Then Kazuma asked Keli about the chat room that suddenly appeared in his mind and why he had suddenly appeared.
He then received Keli's Baidu Quality Answer: "I don't know."
The two of them discussed, researched, and experimented together, unanimously agreeing that the bonfire mentioned in the chat room was Keli, and that perhaps people in the chat room could revive by Keli's side after dying.
And after Kazuma excitedly found something to cut his finger with, he regretfully discovered that he did not have Keli's strange regenerative abilities. Then the two chatted again, and after finding that there was indeed nothing to discover, Kazuma stood up.
It was probably that Kazuma was an immortal, and Keli was a Hourai human.
"OK! It seems that continuing to chat like this won't yield any results. What are your plans next?"
"I'm going to find a place to stay the night, and then figure out how to investigate those people from today. To directly abduct someone in a modern metropolis, and with such initiative, is really interesting."
Keli stroked his chin and gave his answer.
"Mm-hmm! I see, that's cool!" While nodding, Kazuma gave Keli a thumbs up.
"An immortal, and wanting to do this kind of crime-fighting? Maybe you'll become Tokyo's superhero in the future! Then we ordinary residents can live in peace. Well then! Ganbatte! I'm going home now!"
As he spoke, Kazuma smiled and turned, taking a step, about to leave as if nothing had happened.
Japanese has plural words. As for the "we" in Keli's mouth, Kazuma took a step as if he hadn't heard it.
"Mm! Go ahead. I'm sure your family will thank Amaterasu-sama after seeing your urn and death certificate, and then seeing you."
Keli didn't even turn his head, but the sound of footsteps stopping also ceased.
"Haha! Although I won't be able to work at a regular place or get insurance in the future, if I just talk to my family nicely, they surely won't mind letting me stay, right! As long as I don't leave my room, even if those relatives who attended my funeral come, it'll be fine, right! Even if I don't have an identification card and can't get a card to ride the train, it'll… be fine… right? Right?"
Kazuma's tone started out quite high-pitched, but gradually became lower towards the end.
After a while, Keli noticed that Kazuma had sat down next to him, looking at the river.
Although Japan doesn't have ID cards, the administrative reforms in 2016 introduced a numbering card system. And for someone who already has a death certificate, many things are inconvenient; even the inability to ride a train alone would turn Kazuma's journey home into a long walk. He also couldn't report himself as a missing person.
He couldn't possibly say that Keli, a kind passerby, used 'Raise Dead' on him, could he?
The Japanese police, who don't have "people" in their prefix, wouldn't believe his nonsense.
Kazuma, silent, looked at the river, profoundly feeling what it was like to have a home but not be able to return to it.
Finally, Kazuma let out a long sigh.
"Ah! Who told me to get hit by a car while saving a little girl?
It's already pretty good to be alive again."
As he spoke, Kazuma's face showed a melancholic expression tinged with wistfulness, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, as if to say, "Such is life."
"Weren't you scared to death by a tractor? It was even reported in the news."
Keli replied to him.
Na… Nani?!
Although he had actually known what happened from that blue-haired goddess before, he never expected such a thing to make the news.
Damn NHK! Can't they report on important national matters instead of being so detailed about this?
Kazuma, who failed at trying to appear gloomy, grabbed Keli's shoulders and shook him, letting out a wail similar to Keli's.
"Ahhh! Why aren't you a beautiful girl? How great would it be to wander with a beautiful girl!"
As he was shaking, something fell out of Keli's jacket pocket.
Kazuma, somewhat curious, squatted down and picked it up.
"Oh, oh! Affiliated with Todai…"
Looking at the patient tag that read "Dangerous Mentally Ill Patient."
Sato Kazuma looked up at Keli, then back at the patient tag.
"You picked this tag up, right…?"
Looking up like this, Kazuma finally noticed the patient gown under Keli's jacket.
Keli: "…"
"Right?"
Kazuma covered his head and slumped to the ground in despair.
Heh heh! Heh heh heh heh heh! This is great! Not only will I not be able to watch anime, play games, or use air conditioning, relying on my family to be a NEET! I'll also have to be a homeless person, and the person I'm with is a male mental patient!
Tears flowed down.
"Give me back my legal killing permit." Keli took the tag back and put it in another pocket that was less likely to fall out.
Just as he was breaking down, Kazuma suddenly heard a rumbling sound.
The sound came from his stomach. It was then that Kazuma, whose attention had been solely on his predicament due to the sudden changes, realized he was hungry.
Keli also frowned, because he felt a bit hungry too.
However, Keli felt something was off, because it hadn't been long since he had eaten that strange fish by the riverbank.
Keli felt the wallet in his pocket, given to him by a kind person, and regretfully thought about how he hadn't been able to pick up the dropped items of those likely yakuza guys earlier because he heard the police siren.
"Let's go. Maybe some convenience stores that close late will still have half-price bento boxes."
...
On a bench in front of a 24-hour convenience store not far from the riverbank, with a night shift delivery truck parked nearby, Keli and Sato Kazuma ate their bento boxes with chopsticks.
The truly cost-effective bento boxes had long been snatched up by office workers and local housewives when they were just discounted to 50% off.
50% off was the lowest discount generally offered by convenience stores for food like bento boxes that wouldn't sell well after the day they were made.
At this time, what they held in their hands were purely leftover items that no one wanted even at a discount.
"Damn it! Who came up with this 'diet bento' thing?! Does anyone actually buy this stuff?
And isn't this just a regular hamburger steak bento with the hamburger steak and most of the rice removed?? And the price is still so expensive!"
Kazuma complained as he shoved the damned tomatoes, lettuce, and rice into his mouth.
Keli, on the other hand, ate slowly and methodically.
However, when Keli had eaten half the contents of his bento box, he frowned.
At the same time, Sato Kazuma, who had already finished his entire bento, also looked puzzled.
"I… I still feel very hungry… It's strange, this much food should be enough for my appetite." While scratching his head sheepishly, Kazuma cast a hopeful gaze at Keli.
And Keli had the same feeling. It was very strange; it had flavor, he could feel it, but eating it was like not eating at all. Not only was it like not eating, but the feeling of hunger became even more pronounced.
Keli suddenly remembered that before the chat room appeared, the message that had appeared in his mind seemed to mention something about a "hunger curse."
With a skeptical mindset, Keli quickly finished the damned bento and took out another 1000 yen to buy two rice balls from the store.
After quickly eating them, the two exchanged glances; the feeling of hunger persisted.