she thought that the other person must try to get to know all the basics by themselves. That's why the converser couldn't understand a single thing.

That was why I also don't understand how Tensai observed the world.

And then we reached the school. Entered the room to say hi to my friends while walking to my table.

Now that I think about it, Tensai hasn't greeted anybody. Since she made such an opening with her 'I'm the great detective' like that. People in the cla.s.s alienate her. And Tensai doesn't seem to be conscious of that.

And why are we both in this situation? I have no idea why.

”Uh- morning.”

When I turned my head to the little voice from the corner. There was a little foreign girl in her school uniform standing wearily, breathing in heavily.

He was Hos.h.i.+no Dark, the foreigner that does the job as Tensai's follower. He was a new student who just moved in. To say it again, he wasn't a she. Even though on the outside,  he is cute and lovely as much as any grade-A girl, in truth, he was as much a man as I am, no more no less.

”Morning, Hos.h.i.+no.”

”Morning. Hos.h.i.+no-san.”

Different from Tensai, Hos.h.i.+no is pretty popular, especially with men.

Hos.h.i.+no did her job as a follower while not knowing the full details of the job. He usually stays beside Tensai, which looks good enough.

A cute and graceful girl walked past the ma.s.ses to stand beside the weird person who proclaimed herself as a great detective.

Looks like the circle of men in cla.s.s wasn't able to tell that dark was a boy. Hm. If I didn't see the true form of dark, I would've misunderstood too. So I don't feel like laughing at them in the slightest.

”Hey, Hos.h.i.+no-san is so cute.”

This is one of my friends that would fight with me whenever we meet. Now he tried to befriend me after these two moved here. I nodded while they were conversing to help trigger his imaginations. And the people in this cla.s.s has agreed that Hos.h.i.+no Dark is the best student and loved by all. But they didn't even come close to Tensai the great detective that made them laugh out hard.

”Now that I think about it, Juugo-kun always stays with Tensai all the time, hmm.”

That was the words from the cla.s.s president, Yumeji Yurika.

”No, it's a misunderstanding. She and I have no relation to each other whatsoever. We just happen to know each other, other than that we don't have any connection.”

I tried to refute her with all my might as politely as I could. I am right now on the garden between the buildings during lunch break. The gla.s.ses girl who was the president was sitting beside me, and reacted to my answer with a suspicious ”hmm.”

I usually eat my food with Yumeji, sadly it isn't because we're some sort of couple but rather a coincidence. (EN: I understand, mate)

We coincidentally meet here daily, I was trying to find some time to not interact with Tensai, so during breaks I often times come here. Looks like Yumeji used this place frequently before, and looks like she always eats here alone too. These coincidental meetings eventually stack up, I'm not a stroker for this gla.s.ses girl. This is really just a coincidence.

Because here Yumeji will always listen to my silly conversations with kindness. One of the only things that help ease my heart. If you were to say that all I came to school for was this little even, it wouldn't be far from the truth.

That was why when we started the noon lessons until the end of school, I would always run at full speed back home. Since I don't want to see the shadow of that great detective, which drove me to this habit.

Today I don't need to do any part-time jobs, so I strolled around the pathway to the s.h.i.+aawase dorm.

When I returned, I saw someone sweeping the floor, cleaning the dorm.

”h.e.l.lo, Kadono-san.”

The person who was cleaning the front of the dorm was Kadono Satoru, my neighboring mate in room 203.

He was a student at a university who was constantly cheerful. If I remember correctly he was probably year 2.

”What are you doing?”

”Eh, I'm doing my secret part-time job.”

Might sound like a bad job, but in truth, it wasn't like that. Doing part-time jobs on this island is a little different from the norm. But the gist of it is that doing part time jobs on this island gets you quality salary.

No matter if it was related to academic purposes, around here everybody is hired for 1000 yen or more as a norm. The conditions for work is nothing strange, it's just like any other job. Why do they give out so much money I do not know. When I tried to ask the proclaimed 'king of part-time jobs' like Kadono-san, the answer I got was.

”Oh, that's because the shops around here aren't prioritizing profit as their primary goal.”

If you ask the king himself, it would look like the shops around would lessen their expenses to maximize their profit and the first victim of this thought is the workforce. Since human labor can be easily lessened and won't affect the quality of your shop. But it looks like this island doesn't do that, from what the king said, it looks like the main goal of each shop around here isn't profit, but the 'cycle'. The language was a little too specific for me to understand.

But good pays is beneficial to me. However, the goods sold here aren’t cheap. On this island, there aren't any cheap fast food stores, or normal food stores usually advertised on TVs. The goods sold isn't that cheap or expensive. When I asked the king himself why it came to be as such, he answered.

”Maybe because there isn't any notion of fighting with price, but rather competing in quality?”

”Is not having any cheap products a good thing?”

When I asked him that, he answered.

”I think its good, the evidence is in the efficient circulation of money”

Well, if someone who's studying economics praises it as such, that means it must be quite good. And I haven't listened to many other things. Really though I don't really want to learn about it. Since it's too far from the current question I'm having.

”And what next? Why do you need to hide the fact that you're working on a part-time job?”

”That's because I have already pa.s.sed the part-time job quota.”

2nd basic rule of part-time jobs on this island is 'We do not allow students to have more than 40 hours for part-time jobs per month.'

If you were to break this rule, I heard that you'll get exiled from this island. And you also can't excuse yourself saying you had no money.

Since to students who don’t have money, they'll eventually get forced into getting a scholars.h.i.+p.

So the excuse for not having money since you can't work part-time is inexcusable. Since back home are constantly sending in money. Also, the quota to get scholars.h.i.+ps are set so low that anybody could get some kind of scholars.h.i.+p.

Thus, as long as you live on this island normally, you shouldn't have any trouble with money.

If there are still people who need money even after getting scholars.h.i.+ps, they will get this answer from the higher-ups.

'If you want money right now, just quit and find a job.'

That sems to be the mindset of the people on this island.

”I'm very envious of the Universities in the big island.”

Looks like Mr. Kadono moved here to enter his 2nd year in Nanae university last spring. And usually complains about not having enough money.

”Back there, just listening to lectures is enough, but it doesn't work here.”

Looks like back there, Kadono usually enters lectures during the daytime, and enters his cla.s.sroom normally, and works intently on part-time jobs during the noon, and goes out to drink and play during the night.

But here on this island, everything was different, looks like there were just simply too much homework and reports to hand in. Just that was enough to stop you from doing anything else, it wasn't that hard, just you simply don't have any time to play around.

”Is this some kind of foreign university? Even though students are in the age of playing around.”

Looks like when he directly addresses this to the teachers, he was scolded, 'If you want to play around so much then quit. Get out of this island and go back to the big island.”

”But still, I can't quit doing part time jobs now.”

The third rule of part-time jobs is 'if you stop, you will not get any payment.'

Wait, really? Looks like during work time you will always be nitpicked and observed all the time. Also, the fact that you won't get any salary is frightening. I heard that j.a.pan's government makes it essential that you get paid for how much you worked. Looks like that law doesn't apply here. But from listening to Kadono, looks like complaining around earns him some money (??? Wtf ask someone else pls page 169)  But he still might get deported from this island immediately.

”But, if the part-timer is to suddenly get fired, won't the shops suffer?”

”Oh, the shops on this island usually doesn't have any need to hire new workers.”

Just the regular employees are enough to run the store and looks like part-time jobs here are considered as part of special cla.s.ses on social life.

”So all of that, just for this?”

”Yes, that's all it is.”

The fourth rule of part-time jobs, 'If anybody wants more money than this, you need to do illegal part time jobs'

Not working in stores, but working for people who need workers. Examples include the useless human being who's the owner of the s.h.i.+aawase dorm that never works. To the students who needed money to play around while working overtime, are forced to do this job without much choice.

I encouraged the student with 'Do your best' and separated from him back to room 202.

”I'm back.”

”Welcome back, where's the souvenir?”

”Here.”

I reached out for three custard whose all in all value is 100 yen that I bought from the local store for Nanana-chan who came out to take it with sparkling eyes.

Nanane chan looks very happy and cheerful.

But she sure does eat a lot.

”If you eat that much, you'll get fat.”

When I said that, she laughed at me.

”Juugo is so dumb. Ghosts can't get fat.”

Thank you for your highly intelligent answer with that brilliant smile. Your words have captured my heart like always. As if it were words from Mary Antoinette.(Idk who this is.) (EN: Originally 'Angtuanet', which left me laughing.)

But deep in my heart right now I have this powerful urge to argue her highness like the va.s.sals back in those ages.

It's not about Spirits eating Custards in the first place!

I peeked over to see Nanana chan while I was starting to prepare our dinner. Of course, I was the one making dinner. To Mr. Kadono, this part-time system must've stressed him out to a degree. But to me, I felt very thankful for it.  Since the salary was pretty high allows me to be able to buy anything I wish. And I can use that extra money to pay for daily necessities. That is why I can make the food right now.

After beginning our lives along for a while, I had the goal that I would make my own food to eat. Now that I think about it it wasn't that much of a goal in the first place. I also never knew that if we humans live our lives solely on Quick noodles, we'll get sick. I was attacked by a bad stomach ache, dizziness, and vomiting for one week. That was when I understood the true meaning of a balanced diet.

(EN: *stops slurping on cup noodles* What? That happens?!)

Humans start growing by learning things they never knew before.

But the only thing that never changes is the people huddled here like bounded spirits and the unknown future that lies ahead of me.

After moving to this island for 3 weeks, I have faced many strange problems and solved them. Which had kept my lonesome lifestyle going on.

Because a strange problem is occurring again 3 days from now.

Angels are real.

”Is Mr. Yama Juugo here?”

Let me say this again. Angels are real.

After finis.h.i.+ng homeroom cla.s.s, the door behind opened, and an angel descended down into my cla.s.sroom.

The whole room started to get loud. Including my cla.s.smates and our homeroom teacher.

The reason was also equally confusing to me. I don't understand it in the slightest.

A beautiful girl wearing gla.s.ses in a maid uniform is calling me.

(EN: … d.a.m.n! Looks like you got your lucky break, Juugo)

I don't know why but our visitor's atmosphere made my body shook. My breathing growing erratic. ”Hey, Juugo, your pupil's going to fall out!” Looks like the great detective sitting beside me shouted. But my consciousness wasn't looking good.

Right now the most urgent topic is one, and only one.

My other self, full of greed has manifested in me.

I stood up, pretending to be alright. The people in my cla.s.s tried to take a peek as I stood in front of that angel.

Before slowly opening my lips to talk.

”H-h.e.l.lo. What business do you have?”

My voice was cracked and weird. I don't know when my throat was so dry I couldn't talk… What is happening to me? This is an angel, right? an angel from heaven?

(EN: hmph!)

Standing in front of a person with a halo behind them made me feel like there were wounds popping up all over my body.

A contrast between heaven and h.e.l.l.

Just standing in front of her, I find myself imagining a big wall between my lowly self and this angel. But at that moment I was pulled out from the trance.

”…Uh, are you listening?”

”Yes,” I answered, raising my head.

”So it's like that, Yama Juugo,  I have something to talk to you about. If you have some time after this, can you come to discuss about it?”

Looks like I lost against the angel's divinity. I have lost all sense of reason since many seconds ago.

But there a voice from behind saying ”Hey, since just now, Yame is saying something weird.” ”That guy's head must have a screw loose.” I heard my cla.s.smates saying similar things to what the super detective usually says. ”That's because this guy is the type that likes maids.” This lit up a volley of excited screams when my secret was exposed.

(EN: *Dumbfounded* You have to keep that a secret? Really?)

”So Juugo-kun… Likes these types of things…”

I heard voices with different emotions behind them mixing together and blended so much so that I can't tell one from the other. Right now behind me lays a messy atmosphere of people. But I don't care about them.

(EN: *nods* With an angel's call, disregard all)

”I understand, let's go.”

I said, pretending to be as serious looking as possible. The angel answered back with a smile, ”If so, please follow me.” She then turned her back to me and walked off.

I decided to follow her.

I heard screams from my back.

”Hey, that guy just jumped out and away jovially.” ”The worst.” ”Disgusting.” ”That guy has reached his end.”

That's not it, cla.s.smates. It's not because of me, but because of my legs which refuses to follow my orders and started jumping around for no reason.

From there I jumped around cheerfully like some kind of kid in the middle of the gra.s.sy plains on alps, to the building beside the main building. One of the activity room is on the 4th floor of the activity building.

”Ok, please come in.”

She opened the door while bending her head to peek in.

I followed her orders and stepped in.

Looks like this room belongs to some kind of club, the part near the window had metal levels holding up books and files that were ordered there. With both teapot and a refrigerator. Around the innermost window, there was a big oak table similar to the princ.i.p.al's table standing. Surely there were black, s.h.i.+ny chairs sitting beside it. In the center of the room was a round table with 4 chairs encircling it.

While I was exploring the room, there was a 'click' of the door's lock being locked. When I turned my head I saw the angel finish locking the door.

”W-what?”

A few days ago a similar event happened, but the difference is that this time I turn back to see no one. What will happen now?

When I tried to pull the k.n.o.b, no matter how much I turn, push, or pull, the door won't budge. So I need to turn back to explore this room without choice, and saw many strange matters in the center of the room.

It was a sign, a wood pole with a board stuck on top, like the ones in RPG games.

That sign is stuck right in the center of the room.

Even though I think this whole situation was weird, but I needed to close in to read its words.

'Question: In this room, there is something not like any other in the room. What is that?'

”…He? What, a puzzle?”

Other than that, below the question, it was written 'if you find the answer, say it in front of this sign.'

My sights circled around the room instantly. In this room, there was nothing but countless little equipment lying around randomly.

Gymnastic equipment, cones, basketb.a.l.l.s, and along the room's wall were shelves upon shelves of possibly j.a.panese checkers, western chess, and other board games than I could possibly name.

First off I need to look around carefully since there was literally everything lying around. So much so that I can't tell which from the other. Just scanning the room with bare eyes took a whole 10 minutes.

At last, me who kept worrying, figured out an answer.

”Ahem.” I stood in front of the sign, coughing lightly before opening my mouth.

”The pole, since it's… Longer than the other things.”

I pointed at the wood laying in the corner of the room.

(EN: No, idiot, it's you.)

'AAAAAD'

The siren that made me realize my answer was wrong wailed.

'ClICK'

”Eh?”

The floor beneath me disappeared.

That moment I felt the feeling of zero gravity like I could float, milliseconds before gravity got into work and pulled me down. Then my b.u.t.t hit against something with a thud. Then my body slid towards the dark path.

”AHHHHHHHH!”

And in that darkness, a light shone right in front of me. Before my whole body was pulled by gravity towards that light.

The end of the path was the exit, to say it properly I mean the hole in the wall from the second floor.

That means, what was waiting for me was a free fall without anything to stop me.

(EN: Serves you right! For having so many girls around you!) (TL: Newbie, you're revealing your true motives)

PLUK!

And the terminal point is on a stone pavement in the garden between academic buildings. I was released down with force, eventually hitting the stone floor. At last, after a while, I was released from the rule of momentum.

”Hey, are you ok?”

Tensai and Dark watched me from the window on the third floor yelled down at me who was still struggling on the garden's floor. Looks like they do care about me too.

But… That wasn't important.

”Hahahahahahaha!!!!!”

Suddenly I burst out Laughing.

”Wow, he suddenly laughs, did he hit his head somewhere major?”

”Probably somewhere important, quite sad, really.”

”Hey hey, guys, don't jinx me.”

I raised my face to the third floor and complained to the two while forcing my wounded body to stand up.

Dark and Tensai grabbed on the window's edge and looked down.

Juugo then suddenly fell down to the garden again like just now. After rolling around the floor, and quickly getting up and running. After a minute he went back to rolling around the floor. And then he went back to unlock the room's lock again. After several minutes a sound of Juugo answering the wrong answer, then a shriek as Juugo was flung away from the room.

This happened again and again without end.

”That's great, Juugo. This is the 10th time already.”

Juugo with his stubborn personality to find the answer without fail even after getting flung away several times. Stood up with a laugh, the scene in front of us revealed much of his perspective, making it feel like this Juugo had an ample amount of energy.

”Dark, can you see what's happening?”

”Yeah, it looks fun. Like a little kid playing with a toy in a park.”

Tensai turned to Dark with a sarcastic smile before c.o.c.king the head in a fed up manner.

”Not like that, I'm asking about Juugo's body movements.:

”Eh, what do you mean?”

”After Juugo was released to roll along the floor, the height from where he was released is about 5 meters. Usually, he should've been injured like normal.”

”That is true.”

”But why is Juugo not showing signs of getting weaker?”

”When you say that, I see where you're getting at…”

”This is an evidence of training.”

There was a sound of the door opening from behind them telling them that Juugo had failed to answer again.

”Look, he's falling again.”

When looking down, it was exactly as Tensai said. Juugo who was roaring with all his might was flung out like usual.

”Yeah, you're right. The way he landed himself is unusually graceful.”

In the second before terminal impact with the floor, Juugo will bend himself to roll on the floor to spread out the impact, before standing up like nothing ever happened. Then took off like usual with energy. His movements were truly fast.

”Huh, this guy is better than I thought.”

Tensai laughed without care of his surrounding as if this whole building belongs to him alone.

”Ok, I think I'm joining.”

Tensai started to move.

But Tensai wasn't moving to the door in front, but the stairs nearby.

5.

”Next turn, I'm going too.”

When I was turning the lock to enter the room to challenge the problem again for the thirteenth time, Tensai who had been watching for a while now decided to propose himself to help.

”Hey, no problem! I'll take care of this myself.”

I was feeling pretty stubborn every time I got the answer wrong.

”Okay, then let's go.”

And I was ignored just like that. This girl just doesn't listen to anyone, does she.

When things got to this, my 13th try seems to have another challenger with me.

Opening the door and entering the room had become sort of a routine already. There was the same pattern as usual. Which was the door behind me locking itself.

”Hmph, this room is really strange.”

Suddenly after entering the room, Tensai muttered this.

”What's strange?”