Eleven years had now passed since he had fallen into Kivotos.
Mika and Nagisa were in their last semester of middle school. Perhaps because they were both exceptionally beautiful, they were often followed by admirers.
Nagisa enjoyed having tea time with them, while Mika treated them like servants. It got a little better after Kenji scolded her, telling her she shouldn't do that, but her headstrong nature remained the same. At least she paid for everything herself, so her reputation wasn't bad.
After the two entered middle school, due to dorm life, the only times the three of them, including Kenji, could meet were before the dorm curfew, on holidays, or on weekends.
Mika grumbled about it, but it was unavoidable, so nothing changed. After three years, they had adapted, and it was no longer a major issue.
Kenji continued his relationship not only with Mika and Nagisa but also with Seia. It was only a few times a week, but even that pleased Seia. It was because she had few friends due to her peculiar way of speaking and acting. Kenji pointed this out to her directly and got a slap on the back for it.
For some reason, Nagisa saw the mark and went on a rampage, demanding to know who did it, but it was smoothed over. If he had mentioned Seia's name then, he was pretty sure either Nagisa or Seia would have ended up dead. The atmosphere was that murderous.
After turning 15, Kenji started working part-time while living in the kindergarten building. Unlike in his old world where child labor was illegal, it wasn't much of an issue in Kivotos. Many other students besides him also worked part-time jobs.
Working at the convenience store wasn't much different from his experience on Earth. The only real difference was that they sold bullets and guns. At first, he was bewildered by the cognitive dissonance of selling guns to schoolgirls, but now he was used to it. As long as he was careful about the occasional robber, there were no problems.
'It's quite peaceful.'
Kenji thought to himself as he took a break at the convenience store counter.
In the eight years since Mika had put a hole in his stomach, nothing similar had happened. On the contrary, Mika and Nagisa had become overprotective, and he had been living an excessively safe life.
It was comfortable at first, but it became burdensome later. The extent of their overprotectiveness was so severe that he still shuddered when he remembered how they had thrown a fit when he first said he wanted to work at a convenience store.
-No way! Do you even know how dangerous convenience stores are? Lately, those horn-heads from Gehenna have been causing more and more trouble!
-Just as Mika-san says, no matter how much you want to earn money, a convenience store job is out of the question. And a restaurant job is no good either. I've heard rumors that a Gehenna student with white hair has been blowing up restaurants with bad food, so restaurants are also dangerous.
-Just be my butler instead! I'll pay you more than any part-time job!
-It would be better to be with me than with Mika-san. Let's drink tea and play chess together. I won't lose anymore. That is, as long as you don't use that garbage bishop tactic.
-Screw all of you! I'll decide my own life!
Kenji shivered as he recalled the conversation from a year ago.
He hadn't intended to ask for their permission anyway, so he had refused their offers and started the job. But he never dreamed that they would show up less than two hours after he started. They then went on a rampage, calling him a stupid, idiotic Kenji, and if he hadn't kicked them out for disturbing the business, he probably would have been fired that same day.
'Crazy bitches...'
It was a relief they had been tamer recently. If they were still like they used to be, it would have been a real headache.
And Nagisa, she's usually so calm, why does she only act like that when it comes to me?
Kenji let out a deep sigh and took out his smartphone.
There wasn't much to do, so he just browsed through a community forum.
The community was called 'Momo Inside'. He went into the 'Robot Gallery' and scrolled through the featured posts from the top.
[Upvote if you think the girl in the pic is hot]
(A photo of a robot in a woman's suit posing in front of a mirror)
Upvote if you want to stick your bolt into the tight nut of the girl in the pic lol. I'll start.
[Upvotes - 780] [Downvotes - 23]
ㅇㅇ(115.396) - You sly vixen, I want to teach you the art of bolt insertion from the very beginning.
ㅇㅇ(762.63) - (Image of a blushing robot)
ShibaInuBest(214.56) - What's so great about this? A fluffy Shiba Inu is way better.
ㄴ Scrapbooker, arrested.
ㄴ Back to your own gallery.
ㄴ Why are you furries from the Beastman Gallery so noisy lately? Makes me want to have you neutered.
ㄴ (Image of a robot smashing a beastman's head)
"Still full of idiots."
Kenji chuckled and closed the community app. The next app he opened was 'Momostagram'. He had an account, but he hadn't posted anything.
He wanted to follow Mika and Nagisa, but the two had adamantly refused to tell him their usernames, so their accounts remained unfollowed. And yet, if he followed someone else, they would interrogate him about who that person was, which was absurd.
'This place is just like Earth.'
Kenji scrolled through the posts that appeared as soon as he opened the app, then closed it. There was nothing interesting. Most of the users were female students, so all he saw were pictures of desserts or sticker photos.
Occasionally, he would see an outrageous post.
He was pretty sure the title was something like... [The clothes my crush wore while working out☆ The smell and the feeling are the best (≧▽≦)]. He figured it was possible for girls to like other girls, so he didn't think much of it.
The fact that the account name that posted it was 'Wa-o☆' felt unsettling for some reason, but he dismissed it as unimportant. It must have been a coincidence that he lost a piece of clothing on the day he read that post.
-Ding!
Just as he was about to put his smartphone back in his pocket, a MomoTalk notification arrived.
It was Mika.
[KenjiKenjiKenji~]
[Are you at your part-time job right now?] - 15:42
[You know I am, why ask? And aren't you in class right now?]
[I'm texting in secret!]
[(≧▽≦)]
[Class is so boring....]
[Why do I have to learn stuff I already know?]
[Do you really think that's something you should be saying to me, who can't even go to school?] - 15:43
[Gasp!]
[I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!]
[As an apology, I'll buy you a new shirt today! You said you lost one, right☆☆☆☆☆]
[Refusal is refused!]
[Oh, and about the shopping, to Nagi-chan it's a]
[SE!]
[CRET!]
[(Screenshot of the conversation sent to Nagisa)]
[Yep, busted.]
[Eh?]
[What!]
[So mean! I said it was a secret!!!]
[(ꐦ°▿°᷅)]
[Hieee! I'm getting a ton of MomoTalks from Nagi-chan!] - 15:44
[Both of you, just pay attention in class.]
There was no reply. She probably got caught by the instructor or was making a desperate excuse to Nagisa. Kenji smirked and shoved his smartphone into his pocket.
At that moment, the closed door of the convenience store opened. Kenji habitually put on a bright smile and greeted the customer.
"Welcome to Angel 24, Trinity Branch."
"Hmm."
Clack, clack.
The sound of dress shoes echoed through the store. Kenji identified the source of the footsteps and furrowed his brow slightly.
'What is that.'
The figure that entered the convenience store was predominantly black. A black suit and pants, a black tie that stood out against a white shirt. Black gloves. And black hair. Black smoke rose from that hair.
An alarm bell rang in his head. A visceral revulsion made him feel nauseous.
Kenji's hand moved to the pistol he kept under the counter for self-defense, his eyes narrowing. As if sensing his gaze, the thing in the black suit also turned its head towards Kenji.
Their eyes met. Or so he felt.
The being's face had no organ that could be called an 'eye'. The same went for a nose, and he couldn't even see the shape of ears. Where a mouth should be, there was a thin line that was stretched into what looked like a smile, and where eyes should be, there were white dots.
The face looked as if it were cracked, with the cracks radiating from those dots. A white light seeped out from the lines.
"..."
"...As I thought."
The thing opened its mouth. The voice was deep, like a man's. Its physique was also similar to that of an adult male. But it was not human. No human could elicit such a primal sense of disgust and fear. Its appearance also had more than a few oddities to be called human.
"...What the hell are you."
"There is no need to be so guarded."
The man in the black suit spoke as he walked steadily towards Kenji.
-Click.
Kenji raised the pistol. He fired without hesitation, but not a single scratch appeared on the man's body.
"Shit."
"You have a foul mouth."
"Shut up, you black-suited bastard."
"How strange. We haven't even had a proper conversation yet, and you're already acting so hostile. It's not as if we're acquainted."
Kenji kept the gun aimed at the man's head and glared at him. But the man in the black suit was unfazed, even with the pistol touching his forehead. Instead, he contemptuously flicked off the lead bullet lodged in his tie and straightened it.
Then, he looked straight down at Kenji and spoke.
"Introductions are a must before a conversation, I suppose. However, I have no name. No, I have one, but I cannot reveal it. So please, bear with me."
"..."
"What is your name? O, fellow stranger from outside Kivotos, just like me."
"What did you say?"
Words he couldn't ignore had been spoken. Kenji narrowed his eyes and growled at the man.
"What bullshit is that? A stranger from the outside?"
"It is a term that refers to you. And at the same time, it is a term that refers to me."
"..."
"I, like you, am an outsider. An alien. I fell into Kivotos due to a certain causality. I do not know the reason for your appearance in Kivotos, but at any rate, we share the commonality of being outsiders."
"...Then are you from Earth too?"
"Earth. A name I have not heard before. It seems to be the name of the place where you originally lived. But unfortunately, I did not come from Earth. I am from another outside."
"And where is that."
"Unfortunately, there is no reason for me to tell you that. And even if I did, just as I do not know of Earth, you would not know of my home. That is meaningless information. The exchange is not valid."
The man picked up a bullet from the convenience store counter with his fingers and handed it to Kenji. 9mm. The same type he had just used.
"Take it. It seems you've made a meaningless expenditure, so I will cover it. I will pay for it, so please, reload your magazine."
"Shut up and tell me where you're from. I told you, so you should wag your tongue too."
"I never asked you to tell me. You spoke of your own accord. Just because a passing dog barks, one is not obligated to answer its bark, is it not? It is the same principle."
"You've got a smart mouth, you son of a bitch."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
As if smiling, the man's torn lips curled up even further. Kenji glared at him, then lowered the gun from his forehead. It wasn't as if shooting him would do any meaningful damage, and he didn't feel any particular hostility from the man. It didn't seem like he had come to harm him.
"So. Why did you come here."
"To recruit you."
"Recruit?"
"Have you ever heard of a faction called
Kenji thought for a moment, then shook his head. The man in the black suit pulled down the gloves on his hands and continued.
"Gematria is an organization composed of outsiders to Kivotos, like you and me. We are all beings from different domains, and we are a group that carries out various plans targeting the students of Kivotos for a certain purpose."
"Targeting students? Is it a gathering of just crazy bastards?"
"Mystery, terror, and the sublime. For research into such concepts, there are no more suitable subjects than the students here. Therefore, it is an unavoidable choice. And what others think of us is not important. A movement for a greater cause will always appear crazed to outside eyes. We pay it no mind."
"And we are not particularly hostile towards the students," the man continued, his gaze seeming to pierce through Kenji's black eyes.
"Research subjects. Or lab rats. To us, the students of Kivotos are such beings. We are satisfied with simply confirming the results of our experiments, so there is no reason to be hostile. A conflict of force would require us to bear losses as well, after all."
"..."
"So. That concludes my introduction to us. I would like to know your thoughts on the matter. What do you think, after hearing my words."
Kenji looked up at the man with a blank expression. Then, he twisted the corner of his mouth into a crooked smile and spat out.
"Fuck off."
"An excellent assessment."