Chapter 254: Delivering a Message
“So why is there such a big shortage? It’s only the early stages…”
On the path in the early morning, a black-haired girl in uniform listlessly bit into her sandwich, but her solemn expression proved her mind wasn’t on eating.
“Hm? What’s missing? Kazumi?”
The girl’s soft muttering was accurately caught by the boy beside her, who quickly leaned his silly head over, wanting to share his little girlfriend’s worries.
“Uh…”
Seeing the golden head suddenly appear before her, Kazumi’s cold expression slowly melted, turning into a helpless raised eyebrow. She gently pushed the boy’s head away with her elbow and answered with an unreadable expression.
“Upgrade materials in the game.”
“Oh, is it that dress-up game you mentioned before? It has upgrade settings too! That’s amazing.”
“If you don’t have anything nice to say, then say less.”
“Oh…”
Kazumi had probably gotten used to Shinichi Sato’s extremely dense remarks. Not only his stereotypical view of female-oriented games, but also these strange compliments; if he were actually a player of this game, his blood pressure would likely skyrocket.
*Furious and trembling, why can’t female-oriented games have common settings like mobile games!*
Kazumi, who had played Miracle Nikki for several years with an unclear understanding, made a rather regretful daily complaint to her boyfriend. She then picked up another sandwich and put it in her mouth, contemplating how to fill the large gap in territory construction materials.
“Hm?”
But before the girl could decide whether to find Uncle Fukada or the [Dark] Organization, a strange sensation in her mouth made her stop.
Seeing the clearly visible vegetables in the gap of the sandwich, the girl raised her eyebrows with slight displeasure, then shifted her gaze to the large thermos box in the blond boy’s hand.
Perhaps due to the worsening undeadification, the girl, who was already indifferent to vegetables, now detested them even more, preferring not to eat them if possible.
After all, since she had become undead, who would care about vitamin intake! Wasn’t eating meat more satisfying?
And as for her own dog, while he might not be good at anything else, he excelled at feeding her, even offering sandwiches with different flavors for breakfast. The girl, having no self-awareness of being fed, found it quite enjoyable.
“Here.”
Reaching out and poking the boy, who had become a bit dejected from her earlier scolding, Kazumi naturally handed the half-eaten sandwich in her hand to Shinichi Sato.
“Hm? Kazumi, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t like it.”
With her other hand, she directly took a piece of sandwich from the boy’s hand that he hadn’t started on yet. This part, with cheese instead of vegetables, was clearly the same part she had just eaten, and the chicken and sauce inside were to Kazumi’s liking.
“Kazumi, you don’t like this bacon sandwich? If you want chicken, I have some here.”
Instantly understanding the girl’s meaning, Shinichi Sato looked at the sandwich Kazumi handed him. After a moment of hesitation, he directly shoved it into his mouth, then opened the thermos box in his hand and said to the girl beside him.
“I don’t like vegetables.”
“Okay, I got it!”
Seeing the boy diligently taking out his phone to specifically record this, the girl’s greatly vexed mood over the territory materials became lighter. No matter what, having someone who cared about her to this extent by her side was quite a comforting matter.
*But I can’t tell him about this.*
Kazumi sighed with regret, otherwise, given the boy’s attention to her, he might have been able to get her materials other than flesh and blood through his background.
However, if she told him, the girl would find it difficult to provide a reasonable explanation for the whereabouts of these things. Even if Kazumi was confident she could fool the silly dog, she wasn’t confident she could deceive Grandpa Sato, a former professional hero.
Therefore, this somewhat tempting plan had to be shelved, and she turned to choose the more difficult Uncle Fukada, or her current boss, [Shell].
However, in terms of strength, it was clear that [Shell]’s status was higher than her cheap uncle’s. Uncle Fukada, at best, seemed like a middle-level at most!
Moreover, while acting coquettishly was useful, it wouldn’t last forever. Uncle Fukada had taken care of her for so long; if she troubled him like this again, even Kazumi would feel embarrassed.
*I’ll apply to the organization first. I wonder if the points from the last mission can be exchanged for some.*
Shaking her head with some helplessness, the girl inexplicably felt like she was back in her previous life, working to pay off her mortgage. Although the world had changed, the soul of a worker was eternal, appearing to be exploited wherever they went.
Looking at the dog holding his phone, seemingly changing tomorrow’s menu, Kazumi’s worries seemed to be washed away by the boy’s silliness. In the prime of their lives, seeing someone go all out for the person they liked was truly hard to bear to ruin.
“Let’s go.”
Casually picking up a sandwich from the food container in the boy’s hand, she fed it to a somewhat stunned Shinichi Sato. Kazumi lightly waved her hand, leaving behind a skinny yet familiar figure for the boy who stood frozen in place.
…
School life was always pleasant and yet brief.
Although the girl had lost several strands of hair worrying about her territory’s construction, it wouldn’t affect her study at school as a top student. After all, who would go against knowledge?
Especially upon hearing from her homeroom teacher, Ishiryu Daito, that classmate Mai Shinomiyai would be taking leave for a period due to illness, the comfort she felt was like the coolness of entering an air-conditioned room on a hot summer day.
Even the regret of not being able to kill that hateful woman had subsided considerably. It seemed too painful for someone who wanted to snatch her things to be killed so easily.
With a blank expression, she glanced at the empty seat behind the classroom, which used to belong to Mai Shinomiyai. A sliver of a joyful smile appeared on the girl’s face. She then cast this smile towards the dog, who was packing his school bag and immediately looked up and waved at her. Kazumi nodded, turned her body back, and began packing the books needed for going home.
However, before the girl could even close her handbag, a soft, sweet, gentle call interrupted Kazumi’s actions.
Turning her head with some curiosity towards the classroom back door, what greeted her eyes was a short girl with cherry-blossom pink hair. The two small balls tied on her head and her chubby, round face added a touch of cuteness. The student council badge on her sleeve confirmed her identity.
As if sensing Kazumi’s gaze, the girl then took small, shuffling steps to Kazumi’s front and took something out of her arms, placing it on Kazumi’s desk. The timid, soft words sounded around Kazumi again.
“Classmate Shimizu… Hello… This is what President Kurokawa asked me to give to you.”
