Kays Translations

Chapter 7- Manpower Shortage

The entrance ceremony itself went off without a hitch.

I don’t think there is such a thing as an entrance ceremony that doesn’t end smoothly. …… Anyway, after listening to the principal’s gracious speech, hearing the school song, and receiving warm applause from the parents, we left the gymnasium again, starting with the first grade class.

While we were back in the classroom listening to the teacher, the parents came out of the gymnasium in droves, making it look like a visit to the school. The teacher gave a talk for the parents, and when it was over, we were dismissed.

I was surprised to see how simple the entrance ceremony was. No, maybe it was because this was my second entrance ceremony.

“Itsuki. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, papa.”

He was a normal father in a suit with a camera bag slung over his shoulder, but in the classroom he stood out in an odd way.

My father is tall, stern, and has an eye patch over one eye, so he stands out.

It would be strange if he didn’t stand out.

That’s right.

I was paralyzed to it, but my dad stands out.

I’d forgotten that when you’re in the midst of an exorcist, it’s more common for people like my father to have scars on their faces or to have a good physique. I wonder if I’ll be like that in the future, too.

“Let’s have sushi for lunch. It’s a party to congratulate Itsuki on his entrance.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the Shimotsuki family will be there too.”

“With Aya-chan?”

“Aya and her family? – Yeah, Renji said we should celebrate the entrance ceremony together since it’s on the same day. I thought it would be a good idea to try it.”

Then my father looked at the time on his phone.

The Kisaragi family and the Shimotsuki family have different school districts.

So Aya-chan and I are in different schools.

Aaaaah.

If Aya-chan had been in the same school, I would have had a great start with friends from the beginning.

By the way, Rin-chan of Satsuki family wasn’t born in the same year, and she’s one year younger than me. That means Aya-chan and I were born earlier than Satsuki, so we entered school one year earlier than Satsuki. But Satsuki’s family is further away than Shimotsuki’s family, so even if we were born in the same year, we wouldn’t be in the same school.

So, in order not to miss the “congratulations party” with Aya-chan, I was about to leave the classroom with my school bag when I suddenly realized that no one from Nina’s family had come to the school.

Either they didn’t show up, or they were just late.

“Itsuki? Are you coming?”

“Uh-huh. I’m coming.”

That was the only thing that bothered me.

We got into the car and headed for a slightly expensive local sushi restaurant.

It was the kind that doesn’t turn. But it was lunch price, so it was not that expensive.

As I was thinking about money, which is one of the things I don’t like about being an adult, the Shimotsuki family was already in front of the restaurant.

“Itsuki-kun, long time no see!”

“Didn’t we meet last week?”

“It’s been a while!”

Aya-chan was dressed in her school uniform for the first time, which made her look more like a nice young lady.

No, Aya-chan is actually a nice young lady, so I’m not wrong in that assessment, but is it a bug in my brain or am I being naive that a change in attire can completely change my impression of her?

“How was the entrance ceremony?”

“It all happened so fast.”

Aya-chan laughs as she says this.

I said the same thing and laughed.

Only Hina, who wasn’t in the group, was a little puffy, so I pulled her by the hand and the three of us headed to the restaurant.

Behind us, my father and Renji-san looked at each other with a scowl.

“How did it go, Renji? The number of people…”

“Aya’s school, right? I saw that, but it’s like two people. I’m sure that would be a problem if something were to happen. What about Itsuki-kun’s place?”

“One, apparently. But he comes to school half the week on a part-time basis.”

“They’re really short-staffed.”

…… what are they talking about?

I wonder if they are talking about school teachers because the word “part-time” was mentioned.

If so, are they talking about one or two in the school or music teachers?

“Hey, Papa, Renji-san. What are you talking about?”

“Mm. It’s about an exorcist at school, Itsuki.”

“…An exorcist at school?”

What’s that?

I’ve never heard of it.

As I tilted my head, Renji-san continued.

“Itsuki, as you are well aware, monsters target children. And there are a lot of kids at school. What do you think will happen then?”

“The monsters will come to them.”

“That’s right. Schools have always been the setting for monster stories. That’s what I’m talking about. The monsters that target children are weak, but if they can’t use magic, they will just be eaten. That’s why schools are required to hire at least one exorcist. But these days there aren’t enough exorcists.”

Both my father and Renji-san told me that exorcists were under staffed.

“You mean there are no exorcists at my school?”

“That’s not to say they aren’t there, but they don’t seem to be stationed there permanently. I spoke with the principal before the entrance ceremony took place, and he said they couldn’t get people.”

My father replies with a reluctant look, ‘What will papa do?’ I can’t ask him.

My father is one of the few living fifth-rank exorcists in Japan.

Monsters that only my father could exorcise sprang up all over Japan, and it was not uncommon for him to go this way and that and not come home for a month or so. And it is the same for Renji-san.

So, it would seem that the exorcists who work at the school are the ones who can be replaced by the more effective exorcists. However, in the first place, exorcists don’t have the luxury of letting people play around like that. The job of an exorcist itself is irreplaceable.

That is why the number of people in the school is limited to only one part-time……

This is my guess, but I think the part-time exorcist might be working at another school at the same time.

“Soichiro. Itsuki-kun is there, and it might be better if he weren’t there than to have an incompetent exorcist.”

“I agree. It’ll be a hindrance.”

That’s a bit of an overestimation.

In the first place, an exorcist who is used to fighting and me who can only count on one hand the number of actual battles I’ve had to fight, it’s no use talking about it.

While thinking about such a thing, I let their conversation slide with a wry smile on my face.

I’m able to exorcise monsters because I’m in perfect condition to face them.

I’m not so optimistic about the world that I would get carried away just because of the incident with Raikou-douji. I don’t even take it lightly. No, I can say that I can’t do that.

A person dies just by being stabbed with a knife.

No matter how hard I practice, that is a truth that will never change.

But in order not to die again, I want to be strong so that I don’t have to go through it a second time.

“Oh, yes, Itsuki-kun. Have you come to grasp the “sixth sense” by now?”

“Yes, somehow…. but.”

I have sharpened my sense of “guiding thread silvate” that Renji-san taught me, and the training to feel it as a sixth sense has been done without fail every day for the past few days.

Renji-san smiled as he opened the sliding door and entered the sushi restaurant.

“Well, it’s time to move on to the next stage.”

“Next?”

“Yes. Next up is Barrier Technique.”

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