Anime Crossover: My Part-Time Job as a Giant of Light While Studying Abroad in Chiba

Duan Zilian froze.

He turned around mechanically.

The man sat on the bench, showing no intention of standing up.

He took a bite of his popsicle and looked at Duan Zilian with a smile:

"How is it? Does the wound on your back still hurt?"

"...How...how did you know?"

Duan Zilian took a half-step back warily, her palms starting to sweat. "Are you a stalker?"

"Stalker? Don't make me sound so sleazy."

Hong Kai pointed to his eyes, "I'm very good at judging people. And..."

He took something out of his pocket and tossed it in his hand.

It was a silver harmonica.

It sparkled in the sunset.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

Duan Zilian's eyes widened: "That harmonica... how did it end up in your hands?"

"There was a little girl sitting here crying just now, and we didn't even notice she fell into the grass."

Hong Kai shrugged. "I was going to return it to her, but she ran faster than a rabbit. Since you know her, why don't you return it to her for me?"

After saying that, Hong Kai casually tossed it aside.

The harmonica traced an arc in the air, and Duan Zilian caught it in a flustered manner.

The harmonica was still warm, and there was no dust on it; in fact, it had been wiped very clean, clearly because the man had picked it up and carefully cleaned it.

“Um…” Duan Zilian held the harmonica, hesitated for a moment, but couldn’t help asking, “Who… exactly are you? That monster last night, and your skills…”

Hong Kai stood up, dusted off his pants, and pulled down his hat brim to cover half his face.

"That kind of thing has nothing to do with a kid like you who's still in school."

Hong Kai stepped down from the bench, pausing slightly as he passed Duan Zilian.

"Instead of being curious, you should pay more attention to your own body."

Hong Kai glanced at Duan Zilian's stiff back, his tone less teasing, "Is your back injury still not healed? If you encounter something like that again, remember to run fast. Not everyone will be there to help you out."

After saying that, he took the popsicle stick out of his mouth and accurately threw it into a trash can a few meters away.

"Let's go. That store's discounted popsicles will be sold out in five minutes."

Hong Kai waved his hand and, without looking back, prepared to blend into the crowd.

"Um... thank you for saving me. What's your name?" Duan Zilian asked in a loud voice.

"I'll tell you next time we meet, though I don't know if we'll ever see each other again," the man said casually.

His silhouette looked somewhat lonely and dejected, yet in the afterglow of the setting sun, it possessed an indescribable air of nonchalance.

Duan Zilian stood there, holding the harmonica, watching the figure disappear around the street corner.

He didn't ask what he thought of the monster, nor whether he had told anyone about it. There was only a simple admonition from an adult to a boy and the quiet tenderness of a wanderer.

"...What is that?"

After watching the strange man in the cowboy hat disappear, Duan Zilian glanced at her phone.

There are still twenty minutes until the meeting time set by Yukinoshita.

"They actually completed the mission so far ahead of schedule... This will probably go down in history for the Service Department."

Duan Zilian held the harmonica, which was still somewhat warm, and gave a wry smile.

Since it's still early, going back too early will definitely get me criticized by that dead-eyed Hachiman: "Are you the kind of good student who would arrive at the exam hall early to study?" So I might as well just wander around here.

Chapter 9 Gifts in the Park

The fountain was splashing loudly, several elementary school students were chasing and playing, and an elderly couple was sharing a bento box on a bench in the distance.

Duan Zilian bought a sausage at a nearby convenience store and then strolled slowly along the path outside the park.

Although the injury on my back still hurts, it has eased considerably compared to this morning. The ointment that Hiratsuka Shizuka gave me had a strong smell, but its effects were truly remarkable.

"I should thank that violent female teacher next time..."

Duan Zilian stretched and was about to find a place to sit down.

Sudden.

hum-

A sharp ringing suddenly came from deep within my brain.

The feeling was disgusting, like someone was holding a huge speaker directly to his head, making him shake all over.

The scene before my eyes instantly became distorted.

The park under the setting sun, the running elementary school students, the fountain... everything looked like an old television screen with a poor signal, showing severe color tearing and double images.

"……Well!"

Duan Zilian's legs went weak, and she almost knelt on the ground.

He instinctively grabbed a tree next to him, closed his eyes tightly, and shook his head.

what happened?

Is it anemia? Or is it a lingering effect from hitting your head yesterday?

"Meow~"

A faint meow pulled him back to reality.

Duan Zilian opened her eyes again.

The world returned to normal, without distorted color blocks or ghosting.

The setting sun was still warm, and the children were still laughing. The dizziness he had just felt seemed to be just a hallucination.

"...I really need to go to the hospital for a brain CT scan soon."

Duan Zilian took a breath and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

He lowered his head and looked in the direction of the sound.

A tiny creature was huddled in the grass beside the tree roots.

It was a black and white kitten, about a month old, all dirty, staring at him with a wary yet longing look, or rather, at the sausage he had just bought from the convenience store.

"It is you……"

Duan Zilian squatted down and looked at the little guy. "Are you hungry too?"

Surprisingly, the kitten didn't run away; instead, it tentatively took a small step forward: "Meow..."

That look in his eyes reminded Duan Zilian of his own first day in Japan. He was just like that, wary and uneasy in this unfamiliar city, yet he had to tentatively take steps to survive.

"Alright, you're lucky."

Duan Zilian tore open the sausage packaging, broke off a small piece, and handed it over. "This was originally a snack I prepared for myself... Since we've met, it must be fate."

The kitten sniffed around, and after confirming there was no danger, it immediately began to wolf down the food.

As Duan Zilian watched it eat, the tension in his lips, which had been taut all day, unconsciously relaxed, revealing a gentle smile that even he himself didn't realize.

He reached out to touch the kitten's head, but pulled his hand back halfway.

"Never mind, my hands smell like ointment, you'll find it disgusting."

"I never imagined that you, as a primitive creature, could actually communicate with felines across species."

A familiar voice sounded from behind.

Duan Zilian was startled and turned around abruptly.

Yukino Yukinoshita was standing in the shade of a tree not far away.

She was holding an unopened bottle of mineral water, as if she had just finished her search.

At this moment, she was looking at Duan Zilian and the kitten squatting on the ground with a somewhat surprised but not unpleasant gaze.

"Yukinoshita-san?"

Duan Zilian stood up somewhat awkwardly, "Um... I just..."

"Shhh."

Yukino put her index finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture.

Her gaze was completely drawn to the kitten eating a sausage. Her usually cold and rational eyes melted at that moment, revealing an undisguised affection.

"...It is very thin."

Yukinoshita spoke softly, slowly walking over and crouching down not far from the kitten. "Is it a stray cat?"

"Probably. It was calling out from the bushes just now."

Looking at Yukino's appearance, Duan Zilian thought to herself: She really is a cat lover. The contrast is too great.

"Um... the mission is complete."

Duan Zilian took the harmonica out of her pocket and handed it to Yukino, "I was lucky just now, I ran into a... kind person and found it."

Yukino took the harmonica, examined it, and nodded.

"I didn't expect you to be so carefree, but actually quite reliable when it comes to getting things done."

She stood up and resumed her calm tone, "Well done, Duan Jun."

This was the first time she had seriously praised Duan Zilian.

Although her expression remained calm, Duan Zilian could sense that Yukinoshita seemed slightly... gentler than usual today.

"Meow~"

The kitten, still seemingly unsatisfied after finishing its sausage, rubbed against the snow-covered shoes.

"what……"

Yukinoshita's body stiffened for a moment, clearly struck by this adorable blow.

She looked at Duan Zilian, somewhat at a loss, "Does it...does it still want to eat?"

"They probably didn't eat enough."

Duan Zilian couldn't help but laugh as she looked at the "ice queen and wildcat" pair. "It seems that in addition to solving human requests, the Service Department also needs to solve the cats' food problem from time to time."

sunset.

Duan Zilian went to the convenience store and bought another sausage. He and Xue Shizhi each took half and quietly fed it to the cat, a smile on their faces.

Golden sunlight shone on the two people and the cat, casting long shadows.

If it weren't for the occasional tinnitus, and if it weren't for the increasingly dark cloud on the horizon, this would probably be the most beautiful scene of youth.

Hey—! You two!

In the distance, Hachiman Hikigaya came running up, panting, breaking the silence.

"I searched the entire lawn area and couldn't find a single hair, and you two were hiding here petting the cat?! Isn't this workplace bullying?! This is definitely bullying!"

"Shut up, Hachiman."

Without turning her head, Yukinoshita said coldly, "Your voice is too loud; it'll scare the cat."

"...Am I even less important than a cat?!"

Duan Zilian couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight.

Now that the harmonica has been found, there's no reason to keep feeding mosquitoes in the park.

What about the cat?

Before leaving, Yukinoshita looked back one last time with a hint of reluctance at the little black and white flower that had disappeared back into the grass.