chapter3 · 044-ep44

Episode 44: Part-Time Jobs for Awakeners

The Saturday I spent on a fun da— no, training session with Nanami-senpai passed, and the new week began.

Then came Monday lunch break.

Only Sōsuke and I were on the rooftop.

Mibu still hadn't come today.

Mentioning it wouldn't change anything, so we spread out our lunches as usual.

But lately, when two of us used the place the three of us had used together, it inevitably felt a little strange.

Where we put our lunchboxes.

The pauses in conversation.

Little pointless things like that.

"Ren-kun."

"Hm?"

"Did you know there have been more part-time jobs for Awakeners lately?"

Sōsuke said that before taking a bite of his rolled omelet.

"Part-time jobs for Awakeners?"

"Yeah. It's not like I'm going to do one, though."

"Well, obviously."

"You answered right away."

"If you were the type to rush into a dangerous-looking job, Sōsuke, I'd be way more worried by now."

"Well, that... might be true."

Sōsuke smiled a little awkwardly.

In reality, Sōsuke wasn't that type.

High pay.

Short hours.

No experience necessary.

He wasn't the kind of person who would get lured by words like that and go somewhere he knew nothing about.

If anything, he was the kind to read the job requirements three times, search the company name, check the reviews, and still basically not go near it.

Cautious.

Very cautious.

Sometimes too cautious, to the point I wanted to act first.

But at times like this, I could trust that caution.

"There's an Awakener in my class, and they were talking about it."

"About part-time jobs for Awakeners?"

"Yeah. They said there are jobs where you can be useful as an Awakener even while the Awakener Development Program is suspended. Apparently they pay much more than regular part-time work too."

"How much more?"

"Over thirty thousand yen a day. I think it said there was additional compensation depending on your abilities too."

"...For a high schooler's part-time job?"

"Yeah. So I thought it was scary, but they said maybe that was normal for work aimed at Awakeners."

I see.

That hit an unpleasant spot.

For a regular high school part-time job, it was completely suspicious.

Thirty thousand yen a day.

No experience necessary.

Short work.

The moment those three lined up, it was hard to think it was a legitimate job.

But when it was called work for Awakeners, things changed a little.

There were Gates.

There were monsters.

There were jobs ordinary people couldn't do.

Now that all those premises existed, even higher pay than normal somehow looked like it might have a reason.

No, of course it was suspicious.

It was suspicious, but someone who had only just become an Awakener might think about it for a moment if they saw it.

It felt nasty that the amount was just that tempting.

"So what kind of listing is it?"

"Oh, want to see?"

"If I can."

"Probably this one."

Sōsuke took out his phone and held the screen toward me.

A job-listing page with an oddly cheerful design was displayed on it.

【Next Works Co., Ltd.】

【High-Paying Jobs for Awakeners】

【Beginner Awakeners Welcome】

【No Experience Necessary】

【Level Doesn't Matter】

【Short Work Hours】

【On-Site Support Staff】

【Daily Pay: 30,000 Yen or More】

【Additional Compensation Depending on Ability】

【Available Even While the Awakener Development Program Is Suspended】

【Why Not Put Your Power to Work for Society?】

【There Are Jobs Only Awakeners Can Do Now】

What was this?

That was honestly what I thought.

Beginner Awakeners welcome.

No experience necessary.

Level doesn't matter.

That much, I could sort of understand.

If they wanted to gather people who had newly awakened, that was probably how they'd phrase it.

But after that, it got wild.

Thirty thousand yen a day or more.

Additional compensation depending on ability.

Why not put your power to work for society?

There are jobs only Awakeners can do now.

No, this was way too loaded.

Money, the desire for recognition, social contribution, the special feeling of being an Awakener.

The whole package.

It'd be nice on ramen, but the whole package on a job listing was scary.

Right now, the Awakener Development Program was suspended.

The more seriously someone had participated, the more they probably felt like they were left hanging.

They couldn't enter dungeons.

Their training couldn't progress.

They became Awakeners, but couldn't do anything.

Then someone told them there was a job where they could contribute as an Awakener, and it even paid way more than a regular part-time job.

It was insanely suspicious.

But it looked like it would hook the right people.

What was this listing?

It was honestly starting to piss me off.

"Ren-kun?"

Sōsuke peered at my face.

"You've got a really intense look on your face."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. You do."

"Well, a little."

Still looking at the phone screen, I read the text again from the top.

Next Works Co., Ltd.

High-paying jobs for Awakeners.

Beginner Awakeners welcome.

Something caught at me.

Because the listing was suspicious.

That was part of it.

But not only that.

I felt like I had seen or heard that name somewhere else.

Next Works.

It was an ordinary-enough sounding company name.

A name that seemed like it could be anywhere in staffing, subcontracting, or something like that.

So for a moment, I thought it was just my imagination.

But it wasn't.

I had heard that name recently.

The unbelievable sketchiness gave me a massive sense of déjà vu.

Not at school.

Not in the video either.

Not in the news.

Closer than that.

Looking at the words on the screen, I dragged through my memories.

For Awakeners.

High pay.

Then certain words came to mind.

『Sounds like an ordinary company, all right.』

『There would be no point if it didn't look ordinary.』

Ah...

That was it.

The thing Takatsuki had talked about.

Meeting Room Seven.

The cramped storage space.

Mibu's sweet scent.

No, no, I didn't need to remember that part!

Right.

Takatsuki had said the name Next Works back then.

Something about it being the next scheme to use to stop the Awakener Development Program.

Next Works.

That name was now displayed on Sōsuke's phone.

This was way closer than I thought.

The thing he had called the next spark had made it all the way into the school, of all places.

"Sōsuke."

"Yeah?"

"Has that person already applied?"

"Applied... I think they said they'd go hear the explanation soon."

"Soon?"

"Yeah. That's why it bothered me a little. I'd absolutely be scared and wouldn't do it, but they seemed a little unsure."

"Have they registered already?"

"I don't think so. But they said they might at least send in the registration form by the end of today."

"That's already halfway to applying."

"I thought so too, but they said they were only going to hear the explanation."

Ah.

That was a bad one.

Just the explanation.

Just registering.

Just hear them out.

That was how they made you cross the line bit by bit.

It sounded kind of like a common scam tactic.

"By the way, what do they put in when they register?"

"Their name, contact information, whether they're registered as an Awakener, their current Level, Job... I think things like that."

"It's a whole buffet of personal information."

"Right? That's why it scared me too."

Sōsuke's instincts were right.

But that didn't mean the other person would see it the same way.

For Awakeners.

High income.

Just hear the explanation.

If they said that, it could start to look like necessary procedure.

That part was incredibly troublesome.

"Sōsuke. Where is that person now?"

"Huh?"

"I want to talk to them."

Next Works Co., Ltd.

The name Takatsuki had said.

It had reached even one of Sōsuke's classmates now.

If this was the next spark Takatsuki had talked about, it might connect to the video incident too.

I closed the lid on my lunchbox.

There was still a little left, but honestly, I didn't feel like leisurely eating anymore.