“No, it’s not like that.”
“Yeah, yeah. Trying to look cool, huh? We got teleported to downtown Kokura. Then a drunk succubus invited us to her house and told us a bunch of things. Most of it matched what Elvis over there was saying. And this morning, she dragged us to the racetrack, and now she’s completely absorbed in it.”
Why the racetrack of all places?
“What about Linda?”
“She went to check out the paddock.”
The paddock? The place where the horses walk around in circles before the race?
“So, everything’s fine on your end, right? Nobody’s figured out that you’re human?”
“I’m Succubus B now.”
“And I’m C. Big Sis has apparently been introducing us that way.”
So succubi are humanoid too…
“What are B and C going to do from now on?”
Ayaka-san, that’s a little harsh.
“What should we do, huh? For now, how about we meet up?”
“Yeah. Let’s regroup as Team Dropout.”
That should come first.
“Then stay where you are. We’ll come to you.”
“Ehh, I want to visit the hot springs… I’ve never been to Beppu.”
Kitaura-san objected.
“We decided to head for Tokyo.”
Kokura was north of Beppu, so it was on the way anyway.
“Ah, right. I want to see my parents too.”
“Well, that makes sense. I guess that’s where we’re headed too. We’ll wait here.”
“Okay. Since the phones seem to work, let’s stay in touch. I only charged mine a little while ago, so the battery situation is kind of iffy.”
It hadn’t even been thirty minutes.
“Got it. Oh, give me Takanashi-kun’s number too.”
At Takamiya-san’s request, I switched my phone on.
However, it displayed: No Service.
“Ah… looks like the contract’s been canceled.”
“Ouch.”
“Same as me. Well, my family was poor, so…”
Kitaura-san too, huh?
“Then we’ll keep in touch through my phone and Mayumi’s. Mayumi, make sure you can answer whenever we call.”
“Roger.”
“What about Minato and Riku?”
Those guys, huh.
“I know their contact information. I’ll call them using Ayaka’s phone.”
“Then we’ll leave that to you.”
“Hehe, Yuu, enjoying a private hot spring getaway with Ayaka—”
Kitaura-san started joking around, but Ayaka hung up before she could finish.
“Glad to hear those two are safe.”
Elvis nodded.
“Yeah. I’m relieved.”
“Me too. It’s reassuring to see they’re both the same as ever.”
Seriously.
“Ayaka, what about your family?”
“I’ll try calling them.”
Ayaka tapped through her phone and held it to her ear.
Since it was her family, she apparently wasn’t going to use speaker mode.
“How’s it?”
“No good. It says the number isn’t currently in service.”
“I see…”
She kept trying different numbers afterward, but none of them worked.
“Maybe they switched carriers during those ten years and changed their numbers too?”
Ten years…
It was hard to say.
“Not sure. Ayaka, could you lend me your phone for a moment? I want to try calling my family too.”
“Sure.”
She handed me her phone, and I dialed my parents’ number.
“The number you have dialed isn’t currently in service. Please check the number and try again.”
No good…
“Mine doesn’t work either.”
“I see…”
Why?
My parents weren’t very good with technology, and they weren’t the type to change phones often.
Of course, there could have been many reasons—broken devices and so on.
Or maybe…
No. Better not think about that.
“Ayaka, try calling Minato and Riku.”
I showed her their numbers.
“Okay.”
She called Minato first.
But almost immediately, the automated message played:
“The number you have dialed isn’t currently in service. Please check the number and try again.”
“No luck here either.”
“What about Matsunaga-kun?”
I showed her Riku’s number next.
She called, but the same message came back right away.
“Looks like his contract was canceled too.”
Well, ten years had passed.
Honestly, the unusual part was that Ayaka’s and Takamiya-san’s parents had kept paying for their children’s phone plans for so long.
Still, I wished they had at least kept the same numbers.
Or perhaps…
No, I definitely couldn’t say that aloud.
“At this rate, meeting up with Omura-kun and Matsunaga-kun is going to be difficult.”
Hmm…
“We’ll have to look for them on social media. Ayaka, can you put up a post?”
“I’ll try.”
Ayaka started working on her phone.
“I’ll help too. Tell me their characteristics.”
Elvis really was a good guy.
“One is Minato. He’s about 175 centimeters tall and skinny, wears leather armor, and carries a spear.”
Just your average introvert.
“And the other one?”
“The other is Riku. He’s about 160 centimeters tall, wears a bluish robe, and carries a staff.”
Another ordinary introvert.
Just like me.
“Those weapons should make them stand out. I’ll see what I can find.”
Elvis began operating his smartphone as well.
“Yuu-kun, what about the other classmates? I know the contact information of a few girls.”
The other classmates…
“Let’s not try reaching out to them right now. Honestly, I only trust Team Dropout.”
That was how much people had changed after being thrown into another world.
And yet, the members of Team Dropout had stayed together for five years.
“Yeah… I’ll let Mayumi know too.”
“Please do.”
Once Ayaka and Elvis finished with their phones, we started eating the boxed lunches we had bought.
“It’s delicious.”
“Yeah, it is… More importantly, this is the first time I’ve had rice in ages.”
The other world had been all about bread.
Not that I disliked bread—it had been good—but tasting rice again after ten years was genuinely moving.
“So, what are you guys planning to do now?”
As we ate, Elvis asked.
“We’re heading north. To Kokura.”
I was worried about Minato and Riku, but meeting up with Takamiya-san and Kitaura-san came first.
“I see… There are some things I need to tell you regarding that. What do you say? Want to go to a hot spring?”
Huh?
“What do you mean, a hot spring?”
“The girls over there are safe for now, right? I’m suggesting you take today to relax in a hot spring. An acquaintance of mine runs an inn.”
Oh…
“What do you think?”
I looked at Ayaka.
“Well, we didn’t get to bathe yesterday, so I definitely want to. I’m not as obsessed as Hina, but I’ve never been to Beppu either, so I’m curious. Besides, we still need to figure out how we’re getting to Kokura.”
How… Well, by car…
Ah, Elvis’s car.
Come to think of it, neither of us could drive.
In a world like this, a license probably didn’t matter much, but we had only been second-year high school students. Neither of us even knew how to drive.
“Hmm…”
“We can talk through all that there. I still haven’t done enough to repay the mana you gave me.”
Maybe it would be better to gather more information and organize our thoughts first.
“All right. Sorry to trouble you, but we’re counting on you. I could use a bath too.”
“Got it. Then let’s head out.”
Elvis fastened his seat belt, started the engine, and set off.
We don’t use ads!
If you enjoyed our translation, please consider buying us a cup…
Thanks!!!
Become a Patron!
We don’t use ads!
If you enjoyed our translation, please consider buying us a cup…
Thanks!!!
Become a Patron!