Episode 6: I’m Going to Be on Nichi-Asa?!
Completely unaware that his proclivities were being exposed, Kazuma approached the group of girls to ask why they had gathered.
“What were you all doing?”
Having thoroughly questioned Honoka about Kazuma and even learned of his proclivities, the girls remained tight-lipped, none of them willing to answer.
However, fearing that continued silence might breed distrust in Kazuma and lead to unnecessary misunderstandings, Sakura Hakanai became the spokesperson for the girls.
“It was an exposition of your proclivities.”
“…………Wha?”
Kazuma froze upon hearing Sakura Hakanai’s words.
After a few seconds, he regained his senses and spoke to Sakura Hakanai, trembling.
“Th-This is some kind of bad joke, right?”
“No, it’s a fact. We wanted to know more about you on this occasion, so we asked your mother various things. As a result, your proclivities were also exposed.”
“…………”
As Kazuma stood there, mouth agape and dumbfounded, the male members of the group walked over, gently patted his shoulder, and looked at him with warm eyes.
Tears welled up in Kazuma’s eyes at the silent sympathy from the boys, a feeling that surely no one else could understand.
It was one thing for his mother to find his erotic books or websites, but for his friends and acquaintances, especially the female ones, to find out was almost unheard of.
It would usually only happen through a confession, or if his proclivities were revealed after getting into a relationship.
Other than that, it was just guys idly chatting about their silly proclivities.
Kazuma shed a single tear and gazed up at the sky.
“It’s started to rain…”
“There’s no rain anywhere—”
“Stop it. There’s nothing we can do.”
The sky was perfectly clear.
Kazuma’s heart was rainy blue.
No one could console him.
Although his proclivities had been exposed and his heart was in turmoil, Kazuma didn’t lash out, and the mochi pounding concluded without incident.
Except for Kazuma, who was not without incident.
The leftover mochi was distributed among the participants, and the remaining mochi would be eaten by Ivy’s children later as ozoni or in other dishes.
Kazuma saw off his friends who had participated, then teleported King and Stephen to America.
The ones who remained were Alicia, Charlotte, and Yayoi, plus Momoko and Sakura Hakanai, making a total of five people.
It seemed they might stay overnight, but they said they would leave after dinner, so they would be spending a little more time with Kazuma.
“What should we do until dinner…”
“Let’s play the Game of Life again!” Alicia suggested.
“No, let’s watch a movie!” Charlotte proposed.
“I don’t really mind either way…” Yayoi murmured.
“I’ll go with what everyone else wants~” Sakura Hakanai chimed in.
“Actually,” Momoko said, “I brought something we can all play.”
When Yayoi snapped her fingers, a kuroko, who seemed to have appeared from nowhere, placed a small, predominantly white machine down and then vanished.
“Yayoi-san. Who were those people just now?” Kazuma asked.
“Ufufu. Don’t you worry ’bout them,” Yayoi replied with a chuckle.
“Oh, okay~. Then, what’s this?”
“This is a new toy developed by the Tennoji Zaibatsu.”
“It looks like a small VR machine, but what kind of thing is it?”
“You can play an experiential Game of Life with it. By the way, the 18+ version has all sorts of adult things, y’know.”
“Let’s definitely play that!” Kazuma exclaimed.
“This is the normal version, so that part’s omitted, y’know,” Yayoi clarified.
Rebuffed, Kazuma’s eyebrows drooped, and he looked incredibly disappointed.
“Oh, I see~…”
“Now, now, don’t be so sad. It’s actually quite fun when you try it, y’know?” Yayoi coaxed.
“Alright, let’s do it!”
He was a simple man.
Persuaded by Yayoi, Kazuma put on the VR machine and started the experiential Game of Life.
Of course, Alicia and the others also received VR machines from Yayoi and began to play.
To state only the result, Yayoi, who had rigged the game, reached the goal smoothly with Kazuma.
They were blessed with many children and their business prospered—it was like a completely fixed race.
“That’s cheating!” Alicia cried.
“It’s a cheat!” Charlotte declared.
Naturally, Alicia and Charlotte, unable to accept the result, protested vehemently, but Yayoi paid them no mind, acting as if it were nothing.
“Now, now, you two. It’s just a game, so let’s not get too worked up over it,” Kazuma said, eventually calming them down.
And so it ended.
After that, it was time for dinner. Once they finished eating, the girls each went home.
The only one who remained was Sakura Hakanai.
Since there was no telling what she might do if left alone, she was currently living and working at Ivy as a staff member.
“Guess I’ll take a bath and go to bed~”
True to his declaration, Kazuma took a bath, gathered some information on social media and other sites before bed, and then went to sleep.
◇◇◇◇
The next day, Kazuma woke up early to make ozoni for the children.
After preparing Kansai-style ozoni, he was browsing social media while waiting for the children to wake up when he noticed an email.
Hmm, I don’t remember getting any emails yesterday.
With that thought, Kazuma checked the email and saw it was from Seiichi.
Wondering what it could be about, he read the contents.
What was written there was very interesting indeed.
“This calls for an immediate visit, doesn’t it…!”
The email was about a plan for a morning tokusatsu show.
Kazuma remembered what Seiichi had talked about before, and his face twisted into an amused grin.
Completely forgetting about yesterday’s proclivity exposition, Kazuma sent an email back to Seiichi.
A while later, the children woke up, and Kazuma ate the ozoni he had prepared with them, spending a relaxing time.
Once the cleanup was finished, Kazuma, now free, told Honoka about the email and set off for Seiichi’s place with Sakura Hakanai.
Of course, Kazuma didn’t forget to drag Momoko along as well.
Arriving at Seiichi’s house, Kazuma rang the doorbell and waited for a short while.
Soon, Seiichi appeared from inside.
“Hey, Kazuma-kun. Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year. Here, this is mochi we made at our place. Please have some, if you’d like.”
“Thank you! The kids will be happy too. Come on in.”
“Excuse me for intruding.”
Kazuma handed the prepared mochi to Seiichi and then entered the house.
Led inside, Kazuma headed to the living room, where he was greeted by Seiichi’s younger sister and brother.
“Kazuma-nii!”
“Nii-ni!”
“Whoa, have you two been well?”
Kazuma caught the two children as they energetically jumped at him.
He lifted them up, spun them around, and played with them for a bit before Seiichi prompted him to sit, and he settled onto the sofa.
“Oh, right. Happy New Year to you two. This is an otoshidama from me.”
“Yay! Otoshidama~!”
“Otoshidama~!”
The two children happily received the otoshidama from Kazuma and ran around in excitement.
It was a heartwarming scene, but their father, Seiichi, was in a panic, saying he couldn’t accept otoshidama from Kazuma, who was still a child.
“It’s alright, Kazuma-kun! You’re still a child! If anything, we should be giving you otoshidama!”
“Oh, it’s fine. I’m earning money, after all, in my own way.”
“Even so! I told you, right? You’re still a child, so you should just graciously accept the goodwill from adults.”
“…Yessir.”
Kazuma was a bit overwhelmed, but an emotion mixing happiness and embarrassment was evident, and his ears had turned bright red.
Only Momoko and Sakura Hakanai, who had come with him, understood Kazuma’s feelings and smiled gently as they watched him show such an uncharacteristic reaction.
Kazuma composed himself, cleared his throat, and then began to talk about the email he had received from Seiichi.
“Ahem. Um, Seiichi-san, I read your email. It seems you want to film a tokusatsu based on the Crimson Knight, is that right?”
“Yes. We’ve planned it on our end. All that’s left is the approval of Kazuma-kun, the Crimson Knight himself.”
“Um, I certainly think his permission is necessary, but the Crimson Knight is, strictly speaking, a member of the National Defense Force’s special unit. Shouldn’t negotiations with the National Defense Force come first?”
Momoko, who had been listening, questioned Seiichi, asking if getting permission from the National Defense Force shouldn’t be the priority.
“Hmm… You’re right about that, but…” Seiichi groaned, as if Momoko’s words pained him.
“I thought it would be faster if I could negotiate directly with the Crimson Knight (Kazuma-kun). Besides, I know this sounds underhanded, but if Kazuma-kun says OK, I don’t think the National Defense Force or the government can say anything.”
“That really is an underhanded way of putting it…” Momoko sighed.
Favoritism towards insiders was outrageous as far as the government was concerned, but few people in the world actually abided by such principles.
It was unbearable for things to be done selfishly for personal gain, but Momoko had neither the means nor the power to stop it.
Moreover, Kazuma, standing right beside her, was already eager.
There was no way she could stop him.
“Now, now, Momoko-chan. Don’t blame him like that. Seiichi-san helped us out a lot with the new Powered Suit, so he deserves a little perk like this, don’t you think?” Kazuma interjected.
“…I’m saying this on your behalf because you won’t say anything. If this kind of thing continues, you’ll both just end up being used, you know? Both you and him.”
“Ugh…” Kazuma winced.
As Momoko said, if they allowed such things, people would undoubtedly emerge who would try to exploit not only Kazuma but also Seiichi.
For instance, Seiichi’s superiors at work, upon learning of his personal connection with the Crimson Knight, might exploit it at every opportunity, thinking they had a free pass.
To prevent that, she had to put her foot down like this.
Even if Momoko ended up being disliked for it, she had to make it clear that Kazuma’s power was not to be misused.