Chapter Eight: Preparations
"So… Sensei, why are we here? And more importantly, why are they here?"
Tonomachi cocked his head, squinting past Morgan at the trio standing across from them.
With another tilt of his head, he realized the trio were staring back just as intently.
None of them looked pleased to see him.
It was Saturday.
The skies were bright blue, clouds floating lazily as the golden sun hung right above the clouds.
People could be seen going wherever they liked in happiness, all except five high school students.
"Woah, to think Tonomachi already has his hands on Sinclair-kun."
The first to speak was a 16-year-old girl with short, tied-back blond hair and brown eyes.
She wore a casual white short-sleeved shirt and a skirt that didn't quite reach half her thighs.
Ai Yamabuki.
"So, he really does swing that way."
Beside Ai, another female spoke with a flat tone.
Sixteen, same as the rest of them with short wine-brown hair and bangs, with eyes the same color.
Mai Hazakura.
"Disgusting."
Lastly, another girl spoke.
She has long, dark blue hair with bangs, purple-blue eyes, and glasses.
Morgan, standing there in the middle of it all, felt the corner of his mouth twitch.
What the hell kind of cursed slice-of-life skit is this supposed to be?
His lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
… How did this all start in the first place?
Right.
It had all started Wednesday.
After lunch, he asked Tonomachi a favour.
But now…
Forget the attraction aside.
"Girls, sorry, but I don't swing that way, I don't know about him though."
Morgan immediately ditched Tonomachi into a pit, pointing at him with those words out loud.
Naturally, this elicited quite a reaction from the three.
"I knew it."
"No! I don't swing that way!"
Tonomachi swung his arm to the sides as though to make an assertion.
Sure enough, the four weren't listening.
Morgan, on the other hand, sighed lightly. "What in the filler episode am I doing?"
He thought that for a bit before shaking his head, clearing those thoughts, turning to Ai.
"Jokes aside, I wanted Tonomachi's recommendation... requiring something, that's all."
"Eh?"
Ai spun her head over, looking at Morgan, who then asserted with a slight nod.
But before the female could have replied,
"What are you even doing here in the first place?"
"Hah!? That's no way to speak to a lady. Unlike you, we aren't shut-in NEETs."
Ignoring Morgan for a bit, she spun over, redirecting the vigor three times.
Flanked by her side were the other two who clamored something along the lines of,
"That's right, that's right!"
and, "That's so lame."
"HAH!? Who's the NEET here!"
Tonomachi snapped back almost instantly, but under the might of those three ladies, eventually, he relented.
Rather, they won.
Landslide victory.
"So? Are you done?"
Finally, as they broke up their clash, with his head innocently tilted to the sides as though he hadn't instigated Tonomachi further,
He asked.
"Aaa…"
Tonomachi's lips twitched.
For some reason, he felt like he had been set up, but he couldn't prove it.
He shook his head.
Then he clenched his fist with a resolute expression.
That didn't matter.
He'll endure anything for his galgames.
"Screw you. That aside. Let's go, I have just the perfect place in mind."
Naturally, those words elicited further raised brows from the three females.
But Morgan and Tonomachi ignored those suspicious stares.
"We're heading to an old application store. Feel free to follow if you like."
With a wave, and Tonomachi pressing first, Morgan followed behind.
Seeing them saunter off, the three took a moment to discuss amongst themselves before shortly keeping pace.
Like that, they all trudged forward.
"Speaking of which, Sinclair-kun."
Ai trudged beside him, keeping pace with him as they walked across stalls on the brick-paved roads.
She leaned forward with her hands crossed at the back as she stared at him.
"Why did you transfer over? I thought the States was relatively peaceful."
Peace, huh?
While it may seem like that on the surface.
For whatever reason, the States also experienced timely spacequakes.
Some things about this world, even from his omniscient perspective, couldn't be fully understood.
History stated that fifty more spacequakes were generated six months after the original massive spacequakes.
If he reasoned it…
Morgan understood it had to be that woman at that time.
However, when the knowledge of the Neighboring World, adjacent to this world, comes to mind,
a different answer can be given.
That is to say.
Quasi-Spirits.
"Well, my guardian works here, and since I'm relatively alone over there, she asked me to settle somewhere near her."
At least, that was the official reason he'd been given.
Not that he was complaining. Afterall, this presented… opportunities of its own.
"Is that so?"
Ai tilted her head.
"Mm. She lives around Chiyoda prefecture, if I'm not wrong."
Hearing that, Ai blinked as she brought a finger thoughtfully to her lips.
"That's still kind of far, is it not?"
Morgan shrugged. "Business, business, she's busy, so I don't really expect much."
Still, since she looked after him in her own way, he didn't mind.
Like that,
all five of them continued past the bustling market streets further downtown, even past some residential areas.
The streets were silent, dead even.
While a few stalls could be seen, though the few counted nothing more than three.
"Over there."
Tonomachi said, pointing toward a squat building at the far end of the road. A weathered sign hung over the door.
[- Junk Store.]
"A junk store, really?"
Ai muttered, giving Tonomachi a long, unimpressed look as they approached the front of the building.
However, before she could even speak, or anyone else for that matter, Morgan had taken the lead.
True to its name…
In contrast to the modern smart homes around Tengu, the store looked like a remnant of Japan's past history,
having a much more traditional look upfront, with a sliding wooden door.
"O–oi, Sinclair-kun?"
Ai called after him, but it was too late.
Shckk—!
Morgan slid the door open, entering as Tonomachi followed suit.
Being left stranded outside, the three took a glance at each other before mentally deciding.
Their conclusion wasn't anything surprising.
They also followed in.
Past the wooden door, they saw a different interior. Rather, one could simply say, as expected.
As its name…
Items that looked like relics of old were scattered, from cooking utensils to devices which were…
By every means, out of date, especially since how far technology has come.
"So, boss, how much would you sell one of your old PCs for me?"
"...huh?"
The store owner, a middle-aged man that looked to be in his late thirties with a moustache and a groggy expression, frowned.
Of all things, rather…
No one in their right mind wanted an old PC anymore, not when the new ones basically superseded the old ones.
However,
"It must be it, boss." Morgan pressed.
Tonomachi also couldn't understand.
"Eh? That's why you dragged me here? Wouldn't a newer model be better? Or is this, like… a budget thing?"
Morgan shook his head. "Not about price."
It really wasn't about price or anything materialistic like whatever Tonomachi was thinking.
"Hmm… well, technically, it still works. But it can't connect to any smart Wi-Fis or run neural-link apps. You sure that's okay?"
Scratching the back of his head, the store owner said that with a long, drawn gaze.
But that—
"Exactly what I need!"
Morgan exclaimed with his eyes practically lighting up.
Naturally, these unexpected words came out of an excited Morgan, who had pulled out his QR code scanner for payment.
"That… are you sure?"
"Come on, I said it's okay."
Morgan tilted his head to the side with a frown, saying that as he moved his device an inch further, in front of the owner's face.
"F–fine, I got it, then will you take it now or do you want a shipment?"
Saying that, the man pulled out his own device, tapping on it while taking glances at Morgan.
"A shipment, please. Latest by this evening."
"...I–I see. That's a tall order, but alright."
On the other hand,
Tonomachi and the girls tilted their heads. Why would Morgan need a device like that?
While they thought about it… and since they couldn't get an answer, they eventually gave up guessing his thoughts.
For Tonomachi though…
As long as he could get the walk-through to the legendary ending, then he could care no less.
Exiting the shop,
It was still fairly bright.
To be exact, around 1:00 P.M. JST.
"How about we take a stroll around?"
Leading from the front, Morgan tilted his head back to look at Tonomachi and the three girls from behind.
Tonomachi grinned with a thumbs up, while the girls on the other hand all nodded their heads.
From there,
… they went about enjoying their day.
Spirits.
Otherworldly in a sense, what's more is the fact that they all were former humans.
A bunch of poor girls destined to be saved at the Mr. Protagonist's hands.
… to some levels, he purely had no interest in them.
He was more concerned about another thing.
As someone with a slight extensive knowledge, he knew of what was used to create the Spirit of Origin.
Spirit Formula.
Which was assisted by the use of Realizer Manifestation Device.
Of course getting such a device was hard, almost close to impossible due to how valuable it is.
Naturally, not like he's expecting to simply contact Fraxinus and spew a lot of bullshit and they'll go:
'Thank you very much, here's one Realizer Manifestation Device.'
However, other than that.
There was a way to recreate the Formula that created the Spirit of Origin.
Anyone will be surprised.
But now, he has taken the first step towards power.
Sitting in a dimly lit spacious room with a fresh breeze coming from the open window.
It was evening, still Saturday.
Barely hours since he and the rest parted ways.
The skies painted in the color of the night skies as his curtain danced with its soft breeze.
Dim lightning came from the old PC setup inside his cozy room.
His house was a cozy apartment.
Not too big and not too small.
A simple three bedroom flat with toilet, kitchen, dining room and the necessaries.
Right now however,
"Alright. Time to start."