Chapter 9: Enforced Devotion【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.
Anza
Despite seeing him in such a miserable state, I can’t help but snort.
“Didn’t I tell you” I point a lecturing finger in at him. “But no, nobody ever listens to my advice.”
He stares blankly at the sky, his voice dropping into a hollow, rhythmic drone.
“Distribute two hundred and fifty flyers. Yes, sir. Follow all voting recommendations. Yes, sir. Memorize every board member’s name by tomorrow. Yes, sir—” He collapses face-first into the sand.
“Don’t tell me you actually agreed to all of that?!”
He does not respond just sitting slouched in the sand looking down.
I grab him by the collar of his shirt and begin towing him across the beach. “Well, letting you bake out here in the sun isn’t an option either.”
He desperately clutches the fallen folders to his chest, offering no resistance as I drag him over the sand like a captured animal.
I take wide turns around the other beach goers, ensuring his limp body doesn’t plow into anyone’s sunbathing space until we finally make it back to Asuka.
“Wow, you sure caught a big one!” Asuka says as I plop him down under the shade of our parasol.
“And what did you catch, Toma?” She snickers, poking at his paper fortress. “A bureaucrat?”
I slide a folder out from under the ribbon. It is covered in neon fonts and a massive text dump about the campus bicycle club, complete with a photo of a guy giving a cheesy wink.
“Wow. How on earth are you going to hand all these out, Toma?” she mutters.
“No, you don’t understand…” He shudders, his eyes wide with lingering dread. “I didn’t even get to apply! After hearing their ridiculous laundry list of requirements, I bailed—but they forced these on me for ‘free’ just because I picked up a pen to sign up!”
I deadpan at him, gently trying to pry the stack from his grip. “Then we don’t have to look at them any longer than we already have.” His fingers clamp down like iron claws. “Toma. Let. Go.”
“Y-you don’t understand! This stack…” He clutches it even closer to his chin, his voice trembling. “I endured forty minutes of their orientation lecture! If I leave empty-handed now, it means I wasted my life for nothing!”
“Toma, you pathetic idiot…” With one final yank, I rip the papers away from his noodle arms.
Defeated, he melts back into the beach. Beside him, Asuka is already enthusiastically shoveling sand over his limp body, building him a custom beach tomb before he is even cold.
“Chin up! The elite Cooking Club is always looking for fresh talent.” She decrees. ”As a future member, I hereby grant you the privilege of applying alongside me! Your only tax is doing my homework for the rest of the year.”
She snaps her head toward me, eyes sparkling with sudden mischief. “Why don’t you join too, Anza? Think about it—the three of us, conquering the culinary world together!”
A cold shudder runs down my spine. The mental image of being Asuka’s personal kitchen slave flashes before my eyes.
“I, uh… think I’ll pass. Thanks.”
“Your loss!” She huffs, crossing her arms. “Fine then, what exactly is left on your radar?”
“I’ve looked at a few options I already assumed I’d like,” I admit, staring out over the water. “They seemed fine, but…
“but…”
“That’s the problem. I already know I will like them. I want to try something... different.”
“Duh! That’s exactly why you’re supposed to pick them!” Asuka groans, throwing her hands in the air.
A sand-covered hand bursts from the makeshift tomb, followed by Toma’s haggard face as he sits up. “If you seek a nightmare...” he croaks, staring blankly at nothing. “I happen to know a great place...” He loses steam, collapsing flat onto his back again.
“I didn’t say I wanted a nightmare,” I sigh, looking down at his buried torso. “Just… something that pushes me out of my comfort zone.”
“Hey if you shust mumt—” Toma sputters before gagging from the falling sand that blankets his face.
He jumps upright, violently coughing to clear the grains from his throat.
Beside him, Asuka quickly whips her hands behind her back to hide the evidence.
“Toma. Tombs don’t talk.” she smirks.
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Discover what happens next in: Chapter 10: My Future Current【Part 1】
Written by Limited_Infinity. Extras, official publishing platforms and updates are publicly available only on the Patreon page “_Limited_Infinity_”
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