"You can't beat her?"
"...Obviously!" Jiu Ming's mouth twitched. If he could beat her, he wouldn't have been so tense just now.
"You're such a loser. You can't even beat a girl..."
Suzumiya Haruhi saw how quickly Jiu Ming had answered, without even trying to demonstrate, and couldn't help pouting.
"You're taking that way out of context! Isn't it normal that I can't beat her!?" Jiu Ming didn't think it was anything to be ashamed of. His opponent was a monster who'd lived for who knew how many years. And although he'd spent quite a while training at the Mysterious Shop, how many years did that add up to?
He was just glad he'd started out with decent fighting ability. This wasn't one of those stories where the protagonist was invincible and could crush every opponent from the start. You had to take things one step at a time. They'd get there eventually.
"She's a monster, and you're a ghost. Doesn't sound like there's much difference. Neither of you is human, anyway."
"That's true." Jiu Ming actually nodded in agreement. There was nothing wrong with not being human. "Set that aside for a moment. Let's talk about how long we've been around... She might be ancient, but I'm still young."
After what had just happened, Suzumiya Haruhi and the others didn't feel like playing anymore. Jiu Ming simply changed the place back to its previous hall-like setting. What could he say...
They'd been so carefree in their swimsuits at the beach, so why were they embarrassed indoors?
Jiu Ming tapped his arm, watching Asahina Mikuru discreetly as she covered her lower half with one hand and hugged her chest with the other. Hm? Did swimsuits somehow become indecent when worn indoors?
Tsk, tsk.
"Ah! Honestly, it was supposed to be fun, but never mind." After changing back into her clothes, Suzumiya Haruhi led the others to the door, then turned and waved at Jiu Ming. "See you tomorrow!"
"Bye..."
Wait, see you tomorrow!?
It seemed this place wouldn't be so deserted anymore. For quite a while, it would probably be in a state of constant commotion.
Well, whatever. It wasn't like this was something unpleasant. He'd just have to be mindful of what might happen today.
The end of the month...
The Mysterious Shop deducted the 1,000 points of "Source" Jiu Ming had saved up, and that was that. This time, he converted another 1,000 points of "Source" and set them aside. He didn't have some compulsion to hoard money. Since he felt a little uneasy about it, he only ever saved enough to just meet the Mysterious Shop's deduction requirement, then stopped.
Anyway, it made no difference whether he saved more or less. The only difference was whether he wasted a minute or not.
"Do you want to read it?" The Three-No Girl, sitting quietly to one side with a book, noticed Jiu Ming's gaze and looked up to ask softly.
"The Cthulhu Mythos..." Jiu Ming glanced at the book in Nagato Yuki's hands, then shook his head. He wasn't interested.
If he wanted to read mythology, he might as well find a copy of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
As for why she was here, that was a recent development. Ever since Suzumiya Haruhi had been able to come here "at will," she'd treated the place like a new toy and come by every day. Nagato Yuki, as an observer, had noticed something.
Every time Suzumiya Haruhi used an Invitation Card to come here, a "hole" with a kind of "suction" appeared beside them during the transfer. It posed no danger to people, and the suction didn't seem to affect ordinary matter. After observing it several times, Yuki had reached a tentative conclusion.
The "hole" was probably absorbing the "Source" Jiu Ming had mentioned. The amount was so tiny compared to the whole world that it wasn't even a drop in the ocean, let alone something harmful. It was like the idea that losing a few hairs wouldn't kill you.
Nagato Yuki's report left Jiu Ming just as puzzled. Unfortunately, he only had partial authority over this place; he wasn't the one with ultimate control. He could be confused all he liked, but there was nothing he could do. Perhaps it was some sort of by-product of traveling between worlds?
After all, they were crossing through time and space. They had to break through the Plane Barrier...
It was like breaking a fish tank: the fish could swim out, and the water would flow through the crack as well.
Nagato Yuki would also come by to "visit" when she had nothing else to do. She didn't hide her purpose. It was simple: she wanted to observe what was happening here. This place was mysterious, and the observations she needed to make would take a long time.
"Mm." Nagato Yuki nodded. With the conversation over, the hall grew quiet again. Jiu Ming gave a crooked smile and lay back on his personal sofa. The energy slowly seeping from the layer of High-Energy Crystals underneath made him feel quite comfortable.
However, the energy stored in these High-Energy Crystals was being depleted much faster than usual. No matter. He could just exchange them for a new batch at the end of the month.
After all, given the value of the high-grade High-Energy Crystals, a single one could keep his "sales" going for a long time.
"I'm leaving." The girl had been reading quietly, but now she glanced at the time and stood up.
It was already ten.
"Um, you came straight here from school, right? It's late, and walking home at night isn't ideal. If you don't mind, you can stay here." Jiu Ming had no experience with girls, so it never even occurred to him what his words might imply. Why did he say that?
Nagato Yuki had told him who she was, and after she'd shown him she meant no harm, Jiu Ming had no reason to be wary of her. She had no family.
"I'm used to sleeping here, so the bedroom is always empty."
"...Thank you."
"Don't mention it~"
Jiu Ming waved, yawned, and shifted into a more comfortable position. Another quiet night passed.
"What!!! Yuki stayed here last night!!!" Jiu Ming tilted his head away. Suzumiya Haruhi's shout right beside his ear made him feel as if his nonexistent eardrums had been badly damaged.
"Why are you so worked up? You came running over here first thing in the morning."
Rubbing his ear, Jiu Ming complained. By then, Suzumiya Haruhi had already run over to Nagato Yuki and circled her several times. Like a lovestruck stalker, she groped her all over, while the Three-No Girl stood there and endured it without the slightest reaction.
"Boring. Can't you show me around your world?"
All right, this wasn't the first time Suzumiya Haruhi had asked. Especially since she'd learned that the world Jiu Ming currently had access to was full of all sorts of supernatural abilities.
"Hey, do you see any exit in my place? And you're not a ghost."
"Cut the nonsense. You're definitely hiding something from me! Hmph. Now, tell me how you're going to take responsibility for making a move on my Yuki!" Suzumiya Haruhi snorted, still unhappy with his answer, then wrapped an arm around Nagato Yuki's neck and rubbed her cheek against hers. "Hehe, such a cute Three-No Girl..."
"Stop! I'm a ghost!"
"You've got hands, though..."
"The conversation suddenly got indecent." Jiu Ming walked over, the corner of his mouth twitching, and tapped her on the forehead.
"How is it? I'm a perfectly normal high school girl. Of course an ordinary girl has needs. What's so indecent about learning about that?"
"So I'm the one at fault?" Jiu Ming scratched his head, feeling a little helpless. Come on, girl, couldn't you show at least a little embarrassment? Suzumiya Haruhi was talking about something completely off-topic as if no one else was around, and even Nagato Yuki was perfectly calm.
Looking at them, it seemed he was the only one acting strangely.
Was he already out of step with the times?
"Hey, do you want to visit my world?"
Jiu Ming realized he'd underestimated how quickly her mind jumped from one thing to another. Just a moment ago, she'd been demanding justice for Nagato Yuki, and now she'd changed the subject.
"I don't have time. Maybe another time."
Suzumiya Haruhi immediately looked unhappy at his refusal. "You're turning me down? Then tell me how you're going to take responsibility for what happened with Yuki!"
"Come on! I didn't do anything. Why should I take responsibility?"
"She spent the night at your place!"
"I spent the night on the sofa." Jiu Ming picked at his ear.
"It'll damage Yuki's reputation if people hear about it!"
"Tsk, who's going to spread this around? Besides, I'm not the sort of person who's full of dirty thoughts..."
"...Hmph. Yuki, let's go." Losing the argument, Suzumiya Haruhi stamped her foot and dragged Nagato Yuki away, her heavy footsteps thudding as they left. Jiu Ming was left standing there. Now that everyone was gone, he'd have to go back to spacing out.
Well, thinking it over, had he been a little petty just now? Jiu Ming lightly pinched the end of his bangs and shook his head. He'd say something nice next time he saw them.
As he thought this, Jiu Ming's gaze shifted to the door. It opened a crack, and a strange white creature with a big tail, two tail-like things growing from its ears, red eyes, and a smile stepped out. What was that? A mutated cat?
"Make a contract with me and become a magical boy. You have great potential..."
Jiu Ming's eyes narrowed slightly. He had the feeling that the strange white creature was eyeing the empty spot where Suzumiya Haruhi and Nagato Yuki had been standing.
"Get lost! I'm in a bad mood!" A cute white creature that looked almost like a cat had walked out from behind the door and greeted Jiu Ming with those words. It made him feel deeply uncomfortable. So what if it was cute?
Jiu Ming couldn't see any normal emotions in the strange white creature's eyes. Even though it was smiling, all it showed was a cold, emotionless indifference. To him, it was worse than a stray cat!
So Jiu Ming simply kicked the talking, strange white creature back through the door. Even after it was kicked, it didn't shriek or howl in anger. It was like a lifeless object: it had walked in, and now it rolled back out.
He didn't think some strange creature that appeared and immediately asked him to make a contract was anything good.
Just a hunch...
After "sending" the mysterious creature away, Jiu Ming felt oddly relieved that Suzumiya Haruhi and the others had left a moment earlier. He didn't want to see what kind of sparks might fly if they encountered that thing.
He could tell Suzumiya Haruhi was drawn to the "supernatural." If she got carried away and started talking to that white creature...
He had a feeling that if that happened, it would be a massive disaster.
He regretted not killing it just then.
Before you continue