The doll's view is pretty narrow. As Saiki Kusuo walks, he often pays attention to the movement on his left and right. He often stops to take small steps to face and observe the left side, then small steps to turn and observe the right side.
He makes sure there are no playful kids nearby before continuing forward.
So, what if there are?
A white-haired boy on a skateboard suddenly brakes in front of Saiki Kusuo.
"Yo, you're... cough, you're that guy, right? That Saiki..."
Why are you using my brother's last name?
"That Saiki from 'The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.!'!"
Okay, it's the Godly One here. Do you have problems too?
"Well, you're just a doll performer anyway, just a staff member. Give me the balloons."
This kid. Saiki Kusuo fumbles with his clumsy doll hands, grabbing the balloon strings.
"I want four balloons, to take to my younger siblings," Killua adds.
Does Milluki count? Although he asked for four, "younger siblings" means Alluka, right? Bring one for Milluki too. Saiki Kusuo gives Killua five.
Killua sees the number of balloons and pouts, but doesn't refuse the extra one.
He turns around, puts his foot on the skateboard in a cool pose, but doesn't move.
What's wrong, did he twist his ankle?
"Um, I've been avoiding taking responsibility for inheriting the family business, and I've been pushing the responsibility onto my frail brother. I don't know why I thought that way. Even though my brother has pink hair, I confidently told everyone that my brother would inherit the business."
Are you going to confess too? Is this a confession booth? What kind of life does Saiki K. live in "The Disastrous Life of Saiki K."?
"I only realized it recently, when my brother was talking to people from The Phantom Troupe, when my brother clearly only has a bit of teleportation ability, but was using Leader's chess to move among strong people, I was just putting myself in the younger brother's position, having fun with everyone. Hey, if you were that brother... you must be under a lot of pressure, right."
I've never felt pressure in my life, don't worry.
"I'm useless, aren't I? Alluka and Kalluto, even Milluki, and my big brother too, suddenly started indulging me. Brother Kusuo shouldn't have to carry this responsibility!"
I'm happy not having to carry the responsibility, but don't feel guilty for no reason! This is my problem, okay? Damn memory modification and the aftereffects of the correction!
Geez, when memories are modified, everyone rationalizes the modified memories in their heads. Then, if it's modified again, it's rationalized again. It should be mostly okay, but details might cause situations like Killua's.
The logic is like using Google Translate on a sentence, then using Baidu Translate, and finally using Google Translate on Baidu Translate's content.
The errors created by this kind of game are surprising, and they've kept a lot of video bloggers alive, haven't they?
The problem is now, how do I get this kid out of his self-blame...
"Ah, don't worry about it. I know you can't understand what I'm saying anyway, I'm just complaining. I have to solve it myself. Thanks for the balloons!" Killua instantly returns to normal, and skates away from Saiki Kusuo, leaving only a breeze.
This kid, making people worry for nothing!
Never mind, let's continue... don't tell me this guy is here to confess too.
Ahead, Hisoka kisses a card, appearing in Saiki Kusuo's path: "Long time no see~"
Long time no see? How did this person recognize me while I'm wearing this doll costume?!
"Hehehe... it's an anime from a long time ago, and they even made a doll~ Long time no see, Saiki."
You actually watch this stuff?!
"Since I saw you, I thought I'd chat. I've been having some troubles lately... Ever since the boat broke, I haven't seen Illumi. The first thing he asked when I saw him again was if I'd seen his younger brother in the last year and a half."
I haven't seen him, I haven't seen this pervert.
"Hmm~ Of course, I said I saw him at a nightclub, and that Chrollo was having a secret rendezvous with Little Pink at the nightclub, hehehe... Illumi's killing intent is very exciting, I wish he was aiming it at me..."
What misunderstanding did you cause with what you said to Illumi! This isn't his problem, it's my problem!
"It's a real trouble. If Saiki wants to appear, let Illumi aim his killing intent at me. See you later~"
You better not show up in our family's world again.
Hisoka turns and walks past Saiki Kusuo.
[Hehehe, that little white cat went that way...]
I heard some muttering.
Saiki Kusuo shoves a balloon in Hisoka's face, and Kusuko sweeps her tail, forcibly tripping Hisoka.
Of course, provoking Hisoka won't end so quickly. After Kusuko trips Hisoka, she jumps away. Hisoka stares at Kusuko, then jumps to chase her.
Some destruction in the mall is unavoidable.
But to protect my younger brother's honor, this is a necessary sacrifice, hm.
Saiki Kusuo withdraws his gaze.
He starts to regret it when he sees what's ahead. He should have kept watching the cat fight.
Bandaged-head Fake Pity: "Huh? That doll is based on the manga 'The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.' by Aso Shuichi, which has been on TV every Monday to Friday since July 4, 2016..."
Is there anyone in the world who hasn't seen this show? Am I the only one who hasn't seen it? Is it just me, the performer, who hasn't seen it?
Yellow-haired Walk-in Refrigerator: "That's that show that was popular in Meteor City that year, right? It was pretty funny, brought a lot of joy."
Spiky-hair Weirdo: "I think this look is really cute too. Hey, can I take a photo with you?"
Bandaged-head Tour Guide: "Everyone, be careful not to hit the head. I don't know if the person inside is a regular person, but wearing such a big costume, hitting the head would be really painful for the person inside."
Frizzy-hair Team Sewer: "Come to think of it, wearing a suit like that is probably really hard work."
Big-glasses Girl: "I don't know it... Is this everyone's childhood?"
High-nosed Blonde Gentle But Scary Sister: "It's a wonderful memory. Everyone, how about we take a group photo with Lord Saiki?"
Two-and-a-half-meter Gorilla: "Hahaha! Paku, you're already calling him 'Lord'! How about I pick up Saiki? A god who hears everyone's voices should be really tall!"
Saiki Kusuo: Get lost, all of you. Stay away from me, is this hell?
Saiki Kusuo suddenly feels himself being lifted into the air. Even he is a little flustered. He's familiar with the feeling of being lifted, but now he's in a doll suit, so everything feels strange.
Uvogin holds the uneasy Saiki Kusuo, wobbling as he lifts him. In his panic, the doll's head is about to fall, and finally, Saiki Kusuo feels a fresh, cool breeze at the point where the head is connected to the body.
The head is about to fall off! A huge crisis, if it falls off now, I'll definitely be embarrassed to death! I'll never want to do this job again for the rest of my life, and I'll definitely be traumatized by working outside!
However, the doll's hands are short. Saiki Kusuo is about to move his hands from the doll's hand positions to grab the inner frame of the doll's head, but it's too late...
Huh, it's not too late.
Some force is holding up the doll's head. Now that he's holding on himself, it won't fall off.
"Uvogin, put Saiki down. You're holding Saiki up so high, it's over four meters. People won't be in the picture," says Chrollo's voice from outside the head. Then Saiki Kusuo feels his feet touch the ground, and finally breathes a sigh of relief.
"Boss, you actually stepped on Phinks' back to hold up the doll's head."
"If it fell off and we saw us, the person inside would be scared, right? If I was the performer, I wouldn't want that to happen."
"A creature of darkness would be excited, right?"
"If it's some nobody, they're probably already weak-kneed. We should be considerate of the staff."
"Okay, then Feitan, do you want Uvogin to hold you up for a photo?"
"If you want to die, you can choose not to breathe instead of farting here."
"Ya, I want to join too~"
"Hisoka, you actually have the nerve to show your face in front of us."
"Did I do anything wrong?"
"Boss, let's surround him first."
"If I said I'll be in charge of pressing the shutter with my Bungee Gum~"
"Okay, let Hisoka in."
"Tch, I'm warning you, there's no place for you to stand or sit here. Lie down or kneel, up to you. If one hair crosses my crosshairs, I'll attack. Boss, is that okay?"
"Yeah, that's your personal grudge. I don't need to get involved."
"Hehehe, you're so fierce, Feitan, but I found a spot~"
"Boss, you absolutely have to stand in the middle! Uvogin should stand in the middle since he's the tallest, and Saiki too..."
How many middles are there?
In the head that's slipped out of place, Saiki Kusuo can't tell who's talking to who. The outside world is so scary, let him ride out this disaster in the doll suit, please.
Click, the shutter snaps.
In the photo, eight members of the Troupe surround a mysterious creature. Uvogin is in the center of the back row. Chrollo is in the center of the second row, holding the white creature's head. The white creature is sitting on the ground, in the center of the third row at the bottom, with the others standing on either side. Then, in front of the white creature, there's Hisoka with a balloon string in his mouth, lying on the beach in a very seductive pose.
After taking the photo, Hisoka claps his hands and leaves. After the Troupe sees the photo, Feitan realizes that the balloon in Hisoka's mouth is perfectly positioned to cover his face.
"*sshole, Hisoka!!" Feitan vanishes into the distance, and some members of the Troupe chase after him.
Saiki Kusuo is afraid that the Troupe will all run off in a swarm, so he raises the doll's short hand and quickly presses down on Chrollo's shoulder.
He used too much force, and half-kneels Chrollo with one hand.
"Saiki, what—"
Balloons, right? Okay, here are your balloons.
Chrollo doesn't even finish his second word before a handful of balloons is shoved into his hands.
All of them are for you, The Phantom Troupe. From now on, I have no more stupid balloon missions.
Afraid that Chrollo will think they're worthless and throw them back, Saiki Kusuo leaves after giving them.
Geez, I thought it would be an easy task, but I spent two hours and didn't even finish 1/3 of a lap. Working is really not easy.
By the end of the day, Saiki Kusuo only earned 120 yuan. Understandable, since I only worked half a day.
After deducting the cost of the red bean bun and dinner, there's only 102.5 yuan left.
When Saiki Kusuo gets home, he finds that Feitan is not in his room. The Phantom Troupe is gone all night. The next morning, Saiki Kusuo decides to seize this opportunity to work at the breakfast shop nearby. In the afternoon, he helps the owner feed the stray dark creatures they've taken in, spending a rare quiet day. That day's net income is 230.
Then it's Monday.
Hanta University. Saiki Kusuo has only been to the front gate for registration, but this is his first time entering the school.
The left side of the school is a large sports field, and the right side is the elementary school and junior high school. The high school is further inside, and the degrees above university level are all in the university department, built on a large island beyond the main campus.
Who would have thought that such a large school would only have one entrance? There are many people coming to school too, and Saiki Kusuo slowly enters in order.
"Did you hear? PhDs and masters all live in villas."
What a difference in treatment.
"Did you see the notice at the school gate? I heard the president is holding a meeting today. It seems like there are more and more people joining lately, the registration office is packed."
Where's the notice? Is it in that crowd? There are only so many people on the boat, how are there so many people here?
Kusuko glances at the sea of people at the registration office: Everyone has to register. Dark creatures especially need to register to get an identity. Now dark creatures from other areas are coming too, Kikyo's full.
But this area will expand, it will fit however many people come. There are only so many people right now temporarily.
"How will the president hold a meeting, in the president's office?"
It can't be in the president's office, it should be in a large auditorium.
"I've been curious about the president's office for a long time! Maybe we can go in today? There's definitely a secret there, it's all blocked off so you can't see anything, but it's in the center of the school!"
"Yeah, such a big hemispherical building! There's no window to see inside, except for the front door!"
Don't tell me it's that big building in the distance. Is that the president's office or the president's apartment?
"But you have to solve a Gungi puzzle to get in the front door. So annoying. But I heard someone from Kuruta is trying to solve it?"
"Oh! Then let's wait for the people from Kuruta to solve it!"
The people from Kuruta are very popular.
People disperse after entering the gate, and Saiki Kusuo can finally catch his breath.
Most old-looking people go straight to the island. Saiki Kusuo only needs to go to the high school, so he has to go through the elementary school and junior high school first. There's a garden between the elementary school and junior high school, and there's a public library behind the garden.
Someone has built a stage in front of the library and is giving a confident speech.