Chapter 4: Voluntarily Forced【Part 3】
【言語に関するご注意 / Language Notice】本作はすべて、英語と英語の表現で書かれています。翻訳作品ではなく、オリジナルの英語ライトノベルです。あらかじめご了承の上、作品をお楽しみください。
See chapter one for the main author's note.
Sayoko
“Bribery? Nooo. Think of it as a charitable donation for my voluntary participation. But hey, if your conscience is against fueling an addiction, I can’t blame you. Even my family does—”
“I can live with these terms.”
“Alright then, it’s a deal! Hey, Rin, over here!” She points straight at my face like a ringmaster introducing the main attraction. “Next one is on her, and make it a bottle!”
The barmaid rolls her eyes, retrieving a frosted blue bottle from under the counter. Ice drops into the glass with a loud clatter before she pours the chilled water.
Like a goblin watching a chest fill with gold coins, Kirishima stares at the reflections dancing in the stream of clear liquid.
Rin slides the fresh drink forward, clinking it against the empty glass, before the bottle follows. She punches a command into the register and looks up expectantly.
I offer her a polite nod.
Her gaze pauses on me, then starts shifting between my unblinking eyes and the hunched figure next to me. The confusion in her eyes thickens by the second.
Kirishima’s smug grin, however, remains untainted by the display. She just… looks at me funny. Her eyes darting frantically between my face and Rin like an impending seizure.
We freeze like chess pieces awaiting a player’s hand.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“...Pay?” she prompts as the smile on her face starts to twitch at the corners.
“Yes,” I reiterate. “I pay.”
“…”
“...”
Rin clears her throat, taking a step back from the counter to polish a perfectly clean glass.
The grin slowly vanishes from the goblin’s face. Tracking my unblinking eyes before looking down to my idle hands. “Argh! First-years—You don’t actually know how the payment system works here, do you?”
I give a small pout. “If you are implying a microscopic discrepancy in my regional mapping, then I suppose your hypothesis is not entirely inaccurate.”
She lets out a groan, and slaps a hand against her forehead. “Why do I always… Do you have your student ID card on you?”
Unzipping my backpack, I search the front pocket and slide a plastic card out between two fingers.
“I suppose you are referring to this object.”
The opportunistic grin flares back up on her face.
Yes, that one!” She points to a small terminal on the wood.” Just hold it against the scanner... right there.”
I press the plastic against the interface.
Ping.
Rin offers a mechanical bow and holds up a small slip of thermal paper. I raise a flat hand to decline.
Beside me, a low chuckle rumbles from the stool. Her shoulders shake as the amusement is apparently not able to be contained.
“Yes. Financial transactions. Hilarious,” I reply. “Now, the information—”
“Pffft—hahahaha!” She slams her hand onto the counter. “Do you even know how much these imported blue bottles cost on a first-year budget?!”
“…”
“Oh, man.” She wipes a tear from her eye. “I hope you didn’t plan on making any big purchases the next few days—pffft”
“Yes. You got me.” I look at her, waiting.
Her amusement falters against the lack of participants, the laughter slowly dissolving into a faint sigh. She lifts her glass to take a sip, burying the remaining smirk.
“The information” I prompt.
“Right…”
Clearing her throat, she grabs the bottle and brushes past me. “Let’s go to the rooftop for a bit.” A quick nod goes to the barmaid, before she vanishes up the stairs at the end of the room.
I slowly follow suit.
“Of course.” I note. “Goblins cannot fly”
Click.
Renji
My eyelids feel like lead.
I try to shift my weight, but my heavy shoulders refuse to budge, and my legs ache like a dented sheet of metal.
W-where… am I?
The suffocating aqua fabric of a curtain around the bed traps me inside a tiny cubicle. I stare down at the bandages wrapping my arms.
How did I get here?
Memory fails me. My clearest thoughts stop at the festive music in the town square—everything after is a blank.
The past hours resemble a book with a dozen pages ripped out of the middle.
Why can I not remember?
A groan slips out as my temples throb with a vicious rhythmic hammering.
Swish.
The curtain slides open.
“Is everything alright here?” A doctor stands in the gap, wearing casual clothing under a white lab coat.
“Oh, sorry…” I wince, pressing a hand to my head. “I just… How did I get here?”
He offers a warm smile. “The district medical team brought you straight up. You are in the Taiseigahara Central Hospital. I am your physician for today.”
“Hospital…” My chest tightens. A blurry, panicked image of a face flashes in my mind. “Wait. Is my friend here? Is he alright?”
“Don’t worry, your friend is doing well. His injuries were light enough to keep him at the district medical station.”
“Oh. I see.”
A wave of relief washes over me, but the undertow leaves behind a flood of unanswered questions.
“You took a pretty nasty hit,” He says while checking a tablet. “But your wounds are treated and the initial tests look fine. Just rest up while we wait for some final results.”
“Right…”
He gives a small nod, before drawing the curtain back.
“Wait!”
Forcing my heavy arm to rise, I call out. “Is there a phone? I would like to call my family.”
He pauses, looking over his shoulder.
“Sorry. The RemoteLines Center does not relay calls to the outside from here except under very rare conditions. You will have to go to the center in person later.”
“Oh.”
Swish.
The curtain seals shut, locking me back inside my cloth box. I stare at the blank fabric, roll onto my side, and let out a bitter sigh.
Stupid school.
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Discover what happens next in: Chapter 5: Abundant Scarcity【Part 1】
Written by Limited_Infinity. Official publishing platforms and updates are exclusively communicated on Bluesky: @Limited-Infinity
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