Chapter 10: My Future Current【Part 4】
【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.
Jiro
He puts a hand on my shoulder. “This is not helping.”
I slap his hand away with a sharp crack.
“Then why didn’t you offer your place? Or did you also lose everything suddenly? Tell me!”
He stares down at his stinging palm, then looks up. “Fine. If that’s how you want it. Keep acting like a psycho and you’re just as brainless as the people who designed this system.”
“Gaku, I—”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re sorry. Save it.” He rolls his eyes, turning his back to me. “When has a hollow apology ever changed anything?”
He storms off.
...
Why do I always keep—
Masaki
“—winning! What an absolute treasure we found here!” I pull my elbow back, locking my fist into a sharp victory pump.
Rows of cherry-wood bookshelves tower upward, stacking all the way to the ceiling. Sunlight streams through the large arched windows, illuminating fields of study desks.
This isn’t just a library; it is a cathedral of knowledge.
A low groan echoes down from behind me.
“Are we done yet? Are we done yet? Are we—” The complaint dissolves into a muffled hum.
I glance over my shoulder to check if he is still among the living.
“Shin, quiet!” Sora whispers, shoving a hardcover into his face. “These students are giving up their free time to show us around, show some respect!”
'Public Speaking for Beginners’ rests right over his nose.
“Mmph—wff—mmh!” is the best that out from him.
Such a drama queen. This is supposed to be the grand finale of the school building tour, and he treats it like a prison sentence.
“The book assortment is strictly curated,” our student guide continues unbothered by us, gesturing proudly to the stacks. “The literature clubs manage the requests, but the students ultimately decide which imports actually make the cut by vote.”
“Oh! Oh!” I bounce on my heels, spearing my index finger toward the ceiling.
The guide’s smile freezes. His eyes dart frantically over my head, scanning the rest of the group. “Does... anyone else have a question, perhaps?”
My hand shoots up. “Me! Right here! Pick me!”
Mid-jump, a shove from Sora sends me pitching forward.
The floor rushes up, the wood pressing against my cheek.
...
I slide my palms back and forth against the flat grain.
Hm. Polished oak.
A sigh comes from the front of the group. “Fine. Ask your questions.”
“Actually, it is just one this time.” My head bolts up.
I scramble back onto my feet. “Can students submit any book they want? Is there a limit on things like content or price?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” the guide says. “As you can find in public financial government records, this campus saves the nation an easy twenty billion yen a year. A large chunk of that revenue goes right back into funding it, allowing our choices to be quite liberal.”
“Wow! And how—”
“—great that you showed us the last room with such enthusiasm!” Shin slaps a hand over my mouth. “This was truly an enriching experience!”
I pry his arm away. “Shin! I still have many—”
Yes! No problem at all!” the guide blurts, backing away in a hurried pace.
He addresses the rest of the crowd quickly. “Well, I hope you all learned something today. Good luck finding your way around the building before classes start next week!”
“But I—“ My words fail to come out, muffled beneath the weight of Shin’s palm.
“Bye-bye! Thank you for coming!” The guide bolts sideways, vanishing behind a nearby door.
Finally, Shin removes his hand from my mouth.
“Pfff. That tour was a bit too long for my liking.” Sora arches her back, stretching. “Also, Daiki called earlier. He wants to know when we’re coming back down to meet him.”
Right... Daiki.
My thoughts drift during the walk out, tracking the architecture as vaulted ceilings give way to mosaic-tiled hallways, and then—the boring blue sky.
The humid afternoon heat hits like a wall, a shock to the system after the crisp air conditioning.
My body isn’t agreeing with this island climate yet.
A concrete abyss opens up ahead below us. The grand staircase drops down, a cliff of a hundreds of steps cutting into the hillside.
“Ugh,” Shin groans. “We have to climb this every single day?”
“Shin, stop moping!” Sora says. “Here, I have great news for you.”
“What? Where?” He looks over.
“Down goes way faster than up!” A grin spreads across her face as she shoves his back.
“Whoa—!” He topples, smacking face-down onto the first step and gathering downward momentum.
My right eye twitches as a loud crack echoes from the next step. He flips onto his spine. Down he goes, tumbling step by step like a runaway boulder.
Shun
“Watch this trick!” A sharp click echoes off the concrete as I place my right skate on the first step, crossing my left foot over to glide up the short threshold smoothly.
The crowd, though, remains unimpressed.
It cares more about donuts than my hard-earned tricks.
My shoulders sag as I vault back down. “Kazuya, were you even watching?”
“Mmh-mmph?” a muffled voice responds.
He holds out a half-eaten donut toward me.
“Great colleague you are…”
Beside us, a boy steps past blindly, his eyes tracking the OPB sign above the door.
It’s that kid from the square.
Layers of white bandages wrap tight around his wrists. What the…
Zzt-clik!
The skates disengage just fast enough for me to march up the entrance steps to catch him at the threshold. “Hey, kid! Wait up.”
Sayoko
No!
Not another wait.
The gold-accented lobby is a total nightmare. Moving bodies everywhere. Endless lines stack up from the reception desks, the people at the front muttering in a low, agonizing drone.
What is this for a... mess.
I close my eyes, trying to shield my thoughts from the noise.
Just breathe. It will go away soon.
Or, perhaps, I can give ‘it’ a little push to speed things up.
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Discover what happens next in: Chapter 10: My Future Current【Part 5】
Written by Limited_Infinity. Extras, official publishing platforms and updates are publicly available only on the Patreon page “_Limited_Infinity_”
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