Tokorozawa Masaru’s Side
Lately, I’ve been feeling lost.
Even when I try to take the initiative and do something, I don’t know what I should be doing.
Lately, I’ve increasingly felt that even if I do something for someone else, it’s still a form of passive reliance.
Perhaps that’s why.
I envy and am jealous of Jiro-san.
I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but through this current situation, I’ve come to clearly understand those two emotions within me.
I can’t do everything, but I possess the spirit to take on any challenge.
And the consciousness of having a solid sense of self.
Even if it’s precarious, it’s an attitude that makes you want to support and follow them.
I lack all of these qualities.
This current situation is also like that.
How can he accept it so easily?
He quit being human.
Throughout his life, he was human as a matter of course, but now he is not. Yet, he shows no sign of concern about it.
He’s probably trying not to worry us.
But, on the other hand, I can’t help but feel like he thinks we’re that unreliable.
“……!”
As I was cooking, lost in such thoughts, a sharp pain shot through my fingertips.
“I messed up…… Where were the adhesive bandages?”
Looking at my thumb, I saw a thin red line.
I wondered when the last time I cut myself with a kitchen knife was, but since it wasn’t a serious injury, I calmly searched for the first-aid kit.
Then, I took out an adhesive bandage from the first-aid kit I found and applied it.
“If I could use magic, I wouldn’t have to do this.”
I gently held my bandaged thumb, but of course, no magic activated.
This is a home in Japan, without any magic.
My father is rarely home due to work, and I have no idea where my mother is or what she’s doing, but I’m used to living in this large house alone.
Right now, I was making food to bring as a care package for Minami.
I started cooking in junior high school, and it seems I have an aptitude for it, as I don’t find it difficult.
Rather, if I don’t cook like this, Minami would starve to death.
“……Minami, huh.”
She’s recently started to become more beautiful.
Her usual behavior was so lethargic it seemed like she was joking, but since joining her current company, she seems to be changing little by little.
I know that women change for some reason.
Even I know that.
“Could she have fallen for someone?”
Does a woman trying to become more beautiful mean she’s in love?
At that time, when I saw Minami dressed up during dance practice, I was genuinely captivated.
I was so stunned by her beauty that I almost doubted if she was really Minami.
However, her reaction afterwards confirmed that the transformed woman was Minami.
“No, no, what am I thinking?”
I shake my head in a hurry as I think about the reason for her becoming more beautiful.
Minami is Minami.
My childhood friend, always gloomy, always reading books, and the one who relied on me when I was in trouble, and then…
“What am I making excuses for?”
I find myself foolish for denying these feelings to no one and return to cooking.
This time, without cutting myself, I finished the preparation and the cooking. All that’s left is to simmer it on low heat.
Once that’s done, I just need to pack the food in a container and go to Minami’s place.
Lately, something is off with me.
Even though I’m trying to act as usual, I lack confidence in what I’m doing.
It’s been especially like this since I reunited with Midori-san.
“Oh, Katsu-kun. It’s been a while, how have you been?”
It’s been three or four years since junior high school, so it’s been a while.
The woman I reunited with, who was mature even back then, had become an even more adult woman and was beautiful.
Thinking that I was able to go out with someone like her, even for a short time, made me happy, and I felt a lingering attachment.
Her smile, which she showed me when we reunited, had become more beautiful, and my heart skipped a beat.
Even though I was dumped so casually, I thought I had come to terms with it, but the fact that she remembered me and was still single, my thoughts were thrown into disarray.
However, why is that?
Although there’s a sense of nostalgia, and I can honestly feel embarrassed, I didn’t feel anything more.
Her beautiful smile, a smile that was somehow different from before, felt like it was trying to convey something to my heart.
I don’t know what it is.
“Ah, I’m done. What is this feeling?”
It’s not that I’m frustrated, but I don’t know how to express this vague feeling, and coupled with Jiro-san’s situation, my emotions are all over the place.
I try to maintain my usual composure, but my emotions are scattered everywhere.
Jiro-san, who is important yet acts so nonchalant and doesn’t rely on me.
Minami, who has always relied on me, but I don’t understand why she’s becoming more beautiful.
Midori-san, who suddenly appeared and tries to interact with me like before.
And above all else.
“I don’t know what to do, what should I do?”
Nothing I do seems to work.
Yet, my surroundings continue to change.
I’m being left behind, and everyone around me is moving further away.
I want to scream it out loud, but there’s a part of me that stops me, telling me I can’t.
I try to ask why, but like a baby’s tantrum, I can’t find a clear reason.
“Really, what should I do?”
What can I possibly do?
I know how to ask for advice, but I don’t “*know*” anyone I can pour out these feelings to.
Tokorozawa Masaru’s Side Ends
Shiretoko Minami’s Side
“Well, I never thought a day would come when I’d invite a female friend to my room. Please, come in. It’s a small room, but it’s clean, you know? Masaru tidied it up yesterday.”
“Ahaha, is that okay, Min-chan?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s usual for me.”
As I opened the entrance in my relaxed loungewear, I was greeted by Amī-chan, who was a little dressed up.
It’s early spring, so her outfit was a bright coordination of white and pink.
I thought Amī-chan, who exercises often, would wear more practical clothes, but she also owns such girlish attire.
The subtle makeup she’s wearing is an added bonus for a girl.
In a way, I’ve half-abandoned my womanhood, just washing my face and not bothering with my bedhead, wearing a plain gray, baggy outfit. That’s a huge difference from her.
But I don’t care, losing if I care, I said, waving my hand and ushering her in, then guiding her to my room.
That is to say, it’s a 1K apartment.
There’s no need to guide her.
The area immediately inside the entrance is practically my room.
“Here, please have a seat.”
“Excuse me for intruding~”
I open the inner door and have Amī-chan sit on a cushion I’d prepared beforehand, while I settle onto the “human-destroying” cushion I usually use.
I bought it with the salary I’ve earned since joining my current company, and it’s really great, so I love it.
“So, Min-chan, about your consultation? I heard from your email that you wanted to talk about work and… the other thing. Which one first? I’m fine with either.”
The reason I invited her to my room is precisely this.
I thought she might be able to solve my worries.
The “work” is, of course, about Dungeon Tester.
More accurately, it’s about stats.
Even more precisely, it’s a consultation on how I can catch up to my boss, who has become extraordinarily strong.
The “other thing” is about my romantic life.
I’ve discussed this with our leader, Jiro-san, before, but Amī-chan, being closer in age to Katsu, is more suited for this.
“Let’s seeeee, shall we start with the work consultation?”
I placed the chocolate snacks I had prepared on the side of the table, a box shaped like those famous bamboo shoots and mushrooms, and offered them as I started the conversation.
“Oh, Amī-chan likes the mushroom ones, huh?” I thought, unimportant things, as I reached for a bamboo shoot.
“Work first, I’m all for it! What is it?”
Enjoying the crunchy texture and thinking how cute Amī-chan is as she makes a determined pose, I begin my consultation.
“I want to rely on Amī-chan’s Sage knowledge. To catch up to that unnatural boss, Sage knowledge related to such unnatural beings is standard, isn’t it?”
“Ahaha… Only Min-chan would call Mike’s knowledge like that. Are you planning to cast a great magic?”
When I explained why I needed it, Amī-chan smiled wryly and agreed, then asked what kind of knowledge I needed.
Expanding offensive options is one way, but…
“No, it’s not about offensive knowledge, but rather, is there a way in the Sage’s knowledge to efficiently improve our abilities?”
What I seek is, so to speak, a growth cheat.
A Sage from another world.
And the knowledge of someone so powerful they could seal away the Demon Lord.
It is truly a treasure, and from my perspective, it’s a pile of cheats.
I thought this would be a means to close the distance with my leader.
Then, as Amī-chan started to sweat and look away upon hearing my words, I felt a flicker of anxiety, wondering if it was impossible.
“Um, I want to help, but… um, there’s a slight problem.”
However, from Amī-chan’s demeanor, it didn’t seem like she couldn’t help, but rather that there was a reason why it was difficult to lend her assistance.
She was nudging her index fingers together, unsure how to explain.
“A problem? Is it some kind of seal?”
“No, it’s not a seal or anything like that?”
It seems like I’m the one giving advice to Amī-chan now, but it’s for the sake of solving the problem.
I’ll be patient.
“?” If it’s something I can help with, I’ll assist you.”
“Um, well, you see… Ugh. It might be faster if you see it for yourself?”
“Faster if I see it? What do you mean?”
“Um, could you hold my hand?”
“Like this?”
Amī-chan, having made up her mind, extends her left hand.
I grasp it as if shaking hands.
“Okay, here I go.”
She closes her eyes, so I close mine as well, and I feel a strong pull.
Then, I feel a sense of floating.
“Yeah! I did it!! I was worried because I only felt Mike’s actions, but it was okay!”
“I feel like I just heard an extremely ominous phrase, but I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it. More importantly, where is this? Magic shouldn’t be usable outside, right?”
“This is inside my mind, a world built from the legacy Mike left behind. It’s a bit of a special magic called Mental Magic that he built as information. I’m just relaying it.”
“You’re casually saying amazing things. What about the magic power?”
“Magic power… how should I put it? It’s like… storing frozen magic power within my body and preventing it from leaking out, then slowly melting it as I use it.”
“Wow, there’s such a technique?”
“Yeah, Mike made it when he was inside.”
“An original technique, you say? If you reported that to the company, you might get royalties.”
“Ahaha~ I’m not good at teaching, so when I tried to teach Evia-san, she said she didn’t understand.”
“Oof, so you’re a bad teacher? Was that also why you averted your gaze earlier?”
“Yes, that was part of it, but this was also the reason.”
Then, as Amī-chan said she did it, I opened my eyes and found myself in a vast space, a far cry from my cramped room.
When I asked where this was, the answer returned was that it was a part of Amī-chan’s mind. And when I asked about the magic power, she, like the Sage I expected, didn’t disappoint me.
It was as convenient as a certain cat-shaped robot.
Well, from what I heard, it seemed necessary for her to maintain her existence.
And the reason she summoned me here was…
“What a magnificent library. I can’t see the ceiling.”
“Yeah, it’s all thanks to what Mike left behind.”
Amī-chan’s mind contained a library.
Towering bookshelves filled to the brim.
The number of books was not in the tens or hundreds of thousands.
And then, a bad feeling began to well up inside me.
“……Amī-chan.”
“What? Min-chan?”
“This is my prediction.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know where any of these books are?”
“NO! I have absolutely no idea where anything is! Mike told me about some parts, but I don’t know about anything else!”
“You’ve given me a cheerfully energetic denial!! While I have this bad feeling, let me ask, is there any search function…?”
“Wouldn’t that be convenient!”
“Does that mean…?”
“Yeah, the knowledge you’re looking for, Min-chan, is probably somewhere in this library! But we’ll have to search for it painstakingly!”
“This is an impossible game!!”
I ask Amī-chan with a smile to confirm my bad feeling, but she smiles back, throws caution to the wind, and answers energetically.
And then, I correct my previous statement.
The Sage is not as convenient as that certain cat-shaped robot.
Once I escaped from the vast library, I contacted Kitamiya and vowed to embark on a quest to find this cheat, with the help of Masaru, who would join us later, using our human resources.
Shiretoko Minami’s Side Ends
Today’s Quote
Each person walks their own path and records their own progress.
Those paths are varied.
This chapter concludes with this story.
Thank you as always for your comments and reports of typos.
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*The first volume of this novel is published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
The ebook version was released on October 31 of the same year.
The second volume was released on December 19.
The third volume was released on February 20, 2019.
The content has been revised and expanded from the version posted on “Shosetsuka ni Naro,” with the addition of an unpublished interlude.
Please consider purchasing the new releases as well!!
The manga adaptation is being serialized in Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.”
I hope you will enjoy that as well.
Thank you for your continued support of this work.
