Yahiro Kota's Daily Life

Yahiro Kota's Daily Life

The day after the after-party that left me feeling as though my dignity had been shaved away.

The accursed Monday had arrived.

To me, the classroom was a far harsher place than a dungeon where death was always lurking.

I understood that it was better than being directly bullied. Even so, there was no escaping this feeling of alienation.

Or perhaps my classmates felt discomfort or fear simply because I was there.

Or maybe my classmates weren't particularly interested in me at all.

...The latter seemed more likely.

It was already the middle of May.

Being afraid all the time took energy too. Once you decided someone was 'not there' and 'not someone to get involved with,' that eventually became a habit of indifference.

In fact, the only time people looked my way was when the subject of the ability-user serial killer in Kanto or other incidents caused by ability users came up.

Maybe now was the time for me to speak to them first. But I was afraid of being strongly rejected.

Perhaps I was the one at fault here. Even so, I couldn't bring myself to do anything about it.

'Getting used to it' applied to me too. Spending time alone in the classroom like this had already become a habit.

And so time passed until the lunch break bell rang.

The classroom instantly grew noisy. I could hear all kinds of voices from the other classes and the hallways too.

I immediately stood up and left the classroom. Fortunately, I had found a place of refuge.

Apparently, this school had once housed a fairly large number of students, though its enrollment had declined with the falling birthrate.

At the far end of the west side of the third floor, beyond the empty classrooms, there was a space being used as a storage area.

Going to the third floor as a first-year made me a little nervous, but I didn't encounter any students from the other grades.

Thanks to that, I could spend my time quietly alone in this space where pipe chairs and wooden chairs had been piled together.

I'd given the place a light cleaning, so it wasn't particularly dusty. I sat down on one of the abandoned chairs and opened my lunch box.

"Let's eat."

...Mmm. Delicious.

I finished my lunch in about ten minutes, closed the lunch box, and took out my smartphone.

After clearing my social game's daily quests, I was idly browsing the online news when...

"Huh?"

I learned that some strange organization had recently become a topic of discussion.

The ability-user protection organization 'Valhalla.'

Apparently, it protected ability users, who were easily ostracized by society, and supported them so they could live peaceful lives.

The organization's leader and executives were ability users too, and they went out of their way to emphasize photographs of themselves smiling.

...It seemed awfully fishy.

For one thing, borrowing a name so casually from Norse mythology made the whole thing feel shallow. Besides, Valhalla was, if I remembered correctly────

The place where dead warriors spent their time preparing for the so-called final war.

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Time passed, and school ended.

The moment homeroom finished, I felt as though my body had grown lighter.

I left the classroom—which could only be described as enemy territory—at a slightly brisk pace, went to the shoe lockers, changed into my outdoor shoes, and headed for the school gate.

Today, I planned to finish the report on our previous exploration at the café and discuss our next expedition.

Even though it was technically work, it was far easier on my mind than spending time in the classroom. There, nobody was afraid of me or ignored me.

I felt like skipping, but that would attract too much attention. I couldn't stop myself from taking long strides, though.

And as I continued walking briskly...

"Kota-kun!"

Someone suddenly called my name.

Wondering whether there was someone nearby with the same name, I turned around reflexively. A bobbing head in a color somewhere between red and orange entered my field of vision.

When I lowered my gaze slightly, I saw a cat-eared girl with an innocent, radiant smile.

"Er, Toramari-san...?"

"Yes, I'm Toramari!"

Toramari-san came up to me and nodded energetically.

Like her apparent age, the gesture was somehow rather childish.

"Are you heading home now? If you'd like, would you walk home with me?"

"Huh...? Why?"

"I like chatting while walking home with all kinds of friends! Today, I was in the mood for you, Kota-kun, so I came to see you!"

"Uh... huh..."

"Changing friends one after another... I really am a sinful woman, aren't I...?"

She gave a sort of sardonic smile, but both her words and actions were far too childish for her to call herself a sinful woman.

...Could this person really have nothing to do with Public Security?

Tomi Toramari-san. Apparently, an ability user of the same name and Race was spoken of as one of the heroes of the future, but I couldn't imagine them being the same person.

Or perhaps she would join Public Security sometime in the next few years?

"Oh, what's wrong, Kota-kun? Huh!? Could it be that you've been overwhelmed by the mature allure pouring out of me?"

"Aha-ha... N-nice joke."

"Huh?"

"Er?"

Toramari-san suddenly went expressionless, and I reflexively flinched.

That hadn't been a joke? And what was with those terrifying eyes!?

Her change had literally happened in the blink of an eye, but the Magic Eye had given me good eyesight. I was clearly subjected to a gaze colder than absolute zero.

"...Listen carefully, Kota-kun."

"Yes."

"Everyone has their own kind of appeal."

"Yes."

"I have some allure appropriate for my age too... Yes, 'appropriate for my age.' Okay?"

"O-okay..."

"Then excellent! Come on, let's walk home and chat!"

"Ehh...?"

She had forced me into going along with her.

Had she been self-conscious about having an appearance so far removed from mature allure? No, but there had been no way I could have nodded at that point. At best, she looked like a first-year middle school student.

Honestly, if I felt anything resembling 'allure' from Toramari-san, I thought I would be in serious trouble as a human being.

"What's wrong, Kota-kun? Does your stomach hurt?"

"No..."

If I had to name the problem, it was the painful attention I was attracting by talking near the school gate with Toramari-san, who looked like nothing more than a little girl.

I decided we had to move as quickly as possible and started walking.

"Come on, let's chat! Walking home while talking with a friend—that's youth, after all!"

"Uh-huh..."

"Let's see... How has school been lately, Kota-kun?"

"That choice of topic sounds like something a father would ask...?"

And so I ended up walking home while she asked me all kinds of questions.

"So you're not getting along very well with the people in your class?"

"I see, I see. Your adventuring is going well, then."

"Wow. Your clan members are pretty unique!"

"Does your family worry about you being an adventurer?"

"My family? I live with my parents, so there are three of us! Huh, siblings? Hmm. I'm an only child. But I might have liked to have a little brother or sister."

"Do you have any dreams for the future, Kota-kun? I'm going to be a police officer who protects the peace!"

Her mouth spewed out words so rapidly, one after another, that I wondered if it was a machine gun.

But somehow... I felt that I had managed to talk quite a bit myself after a while. Toramari-san had a good listener's side to her despite appearances, and she was surprisingly easy to talk to.

Though the main reason was that she didn't look at me strangely.

"Oh, my house is this way."

When we reached a T-junction and I was about to turn left, she pointed to the right.

"Oh, then I guess this is where we part... Do you want me to walk you home, at least?"

"Oh? So you've finally realized that I'm a lady, Kota-kun. But there's no need to worry! I'm an adventurer too, you know. I won't lose to some random thug! Oh, and of course my clan isn't 'that place,' okay?"

"I see... Well, goodbye, then."

"Yes! See you next time!"

I gave Toramari-san a small wave in return as she waved energetically, then turned left.

Still, how long had it been since I had walked home with a friend from school? It had definitely been since middle school.

A friend... A friend, huh.

Could I really call her a friend?

Honestly, I had my doubts about Toramari-san's 'actual age.'

An ability user's apparent age couldn't be trusted. Maybe she really was with Public Security and had infiltrated our high school for some reason.

I didn't know what her objective was. If there was anything important around here, it would probably be Takanashi-san's 'Kenning.'

Could she have come here to investigate it? Was she approaching me for that reason?

...Maybe I was simply being paranoid.

I felt guilty for doubting that innocent smile. Was she simply a good actress, or was I the fool?

There was no answer for now. Still, I would keep it in the back of my mind.

I didn't know Toramari-san's intentions, but it was a fact that walking home with her had been fun. For now, I should be grateful for that and treat her with affection.

Maybe I should eventually ask her jokingly, 'Are you with Public Security?'

Would she answer as a joke, or would she be put off? Or perhaps...

Whatever the case, I didn't want to become her enemy. Takanashi-san had told me that the government might have monsters in its ranks. Her superior could even have become some kind of monster. I needed to avoid acting rashly.

Besides, regardless of Public Security, she was a popular girl from the neighboring class. I didn't want to be socially annihilated. If Toramari-san pointed at me and said, 'This person is a pervert!' I would die on the spot. Seriously.

Actually, I was starting to worry whether anyone would say something at school tomorrow after seeing me walk home with her. Would everything be all right...?

I walked home with a faint sense of unease.

For now, I would change clothes at home and hurry straight to the café.

Thinking about dungeons was much easier on my heart than thinking about school.