Chapter 47: So what you’re saying is… it was completely my fault, huh.
“So anyway, I’m going to work a part-time job next saturday”
“Hold on a second!”
After giving a long list of instructions and assignments to every staff member at the orphanage—including the director himself—and even to Oba-senpai, I headed home while mentally revising my plans from the ground up.
Whether this would actually work or not was something only reality could answer.
Still, it had to be better than the original My First Errand plan, a disaster whose collapse was practically guaranteed from the start.
Anyone possessing even a remotely functional brain should understand why the plan needed to be changed. At the very least, they ought to propose an alternative rather than complain.
The next morning arrived.
I was in the middle of my usual morning routine when Meiko launched one of her rare surprise assaults.
Today, as always, she was dressed in light, sporty clothes. It didn’t look like she’d carefully coordinated an outfit before coming over. Rather, she seemed to have thrown on whatever was easiest to move in and sprinted here as fast as possible because she desperately wanted to verify something for herself.
Her hair was slightly disheveled from the run, and she was still breathing a little heavily.
So I casually informed her of my plans.
“What exactly are you asking me to wait for, Meiko?”
“That’s… kinda hard to explain, but for starters… I’d really appreciate it if you’d stop somehow reaching the finish line every time I look away for five minutes…”
“The finish line? You mean the fact that I’ve already secured the job?”
After I summarized her complaint, Meiko stared at me with a disturbingly steady gaze.
Was she really that upset that my part-time job had been decided so quickly?
“Listen carefully, Gouto-kun. This is just common sense, okay? Completely ordinary common sense.”
She pointed dramatically at me.
“Someone says, ‘I wonder if there’s a good part-time job out there~’ and then on the very same day says, ‘I already got hired.’ That’s weird. That is absolutely not normal. I want to loudly and clearly emphasize this fact.”
“What… did you just say…?”
The accusation hit me so suddenly that I nearly dropped my coffee cup.
Finding a job and getting hired on the same day wasn’t normal?
No.
Wait.
Hold on.
I had arguments in my defense.
“Calm down, Meiko. Maybe that’s true in general society. But if we’re talking about an ordinary part-time job for an ordinary college student, isn’t that the sort of thing that sometimes happens?”
“Maybe in some light novel written straight out of a textbook, sure.”
She folded her arms.
“But when that kind of thing happens, it’s usually because the job is something you can’t publicly talk about.”
“Oh?”
“Illegal. Underground. Or fantasy-related.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“So? Which is it? Knowing you, Gouto-kun, you’ve probably shoved your head into some ridiculous situation again. Or are you actually going to sit there and tell me this is a normal job? Because I’d really appreciate hearing that.”
Hmm.
I carefully considered her criticism.
Illegal?
No.
If this were one of those infamous shady jobs, then yes, it would be illegal.
More accurately, once something crosses the line into illegality, it’s no longer a job—it’s just a crime.
Fortunately, this was a light-side job.
A completely legal one.
I had verified that myself.
I had reviewed an actual contract.
A legally valid contract, no less.
Granted, there were aspects of the arrangement that smelled suspiciously close to tax avoidance.
But even taking that into account, it remained legal.
So it wasn’t illegal.
Underground?
That one was harder to dismiss completely.
It certainly wasn’t the sort of job publicly advertised in magazines or recruitment websites.
Still, that wasn’t exactly unusual.
Not every part-time job in existence was listed in some employment database.
This had been introduced to me through Oba-senpai, an upperclassman in my department.
If that counted as “underground,” then every privately referred small-scale job in the world would also qualify.
Sure, it wasn’t publicly advertised.
But neither was I being approached by suspicious strangers in a dark alley.
I felt justified in rejecting that label as well.
Fantasy?
The job’s contents and compensation were admittedly one step away from fantasy.
But not in the way Meiko meant.
There were no other worlds involved like the situations surrounding Taketsuru.
No modern fantasy elements like those connected to Meiko’s family.
No miracles.
No magic.
No curses.
Just an extremely real workplace operating in an extremely real society.
Having filtered her concerns through all three categories, I arrived at my answer.
“Relax, Meiko. It’s not illegal. It’s not underground. And it’s definitely not fantasy. It’s a perfectly legitimate high-paying part-time job.”
“…And the pay?”
Ah.
So that was what she really wanted to know.
The compensation that had ballooned after I replaced four absent workers and became involved in planning the entire project.
The answer was simple.
“One hundred thousand yen upon successful completion.”
“THAT IS ABSOLUTELY A CRIMINAL JOB!”
“No, it’s actually a light-side job.”
“THOSE DON’T EXIST!”
Honestly, I’d thought the same thing.
But reality had stubbornly gone ahead and created one anyway.
Seeing the exact same suspicion I’d experienced yesterday reflected in Meiko’s face, I reluctantly began explaining the philosophy behind this so-called light-side job.
Well.
“Philosophy” might be overstating it.
Nobody had explicitly explained it to me.
Everything I was describing was merely my own deduction based on the circumstances.
Still, it seemed plausible.
If I ever got the opportunity to sit down with management for an actual interview, I intended to ask directly.
And depending on what I learned…
Perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to dissect the entire light-job system at its roots and reform it.
But that could wait.
For now, there were more pressing matters.
“…I see.”
Meiko slowly nodded.
“I understand now.”
Her expression was strangely profound.
Almost enlightened.
I was glad she’d come around.
We were already running dangerously close to being late for first period.
Any ordinary college student understood that no matter how busy a part-time job became, academics came first.
As I was thinking that—
Meiko suddenly grabbed both of my shoulders.
Hard.
“It’s all my fault.”
“What?”
“I looked away at the critical moment.”
“Meiko, why are you gripping my shoulders?”
“Next time. Next time something like this happens, you absolutely have to consult me. Please. I’m begging you. Seriously.”
“I did consult you.”
Yesterday, in fact.
Though admittedly the consultation had focused more on friendship than employment.
At my reminder, Meiko squeezed her eyes shut as though she’d bitten into something painfully bitter.
“Oh, right… that friendship conversation…”
She groaned.
“I can’t exactly reject friendship because then it’d feel like your entire humanity might disappear somewhere…”
She buried her face in her hands.
“And if you’re asking whether I should’ve realized that was actually an emergency signal… yeah. Yeah, I should’ve noticed!”
She clenched her fists.
“I could’ve figured it out! I totally could’ve figured it out!”
Then she began lightly hitting her own forehead.
“Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!”
“You’ve accepted my explanation, then?”
“I HAVE NOT!”
She jabbed a finger at my chest.
“Gouto-kun needs to rely on his childhood friend more! Got it?!”
Apparently she still wasn’t satisfied.
After that, we realized that if we kept talking, we would genuinely end up late.
So we quickly finished breakfast, completed our morning exercise together, and headed toward the university.
During the walk, I explained the details of the job itself and how I intended to respond if any irregular situations arose.
After listening to all of it, Meiko stopped walking.
Then she stared directly into my eyes.
“If something like this ever happens again,” she said, “summon me immediately.”
Her pupils were frighteningly dilated.
“No matter what plans I have. No matter what I’m doing.”
Her voice carried an unsettling sincerity.
“Even if there’s a funeral in my family, I’ll prioritize you first. Understood?”
No.
Absolutely not.
A family funeral should obviously take priority.
And so the days passed.
I attended classes as normal.
I submitted equipment rental requests to the Event Operations Department and received immediate approval.
In fact, they offered even more assistance than I had expected.
As expected of the Event Operations Department.
Those people were absolutely starved for excitement.
Having my ordinary daily life turned into an event was troublesome.
Still, maintaining good relations with them would undoubtedly prove useful for achieving my perfectly ordinary goals.
At the same time, as the overall coordinator, I continued issuing instructions to the orphanage staff.
Whenever the Long-Armed and Long-Legged duo showed signs of resistance, I personally stepped in, cornered them with logic, and forced them into silence.
Eventually, everyone accepted that the arrangement benefited all parties involved.
A perfect win-win situation.
That was my work leading up to Saturday.
The orphanage director and staff had been fully brought under control.
The Long-Armed and Long-Legged pair had been maneuvered into cooperation through pure reasoning.
Oba-senpai had somehow become my subordinate.
Preparations for the event were steadily progressing beneath the surface.
Meanwhile, the children remained blissfully unaware.
All they knew was that they were looking forward to their upcoming First Errand adventure.
And now—
All that remained was the day itself.
Saturday.
I could hardly wait.
Heh…
My revenge had only just begun.
“Hey, Nekoyanagi-san.”
A classmate glanced toward Kirishiro.
“Why does Kirishiro look insanely busy while making that suspicious villain laugh? Did something happen? Is it job-related? Should we be preparing anything?”
“It’s job-related, yeah~”
Nekoyanagi smiled helplessly.
“For now, don’t worry. This time, none of the damage is going to reach us, so we can just watch from the sidelines~”
“Then why do you look like you’ve given up on life, Meiko-san?”
Meiko, maintaining her public-facing persona for the surrounding students, answered without changing expression.
Her eyes, however, were completely dead.
“Because I got tired of explaining to the higher-ups why this doesn’t technically violate the Guidelines for Maintaining a Healthy University Lifestyle.”
She sighed deeply.
“I am but a powerless childhood friend.”
“Oh… rough.”
“Good luck with that.”
During the break before a department-wide lecture, Meiko gave her explanation while preserving her proper public demeanor.
Listening from nearby, I reviewed the event plan one final time.
Then—
Ah.
Right.
There was one more thing.
“By the way, Kuwajima.”
“Hm? Yes?”
“I actually have a favor to ask.”
That’s right.
There was one small matter for which I needed her cooperation.
Something that should still exist somewhere inside her house.
Something owned by Kuwajima—the girl who still carried black bandages around in her bag even now.
“I’ll need it next Saturday.”
“What?”
“Lend me that Venetian mask you own.”
Kuwajima’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
“WHAT KIND OF SATURDAY REQUIRES A VENETIAN MASK?!”
That was a fair question.
But if there was no conceivable occasion requiring one…
Then why did she own one in the first place?
──────
Venetian Mask
Description: A traditional Italian mask commonly used at masquerade balls and similar events. Virtually nobody wears one in modern Japan. Doing so would almost certainly result in being stopped and questioned by the police.
Kuwajima’s Venetian Mask: A handmade item purchased during an unfortunate bout of youthful chuunibyou. Ranked #7 on her list of purchases she immediately regretted.
Price: ¥13,000 (before tax)
──────
So she’d bought it because of the Curse of Chuunibyou…
Honestly, a mask that cost over ten thousand yen deserved to be used at least once.
Maybe I should invite her to a masquerade ball someday.
Yes.
That sounded like an excellent idea.