Chapter 3 - Nat and Iincho
Day 2 (Monday)
“Morning.”
I greeted my mischievous friend, [Nat], [Kashihara Naoto], who sits behind me in class, after arriving in the classroom.
“Morning. Didn’t see you yesterday, did you just finish [character creation]?”
“No, I actually logged in.”
“Character name, please.”
“Yuta.”
“I’ll kill you.”
Just as I brushed him off, the bell rang, and our homeroom teacher entered, so we postponed the conversation until break time.
………
……
…
“So, what’s your character name?”
“The usual, Shou.”
“Seriously? I couldn’t find you no matter how hard I looked.”
Is that [Uninhabited Island] outside the scope of player searches? Good to know.
It’ll be annoying if he finds out later, so I should tell [Nat] the truth.
“No, actually…”
I told him the whole story…
“Seriously? That [World Announcement] about the [Uninhabited Island Discovery] was you?”
“Seriously. That was me.”
“Hmm, should I remake my character too?”
[Nat] started pondering seriously, so I quickly stopped him.
Wait, the [Uninhabited Island Discovery] was a [World Announcement]? Oh well.
“Don’t. And don’t come. I’m going to enjoy being alone in [IRO].”
“You’re so twisted. Fine, whatever. I’ll come find you eventually, once I can travel by sea.”
Good luck. From the looks of that map, the game will probably end before you even reach my island.
“Ise-kun, do you have a moment?”
[Kashima-san], the class representative, suddenly called out to me while I was chatting with [Nat].
“Hm, [Iincho], what’s up?”
“You’re on [day duty] today, aren’t you? You were chatting, but did you submit the class report?”
“Whoa, seriously? My bad, my bad.”
As a student on [day duty], I’m supposed to report the contents of each class to the homeroom teacher, but I completely forgot.
The school already knows what's happening anyway, so why make students go through all this trouble? I think, but it's a tradition, so I guess it can't be helped.
“Huh? It’s done.”
It seems the other student on [day duty], [Izumo-san], already did it. I looked around the classroom, intending to apologize properly, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Hmm, well, I guess I’ll apologize during the next break…
………
……
…
As soon as the second period ended, I dashed to the front. I finally met [Izumo-san], who was sitting in the very front seat.
“Sorry about earlier. I’ll handle the second-period report. We can alternate, right?”
Is her messy hair not combed? I wonder…
“Ah, yes…”
[Izumo-san] replied in a voice so faint it almost disappeared, then quickly left the classroom.
“Huh? Where’s [Izumo-san]?”
“Oh, when I said I’d submit the class report, she just went somewhere.”
[Iincho], who was passing by, asked, so I told her what happened. [Iincho] made a somewhat troubled face when she heard.
“Hey. Did something happen to [Izumo-san]?”
“What do you mean, ‘something’?”
“No, you know, like bullying or something…”
“Huh? How could that happen when I’m the class rep! She just hasn’t adjusted to the class yet, so I’m a bit worried about her…”
As expected of [Iincho]. She's always attentive to managing the class…
“Anyway, [Iincho], why don’t you just become friends with her?”
“I’ve been thinking that, but the timing never seems right. Whenever I try to talk to her, she’s not there.”
“Huh, well, I’m sure you’ll get to talk to her eventually.”
When I replied, she let out an incredibly huge sigh.
Eh, did I say something wrong?
………
……
…
“What are you doing for lunch today?”
[Nat] asked the moment the fourth period ended and lunch break began.
For him to ask what I’m doing probably means he hasn’t decided either.
“Hmm, the [school store] should be fine.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Wait, wait. I’m on [day duty], so you go ahead.”
I said that to send [Nat] away.
[Izumo-san] did the third-period report, so it was my turn for the fourth.
When I looked at [Izumo-san] and nodded to signal it was okay, she seemed relieved and left the classroom.
After quickly submitting the class report, I headed to the [school store], where a crowd had already formed.
Oh, [Nat] is in the front. Well, it's against the rules to ask from here, so I won't.
At this school’s [school store], popular items sell out, but everything never sells out completely, so it's fine to just wait patiently. I’m not picky. Not much, anyway.
As the crowd in front dispersed, I looked around, wondering what to order, and noticed [Izumo-san] floundering with a piece of bread.
Her voice is too small, so the saleswoman hasn't noticed her, perhaps…
“Izumo-san, are you buying this?”
“Eh, ah, yes…”
“Ma’am! This one, for her!”
“Oh, alright. Sorry, I didn’t notice you.”
[Izumo-san], having successfully bought her bread, bowed her head repeatedly before leaving.
Now, what should I get for myself?
*
“I’m home.”
At my voice, my younger sister, [Miki], came rushing down the stairs from the second floor.
“Brother, I am hungry!”
Making dinner is my job. No, what kind of job is that?
It’s because Mom, the pillar of our household, got transferred for work alone, and Dad, the househusband, followed her… I should stop thinking so deeply about it.
“I understand that, but… aren’t you taking an exam next year?”
“Indeed!”
She’s past junior high, so shouldn’t she have graduated from chuunibyo by now? her brother foolishly thought…
“Oh well. What do you want for dinner?”
“I desire curry! The ingredients have already been purchased!”
“Alright, alright. As my dear sister commands…”
I went to the kitchen and found various root vegetables and chicken thighs. Chicken curry, huh? How troublesome…
………
……
…
“You, either do the dishes or clean the bath, pick one.”
“Understood! Leave the bath cleaning to me!”
It’s strange. I can’t believe this foolish sister is a national genius at junior high.
No, perhaps it’s truly that genius and folly are two sides of the same coin…
“By the way, Brother, have you started [IRO]?”
“Hm, well, yeah, I started.”
“I too wish to play!”
“You, did you get selected for the limited open beta?”
Currently, only the 10,000 closed beta testers and 50,000 selected for the limited open beta can play [IRO]. I was selected, so I can play, but…
“Of course, I was selected.”
“Figures.”
Given her high [LUK] (Luck stat), that’s only natural.
“Then go ahead and play. You can still get into a good high school even if you play a bit, right?”
“I shall attend the same high school as my brother, no?”
“Hey, wait. Aren’t [Mitsumori University Affiliated High School] way too easy for you? Is Dad okay with that?”
“Of course. I argued him into submission, did I not?”
That’s right. Dad is ridiculously soft on her, and there’s no way he could win an argument against her.
“Fine, whatever. If you find my character, I’ll play with you.”
“Kukukuku, I’ve got your word!”
Just hurry up and finish eating…