Unlimited Ambition

I feel like I'm dying from longing for the faces of the girls I met in another world.

"I'm going back now."

After I finished speaking, I left and went home without waiting for the other girls to react.

"Kyū! You actually left your cute little sister at home and went out to play with other girls—" Before my sister could finish her sentence, I hugged her.

"Can you please stop talking?" I whispered in her ear. "I'm a little tired. Can you stay with me?"

The younger sister didn't say anything more, but silently nodded.

I carried my sister to my room, but I didn't do what she expected. I just quietly held her soft body and fell asleep.

After that, I had a dream. In the dream, there was no Death Game, no Death, and no Honkai Impact 3rd Adventure. I was still an ordinary person, going to school and coming home every day, then going to get off work and coming home, going to and from the hospital, and finally going into that little box and never coming out again.

Then I woke up.

At the same time, I listened to my sister's complaints: "Do you think I'm a plush toy?" I wondered: If that were the world, would I really be happy?

I don't think so...

Of course, I would never thank that Grim Reaper for this.

But if, I mean if...

"Sorry." I rubbed my sister's head while covering my own; my migraine was acting up again, damn it.

The test of courage the following day was to take place after dark, so there were no activities during the day. Therefore, I felt perfectly justified in staying in bed and refusing to get up.

My sister lay down next to me without any qualms.

After that, Springtime lay comfortably on my other side as well.

It wasn't until nine o'clock in the evening. I stretched my numb arms and led Haruhi and my younger sister to the meeting point, which, as usual, was an ice cream shop near the school.

By the way, my sister begged me to come over. She even threatened me, saying that she would have to participate in all of the SOS Brigade's off-campus activities from now on, or else she would accuse me of raping her and get the cops to lock me up in jail.

You're being a bit too ruthless.

Could you please come up with a different reason next time?

Also, I didn't say I wouldn't take you with me in the first place.

So I took Chunri's hand, carried my little sister on my back, and went out—the little brat claimed she couldn't stay up all night, but I always felt she was pretending to be asleep.

So, because my sister's nagging caused us to be a little delayed, Haruhi and I once again gloriously became the last place in the penalty competition.

Although the cold drink shops were already closed at this time, and the weather was cool in the evening, there was no need to eat cold drinks to cool down. But because it was a tradition, no one objected.

Another advantage is that I saved the cost of five cold drinks per meal—of course, I'll still pay for tomorrow's—but that's a separate matter—and I'm used to it anyway.

"Hmm, it seems everyone's here. Let's officially begin the test of courage!" Haruhi shouted cheerfully, raising her right hand.

Speaking of which, this era is quite decadent. Even though it's late, there are still many people who don't go home at night. Occasionally, embarrassing moans like "Ah~ um~" can be heard from the bushes, making all the girls except Mikuru blush.

"Kyū, that voice sounds like it's in a lot of pain... Can we really just ignore them?"

Later, Mikuru finally couldn't hold back any longer and tugged at my sleeve, asking me this question.

As a result, everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at Shikuru as if she were a rare animal.

"Huh?" Mikuru was at a loss.

"Well... how should I put it... maybe you'll understand when you're a little older," I explained to her.

So the SOS Brigade continued moving, some chatting, some going crazy, some reading, and some pretending to be asleep.

I should help her learn basic literacy sometime. Come to think of it, that would be doing a good deed.

I laughed as I thought that.

So, after about an hour of testing our courage, the SOS Brigade gathered at my house. My mom had it tough; it was already past ten o'clock, and she still had to get out of bed to open the door for us, then run around bringing us drinks and snacks. And she has to go to work tomorrow.

I originally wanted to say a few words of advice to her, but when I saw her ambiguous smile, I swallowed my words.

Did she misunderstand something...?

No, she didn't actually misunderstand anything...

Next, we turned off the lights, and then each of us took a flashlight, shone it on our faces, and began our strange story lecture.

"Um... what qualifies as weird?" Mikuru asked.

"It's a story that you rarely see, it's very strange and terrifying, and it'll scare you to death if you tell it," I explained to her in detail.

"Okay." Mikuru nodded confidently. "I understand."

"Huh?" The others were all surprised, unable to imagine how a child like Mikuru could have such confidence.

"Um... did you guys know that the boat floats because of 'buoyancy'?"

The others: "..."

"And also, airplanes can fly because of jet engines."

The others: "..."

"What's even stranger is that all the vehicles are powered by something called 'fuel'."

"—Alright, stop talking now, you can rest."

Seeing that Shikuru was about to excitedly reveal all her archaeological discoveries, I quickly ran over and covered her mouth.

If I keep talking, I'll give myself away.

In the end, I won the ghost story contest. It wasn't a big deal; I just edited my endless battles in hell a bit before telling the tale. But then, Mikuru suddenly collapsed halfway through my story, leaving all the girls terrified, their faces pale and their legs too weak to walk. They had no choice but to stay at my house.

I hesitated for a moment, looking at Mikuru who was still unconscious on the ground, wondering if I should take this opportunity to give her a lesson in physiology...

Chapter Thirty-Five: Working

In the end, nothing happened... Ha, such a statement is as if you're expecting something to happen.

Finally, around nine o'clock, the girls woke up one after another. Except for Mikuru, all of them checked their bodies first. They were slightly relieved to confirm that they had not been violated, and then felt a little disappointed.

So, after having breakfast and lunch, we went back to our homes, took showers, changed clothes, and then met up again in front of the ice cream shop—I treated everyone again—and to make up for yesterday's portion, I had to buy two drinks—I couldn't take it anymore, my wallet was going to break down if I didn't replenish my funds soon.

Ever since I inadvertently revealed that I am Wright Baldwin, my mother found out and I had no choice but to hand over my savings from writing to her to manage. Unless I get married later, I can only keep the money in the bank to earn interest. In addition, I haven't published any new works in the past two years, and Kasuga stopped me from working for Yukari Yakumo, so I've been very tight on money.

As I muttered this to myself, I thought about today's routine activities.

It's a job...

To be honest, Haruhi did arrange for us to work at a shop she was familiar with—of course, if it were her, she might have taken all the money we earned under the guise of "club funds" and then used it for some trivial things, like cosplay props or something.

If that's really the case, for the sake of my wallet, I have to stop her no matter what.

So, after a debate, and through my eloquent and lengthy arguments, Kasuga finally reluctantly agreed to my decision to change my work location at the last minute. After that, I dragged the entire SOS Brigade to Yakumo Yukari's newly opened hotel.

Springtime later regretted it.

"Why—why—should I, the leader, have to work at this woman's hotel?!"

Kasuga, who had recently considered Yakumo Yukari as her main rival, stood with her hands on her hips and questioned me in this way.

"Because the owner of this place is very generous with money. And she's a very nice person, isn't she?" I said, deliberately highlighting her strengths and downplaying her weaknesses.

“But, but that woman—” Haruhi’s pride wouldn’t allow her to say anything like “she’s a threat.” And objecting without reason would be nothing but making a fuss.

Although most of the SOS Brigade members (Tsuruya-senpai, Mikuru) agreed with the leader's opinion after Kasuga's objection, at least Yuki supported me. That's enough.

"...I object."

"Huh?"

"That woman... I hate her." Yuki, unusually—no, practically unheard of—expressed her opinion. I found it both rare and slightly touching.

Is it because of me?

“If you connect with me not through your heart, but directly through words, then I am doing this for you.”

...Okay, I'm sorry, Yuki. Although you are the most important person in my heart, it is absolutely impossible for me to give up the whole forest for one tree.

"So, Haruhi..." I was at my wit's end, so I resorted to pleading: "I've already said I trust you, so please trust me as much as I trust you—"

"But you are not trustworthy at all."

"That's right, the credibility level is zero."

"Um... Kyon, lying is bad, you know."

"..." Yuki's disdainful gaze.

Okay. I didn't realize my reputation level in the SOS Brigade had gotten so low.

"Actually, if Onii-chan really wants to, I don't mind at all." My sister, who was an unofficial member, suddenly spoke up in support of me.

"Too cunning!" ×4

Kasuga and the others quickly figured out their sister's strategy. Because of her status, the possibility of her becoming the main wife was practically zero. Therefore, it didn't matter who I married. So, instead of being jealous for no reason, it was more worthwhile to take this opportunity to increase my favorability.

He understood that, but it was absolutely impossible for the girls to follow his sister's example. After all, their positions were different.

And so, as we were arguing outside this luxurious restaurant called "The House of the Lost," another protagonist of the incident, Yukari Yakumo, appeared.

As always, she wore a long purple dress and carried a folding fan, her elegant and noble appearance captivating.

"Oh my, isn't this Urouge?" She pretended to be surprised, but I think she probably knew I was here the moment I arrived. She'd been hiding in the shadows watching the show, hadn't she? You little fox.

"So you finally remembered me? You heartless bastard." If Yukari Yakumo's first sentence was barely passable, the second would surely lead nine out of ten people to misunderstand. And with that final hug, even the last vestige of a gentleman's resolve would waver. And when Yukari Yakumo finally couldn't resist revealing her wolfish nature, tightly embracing me and forcibly kissing me, the other half of her resolve would definitely vanish as well.

"Stop!! You shameless woman!!!" Haruhi stepped forward quickly and pulled me away with all her might. Then, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, she spread her arms and shielded me behind her.

"...Isn't this a bit much?" I was a little embarrassed.

"Shut up!" Haruhi shouted, turning her head away.

"Okay, okay, I'll shut up, I'll shut up." I rolled my eyes after I finished speaking.

"You're really stingy... or rather, insecure?" Yukari Yakumo said calmly, opening her folding fan to cover her mouth as she spoke to Haruhi.

"What did you say?" Haruhi was clearly easily provoked; her eyes widened like light bulbs...

"Isn't that right? Come to think of it, it's not uncommon for Europeans and Americans to greet each other with kisses." Yukari Yakumo deliberately confused the issue. By the way, weren't you just about to kiss their lips?

…Haruhi's hostility remained undiminished as she glared fiercely at Yakumo Yukari. It seemed that such words were not enough to sway her mind.