Chapter 24

"Hmm..."

On the way back. As I walked, I recalled today’s events, but the more I thought about them, the more mysterious they became.

The event in question was about the class president’s attitude. I might be overthinking it, but the class president seemed to have a favorable impression of me.

"But I don’t remember doing anything to make the class president fall for me."

Thanks to the secret gadget Kuroemon prepared, the masked magician in the divine match shouldn’t know it was me. So, the divine match is unlikely to be the reason.

The class president is popular, and I’ve only had official conversations with her at school. Therefore, it’s unlikely that something at school is the reason.

"Does that mean there’s someone else she has a favorable impression of?"

She said she wanted to put me in the same group as Yuki-kun and the others. If that’s the case, could it be Takigawa!?

"No way. Maybe she’s aiming for Ishida?"

That’s more likely. I feel a bit disappointed, but I’ll try not to care. Yeah, I shouldn’t care.

It’s better than getting my hopes up and then feeling down. The incident in the courtyard is considered to have never happened.

"Instead, I’ll enjoy a detour today!"

I regained my composure and looked up at the JR Tower. I’m at Sapporo Station now.

The reason I’m here is that I realized I haven’t fully enjoyed city life.

It’s been three weeks since I started living in Sapporo. I was hit by a train, met a god, came back to life, met Kuro, met Shiro, participated in a yin-yang magician’s match, met Rin... so many things have happened.

Despite all that, I’ve been busy with school and studying, so I haven’t had the chance to feel the city of Sapporo.

"Today, I’ll enjoy myself to the fullest."

Sapporo Station is just the starting point. My destination is a place I’ve wanted to go since I started school. Today, I’m determined to get there no matter what!

"Sapporo Underground, wow!"

I entered the underground walkway, commonly known as "Chika-ho."

What is this? Even underground, there are street performances! Wow, there’s even a bazaar! What? Another world? Is this another world!?

"Hey, calm down, my destination isn’t here."

No, my destination is still ahead. This is just a passageway.

I moved forward, distracted by various things, and reached Odori Station, looking for Exit 35.

"There it is!"

Is this the famous Exit 35?

"Alright!"

I put in some effort and climbed the stairs. Then, I saw—

"Animeito, Mandbooks, Toranoana!"

Not only that, but numerous otaku shops are clustered together beyond Exit 35! This is my true destination.

"It’s like a dream... huh?"

As I was moved by the sight, I noticed that people around me were looking up at the sky.

"What, what’s this? It’s super scary."

"Is it the end of the world...?"

"Wow..."

I looked up in the same direction and saw a huge flock of crows covering the rooftops of the surrounding buildings and the power lines. Scary! What is this!?

"Wait, what? Hmm!?"

In the middle of the flock of crows, a familiar white crow was perched at a higher position.

"Sure, it must be a coincidence. It just looks like a crow from the sky."

Thinking that, I moved a little to the side from Exit 35.

The white crow also moved, maintaining a certain distance from me.

And the entire flock of crows moved as if following the white crow.

"No, this is scary."

"Hey, this is bad, isn’t it?"

A bit of a panic was starting to spread around.

"First, I’ll go to Animeito, I guess."

In the midst of this, I decided to quietly head to the second floor of the big building.

◇

"Whoa!"

I regained my composure and decided to enjoy Animeito.

The store was quite spacious, filled with otaku goods that made my eyes sparkle. Posters were plastered all over the walls.

I had visited here before when I went to my grandparents' house during middle school...

"Now, I can come here every day if I want."

Immersed in my thoughts, I headed to the manga corner first.

I immediately started browsing the store, where the latest works were prominently displayed!

"Wow, this series has so many volumes. Wow! This work has been animated too... Oh, sorry."

I was muttering to myself and browsing enthusiastically, so I didn’t notice the person next to me and bumped into them.

"Sorry, are you okay?"

"I’m fine. I’m the one who... oh!"

"Ah!"

The person I bumped into was a girl with short blue hair and glasses. In fact, she was the girl with glasses I helped in the city the other day.

"Uh, what a coincidence."

"Yeah, that’s right."

I wasn’t the only strong person who came here after school. It’s a pleasant coincidence.

"By the way, I’m sorry for leaving without introducing myself the other day."

"No, no, it’s my fault."

Because it was our first meeting in a while, the conversation was a bit awkward, but we introduced ourselves and said it was nice to meet each other again.

The girl’s name is Tsukino Shizuku.

Hmm? Tsukino?

"Shizuku~. Ah, there you are."

She must have been looking for Tsukino. A girl with short red hair was walking towards us.

Hmm? Where have I seen her... Ah! It’s Tsuntsun delinquent, who helped me from the delinquents!

"Ah, big sister!"

Big sister!?

"Huh? Aren’t you the Super High School student? I think you’re Yuki-kun. Long time no see."

"Y-Yeah, long time no see."

The rumor of the Super High School student hasn’t died down yet.

"Huh? Shizuku and Yuki-kun know each other?"

"Yeah. This person helped me the other day."

"Oh! The person I met in the city!"

I was thanked by Akari for helping her in the city. I haven’t processed that they are sisters yet, but I’ll take the thanks for now.

"Hey, you’re over there."

While chatting with the Tsukino sisters, a guy with spiky hair approached.

"Ah, Soji! Over here, over here."

Soji... is it the Tsuntsun delinquent!?

◇

"Soji, when you see Yuki-kun next, apologize properly, okay?"

"Why should I? He’s just being scared for no reason."

On the way back from Animeito, the three of them were having a lively conversation.

"Yuki-kun is a good person. A brave person."

"Yeah. He helped Shizuku, so you should be friends with him."

"Tch, I get it. I’ll apologize, I’ll apologize. But I don’t want to be friends with him!"

Sohji was scolded by the Tsukino sisters and agreed to apologize, but he stubbornly refused to be friends.

In the middle of this, Shizuku’s smartphone made a sound.

"Oh. It’s a message from Yui."

"What, from Yui!?"

"Shizuku, let us see!"

The two of them eagerly peeked at Shizuku’s smartphone.

'The school you attend has a student named Yuki-kun, right? It’s better to be friends with him.'

The three of them looked at each other, surprised by the concise message.

"That person is supposed to be traveling in Kyoto with Touli, right? How much does she know...?"

The well-timed content of the message made Soji look puzzled.

"Yui also wants Soji to be friends with others."

"Yuki-kun is a good person. I want you to be friends with him."

"Fine, I’ll be friends with him, I’ll be friends with him!"

Unable to refuse the request of two people in the same situation and the person who gave him his current freedom, Soji nodded reluctantly.

◇

"Still, I was surprised. The person I was supposed to meet after the park was Akari and the Tsuntsun delinquent."

After the Tsuntsun delinquent joined, the conversation didn’t really pick up. So, I pretended to have something to do and left on my own.

I think I could win a fight now, but the trauma from the first day of school hasn’t gone away. The way they glared at me while I was talking to the Tsukino sisters... ugh, scary, scary.

By the way, the white crow leading the flock of crows was indeed Shiro.

It seems he was guarding me. Since it was through gestures, I didn’t understand why he became the boss of the crows or why he was guarding me, but I sent him away to avoid a bigger commotion.

"Huh? Is this road under construction?"

While thinking about these things, I saw a sign indicating construction. There was nothing there in the morning, but it seems the construction has started.

"You can pass through even though it’s under construction. Please go ahead."

"Oh, really? Thank you."

When I reached the sign, a construction worker let me through. I don’t have to take a detour, so it’s convenient.

The road is usually quiet and deserted, but now it’s a bit noisy with the sound of construction vehicles.

"Huh? Are the construction workers not here?"

Are they moving on their own? No way.

"Excuse me, are you Yuki-kun?"

I was about to pass through quickly when a suspicious man approached me. He was wearing a tuxedo and a silk hat. Why is he dressed like that? And why does he know my name?

"Hmm. Then, goodbye."

The man with the silk hat tapped the ground with his cane, and the excavator that was stopped transformed into a humanoid robot.

"...What?"

Without being able to process the situation, I was crushed by the iron fist of the Transformer.

◇