Tanaka froze for a second, staring at the small face beneath the hood—the last face he ever expected to find holding a kunai to his throat.
Nora.
The timid, soft-spoken child from earlier… now revealed as the midnight intruder.
He let out a long, exhausted exhale.
"There has to be some amazing explanation for this," he said.
The girl averted her eyes.
"…"
"Oi," Tanaka pressed, leaning forward just slightly, "you're not seriously planning to stay silent after getting caught."
"Hmph!" she puffed, cheeks reddening beneath the freckles. "Go ahead and kill me. I'm not saying anything."
"As if I'd do that!" Tanaka snapped. "Garitch would kick me out before I hit the floor. Stop being difficult…"
He rubbed the back of his head, trying to gather his patience. The girl's stubborn pout made the situation somehow more ridiculous—and more dangerous.
"Alright, let's try this." He sighed. "Middle ground. You were going to interrogate me anyway, right? So I'll answer what I can… and you do the same."
She glanced away but didn't argue—meaning she accepted, begrudgingly.
Tanaka continued, voice steady."I'm going to release the spell. Don't go feral on me. And just so you know, I can put it back on you instantly."
A complete bluff. Every second the spell stayed active gnawed at his muscles, making his fingers tremble beneath the gloves.
Still, the girl stiffened as if he were a monster waiting to pounce.
He exhaled and released the spell.
"Good. First question." His eyes narrowed. "Why are you in my room in the middle of the night trying to kill me?"
"I wasn't trying to kill you!" she shot back, indignant. "I was just… monitoring you! But when I found the poison capsule, I wanted to interrogate you."
"So you were assigned to watch me from the start," Tanaka said, expression flattening. "Even before the capsule, huh?"
"That's— that's not true!" she stammered, flustered, mumbling into her scarf. It was the kind of denial that convinced no one.
Tanaka lifted a brow.
"Well, I found everything I needed to know."
"W-wait! I didn't ask anything yet!"
"Tch… fine. Go ahead."
"Don't click your tongue at me!" she snapped, then composed herself. "What was the thing you used on me earlier? Was it… a curse?"
"No," Tanaka replied. "Water magic. Now it's my turn."
"That's unfair!" she protested, stamping her foot. "Your answer is way too vague!"
Tanaka sighed, long and unamused.
"I still answered your question," he said. "Anyway—my turn."His gaze sharpened. "Why are you monitoring me?"
She pressed her lips into a thin line.
"…."
"I'm genuinely curious," Tanaka continued. "I don't have connections. I'm not plotting anything. So why tail someone like me?"
"You are suspicious," she shot back.
She straightened her posture, trying to look imposing despite being half his height.
"The other three kingdoms are in an uproar. The whole continent is unstable. And then you show up—some shady, masked guy coming into Kararagi during all this chaos, insisting on seeing Halibel-Sama."
Tanaka winced theatrically.
"Ouch. Hearing someone call me shady with a face like that hurts. But… I can't deny it."
She pointed accusingly."You've seen my face. So take off your mask."
"No," Tanaka said flatly. "Impossible. I'd rather die."
"That's not fair! I answered all your questions!"
"We agreed," Tanaka reminded calmly, "that some questions are off-limits. If I asked who sent you, you couldn't answer, right?"
She clicked her tongue.
"…Fine. Then—what was the poison pill for?"
He paused only for a moment, then answered honestly.
"You know I'm waiting for Halibel. It's because I want him to lift a curse."
"Curse…?" Her eyes widened slightly.
Halibel—the best curse specialist in Kararagi. Tanaka's safest bet. The one Subaru's memories had confirmed as capable. And the last hope for an affliction eating at Tanaka from the inside.
"I can't tell you the details," Tanaka said softly, "but until he comes back from that mission, I'm staying with Garitch and helping out. If even he can't remove it… that pill is for me."
A flicker of surprise crossed Nora's face, it wasn't an answer she expected, but his story made sense and there weren't any signs of him lying. She has been monitoring him even before she was hired and she only saw him either working on the bar or helping healing people in the church.
There instances where dying is much more merciful than having to live with certain curses.
Lowering her guard slightly, Nora muttered,"…Your personality is way different than I imagined."
Even through she has been watching him for some time now, she only thought of him as a suspicious person. And despite his unexpectedly deep voice, his tone was somewhat playful.
Yes, there were many mysteries shrouding him but her overall assessment of him was..
Not a bad person.
Tanaka raised a brow, not that she can see under the mask.
"You're one to talk. Shy little Nora—turns out you're a shinobi, you held a kunai to my throat, and you even pretended to trip in the bar earlier just to drag me into a fight. Talk about dishonest."
"…"
"Don't tell me that wasn't on purpose."
"Shut up!" she snapped, cheeks red. "This job might be a cover, but I take it seriously!"
Tanaka shrugged."As I told you, I'm only here to meet Halibel. If you're still suspicious, keep monitoring me or whatever. Your choice."
She moved toward the window, stepping onto the sill with small, silent feet. But before leaving, she paused.
"…This isn't important," she murmured without looking back, "but why are you pretending to be mute?"
"Ah, that?" Tanaka scratched his cheek. "To avoid conversations. People don't usually try talking too much to a mute person. It's convenient."
He shrugged again.
People are kind to disabled people by nature, they always try to interact with them so they feel included. But that doesn't hide the fact that when the conversation gets lengthy, it also becomes uncomfortable.
If someone can't hear, they'll gesture or sign a little, but they'll keep it short.
If someone can't speak, they chat once, twice… then give up. Easier for everyone.
Nora stared at him—really stared—her eyes narrowed as if she were trying to dissect his very soul. The silence stretched until the tension felt like a physical weight.
"I take it back… your personality is the absolute worst."
With that cold, decisive verdict, she stepped onto the windowsill. A faint breeze curled around her cloak, and before Tanaka could form a retort, she slipped out into the night. The curtains fluttered in her wake, whispering against the glass as the room fell silent again.
Tanaka exhaled slowly, the sound halfway between a sigh and a groan.
What a day…
His mind drifted—to the fight at the bar, to the sick boy, to that bastard Cepheus, and then to Nora pressing a kunai to his throat just minutes ago. A wave of exhaustion washed over him, tugging at his eyelids.
"Today was quite hectic…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I should head to bed."
He didn't bother changing. The moment he collapsed onto the sheets, sleep claimed him.
*********************************************************************************************************
A cramped but strangely cozy room that always smelled faintly of old paper and sun-warmed wood. Afternoon light slanted through the windows, scattering golden dust across the floor.
Kazuki Tanaka—sixteen years old, short black hair still tousled from P.E. class, sharp obsidian eyes that always seemed a bit too observant—adjusted the thin rectangular glasses perched on his nose. They were purely for reading, with straight brows, and an expression that somehow balanced aloofness and earnest focus.
Right Beside him sat Takehana Ito, beautiful, fair-skinned young girl with shoulder-length black hair that has a black bow in the middle of her square bangs, emerald eyes and she is about ten centimeters shorter than Tanaka.
A short, petite young girl with brown eyes and long brown hair that is styled in loose pigtails, with bangs covering her forehead. Ayasaki Yuki lounged on the couch, scrolling her phone with a lazy flick of the thumb
A Teenage boy of a slim build with chin-length black hair that covers the left side of his face; he typically wears a dull expression further amplified by his black eyes, Ishikawa Yu sat hunched over a PSP.
Tanaka closed his book with a soft thud.
"I did as I said—I joined the literature club. However…" His eyes swept over the room. "In the end, everyone is here to slack off."
Takehana didn't even look up. "What do you mean? I'm reading a book right now."
"That's manga," Tanaka replied flatly. "Manga doesn't count."
Yu groaned dramatically from the corner. "Come on! Don't get hung up on trivial details, Tanaka-Kun."
Ayasaki peeked over her phone. "I heard about you from Hana-chan, but… Kazuki-kun is totally different from the rumors."
Yu jabbed a finger at him without looking away from his PSP. "Right? When Ito-San said you were joining, I swore you were gonna rat us out to the faculty."
Tanaka pushed up his glasses, mumbling to himself, "I am too afraid to ask about those rumors… so I shall refrain."
Takehana finally closed her manga, stretching her arms above her head. "Well, you already know this school forces everyone to join at least one club. Between homework, events, and all the nonsense, it's exhausting. I asked you to join because we needed one more member. Without you, the literature club would've disbanded, and we'd be stuck joining clubs that would steal all of our free time."
Yuki added with a pout, "Our stupid president ditched us to join the student council, so we were desperate."
Takehana pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Also, it's unfair how you got away with skipping clubs for so long! What's up with that?"
"I had my own circumstances."
Takehana immediately leaned forward, eyes sparkling with curiosity."What's up with that?! Every time I ask, you dodge the question! Ne-ne, tell me—I'm really curious!"
She was persistent. Hopelessly persistent.
He found it difficult to turn down even when her requests were impossible like this. The kind of person who could ask for the moon and somehow make it feel unreasonable to say no.
Tanaka slumped back in his chair, muttering under his breath, "Annoying…"
---
----
-----
"Annoying…"
The word slipped out again—this time drifting into the waking world.
Tanaka blinked awake. His vision was still tunneled, obscured by the mask strapped over his face. His mind felt heavy, the remnants of the dream clinging to him like fog.
"Haa! Is that the first word you say when you see me?"
The voice snapped him fully awake. Tanaka sat up slightly, adjusting the mask. Standing by his bed was a red-haired child in a brown kimono, arms crossed and unimpressed.
Nora.
"Oh, now you're worried about talking? Relax, it's only me here."
Tanaka groaned. "What's with you coming to my room on your own?"
"Garitch-San
told me to wake you up," she replied with a shrug.
"…"
That damn old man…
Of course Garitch had sent her. Probably because of some ridiculous idea he got in his head. And judging by the dim light outside, there were still at least two hours before the usual morning preparations.
Tanaka let out a long, resigned breath. "Okay, okay. Get out for now, and I'll come dow—"
He froze mid-sentence.
Something felt… wrong.
Or rather, too right.
He glanced downward—specifically toward the lower half of his body—and saw something steadily rising under the blanket.
He fell completely silent.
Nora, noticing his hesitation, narrowed her eyes. "He told me to wake you up, so at the very least I'm going to take your cover."
"NO!"
She jumped at the sudden shout. "What is wrong with you?!"
"Ten minutes…"
"Hah?"
"Just… give me ten minutes and I'll come down."
Still confused but not interested enough to argue, Nora huffed and walked out the door.
Tanaka clenched the bed sheet and slowly unveiled the rising of the sword hero.
The moment it closed, Tanaka dragged the blanket aside and stared in utter disbelief at the heroic uprising in question.
"You've gotta be kidding me… Is this because of that dream?"
'No that was impossible, there wasn't nothing erotic about it.'
Ever since arriving in this world—hell, even back on Earth—he almost never had morning wood. And on the rare occasion he did, he could control his body well enough to make it disappear instantly.
Kazuki Tanaka simply did not get stiff unless he decided to.
Yet here it was.
___
____
_____
"Oh, James, you're finally awake!" Garitch called out warmly from behind the counter. "Did you sleep well?"
Tanaka's tired irritation was mercifully hidden beneath his mask. He flipped open his notebook and scribbled quickly.
"Don't send Nora to wake me up anymore."
Garitch blinked. "Why? Anyone would be happy to have a cute little sister wake them up, that's—"
Tanaka flipped the page and wrote only two words:
"I sleep naked."
A beat of silence.
"…Understood."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tanaka quietly polished glasses, movements slow and methodical. The cool morning light spilled through the windows, reflecting off the clean cups and illuminating the small tavern in a soft glow.
Across the room, Nora swept the floor with exaggerated annoyance, shooting him sideways glances the entire time. Clearly, she hadn't forgiven him for pretending to be mute.
Tanaka glared back in silence.
Zip it.
Satisfied, he continued wiping the next glass.
Garitch leaned his elbows on the counter. "Hey, James."
Tanaka looked up.
"You were in Pristella during the witch cult attack, right?"
He nodded and wrote: "Yes. What about it?"
"Nothing big," Garitch said, scratching the back of his head. "It's just—the knight from last night mentioned he was going to drop by again. He said he was looking for someone."
From the corner of his eye, Tanaka caught Nora giving him another judging squint.
He ignored her.
"Yeah, I heard about him. Stride Vollachia."
"No, no," Garitch waved his hands. "The knight from yesterday wasn't chasing the Sin Archbishop."
Tanaka paused mid-wipe, tilting his head.
Garitch rubbed his chin, thinking. "He said his higher-ups suspected that the person he's after might've slipped into the refugee groups heading for Banan. He told me the name, but it was a weird one… Let me think."
Against his expectation, it turned out that Tristan was after the Sin Archbishop of Pride, in other words, he wasn't after his head.
It would have been ironic given what happened in the capital but thankfully that wasn't the case
Tanaka kept polishing, though slower now.
Garitch snapped his fingers. "Ah! I remembered! The name was… Kazuki Tanaka."
The glass slipped from Tanaka's hands.
CRASH.
Shards scattered across the counter and floor.
Tanaka froze, staring at the fragments.
Maybe… he had assumed too soon.