Chapter 8: The First Customer
Perhaps the brief conversation in front of the New Wing had an effect, because in the following days, Hachiman was relieved to see his little sister return to her usual spirited, carefree self.
That was more like it—being deep and brooding just wasn't her style.
However Hachiman hadn't expected that at Todai, students only chose their majors in their third year based on the results of the first two years. This rendered all of his well-intentioned advice about choosing a major completely useless.
He secretly resolved to supervise his little sister's studies every day, making sure she didn't play too much. He also began considering whether to find a tutor for Komachi.
Komachi might not like that idea very much, but if she studied together with her friends, her resistance would likely be much lower. After all, most of her friends were responsible children.
And because they were responsible, after riding the helicopter only a few times, these girls no longer felt comfortable riding it and started using public transport instead. As a result, Komachi no longer wanted to take the helicopter and took the bus every day.
Hachiman didn't mind. The large parking lot in front of the New Wing was more than enough for a helicopter anyway.
No matter what, Hachiman's life recently settled into a rhythm of early to bed, early to rise, with Komachi leaving in the morning to go to the Everything Shop.
Moe's repair was complete. Hachiman placed her in the resting room of the Everything Shop, where he had set up protective powers to guard her life and health, as well as powers capable of traversing death and allowing the flower of life to bloom again.
The ancient Egyptian gods spoke of "spirits" in grandiose terms, but to Hachiman, they were merely a manifestation of life itself.
In ancient China and Japan, there was the concept that all things have spirits. Japan's "Eight Million Gods" stemmed from this. Regardless of the form, the manifestation of spirits reflected the consistency of life's actions—having a "purpose."
"Word spirits" meant giving "things" life and guiding them toward their "destination."
Moe was a tsukumogami (a spirit inhabiting an object), but the source of her life wasn't resentment, Buddhist nature, or spiritual power. Instead, it came from the affection and regard for her as family by Urashima Keisuke and Urashima Koutarou, grandfather and grandson.
For this reason, when Moe transformed into a tsukumogami in Koutarou's hands, her "purpose" became ensuring Koutarou's happiness. Once her purpose was fulfilled, her spirit sank, just as humans experience life, aging, sickness, and death.
But death was not the opposite of life; when life reached its lowest point, the conditions for revival were met.
As usual, after seeing off Komachi and her friends, Hachiman returned to the Everything Shop.
Unfortunately, although he visited every day to refresh and stock his early merchandise, there wasn't a single customer.
Obviously, Hachiman couldn't advertise his shop, and the committee certainly wouldn't. None of them understood what Hachiman intended with the store, and due to their mindset of "better safe than sorry," they wouldn't take any risks involving him.
In this era where even a fragrant bar would fear a hidden alley, the Everything Shop wasn't just tucked away—it was practically buried underground.
But unexpected things were bound to happen.
And happen they did—on this very day.
After seeing off Komachi, Hachiman returned to the Everything Shop, checked on Moe to ensure everything was fine, then went to the front room.
With no customers, and no real expectation of them, he sat behind the counter and turned on his computer to play games.
He hadn't played in a long time and felt a bit rusty—within half an hour, the computer AI had defeated him countless times.
The feeling was oddly familiar.
As he pondered whether his greatest enemy was perhaps not the god of disobedience but the computer AI, someone entered the shop.
It was a boy wearing a middle school uniform.
At first, Hachiman didn't pay attention. The street outside Hinata Manor was a hot spring street, and the foot traffic was decent. Most people who entered were only interested in the baths or food. People had come in before, glanced around, and left.
Hachiman assumed this boy was the same, and continued playing against the AI.
"Um… are you an employee here?"
The boy walked to the counter and saw Hachiman die again in the game, instinctively saying, "You're not very good at this, huh…"
Hachiman: "..."
He immediately opened Task Manager and killed the game process.
"No, I'm the owner," he said, turning around with a beaming smile.
This honest young man deserved to be treated well—he had to feel the warmth of ten suns shining at once.
But to his surprise, the boy showed a cowering attitude, as if frightened.
Hachiman swore his smile was completely normal. He was confident in his ability to interact with ordinary people.
He asked again, "So, young man, what do you need?"
The boy already looked ready to run.
Hachiman was slightly annoyed. What was this kid's deal?
He could somewhat tell that the boy's personality was a bit dark or gloomy.
So Hachiman used a bit of Horus' Eye, looking into the boy.
The boy's experiences appeared as fragments in Hachiman's eyes.
This frightened the boy even more, prompting him to run decisively. From his practiced movements, this wasn't his first time doing this.
Unfortunately for him, although the shop door was close, he couldn't escape.
"Hey kid, no need to rush off." Hachiman's voice came from behind.
The boy turned in shock, only to see Hachiman seemingly "emerge" from the counter.
"Ghost!!!"
"Ghost my foot!"
Hachiman's firm shout easily drowned out the boy's terrified scream—the wind bound the sound within the shop, unable to escape.
The boy only heard his own scream echoing in his ears until he finally quieted down.
"Kid, you need to know your mouth is only for eating and speaking, unless you're a girl." Hachiman, seeing his first customer finally calm down, released the sound block.
"You… are you a human or a ghost?" the boy stammered.
Hachiman didn't answer, instead asking, "Didn't you even look at the shop sign when you came in? Do you know what 'Everything Shop' means?"
The boy looked embarrassed.
Apparently, he really hadn't noticed the shop name before entering.
Since he was the first customer, Hachiman decided to forgive his rashness.
Adjusting his demeanor, Hachiman resumed a friendly attitude and asked, "What's your name?"
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting