After a while he went out into the living room and saw Anagawa there. She had prepared food for him and wished him good morning. He eats his eggs with salt and pepper, right? Or does he do it with mayonnaise now?
When the table was set, Anagawa sat down next to Toida, opposite Akutagawa and Yui. They went on chatting in that tense atmosphere, and Akutagawa wondered how they had come to this.
Several days had passed since Anagawa had first come to the apartment. He hadn't thought clearing the ranked dungeon would take so long. She answered, "Yes, it had a slightly special mechanic, and according to the guild's analysis they'll most likely arrive in this city in about a month."
Akutagawa asked again, "Mechanics?" They hadn't encountered them yet. Or maybe, for ranked groups, enemies like that weren't even worth mentioning.
But Anagawa had been surprised when she came to his old house. His dad had told her he lived alone now. It was good that he'd given her the address, but still, she probably knew the reason. Anagawa turned off the tap and said yes.
Akutagawa explained that a lot had changed in seven years, from an elementary-school student to a high-school student. And Anagawa replied that he had indeed changed for the better. By the way — when did he learn to use skills?
He choked on the question, thinking that of course she would ask that. And Anagawa replied that he didn't have to tell her if he didn't want to, and that the fact that he wasn't suffering any more made her happy.
Akutagawa understood that he wasn't hiding it, he simply didn't know how things would change if others found out, so he was acting cautiously for now. Besides, he didn't know why, but he felt it was best not to say anything.
Anagawa placed a mug on the table and said that she didn't know if he realized it, but his magical power was quite significant. Potentially rank B. Perhaps even rank A. Rank A is power that entails serious social responsibility. It was a bit strange to say, but guilds across the country would be vying to recruit such a person. How did he plan to use that enormous power? He would inevitably have to think about it.
Akutagawa lowered his gaze and asked how to use this power. If he beat everyone with his strength, would that change anything?
Anagawa stared at him silently, and then suddenly said she had made up her mind. He wouldn't mind if she came every day and cooked for him.
He said, "Sure — but what about her duties in the group, with her rank?" Anagawa replied that everything was fine: working hours from nine to five, no overtime, and two days off. Akutagawa thought this was a true paradise for office workers, being at an all-inclusive hotel outside working hours.
But at that moment Anagawa sighed, and Akutagawa asked what was wrong. She replied that she felt a little uncomfortable saying that she felt better here.
And she was right. Having acquired this skill, he hadn't really thought about it much before, but it seemed he needed to consider everything seriously.
When he arrived at school, he said he'd prefer to keep the details of his skill to himself, but they had seen that he now had power. His friends noticed and were surprised, and the boy asked, "So now he has skills too? Does that mean the three of us can stay in the first drama club?" He chuckled and said maybe he shouldn't think about survival strategies like that any more.
Akutagawa replied that he'd like to go on performing in this club, if possible. The guys looked at him in surprise, and Akutagawa bowed and apologized for interrupting, but he wanted to avoid his skill becoming known to just anyone. And besides, this time was valuable to him.
When Yui heard this, she understood everything. He didn't want to perform just anywhere. This place was important to him. Yui told him she was glad. Before, he sometimes had a scary expression on his face, and she thought he'd changed. Akutagawa apologized for worrying her and patted her on the head.
And at that moment Toida came into their office and said that this was harassment, in case he wasn't aware. He was surprised by her arrival, and she showed him a document. He looked at it and asked what it was. She replied that it was signatures, and said that she had asked every class to sign it for the club to remain.
Toida asked him to wait and said she was still thinking about what they'd said, because he didn't have any friends in his class. She had spoken to him about it before.
Akutagawa looked at the documents and realized there were quite a few signatures. Toida replied that their class was divided over him and over the incident with the Kenji and Guda brothers. Some thought he'd been caught in the crossfire, while others were happy, because it seemed someone had finally made those insolent brothers face their comeuppance. Either way, they were simply relying on others, so they were a boring bunch.
Yui replied that she was talking about being insolent as if it were someone else's problem, and Toida asked, "What?" Yui replied that she'd seen her bullying him too, hadn't she? Toida replied that she was irritating her. So what was she to him at that moment?
Anagawa came into their office with a backpack and announced, "Here they are." Everyone turned to look at her in surprise, and Akutagawa asked, "Anagawa, what are you doing at school?" She replied that she had gone to get groceries for dinner and had ended up at the school, but she thought they could go home together.
When the girls heard this they were dumbfounded. What did she mean, going home together and getting groceries for dinner? Anagawa asked if the others wanted to join them. The girls looked at her in bewilderment.
And that was how they found themselves in this situation.
Toida asked who would have thought he had a wife, and at his level — but before she could finish, Yui interrupted her and asked, "Wife?" She said he was a beast and subhuman. Yui had realized that he and Anagawa spent every night together like animals, and, waving her fork, she shouted that she could cook too. Maybe she could make something from the meat of this monster.
Akutagawa stopped her and asked what was wrong with her. Toida replied that it was wonderful, because it seemed the two of them got along better than he thought. The guy thought it was good that he'd refused, and Akutagawa shouted for Anagawa to help him.
Anagawa asked, "Why?" She felt quite calm now. He asked what that meant. And Anagawa smiled and asked, "Are you happy now?"
He didn't understand what was happening and couldn't answer the question straight away. Looking at the society around him, the same old discrimination and tragedy still reigned for low-ranking people like them. Nothing had changed. But when he read the document with the signatures, he wondered — those who are grateful, what does that mean? He had a feeling his life was changing.
And a month later, at about the time the C-rank group was preparing to leave the city, he picked up the phone and answered. He was told something, which led him to ask.