Chapter 26: Geddan, Shitty Old Man
With plenty of time to spare before his meeting with Momoko, Kazuma leisurely enjoyed breakfast in the dorm cafeteria.
Kazuma savored the truly wonderful breakfast: perfectly sweet scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, freshly baked bread, and piping hot soup.
“Hmm. The seasoning is exquisite. The Combat Course dorm cafeteria is on a whole different level than the Support Course’s.”
If the Support Course dorm cafeteria was a public diner, the Combat Course dorm cafeteria would be a three-star hotel.
That’s how much of a difference there was between the two.
As expected, it was due to the preferential treatment given to the Combat Course, whose students would inevitably work for the country in the future.
“Well, food is important for survival, after all. Delicious food boosts morale more than bad food, and above all, it gets you motivated.”
Since there was no one else in the cafeteria, Kazuma found himself muttering aloud.
However, he shouldn’t forget. This wasn’t an empty cafeteria.
There were cooking staff in the kitchen.
Hearing Kazuma’s monologue, they smiled a little shyly, looking pleased.
Being praised by someone is always a happy thing.
“Mhm! It was my second breakfast, but it was delicious! Thank you for the meal!”
Hearing that it was, unbelievably, his second breakfast, the cooking staff almost stumbled over.
It was true that Combat Course students ate a lot, but none had ever had breakfast twice.
If anything, most of them had four meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a late-night snack.
Nevertheless, there was no need to reprimand him.
It just meant the students exercised that much and consumed a lot of energy.
“Alright, my stomach is nicely full. Guess I’ll get going soon.”
Kazuma left the cafeteria and headed towards his meeting place with Momoko.
Leaving the dorm, he walked leisurely straight towards the station.
Checking his watch and confirming he still had plenty of time, Kazuma chose a different route than usual.
Was it misfortune, or good fortune?
A long queue had formed in the direction Kazuma was heading.
A long line this early on a Saturday morning was unusual, Kazuma thought, intrigued, as he passed by it.
Wondering just how many people there were, Kazuma glanced sideways repeatedly as he walked past.
Then, he spotted a familiar face and stopped in his tracks.
“Shitty Old Man?”
“Hmm? Is that voice my son’s?!”
Kazuma approached his biological father, Kenjin, who was standing in the line.
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t you tell by looking? I’m lining up.”
“What’s this line for?”
“You don’t know?! Today’s an anniversary event! And what’s more, it’s the 100th anniversary of its founding!”
“…A pachinko parlor event, huh? What time does it open?”
“It opens at nine in the morning. And right now, we’re waiting for the lottery to decide the entry order.”
The current time was 8:20 AM.
There were forty minutes left until opening time, the same as Kazuma’s meeting time.
“About how many people are lined up?”
“Who knows~. But from the looks of it, there might be a thousand people, don’t you think?”
“For a 100th anniversary, wouldn’t there be even more?”
“Well, there probably are. By the way, son.”
“What is it?”
“Meeting you on such a special day must also be fate. What machine number do you think will come up?”
“How should I know…”
“Now, now, don’t say that. I’m actually planning to play the slots, but if I can’t get one, I thought I’d aim for a number you like. So, you know? Just try saying one.”
“Hmm…”
Even when told to say a favorite number, one didn’t immediately come to mind, so Kazuma folded his arms and racked his brain.
“By the way, pachinko machines go from number 1 to 700, and slots go from number 1 to 650!”
“A total of 1,350 machines… that’s a lot…”
“So, what number?”
“…Number 359 and number 487.”
“Hoh.”
“The former is for pachinko, the latter for slots. I’m telling you now, don’t blame me if you lose, okay?”
Not wanting to be made an excuse for when he lost, Kazuma made sure to give a warning just in case.
If he said this, Kenjin probably wouldn’t complain.
“Got it! Then, even if I win, I don’t have to treat you!”
“Not that you’ve ever treated me even once…”
There had been talk of him treating Kazuma several times as a verbal promise, but not once had that promise been fulfilled.
Utterly exasperated, Kazuma sighed and bid Kenjin farewell.
“Well then, I have things to do, so goodbye for now.”
“Alright! Pray for my victory!”
“Yeah, yeah. Even if you lose big, don’t go causing trouble for others, ‘kay~”
Waving a hand lightly, Kazuma walked away.
As the line moved forward, Kenjin watched Kazuma’s receding figure shrink into the distance before turning to face forward again. His profile was like that of a warrior who had decided where he would die.
After parting with his pachinko-addict Shitty Old Man, Kazuma arrived at the station, their meeting place.
Being a holiday, the station was crowded with users, overflowing with people.
Just when he thought finding Momoko would be a pain, he noticed a place where a strange crowd had gathered.
Kazuma, too, became curious about the crowd and, like a moth drawn unsteadily to a bug zapper, moved his feet towards it.
And there, perfectly made-up, stood Sakura Hakanai and Momoko side by side.
Both of them had eye-catching looks, and on top of that, they were wearing makeup and stylish clothes, making them stand out even more.
Sakura Hakanai, in particular, was more conspicuous.
Her style, beauty, and thorough knowledge of how to present herself meant she had almost monopolized the gazes of the men.
“I have to go over there now, huh~”
Kazuma was fed up, but then he remembered enjoying the school festival with Charlotte and Alicia in tow before, and thinking, ‘It’s too late to worry about this now,’ he braced himself and pushed through the crowd towards the two girls.
“Sor-ry! Have you been waiting long~?”
Towards Kazuma, who initiated this classic date-like exchange, the two girls showed different reactions.
Momoko glared at Kazuma with a deadpan, reproachful look, as if to say ‘How transparent,’ while Sakura Hakanai, thinking ‘If you’re going to be like that,’ replied enthusiastically.
“Mmmph~, I’ve been waiting for yooou~”
Sakura Hakanai clung to Kazuma’s arm, brought her face close to his ear, and spoke in a sickly sweet voice.
A shiver ran down Kazuma’s spine, and he hurriedly placed his hand on Sakura Hakanai’s face, pushed her away, and created some distance.
“Stop that! You gave me goosebumps!”
“But weren’t you the one who started it?”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true, but I was hoping Momoko-chan would do it.”
“Who do you think would do something that embarrassing? More importantly, let’s get going quickly. We’re standing out too much here, it’s unbearable.”
“Alright then, let’s all three hold hands nicely and go.”
Saying that, Sakura Hakanai took Kazuma’s right hand, and Momoko passed on his left.
“I’m not a child, so I’m not going to hold hands, you know.”
Momoko turned her face away with a ‘pui’ sound and quickly walked off towards the station’s ticket gates.
Sakura Hakanai chuckled at Momoko’s cute gesture, pulled Kazuma’s hand, and followed after her.
“Why are you still holding my hand?”
“Because you look like you’d wander off somewhere else.”
“That’s more like you, isn’t it?”
“Oh my, in that case, we should keep holding hands so neither of us wanders off, shouldn’t we?”
Kazuma had mixed feelings about Sakura Hakanai winking playfully, but it was too late to be surprised by her personality.
Knowing full well that she was a dangerously charming woman, adept at getting close to people and not to be underestimated, Kazuma sighed.
“Really, it’s too late for this now, huh~”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s too late now.”
“Let me tell you, don’t even think about seducing the actors or actresses on set, okay?”
“What if they come on to me?”
“Hmm, that’s a difficult one to judge…”
Momoko, who had been heading to the ticket gates, turned back because the other two weren’t coming, overheard their ridiculous conversation, and, after a running start, unleashed a dropkick on Kazuma.
“Guhoh!”
“What kind of stupid things are you getting excited about! We’ll be late for our appointment!”
“It’s a relatively serious conversation, you know~? And it’s not unrelated to you either, you know,” Sakura Hakanai said.
“What do you mean by that?” Momoko asked.
“What would you do if you were scouted by the entertainment industry?” Sakura Hakanai asked.
“…I would decline,” Momoko said.
“You hesitated a little there, didn’t you~” Sakura Hakanai teased.
“Tch! St-stop talking about such impossible scenarios and let’s go already! Hey, you too, stop lying around and pull yourself together!”
“Eh, eh~~~…”
Kazuma, who had been floored by the dropkick, was taken aback by Momoko’s utterly unreasonable way of speaking, but since he knew he was also at fault, he resignedly got up and followed after her.