ch321-ch340 · 325-ch325

Chapter 325: Getting Shaken Down

"Good morning."

"Good morningg—"

The goddess arrives at school.

And today, right away, our eyes meet again.

Today's going to be......

"Good morning, Haruki-kun."

"Huh? Ah—good morning."

She greeted me—by name, no less.

Huh? That didn't happen yesterday, right?

What's going on?

"Wh-What are you doing, shii?"

"What do you mean? Just a greeting?"

Even the black gal is floored.

Ah—our eyes met again.

And she smiled......

Dangerous—my heart's racing......

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"Hey, you're late. Hand over the money, quick!"

"Hiee."

Lunchtime.

Soushi brings his own bento, so this is my way back from buying bread at the school store.

I got shaken down in front of the vending machine.

By the white gal......

"Don't tell me you forgot it's my juice duty today? I waited because you left the classroom, and you just came out to buy bread? Tch. Well, if you don't want to pay, that's fine by me? It's you I'm graciously letting pay, after all."

Is this a regular thing?

And "letting me pay"......

Am I being bullied, maybe?

She said something about ignoring me yesterday too......

What do I do? Pay up for now, I guess?

My wallet's stuffed with money, anyway.

"Um, is 500 yen okay?"

"Huh? Fine, whatever."

One bottle, two, three—then the money runs short, and the white gal adds 100 yen of her own for one more.

So it was four......

Botched that, huh.

Arms full of four PET bottles, the white gal heads up the stairs......

(Oh!)

Now I get why I was paying.

Seems I have plenty of money, after all.

Apparently my past self was quite the schemer.

Honestly—what a guy!

From tomorrow, I'll stand by here the moment lunch break starts.

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"Welcome back, Haruki-san."

"Yes—I'm home. Watanabe-san."

After school, Watanabe-san greets me in front of the branch again today.

Huh? It's like this every day?

I feel kind of bad......

"......Soushi, let's go!"

"O-Oh. See ya."

Soushi and Aikawa head into the dungeon first.

"Shall we go as well?"

We head for the Dungeon Gate too.

"Ah, you're back, ssu. Kasugano-san, ssu. Is it true you bumped your head and turned into an idiot, ssu?"

I get called out at the counter.

Two people at the counter: a cute but dim-seeming girl, and that beautiful but scary staffer from before.

"Um, Watanabe-san, who are these two?"

They know me, but I don't even know their names.

Seriously inconvenient, huh.

"This is terrible, ssu. You really did become an idiot, ssu!"

"This is Fuyutsuki-san, and the one sitting beside her is Shiraishi-san."

Hm? Shiraishi-san—the 【Healer】 who knows about my skill?

Ohh—so this is that rare recovery job she mentioned......

"Watanabe-san. May I borrow the little boy for a moment?"

Huh?

My second shakedown of the day?

"No."

"And why not?"

Because you're scary.

"I don't want to take my eyes off him inside the dungeon. If you have something to discuss, please do it here and now."

"Hah, well, I suppose it can't be helped. Listen up, little boy. You used to call Watanabe-san by her given name, you know? Have you been watching carefully what face she makes every time you call her 'Watanabe-san'?"

"Huh? Really? You could just tell me, you know......"

Well, fair enough—that's only natural.

Judging by how attentively she cares for me and how everyone around reacts, there's no doubt we were dating.

Even my mother calls her my most important person......

Then naturally, we must have been on a first-name basis.

"Sorry. I just couldn't bring myself to say it......"

"Um, then...... Kasu......"

I work up the courage and try calling it.

The doctor said doing the same things as before could trigger the memories, so I'll act like my past self did.

"Pye! Um—I used to be called with '-san' attached...... It's still embarrassing, so...... with '-san,' please!"

Huh? Ah, right.

Watanabe-san calls me Haruki-san, after all.

"-San" for me too, huh......

"There's nothing wrong with that. Might as well both drop the '-san' already."

"No—after I get my memories back. Once I've remembered everything, properly, then, please!"

Watanabe-san looks a little flustered.

Shiraishi-san's expression seems to soften a little, too.

Were my past self and Shiraishi-san close as well?

"Oh, I've got it, ssu! My own name—you used to call me by my given name too...... I'm kidding, ssu, kidding. You called me Fuyutsuki-san, ssu. Everyone else calls me 'the newbie,' but only Kasugano-san always called me by my name, ssu! That part's no lie, ssu!"

She seems to have hit on something, but the pressure from Watanabe-san and Shiraishi-san makes her back down.

I bet I'll get along fine with this funny person.

"Well then—nice to meet you properly, Fuyutsuki-san. And thank you as well, Shiraishi-san."

"Ah...... Yes, ssu!"

"Okay, okay. Honestly now. And don't give Harue-san too much more to worry about."

Harue? Harue from where?

My Harue?

How does she know?

"Well then, shall we be off?"

We leave the branch facilities and head for Dr. Amamiya's hospital.

The doctor is apparently very famous—even at the university hospital, everyone greeted her first and cleared a path.

Seems I'm in good hands, so my memory will surely come back soon.

"Um—Kasu......-san......"

"Yes! What is it?"

Watanabe-san answers with a beaming smile.

My heart skips.

So this is how she smiles.

This might be the first time I've seen a real smile from her.

I reflect on how much worry I've caused her.

"Nothing—I just wanted to try calling it."

"Huh? I see...... Haruki-san!"

"Ah—yes?"

"I just wanted to try calling yours! Fufufu."

We both end up smiling.

I owe Shiraishi-san one.

Seems I'll get along fine with Watanabe-san, too.

Full-fledged treatment at the hospital starts today, so my memory will come back bit by bit.

It'll be fine. Surely fine......

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"......Why are there shuriken......"

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"Honestly speaking, your state is worse than I expected. No—perhaps I should say my prediction was right on target......"

They told me to lie down, and by the time I did, the treatment was over.

Had I been asleep?

But the words out of Dr. Amamiya's mouth afterward were "not good"......

"What do you mean? That it will take time?"

Watanabe-san asks the doctor.

Seriously...... will it be in time for my exams?

And even if it comes back, will I be okay?

There's a suspicion my past self played in the dungeon instead of studying, you know?

"I can't say for certain until we try the same treatment on the surface tomorrow. Like I said yesterday, in the dungeon there's a chance nothing we do to him will work. Even the sleeping medication is suspect. The real problem, though, is that he can't hold his strength back. His body doesn't seem to remember leveling up and raising its Status, either."

Ah, that part.

I tried to sit up and smashed the bed's handrail, after all.

Astonishingly, even though I barely touched it, my handprint stayed in the iron rail.

But treatment doesn't work on that either—Status is something else.

"His body, you mean?"

"No—his brain, to be precise. Well, setting that aside...... Honestly, in his current state I'm almost afraid to let him into the dungeon. If he got startled and went all-out, an ordinary person would be blasted away as if hit by a truck. We'll do the memory treatment on the surface, so down here he should practice controlling his strength. Is it fair to call it rehab? From the day after tomorrow, we'll do rehab here."

"Huh?"

That sounds scary.

If I wandered into Mia-san's shop and smashed expensive weapons, that would be no laughing matter.

Good thing I never touched the Giant's Spear......

"For a while, when you enter the dungeon, come straight here—no detours—and go straight home on the way back. Also, tomorrow I'd like your mother to come to the university hospital. Well, you could head there together from here, I suppose."

Huh?

I was supposed to study with Soushi and the others in the dungeon after this, though......