The Rules Here

"But what you said turned your smile into a sinister grin..."

"Ahem. Anyway, anything can be traded here, but I only trust you for now, so the things available for trade are limited... Do you want money?"

"I do!" Kyon spoke up at once. He took a careful look around. He seemed to be the most ordinary one here, and that meant he was also the most ordinary financially!

"Okay. What do you have to trade for it?"

"One minute of my life...?"

"Deal." Jiu Ming pried a piece of High-Energy Crystal from the floor beside him and tossed it into Kyon's hands. The instant Kyon caught it, he felt as if something had been drained from him, like he'd just run a dozen paces. A card appeared in Jiu Ming's hand, too...

It was a new card. Its description was the same as that of the fifty-day Life Point Card, except this one was for a minute.

"What if I regret it?" Kyon opened his mouth and stared at the very valuable High-Energy Crystal in his hand, stunned. "If I take this outside and try to sell it, I'm afraid I'll get hauled in for questioning."

"Tch, that's your problem. It's too late to say anything now." Jiu Ming slapped the one-minute Life Point Card down on the table and looked at the others. "Well, to welcome you, each of you gets one chance to make a trade at a super-discounted rate. It's on me."

"This is so interesting! It really works! Kyon, how do you feel after losing a minute of your life?"

"Like I ran a dozen paces... Not great!"

"Is that so?" Jiu Ming gave a low, mocking chuckle and pointed at the fifty-day Life Point Card. "The person who provided this one was only 'a tiny bit' stronger than you, and he ended up in the hospital for half a month."

"I regret it even more now!"

"Too late." Jiu Ming clicked his tongue softly and put away the one-minute card. No matter what, it would come in handy someday. Besides, it was only a minute. What was so bad about trading a minute of life for a High-Energy Crystal?

He could just let Kyon zone out for a minute, and it would be over. Regret it? People were so fussy. A minute was worth its weight in gold... If someone really offered him that much gold, he'd have traded already!

"So, is there anything else you'd like to trade?" Jiu Ming turned to Asahina Mikuru. "For example, I could take away your timidity. You might become a confident, mature woman in one fell swoop."

"Don't try to tempt my upperclassman!"

"Fine, then..." Seeing how frightened Asahina Mikuru looked, Jiu Ming shook his head. "What about you?"

Jiu Ming asked Itsuki Koizumi.

"Me? Well, I don't think there's anything I need right now, so I'll pass." Itsuki Koizumi smiled and politely declined.

"No need." Before Jiu Ming could say anything, Nagato Yuki spoke first.

"Oh, right. This doesn't count as part of the discount." Jiu Ming waved his hand, and the one-use Gap ability in Suzumiya Haruhi's hand vanished, returning to him. "Besides, that thing doesn't seem suitable for use in your world."

"Hmm... Our world?" Seeing the thing disappear from her hand, Suzumiya Haruhi had been about to get angry, but paused in confusion. "Does that mean this isn't the world I live in?"

"Of course not! How could a place like this exist in your world? In a sense, coming here means you've already entered another world. Of course, you can go back whenever you want."

When Jiu Ming looked at Nagato Yuki, she gave him the slightest nod. Kyon had caught that moment while spacing out. He narrowed his eyes and lightly rubbed his chin, sensing something fishy.

"Ah, so this already counts as another world? I had no idea you were from another world... A ghost, even." Suzumiya Haruhi wore a look of sudden realization, and seemed to grow more and more excited. Then her expression changed in an instant, as if she'd thought of something. "Wait! If that's true, how can our phones get through?"

"Because of the mysterious rules here." Jiu Ming smiled, having expected her to ask. "For example..."

Snap!

After he snapped his fingers, the surroundings rapidly changed. In the space of a single breath, they were on a vast beach, and the sound of waves lapping against the shore rang out at the same time.

The Mysterious Shop had once let Jiu Ming face enemies in all kinds of settings. It could also conjure up certain environments. Back when he fought that Hollow, Jiu Ming had used this very feature. Its limitations were considerable, though. It could create scenery and furniture, but for 'little things' like daily necessities, apart from those already in the Mysterious Shop, Jiu Ming had to supply everything himself.

Most of the things he needed to supply were consumables, like tea.

"Huh!?" Everyone present except Jiu Ming and Nagato Yuki was startled by the sudden change. Without anyone noticing, their sofa had turned into beach chairs, too. As for Jiu Ming, he'd somehow changed into a pair of swim trunks...

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Itsuki Koizumi could barely maintain his smile. "This is way beyond what you could explain as a simple supernatural phenomenon, isn't it?"

Yuki Nagato calmly observed their surroundings, quietly recording the information generated by the sudden changes.

"Mm! It's a beach! This is great!!" Suzumiya Haruhi let out a long hum. After a brief moment of surprise, she promptly forgot all about it, leaving Jiu Ming with a whole load of explanations stuck in his throat. Well, she was certainly a girl who didn't sweat the small stuff.

"Too bad I didn't bring a swimsuit." After taking off her shoes and socks and running through the water along the shore for a while, Suzumiya Haruhi folded her arms and muttered, "We don't have any drinks, either, let alone..."

"Stop! This is already the limit of what I can make. As for swimsuits... Give me your sizes and I'll buy some for you."

Jiu Ming sighed as Suzumiya Haruhi kept muttering in his ear. A closer look would reveal that there weren't any sea creatures in the ocean at all. The sky had a fake sun and some clouds, but not even the shadow of a bird. The shop could change the scenery, at most. When it came to living things, Jiu Ming didn't know whether the Mysterious Shop couldn't conjure them up or whether there were other limitations.

Swimsuit sizes... Suzumiya Haruhi, who was carefree as ever, stated hers without a second thought. The shy, busty girl, on the other hand, blushed and stammered without managing to say a word. She was embarrassed.

"Hey, if that's the case, why don't you take us out to buy them?" Seeing his upperclassman turning red with embarrassment, Kyon immediately stepped in.

"Tsk, tsk. First, do you have money in the world I'm from? And second... do you see a way out of here?"

"Don't ask me why I can leave. I'm a ghost, and you're human." The frustrating, impossible-to-disprove excuse left Kyon completely speechless.

"Besides, don't imagine everyone's motives are that wicked. I'm already dead... I don't have all those extra thoughts you get during puberty... Really!"

Jiu Ming left, and all the members of the SOS Brigade began chattering among themselves.

They talked over one another, and Suzumiya Haruhi was the most pleased of them all. Her general point was, "See? See? Your brigade leader really is amazing. She even found a place like this..."

What unbelievable luck. It really was amazing luck. Coming here once by chance was one thing, but managing to come back a second time? That should have been impossible, yet somehow it had happened. No wonder she was... the 'god' of a world!

Jiu Ming came back and watched Suzumiya Haruhi skipping around beside the beach, his heart filled with emotion.

"Thanks. Hmm? Why is Yuki's swimsuit so childish!?" Suzumiya Haruhi asked in confusion as she pulled the swimsuits Jiu Ming had brought back from a bag.

"...Her size was hard to find. The swimwear shop clerk just gave me this style. Make do with it for now. At least it fits."

"Where's the changing room?"

Jiu Ming waved his hand, and a small cubicle appeared nearby.

"I'm so jealous of you. Even changing clothes is this convenient." Kyon came over to Jiu Ming and spoke with genuine envy in his voice—envy of his wealth!!

"I'm a ghost. Have you ever seen a ghost worry about clothes? Beer or soft drinks, take your pick." Jiu Ming pulled out two Sealed Cards and crushed them. A case of beer and a case of assorted soft drinks appeared.

"Hmm, maybe I should say 'spirit' instead. In stories, the word for ghosts in my country doesn't mean the same thing as it does in China."

Kyon scratched his head and hesitated, but in the end he picked a drink that looked pretty good. He took a sip and immediately felt a jolt through his whole body. "Refreshing!"

He felt like he could run for ten minutes straight!

"Look at you..." Jiu Ming gave him a disdainful glance. "That's a special drink made for Ability Users. Pretty good, right?" He leaned back, and as he fell, a beach chair appeared beneath him.

Where had that thing come from?

"...That little brat! What does he think this place is? A convenience store!?" Wang Hai's face darkened, and the corners of his mouth twitched violently.

"Drink too much and you might get a nosebleed... I guess I said that too late." Jiu Ming spoke leisurely as he glanced at the empty can at Kyon's feet. Half of the drink in Jiu Ming's own hand seemed to be gone, too.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?!"

The boy with the comically troubled face clutched his nose, which had begun to itch, looking utterly aggrieved. "So what exactly does 'made for Ability Users' mean?"

As he spoke, Kyon glanced at Itsuki Koizumi, who was walking toward them. Did it mean people like him, with supernatural powers? Weren't abilities and supernatural powers basically the same thing?

"It means exactly what it says. People who can conjure fireballs, shoot lightning, and spit out ice shards." As he spoke, Jiu Ming glanced at Kyon. "What are you imagining? You could drink the whole case and still not gain any abilities. Don't dream about it. You might bleed to death from a nosebleed."

Looking at the boy's comically crestfallen expression, Jiu Ming couldn't help letting the corners of his mouth curl upward. Speaking of abilities, why had he looked at Itsuki Koizumi?

Did he have something unusual about him?

Jiu Ming turned his eyes toward Itsuki Koizumi. He seemed pretty ordinary. Even if his body showed signs of having trained to some degree, he was still an ordinary person. Was there anything strange about him that Jiu Ming had missed?