Chapter 21: The Disastrous Team I finally broke through the long, long convenience store perk.
Actually, I only worked there for a little over a month, so I can't really call it long. A month-long part-time job is a short-term gig, not a long-term one. It just felt longer because my days are packed with such a dense and grueling schedule.
Still, I didn't expect the perk to be handed over in this manner.
"Yeon-woo... what are we going to do?"
"Don't say 'we.' I'm just a bystander here."
"That's so cold..."
As I drew a line, our weak-willed store owner sank into despair. Well, looking at the wall of boxes piled up in front of him, it was impossible not to feel despondent.
"Just how many did you order?"
"There's an exam coming up at Yggdrasil soon... This is usually the peak season, so I ordered a bit more than usual."
"So instead of ordering by the unit, you ordered by the box?"
"I didn't know they were boxes..."
It was a common ordering mistake.
By the way, I thought the law restricted the bulk purchase of magical products, but I guess it doesn't apply to retail orders. How is the law this full of holes?
"You can just return them."
"This counts toward my performance record. If I return them recklessly, it'll affect my qualification review next year..."
"Isn't that better than taking a loss?"
"If I just stack them up and sell them..."
"How many are in a box?"
"Two hundred..."
"Congratulations. You can spend the rest of your life selling them."
He had ordered more than usual for the peak season, but it ended up being 200 times the intended amount. So this was why the inventory piled up, and the owner ended up illegally selling them to Akito in bulk.
"What about your bank balance? I mean, did you have enough money? You ordered 200 times the amount."
"Yeah... you know. My father is rich."
That's right. This idiot store owner was just a playboy running a convenience store because he was born to the right parents. I heard he had a few other places like a cafe and a restaurant, and if he ran them like this, I could imagine how they were doing.
"How are you going to store them?"
"Well... I have warehouses for my other shops, so I'll have to split them up. By any chance, could you work overtime today..."
"I'm planning to quit starting today."
"Aaaah! Please! Just do today! And please buy some of these! I'll sell them to you without any limits, Yeon-woo! You need a lot of them for school! If my father finds out, I'm dead!"
The owner clung to my pant legs, and so, I traded some overtime for the perk and quit the convenience store.
I wonder what part-time job perk I should aim for next.
The massage parlor has a lot of female characters and raises the sex skill, which is lucrative, but I really don't want to rub down men's bodies. Still, the massage parlor perk is 'God Hand,' a perk that drives women wild with just your hands, so I can't give it up.
Let's go for an interview tomorrow—no, today.
Arriving home while breathing in the dawn air, I practiced my mana in my cramped room, which was filled with items. Frey, who was busy with commissions, couldn't watch over me every day, so I had to train alone about four days a week.
Though, rather than training, it was more like desperately grinding through the assignments Frey gave me.
I need to find a new house soon, but these unfriendly real estate agents keep kicking me out, making it hard to find a place. I couldn't store expensive items in a shabby house like this, so I left them all with a professional storage company.
Even so, the reason my house was cramped was because of the furniture.
Our fellow gentlemen love games, so you all know, right? Base? Stronghold? I don't know what system you call it, but it's when furniture has stats attached to it. And if those stats stack, you lose your mind and plaster the place with the same furniture.
This is the efficiency-focused K-interior.
I was no different; there was no space left except for the exact spot where I slept. I really need to move soon.
Thanks to the pillow that triples sleep efficiency, I woke up after only two hours of sleep and dragged my stiff body toward Akito's house. Akito doesn't know, but this is one of my daily routines.
He's not coming today either. Hurry up and show up.
Should I secretly install a camera facing the front door? No, that would be bad if I got caught. If he doesn't show up for too long, I'll think about it then; for now, let's just keep putting in the legwork.
Squeezing in time I didn't even have, I observed Akito's front door before heading to Yggdrasil.
Yukina was enjoying her normalcy, still chatting with her two close friends. Our eyes met briefly as I entered the classroom, but that was it; she turned her gaze back to talk to her friends.
Ah~ that concept?
Being cool in front of people and shy when we're alone is a great concept that shakes a man's heart. As expected of a heroine, she knows exactly what's hot.
Just as I was about to pass by, matching Yukina's reaction, Mary suddenly grabbed my wrists with both hands.
"You playboy."
"Huh?"
"I was going to be the one to take Yukina's first swimsuit virginity this year, but you're so mean."
Whether she had told her friends about going to the pool, Yukina looked flustered at Mary's words and looked away from me.
"Compensate me quickly!"
"Compensate? What are you talking about?"
"Mmm~ we're going to the beach soon, so come with us."
Welcome.
A harem beach trip with three beautiful women—I'd take that kind of compensation any day. Enjoying Yukina's flustered state, Jade also looked at me with half-closed eyes.
This is an invitation, right? Is a threesome on the horizon?
Just then, I felt an unpleasant energy and turned around to see Rio and Masayoshi with eyes sparkling.
'Accept it now. What are you doing? Tell her let's go together. Accept it right now.'
Why are those bastards delusional? Do they think I'll naturally invite them too? Even if the 3:3 ratio matches, ugly guys are banned from the invitation list.
"Hmm—well, sure. Let's go together."
Are you crazy? Why are you throwing ugly guys into my harem? Mary looked at us as our eyes met, thought for a moment, and then suggested we all go together.
I watched the two losers throwing air uppercuts in celebration and then said to Mary.
"No, I don't know those perverts."
"Ahaha—Yeon-woo, you're really funny. Yeah~ the perverts can come too. Is that okay?"
No, I'm serious, I really don't know them. And even if they go, they won't say a single word and will just keep their heads down.
Mary, having misunderstood something, laughed as if she understood my heart.
"It's a promise. When the season comes, we're going to enjoy ourselves... to the fullest."
There was so much seductiveness packed into that 'fullest' that I swallowed hard. Jade chuckled and patted Mary's back, while Yukina glared at me coldly.
I can at least swallow my spit, can't I? It's a natural physiological reaction.
When I returned to my seat, Rio and Masayoshi welcomed me and praised me as a hero.
"Before you get too excited, prepare for the exam."
Whatever it was, these were things that would happen after the exam. There was no way the exams at Yggdrasil, where only the elite gathered, would be easy. Those who cared about their grades were already studying like crazy and refining their magic for the practicals.
"Then, if we form a study group to prepare for the exam..."
Look at them. Just because the beach was mentioned once, they're trying to enjoy their youth to the max. Well, if we're together, you guys will keep your mouths shut, so studying might actually go well.
I didn't know how good they were, but I'd only been learning magic for three months, so I really had to study my ass off. Plus, I had to relearn everything like history and society, so I was just memorizing the textbooks word for word.
It was a relief I still remembered how to study; otherwise, I would have given up long ago.
"You're surprisingly hardworking."
"A handsome guy like me looks cool when he's working hard."
"Could you please stop attaching 'handsome guy' to everything? It makes me lose the desire to praise you."
Trading jokes with the Comedy Duo and studying even during breaks, time passed quickly. I went to the restroom for a moment and was heading back to the classroom when Akito and his followers approached me.
"Yeon-woo, do you have a moment?"
I don't mind, but it looks like your followers do. Chika and the Samurai behind Akito had cold gazes, and even his younger sister, Shiori, turned her head away, not even looking at me as if she found me unpleasant.
"I don't mind—why? Is something up?"
"Ah, my friends and I are planning to start a club called the Magic Research Club, and I thought it would be great if you joined us."
So you're finally starting the club.
Aha—so that's why the followers have such dissatisfied faces. And what 'Magic Research Club'? It's a sex club.
In the game, the protagonist uses the clubroom as a base to research magic, create skills or items, and increase stats. Being an eroge protagonist, Akito brings in this girl and that girl to enjoy himself to his heart's content and gain sex EXP.
"Sorry, but I don't have time for a club."
"Why? Yggdrasil provides a lot of support to students. It'll be good for improving your skills."
Yggdrasil provides unstinting support for clubs aimed at improving students' abilities. Most clubs are related to training to develop one's skills, and students improve their abilities autonomously through these activities.
Everything he said was technically right, but if I join the club, while I'm researching magic outside, you'll be having tons of sex with the heroines in the inner room. Just thinking about that situation makes me pissed.
The image of an inner sex room door opening and a heroine coming out, drenched in sweat with a flushed face, while I'm out there grinding magic research...
Over my dead body will I ever be there like some loser.
"I have to work a part-time job."
"Eh? A part-time job?"
"I got fired from the convenience store. I have to find a new one."
"A convenience store...?"
I wasn't fired, I quit, but whatever. It must be strange to them that a student who got into Yggdrasil is working at a convenience store. Akito looked momentarily flustered, even though it was something he would have had to do in the game.
"A part-time job? Why? I guess you're running low on money to spend on whores?"
"Chika! That's rude."
"No... it's not that..."
"I'm sorry, I'll apologize on her behalf. Chika didn't mean any harm."
It looks like she meant plenty of harm to me. Regardless of Chika, Akito bowed his head and apologized. Should I say he's a typical, polite, and well-mannered old-school protagonist?
I was suspicious because this was my second life, but he didn't seem like me at all. If I had possessed Akito's body, I would have already slept with all the followers and used all my game knowledge to build up specs to solo the final boss by now.
Akito showed no signs of the kind of behavior a player who knows game secrets would exhibit.
"It's fine. My parents aren't rich, so I can't just suck the life out of them. Must be nice, being born lucky into a wealthy family."
"..."
What? If you're going to pick a fight with someone, you should be prepared to get hit back. And hey, kid, I have more money than your grandfather.
Chika glared at me with terrifying eyes, but I ignored her.
"That's a shame. I thought if we were together, we could help each other out a lot. I guess it can't be helped. Ah! It's okay even if you're just a ghost member, so could you at least lend us your name? Come visit us later."
Just what part of me does he see that makes him feel so much goodwill? I tried my best not to get involved, but seeing those sparkling eyes full of favor, it feels like he'll come looking for me on his own.
It's more bothersome that I can't see any ill will. It makes me feel like the villain.
...Well, I'm not a good guy anyway, so who cares. I just won't go.
After lending my name and returning to the classroom, Derek, who had become the temporary homeroom teacher, informed us about the midterm practical exam. At the mention of a survival-style exam in 4-person teams on a deserted island, Masayoshi and Rio's eyes lit up.
"Please, a team with a girl, a girl, a girl, a girl—"
"Harem, harem, harem, harem, haremharemharem—"
At least Rio is more realistic, only wishing for one girl. Whether it was their prayers or a curse toward the girls, their desperation was palpable as the drawing began, but unfortunately, you two are a package deal.
What kind of good fortune would gag extras ever enjoy? Harem, my ass. You're just going to suffer and come back, so don't get your hopes up.
...
And I, who was originally a fellow gag extra, am in the same group... Fuck.
Akito gets into a harem group with all women and enjoys a happy deserted island life, while I have to be with these guys. And above all...
Rio and Masayoshi, having confirmed the three of us were in the same group, were dejected, and behind them, Chika drew a number. As soon as she checked the number, she looked as despairing as if her grandfather had died, and then she glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.
Yeah. That's right.
That Chika bitch. The Gag Brothers. And me.
The Disastrous Team has been formed.
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