I got my hands on a change of clothes, and food is... well, I'll figure something out eventually. Now if I can just get a place to live, I should be able to make it in this world.
I basically don't plan on leaving the Item Box2, but there are some things I need to actually live, like a bath and a toilet, for example. For a bath, if I can get my hands on something like a basin or some magic tool for water and hot water, maybe I could handle everything in here. But for the toilet, I can't think of any realistic solution. For now, it looks like I'll just have to use the castle's toilets.
"Also, I'd love to get a futon5 or something, but does that mean I have to carry it around on my back?" I muttered to myself. Everything I've gotten so far is stuffed into a bag on my back anyway.
I tried to open another Item Box while inside the Item Box, but I couldn't. I don't know if it's because my Level isn't high enough, or if you just can't open two Item Boxes at once, but either way, I can't do it right now. With my current luggage, walking around with it on my back isn't that bad, but adding a mattress and blanket to that is a whole other problem.
"I guess I really do need to find an empty room or a bedding storage room that nobody's gonna come to, huh?" I said.
For now, I decided to put down my bag and take a break. I've gotten used to changing the shape of the Item Box, so I tried making a chair and really fussed over the seat height and the angle of the backrest, putting the bag I was carrying on a square indented shelf. After arriving at the castle, I walked around a lot, so I'm a little tired.
Usually, I just go back and forth between school and home, and I'm mostly holed up in my room so I don't move much, but today I had no choice but to walk around.
"I'm a shut-in, but I walked so much I got tired... Actually, can't I just move around while sitting like this?" I wondered aloud.
I sat lazily on the Item Box shaped like a chair, and when I imagined it moving, the scenery around me started to move.
"Whoa, for real... it's moving," I gasped.
It only goes about walking speed, but it glides along the castle hallway seamlessly. And since I'm in another dimension, I pass right through people, objects, and even walls.
I got carried away and started moving around, but then I started feeling this weird exhaustion hit me.
"Ah, is this maybe what Magic Power3 fatigue feels like?" I mumbled.
If I get thrown out or get stuck and can't get out, that'd be bad, so I stopped using the Item Box to move around. But Magic that uses a lot of Magic Power is probably high-Level Magic, so for the sake of Leveling up, I'll use it actively while checking how my body feels.
"Anyway, they're not here. Where did the others go?" I muttered, looking around.
I looked around the castle, but I couldn't find any sign of the guys who didn't join the subjugation. I've got a bad feeling about this, but I still need to find a place to sleep tonight, so when I thought about giving up for today, I saw a light outside the window. It was on the castle grounds, but it seemed to be a separate building, so I went over to check it out.
Apparently, this one is the soldiers' barracks, but suddenly I could hear a girl screaming from inside. I hurried down the hallway, slipped through the door of the room where the screaming was coming from, and saw a female Classmate4 being r*ped by soldiers. There was a silver collar with a red stone set into it around her neck.
"Damn it! Are they really this trashy?!" I cursed under my breath.
I felt murderous intent toward the soldiers defiling my Classmate three-on-one, but I left the room and checked the other rooms. In another room, a male Classmate had been stripped half-naked and was cornered against the wall. Panicking, I thought to myself, No, next... next...
In the fourth room was the person I was looking for-the dark-skinned gyaru1, Shirakawa Kiyoka. She had already been stripped completely naked and was pinned down on the bed, but she didn't have a collar on.
"No! Like, stop!" Shirakawa screamed.
"Heheheh... Look at this, it's her first time," a soldier sneered.
Shirakawa had her arms and legs held down by naked soldiers on both sides, while a third soldier was licking between her legs.
I took out the knife I'd swiped during the day from my bag, circled around behind the soldier holding Shirakawa's limbs, and opened a small window from the Item Box to the outside. The soldiers were so absorbed in Shirakawa's naked body that they didn't notice me at all.
I steeled myself, and from behind the first guy's neck, I drove the knife in at an angle and dug into his brainstem6. I quickly pulled the knife out, moved behind the second guy, and did the same thing to his brainstem. From behind the third guy, who finally noticed something was wrong, I stabbed the knife in a third time.
Even though it was a surprise attack from inside the Item Box, I took care of the soldiers with a skill that surprised even myself.
The soldiers suddenly stopped moving, and Shirakawa was looking around frantically. I walked over to the room door, lowered the bolt, and came out into the open.
"Like, wha-you're..," Shirakawa gasped, wide-eyed.
"Shh, quiet! Hurry up and get dressed," I whispered urgently.
"I, like, totally can't... they tore everything up!" she sobbed.
"Tch, it might not fit, but put this on," I said, tossing her the gear.
I took the bag out of the Item Box and tossed the clothes I'd swiped to Shirakawa. While Shirakawa was getting dressed, I listened carefully to what was going on in the hallway. They were probably waiting their turn, because a lot of soldiers were wandering around the hallway. Through the walls and doors, I could hear the screams of Classmates being assaulted.
"Like, hey, I'm dressed, but... how are we even gonna escape?" Shirakawa asked, trembling.
I thought for a moment, then opened the room's window and opened the Item Box.
"Come here, get inside..," I instructed her.
"Wait, like, what even is this?" Shirakawa squeaked.
"Just do it, hurry!" I snapped.
I pulled Shirakawa into the Item Box, and even though it drains me, I used Magic Power to move outside the building.
"Wait, like, what is this... what's going on?!" she cried out in confusion.
"It's cramped, so don't make noise. I'll explain later. For now, we're running toward the castle," I ordered.
I shut up Shirakawa, who looked like she had a ton of questions, and got out of the building and ran outside. I moved the Item Box as if to shake off the screams of my Classmates that I could still hear. Maybe it was like that burst of strength you get in a crisis, because earlier I could only go walking speed, but now I was going about as fast as a bicycle. Also, the capacity is less than two lockers, so all kinds of soft things keep bumping into me and it's hard to stay calm.
Trivia:
- The protagonist's ability to move through walls and people while inside the Item Box confirms he exists in a separate dimension, which is why the soldiers never sensed him even while standing right next to them.
- The silver collar with a red stone appears only on the female Classmate in the first room, suggesting collars are used to mark or control specific captives, and Shirakawa not having one implies she was being saved for something different.
- The protagonist's comment about Magic Power fatigue after using the Item Box to move hints that his unique ability still draws on the same resource system as regular Magic, meaning his Level and Magic Power stats directly limit how much he can exploit the Item Box.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ A Japanese fashion subculture and slang term for flashy, trend-conscious young women. The English "gyaru" is kept because it carries specific subcultural connotations not captured by "gal" or "party girl."
2 ↩ A game-like inventory system common in isekai fiction. The protagonist can physically enter and hide inside his own inventory space, which is an unusual twist on the standard mechanic.
3 ↩ The resource that fuels magic in this world. The protagonist compares it to stamina fatigue, and overuse in the Item Box risks him being forcibly ejected or trapped.
4 ↩ Used as a proper noun-like label for the summoned students. The capitalization reflects that they are a distinct group in the story, not just any school peers.
5 ↩ A traditional Japanese bedding set consisting of a mattress and quilt. Kept as "futon" because English "mattress and blanket" loses the specific cultural image of Japanese bedding.
6 ↩ The protagonist targets this specific area with his knife, reflecting a deliberate knowledge of lethal anatomy that contrasts with his shut-in background.
Notes:
• Shirakawa - Family name of Shirakawa Kiyoka, the dark-skinned gyaru and classmate of the protagonist who was summoned alongside him to another world.
• Kiyoka - Dark‑skinned gyaru classmate, blunt, casual, uses feminine pronouns. Survivor of soldier assault, vengeful, threatens captors. Wields Cleaning Magic to purify objects/people, seeks to level up. Freeloader in Kuroi’s Item Box, virgin yet bold, constantly teases, presses against him, enjoys fun in other world, panics under stress, sleeps cramped together.