Sasaki and Peeps - Volume 1 - Chapter 2

<Encounters with Psychics>

With several days of otherworldly vacation at an end, it was time to resume my life as a corporate slave.

I’d spent this particular day visiting clients with the section chief. Though autumn had deepened, and it had gotten quite a bit cooler out, it was still hard work taking the train to a million different places. To make matters worse, an annoying event always occurred after this type of tour: a company drinking party.

“All right, Sasaki. Let’s get those drinks.”

Once we’d finished greeting our last client, we left their offices.

Not a moment later, the section chief started in, a smile lighting up his face.

“…Um, Chief?”

“What is it? It’s getting chilly, so how about some giblet hot pot?”

The man would turn fifty-six this year. He loved going out drinking after making the rounds with his clients. Everyone under him hated getting caught up with this and respectfully kept their distance. This time, it had fallen to me to accompany him.

“I bought a pet last weekend, and my finances are really tight—I can’t afford a stick of yakitori from the convenience store, much less giblet hot pot. I’m really sorry, since you took the time to invite me, but could you let me off the hook this time?”

“What? You started raising a pet?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ve got a dog of my own. Pets sure are great, huh?”

“Wait. You have a dog, Chief?”

“Yeah. It’s a golden retriever—pretty big one, too. He was a tiny little thing when I first got him, but next thing I knew, he’d gotten gigantic. It’s hard for me to even play with him now. If he jumped on me, my body wouldn’t hold out.”

“……”

Are you serious? This was the first time I’d heard the section chief had a golden retriever. I couldn’t possibly be more envious. That’s the greatest pupper of them all—the kind I’ve always wanted.

And it would jump on him to play? That meant the dog loved him, didn’t it? Again, I couldn’t be more envious. I wanted to be jumped on by a golden retriever I’d raised from a puppy. I was sure it would be an experience of pure bliss.

Peeps was cute, too, but he didn’t quite have the same mass to him. You know—like, he had a smaller presence, if that’s a thing.

“We got him because my daughter just had to have one, but I’m the one who ended up with all the responsibilities. For the last two or three years, I’ve been taking him for a walk every day after coming home from work. Solved my lack of exercise right off, and all the red marks disappeared from my medical exams last year.”

“……”

“What’s the matter, Sasaki?”

“Would you be able to, say, treat me to the giblet hot pot? I’d like to hear more about your dog.”

“What? Did you get a dog of your own?”

“No, I actually got a Java sparrow.”

“A bird? Birds are great, too. I used to feed the crows in the neighborhood as a kid. It was so much fun. All right, fine, you talked me into it. Today’s my treat. You’re the one who works hardest in my section, after all.”

“Thank you so much.”

Pet conversations at the bar—it sounded pretty good. Plus, my superior would be treating me. The guy wasn’t so bad, after all. I’d use the opportunity to learn things in preparation for the future.

I drank with the chief for about two hours. It wasn’t until a little after nine that we headed out and said our good-byes.

Since the last client was relatively close to my apartment—only two stations away—I decided to walk home instead of catching a train. The chief had said you needed quite a bit of stamina to walk puppies, so this was to prepare for the days yet to come.

The chilly wind tickled my cheeks, sobering me up. I could still go around in a light jacket, but soon enough, I’d need a coat. With Peeps’s magic helping me out, I felt like I could easily forget to bring one when I went to work—a scary thought. Maybe I’d have to keep a spare at the office.

“……”

Come to think of it, how did the seasons work in the otherworld? If the temperature changed the same as it did here, wouldn’t nice, fluffy winter clothing fetch a pretty high price? Clothes was already expensive, so cheap synthetic fiber goods would probably work great.

“……”

I kept walking down the mostly empty street lost in thought.

When I was about halfway back home, I suddenly heard a shrill screech.

The sound had come from an alley perpendicular to the road on which I was walking. It was only a few meters wide—one of those tiny spaces wedged between two buildings. Construction work, maybe? While I walked, I peered into the alley’s depths.

A moment later, something passed right in front of my eyes. Several strands of my hair, which had floated into the air, were severed and blown away.

I heard a grunt—then a few moments later, a loud impact.

When I turned to look at where that had come from, I saw several icicles, around thirty centimeters long, stabbed into the asphalt. They had whipped past me like bullets.

There was no mistaking it—this was magic.

In a fluster, I looked to where they had originated and saw two figures. One was a man, the other a woman.

The former was young and seemed to be in his late teens, wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. His somewhat long blond hair was striking, all pushed back. From his appearance and skin color, I assumed his hair was bleached. He looked like the local delinquent type.

The latter, however, was a lady, probably in her early twenties, wearing a suit. Her short skirt—and the thighs peeking out from under it—were charming. Her features were a little stern, her eyes almond-shaped. Combined with her short black hair, she had the air of an office assistant. She was also wearing thick makeup.

Of particular note were their relative positions. The man was straddling the lady, who was lying faceup on the ground. And for whatever reason, the man’s right arm had turned into a blade from the elbow down. It was pointed at his apparent victim’s neck, about to come down.

“Are you kidding me…?”

My feet immediately made an about-face, and I tried to run away.

But then I remembered something. Thinking about it, I had pretty similar abilities. If I let this thug do as he pleased, that woman was as good as dead. The front page of the newspaper would say KILLER ON THE STREETS! It was bound to come up at the office, too, one way or another.

It wouldn’t have been hard, if I’d been powerless, to tell myself I couldn’t do anything about it or make some other excuse. I could rule it an unfortunate accident and forget it within six months. However, for better or worse, this corporate slave had recently come into some mysterious powers.

An otherworldly power bestowed by Peeps, that is.

“……”

With no other choice, I aimed the same spell that had shaved off a few bangs at the man. It was the icicle-launching magic I’d just learned how to shoot without an incantation the other day.

“Gyah!”

The icicle flew true and struck the man in the shoulder. It hit the arm that had morphed into a blade from the elbow down.

Immediately, there was a change. The sharpened edge dulled, then returned to its original shape—a human arm, just like the man’s left one. It was like I was watching clay animation. At the same time, I heard a crackling noise, and he began to freeze at the point of contact.

“Ack…”

That wouldn’t go well if I left it alone. The affected part was near the neck, so he was sure to die if I did nothing. But I had no way of dealing with that right now. What should I do? If Peeps had been with me, maybe he would have been able to handle it. But I was alone. And about to become a murderer.

Crap. What do I do? What the hell do I do?

It was the first time I’d shot something living—I hadn’t thought it through. Still, though, all my other magic was even more lethal, so I’d had no choice.

“…Guh.”

As I was panicking, the woman in the suit moved.

No sooner had her hand touched the icicle stuck in the man’s shoulder than… How was she doing that? The frozen spear melted into a liquid in the blink of an eye, then fell from the man’s body. It had only taken a few seconds.

Right after that, the thug fell faceup with a thud.

Seeing that, the lady in the suit slowly stood up. Were they both magic users like I was? It wouldn’t have been strange for someone else like Peeps to have crossed over. With that in mind, I wanted to have a word with her.

“Um, excuse me…”

At least, that had been my idea—but her reaction was incredibly harsh. She turned to face me. Then, without hesitation, she took a gun out of her inside pocket and pointed it at me.

“Another psychic? Where did you come from?”

“…What?”

Her attitude made it clear that it definitely wasn’t a model gun.

Hearing the term psychic put me at a loss for how to answer, though. Was that different from magic? Meanwhile, she had pulled a device out of her pocket and started contacting someone else. She then walked over, heels clicking on the road, toward the icicle stuck in the asphalt.

This one, too, melted straight away, splashing to the ground when she touched it. The only things left were a fist-size hole in the pavement and the water dripping into it. Who looking at the scene now would imagine that an icicle had been stuck there?

“Um, what is a psychic, exactly…?”

“…You were the one who fired the icicle before, right?”

Given her outfit and the fact that she had a gun, she struck me as a police officer—or someone in that vein. Alternately, she could have been yakuza, or mafia, or some other kind of outlaw. Whatever she was, the situation was bad.

I didn’t want to get shot, of course, so I decided to answer honestly.

“Well, I did, I suppose, but…”

“How long have you been able to do that?”

“Just a few days, but…”

Was there some kind of spell that would make me bulletproof? If there was, I’d need to have Peeps teach it to me the next chance we got. I never, even in my dreams, thought the day would come when someone would point a gun at me.

Right now, the most I could probably do was conjure a whole bunch of icicles in front of me as a shield. Or maybe make the earth ripple and form a wall. Wait. But how would that work with asphalt? I could only hope it would rise up the same way dirt did.

“I can’t believe I was just saved by some stray psychic…”

But when I gave her the honest answer, her expression changed. Now she seemed somewhat frustrated.

Psychic was the key word here. It seemed to me like something that corresponded to magic.

“I honestly cannot figure out what’s going on here. What is a psychic…?”

“I’m sorry, but would you mind coming with me?”

“Huh?”

“And things won’t go well if you refuse. I’d prefer it if you came quietly. I don’t know what kind of powers you have, but they don’t mean much with a gun trained on you, do they? I promise I won’t do anything bad to you.”

Wait. Was she hitting on me? No, no, that was impossible.

Actually, it had been quite a while since the last time I’d talked to a woman. Not only were there virtually none in my office but most of the client reps we talked to were men as well. My interactions with the opposite sex basically came down to the few words I exchanged with employees at restaurants and convenience stores—and my neighbor. Ever since I got that STI at the brothel years ago, I hadn’t been back.

Without money, a distance had formed between women and me, and at some point, that had just become my default. Marriage was out of the question at this point, and if I was going to be paying money at a shop, it’d be at one where I could eat delicious food. Maybe that was how I’d gotten to this state.

I had a libido, but my chances to even think about actual, real-life women had become very sparse. This was probably how a person died on the vine. I figured it was the same as gazing at expensive clothing in a store window, knowing it could never be yours and then losing your very desire for it. It was the perspective of an amateur virgin.

“I’ll go with you, but could I stop home first? It’s right down there. I’m on my way from work, so I want to drop my things off. I also have a pet, and I can’t leave it alone.”

“I’ll allow it.”

“Thank you.”

Maybe my honest answers had given her enough cause to lower the gun. Thanks to that, I was regaining the feeling in my limbs.

“…Also, thank you for your help,” she said.

“Not at all. We should all help those in need.”

Soon, a high-class black sedan appeared out of nowhere. The lady in the suit prompted me to get in, so I did. I was nervous about what I could do if she kidnapped me and they locked me up unlawfully. However, given that she still had a gun tucked away, I couldn’t consider disobeying.

The car headed for my apartment a few hundred meters away.

Upon returning home, I saw Peeps facing my laptop.

Next to him, I could see an object—the golem he’d created. It was about as big as a medium-size teddy bear. It sat on the desk, manipulating the keyboard and mouse. The first time I saw it, I’d been pretty shocked.

I’d asked the lady and whoever else she was with to stay outside. Thankfully, she hadn’t strongly objected.

“…So I had a little incident on the way here.”

In any case, I had to explain the situation to Peeps. He was a professional when it came to weird stuff, so I figured he’d be able to shed some light on it. When I finished, he flapped his wings and moved to the window.

From there, he peeked outside from between the curtains. There was a car parked on the road and a woman standing next to it.

“That female wearing the suit?”

“Yes, that one.”

“I can’t sense any mana from her.”

“Wait. You can’t?”

Without mana, you can’t use magic. Peeps had explained that to me several times in the past. But I’d seen her do something magical right before my eyes. She’d turned the icicles into water in less than a second.

“You said psychic?”

“That’s what she called it, but…”

“Perhaps it uses a different framework from magic. Hmm, that idea is interesting, indeed. Could it be that your world has a similar phenomenon but with a different logic from that of my own?”

“If that’s true, it’s the discovery of the century.”

“Interesting…”

Seeing Peeps peeking out the curtains was really cute, by the way. It made me want to take a picture.

It struck me that I hadn’t taken a single picture of him yet. Everyone took pictures of their pets—it was the first thing they did when they got them, to cherish the memory. Just a little earlier, the section chief had been showing me photos of him with his pet dog. I was super jealous. Once this fiasco was over, I really had to take a picture of Peeps and me.

“You should probably listen to what she has to say—you may be able to learn something.”

“Any chance you can come along?”

“Hmm. I do not see why not.”

“You might be a little cramped. Is that okay?”

It wasn’t really an issue to whisper back and forth in the local supermarket with the sound of store announcements as cover. Absolutely no one would suspect I was chatting with my pet Java sparrow. This time, though, that could be dangerous. It hurt me to say it, but I’d need Peeps to play the meek bird in the cage. There was no way I could introduce him as my talking pet bird from another world.

“I understand. I must only be silent, correct?”

“Sorry for always making things hard for you.”

“It is no issue. It was I who involved you.”

“Thanks so much.”

I was truly blessed as a pet owner to have a sparrow who was so understanding.

Following the lady in the suit’s directions, I brought a change of clothes and a few other things and left the apartment. I made sure to bring Peeps’s cage, since I was told I’d be spending the night.

When I said I had work again the next day, she responded that she’d take care of it. I thought that sounded pretty ominous, but not wanting to come off as being combative, I decided to just do as she said.

Right after stepping out of my apartment, I ran into a familiar face.

“Are you going out, mister?”

It was my neighbor. She sat in front of the next door over, hands around her knees, in that familiar sailor uniform.

“Ah, yeah. I am.”

“It must be hard having to be out so late.”

“Is your mom still at work?”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

“I see…”

She appeared to have her own problems to deal with. I wondered if there was anything I could do for her. Unfortunately, I was in a rush just now and couldn’t come up anything. Maybe I could reach back into my apartment and grab one of the pastry packages I had stocked in my kitchen.

“If you want, you can have this.”

“…Thanks—and sorry.”

It was something I’d bought last time I’d gone shopping with Peeps. My neighbor took it with an apologetic expression. This was an exchange we’d had tens, if not hundreds, of times, but she was always humble and polite. As a result, I, too, dragged on in the same fashion.

I’d thought a few times in the past that veering off the straight and narrow would put her in a happier place. It might have been rude of me, but I couldn’t help thinking there were plenty of things she could do as a good-looking youth. Then the old dude living next door to her could finally retire from his post.

Nevertheless, she seemed to prefer this aesthetic.

“By the way, um, do you have a second…?”

“Who? Me?”

“Yes.”

Wonder what she wants. Curious. But I didn’t have time to entertain her right now—I already had someone waiting for me. “I’m sorry; I’m in a bit of a rush today.”

“You are?”

“Can it wait until next time? I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“…Yes.”

In this case, a phone call or text might have been the way to go in our modern era. But she didn’t have a smartphone. Our little chats outside the apartment were our only means of communication.

On the other hand, even if she did have a smartphone, I wouldn’t really want to exchange numbers. If worse came to worst and she got wrapped up in a crime or an accident, the thought of my name in her phone would be a source of pure terror.

“I’m sorry. I’ve gotta go.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

As she saw me off, I left the apartment behind me. The area around the front door to each individual unit was concealed by a wall from the main road. Consequently, there was no chance the lady in the suit could have seen or heard our conversation.

After seeing I’d returned, she opened the back seat of the black vehicle. At her signal, I got in. I put my things at my feet; Peeps’s cage rode on my lap. My host climbed in next to me. When the door closed, the car wasted no time driving off.

Just then, I happened to glance in the rearview mirror at the scenery behind us.

Against the dark of the night and illuminated by weak streetlights was a vague, indistinct sailor uniform. It was my neighbor—she’d moved from the front door. Her eyes were locked in our direction.

“……”

“Is something wrong? You look distracted.”

“It’s nothing.”

It was probably a coincidence, but for a moment, I thought I felt our eyes meet in the mirror.

Peeps’s cage in my arms, I felt the rock of the car as it carried us. Our destination turned out to be a grand building in the city center. From there, we entered an office space that spanned an entire floor.

It was in what looked like a reception room on the same floor that I finally got an explanation from the woman in the suit. It was just us two in the room except for Peeps, perched in his cage, still pretending to be an ordinary Java sparrow.

“…I see. So that’s what you call a psychic.”

The first thing she did was explain the key word in question: psychics.

They were like magicians, but their powers occurred spontaneously. Their abilities varied wildly from person to person—from those who could reduce an entire town to cinders overnight to others whose abilities were so insignificant it was as if they had none at all.

In addition, once one of these abilities manifested, it was set in stone and would never change. Developing a second power was unheard of. However, through repeated use, whatever had manifested could grow in strength and scope.

My host’s power, incidentally, was the ability to control water. She explained that both firing icicles like missiles and the ability to instantly melt ice were just different facets of the same ability.

“Naturally, many powers are dangerous, so we need to keep track of them.”

“Is that your job, miss?”

“Yes, it is. And it’s about to be your job, too.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you a few more details. First…”

She continued rattling off explanations.

According to her, every country was secretly keeping track of and managing these psychics. Since certain powers had the potential to cause widespread chaos in society, they were very strict in their treatment.

Thus, as a general rule, once someone manifested an ability, they would be immediately recruited to the country’s organization for managing psychics. If they refused—well, she let me know that would be unwise. I was told there had been a big incident involving psychics in the past.

At that point, I was curious about how many of these psychics existed. It turned out that about one in one hundred thousand people manifested powers. In other words, there were likely over a thousand of them in Japan. Considering the low number, the authorities probably had eyes on every single one.

“Do you have any questions so far?”

“No, please continue.”

“All right.”

The rest of her explanation detailed the organization itself. It was treated as a government agency, so all the psychics who worked there were civil servants. They even received salaries. Depending on their ability and degree of success, they could make far more than was possible just working in an office.

The higher ups had probably decided it was better to shower them with money than be stingy and invite antipathy. However, it seemed there were also high expectations, as many an issue had been resolved through the deeds of psychics in the past.

But of course, there would always be those who rebelled.

What I had stumbled into earlier was a face-off between the organization and just such a person. The blond-haired man who had tackled my host was a member of a group who objected to this system. Apparently, several such groups existed throughout the world, and suppressing them was one of the jobs assigned to psychics in this organization.

I was taken aback by the level of danger. Psychics did get hazard pay on missions, but even so, I really wanted to avoid all that. That delinquent had overpowered this woman even though she had a gun. I didn’t think I’d be any use against people like that.

“That’s the short of it, I think.”

“Thank you.”

“Now then, I know it’s sudden, but I need to confirm.”

“……”

At this point, the issue was how to describe my ability. This stuff was completely different from the magic Peeps had been teaching me. I didn’t want to do anything too dangerous, which meant I needed to set expectations low. I was looking for one that had as little versatility as possible and wouldn’t help at all in battle. In other words, what she had already seen had to be all I could do.

“What exactly is your power?”

“Like you saw earlier, I can shoot an icicle. That’s about it.”

Just being able to shoot an icicle wouldn’t make a very powerful ability. There was no need for an annoying, hard-to-handle clump of ice when you carried a government-sanctioned gun.

I did feel an attraction to the title of civil servant, so I’d certainly take the initiative and change jobs if I could do clerical work at the rear. I couldn’t make any less than I already did.

“Would you mind showing me?”

“I suppose…”

At her urging, I produced a small icicle without chanting. It was about thirty centimeters long. It hovered and drifted in the air above the coffee table in front of the sofa.

“Just as I thought—you’re able to create it from nothing.”

“……”

The lady flashed a grin. I had a bad feeling about this.

“Um, what is it?”

“Your power is very compatible with mine.”

“What…?”

“I can control water, but I can’t create it from nothing. That means I have to carry my own water when I’m on the job—or else procure it on-site. If you were with me, I could use my power without limit.”

“……”

Ah. The power to control water didn’t involve creating it, then.

And the way she said it—I’d heard that same tone whenever working holidays came up. She was already fitting me into her next mission. And I got the feeling she was the type to volunteer for the dangerous ones.

“Normally, I’d carry a few bottles of water or buy them from vending machines near the site, but you can solve all that. I’ll be able to use more water than ever before.”

“Are you by any chance…the type who lives to work?”

“I told you, didn’t I? Depending on how hard you work, there’s no limit to a psychic’s paycheck.”

“Yes, but—”

“If I didn’t give it my all, the higher ups wouldn’t hand me such lucrative assignments.”

“……”

It seemed a very dangerous person had set her sights on me.

That same day, they gave me a physical and a fitness test. No real problems there. Nobody had said a word to me about Peeps, either. They seemed to regard him as a normal pet for the moment. Given all the things I was hiding, that deserved a sigh of relief, in any case.

Released from the examinations and question-and-answer session, we were sent to a hotel the woman had arranged for us. A posh one right in the city, too, with a room just as luxurious. It was probably an investment in our future relationship.

“Now, then…”

The events of the day had exhausted me, and I wanted nothing more than to go to bed right away. Plus, it was almost midnight.

However, there were a few things I absolutely needed to do tonight. Some very important tasks I still needed to cross off my list: stock up in this world, visit the otherworld, sell the goods to the vice manager at the Hermann Trading Company, see Mr. French and pay him.

But that wouldn’t be easy.

The lady in the suit had arranged this room for me. If, by some chance, they had thought to put a surveillance camera in here, everything would be ruined. The one thing I absolutely wanted to avoid was Peeps’s secret getting out.

There were people in this world who could accept such strange and mysterious things as a talking Java sparrow, and now I was finally realizing how terrifying that was. I might have to stop talking to him even in the supermarket.

“Peeps, just a little longer, okay?”

“Pii! Pii!”

When I spoke to him like a pet, he responded with adorable tweeting.

You can act like a bird, too, huh, Peeps? I think I just discovered yet another charming thing about you.

As far as I could tell from his energetic response, he definitely understood my intent. Thank you so, so much for clearly grasping a one-sided message like that. I bet he’d been an insufferable genius in his past life.

“Want to go for a little walk, Peeps?”

“Pii! Pii!”

I moved Peeps into the shoulder carrier, then left the room. I couldn’t recall them ever touching my clothes or my things, so they probably hadn’t put a bug on us or anything. If we could get somewhere nobody was looking, we could probably spend an hour or so in the otherworld, thanks to the time differential.

I’d thought about it from a bunch of angles, but I’d have to give up on buying anything here. For today, I would explain the situation to everyone concerned and come back right away.

“We’re being tailed, eh…?”

As I exited the hotel and started walking down the nighttime streets of the office district, Peeps murmured to me. His voice was low enough that only I could hear it. And what he said was, once again, disturbing.

Also, his fluent use of criminal lingo gave me a bit of a start.

“…Can’t we do anything?”

“The time difference will cover our trip if we keep it short.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

I slipped into a convenience store in the neighborhood and headed toward the restroom. If I locked it from inside, nobody would try to come in. Given what the place was for, they wouldn’t have surveillance cameras here, either.

One hour in this world was about a day in that one. That meant I could spend a little less than an hour over there, and only a few minutes would pass here. I’d just say I was so rattled by the unexpected series of events that it’d given me a stomachache and I really had to go to the bathroom. Perfect excuse.

“Peeps, if you please.”

“Mm.”

Peeps moved from the bag to my shoulder. As he nodded, a magic circle emerged on the restroom floor.

After crossing over into the otherworld, we headed straight for the Hermann Trading Company. Fortunately, the vice manager was in, and we were able to get a meeting with him right away. We were led to the same reception room we’d visited several times over the past few days. Its sheer opulence was a function of how rich they were, and I still hadn’t gotten used to it.

“An issue?” The vice manager’s expression clouded after hearing our explanation.

“I apologize, but I may need a little bit of time before our next deal. I came here today to inform you of the situation. I’m terribly sorry for letting you down.”

Seated on the sofa, I bowed my head, making Peeps go crooked. He was very cute as he grabbed ahold of my shoulder and hung on for dear life.

“If we can be of any help to you, Mr. Sasaki, we would gladly provide assistance.”

“I’m sorry, but this is a problem I’m going to have to solve on my own.”

“…I see.”

The vice manager made a lonely-looking expression as though concerned about me. He was a really good person, and for the sake of our future business relations, I wanted to smooth things over as much as possible right now. I couldn’t afford to ruin his impression of me.

“Again, I apologize for these personal issues, but if things go well, I may be able to increase my stock in the future. I’m sorry for not sharing the details, but I hope you will take a long-term view of the situation.”

“Aha, well, in that case.”

His expression softened, just a little, upon hearing my response. I must have prompted him to consider the positives.

“I’m terribly sorry for this inconvenience.”

“No, I know you have your own circumstances to deal with, Mr. Sasaki.”

“I’m grateful to hear you say that.”

Given this exchange, I could probably hold out for two or three months. If I did change employment and got paid more, I could anticipate stocking more product. If I could increase my offerings for our next deal, it would be more than enough to cover my absence. This incident wasn’t purely disadvantageous.

“Thank you, and I look forward to working with you again.”

“And you as well. I will pray for your good fortune.”

Ultimately, he saw me off from the company in a friendly manner.

Right before leaving, I left Mr. French’s pay with him, as well as some additional money in case the restaurant’s operational costs dipped into the red. I had to rely on him because there was simply no time. He gladly accepted, for which I was incredibly grateful.

After leaving the company behind, I hurried back to Japan. My relaxing life lasted only a moment, no time to even sit down and eat.

We returned from the otherworld, then quietly went back to the hotel and immediately fell asleep.

I’d wanted to talk a little more to Peeps, but timewise, that wouldn’t have worked out. If we’d been in that world too long, whoever was tailing us would think something was up and ask how long, exactly, I’d spent holed up in the restroom.

At this point, all the things I had to discuss would have to wait until the next day. The same went for our original plan to practice intermediate magic. I’d really wanted to do that before starting my new job as a government employee, so it was truly disappointing.

In any case, the new day dawned and brought with it a very early visitor.

“…A job, is it?”

“Yes, a job.”

As I was lazing about on my bed right after waking up, there came a knock at the door. Figuring it was the housekeeper, I poked my head out. But instead, the lady in the suit stood in the hallway. She was the one who had taught me all about psychics the previous day.

“Sorry for bothering you so early, but could you come with me?”

“……” I wanted to refuse if I could, but her smile wouldn’t allow it. And she had on thick makeup, as usual.

“I don’t know anyone else at this organization aside from you. I would be happy to go along with your invitation, but could I possibly talk to whoever is in charge, first? I’d like to make sure this is standard procedure for the whole organization, if that’s all right.”

“Not happy working with me?”

“Isn’t it natural, if we’re going to be working together, to want to objectively confirm what sort of position you hold within this organization? You seem like a field officer, and I’m a little hesitant to head straight to the scene without reporting to your immediate superior first.”

“…Ugh, older people always make things difficult.”

“If you want someone else to open up, you have to start by being honest with them.”

“……”

Despite her coming off like a cool, collected office assistant at first glance, on the inside, she seemed more like a battle-crazed promotion shark. Passion for one’s job was all well and good, but I would have appreciated her giving me a little more consideration. Were all psychics like this?

“Ah, Hoshizaki? Hoshizaki, do you have a moment?”

“?!”

Before we could continue our conversation, I heard someone else’s voice from the hallway. I didn’t recognize it, but the energetic career woman immediately scowled.

“…Section Chief.”

“Since you burst out of the office first thing this morning, I got curious and followed you. So this was what it was about. I don’t mind you being enthusiastic about your work, but maybe it’s best not to involve the new guy.”

“……”

Behind my would-be partner appeared a man in a suit. He had striking medium-length hair with flowing bangs, and his features were as attractive as any actor’s. He was probably in his thirties. He was tall, too—probably over 180 centimeters. The suit he wore went very well with his height. Judging by the way she called him section chief, this must have been her superior.

“My name is Akutsu. You’re Sasaki, correct?”

“Huh? Oh yes, that’s me…”

“I heard about you from Hoshizaki, but this is the first time I’ve gotten to meet you. I’m a pretty busy man. I’m sorry, but I hope you can understand. For the moment, though, I’m the one who will be your immediate superior. I’m hers as well, of course.”

“It’s a pleasure to be working with you.”

He’d come all this way to see me, it seemed.

And while it was a little late, I finally had a name for my career-obsessed new acquaintance. It was apparently Miss Hoshizaki.

If this man was our boss, that made him a government employee as well. I didn’t know the division’s name yet, since it hadn’t been shared with me. If this place was on the level of other central government ministries, though, then the fact that he was a section chief at his age meant that he had been promoted incredibly quickly.

Even a liberal estimate of the man’s age put him in his mid-thirties. Was he wearing makeup or something? Normally, a section chief was a post for someone over forty. Or maybe there were powers that could change your appearance to look younger. Whatever the case, I was definitely curious about this man’s background.

“Hoshizaki, go back to the office and write up yesterday’s report.”

“Ugh…”

“Sasaki will be getting some training.”

Oh, thank goodness. I had a lot of questions about this guy’s backstory, but inside, he seemed more put together than I’d expected. I’d been secretly a little worried about what I’d do if he turned out to be just as gung ho as the water-controlling Miss Hoshizaki. I still had no idea about this company’s rules and regulations—important occupational stuff, like how to use a time card or how to put in for overtime.

“Here, take this.” He gave me a smartphone. It was a civilian model, too.

“What is it for, sir?”

“To contact you. The one in charge of your training will call you with instructions; please follow them.”

“Understood.”

Apparently, whoever was in charge of my training was elsewhere. For now, I was just happy it wasn’t Miss Hoshizaki. She was looking pretty depressed after being told to go back to the office. With such an unsubtle reaction, I started to wonder exactly how high this pay she’d mentioned went.

“Make it a habit to carry it whenever possible.”

“Even outside work hours, sir?”

“You may be called out in an emergency.”

“…I see.”

Emergency calls suck. When a company had a system like that, you couldn’t fully relax even on days off. If they called me too frequently, I’d just leave the phone in the otherworld. The waves wouldn’t reach it, and it would disable all GPS tracking.

“I apologize for showing up unannounced, but please consider this my formal introduction.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I have some other work to do. If there’s anything you’re confused about or any problem you can’t resolve on the scene, just call me up or send me a text. My information is in the address book.”

“Thank you for taking the time out to see me, sir.”

After I gave a slight bow, he quickly left.

Not too long after my boss and the workaholic left the hotel, I was contacted through the device. I followed the instructions and headed to the building I’d visited the previous day. Apparently, my training would be carried out there as well. Naturally, it would mean I’d be parting with Peeps for now. After stopping by my apartment and putting him back in his cage, it was time to go to work.

After announcing myself to the front desk, I was led to another area, gaping in amazement all the while.

They took me to a conference room about fifteen square meters large. Swapping out one after another, people who seemed to be employees gave me various explanations on what the work entailed—from how they managed attendance and the dress code to giving me the accounts I’d need and planning my schedule.

I was the only one undergoing job training, incidentally. It was tough, too—no time for napping.

The name of this curious organization was the Paranormal Phenomena Countermeasure Bureau. It was directly under the Cabinet Office headed by the prime minister, rather than being a peripheral government ministry or agency. Outwardly, though, this bureau didn’t exist, and I was told very firmly that I was not allowed to speak of it to anyone outside the bureau. They probably wouldn’t believe me if I did anyway.

However, that raised some problems for its employees. To maintain our cover, we were given business cards for the National Police Agency, under the jurisdiction of the Public Safety Commission, which was an outside bureau of the Cabinet Office. I was instructed to use that card when introducing myself to outsiders.

Our official position was listed as detective—part of the Criminal Affairs Bureau within the National Police. When Miss Hoshizaki had called her superior a section chief, that was because it was Mr. Akutsu’s “official” position in the Criminal Affairs Bureau. Miss Hoshizaki and I held the rank of police sergeant. Now I finally understood why she was able to carry a firearm.

If anyone I knew heard I’d switched from an employee at a dead-end company to a police officer, I bet they’d be shocked. My pay was going to go up significantly even without the various benefits, such as hazard pay. I probably wouldn’t need to worry about stocking up in the future.

With that out of the way, my next concern was the working conditions. I was told that, unlike other employees, psychics didn’t have to clock in at a specific time every day. Some people even worked a second job concurrently, and it seemed relatively flexible in that regard. In exchange, you had to show up whenever they called.

The work itself covered a lot of ground, with everyone being assigned jobs that suited their powers. Some psychics were experts at tracking people down, while others specialized in sabotage—there were all sorts here, it seemed. Participating in such operations comprised the bulk of the work here.

Miss Hoshizaki’s job, as it happened, was one of the more secretive ones. I sure had won the lottery. When the employee conducting my training heard who I was working with, he flashed me a sympathetic look.

Finally, I was given an allowance to cover any preparations for the job. The “allowance” was one million yen.

Some psychics needed money to use their powers, so an even lump sum was given to anyone who entered the bureau. The monetary benefits after that were affected by the powers’ usage on-site. I personally didn’t need anything in particular, so this was probably the only bonus I’d get.

I’d gladly use the extra money to stock up for the time being. With my credit card reaching its limit and my bank account scraping the bottom, it was a huge help. It seemed like I’d still be able to bring over plenty of stock while waiting for next month’s paycheck.

The allowance probably also served to encourage loyalty to the bureau. Compared to those who entered after taking government employee exams, psychics were naturally less predisposed to patriotism.

And that was basically how my training progressed. From the next day on, I’d be on standby until contacted. Miss Hoshizaki had already assessed my abilities last night, so that seemed like the end of the orientation. I probably wouldn’t be back at the bureau until my first job.

And so the workday ended.

I got back to my apartment to find Peeps acting strangely. Normally, my beloved pet bird would at least offer me a “welcome home,” but it was as if he’d reverted to a wild animal and was tweeting his adorable little heart out. Almost like he’d forgotten how to speak.

“Pii! Pii!”

“Peeps?”

“Pii! Pii!”

“……” Coming to a sudden realization, I moved him into my shoulder bag to take him outside. If my supposition was correct, it would be incredibly dangerous for us to act as we always did here. As I changed from my suit into my regular clothes, I left the device the section chief had given me on my desk. Then, taking only my wallet along, I exited the room.

“Peeps, let’s go for a walk.”

“Pii! Pii!”

With a few energetic chirps, Peeps fluttered his wings. Seeing that, I casually exited the front door. Once I’d walked away from the apartment, he finally began speaking human words.

“Somebody entered our lodgings this afternoon.”

“Figured as much…”

“They were rustling around and installed something. An acquaintance of yours? In case they were not, I decided it would be a poor idea for my existence to be known. If my concern was uncalled for, then I apologize.”

“No, you really saved the day. Thanks, Peeps.”

“Very well, then.”

“They probably installed a surveillance camera or a bug somewhere. They didn’t see you or the golem using the internet, did they?”

“No. Thankfully, they woke me up from napping in my cage.”

“That’s good.”

Considering the timing, they’d most likely come on the section chief’s instructions. There was no way I could let this slide.

“Do you know where they put the devices?”

“I memorized all their locations.”

What a reliable sparrow, I thought.

As I continued strolling around the neighborhood with my pet, Peeps told me where all the bugs were planted. He knew of five in all. Frankly, I wanted to go stock up right now, but for today, I’d prioritize getting rid of the bugs.

After a few minutes of walking, we returned to the apartment.

I then began an investigation of the spots Peeps had confirmed. Just as he’d pointed out, there were spy cameras and bugs and everything. They were so naturally placed that I never would have noticed them without some sort of tip-off—five of them, sure enough. I cut the power to each and made sure they’d stopped working.

Immediately, the device I’d gotten from the chief buzzed. Checking the display, I saw Akutsu’s name. It couldn’t be a coincidence. I paused for a few rings to gather myself, then pushed the call button, ready to engage.

“…Hello? This is Sasaki.”

“You’re a real talent, Sasaki.”

“……”

What a way to start a phone call.

“I fully understand your apprehensions. However, could you refrain from setting up spy cameras and bugs in my apartment? If this sort of thing continues, it will make it more difficult for me to act in accordance with your wishes.”

“Sorry about that. It was actually more like a rite of passage.”

“…What does that mean?”

“That you passed, Sasaki.”

“……”

I had no idea what I’d just “passed.”

“Normally, people can only find one or two. I never thought you’d destroy all of them. You’re considerably more perceptive than you seemed. Lived long enough to pick up a few tricks, eh?”

“May I hang up now?”

“Wait, wait. I admit, it wasn’t a nice thing to do. I’m sorry, and I apologize. It’s just that there are many people who don’t think very highly of our organization. This was both to confirm your stance and to test your skills.”

“In that case, you haven’t confirmed my stance yet, have you?”

I’d eliminated all of them before doing anything incriminating.

“If you did view the organization as an enemy, you wouldn’t have removed them right away. We’ve had several opportunities to catch informants, but all of them would either do something incriminating immediately or put on a show of not noticing.”

“…I see.”

“You seem to be an honest, talented person. I think we’ll get along quite well in the future. And this isn’t flattery. Psychic powers aren’t the only thing you need for this line of work. Please don’t misunderstand that.”

“……”

“So many psychics rush recklessly into danger. You also see a lot who are convinced they’re chosen ones. A person like you is perfect for handling and managing that. I hope you’ll put those skills to good use working for me.”

“I understand.”

“Thanks. All right, I’ll talk to you later.”

After my boss finished monologuing, he cut the call. It looked like I would have to keep my guard up around Section Chief Akutsu as well.

Now that I was finished talking with my boss, it was time to stock up at the superstore. This time, I decided to go by myself. Things were getting dicey, so I would probably need to cut down on taking Peeps out of the apartment in the future. I also needed to pay more attention when other people were around. Talking to him outside the apartment was not an option.

I explained as much to the bird, who agreed with me. Stocking up would be a bit less fun and a lot lonelier now.

As I went out my front door with those thoughts in mind, I promptly heard a voice call out to me.

“Good evening, mister.”

“Huh? Oh, right. Good evening.”

I turned to see my neighbor. She was sitting against her front door, hands around her knees, in her sailor uniform. I’d only put one foot out the door, and she was already talking, which surprised me a little. Her outfit—her navy sailor uniform against the night—was something I thought I’d gotten used to over the past few months, but it still made a strong impression.

Until this spring, she’d been wearing the backpack used by elementary school students. All that had changed was her uniform, but it felt to me like she’d suddenly grown up. I wasn’t her father or anything, but I felt weirdly sentimental about it.

“Did you finish your urgent business?” she asked, staring at me.

What was this all about? It took a few moments for me to remember. When I’d said good-bye to her the previous day, she’d said something. It was the night I’d first met Miss Hoshizaki; my neighbor had been outside her front door. We’d had a conversation—I’d promised to listen to something she had to say, hadn’t I? I’d been so preoccupied at the time that I’d totally forgotten.

“I’m sorry. You did say you wanted to talk to me about something, didn’t you?”

“You remembered?”

“I almost forgot, actually. I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry for bringing it up so suddenly.”

She stood up straight and gave a quick bow. The way her black hair smoothly passed over her shoulders was oddly striking. Now that I thought about it, she’d had bobbed hair when we first met. At some point, she’d grown it out, and it was beginning to make her look more like a woman. And she’d started to fill out, bodywise, hadn’t she? Probably only a matter of time before one of her mom’s boyfriends snatched her up.

“What was it you wanted to talk about?”

“I had something I wanted to give you.”

She took something out of her skirt pocket. Wrapped in a clear vinyl bag and sealed neatly with a bit of tape were several cookies. They were oddly shaped compared to store-bought ones, and their sizes were all different. She’d probably made them by hand without using a cookie cutter.

“I made these in my home ec class. Will you take them?”

“Wait, you’re sure?” Food was a precious commodity for my neighbor, who was still a victim of child neglect. I hesitated to deprive her.

“You always give me food, so please let me return the favor.”

This must have been another expression of her pride. If so, maybe it would be better to take them without objection.

“Thank you. I’ll savor every bite.”

“No, thank you.”

This might have been my first experience getting something from someone of the opposite sex outside of my family.

I recalled my lonely past as I took the bag. Despite my age, I’d just received handmade cookies from a middle school girl. It felt like my experiences with women, which had been overwhelmingly in the negatives, had just reverted to zero.

With this, I’d checked the last box for life experiences with the opposite sex, right? When I had that thought, a sort of sense of accomplishment welled up in my chest. Like another piece of the puzzle of life had clicked into place.

“Also, could I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“The woman you were with before—are you two dating?”

Was she talking about Miss Hoshizaki? If she was, then no—our relationship was nothing so wonderful.

“She’s essentially my boss at work.”

“Oh. She seems pretty young for that.”

“It’s one of those places where people are ranked by ability.”

“Is it a foreign company?”

“Something like that, actually.”

It was about as non-foreign as it could possibly get, but I stayed quiet on that point. During training, I was told about a thousand times not to tell anyone about the bureau. Even so, there were still newcomers who would let it slip and leak confidential information. When they’d offered a concrete example of the punishment that ensued, I’d broken into a cold sweat.

“Sorry, I misunderstood.”

“No worries.”

Young women liked talking about that stuff, huh? I’d have been happier if Miss Hoshizaki was just a little more restrained—like my neighbor. Not that I wanted her to spill her love life to me. It was just that happily plunging into situations with supernatural powers and bullets flying every which way was a little straining for someone like me, already past middle age.

“Anyway, I’ve got some errands to run, so I’ll be going.”

“Sorry for stopping you like that.”

“No, don’t be. It’s perfectly fine.”

We’d been talking for just a few minutes outside the front door. After saying good-bye, I headed off to the superstore as I’d originally planned.

Once I’d finished shopping, we used Peeps’s magic to enter the otherworld. The same old spell as usual sent us from the apartment right to our base. From there, we headed on foot to see the vice manager.

“…In any case, I’ve resolved the issues I mentioned previously. For now, though, I may be busy from time to time. I know it’s a lot to ask, but would that be acceptable?”

“Thank you for taking the time to explain. First of all, I’m just relieved that you’re safe, Mr. Sasaki. And regarding the future, I understand. I have no desire to inconvenience you, and I hope we can continue doing business long into the future.”

“Thank you. That helps a lot.”

“With goods as wonderful as yours, creating them must be a lot of work.”

I’d basically told the vice manager that a problem had come up in my manufacturing process. I couldn’t exactly tell him about everything that had happened in my world, so unfortunately, I had no choice but to lie about it. For now, I got by with the excuse that my production line was still unstable.

“Now then, on to other matters. What I have for you today is…”

Our exchange was taking place in the same reception room, with us seated on the sofas.

The goods I’d brought from Japan sat on the low table in front of us. I’d handed off my regular wares, like the sugar and chocolate, to another person when I arrived. Only the new items were left. Like last time, I’d gone for outdoor goods.

I’d brought a variety of items with me, but there were two highlights. I’d learned that fishing was popular among the same groups of nobles who enjoyed hunting using bows and arrows, so I’d brought a full set of fishing gear. And for communicating locally, I’d included a set of transceivers and batteries.

I explained their usage and function to the vice manager. What excited him was the transceiver.

“…Mr. Sasaki, this is amazing.”

“It is a convenient tool, but as I explained before, it needs fuel. You can use it for a little over a day with one of these small pieces of metal. If the power inside the metal runs out, the whole thing will be useless, so please keep that in mind.”

“Even so, it’s incredible. But is this not a tool for war, rather than for hunting? Even if the fuel you had cost one hundred gold coins per piece, it would be worth the price.”

“Well, it was originally developed for war, yes.”

“Is it wise to be selling something like that to us?” he asked with visible consternation. He was probably worried about whether it would become a problem down the road.

“They’re limited in number, as is the metal that fuels it. Even if you did break it apart and tried to analyze it, it would be difficult to re-create. I concluded that if it was on a limited basis, selling them wouldn’t cause a problem.”

“I see…”

It was a cheap transceiver; the whole set only cost a few thousand yen. Still, it seemed to have value in this world. I mentally thanked those great figures of the past who’d helped develop such technology. Peeps and I would gratefully use it as a source of income for our extravagant life in this world.

Primitive items were one thing, but modern transceivers were installed with integrated circuits. There was zero possibility of anyone in this world reverse engineering it. They’d see what looked like pieces of chocolate inside, and there it would end.

My offerings aside from the transceivers and fishing supplies were deemed useful enough as well, and the vice manager decided to purchase the entire shipment at once. I was relieved I wouldn’t have to carry any surplus.

The final all-inclusive price came to 5,600 gold coins. Three thousand were for the three transceiver sets and the fifty batteries needed to operate them. That made it my biggest haul yet, and the number of gold coins I had on hand ballooned to nearly ten thousand.

“Thank you so much for yet another wonderful exchange.”

“No, thank you for responding so quickly to me.”

We bowed over the low table, giving our parting words to round out the agreement.

And then, on a whim, I decided to ask something I’d been curious about.

“By the way, may I ask a question?”

“What is it?”

“Is the representative of this trading company present?”

It was always Marc, the vice manager, who dealt with me. I hadn’t seen whoever was in charge even once. A few days in Japan were several months in this world, and I’d been worrying about whether I would be best served introducing myself.

“Hermann is our representative, but he’s currently traveling to the capital on a major business deal. He doesn’t plan on returning this year. If you need something urgent, we could send out a letter, if you wish.”

“No, that’s perfectly fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“I just thought that I should say hello, if he was around.”

“In that case, you will have the chance to do so once he returns.”

“Thank you.”

Since there were no forms of high-speed transportation like cars or bullet trains here, it probably took a long time to get to other towns. Peeps’s magic might have been able to get us right there and back, but I’d put it off for now.

Let’s wait until my life settles down into all that psychic business.

If I could just get used to my job, I would have more free time than I ever had working at my old company.

After bidding farewell to the vice manager, I went to talk to Mr. French.

According to him, the restaurant’s finances were still positive. He’d also learned most of the recipes, so we ended up eating there for the day. He’d prepared a private table for us in the back of the shop for when reservations ended.

Peeps and I sat across the table from each other.

“This is quite good. I have never experienced this flavor before.”

“Could be because there’s so few spices in this world.”

We were eating soup curry. In general, the curried rice popular in Japan didn’t look all that good on the outside. It was possible nobody would eat it if they added it to the menu. Predicting that, I had instead proposed soup curry—and it was surprisingly popular now.

However, most of the spices came from the Japanese supermarket where I bought sugar and chocolate. They were limited and could only be used for ten meals in one day, apparently. In the future, I wanted to try re-creating it with local ingredients.

“The meat is deliciously soft. And I like the tingle of the spices, too.”

“You’re not kidding. It’s so soft, I can’t get enough of it.”

The level of quality was higher than I’d expected. I had wondered if it would end up being a soup that was spicy and not much else, but they seemed to have followed the recipe to the letter. I found myself excited, thinking about new foods and unknown recipes. Peeps’s meal came with extra meat, incidentally.

As we were eating, Mr. French came to check on us. He was wearing his apron as usual.

“Um, how…how is it?”

“It’s delicious. Just how I imagined it would be.”

“Really?! Thank you so much!”

“No, thank you for re-creating it this wonderfully.”

It really was thanks to him that I was able to begin to repay Peeps. My meeting with Mr. French had been bumpy to say the least, but in the end, I was glad I’d invited him to do this. He was working with the vice manager of the trading company on the shop’s finances, too, so they were taking care of it all by themselves.

Naturally, I needed to show my appreciation. I held out a sleeve of gold coins I’d put together in advance. I’d bundled them and held them together with paper and tape. Even I would have felt bad giving it to him without something like that, so I did a little decorating. It was like the koban coins that showed up in period dramas about the Edo era.

“This is your pay for last month.”

“Oh, I, thank you… Wait, this is—”

“It includes my own thanks for re-creating my recipe.”

“Are…are you really sure I can have this?”

“Yes. Please go right ahead.”

Thirty gold coins was pretty generous. At the trading company, the vice manager had given me joint ownership over the shop since I brought in so many goods—which then applied to its earnings and expenses. He told me they’d been a hundred gold pieces in the black last month. I wasn’t even doing anything in particular, yet a hundred gold coins still found their way into my pocket. I couldn’t bring myself not to reinvest it in the venture.

“I… I’ll continue to pour my heart and soul into it!”

“Thank you very much.”

“Yes, sir!”

“In addition, starting next month, I want you to delegate an amount based on the restaurant’s profits for yourself. For the future, I will leave the entire management of the shop in your hands. You only need to give me a report once a month.”

Having to come here to give him his pay every time was a pain. And things in my own life seemed ready to cancel my plans on short notice. Considering that, I figured it would be easiest just to leave everything to him. He had the Hermann Trading Company’s support, so I was sure he’d be fine.

“Wait, but that’s…”

“I really am sorry for making you do everything. Please take care of this place.”

“Y-yes, sir! Thank you!”

Still, I hadn’t done any work at all and felt uncomfortable being so profoundly respected. This was literally all thanks to Peeps. It gave me an indescribable feeling having the bird himself standing right in front of me while Mr. French thanked me so profusely. Though he seemed to take no notice whatsoever as he pecked away at his incredibly tasty-looking meat.

“Excuse me, but—would we be able to enjoy ourselves from here on?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, yes, of course! Please excuse me, then!”

Once I got the message across, Mr. French went back to the kitchen.

Seeing as how I’d been making Peeps do all the work lately, I hoped this meal would lift his mood. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this shop existed for him. With any luck, it would continue functioning nice and easily like it was now.

“I would like to keep eating here for the time being.”

“You’ll hear no objection from me.”

“You gave him other recipes as well, correct?”

“I did.”

“Are they as tasty as this is?”

“I think so.”

“You really are something, you know.”

“I’m just glad you’re satisfied with it.”

“It is a shame about the Kobe beef chateaubriand, but this is good in its own right. If a variety of dishes aside from this await, I will be able to enjoy myself for a while. Now, once our lives elsewhere settle down, we will be assured peace and security.”

“Well, hopefully that happens soon…”

As I watched the delighted sparrow eat, I felt it warming my own heart.

Once our bellies were full, we went to practice magic.

We chose the same spot as always: the forested region next to the plains around our base of operations, the town of Baytrium. This spot, on the border between the forest and plains, was our training grounds. It was fairly far from town, so we wouldn’t be running into anyone.

Just like the last time we visited, I practiced muttering incantations over and over again, excited to learn new magic. I was just as absorbed in memorizing the incantations in my own world, too, and strove to do so whenever I had a free moment.

My efforts must have been paying off—because, somehow, I was able to use an intermediate spell.

“…I truly did not think you would learn intermediate magic in this short a time.”

“It’s because of the mana you gave me, right, Peeps?”

“No. Mana is certainly a barrier to entry, but you are still progressing very quickly. Usually, magicians in this world need over a decade before they can learn intermediate magic. Reaching that point after mere weeks of training is unprecedented.”

“You’re praising me so much I’m starting to get a little scared.”

As for the spell—well, it launched lightning. It zapped out, crackling, from the magic circle at my hand.

It was conspicuously powerful. No sooner did it leave my hand at a blinding speed than it connected with the target and burst. Not only did the bolt send an electric current through the target, it also blasted away whatever part it struck last. If I set my aim carefully, I could kill a target with near certainty.

When I turned to a nearby tree and fired a bolt as a test, it easily broke the trunk at its base, toppling it. The point of contact was burned to a cinder, smoke hissing from it. What a dangerous spell this was.

“Barriers of a certain strength can easily nullify it.”

“…I see.”

Peeps didn’t seem to perceive the spell as something to fear, but now I was a little scared of the sparrow perched on my shoulder. I was certain he’d never turn on me, but the possibility of others existing in this world who could use this spell was extremely high. I wanted to learn this barrier spell or whatever as soon as possible.

Actually, based on the way he’d said it, that was probably a requirement—in a fight against another magician.

Given the fact that there was a means of nullifying the spell rather than avoiding it, this world’s magic seemed more like a contest of brute strength than I’d thought—one of those scenarios where each side would cancel out the other’s spells, looking to land a single effective hit.

Considering the pure power of the lightning attack I’d just witnessed, you’d need more than a police officer’s gear to overwhelm it. Even with modern weaponry, gear that wasn’t top-of-the-line would be pointless in the face of magic.

“Wow. Intermediate magic is… How do I put this? Amazing.”

“This may be intermediate magic, but it is still of the fairly low-level variety.”

“Huh…?”

“We call it intermediate magic for convenience, but it still contains a vast range. Broadly speaking, we divide magic into beginner, intermediate, and advanced categories, but each category further contains easier and more difficult spells. Within the intermediate category, a higher-level spell can have considerable power.”

“……”

If Peeps thought something had incredible power, it must really be something.

I would rather spend my time learning that teleportation spell than something that dangerous. But despite my unceasing practice regimen, I still showed no sign of improvement. It seemed like it was considered above the advanced level for good reason.

“For your information, magic above the advanced level is purely a matter of talent. No matter how hard they work, those who cannot use it cannot use it. However, that comes down to their store of mana, so you will not have that limitation. If you diligently apply yourself, you will be rewarded.”

“Peeps, I’m kind of scared to be learning advanced magic.”

“Oh, so you do intend to learn it?”

“……”

Oops, he saw right through me. I said I was scared, but I still wanted to master it.

“Don’t let it worry you. This is the sort of creature man is. As I once was.”

“…Is it?”

“You cannot afford hesitation now to begin with, can you? Together, I can protect you, but if we act separately, I cannot. If you learn advanced magic, we can live safely over there as well.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Before I knew it, learning more spells had become a matter of life-and-death.

The next day, as I was whiling away the time in my lodgings in town, the vice manager came to see me.

Apparently, he wanted me to accompany him to see the viscount, who wished for a contribution of the transceivers I’d delivered the day before. Hearing that, I quickly readied myself, and we headed for the same castle we’d visited the other day. He’d prepared a carriage to take us there. As a modern, stay-at-home man, his consideration was greatly appreciated.

At the castle, in deference to our previous successful audience, we were shown to the viscount without any suspicion. Though we’d greeted each other in a ceremonial space last time, today we were shown to what seemed to be a reception room.

“Ah yes. I can indeed hear your voice from this box…”

The vice manager had clearly already told the viscount about it. He’d probably come here while I was practicing magic. Because I’d prioritized learning intermediate magic to deal with the trouble in Japan, I’d left all the business-related dealings in the vice manager’s hands.

“We at the Hermann Trading Company believe that you, Viscount Müller, are the right person to whom we should offer this product. It could create issues if we were to sell it indiscriminately. What are your thoughts?”

“Indeed, I thank you for your consideration.”

The viscount nodded deeply in response to the vice manager’s words. It seemed like we had a buyer for the time being.

Viscount Müller gripped the freshly imported transceiver in his hand. With the vice manager’s help, he was able to test its functions and uses. Thus, he was able to understand it without issue.

“Sasaki.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Do not circulate these…transceivers, did you call them?…anywhere else. I’d like them all to come here. The same applies to the metal fuel you call a battery. I would also prefer it if you were to keep their existence a secret. Can you do that?”

“I see no problem with that, my lord, but…”

“I do apologize for interfering with your business. In exchange, I will purchase as many of these items as you have—at an increased price.”

“Understood, my lord. If you would allow it, I accept.”

“Indeed. Thank you.”

These radios had more bargaining power than I thought they would. Still, my otherworld wallet had already gotten very heavy. I’d be set to live off it for the time being. Thus, there was no hurry for me to bring a lot of them. I’d let them trickle in and create more opportunities to meet with the viscount.

“I also have something to inform you of, Sasaki.”

“What is it, my lord?”

“There may come a day when I will require your help.”

“Huh? My lord, I…”

“I’m sorry, but I cannot explain in detail.”

“…Understood, my lord. I will endeavor to humbly accept any requests you have of me should that time come.”

Honestly, I’d wanted to apologize and turn him down. Unfortunately, he was a noble—I couldn’t possibly refuse him. It was like a direct order from the company president. The man seemed like a good person, so I doubted he would criticize me for denying him, but who knew what those around us would think about that?

That was how my audience with the viscount ended.

On our way back, just as we were about to part ways, the vice manager stopped me.

“Mr. Sasaki, about the matter the viscount spoke of…”

“Oh yes. What is it?”

“I’ve heard rumors that our relations with a neighboring country have worsened.”

“……”

“It may be wise to prepare yourself.”

Well, that was disturbing rumor. If he’d chosen now to tell me about it, then it was probably true. The vice manager had a good head on his shoulders. He would never give someone specious information that might confuse them. The intel seemed pretty legitimate.

Learning barrier magic just jumped way up my to-do list.

For the next few days, I had Peeps help me study up on various types of self-defense magic. I also wanted to learn a more potent form of healing magic, if possible. Peeps had told me that I’d be fine as long as he was around, but it still made me uneasy.

After finishing several days of magic practice, we returned to my apartment. With no end to the problems I was facing in either world, I was still somewhat anxious. Still, thanks to the high-quality sleep and delicious food I’d gotten in the otherworld, I was in pretty good physical condition. At this rate, I felt able to face the day energetically. Maybe I’d do some weight training—it had been a while.

Though it seemed that jinxed me, because right after I got back, the smartphone went off. Not my personal one but the one the section chief had given me. I checked the display to see it was from Miss Hoshizaki.

“Yes, this is Sasaki.”

“Can you come to the office right away? We’ve got an urgent job.”

“Is that what Mr. Akutsu…?”

“Yes, the chief gave the instructions. I’m counting on you, all right?”

“…Understood.”

That was a shame.

If Miss Hoshizaki was acting on her own again, I’d have a good supply of excuses to get out of it, but I couldn’t ignore a directive from the section chief. She’d said right away, so I rushed like a madman to put on my suit and get my things ready.

“I’ll be back later, Peeps.”

“Yes. Take care.”

Wow, it was…really nice to have someone to see me off like this.

Being my second trip to the office, I had already learned the train route and was able to go there directly. In truth, I wanted to have Peeps use his teleportation magic. However, with my destination being what it was, I decided to refrain. I did, however, eagerly start scheming for how to fool them going forward.

“Good morning.”

As instructed over the phone, I headed to the conference room in the office. When I arrived, almost a hundred people were already present. It felt like one of those TV dramas where the detectives on a case get together to discuss the details.

However, everyone here was extremely unique. There were teenagers alongside older people who must have been close to sixty, male and female, all sitting around tables lined up like bleachers in a theater. The hair colors were vibrant, from those with black hair to others with brown or blond. They didn’t look at all like civil servants.

I saw a few suits like mine in the crowd, but unfortunately, they were in the minority.

“Oh, you’re here,” said the section chief, seeing me enter.

He was standing next to the huge screen set up at the front of the room. It displayed a series of what looked like human faces. Included here and there among the mug shots were a few photos that were clearly taken without furtively.

“Sasaki, come up here for a moment.”

“Um, yes, sir.”

I went to stand beside him as prompted. The conference room was intimidating. Everyone assembled was staring at me with curiosity. I had taken my previous job right out of college, and visiting that office for the first time had felt just like this. In fact, there might have been even more attention on me now.

“This is our new recruit, Sasaki. Today will be his first job, so I want you all to take care of him. His power was listed in the papers distributed earlier. I believe he will largely be working with Miss Hoshizaki, but he may team up with others depending on the situation.”

The section chief gave me an introduction in his own words. He glanced at me, indicating I should say something.

“It’s a pleasure to be working with you all.”

Since he mentioned my psychic traits had been given to the others in a report, I probably didn’t need to go to the trouble of explaining them. Instead, I simply gave a slight bow to finish my greeting. No one raised any questions.

“You can take any empty seat.”

“Yes, sir.”

I found an empty seat at his request and sat down. I was keenly aware of the people sneaking glances, but none of them spoke to me.

Once he saw I’d settled in, the section chief, still standing in the front, opened his mouth to speak again. His voice carried as he looked over the entire room.

“Since Sasaki is here, allow me to explain why I’ve gathered you all today.”

Looked like he was getting straight to the mission. Everyone’s attention turned to the screen up front. The section chief began his explanation with a detached tone, pointing at the photographs on the display. In his words, they were irregular psychics who had refused to join the organization.

For convenience, our bureau called psychics belonging to it regular, while those who didn’t were called irregular. Those unaware of this state-run organization were called stray psychics.

Among the irregulars, several like-minded groups had formed. The photos on the screen featured members of two of the largest of these.

Naturally, our bureau wanted to expose them all. After tailing them day in, day out, we had acquired information that there would be a meeting to discuss a merger. If successful, they planned to join together to resist the regular psychics. We couldn’t let that happen, which was what brought us here today.

Meaning that my first job was, in short, a raid. What a frightening occupation this was going to be. Would I get worker’s compensation if I was injured?

“…Does anyone have any questions?” asked the section chief after talking for some time.

Several hands quickly went up. The section chief called on a man in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. He was a rough-looking fellow who seemed to be in his mid-twenties. His hair, dyed brown in an equally rough manner, left an impression. It looked like it had been a while since he’d dyed it, given that the black of his roots was starting to peek back out again.

“Is this everyone who will be participating?”

“Yes, this is everyone in the task force. We plan to have a dozen or so non-psychic bureau members providing support from the rear, but as a general rule, they don’t participate in combat. They’re armed just in case that does happen, but don’t depend on them.”

“But for real, will this be enough?”

The two of them exchanged words in front of everyone. This was something I’d been wondering about as well.

“We’ve determined it is, which is why we have gathered you here.”

“Well, I hope so…”

It looked like only the people in the conference room would be going on this job. I doubted you could make a judgment based solely on numbers when it came to battles between psychics, but given how many pictures were in the slides, they had more than we did—twice as many, in fact.

After that was a short question-and-answer session between the section chief and other members of the bureau. They quickly covered everything I’d been curious about, so I didn’t have anything to ask. Most of the questions were just confirming the current situation, and our superiors didn’t reveal any new information.

No sooner than our explanation of the mission was over, we were hurried out to the site. To travel there, we used cars owned by the bureau—black HiAces, to be specific. We split into several vehicles and headed straight there.

We were told our destination was an abandoned building on the fringes of the city. Originally a bowling alley, it had lost popularity and fallen victim to the Heisei-era depression and ceased operations. They’d put the plot and building on the market, but without a buyer, it had just been left to rot.

Once we arrived, we followed the section chief’s instructions and split up to carry out our respective roles. Those ordered to make a direct confrontation went to the front, while those instructed to provide support moved into the shadows. We positioned ourselves based on a map distributed earlier.

And as for who I was with—well, this was a pain.

“I’m counting on you,” she said.

“…I’ll do my best.”

I’d be on the front lines, supporting Miss Hoshizaki. This was a little much, wasn’t it?

My task was to go with her as she charged to the front, replenishing her stores of water in the form of icicles from behind. Though it was explained to me that I wouldn’t need to engage in any direct combat, it all depended on her actions, which were unpredictable. Every time she pressed forward, I would need to follow.

This was a big downer. It was why I’d practiced barrier magic so much—for exactly this sort of situation. However, I hadn’t actually learned any yet.

According to Peeps, the only barrier magic with practical use started at the intermediate level. There was magic with similar effects available at the beginner level, but his view was that it was comparatively weak. It was simply a matter of the spell’s capabilities.

The reason was that a beginner-level barrier could just barely stop a beginner-level spell. If the opponent could use anything more than that, they’d easily break through. It wouldn’t be pointless, but it wouldn’t be reliable in a real-life situation, either.

Plus, there were plenty of ways to deal with beginner-level magic without using a barrier. They only truly became indispensable in crossfire at the intermediate level or higher. Beginner-level barriers were, as he put it, a sprinkle of water in a drought.

Ultimately, even though there was a beginner version, I’d decided on learning more effective healing magic. I hadn’t been sure then which was the correct choice, and I still wasn’t. What I really wanted was to get by without using either.

“Go, go!”

Through an earpiece I’d been given came the chief’s instruction. He had taken command of this operation. He, however, would be away from the planned battlefield—the bowling alley—in a van parked on the road. He had told us to use our own discretion once we were in the thick of things, which meant he’d probably foreseen a melee breaking out. As someone actually going there, it was yet another source of anxiety.

“Let’s go!”

“…Right.”

With me chasing after Miss Hoshizaki, we ran across the parking lot toward the building. I felt like an allied soldier landing on the beaches of Normandy.

At the moment, only my colleagues were visible. As we didn’t know what might come flying at us, though, we couldn’t drop our guards. We’d have to be cautious not only of powers but bullets from snipers, so we jumped from cover to cover.

Those who wanted it had been lent gear, so I’d gotten as much as I could. I looked like a special forces member of a police squad or something. I never thought the day would come when I’d be wearing body armor and a combat helmet. I even had a bulletproof shield in my hand.

The reason they were only lent to those who’d asked had to do with how an individual’s powers worked. Most had, however, protected themselves. Miss Hoshizaki was wearing the same kind of outfit as I was today. She didn’t have a shield, though. She said it would get in the way of using her powers.

According to what I’d heard, in the past, an employee who had mobilized in short sleeves and jeans had been shot in the head and killed by a sniper. Once they’d started mentioning that fact in training, equipment rentals skyrocketed. Training for its use was also done proactively and on a daily basis.

“…Nobody here,” murmured Hoshizaki.

“Looks like it.”

After barging in the back door, we entered the main area. It seemed like a long time had passed since the alley had ceased operations, and it was still a disaster inside. Graffiti marked several spots—delinquents had probably been here. Empty cans and bottles and convenience store bags littered the place; the garbage was awfully conspicuous. Even the bowling lanes were full of holes.

But nobody aside from those in the bureau could be seen. Had we gotten here too early? No, that wasn’t possible.

As we looked around the interior, which was deathly quiet, I felt a dangerous presence. Miss Hoshizaki apparently did, too, because she immediately gave me an instruction. It was to turn right around and go back the way we came.

Right as I nodded, it happened.

“I’ve been captured; I’m sorr—”

The chief’s voice came from my earpiece. Not a moment later, there was an explosion on the other end. It sounded like gunpowder going off.

“Ugh…”

At the same time, our own surroundings changed as well. All those building scraps, bowling balls, and leftover pins started floating into the air, one after another. There were so many of them—probably in the triple digits.

“It can’t be…” Miss Hoshizaki’s face tensed.

Actually, so did the faces of everyone with whom we’d arrived. Like students caught shoplifting, their expressions became a mixture of shock and terror. Of course, as a rookie, it had me very worried.

A few meters separated us from the front lines. Since this was my first outing, we’d been instructed to pursue targets from the shadows, but that didn’t mean my legs weren’t trying to shake free of my hips.

I had checked our intel beforehand and didn’t remember any psychics who could make things float. At a glance, it looked like psychokinesis, or telekinesis, or something along those lines. Seemed like a pretty versatile power.

“Sasaki, run for it!”

The next thing I knew, Miss Hoshizaki had given me the order to retreat. I never imagined she would command me to withdraw without using my power even once. She seemed more like the type who would punch first and think later.

The psychics from the bureau scattered in every direction. A moment later, the floating objects moved. Suddenly accelerating, they flew toward the fleeing raid team. Those who noticed the change frantically put up their defenses.

One person tried to dodge and failed. The objects seemed to home in on their targets, and though the intended victim had avoided the barrage once, it had looped back around. Another got their bulletproof shield up and tried to weather the onslaught, but the debris knocked their shield right out of their hands.

It made sense why only heavy objects had been made to float. The speed with which they flitted through the air was intense—one person took it to the head, and the contact destroyed everything from the neck up. Even those who skillfully tried to slow the debris down couldn’t avoid injury.

People from the bureau were dropping, one after another. Only those holding shields were relatively safe.

But even for them, it was just a matter of time. The heavy objects didn’t just ram into them once. They came back up, again and again, launching from all angles. A few could be blocked, but eventually, a person was overwhelmed, and one would get through, followed by an endless beating.

It was a simple power, and yet it was absolutely terrifying.

The only ones who could avoid the hurricane winds were those who had been near the entrance. That meant those of us, including myself, who had been on their way to support the front lines—those waiting in the wings. The power must have had some kind of range limit.

“Miss Hoshizaki, here’s some water!”

“Thanks!”

In the meantime, I launched human-size icicles at my coworker, who was currently running this way and that, trying to escape. They were quite a bit bigger than before. I didn’t just make one, either—I made ten, then another ten.

When they arrived at her hands, she touched them with her fingertips. The icicles then changed into water, becoming a wall of water that surrounded her. It was like a water tank in an aquarium, rising around Miss Hoshizaki in a cylinder almost a meter thick.

Several heavy projectiles rammed into it in the meantime, but they were caught by the wall of water and lost their momentum. By the time they made it through, most of that momentum was gone. It would still probably hurt if they hit, but they’d likely only leave small bruises.

Once I’d given her a few dozen icicles, she’d completed her wall from top to bottom. She looked like she was in a bowl all by herself. I suddenly had the urge to add fish.

“Good work, Sasaki!”

“Thanks.”

What worried me were the heavy objects that fell to the ground, blocked by Miss Hoshizaki’s barrier, coming back. However, she seemed to plan on dealing with them by moving quickly and leaving them behind. She dashed left and right, protected by her wall of water. For a time, it looked like we’d be able to operate even inside the maelstrom.

However, that assumption crumbled a moment later.

Because this time, Miss Hoshizaki’s body floated up into the air.

“Ack…!”

Apparently, the hurricane wasn’t picky—it could use people, too.

I had nervously come to face my first battle, and now I had a hunch it was going to be a disaster from start to finish.

Through some unknown person’s power, all the nearby heavy ammunition—building material scraps and bowling balls—were speeding around through the air. It was like a localized hurricane had touched down right here.

Everyone who had charged in was wiped out. The section chief’s drones had all been shot down as well.

The only ones still active were Miss Hoshizaki and me.

And in the end, she had become fodder for the hurricane herself, floating around like the building scraps and bowling balls. It had to be the work of a psychic in the enemy group—her body drifted higher, rising almost to the ceiling.

And then, suddenly, she was flipped on her head and sent hurtling down like a solo pile driver.

Still, she had her wall of water that followed her in every direction, so she wouldn’t take a whole lot of damage from it. The water absorbed the impact, protecting her from the collision. The only real effect she suffered was getting drenched from the water.

When I thought about the situation abstractly, this woman’s power to control water was itself a form of telekinesis. I naturally concluded that so long as I was there to serve as her tank, we had some fighting chance against the hurricane user.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t even see our opponent, and Miss Hoshizaki was completely on the defensive.

“Sasaki… Run—run away!”

“But…”

There was no communication from above, so fleeing was probably for the best. But what would happen to Miss Hoshizaki, then? The other members of the support group who had been with me were already gone. It looked like they’d managed to escape. And I really, really wanted to follow suit. But as her partner, I couldn’t do that.

Many of my fallen coworkers were clearly dead. If she lost her steady supply of water, she might join them. If I heard later on that Miss Hoshizaki had died, it would put a massive strain on my mental state.

“You’ll die! Just—just go already!”

“As your partner, I cannot leave you behind.”

“Ugh…”

Above all, if it turned out desertion was a punishable offense—well, that would be terrible.

I remembered reading a book on the rules of the Self-Defense Forces. Fleeing in the face of the enemy would earn you at least seven years of penal servitude or even confinement. I doubted the bureau was the same, but it wouldn’t be strange if a similar rule existed.

Actually, as a government employee, if there was hazard pay for on-site work, there would have to be such a rule. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t checked. There might be no actual law, but I didn’t know about how it worked within the bureau.

If I decided to run, I’d need to think that over carefully first, and—

“My, this is more exciting than I’d thought.”

But my mistake was worrying about everything too much. A new figure suddenly emerged from the corner of the space.

She appeared in the main area with the bowling lanes, on a path leading back to the restrooms. She was dressed in traditional clothing and, at first glance, looked like an elementary schooler. Her black hair reached down below her waist, and her skin was as pale as snow—both striking features. Was she the cause of this chain of hurricanes?

“What…?!”

A shriek escaped Miss Hoshizaki’s lips when she saw the girl. An unusual response from the bellicose woman.

“Still, though, I suppose this is where it ends.”

Miss Hoshizaki wasted no time creating icicles from her water wall and firing them. Each was about the size of a plastic bottle with a sharpened tip, and they were hurtling straight for the newcomer in front of us.

In response, the girl launched herself into a dash. Deftly, she avoided the icicles shooting her way, zigzagging as she closed in quickly toward Miss Hoshizaki. Her speed was unbelievable for a child. She was like a wild animal.

Eventually, reaching the wall of water, the girl swung her right hand up in a wide arc. Miss Hoshizaki turned the water to ice.

Paying no mind, the girl brought her fist back down, striking the thick sheet squarely.

With a huge thump, the ice crackled and broke. Miss Hoshizaki’s face emerged from behind it, eyes wide with shock. She clearly hadn’t expected that.

The girl gently drew a fingertip along Miss Hoshizaki’s cheek. “I’m not going to kill you. Your ability seems rather useful.”

I didn’t really understand what that meant. However, as the girl touched her, the water and ice floating around Miss Hoshizaki dropped to the floor, lost its form, and became a large puddle.

At the same time, Miss Hoshizaki herself fell limp and stopped moving. It looked like she’d lost consciousness. She hung in the air like a puppet on strings at the end of the show.

“……”

Judging by this sequence events, a different psychic must have caused the hurricane. In other words, from our point of view, there was yet another enemy psychic to deal with. And what I’d seen so far revealed nothing about this one’s power. Did it have to do with her superhuman physical abilities?

“…And it would seem a rat still hides here.”

“Umm…” As if things couldn’t get any worse, I was pretty sure she’d caught on to my presence.

The whole business with the two groups meeting up was completely out the window. The section chief had probably been fed false information. We’d walked right into their trap, and what was supposed to be a one-sided raid had turned into an ambush.

Even if I simply ran, I doubted I could escape that incredible leg strength. And somewhere else in this abandoned building hid the psychic who was the source of the hurricane. I would be better served trying to calm down and grasp the situation, rather than moving around carelessly.

Those were my thoughts as the newbie psychic who’d missed his chance to flee, then I took a step out from behind cover.

“I’m sorry, but I’d appreciate it if we could stop with the violence.”

“Hmm. I haven’t seen you before.”

The little girl gazed up at me. She was actually adorable. The old-fashioned Japanese clothing suited her—she was like a doll.

“Pleased to meet you. My name is Sasaki.”

“You appear to be with the bureau. Are you the source of that water?”

“Well, essentially.”

“I see. Then it has a use when combined with this girl.”

“……”

She’d figured out exactly what was going on. This wasn’t going well. I had to somehow stay a part of this conversation and get information out of her.

“You two have awe-inspiring powers. One controls the area with flying objects, and then you clean up the survivors. For future reference and for my own benefit, could I ask your names…?”

“…Do you not know who we are?”

“Huh?”

Wait, was she famous or something? Either way, as a freshman psychic, I had no clue. I had exposed my inexperience. To make matters worse, the very first thing I’d said turned out to be a land mine.

“Ah, then you are new.”

“……”

The girl’s lips turned up in a smirk.

Help me, Peeps. I think I’m in serious trouble this time.

I was totally overwhelmed on my first mission. Now my leader had been knocked out, and the only one left on the scene was me, a total rookie. Still radio silence over the earpiece. All pretense was gone—this mission was over.

“As you pointed out, I am new here. I was assigned to the bureau just yesterday. Hence, I would very much like to say hello to everyone else as well. Could I possibly have an audience with the other one? I have no idea where your partner is at the moment.”

“You seem quite calm despite the situation.”

“Ignorance is my only weapon right now.”

“Optimistic, too.”

As we exchanged offhand remarks, I glanced around the room. The regular psychics had been annihilated. Each of them, without exception, lay on the floor, not even flinching—either they were unconscious or dead. And the psychics who had been on support duty didn’t appear to be coming back.

On the other hand, no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find the psychic responsible for the hurricane. I had to consider the possibility of a third psychic hiding them. If so, then I certainly wouldn’t be able to spot them.

And so I was left with no other choice. “I’ll ask again—may I have an audience with them?”

“Unfortunately, you may not.”

“…That’s a shame.”

I switched my mic off. Fortunately for me, the lightning spell’s incantation was relatively short. Having practiced chanting the incantations for days, my tongue had gotten very used to them, and I was able to complete the spell in only a few seconds.

“Hah…!” I stuck my hand out in front of me and fired the intermediate spell.

With a loud crack, a bolt of electricity shot at the girl’s lower body. It went faster than the eye could track, making contact with the target and tearing through her. Blood and skin went shooting off, sending a splatter of red across the floor.

It had taken a chunk out of her lower-right leg. Her small body, losing its balance, crumpled. It was grotesque as hell.

“Ngaaah…”

I’d wanted to hold her back with a softer spell, but given that this was a life-or-death situation, I’d chosen what would reach her fastest. As I saw the scene unfold, I started feeling a bit guilty. That she was a young girl was not good for my mental health.

But considering this spell could topple a large tree in a single hit, the damage she’d taken was slight. Her bones were still attached—it had just blown some skin off. She seemed to have some kind of barrier set up. That made sense, considering how she’d broken through Miss Hoshizaki’s ice with her bare hand.

Was it her own power or someone else’s? I had a hunch she could take a bullet dead-on and keep fighting like nothing had happened.

As pained groans escaped the girl’s mouth, something nearby moved.

“Tch…” The building scraps and bowling balls littering the floor around me rose into the air one after another and hurtled toward me. As I’d surmised, the psychic causing the hurricane was using some means to hide their presence and get closer to me.

Now inside the power’s effective range, dozens of heavy objects were flying at me.

Chanting a spell would be too slow. Now that I’d used one in battle, I understood how important it was to be able to cast spells without incantations.

In the future, I’d have to put more effort into speeding up my spells in addition to learning new ones. Peeps could apparently cast all beginner and most intermediate spells without an incantation. What an impressive sparrow.

Pleading for it to work, I omitted the incantation and envisioned the spell. I chose the same one as before—the lightning attack. It was the most powerful weapon I had at my disposal.

And it worked. Talk about a fight-or-flight response. Multiple lances of lightning burst out with a crack, shooting down the targets before me, one after another. The shattered scraps and bowling balls passed by me, now nothing more than tiny fragments. I used the shield to block those heading directly at me, disabling them. A few did connect, but it only hurt a little. I’d managed to deal with the pressing threat by a hair.

“What…?”

Just then, I heard a voice from a point about a dozen meters in front of me. A man’s voice. But I couldn’t see him anywhere. He definitely seemed to be borrowing a third psychic’s power to stay hidden.

“Around here, maybe?”

Getting a little carried away, I proceeded to fire a second lightning attack in the direction of the voice, aiming low. A series of crackling noises resounded, lights radiating out like a fan. One of them struck something, sending off a spatter of red.

It seemed I’d been correct. Where there had been nothing, figures suddenly appeared—a team of two.

The first was a man who looked somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties. Right away, I noticed his long blond hair, slicked back. He wore an expensive-looking suit, and at a glance, one might have mistaken him for a yakuza member.

The other was standing right up next to him—a girl who appeared to be in middle school. She had glossy black hair in a princess cut, and her gothic Lolita-style clothing only made her more conspicuous. Her features were fairly cute, and her clothes, though they might have seemed garish on some, suited her well.

My main concern was which of them I’d hit with the spell, and that turned out to be the man. The blast had taken out everything below his knees. The girl raised her voice, holding him in her arms as he lay faceup. Her shriek resounded through the room.

Unlike the girl a moment earlier, the man had been struck with the lightning attack’s full force. Both his legs had been blown off. I was worried the others might have the same resistance as my first opponent, so I hadn’t held back.

“Who exactly are you?”

The girl in traditional clothing spoke from below me, seeing that the tables had turned. She pushed her arms against the floor as she craned her head up to look at me.

Didn’t her wound hurt?

“As I said before, I am a newcomer who just entered this business yesterday.”

“……”

She glared up at me skeptically.

It might have been possible to end them all right here. However, the section chief’s orders had been to capture the psychics, and judging by my previous conversation, these ones seemed to be celebrities. Whatever I did now would impact my future treatment, so I needed to tread lightly.

Another thing that bothered me was that the fallen girl’s body had started to change. She was still on the floor, but her leg was—in the present tense—squirming. Somehow, the flesh and blood vessels were beginning to reconnect. It was like her leg was trying to reform itself with each passing second. It was so gross.

“I have a proposal for you all,” I offered.

“…Go ahead.”

“If you promise not to speak of what happened here to anybody, I’ll stop attacking. Would you be amenable to considering this a draw? I’d rather not go too far and get hurt, after all.”

“……”

It would be pretty miserable if they held a grudge, found out where I lived, and attacked me there. I was already wary of the section chief these days, so I didn’t want to make any more personal enemies. Though I had the option of fleeing to the otherworld, my life in modern Japan was just as important to me.

“What do you think?”

“…Fine.”

After seeming to consider for a few moments, the girl in traditional clothes gave a slight nod. Negotiations complete.

A moment later, another person appeared right in front of me. This new character materialized out of thin air next to the fallen girl and didn’t make a sound—just like Peeps’s teleportation. A similar power probably existed.

She looked to be about twenty. She had a big chest, a big butt, and was just overflowing with feminine charms. Her outfit—a white blouse, a beige jacket, and navy culottes—combined with her youthful appearance to give her the look of a new employee.

“You said your name was Sasaki?” asked the girl in traditional clothing.

“Yes.”

Belatedly, I wished I’d used a false name. All anyone would have to do was check something like my mail to get my information. Realizing it was too late to hide, though, I pulled myself together and admitted it.

When I did, the girl came forward with a surprising proposal.

“Would you be interested in joining us?”

“Unfortunately, I’m the type who’s more at ease sticking with the biggest player.”

“…I see.”

I was surprised she’d make such an invitation at this point. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was older than she appeared. Perhaps even older than me, I thought suddenly. It wouldn’t be strange for there to be a power that falsified your appearance.

“If ever the mood strikes you, we would be happy for you to give us a call.”

“Well, if I ever have the chance. Thank you.”

Before I’d realized it, the blond-haired man and the gothic Lolita had approached the girl in traditional clothes. The former, without his legs, had been dragged there by the latter. Thanks to that, the floor was a complete mess—stained bright red all over with blood.

“In that case, we will be taking our leave.”

“Oh, just one second.”

“…What is it?”

“What happened to our boss? He’s in his thirties, very handsome. He was taking charge from outside until a little while ago. But I haven’t heard a word from him since the fighting started.”

“……”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Do you require his custody?”

“He is important, as my boss, so yes.”

I wanted to avoid switching bosses on my first day. Those who took over positions like that tended to reject how the former boss worked. New employees recruited by one’s predecessor were always the best heavy bags to vent stress on.

Government employee culture had a more feudal bent, so it was probably even worse at a job like this.

“…All right.”

“Is he alive?”

“Our match ended in a draw, so he is only injured. We will return him to you.”

“Thank you.”

It seemed the enemy group had gotten their hands on the section chief. That meant they would have snatched him if I hadn’t brought it up. It felt exactly like doing business with a shady company. No time for complacency.

“Until next time…”

“Yes. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

“……”

The girl gave me a strange look as I left. Her brow had furrowed.

Did she not like what I’d said? I couldn’t help it—as a corporate slave, those kinds of phrases were like a natural reflex.

The attractive woman’s power was definitely teleportation. As we said good-bye, they all disappeared without a trace, withdrawing from the scene—including the two who had retreated to the little girl.

“……”

Now all that was left was the obliterated team from the bureau.

After all that had happened, the evening passed quickly, and the next day, I had orders to return to the office.

Immediately upon returning from the site last night, I’d been confined in a nearby hotel at the organization’s direction. I hadn’t been able to go home to my apartment or see Peeps. Nor had I been able to go to the otherworld. I felt very guilty for leaving the vice manager and Mr. French hanging.

Yet I’d somehow managed to return alive. For that, at least, I was grateful.

I was the only one who was relieved, however. When I checked in afterward, I heard that 70 percent of all the psychics who had participated in the operation had died. Most of the ones who’d survived were the front-line support psychics. The losses we’d sustained during the incident had been massive.

The organization was in chaos.

Not every psychic working for the bureau had taken part, but we had certainly lost a good portion. Plus, participating in the front lines required psychics who were above average, both in terms of their powers and mental fortitude. That meant they were particularly valuable resources.

It was explained to me that we wouldn’t be engaging in any more large-scale actions for some time.

And the section chief, who was both commander and responsible party during the incident, did indeed seem to have been kidnapped by the enemy group. They told me he’d been released—at the same time as I completed negotiations with the girl—for no apparent reason.

“…Then the enemy withdrew on their own?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Thanks to that, I was subjected to some annoying questions during the debriefing.

I’d been called out to the office, and as soon as I got there, someone grabbed me. Now I was in a small conference room, no more than ten square meters in size, sitting across a desk from the section chief. No one else was in sight.

“……”

“Did you hear anything, Chief?”

“No, I haven’t gotten any particular intel, either,” said my boss, a big strip of gauze wrapped around one cheek. Several bits of white were peeking out from the sleeves of his suit jacket, too. He must have been embroiled in his own fight without me knowing.

“By the way,” I inquired, “who provided the intel we relied on for the operation? I’m sure the other bureau members reported the same thing, but the enemy knew exactly what our plans were.”

“…That was a failure on my part. I apologize.”

“You can’t give any more details?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

“I see…”

This was one of the hard parts about being a government worker. Being in a section chief’s position within the Cabinet Office meant he was a national bureaucrat. A single casual decision at his own discretion could affect hundreds, if not thousands of civilian lives. If he said no, then he meant it.

But I was going to keep pressing him anyway. After all, if I didn’t, I’d be the one getting questioned. In order to keep my own situation hidden, acting offended seemed the best option.

“Were they investigating the bureau’s psychics? Or perhaps thinning our numbers was the goal all along. Sorry to start making things up as a new hire, but still…,” I speculated, taking the opportunity to toss in a bland remark or two.

“……”

He made a show of thinking hard about something. He was probably suspicious of my part in all this. Considering the timing, I had put myself in an extremely dubious situation. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he thought I was an undercover agent for the enemy.

“Could it be that you’re suspicious of me?”

“Yes, I am.”

Whoa. That was a more straightforward response than I expected.

He stared at me dead in the eyes.

I couldn’t afford to make terms like otherworld and magic into public key words. Without that, however, I couldn’t explain why the enemy group had withdrawn. In which case, my only course of action was to come off as dubious of him as well.

“In that case, Chief, I also suspect you.”

“…I see.”

I learned after the fact that the girl in traditional clothes and the man with the hurricane ability were apparently big celebrities in Japan’s psychic circles. Everyone in the bureau had been warned: If you encountered them, don’t think—just run.

Of course, that hadn’t been shared with me during the meeting beforehand. Their appearance had been completely unforeseen. If the bureau had considered it even a slight possibility, they might have tread more carefully—or so the others in the support group had lamented. I’d seen their faces in the back seat of the HiAce on our way out of the site. They were white as ghosts, and I didn’t think they could be lying.

Psychics were apparently granted something like ranks depending on how their ability worked. Essentially, it was akin to a threat level. They used the letters A through F, which was a global index I was told other also countries used. My own rank was E. That had been determined by the tests I’d undergone at Miss Hoshizaki’s request when she first brought me in.

Many things factored into this assessment, but one particularly easy-to-understand contributor was that any power that, unleashed in a city, proved difficult for police to control was ranked D or above.

The issue here was that the ones we’d encountered the previous day were a team consisting of mostly psychics of rank B or above. The girl in traditional clothing was A rank. The hurricane man and teleporter were B rank. The gothic Lolita princess’s ability, some sort of optic camouflage, was rank D. Miss Hoshizaki, incidentally, was rank D like the goth girl.

Although the compatibility of certain powers would greatly affect things, I was told during training that a difference of two levels would make a matchup totally one-sided. And the highest-ranking psychic on our side on the previous mission was rank B.

Out of all those people, only one was B rank. Psychics of rank B or higher must be incredibly rare. Below that, we’d had a handful of rank Cs. Of them, over half had died in the initial onslaught. I could only pray there was no such thing as a rank-S psychic.

“I didn’t see any of the psychics we were looking for,” I said. “Instead, the ones who did appear—and I only learned this later—were a well-known group of very high-ranking irregulars; isn’t that right?”

“I’ve received reports to that effect. All I can say is that I’m sorry.”

“I doubt anyone would have emerged from that event unscathed. However, doesn’t using a lone support psychic who was slow to escape as a decoy seem a little cruel to you?”

“No, no, I wasn’t intending anything like that. Please calm down.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Psychics are too valuable. You work well with Hoshizaki, and on top of that, you have a sharp mind.”

“Then I’d prefer that you trusted me a little bit, if possible.”

My plan was to gripe like a subordinate to get him to compromise. If even that didn’t work, I’d have to go into hiding with Peeps in the otherworld. Then I could learn a whole bunch of magic before returning. It might be the end of my life as I knew it, but a little Kobe beef chateaubriand wouldn’t be out of the question. In the worst-case scenario, I could request employment with the girl in traditional clothes.

“…All right. I’ll trust your account.”

“Thank you.”

“I apologize for putting you through all that on your first job.”

“Don’t be—it’s in the past now.”

“Right…”

I gave a slight bow and rose from my seat.

No one tried to stop me as I left the room. In the meantime, I was told operations involving psychics were being suspended—meaning it was time to do nothing but eat and sleep.

They’d still pay me, apparently, so for that, I felt fortunate.

Once the section chief released me, I quietly returned to the office.

I passed by lines of employee desks. Since we’d had so many casualties, it felt like a wake. As a newcomer, I didn’t know much, but it seemed like many of these people had been close or cared for each other as coworkers—there had been many human connections here.

A moment later, Miss Hoshizaki stopped me. “Sasaki, got a second?”

“Hmm? Yes, what is it?”

“I, er. I had something to talk to you about…”

I didn’t have any real work to do after this. Given that I couldn’t go home the previous day, I figured I’d just head back now. On the way, I’d need to stop by the supermarket—oh, and I’d have to remember to get Peeps a gift.

Since I didn’t know when I’d be coming into the office next, though, I decided I should at least hear her out. For the time being, she was my coworker and partner, someone I would be working with both in the office and on-site. I didn’t want to give her a bad impression.

“Did you need something from me?”

“Yes, er, well, I just wanted to, um, say thank you, so…,” she started to say, scratching at her cheek. Her attitude was actually reserved for once—quite unexpected from someone who was usually so aggressive.

“No need to thank me. We both just did the jobs we were assigned, right? And ultimately, I wasn’t strong enough and let you get hurt. In that sense, I should be apologizing to you.”

I didn’t want to get involved with her too carelessly; instead, I’d put some distance between us. If we started getting along, I was fearful I’d get dragged into something even more catastrophic. To me, the ideal distance was one where we were both a little reserved.

“…Yeah?” she asked.

“I think so, yes.”

“But you did still save me.”

“Please don’t worry about it.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d still like to repay you.”

“……”

And now she’s causing me trouble again. I’d never experienced someone of the opposite sex being friendly with me except at that brothel, so I couldn’t help but be skeptical. When I thought about what she would inevitably expect from me in return, it made me want to turn around and run straight home.

I really wanted to get back as soon as I could and have a soul-soothing conversation with Peeps.

What ended up happening was that, after a great fuss, I went with Miss Hoshizaki to lunch. She was treating me as thanks for the previous day, after all.

If I’d had work to do, I could have told her I was busy and wormed my way out of it. However, we were both bureau psychics with the same orders to stand by at home. Since I’d already told them about quitting my previous job, using that excuse probably wouldn’t work, either.

Ultimately, we ended up sitting face-to-face at an Italian place near the bureau.

“Thanks for coming with me, Sasaki.”

“I was actually getting hungry anyway.”

“I’m happy to hear you say that.”

It was refreshing, seeing her relatively docile compared to the first time we met. I could tell she sincerely wanted to thank me.

Even so, I was restless.

“This is a gorgeous restaurant. Do you come here often?”

“Not really, no…”

A short while after we sat down, the waiter came over to take our orders. Befitting the stylish restaurant, he was a good-looking young man. He wore his closely cropped black hair in an undercut, with his bangs up and away from his forehead. His features were chiseled, and his beard was shaved into an anchor shape, which all went perfectly with the sharp restaurant uniform.

“Have you decided what you’d like to order?”

“I’ll have the special, please.”

“Oh, I’ll have that, too…”

“Understood.”

The way he respectfully nodded to us radiated refinement. I was totally jealous. Not only was he the lean, muscular type, but he also had long legs, and his crisp uniform just seemed to add insult to injury. He’d probably never had any trouble dating. Also, he was quite mild-mannered and really cool.

“We do have a selection of alcohol. Would you like anything?”

“Oh, in that case…”

Might as well go for the beer with lunch. I’ve always dreamed of doing this. If I had been an attractive older man and wanted to put the moves on Miss Hoshizaki, I might have considered the choice of not day-drinking. But for an ordinary man like myself, who had learned to evaluate the probability of such things, there was no reason to hold back.

No, I’d just have fun when I wanted, and to hell with everyone around me. That was the only way to enrich my life, considering my bad luck with women. I couldn’t let the values of others sweep me away. After all, a young woman was treating me to lunch.

Having a beer with lunch now would be even better than usual. I can feel it—I swear.

“I’ll have this beer, here.”

“Today’s recommended craft beer, then? Understood.”

I wondered what Miss Hoshizaki would get. I wanted her to drink all she wanted and not mind me.

As I thought this, I gave her an encouraging look, and her expression became troubled.

“I’m actually a minor, so…”

“Wait. You are?”

I’d thought for sure she was at least twenty.

The waiter was surprised, too.

“In that case, feel free to pick something from our soft drink menu.”

“…All right.”

After we’d put in our orders, the hunky waiter went back into the kitchen. It was a little past eleven in the morning, and the store had plenty of empty seats. Our food wouldn’t take too long to get to us.

A few moments after seeing the waiter go back into the kitchen, this old man asked the minor a question.

“Forgive me for being rude, but how old are you?”

“……”

“Oh, but don’t feel like you have to tell me…” Wouldn’t be good for me if she complained I’d been harassing her later.

Still, she answered more honestly than I’d expected.

“…I’m sixteen.”

“What…?”

Sixteen? That meant she was, you know, just a high school kid. Asking her had given me a second shock. I never imagined she’d be in high school.

“You’re, uh, not joking, right?”

“I get this look using makeup, and I go to school like a normal person.”

“…I see.”

I’d always heard that makeup could transform a woman, but apparently, you could use it to look older rather than just younger. Ever since we’d met, I’d been noticing how thick her makeup was. The way she always wore a suit only reinforced the illusion. I’d never really thought hard about how old she might be.

But she still didn’t seem like a high school girl. She seemed like she was definitely over twenty at a minimum.

“People won’t take you seriously if they think you’re a child. That’s why I change my appearance like this.”

“Is that also why you talk the way you do?”

“……”

It looked like I’d hit the nail on the head. Thinking back to our past exchanges, when I considered that it was a high school girl leaving “mister” off my name, it felt strangely okay. It also made me helplessly curious about how she acted at school.

“You get along normally with friends, though, right?”

“…Of course I do.”

That makes sense. If she spoke and acted like this at school, she would probably have a hard time making friends. Plus, she was hiding the fact that she had psychic powers. Her life must be one hell of a ride.

I was glad I didn’t get roped into all this until later in life.

“Why do you work so hard at this job, Miss Hoshizaki? If you’re in high school, there must be all sorts of other things you want to do, interests you want to pursue. There’s no need spend all your time on something so dangerous.

“Like I said before, this job pays very well.”

“I see.”

Seemed like it was a financial problem for her. That made me hesitate to ask her anything more. It was possible she was in a much tougher situation than I’d assumed. Honestly, after confirming she was in her teens, I came to wonder if it was her youthful energy giving her the courage to do such risky work.

I would definitely need to maintain the distance between us very carefully from now on.

“Apologies for the wait.”

As I was thinking, the waiter came over with our meals. After that, we spent our lunchtime quietly, exchanging idle chatter here and there.

That day, after finishing lunch, I said good-bye to Miss Hoshizaki and went to stock up.

Because I couldn’t go back to my apartment the previous day, I had to be very deliberate in my procurement, looking for things with as much value as possible. I also needed to remember a gift for Peeps. As an apology for leaving him alone for an entire day, I splurged on it.

That said, it was possible I was being tailed by a colleague of the section chief’s, so I decided to forgo making any purchases they might consider suspicious. The receipt would tell a story: one of a middle-aged man with a sudden abundance of free time and a newfound interest in the outdoors.

I’d probably need to look into ways to stock up on things like sugar and chocolate, which I needed to buy in bulk. Should probably hold off on buying them at the neighborhood supermarket, at least. Or online, since it leaves records linked to my personal account.

Those were the types of thoughts running through my mind as I headed home. I proceeded down the road, a plastic bag hanging from my arm.

Moments later, my phone rang. I checked the display and saw my boss’s name on it.

“…Hello, this is Sasaki.”

If I’d had a choice, I would have rather not answered. I couldn’t afford to ignore him, though.

“It’s Akutsu. Do you have a couple minutes?”

“Sure.”

“Sorry, but I’d like you to come into the office tomorrow as well. We have work for you.”

“Understood, sir.”

I didn’t have anything else to do, so I could probably manage that. They were paying me properly, too, so I didn’t have any aversion to showing up. Compared to my former employment, where unpaid overtime was the norm, this was heaven. Still, I did wonder why he was calling me in.

He couldn’t have been harboring suspicions about my past purchases, could he? A shiver ran down my spine.

The words that followed, however, were completely unexpected.

“You’re being promoted. Consider this an unofficial notification.”

“…Oh.”

A promotion? A promotion. That took me completely by surprise.

“I’m sure you understand how many bureau members we lost in the incident. We’ll need to fill those empty positions. This is extremely unusual, but psychics are particularly limited human resources. We’ve decided to prioritize HR as soon as possible.”

His words made sense. Based on what Miss Hoshizaki had told me, out of the entire population, only one in every hundred thousand people were psychics. This was far fewer people than worked as government employees. At least when it came to the on-site players, there was probably zero leeway.

I had a hunch my paycheck would be seeing a windfall in the future.

“I understand, sir.”

“For the time being, it looks like your next mission will be to canvas for psychics.”

“I suppose that was inevitable.”

“I’ll give you more details tomorrow at the bureau. All right, I need to go.”

“Good-bye, sir.”

For now, I could only pray this psychic recruitment turned out to be safe work.

After I’d stocked up on my intended items and was on the way back home, something happened.

I was hurrying from the station to my apartment when I caught sight of something odd. Around the side of a convenience store, in a small conjoining alley, there was a child in a very cute-looking outfit adorned with frills and ribbons rummaging around in the store’s garbage cans.

No matter how I looked at it, the kid had to be scavenging for scraps of food.

If it had been a shabbily dressed old person, I wouldn’t have given it too much thought. But no matter how many times I looked—the child was definitely an elementary school student. And they were wearing clothes that looked like they’d jumped right out of an anime.

They had their face in the can, so I couldn’t make out their expression. From the youthful, taut skin below their skirt, though, they didn’t appear to be an adult who was simply short. And judging by the long pigtails, I assumed it was a girl.

“……”

Should I report this to the police? I wondered—and then I remembered.

Starting last week, I was a police officer. I’d been given identification and told to carry it at all times. Even now, it was shoved in my pants pocket. With it, even a middle-aged fogy like me could safely speak to a young girl. No danger of pepper spray or personal alarms. I could even bring her to the nearest police box.

“…All right.”

I remembered struggling to eat as well, during my years of compulsory education. White rice provided by distant relatives out of obligation only. A time when stir-fry with wieners and cabbage or instant ramen with no toppings were special treats. Eating snacks at a friend’s house was the highlight of my day.

Thanks in part to these experiences, my legs moved automatically.

“Do you have a moment, miss?” I addressed the girl fishing through the trash, readying my ID in one hand.

“Ah…!” When I spoke, her whole body gave a jolt of surprise. Her head quickly came up out of the bin, and her eyes locked onto mine.

To be honest, I’d always wanted to do something like this. Whip out my police ID and hide behind state power to act all high-and-mighty. I mean, it just had to feel good, right? But now that I was actually doing it, guilt rushed in instead. I wasn’t that impressive a person, and there wasn’t really anything to gain from it.

Honestly, it made me feel a little empty.

“……”

“Could I ask what you’re up to?”

As I’d expected, she was a girl who appeared to be of elementary school age. Her eyes were strikingly big and round, and her features were very cute. But her expression was far from childlike. This was because she had no emotion whatsoever on her face. What stared back at me was like a Noh mask.

Meanwhile, the rest of her—at a glance—screamed “magical girl.” The kind you saw a lot of in anime. Her otherworldly pink hair caught the eye, and I doubt you could have fit more frills on her skirt if you tried.

That said, the clothes were dirty, coming apart, or outright ripped in spots. She smelled pretty awful, and without even being that close to her, it felt like I’d just walked past a homeless person. Her hair was greasy with skin oil, too. You couldn’t get this way in a day or two. She seemed to be quite skilled and experienced at scavenging for leftovers.

“I’m a police officer. If it’s all right, we can bring you to a police box…”

“Leave me alone.”

No sooner had I asked the question than she’d turned back to face the garbage bin. She then resumed rummaging through its contents.

“……”

It was like watching a professional at work. She sorted through it silently and smoothly, seeming oddly determined.

I hesitated to say anything more to her. I didn’t want to cause a scene and give actual police officers a headache. Despite having a police ID, my position wasn’t exactly clear. Marching straight into a police box like I worked there would only cause trouble for the real officers on patrol. The section chief would also think less of me for it.

All of which gave me no other choice.

“You could eat this, if you want,” I said, taking an ice cream out of the plastic bag in my hand.

I’d just bought it at the shop in front of the station up the road, planning to have it for dessert. However, seeing a girl rummaging through the waste of a convenience store made my body move on its own. I’d bought two—one for me, one for Peeps—so I was offering her mine as a present. If she’d been an adult, I probably wouldn’t have done this.

“…You’re not going to lecture me?”

Her question was odd. Was this a common interaction for her?

“Did you want me to lecture you?”

“……”

But her confusion over my words only lasted a moment.

“You shouldn’t get involved with me, Officer.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, the girl’s body floated into the air.

Her feet left the ground, and she drifted upward without any support.

Naturally, I was shocked. I certainly hadn’t expected to see that.

“See you.”

And with a short good-bye, she somehow disappeared. As if splitting apart the scenery behind me, a jet-black crack had appeared in the air and swallowed her up. It looked just like when you saw black holes in science fiction movies.

“…Are you kidding me?”

I thought I’d run into an abandoned child wandering the streets—I would never have guessed she was actually a psychic.

After the homeless girl left, I went quietly back to my apartment.

There, as I shared the events of the last two days with Peeps, I got dinner ready. I lined up the ingredients from the supermarket and turned on the burner. I worked quickly, parboiling the vegetables and grilling the meat.

And then dinner was served—on our plates were Kobe beef chateaubriand steaks. I’d finally gone and bought it.

“So this is Kobe beef chateaubriand?”

“You’ve done so much for me that I wanted to thank you.”

If I hadn’t learned that lightning spell from Peeps, I probably would have died. It was with that thought in mind that I’d naturally reached for the expensive stuff. I’d even gone all the way to a department store in the city instead of the neighborhood supermarket to get my hands on it.

One hundred grams had been thirty thousand yen. For both of us, the expense came to sixty thousand. And I hadn’t bought it where they sold the fresh food, but in the gift corner on a separate floor. Thankfully, they’d had some in the storefront.

“How is it? I know Mr. Yamada at the pet shop was raving about it.”

“It is good. Oh my, this is good.”

“Glad to hear it.”

It was cute watching Peeps peck away at the chateaubriand, which I’d cut into slivers and set up on the round dining table. One after another, the pieces of meat piled on the plate disappeared into his mouth. He was like a one of the pigeons at the park eating scraps of sweet treats some kid dropped. He was so cute—although, I was a little anxious as I watched him.

Thanks to that, I could feel his sincere appreciation for my efforts. It wasn’t flattery—he seemed to think, from the bottom of his heart, that this was delicious.

My feelings were sincere, too. I was glad I’d bought it.

Next to the plates, I’d prepared salt, pepper, and steak sauce. Peeps would deftly use his beak to roll the meat in one and season it to his liking. What charming creatures Java sparrows were.

“I could eat this every day and never grow tired of it.”

“Well, it cost about as much as an entire month of food…” My hands had been shaking while I was preparing it. An awful sweat had broken out on my back—what if I’d burned it?

“…Is it truly that expensive?”

“Yep.”

“I see…”

Seeing him clearly deflate like that was also very charming.

That said, even though it was pricey meat, it wasn’t so expensive that I couldn’t buy it. Now that I’d successfully changed jobs, we could probably manage it once a month. If I only got enough for Peeps, that would halve the expense.

“We can’t have it every day, but I think in the future we could occasionally splurge on it.”

“Are you sure?”

“You do so much for me, after all.”

“…I thank you for this kindness.”

“You’re very welcome.”

As we ate the lavish meat together, I felt like we’d gotten a little closer.

After finishing dinner, it was time for my scheduled short stay in the otherworld. With products in both arms, I went down to see the vice manager.

During the last several days, I’d gotten used to going to the reception room at the Hermann Trading Company and exchanging the goods I’d brought for gold coins. The flow of the process came easily to me now. For wares I’d brought in the past, all I did was verify the price. For new items, I explained their purpose and directions for use.

The prize items this time were battery-powered motion-sensor security cameras and bug repellent spray.

The motion-sensor camera came with an LCD screen, so you could check static images taken without needing a separate device. It made it a little tougher to use, but it would do the job. Originally, it was meant to link to the cloud, so you could see the pictures on the internet.

It was intended for use in areas without power by mountaineering clubs and the like. It had a low-power mode that took eight batteries, letting it stay on standby mode for, at most, an entire year. It really gave me a sense of how far technology was progressing—these sorts of products got more advanced by the day.

As for the bug repellent, I’d purchased it because Peeps had said no magic like it existed here. Hunting no doubt involved a lot of walking around in bushes and thickets, so they were probably swarmed with bugs on a daily basis.

Still, they apparently had a similar herbal solution, so it came down to how much more effective the spray was. Since today was my first time bringing it, I figured I’d limit the inventory and gauge customer reaction.

I’d also considered portable water purifiers, but after remembering you could make drinkable water using magic, I didn’t bother. I didn’t know how big a portion of the population were magic users, but rich nobles almost certainly took one along in lieu of a canteen.

The vice manager’s response to both of the new items was positive. All in all, it came out to 2,300 gold coins—a fairly decent sale. We were both pleased with the transaction.

After business was done, it was time for me to practice magic as before. Once I’d checked in at our usual lodgings and dropped off my things, I could head straight out of town. My goals were to learn intermediate barrier magic and healing magic.

However, right after sealing the deal, the vice manager had something to discuss. Apparently, the viscount had called for me. If possible, I was to go to the castle with the vice manager immediately. He’d already prepared a carriage outside, so I couldn’t exactly refuse.

We went directly to the towering castle in the center of town. The carriage bumped as it went, the Hermann Trading Company’s crest emblazoned on the side.

We got through the gates on familiarity alone. When we informed those in the castle that we’d been summoned by the viscount, they happily escorted us to our destination. We’d been to the place a few times already, so they probably recognized us. We didn’t have to wait very long before being shown to the reception room.

“I thank you for coming, Sasaki.”

“I am most honored by your invitation.”

When we arrived, Viscount Müller was already in the room. At his urging, the vice manager and I settled down on a sofa side by side.

After the usual greetings, we explained our contributions to him. He seemed to once again take an interest in what we’d brought—motion-sensor cameras and bug repellent spray—and like the vice manager, he wanted to buy everything I had. In addition, in accordance with our previous promise, I delivered a set of ten transceivers plus batteries.

With that, my otherworld wallet got nine thousand gold coins heavier.

When our deals were over for the time being, the count finally looked me in the eye and said, “By the way, Sasaki, I have another matter to discuss.”

I couldn’t help but tense up.

“What is it, my lord?”

The first thing that came to mind was a three-letter word I’d heard from the vice manager during my last visit—war. Since then, around fifty or sixty days had passed in local time. It wouldn’t be strange if the situation had changed entirely.

“As a merchant, I am sure you have already heard, but about ten days ago, a neighboring country—the Ohgen Empire—attacked the Kingdom of Herz. Relations have been unstable between us for two months, but this incident constitutes an official opening of hostilities.”

I was right on the mark.

“I, too, have been ordered by the Crown to lead troops against the enemy.”

“……”

What was someone in my position supposed to say at a time like this? Definitely not “Good luck,” and I doubted pleasantly saying “I see,” was right, either. Naturally, my mouth stayed closed.

“The Ohgen Empire is powerful. Just comparing numbers, they have twice as many soldiers as we do. Given this town’s proximity to the border, it is possible enemy soldiers will make it here. If that happens, the damage will be considerable.”

“……”

The viscount’s expression was grave as he spoke. I felt the excitement from my deal with the vice manager receding. In that case, it would be better to stay away from this world and wait it out in Japan. Ah, and first I’d have to exchange the local currency with that of the Ohgen Empire. The currency of a defeated nation would definitely decrease in value.

“And so, Sasaki, I must ask if you would be willing to help me.”

“I deeply apologize, my lord, but I am only a craftsman—and no special merchant. I don’t have any particular martial talent, nor am I accustomed to instructing others. I am certain I would be of little help to you, my lord.”

“I feel guilty for asking this of you. However, the wares you have brought to my territory can support the war effort and will be extremely valuable. I would like to employ you as a wartime merchant.”

“My lord, I…”

“I know full well that you are a craftsman of another nation and that you are a merchant. I don’t mind you prioritizing your own profits above all else. In exchange, I humbly ask you to provide us with the goods we need to beat back the Ohgen Empire.”

“……”

Just when I thought all the psychic business had settled down, too. What a mess this conversation was turning into.

(The Neighbor’s POV)

Once again, I’m sitting outside the front door of my apartment, waiting.

For whom? For what?

For the older man who lives next door to come home.

“……”

How many years have I been spending my time after school like this?

It all started when my parents divorced. My mother took custody, and we moved here. That was a little after I started elementary school. Ever since then, I was disciplined harsher and more often, until things finally settled into the way they are now.

I’ve known the older man the next apartment over for several years. He first moved into this complex several months after my mother and I did. I still remember when he visited with sweets to greet us as a new neighbor.

I can recall exactly what my mother said: Gifts from a man living in a cheap apartment like this? You obviously can’t eat them. It’s too dangerous. And I vividly remember the way she looked as she threw the sweets in the garbage a second later.

I wasn’t eating enough at the time. Even after having been in the garbage, those sweets were like a feast. They were the first solid food I’d eaten in days, aside from school lunches, and they helped clear the fog in my mind somewhat.

Ever since then, whenever he saw me sitting in front of the door, he’d give me something to eat. Most of what he gave me was relatively high in calories, like bread or rice balls; he must have been worried about how thin I was. The next most frequent were sweets. I only learned recently that most of the sweets he’d given me had some kind of extra nutrition in them, like vitamins.

And it didn’t stop there. I remember him giving me all kinds of things: piping-hot meat buns on cold winter days and chilled sports drinks and ice cream on hot summer ones. He even gave me some school supplies at one point.

“……”

Child services has visited us a few times in the past. I don’t know for sure, but I think the man called and reported us. My mother would always play the loving parent in front of them, though, so they never did anything. All the visits ended with a verbal warning, and my relationship with my mother never changed.

I don’t know what goes through her head, but my mother has never changed. She doesn’t let me, her child, into her home when she’s away, and she doesn’t feed me, either. When I graduated from elementary school and started middle school, things stayed just the same.

My mother knows about the gifts from the man next door but never says anything about it.

I still don’t understand what she’s thinking.

“…He’s late again today,” I say to nobody in particular, looking up at the night sky.

It’s very clear out, and lots of stars are twinkling. It’s a scene I’ve looked up at many times before. I think this night sky will be what sticks with me as I age, the scenery of my youthful memories.

“Come to think of it, he’s said before that he works a lot of overtime.”

On a different note, I’ve been starting to think about something else recently.

About my worth as a woman.

In elementary school, I didn’t know anything about that stuff, and I was still impoverishedly thin back then anyway. All I knew was that I was starving, so I was wildly overjoyed at the food the man gave me. I never thought my body was worth any more than that food.

But that changed shortly after entering middle school.

I was blessed with more physical development than other girls my age. More and more boys started looking at me at school. I think I’m actually bigger than my homeroom teacher, too.

And while my mother did buy me a new uniform, she never got me any bras or anything for my periods. For the latter, I make do with the toilet paper in the school restrooms. But I can’t do anything about the former. That only put more eyes on me.

Maybe that’s why I started thinking about the natural progression of that attention. And wondering if the older man living next door was seeking that sort of thing as well.

I’d be lying if I said the idea wasn’t repulsive. Even the men my mother brings home lately have started ogling me. If I was given the same thing, I very much doubt I’d be able to accept it. I think I hate everyone other than myself.

But when I consider thanking the man next door for taking this much care of me, I feel like maybe it would be possible, at least. I think he’s older than my mom, but it doesn’t seem like he’s married. It wouldn’t really cause a problem if he was to get me pregnant.

I can repay his saving me from starvation by fulfilling his sexual needs. It’s the only way for someone like me—who owns nothing but the clothes on her back—to repay him anyway.

As long as he used a condom or took care of any abortions, I might be okay letting him have his way for the time being. It’s probably also a reflection of my trash heap of a heart, wanting that kind of reassurance in a visible form.

I learned in class that too many abortions can ruin your uterus. But I doubt I’ll ever be able to properly raise children in my future. Better to ruin it now before I ruin the life of some unborn child.

Ah, I’m so dirty it makes me sick.

How could I ever criticize my mother like this?

“……”

I’m alive right now because of the older man living in the apartment next door. I can’t survive without the food he gives me. It’ll probably keep going like this, too.

At least until I graduate middle school and become independent from my mother, it’ll go on, and on, and on.