Yuu-4

You can imagine what came next.

It happened as the gears of self-interest turned in my mind, causing my tears to leak to the ground like a broken dam.

The rooftop door suddenly opened.

I had not scheduled any further visits for today. My finance trading hours were supposed to be over. I wondered if Maria-san had possibly returned with a teacher in tow. That was supposed to be an illegal move.

In the case of a dispute, bilateral talks are an absolute necessity. Regardless of how threatened one’s position is, arbitrarily bringing in a great power is a violation of the rules. This is the so-called Gian’s South China Sea principle (1).

While I am always prepared to fight using forbidden moves and underhanded tactics, there are plenty of schoolteachers who are immune to words, which is troubling indeed.

My heart started palpitating madly. I truly was unnerved. My fingers shook, and I could not even wipe away my tears.

Slowly, I turned around, and standing there was—

“H-Hey…”

—A boy with an uncomfortable look on his face.

A silence hung in the air between us.

I had never seen this person before. Indeed, I had not seen anyone like him before.

Somehow, it did not seem as if he had come to borrow money. This place might be my business office, but the types of people who frequent here are always more or less the same.

Type A: The reckless. Type B: The overly optimistic. Type C: The nihilistic.

This person completely overturned the template.

As for his physical appearance, he was, well, let’s not go there. I decided to turn a blind eye to that for now.

More than that, more than anything, he seemed diligent and simple.

If apples and oranges were to b.u.mp into each other within a cargo box, he would most certainly watch over them kindly. That was the kind of person he seemed like. There is not a single bad soul among those who would treat fruits and vegetables like humans.

Among my many virtues, having a good eye for people is my greatest trait of all. I can instantly tell the difference between people who are tiresomely persistent and those who are not. For a beautiful, perfect girl like me, the skill comes quite naturally.

That was what my unique Yuu senses were saying. I had no doubt that this person’s heart was overflowing with pa.s.sionate good will.

I mean, just look at him.

He was the kind of person who, upon seeing a girl crying on the rooftop, would soften his voice and say—oh my.

“…”

Instinctively, I was holding onto his sleeve.

For a moment, I thought he would simply flee, but of course an illusion is nothing more than an illusion. There is no reason for anyone in this world to regard a pretty girl in woe as nothing more than a nuisance.

“Um…”

His fingers clasped my fingertips as if attempting to guide them to a place I could more easily hold onto, proving my suspicions. Thanks to that, I was able to cling to his uniform even more tightly.

“Um… you can let go.”

His voice was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with affection.

It was just like my elementary schoolteacher’s voice. My kindhearted teacher who gave me purpose in life.

“Er, um… Y-You see…”

Thinking fondly of the past, the tears flowed out of me, unbidden. If I had been encouraged to take up my finance business back then, I would have been able to afford the best mansion in Hollywood by now, complete with a pool, a theatre and a training gym. Time is money. I thought carefully about all the things that had been wasted.

“My friend hasn’t answered my calls in ages… I don’t know what to do…” Moved by his kindness, I decided to confide my circ.u.mstances to him.

“Um, that’s not…”

Cool as a cuc.u.mber, he wordlessly avoided my eyes.

I sniffed, for my nose was dripping. I understood now. What was precious to me was time. Time to make certain what had happened to my stolen money.

“It’s been three days and she hasn’t answered my calls…”

“Maybe she has a cold, or the flu, or maybe family issues…”

“If that were the case, she still would have answered my calls… She has always done that until now…”

I have experienced numerous cases of late repayments before. At such times, taking actions such as collection calls, face-to-face negotiations, anonymous letters and raw eggs would produce a clear reaction.

“So why now…?”

For her to suddenly feign ignorance now was a betrayal of our trust. People like that are inferior to mangy curs. Their incompetence is a regression to mitochondria.

People who do not return borrowed money do not deserve human rights.

“I see. I see how it is. Yep. That sure would weigh on your mind… Well, there’s something.”

“What’s something?”

“Give it for one more day, and if she still hasn’t called you, come talk to me again.”

The words he spoke to me as I shook in righteous anger were beyond my wildest expectations. “Wow… I-Is that okay?”

“Yeah. See you later.”

Even though his appearance was, well, let’s not go there, he smiled brightly and took his leave.

Just as I expected, the All-Seeing Eye of Judgement of the one beautiful girl to rule them all was flawless. Many would utter evasive words in this situation, but this person was different.

“Come talk to me again.”

He even said that to me.

The words come talk to me tend to be used quite casually, but in truth they represent an extremely weighty concept. Selfishly stating one’s own shortcomings and dragging another person into one’s own story is a devilish action. Even though problems that cannot be solved by oneself should not be solvable by others either, how can a respectably sensitive person confide in others so casually? Someone who would cheerfully confide in a person they only met yesterday is hardly a decent person.

He had still encouraged me to talk to him, even while holding firm to those convictions. I’ll bear everything for you. Oh my, how dashing.

I made up my mind. I would make this person my underling… no, I would make use of his manpower—I mean, accept his a.s.sistance—and I would look for that girl who had given me the slip.

Far more frightening than randomly occurring urban legends are human beings themselves. In this world, there is no such thing as hopes or dreams. In this city’s concrete jungle, there cannot exist a crossroad to escape from one’s pursuers.

As far as we were concerned, our random crossroad had only just begun.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES

(1) This is a very politically loaded joke. China and its neighbours have been fighting over the ownership of a number of regions in the South China Sea for some years now. j.a.pan has accused China of being a juvenile bully, just like Gian, an iconic character from the anime series Doraemon. So far, the United States has not taken a side in the various disputes.