VOLUME 1
Chapter 1-5
The feeling of waking up feels just like my face emerging from the surface of the water thought Subaru. He opened his eyes and slanted rays of sunlight burned them. Under such a glare, Subaru’s face contorted as he rubbed his eyes. Being an early riser, he had the ability to gain full consciousness the moment he awoke.
“Ah, you’re awake?”
The voice came down, from directly above the sleeping Subaru’s head. He was about to raise his head to face the direction of the voice when he realized he was lying on the hard floor, using something soft as a pillow.
“Please continue to stay still. You were also hit in the head and you can’t let your guard down.”
The voice showing concern for him was gentle, and Subaru remembered about the incident that happened just moments before he pa.s.sed out. Could I now be in what boys would regard as a development of tremendous blessing? guessed Subaru.
A lap pillow—going against heaven’s will, Subaru indulged himself in it by pretending to turn in his sleep. In a rotatory motion, his cheeks were able to obtain the feeling of supreme bliss, and the fur like softness, which was even softer than he imagined pressed back against his face.
“Ahhh, somehow beautiful girls are hairier than I thought…… wai—how’s that even possible?!”
With his imagination slowly shattering, he looked up and this time, his vision returned and he could clearly make out the world around him.
In front of Subaru’s eyes, in the upside down view of the world, was a terrifyingly large face of a cat.
“At least before you woke up, I had planned to let you go on sleeping peacefully you know?”
“Anyway, please stop that unpleasant sounding high pitched voice. Cause there’s no way I’m gonna mistake a cat as a heroine.”
A situation where a human size cat is used as a lap pillow is unheard of, but, since it’s there, Subaru decided he might as well fully enjoy the fluffy fur with his cheeks.
“Oh d.a.m.n, this is too blissful. What’s this feeling of pleasure? Now I understand the feeling of wanting to love a cat till its fur comes off.”
“Noo… If you feel this happy, it would also become worthwhile for me to enlarge myself on purpose, right?” said the giant cat that covered its head in embarra.s.sment while giving a wink as if seeking for an approval.
In his line of sight, standing at the entrance of the alley, was the silver haired girl who had folded her arms and wore a clear expression on her face.
There was no doubt it was the girl who was burned vividly into his memories, his eyes, and his heart just moments before he lost consciousness.
Seeing Subaru waking up and her companion winking at her, the young girl let out a small sigh and walked towards them.
“Umm, sorry about that. In the end, it seemed like you hung out with me till I woke up and……”
“Don’t be mistaken. It was because I had something to ask you that I had no choice but to stay. If it wasn’t for that, I would have left you alone. Yes, I’ve done it before. So don’t be mistaken,” emphasized the girl in a harsh tone.
Subaru, who had no resistance to pretty girls, could not contend against the young girl’s allure. It was such a compelling force that Subaru completely ignored what she said and simply nodded.
“Healing the wounds on your body and letting you use Pack as a pillow until you woke up were all for my sake. That’s why I’ll be taking something comparable to that.
“Acting like I am indebted to you… Isn’t this just an ordinary request?”
‘Showing compa.s.sion is not for benefit’ is a logic one carries in real life.
Upon hearing Subaru’s reply, the young girl tilted her head with a stern look on her face.
“It isn’t. This is a one-sided order. —You do know something about my stolen emblem, right?” asked the girl as she softened her tone. However, having heard a similar question before, Subaru couldn’t help but tilt his head in puzzlement.
Just before he pa.s.sed out, he was sure he was asked exactly the same question. Speaking of an emblem, isn’t it a badge that lawyers or public prosecutors use for identification? He had no idea.
“While I was unconscious, did you hit my head or something?”
“Even though it was only for about ten minutes, nothing like that happened. But besides that, what’s your answer?”
“Oh no, if that’s the case, I don’t have the slightest clue about it.”
If he didn’t know, it meant that he didn’t know. There was no change in Subaru’s answer.
However, when she heard his answer, the young girl nodded without a look of disappointment.
“Oh. If that’s the case, it can’t be helped. But since you gave me the information that you did not know anything, I guess it counts for me healing your wounds.”
Giving such logic that would even surprise a master conman showed her complete disadvantage.
Leaving Subaru dumbfounded, the young girl clapped her hands as if brush aside what just happened.
“So, I’m in a hurry so I’ll be going. I should have generally healed your wounds, and I think those people won’t come after you any more seeing how badly I threatened them; however, entering such a deserted alley by your self is dangerous. Ah, this isn’t because I’m worried but a warning. Even if we were to meet again in a similar situation, there wouldn’t be a point for me to save you. So don’t expect anything,” rattled off the girl, like a machine gun. As if she recognized and accepted the att.i.tude of Subaru, who was forced to keep shut, the young girl nodded her head in satisfaction with a “Yes!” and turned around.
Her long silver hair swung around, synchronizing with her movements and glittering mysteriously, in the middle of the dimly lit alley.
Being completely entranced and unconsciously separating his hand from the fluffiness of the fur, Subaru sat up in a fl.u.s.ter.
“Sorry about that. Our girl here isn’t straightforward. Please don’t think of her as weird,” followed the cat, laughingly, who then returned to its normal size and sat itself on the young girl’s shoulder. The young girl’s hand brushed gently against her back as if to confirm that sensation, and the cat blended into her silver hair and disappeared.
Without looking at Subaru, the girl promptly walked away. While seeing your back off thought Subaru, and at the same time, he also thought about the intent of the words and actions of what the cat meant when it said she was an evasive girl.
Even though her things were stolen and was in a hurry, she saved Subaru. She treated him, who was injured and even now, awkwardly tried to make him feel that he did not owe her anything.
It wasn’t even on the level of not being straightforward. It was simply doing injustice to herself, to the point where one can’t bear to look.
She managed to criticize Subaru for hindering her objective. Even so, not once did she complain nor did she wish for Subaru to thank her or to apologize. It was because to that girl, helping Subaru was according to her true intentions.
“If you live like that, aren’t you just putting yourself at a disadvantage?” called Subaru as he stood up and started to run, while dusting the dirt off his jersey.
Even though the jersey he loved stood out because of the filth, the body inside it could hardly feel any pain, despite being badly kicked and beaten up. He once again experienced magic that defied all common sense.
Leaving such a heavy debt to be paid, and the strangeness of not wanting anything in return.
“Hey! Wait up!” shouted Subaru at the girl from behind, who was standing at the entrance of the alley facing the main street, contemplating about where to go next.
Placing her hand on her long silver hair, the young girl turned around with a slightly troubled look on her face.
“Yes? Just so you know, I can’t afford to hang around with you any longer.”
“Though I can see you’re not that serious about it. Besides that, it’s something important isn’t it? Please let me help too!”
Upon hearing Subaru’s offer, the young girl blinked her eyes in disbelief.
“But, didn’t you say you didn’t know anything……”
“Although it’s true that I neither know the name nor the ident.i.ty nor the location of the thief, I can at least tell you what the person looks like! She is a little blond girl with vampire teeth! She’s shorter than you and flat chested so she must be two to three years younger than me! How’s that?
Speaking so quickly and desperately to the point that he couldn’t understand himself was a bad habit of Subaru’s. This time, it was displayed to the fullest extent, and Subaru himself was drawn into his own speech.
The silence was painful. His back was dripping in cold sweat. Sweat poured heavily from his armpits, and his hands and wrists hurt. He was suddenly attacked from all sides by shortness of breath, dizziness from anemia, and a blocked nose and a splitting headache due to hay fever. However,
“—You’re a weird person.”
Putting her hand over her lips, the young girl tilted her head slightly as if she was looking at a rare creature. She then put her finger onto her lips and stared intently at Subaru like she was evaluating him.
“Just so you know, I can’t compensate you in any form. As you can see, I’m completely broke.”
“Don’t worry, I’m more or less broke as well.”
“By the way, I’m broke too so this combination is pretty bad.”
Consciously ignoring the disturbance coming directly from inside the silver hair, Subaru beat his chest.
“Moreover, I don’t need any form of compensation. It’s you who I want to compensate. That’s why I want to help.”
“I did not do anything to deserve compensation. If it’s about your wounds, I have already received it.”
An adamant girl all the way to the end.
In response to the young girl’s stubborn att.i.tude, Subaru gave a bitter laugh, setting up a premise for ‘if that’s the case’.
“I’m also helping you for my own sake. My objective is…… come to think of it……Yes! To do a good deed per day!”
“A good deed per day?”
“Yes, to do something good every day. If I do that, I’ll be able to go to heaven when I die. Over there, there seems to be a life of eating and sleeping that awaits me. That’s why I’m helping you, it’s for my own self-interest.”
Though it felt like he was spouting bulls.h.i.+t, he had said what he wanted to say.
The young girl thought deeply upon seeing the decisiveness on Subaru’s face. However, the cat sitting on the shoulder of the girl poked her face gently with its paw.
“I don’t feel any malice so I think it’d be good if you were to accept it head-on. Seriously, trying to search for it without a lead…….Considering the size of the capital, it’s just pure recklessness.”
“But, if I drag him into this……”
“Though I also think being obstinate is cute, being obstinate and losing sight of your objective is stupidity. I don’t want to think of my girl as a stupid child.”
Even though support for Subaru came from the cat, it still did not undo the unwillingness of the young girl.
However, the cat suddenly erased all emotion and spoke in a serious tone.
“Furthermore, the sun is starting to go down. When it turns to night, I won’t be able to lend you a hand anymore. Although it wouldn’t be a problem if you’re up against some hoodlums……It’s better to be as safe as possible.”
”It certainly felt that they were here to stir up trouble. But…… What? From what you said just now, there’s a condition whereby you can’t come out at night?” Subaru asked the cat, while inching a step closer.
The cat gently flicked its whiskers using its front paw.
“It’s not that I can’t come out, but rather even with such a cute appearance I’m still a spirit. Just being summoned requires quite an amount of mana. That’s why I have to return to my summoning crystal by night and prepare while the sun is out. Well, on average from nine to five o’clock would be most ideal.”
“Nine to five sounds like a civil servant. Spirit employment is unexpectedly strict.”
Being able to talk about things regarding spirits so naturally was all thanks to the comprehension skills of the modern day otaku who’s addicted to games and anime. There are also times where a nationally acclaimed pervert can come in useful.
Beside Subaru and the cat, who managed to strike up a conversation, the young girl was still contemplating.
It was just that the previous exchange seemed to have tipped the scales, and in the end, after all the “Hmmms” , “Ummms” and “Buts” :
“—I really can’t give you anything in return you know.”
That being said, she took up Subaru’s offer.