Not a Chance 14: Chapter 14: Working Part-Time?
Not a Chance After returning to her classroom, Eriri rested her cheek on one hand and slowly chewed her gum while silently recalling what had happened on the rooftop.
Sora really was a strange person.
A girl suddenly rushed into the classroom from outside.
“Eriri-chan!
I found out!” Sitting up straight, Eriri looked at her with interest.
“Let’s hear it.” The girl immediately began reporting everything she had learned after running over to Class 1-E to investigate.
Sora.
A transfer student from an Eastern country.
Didn’t have many friends in class.
…
After listening, Eriri felt speechless.
What kind of intelligence report was that?
She hadn’t even found out what he liked.
She didn’t even know he could perform magic tricks.
Forget it.
The girls in her class weren’t exactly reliable anyway.
All they cared about was showing off and comparing themselves to each other.
Although she complained inwardly, Eriri still maintained her elegant young-lady smile and thanked the girl for her efforts.
The girl left happily.
Taking out her phone, Eriri stared at the newly added LINE contact and fell into thought once again.
Class 1-E…
If she remembered correctly, that class contained…
——— After Eriri left, Sora remained on the rooftop for a while longer.
He checked his wallet balance.
It had now become: — [0 Gold Coins, 0 Silver Coins, 54 Copper Coins] — Another 10 copper coins.
These were the ones he had just obtained from Eriri.
Closing the system panel, Sora confirmed something he had already mostly figured out: [Any heroine from an anime series could provide him with 10 copper coins through the slightest physical contact.
Once per day per person, refreshed daily.] “Miyuri, Megumi, Eriri, Kotonoha, Utaha…” Sora silently calculated.
These five heroines were currently the easiest people for him to reach.
If he could successfully “check in” with all of them every day, that would be a stable income of 50 copper coins per day.
The problem was how to make physical contact with them naturally, even if only briefly.
Megumi was easy enough.
As classmates, he could simply bring her chewing gum or small gifts every day.
Since her presence was so weak, she probably wouldn’t dislike having someone actively talk to her.
Miyuri wasn’t difficult either.
He could simply visit her apartment from time to time.
However, Eriri and Utaha were a different matter.
He couldn’t exactly run into their classrooms every day and ask to shake hands.
That would make him look like a complete creep.
As for Kotonoha…
After some thought, Sora considered not buying a bicycle at all.
He could simply keep taking the train every day, protect her during the ride, and earn his money there.
It wasn’t impossible.
The only issue was that such behavior could easily give her the wrong idea.
Kotonoha was a good girl, but her future yandere tendencies were still pretty frightening.
Better wait and see.
Standing on the rooftop, Sora enjoyed the breeze for a while before returning to class.
——— After school that afternoon, Sora headed back to the marketplace.
He went directly to the fish vendor’s stall.
“Hey, Uncle!
I’m back to buy fish!” “Oh, it’s you again, kid.
Pick whatever you want.” “I’d like to clean and kill it myself again today.” “Sure.” Sora selected a sea bream weighing roughly three kilograms and handled the cleaning himself.
Two more copper coins dropped.
“Uncle, I’m free anyway.
How about I help you process fish?” “Hmm…
sure.” The vendor was a pretty easygoing man.
The evening rush had already begun, and plenty of customers were coming by.
He was having trouble keeping up on his own.
Since Sora’s knife skills were solid, he could genuinely help.
A win-win situation.
He stayed there for more than an hour and processed over a dozen fish.
During that time, he discovered something else.
The larger the fish, the more copper coins it dropped.
The largest fish he processed weighed over nine kilograms and rewarded him with nine copper coins.
The smallest one weighed just over a kilogram and only dropped a single coin.
After washing his hands, Sora bid farewell to the vendor and left.
Along the way, he reviewed the day’s earnings.
A total of 57 copper coins.
Added to the previous 54, that should have made 111 copper coins.
However, his wallet balance now displayed: — [0 Gold Coins, 1 Silver Coin, 11 Copper Coins] — One hundred copper coins had automatically been converted into a silver coin.
With a thought, Sora withdrew the silver coin.
A shining silver coin appeared in his hand.
Its size, shape, and pattern were identical to the copper coin.
The only difference was the material.
Silver instead of copper.
Taking out his phone, Sora tried photographing it.
Just like the copper coin, the silver coin could not be captured by the camera.
This confirmed that silver coins shared the same properties.
Only he could see, touch, and hear them.
After satisfying his curiosity, he returned the coin to his wallet.
Next, he visited a supermarket.
He bought a large supply of bread, milk, instant noodles, chewing gum, and other quick meals.
After some thought, he also purchased several decks of playing cards.
At the moment, his publicly visible abilities consisted of two skills: [Death Declaration] [Double Jump] But in reality, he possessed a third system ability: [Spatial Storage] Using the inventory, he could perform all sorts of flawless disappearing tricks.
Although the Identity Card had provided him with a bank account containing 500,000 yen, that wasn’t a particularly large amount.
Sora had already started thinking about what would happen once the money ran out.
Monthly rent.
Food.
Clothes.
Transportation.
Three years of high school tuition.
And so on.
He couldn’t simply live off savings forever.
He needed a way to make money.
The most common solution would be part-time work.
Convenience stores.
Bookstores.
Places like that.
But Sora had no interest in those jobs.
He’d rather work at a fish market or a slaughterhouse, earning copper coins while he worked.
If he was going to make money, he’d rather pursue social media.
For example, becoming a street magician who streamed online.
As long as he could grow an audience, money would stop being a concern.
Once he became famous and gained public recognition, interacting with heroines would also become much easier.
After all, close-up magic relied heavily on audience interaction.
Inviting spectators to inspect props.
Holding their hands.
Touching their wrists.
All of that could be explained as part of the performance.
“Though I don’t own a computer, and I don’t have proper recording equipment…” Sora muttered.
“Buying all of that is going to cost money.” Still, it was necessary.
An investment.
Fortunately, the Identity Card had given him 500,000 yen as starting capital.
Otherwise, he would already be worrying about where to get the money.
In that case, he might really have had to blackmail Eriri with her secret identity and ask for some funding.
After all, she truly was a rich young lady.