chapter 04
(Bookmark inserted)
After that, I bought a different brand of gray-hair dye at the drugstore and tried it — but that failed too.
I’d read the instructions and tried twice, so I was pretty shaken.
While I was fretting over what to do, late that night Aunt Akane came by to check on me.
“Ken-chan, did you eat properly?”
“Yes, it was delicious. Thank you.”
“You shouldn’t have held back — you could’ve eaten at our place, you know~”
Other people’s kindness can sometimes feel like poison. I know what she meant, but because of what happened before I can’t accept people’s goodwill easily. It eats at me — like they’re saying I’m a bad person for not accepting kindness. That thought gnaws at me.
I felt a little irritated and ran my fingers through my hair, which still hadn’t dried.
I’d planned a solo camping trip and almost got struck by lightning. My hair wouldn’t take the dye. Nothing was going right. I felt like the world was rejecting me, like I didn’t belong in this life.
“Thanks for the meal. But I’m still not ready yet.”
“…Oh, I see. I was really glad you came, Ken-chan. Maybe I pushed a little too hard. No — maybe we were forcing our ways on you. I’m sorry.”
Being apologized to made me feel uneasy. It’s hard to put this foggy feeling into words. I wonder if I’ll ever be able to explain it.
“Ken-chan, aren’t you going to dye your hair?” she asked, noticing me fidgeting with my hair. I told Aunt Akane I couldn’t get it to take.
“Oh? Maybe the chemicals didn’t suit you. A salon could do it, but not at this hour. Ah — I know. I have a wig. I’ll get it ready, so stop by before school tomorrow morning, okay?”
(A wig—like a toupee? Well, better than nothing…)
“Thanks. I’ll come pick it up in the morning.”
“Okay, okay. Do that, then.”
Aunt Akane sounded pleased as she muttered, “Where did I put it…?” and “I’ll trim it a bit…” and went back to her house.
In the middle of the night I lay on my futon. Even though I’d been so sleepy before, now I couldn’t get drowsy at all.
Hanging from the lampshade on the old, smoky wood-grain ceiling was a keychain of a cat character I’d never seen before. The round fluorescent light flickered as if shouting, “Replace me, replace me!”
“This place is better than that other house, but I’d rather go to some distant town where nobody knows me.”
Being near the Yuzuki house made me feel watched by my parents. They must be monitoring small things. I’ll put up with it through my three years of high school. After I graduate I’ll get a job and move to a far city. That was my immediate plan.
I turned off the light and closed my eyes. The countryside quiet here felt unreal compared to the city. Having gotten used to urban noise, the countryside night felt like the world was being swallowed by darkness — a lonely sensation.
《Body composition reconstruction complete. The Great Sage will awaken in sixty seconds. 59… 58…》
“What the—! That voice just now—ah, it’s hot… something hot is running through my body…!”
I panicked at the suddenness and fell from my bed to the floor. I thrashed on the tatami, stumbling and struggling.
“Aaaaaaa— it hurts! It’s hot!”
《43… 42… 41…》
The mysterious voice was doing a countdown, and my consciousness went blank there.
◇◇◇
When I woke up it was just starting to get light outside. I realized I was lying on the tatami, not on the bed.
“Why did I fall asleep here?”
I traced my memory and shivered as I remembered last night.
“That’s right… I heard a strange voice suddenly, and then my body started to hurt…”
As I muttered about last night and touched my body, the alarm I’d set began to ring.
“Ugh, I have to get up…”
When I sat up I noticed something off. My body felt strangely light. Also, despite just waking up, my head felt clear.
“Right, I have to go to Aunt Akane’s.”
I rushed to the washroom and washed my face. Once I was dressed and stepped outside, I stretched deeply. The cool morning air filled my lungs.
“This feels… good.”
(Maybe this is the freshest morning I’ve ever felt in my life.)
Even the school I hate doesn’t feel impossible today — I thought I could go without trouble.
◇◇◇
I went to Aunt Akane’s place and she helped me put on the wig. She said long hair suited my feminine face. She trimmed it slightly so it wouldn’t look awkward, and after that I didn’t look much different than before. My cousin Chii-chan, who goes to the same school, had left early for kyūdō (archery) morning practice.
I rode my bike to the station. Pedaling felt much easier than usual. The usual twelve or thirteen minute ride to the station took me less than ten minutes that morning. From there I took the train three stations to Komeiin Academy, a private school Kenichiro attends. It’s an integrated middle-and-high school with a fairly relaxed atmosphere that also puts effort into athletic clubs. My mother and Aunt Akane had graduated from there too.
When I passed through the school gates, I could hear voices from the field and gym — the sports clubs were practicing morning drills. Not only Chii-chan’s kyūdō club but other clubs were routinely training in the morning. Chii-chan is one of the internal-promoted students from the middle school, so we were in different classes; external-transfer students like me are split off. From second year onward, students are divided into elective tracks and the internal/external distinction gets mixed together.
Standing in front of the classroom, I hesitated for a moment before stepping through the wide-open door; maybe I was nervous. I’m an early arriver, so fewer than five classmates had come in.
As usual I sat down and was glanced at by the classmate who’d come early — but no one spoke to me. I took out the sandwich and tea I’d bought at the convenience store on the way and started eating.
I want to go home already…
Even though I’d just arrived, that’s all I could think. I took the programming book I keep in my bag and started reading.
With my stomach eased and feeling a bit calmer, I thought about what had happened to my body. It was clearly more muscular; the slightly larger-size uniform felt tighter. My shoe size seemed bigger — I was wearing shoes with the heels flattened down. And my height, which had been under 170 cm, was now around 175 cm.
Growing that much in only a few days was obviously strange… Even if I went to the doctor, the next health check was scheduled for next week. I didn’t feel like rushing to a hospital early.
Besides, what had that voice that suddenly spoke to me mean? I couldn’t hear it well, but I thought it mentioned something about a Great Sage.
『Pon — are you calling, Master?』
Suddenly a mechanical tone sounded and a woman’s voice spoke. It didn’t feel like the earlier machine-sounding female voice — this one sounded more real. Startled, I jumped up, but other students who were absorbed in their phones or books didn’t seem to notice.
I bolted to a toilet stall. This was the only nearby place I could be alone.
“What the hell was that voice?”
I’d heard it clearly, but no one around reacted. If they’d heard it, they would have looked this way.
『That is the Wisdom System of the Great Sage.』
The machine-like female voice spoke again.
“Wha—!”
I couldn’t help a shout; I was inside a stall.
『No need to be alarmed. My voice is speaking directly into Master’s brain. Third parties cannot hear me.』
“That’s not it! Who are you?”
『As I said before: I am the Great Sage’s Wisdom System. Are you stupid?』
Something was insulting me — from a weird voice. My anger rose. This machine wasn’t answering what I wanted to know.
“So why can I hear you?” I said, a little louder than intended.
『Sigh — very well. It looks like the Master is at the level of a kindergartener and needs to be taught from the start. Oh, excuse me. That’s unfair to kindergarteners — and you don’t even need to speak out loud; merely thinking transmits to me.』
I wanted to punch it. If the thing were in front of me, my fist would’ve gone forward.
『Then I will explain. Clean out the filthy wax-packed earholes of yours and listen. The Master picked up the “Sage’s Stone” at coordinates NT305, ET508…』
“Whoa, wait! What do you mean, the ‘Sage’s Stone’?”
『Sigh — from there, huh… Very well. The “Sage’s Stone” is the pinnacle of alchemy created experimentally by the god Hephaistos, one of the custodians of the Mistral world. Whoever obtains its power gains immortality, and should they fully release its power they are said to surpass even the gods.』
There were so many points to poke holes in…
“Um — gods mean, like, deities, right? Do gods actually exist?”
『…That was an exceedingly crude question, and I lost my temper. Master meant whether they exist in this world, yes?』
“Sure, that’s what I meant.”
『…Understood. On this planet called “Earth,” the administrators known as gods are not present. No, more accurately: as of now, they do not exist here.』
“So that means they used to exist?”
『Yes. Until roughly six hundred years ago they did exist. Now, Earth is no longer under a god’s surveillance.』
Six hundred years ago — that’s around Japan’s Muromachi period. So there are no gods on Earth now?
『Strictly speaking, Earth was only removed from the gods’ sphere of oversight. The gods still exist in other worlds.』
“Why did the gods leave Earth?” I asked.
『Because a messenger of the gods — a person called Joan of Arc — was killed for heresy. The then-administrator, the god, was furious and abandoned Earth. Since then, Earth has become a world without managers.』
“What? Seriously? Joan of Arc was a messenger of the gods?”
『Correct. Master, it’s disappointing you don’t even know that.』
Hey — stop insulting me so casually!
『Ding-dong, class is starting…』
At that moment the homeroom chime rang.
“Ah — this is bad.”
There were more things I wanted to ask, but they’d have to wait. If I entered the classroom late I’d stand out.
I hurried out of the stall and headed back to class.
◆
Sensing Kenichiro’s state, the Wisdom System let out a big sigh.
『This requires immediate instruction. Also, you must be leveled up and strengthened quickly, or you’ll be killed in no time. The Master has not even released 1% of the Sage’s Stone’s power…』
Those words did not reach Kenichiro’s conscious mind.
