"Roland, was it? Your Japanese is excellent... have you lived here long?"
"Yes."
"That's impressive. Coming to Fuyuki City to live on your own at such a young age, and you've even had part-time jobs before. Young people usually prefer bigger cities, don't they? Doesn't a small place like Fuyuki City take some getting used to?"
"It's fine." Roland paused, then added, as though he felt something was amiss, "I used to live in a little town called Morioh. Compared to that, Fuyuki City is already quite impressive."
It was a simple interview. The convenience store manager observed Roland as they chatted casually: neat clothes, a healthy complexion, and a straight, proper sitting posture. Despite the young man's age, the manager could see the excellent manners that only a good upbringing could instill.
I know a good kid when I see one.
"Then, one last question. Can you start today?"
Roland put on a long apron and began following the manager around to familiarize himself with his workplace.
Leaving aside the Holy Grail War for now, an appropriate identity was essential if he wanted to live in this world.
Contrary to what most people thought, this country did not require proof of identity all that often in everyday life. As long as he could secure a source of income, blending in at his current level would be as easy as a drop of water disappearing into the sea.
For that, he needed a job.
Although the effects of the economic bubble's collapse would linger for a long time, and the so-called Lost Two Decades had only just begun, companies were laying off workers in droves and industries were struggling. It really was not a good time to look for work.
Still, perhaps because Fuyuki City was not particularly large, and because the new city development plan had given efforts to revive the economy a shot in the arm, things were relatively peaceful here. The wages, however, were not particularly high.
Thanks to his fluent Japanese and his attention to various details, things went just as Roland had predicted. The kindly manager did not mind his lack of identification, instead taking him for a young man who had immigrated to some small town in the past, then struck out on his own because of difficult circumstances.
"Yes, arrange them just like that. Sorting and stocking merchandise is very important... you're really impressive. It's not often you see young people who work as diligently as you do and are so capable, too."
Seeing the manager's admiring expression, Roland merely nodded, unperturbed. For him now, this was only natural.
There were still things he was not satisfied with, but judging by the results, he had drawn a good card.
Roland glanced at the Key of All Spirits in his hand, and its information automatically surfaced in his mind.
-Contract Spirit [Yoshikage Kira] (Contract established) He was once the nightmare that loomed over Morioh. However, after he was torn apart in the alley where one must never look back, his fate of being denied even reincarnation twisted his remnants into a power bearing an obsession. Whoever dispels that obsession will gain this power permanently. Manifestation: Your fingernails will grow at an abnormal rate. The greater your mental stress, the faster they will grow. Influence: You gain the hand fetish for which Yoshikage Kira was notorious during his mortal life. You will also feel an intense longing for a quiet, orderly, stable life. Any change to that stability, whether good or bad, will cause you extreme agitation and unease. While the contract is in effect, you will become self-disciplined. Granted abilities: The Secret to Being Third: Your knowledge and work skills receive a boost equivalent to Yoshikage Kira's level in life. You know how to maintain an appropriate distance from those around you, perfectly concealing yourself without being looked down upon. Killer Queen: You gain the Stand, Killer Queen. Great Fortune: You possess powerful luck that far surpasses that of others. Whenever you encounter a predicament, you can always find an opportunity to turn it around. Assimilation requirement: For more than one month, live in the region where the contract was established, following the principle of maintaining your own peace of mind.
In Roland's eyes, Yoshikage Kira's contract spirit gave off a pale yellow glow, marking it as second tier.
According to the Key of All Spirits' classification, contract spirits came in five tiers: white, yellow, blue, purple, and red. Their rankings were not determined solely by the strength of their abilities.
The relationship between contract spirits and their contractors was not one of equals. After all, they were products that the Key of All Spirits had fashioned into contract spirits. Apart from a few special cases, most were pitiful beings trapped between life and death, without even a will of their own.
The contract was simply a means of making better use of a contract spirit. While spirits with stronger abilities would generally appear to Roland in a higher-tier color, this was not an absolute rule.
As the owner of the Key of All Spirits, he might also see a contract spirit's color change when he actually obtained it, depending on the price required. How demanding that price was determined the spirit's suitability in Roland's eyes.
According to the information provided by the Key of All Spirits, the danger associated with each color fell roughly into the following categories.
White: Almost harmless. Establishing a contract, fulfilling its requirements, and assimilating the contract spirit were all easy, but its abilities were often limited as well.
Yellow: Required a certain price, but one still within the bounds of reality. Both the ceiling and the floor of its abilities were high.
Blue: Might impose specific requirements on the contractor, such as personality or willpower. Its abilities were often excellent, but its assimilation requirements were usually stringent.
Purple: Special contract spirits whose price could not be determined. It might be extremely high or extremely low, and the help they offered their contractors was also the most unusual.
Red: Extremely dangerous and beyond the contractor's limits. The abilities granted were often the highest level of power the contract spirit's original self possessed. In exchange, the price would inflict an almost irreversible distortion on the contractor.
The abilities and price of the second-tier contract spirit, Yoshikage Kira, were fairly reasonable, and its influence on him was still within acceptable bounds. The only thing that had given Roland pause was that rather delicate matter of a hand fetish.
Setting that aside, though, this contract spirit had resolved Roland's most pressing problem. The Secret to Being Third might not seem particularly significant, but it perfectly solved his current predicament. And as his main combat asset, a Stand was an excellent choice for life in a city like this.
Although it could not compare to rule-defying Stands such as Star Platinum and The World, whose powers already operated on the level of fundamental laws, Yoshikage Kira's Stand was still among the best of the countless Stands with their bizarre abilities.
Furthermore, its assimilation requirement was very simple. For Roland, who was only just starting out, it could hardly have been better.
After seeing the manager off, Roland stood behind the counter, idly admiring his hands.
His nails were neatly trimmed, his knuckles well defined, and his proportions perfect. His fingers were slender and pale.
"Besides, this isn't a bad experience. Who would have thought an ordinary man like me could have something so beautiful? What a perfect pair of hands..." Roland's lips curled as he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the pink figure beside him. Its face was expressionless, its toes hovering above the floor. A belt bearing a skull emblem encircled its waist, making its streamlined muscles look powerful and graceful rather than bulky.
All those traits combined meant that even its rather seductive stance did not look out of place. At Roland's words, the figure gave no reply. It merely turned its cat-eared head and calmly met his gaze with its intimidating, cold, slit-pupiled eyes, like a large pink cat.
"You think so too, don't you, Killer Queen?"