arc2 · 038-ch38

Episode 38: Super Busy

"Phew, finally got it done."

I stretched out my stiff, aching body after sitting for so long, and glanced at the clock. Yep, 7 AM. Come to think of it, Umi mentioned breakfast was ready. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and headed downstairs.

"Jeez, Onii-chan, you stayed up all night again! You need to take better care of yourself!"

After getting a proper scolding from my little sister, I washed my face and sat down at the table. Toast with butter, fried eggs, and corn soup. Oh, there's even a vegetable salad.

I thanked Umi for making breakfast and wolfed it all down. After washing the dishes, I saw Umi off, then took a shower. Himehana's supposed to be coming over first thing this morning.

I was getting dressed and drying my hair when the intercom crackled to life. Looks like Himehana's here.

"Souta, thank you so much for saving us this time. And I'm really sorry about what happened to your drone."

The moment I opened the front door, Himehana bowed her head. She'd already thanked me over the phone, and I'd told her not to worry about it, but she said she couldn't rest easy without apologizing to me in person. She's such a conscientious person.

Then she returned the broken drone. Just as I expected after getting caught in the Mithril Golem's knee, it was completely wrecked. There's no way I can fix this myself. Come to think of it, there should be a factory nearby belonging to the small company that made this. I'll take it there and see if they can repair it.

"Oh, and here's what you asked for. Are you sure this is really what you wanted?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted. Thanks."

I received the Hyakka Ryouran autographs from Himehana and thanked her. Apparently it was their first time signing anything, and they all struggled through it together. When she showed me, they were all written in cute handwriting—so polished you couldn't tell them apart from idol signatures. Umi's going to love this.

After chatting with Himehana for a bit at the entrance and letting her know I'd already sent the video, I left the house to get the drone repaired. I had some extra money, so this time I was taking a taxi. Plus, I had a big drone case to carry.

I called a taxi to my front door and set off, feeling a little fancy.

▽▽▽

The factory I was looking for was about an hour from my place. I paid the driver while feeling a bit tense. Thankfully, this driver wasn't the chatty type, which was a relief.

I got out of the taxi, slung the drone case over my back, and headed for the entrance. The building in front of the factory had a sign that read "Yamamoto Electronics Co., Ltd." So this is the place that built my beloved machine.

I took a deep breath in front of the door and pressed the intercom.

"Hello, who's visiting?"

A woman's voice came through the intercom.

"I'm sorry for dropping in unannounced. I brought a drone that was made here hoping to get it repaired—would that be possible?"

No problem when they can't see my face. I could talk just fine in game voice chats, after all.

"One moment, please."

With that, the intercom went dead. Was showing up without an appointment too much?

After a few minutes of waiting, wondering if they'd just turn me away, the door clicked open and a friendly-looking middle-aged man appeared.

"Let's see, you say you want a drone we made repaired? We haven't made that many drones, so which model would it be? Mind showing me?"

Oh, so I wasn't turned away at the door! I quickly set down my backpack and pulled out the broken drone.

"What!? Someone actually bought this Speedster Mark II!?"

What a ridiculously chuunibyou name. And this guy—his eyes started sparkling the second he saw my drone. I had a feeling we'd get along.

The excited man immediately ushered me inside the office. He placed the broken drone on the desk and began examining it intently. I was made to sit in a nearby chair, and a female employee brought me some juice.

"I'm sorry about this. Once the president gets like that, there's nothing you can do but leave him alone for a while."

"O-oh, d-don't worry about me."

The female employee spoke to me and I completely fumbled my words. How embarrassing. But I thanked her with a grateful sip of juice, appreciating the kind smile she gave me despite my awkwardness.

(Someone, please, do something about this awkward atmosphere.)

Alas, my wish went unfulfilled, and this state of affairs continued for a full thirty minutes.

"Sorry about that! I never imagined someone out there had actually bought this unit! Still, it looks like it got crushed by something. Doesn't look like it broke from going too fast."

The president, having finished examining my Asahi, finally looked up. I couldn't get into too much detail, but according to him, repairs were possible. However, the damage was severe, so it would take about three days.

"H-how much would that cost?"

Right now, I could definitely pay up to five million yen. Hopefully it stays within that.

"Hmm, well. It's quite an old model, so would you mind if I swapped in some newer parts? The old ones aren't available anymore, but the newer ones should actually perform better, so there shouldn't be any issue. I never thought anyone would actually be using this unit, so I'll cut you a deal. How does two million yen sound?"

Two million!? It was only a million when I bought it! But wait—Rin-san did say this machine was worth over ten million. If that's the case, maybe this repair cost is actually reasonable?

Fortunately, thanks to the Hyakka Ryouran stream taking off, I'd gotten five million yen. Losing nearly half of that stings, but the Kokushi Musou payment should be coming in after this, so I'll manage.

"P-please go ahead."

I casually agreed to a sum that would've been unthinkable to me just a while back. I need to be careful not to let my sense of money get numb.

"All right, leave it to me. Oh, here's my business card—next time something comes up, give me a call before you come by."

I took the business card and bowed deeply in thanks. He's right. This president was kind enough to take the job, but I really should have called ahead before showing up. As someone who works for a living, I need to be more considerate about that sort of thing.

I gave President Yamamoto my phone number. He said he'd contact me when the repairs were done. Much appreciated.

Having left Asahi in the care of Yamamoto Electronics Co., Ltd., I headed straight for the university.