After I got my hands on the fire magic tool, I walked around the castle grabbing everything I needed: a full change of clothes, a knife that looked like it could cut real good, a shoulder bag, gold coins, silver coins, and copper coins.
This castle sits on top of a little raised plateau, and when I looked down from the balcony, I could see the town spreading below. Building a stable life comes first, but someday I'll go sightseeing.
Right about now, my classmates are probably feeling anxious about whether they can really go home. But me? I plan to get back to Japan on my own, because the Item Box is basically a subspace spell.
I tested it out somewhere with no people around, and stuff I put in the Item Box in one place could be freely pulled out in a totally different place. In other words, the Item Box is a container that can move anywhere, freely.
Sadly, I can't go home right now. But if it can move anywhere, then if I just level up, I should be able to get back to Japan too.
So that means I don't need to join any evil dragon subjugation. I can just leech off the castle's wealth while I grind levels; that's the plan.
Well, once I can go home, I'll bring back whichever classmates I actually like. Of course, the ones who piss me off are getting left behind for sure.
I was walking around the castle while still inside the Item Box, and at some point my capacity had grown. Going by feel, it's grown to about fifty percent more than before. But even so, it's still less than the size of two cleaning supply closets.
I've been keeping the Item Box active this whole time, and other than feeling physically tired from all the walking, I don't feel any magical drain. Maybe the Item Box spell is surprisingly good on magical fuel efficiency.
Magical fuel efficiency might be fine, but my physical fuel tank is almost empty. When I went back to the kitchen, they were getting a meal ready. They were cooking a huge amount, probably to feed everyone in the castle. From the finished dishes, I picked out stuff that was fully cooked through, grabbed a portion on a plate that looked clean, and swiped it.
The seasoning seems to be basically just salt and herbs. The bread is kind of like naan3, with a faint sweetness, and it's pretty tasty.
After I grabbed a quick bite, I went to check on my classmates, and for some reason there were fewer of them. My class has thirty people, and I'm pretty sure one was absent, so counting me being gone too, there should be twenty-eight. Right now there are twenty-one people in the cafeteria, so about seven are missing.
Since Otadebu1 Saizo is here, the ones still hanging around are probably the ones helping with the evil dragon subjugation. The ones who are gone are probably the people who got magic that doesn't connect directly to combat, like cleaning, cooking, or crafting.
Splitting up right from day one is a little worrying. But going by anime and manga patterns, the people who don't join the subjugation get told to leave, or to go earn for themselves. Maybe they got kicked out of the castle, or maybe they're registering at something like a guild.
The group still here looks like they're about to eat, and when I peeked at the menu, it was the stuff that was being cooked in the kitchen earlier. It's buffet style, where you serve yourself whatever you want to eat, carry it back to your table, and eat.
The tables were split into two groups. One side was the normie group led by the soccer club pretty boy, plus a bunch of extras. The other side was the yankee2 group and Saizo.
Saizo wasn't exactly a bullying target, but the yankees2 used to make fun of him. If he got fire magic that strong, I figured he'd actually join the normie group with all the girls, but he must have some kind of plan. He's deep in conversation with Tokuda from the yankee2 group, so let me get a little closer and listen in.
"So like, if you just picture it in your head, you can do whatever the hell you want, right?" Tokuda asked, leaning in curiously.
"Magic seems to have attributes, innit, so someone with fire attribute probably can't make water," Saizo explained calmly. "But when it comes to fire stuff, you should be able to do all kinds of things... Honestly, it's better not to set limits like 'this is impossible', you know?"
"Ahh, so if you just decide 'I can't do it' on your own, then you really can't, huh?" Tokuda scratched his chin.
"Yeah yeah, proper like that," Saizo nodded.
The guy talking with Saizo, Tokuda Hideki, is the center of the yankee2 group. Apparently he used to do full-contact martial arts. I've never actually seen him punch or kick anybody, but he's almost 180 centimeters tall with muscles trained to the max. Compared to Tokuda, the guys around him just look like plain wannabes. And even Tokuda is listening seriously to what Saizo's saying, probably because Saizo showed off that ridiculous attack power.
Maybe Saizo sensed that from Tokuda, because he dropped his voice a little and started talking. "So then... not setting limits means it's better not to think about common sense, or Japanese laws, or guilt... all that annoying stuff, innit."
"This guy... he a straight-up villain, man," Tokuda chuckled, grinning as he called Saizo a villain.
"I mean, it's another world, it's magic, we got our hands on mad power like this," Saizo replied smoothly. "Ain't it fine to go wild? I'm saying you can't be trapped by common sense, you get me?"
"I get it... So that's why you joined up with us instead of messin' with them over there," Tokuda grunted, nodding in realization.
"Here, if you don't have power, no one takes you seriously, man," Saizo stated softly. "But if you've got power, even a guy like me can become someone people respect."
"Aight then. We ain't got no way home anyway, so let's just go wild and have some fun," Tokuda laughed, slapping the table. "You... Katsuragi, was it? Lend me your brains."
"Just call me Saizo," he answered. "In exchange, lend me your strength for fighting off the people in this world, yeah?"
Tokuda silently held out his right hand, and Saizo shook it. Saizo's face twisted, as the grip strength between a fat otaku and a washed-up fighter was way too different.
Trivia:
- The narrator's Item Box has grown roughly fifty percent in capacity since he started using it continuously, suggesting the spell passively levels up with use rather than requiring active training.
- Souza deliberately chose the yankee group over the normie group despite his fire magic making him valuable to either side, implying he calculated that Tokuda's faction would give him more freedom to exploit his power without social constraints.
- Tokuda misremembers Souza's name as Kaigetsu before being corrected to Saizou, hinting that Souza's real family name may be Kaigetsu and that he prefers his otaku nickname even among new allies.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ A blend of otaku and debu (fatty), a blunt Japanese slang insult. The translation keeps the romanized term to preserve the raw classroom nickname.
2 ↩ Japanese youth subculture associated with bleached hair, delinquent behavior, and rough speech. Distinct from the American meaning.
3 ↩ A soft flatbread of South Asian origin. Used here as the closest familiar equivalent for the fantasy bread's texture and sweetness.
Notes:
• Saizo - Classmate who was given fire magic. Normally a quiet otaku in class but seizes the spotlight during the summoning. Uses dramatic chunibyo poses and shows off his power to gain leverage in negotiations. Takes charge of questioning the queen.
• Tokuda - Central figure of the yankee group. Close to 180 centimeters tall with heavily trained muscles. Reportedly practiced full-contact martial arts. Demonstrates physical strength through his grip when shaking hands. Listens seriously to Souza's advice after witnessing his power. Pragmatic and eager to enjoy the new world without restraint.
• Souza - Classmate of the narrator and a self-described otaku. Formerly overweight. Acquired extremely powerful fire attribute magic, demonstrating overwhelming offensive capability that earned him Tokuda's respect. Chooses to align with the yankee group rather than the normie group. Pragmatic and calculating, willing to discard common sense and morality to gain standing in the new world.
• Saizou - A classmate with an enormous magic value over 2300 Mete, more than ten times that of an average adult man. He is calm, sharp, and quick to see through the kingdom's scheme to collar the summoned students. He negotiates directly with the Queen and demands an apology and fair treatment as guests. He openly plans to enjoy the other world and agrees to cooperate in defeating the evil dragon. The narrator describes him as a dramatic fat otaku with a smug face.