Taichi always felt that when he was free, he was incredibly free, but when he was busy, his schedule was packed with no gaps.
After saying goodbye to Shiho Suzui, who thanked him and then apologized, and chatting with her parents, Taichi left the hospital with Ann Takamaki and looked up at the sky. He had to admit that when the Phantom Thief kids were in class, he, the janitor, was exceptionally free. But after school, all sorts of chaotic problems started to appear.
Taichi was very thankful that he wasn't a busybody who liked to meddle in other people's affairs. If all the different storylines came crashing down on him at once, he felt his energy wouldn't be able to handle it.
After all, he was currently facing a confirmed set of dangerous plot lines: the Ultraman series, the Persona series, and the Detective Conan series.
He, as the pilot of Ultraman X, had to deal with the monsters. The Shadows and the Holy Grail were more manageable; Ren Amamiya, who had been chosen by Yaldabaoth, was the main force. Taichi, with his Persona power that didn't match the tarot cards and his different kind of Holy Grail "Thief," was at most a supporting role or a last-minute cleanup crew.
Then... the Detective Conan storyline was dangerous. That world was a test of humanity and who had the most twisted mind. Who knew when a person near you would suddenly turn into a Beika-jin and stage a revenge plot that would affect anyone nearby?
While Ultraman X could defend against mental attacks and digital attacks, he could also act as a pair of eyes in the back of Taichi's head to prevent him from being ambushed by normal humans. Even if someone planted a bomb under his feet, X could create a protective shield with his Ultra psychic powers at the last moment.
But he couldn't stop poison. And one of the most popular murder methods for Beika-jin was making you grab your throat, tasting almonds, and collapsing in agony.
This bizarre, stitched-together world had both the Persona and Detective Conan series, so a negative-energy monster was bound to appear sooner or later. And it would probably come with an epic power-up. After all, the darkness of human nature never disappoints.
If he hadn't already investigated and confirmed that there were no towns called Fuyuki City, or places like Kanonji or Misaki in this version of Japan, Taichi would have gone looking for someone named Lev Lainur Flauros. ...Ah, the last one, Misaki-cho, did exist, but it was just a coincidence of a name.
"Sigh," Taichi couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"Taichi? You look down. Are you having a tough time with something?" Ann asked him with concern.
"It's nothing, just trying to decide what to eat for dinner tonight," Taichi said, throwing out a casual lie.
"Oh! How about I treat you to a big meal?" Ann's face suddenly brightened. "I've been thanking you all this time but haven't actually done anything. This is a perfect way to show my gratitude!"
"...I'm almost old enough to drink, you know," Taichi said, his eyes narrowing. "Being treated to dinner by a high school girl... doesn't sound too bad, I guess?" Considering he might be a mooch in a way, Taichi was a little hesitant.
"I have a part-time job as a cover model, so I have some money," Ann said, pulling on Taichi's arm. "I heard from a friend in the modeling industry about a really great restaurant. The variety of dishes is amazing, and it's a buffet! Let me treat you there!"
Taichi didn't struggle much and obediently followed Ann to the restaurant she mentioned. The decor was incredibly luxurious, the kind of place that would make a poor person want to walk with their head down. It was a high-class restaurant, and the prices were very expensive: 10,000 yen per person. That was nearly 500 yuan! As a student with only a part-time job, shelling out 20,000 yen in one go made even the free-spirited Ann wince.
"Eat all you want," Ann said, patting his shoulder and winking after they found a table. "I'm going to the dessert section."
That's right, the most appealing part of this restaurant for Ann was the incredibly expensive high-end desserts. As for the other dishes, while she was curious, they were nothing compared to the desserts.
"Naruto-san?" Just as Taichi was looking for something he liked in the hot food section, Yukino Yukinoshita's cold voice suddenly came from behind him. He turned around to see the girl in a black dress, her long hair tied in a high ponytail, standing there with a glass of juice in her hand, looking a little dazed.
"Yukinoshita? What a coincidence, are you here for dinner too?" Taichi asked, blinking. He honestly didn't expect to run into Yukino Yukinoshita outside of school.
"...I'm here with my sister," Yukino Yukinoshita said, shaking her head. "She's having a get-together with some friends she just met since transferring, and she dragged me along."
"But you... I thought you were so poor you were eating dirt?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked, looking at Taichi with a puzzled expression. "You can afford to eat at a buffet like this?"
"Someone else is paying," Taichi said with a shrug, using tongs to grab some freshly prepared steak and place it on his plate. "The girl you met this afternoon."
"Ann Takamaki, I believe her name was," Yukino Yukinoshita said, nodding as if she understood. "I won't interrupt your date, then. Please excuse me."
"...It's not a date," Taichi said, quickly explaining. "She just wanted to thank me for helping her with something, so she's treating me to a meal."
Taichi's timely explanation seemed to have earned him some goodwill from Yukino Yukinoshita. At the very least, the icy atmosphere around her eased up a bit.
"Oh, is this someone you know, Yuki-chan?" a slightly frivolous voice suddenly said. "How wonderful. You've already made a friend on your first day after transferring to Tokyo."
"He's not a friend," Yukino Yukinoshita said with a sigh, her brows furrowed. "He's just someone I met today and whose name I know."
Taichi silently speared a piece of meat from his plate with his fork, putting it in his mouth while watching the person slowly walk toward them. It was Haruno Yukinoshita, whose other face he had just seen recently. She was wearing a similar dress to Yukino's, looking like it was a matching set. Beside her was a slightly languid, pink-haired woman with a large chest. Taichi had never seen her before, but she seemed oddly familiar.
"I wish little Yukino and my two sisters could complement each other's personalities a bit," the pink-haired woman said in a socialite-like tone. "At the very least, it would help Chika be more normal."