Chapter 10: Those Who Don’t Chase Two Rabbits Won’t Get Either
Whichever I choose, it’s hell.
Then, with a Columbus-like idea, I just won’t choose.
I’ll opt for a strategic retreat here.
“Well then! I think my stomach hurts…”
Grip
“I won’t let you escape, you know?”
She’s so strong.
Reina and Kaguya grabbed my shoulders, and I couldn’t escape. Ouch, ouch, seriously. That’s right, they’re both soldiers, so their physical abilities are probably higher than mine.
Kenyya, realizing escape was impossible, could only offer a desperate measure.
“So, how about we practice in the Simulator, the three of us?”
It was a random suggestion, but it didn’t sound too bad. The two of them looked at each other, then at Kenyya, and replied.
“I don’t mind if it means I can fight with you.”
“W-well, I’d be happy to practice too…”
Kaguya also genuinely wanted to get better at operating the KOG. Reina didn’t particularly care about being Second-Class or about race, and if Kenyya was her opponent, there was no problem.
It was decided smoothly, and the three of them headed to the Simulator Room.
“I’m so glad Reina is here, we definitely wouldn’t be able to borrow it if it was just us.”
“Saying things like ‘Second-Class people are wasting time,’ I really hate that.”
“It’s the national policy… but I feel like it’s gone too far recently.”
Discrimination is the national policy.
The Emperor himself declared that controlling the people of the colonies was the correct action for the citizens of the Aasgard Empire. The citizens, having lost their sense of restraint and justice, eventually went on a rampage, even harboring malice.
Perhaps it’s human nature to bully if you’re told it’s okay, or even encouraged to do so.
“Anyway, let’s have Kaguya and Reina try it out.”
“Huh? Me?”
“I’m not interested in this person…”
“Reina, Kaguya will become strong. As strong as you.”
“!?… I can’t believe that.”
“W-what are you saying? Me, as strong as the Ice Princess!?”
Reina looked doubtful, and Kaguya was surprised by Kenyya’s statement.
“Well, well, just do it.”
Saying that, the two of them got in. The match started, and as expected, Reina won overwhelmingly.
They took turns, Kenyya and Reina, Kaguya and Kenyya, trying various combinations.
The three of them were engrossed in operating the Simulator for a while. Before they knew it, it was dinner time, they had probably been at it for three or four hours.
“Let’s call it a day, I’m hungry.”
“…Are you running away after winning?”
“Haha, I’m not running away. If you wish, I’ll accept any challenge, anytime, anywhere.”
“Then let’s do it one more time.”
“No, please spare me that. Let’s do it next time… since tomorrow is a day off, how about the day after?”
Reina’s enthusiasm was reminiscent of when he himself was so absorbed in something that he forgot day and night, and it was endearing, but he had to stop here. Kenyya, who couldn’t just play around, had plans for later.
“…Haa, I understand.”
(Good, it seems like she’ll let me off the hook.)
Reina, who couldn’t win even once against Kenyya, reluctantly agreed, though she was displeased.
“It was good practice for me, I’ll thank you for that, Reina-san.”
“It wasn’t practice for me at all.”
“Haa!?”
(Stop it, why do you want to fight?)
Kenyya thought that they were like cats and dogs and flustered.
However, Reina unexpectedly said something.
“However, in the last match, I’ll commend you for landing a hit on me, it was a good move.”
Suddenly, Kaguya’s face, which had been glaring, turned red with surprise.
She didn’t expect to be praised and was taken aback.
“O-oh… thank you…”
She thanked him shyly, but while looking down.
She still couldn’t be honest about her joy, the wall of race created by the war couldn’t be overcome overnight.
But.
(Good, it seems like we can build a surprisingly good relationship?)
Kenyya wanted the two of them to get along.
That’s why he suggested this place.
“Well, if you can do that last move, it’ll be good for finger exercises from now on.”
“Haa!?”
(Stop it, why do you want to fight?)
Kenyya stepped in between the two who were about to start fighting again, trying to calm them down.
This role was much more tiring than KOG.
Then, Reina, with her silver hair swaying, turned her back.
“Well then, I’ll excuse myself. I’ll return the card.”
“Okay, thank you, Reina. Then, Kaguya, shall we go?”
“Huh? Where to?”
“Where to? On a date, of course.”
“Nya, Nya-te!?”
(She was the one who said it, but she’s so flustered and stuttering… she’s like a cat. I want to put cat ears on her.)
Kaguya, with her cat-like eyes, was very cute.
Kaguya, who was already cat-like, would definitely look good with cat ears.
“Now, let’s go.”
Without missing a beat, Kenyya decided to take her away forcefully.
Because today, there was something he had to tell Kaguya.
He couldn’t afford to be hesitant.
“It’s getting late. See ya, Reina!”
Saying that, he grabbed Kaguya’s shoulder and hurriedly tried to leave the classroom.
“D-don’t touch me so casually! H-hey!”
While having such an exchange, Kenyya and Kaguya left the Simulator Room.
To an outsider, they looked like a couple flirting happily.
Reina, watching their backs, crossed her arms and tapped her foot restlessly while glaring.
(Huh? Why do I feel a little restless?)
But she didn’t understand what that feeling was, so she quickly decided to forget about it.
“Now then, I have to return the card.”
However, there was a man watching her from the shadows.
“I should report this to Zeke-san. About that irregularity as well.”
That man was Instructor Alfred.
Reina’s father, superior, the school principal, and also the top military figure of this country, known as the War God.
He was thinking of reporting the three of them to Zeke Sylphid.
…
“Even if you say dinner, there aren’t any restaurants nearby that we can go to!?”
“Huh?”
It seemed that all the restaurants were only for First-Class citizens.
Of course, if you left the capital, there were places that Second-Class citizens could enter, but here in Tokyo, or rather, the Ward 13 Special District Capital, mostly only First-Class citizens or Second-Class soldiers lived.
Third-Class Citizens commuted from far away every day, working like slaves from morning till night, cleaning the town for low wages.
And all the dining establishments were for First-Class citizens.
It was a custom that they wouldn’t eat in the same place as Second-Class citizens.
But then, what about meals?
“Are there any supermarkets?”
There was a supermarket near the school.
Of course, the staff were Third-Class Aasgard Empire citizens, former Japanese.
They were forced to do all sorts of chores and were treated so badly that even a black company would be shocked.
They were treated as if they were told to die if they wanted to, but in this world, there was no 36 Agreement to protect Third-Class Aasgard Empire citizens.
“Even if we buy ingredients, where are we going to eat?”
“Well, in my room, of course.”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
Silence fell, and Kaguya looked at him.
Immediately after, she moved away from Kenyya like a rabbit.
She hugged her body with both hands, taking a protective pose while looking at him resentfully.
“T-trying to drag me into your room all of a sudden! What’s wrong with your sense of ethics!?”
“N-no, it’s different! It’s just for a little bit! Just to rest a little!”
“Stop it, don’t touch me!”
“D-don’t start complaining now that we’ve come this far! Just a little! Just the tip!”
Kenyya thought that he looked like a man trying to drag a woman who had suddenly changed her mind in front of a hotel.
However, after a desperate struggle, Kaguya gave in.
“Y-you absolutely won’t do anything weird, okay?”
“You want me to? Ugh!”
(Isn’t “don’t push” a signal to push…?)
In the original world, he had heard that it was such a rule, but it seemed that the rules were different here.
Kaguya kicked him in the stomach, and he crouched down.
In the first place, inviting a shut-in on a date was a high hurdle.
He wanted to believe that he wasn’t socially awkward, but he wasn’t very good at talking to people.
As for Kaguya and Reina, he had talked to them so much through the game that it didn’t bother him at all.
Don’t talk to the heroines of the game? Shut up, be quiet.
“For now, is curry okay?”
(Good, I was wondering what I would do if the ingredients were something I’d never seen before.)
The supermarket was more normal than he expected.
Except for the fact that the staff’s eyes were dead.
They worked around the clock and had no entertainment.
How painful it must be to live such a life until death.
“…”
Seeing that, Kaguya made a sad face.
Kaguya, who properly thanked them when they went through the register, was a kind girl after all.
She was a member of the resistance, someone who was worried about the current state of Japan, so even though she knew there was nothing she could do, she might feel a little sad.
After finishing their shopping, they went to Kenyya’s house.
The payment was made with the KOG device.
It seemed that the military provided some funds, and this world was more cashless than the previous one.
…
“This is your room, huh?”
She looked down at it with her arms crossed.
“It’s so empty that it’s not even messy.”
His room from the previous world.
“But I don’t know, it’s calming.”
Perhaps it was because of the tatami mats.
Kenyya’s room was a six-mat Japanese-style room.
Tatami mats were the heart of the Japanese, so Kaguya might have felt nostalgic somewhere.
Then, Kenyya started cooking.
He had lived alone for a long time, so cooking was a piece of cake.
“Hee, so you can actually cook and stuff.”
“Ah, it’s just curry, and there’s nothing much to do, so I’m fine on my own, Kaguya…”
What suddenly came to mind was the kind of exchange you’d see between a girlfriend and boyfriend. In these situations, when a girlfriend comes to visit, there’s a set phrase the boyfriend always says.
“Go take a shower first.”
I said that with a determined look.