“Alright, let’s wait for a bit. For now, we’ll stand by until the Goddess Statue moves again.”
“Okay! I’ll wait!”
The first order given to Baka was, “Wait.”
Baka, being a Baka who can wait, properly sat in a seiza position next to Kaito, straightened his back, and waited.
“…This is boring.”
“Yeah.”
And Kaito, also sitting next to Baka, was intently watching the coin case and the movements of the Goddess.
“…Alright. It’s finished moving.”
Seeing the Goddess Statue move, Kaito gave Baka the next instruction.
“Okay, now, get on the scale pan that’s currently on top.”
“Got it!”
“Just to confirm, you can jump from that scale pan and get back here, right?”
“Huh? Yeah! If it’s just getting back, I can jump, I can climb the wall… If I know the goal, I can do anything!”
Baka replied energetically, and with a cheerful “Let’s go!” he returned to the scale pan.
The moment Baka jumped on, the scale pan shook with a thud, but well, there was no particular problem. Baka, with his well-trained core, balanced himself and easily settled into position.
“Alright! Now, declare it there! Two coins to the opposite pan!”
“Got it! Two coins to the opposite pan!”
And within 30 seconds of the declaration, two coins were placed on the opposite side. The scale tilted slightly again with a thunk.
“Next! Again, two coins to the other side!”
“Repeating! Two coins to the other side!”
Repeating Kaito’s words and moving the coins again, this time the scale barely moved. It seemed to be tilted to its limit.
…And so, as the coins were moved, they were quickly piled up on the opposite pan.
Baka repeated Kaito’s declarations many times, and by the time a tower of coins was completed.
“This is the last one! One coin to the right! One coin to the left!”
“One coin to the right! One coin to the left!”
Finally, the last coins were moved. First, a gold coin was placed on the pan opposite Baka, and then a transparent coin was placed on Baka’s pan.
As expected, the transparent coin was in a case that opened with a click. And inside, a key was neatly placed. Baka couldn’t help but have his eyes sparkle, thinking, “This container is so cool!”
…Yes.
Baka had thought it.
‘This container is so cool… I want it…’
“You got the key!? Well done! Now, come back!”
While listening to Kaito’s call, Baka hesitated.
“…Kabashima? What are you doing! Come back!”
And just as Kaito started to sound a little impatient, Baka made up his mind.
“Okay! I’ll take it home!”
Baka said with a full smile, and then, with a quick motion… he picked up the acrylic coin-shaped case that was there, and on top of that, the giant gold coin.
“…Huh?”
“This! It’s a souvenir!”
Baka, smiling, jumped up with a byon. The recoil made the scale shake tremendously. But by that time, Baka was already in the air, so it didn’t matter.
And so, Baka, who had soared through the air, landed next to Kaito, still holding the giant gold coin and the acrylic coin.
“I’m back! Here’s the key! And this is the souvenir I’m taking home!”
…Kaito’s eyes were wide open, as if they were about to pop out, and he just stared at Baka’s outrageous act.
“…Certainly, if this is real gold, it would be incredibly valuable…”
“It’s huge and golden! I want to display this at work! Ah, if I do it right, maybe I can make it into a table! We were talking about how it would be nice to have another table where everyone can eat!”
Baka was cheerful and in a good mood. He felt that his colleagues at work would be happy if he brought back this huge gold coin and the cool transparent coin-shaped container.
“No! No, that’s strange, right!? How many kilograms does that weigh!?”
But Kaito finally came to his senses here. Kaito might be the type who is easily swayed by Baka. Donburako, donburako.
“Huh? I don’t know.”
“It was written that the gold coin weighs 300 kg… Was that a lie!? Ah, no, it’s not a lie…”
Kaito tried to lift the gold coin that Baka had just put down, but gave up in a second. Well, people have their strengths and weaknesses.
“…If you could lift the coin, why didn’t you just drop the coin from your pan…?”
“Huh? Would something have happened if I dropped the coin? Ah, is it a blessing!?”
“I see. Because he’s a Baka… That’s it…”
Kaito seemed to have understood something, but Baka didn’t quite get it. But Baka was in a good mood because he had gotten a souvenir, so he didn’t really care!
Now then.
“So, it’s the key, right! Is it okay to open this!?”
“Well… do as you like.”
“Got it! I’m curious, so I’ll open it! Ei!”
While Kaito had reached a state of resignation, Baka used the key energetically.
The mark engraved on the key was the ‘♀’ mark. Venus. Which means…
“Ah! It’s Venus after all!”
“Huh!? W-what was inside!? Hey!”
As Kaito peeked in, Baka quietly showed him the doll.
“Look! It’s a Venus doll, from Venus!”
…In Baka’s hand was a Venus doll. It was the same kind of doll as the Kaito doll and Yo doll that Baka and the others had found before… It might be a substitute doll, or something of that nature.
“Hmm… a doll…”
“Ah! Don’t bully it! If you bully this, Venus might feel pain!”
“Huh? Ah, you know about voodoo dolls. Well, even if you’re a Baka, it’s not strange that you know that much.”
Kaito, who had peeked in, nodded as if he understood.
“That’s right. This doll is probably something called a voodoo doll. Sticking needles into a doll that represents someone you hate… It seems to be a culture that originated in England, but it’s interesting that there are similar customs all over the world, like the Japanese straw dolls and the Western wax dolls.”
“Hee…?”
Baka tilted his head at Kaito’s lecture. And he thought, ‘So, there are straw dolls overseas too. Does that mean they make natto overseas too…?’
“…So, what do you plan to do with that doll?”
“Huh?”
Baka tilted his head, meeting Kaito’s probing gaze. But after thinking for a moment, he came to a conclusion.
“Umm, umm… Return it to the person!”
That’s right. He had a feeling that Yo had said last time that it was better for the person to have this doll. Otherwise, like Tama did, they might get tickled by having the doll tickled!
“…You’re really kind, aren’t you?”
Kaito sighed, looking half-exasperated and half-relieved.
“If you wanted to, you could probably use that to kill Venus, you know.”
“Huh!? That’s terrible! Then is it dangerous if I have this!? It would be terrible if I accidentally crushed it!?”
“Ah, thank you for the reaction I expected.”
As Baka was flustered, Kaito sighed, looking more and more exasperated, and then pointed to the transparent coin.
“If you’re worried, why don’t you put it in that?”
“Kaito, you’re so smart!”
“More than you are.”
That’s right. The transparent coin that the key was in. If they put the Venus doll in that, they would be safe for now. Even Baka wouldn’t accidentally crush acrylic. Probably.
And so, the Venus doll was safely put inside the transparent acrylic coin. At the same time, Baka, carrying the coin and the giant gold coin, headed to the back room with Kaito.
“…So, you’re supposed to use this to detoxify, huh?”
“Hey, Kaito. There’s a chair, let’s sit down!”
Now then. The back room had the same structure as before. There was an Antidote Device and some junk. That was about it.
So, Baka, like last time, prepared a chair and offered it to Kaito.
Looking at the clock, there were still more than 30 minutes left. He probably thought it was foolish to just stand there during that time. Kaito obediently sat on the chair that Baka had offered.
“Kaito, let’s talk about something!”
“Well, it’ll kill some time…”
And it seemed that Kaito would talk to Baka! That was a big step forward! Baka was very happy!
“How old are you, Kaito? I’m 20!”
“…I’m 19. I go to Keio University.”
“Hee! You go to university! That’s amazing! You must be really smart!”
Baka immediately asked about Kaito and was smiling happily. He was also happy that ‘I’m the older brother!’ Also, seeing Kaito looking slightly proud, he was happy, thinking, ‘It’s good to have something to be proud of!’
“Hey, what do you study at university? I went straight to work after high school, so I don’t know anything about university.”
“As for me, I’m studying business administration… Well, all university students learn general education subjects. Like English, or a second foreign language… German, for example.”
“German!? What’s that!?”
“It’s the language of Germany!”
Baka had a bunch of question marks floating above his head, thinking, “Germany… Germany, which one is that?” Kaito, unable to watch him struggle, explained, “It’s a country famous for beer, sausages, and potato dishes.” Baka’s eyes lit up, “Ah! Now that you mention it, I think I’ve had German food before!” Even Baka understood things related to food.
“So, uh, what’s ‘management’?”
“It’s mainly about learning how to run a company. The scale varies… but if you’re employed, there must be someone managing the company, right?”
“Yeah! The president!… Ah!? So, it’s like learning to be a president!”
“…That’s fine, I guess.”
Kaito looked exasperated, but Baka was delighted, “I see! So, Kaito is smart!”
…And then.
“So, Kaito, are you going to be a president when you grow up!?”
Baka asked him that, but…
“Kaito?”
Kaito remained silent, his gaze wandering.
He seemed to be hiding something he found difficult to say, a little hurt, but trying not to show it… that’s how he appeared.
“D-did I ask something bad…?”
“No…”
In the end, Kaito glanced at Baka, sighed, and leaned back in his chair with a ‘good grief’ expression, crossing his legs.
“Not everyone who studies management becomes an entrepreneur. That’s just common sense.”
“O-oh, I see. It’s common sense…”
Baka panicked, thinking, “I asked something obvious!” and let out a “whew.”
“I wasn’t very good at studying…”
“I figured.”
There were many things Baka didn’t know in this world. He realized that once again.
“Oh, but I was good at gym class!”
“I figured… wait, how were you even allowed to participate in gym class with your physique…?”
Kaito looked like he had realized something and was shuddering, but Baka didn’t pay it any mind and asked,
“What was your favorite class, Kaito?”
“…Modern Japanese Literature.”
“Ah! I liked Japanese class too! Like ‘Gongitsune’! And that one where they say, ‘Ah, so you’re that kind of person’!”
“Ah, you mean Hermann Hesse’s ‘Memories of a Boyhood.’ It’s definitely a masterpiece that should be in middle school textbooks. Vanity, inferiority complex, an unforgivable sin… it’s a theme every middle schooler should read. Personally, I empathize more with Emil…”
…Kaito, who had been speaking fluently, suddenly stopped when he noticed Baka’s shining eyes.
“…What’s with that face?”
“Well, you looked like you were having fun, so I was happy!”
That’s right. Baka was happy. Kaito, who had even said, “Don’t come near me!” was now talking to him happily. That made him very happy!
“…I seem to have talked too much.”
But Kaito stopped talking, looking bitter.
“Eh!? No, you haven’t! You can talk as much as you want!?”
Baka was sad! He thought they were finally getting along! Did Kaito not want to talk to Baka?
“…It’s annoying to be the only one talking. Let me ask you something next.”
But Kaito said that, so Baka’s expression immediately brightened again. It seemed Kaito was still willing to chat with Baka!
“What did you wish for when you came here?… You must have one, right? A wish you’d kill for, even you.”
But Baka was confused by the sudden question!