Chapter 19: Are you serious?
As an ordinary third-year middle school student who took a leave of absence, Morofushi Sora'aki felt the pressure of student loans early on and worked hard to pay them off within a year. Without these loans, he would have become the highest earner in his family.
Unfortunately, his assets have now been wiped out, and the frequency with which he does missions will definitely decrease. He also can't take the pocket money his mother gave him to the other world.
In other words, Morofushi Sora'aki's current assets—in the short term—are zero.
Sitting in the dessert shop, Morofushi Sora'aki was biting his fork when he belatedly realized what had happened. He looked up at his two friends and said, "I'm out of money. I used up the last bit I had at the arcade earlier."
Hagiwara Kenji: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "So?"
Morofushi Sora'aki remained expressionless, his tone unchanged: "So, can you treat us to a meal today?"
"..." Hagiwara Kenji sighed, "Sometimes I really think, Sora'aki-chan, you..."
Meeting those upturned blue cat eyes, Hagiwara Kenji swallowed his words: "Okay, my treat."
Morofushi Sora'aki was satisfied: "I'll treat you to cake next time."
"Only you would like this kind of thing," Matsuda Jinpei retorted, then thought for a moment, "You're paying at the arcade next time."
Morofushi Sora'aki responded, "Okay."
"But I don't like cake, I just need dessert." Morofushi Sora'aki emphasized, then added, "Well, I don't dislike it either."
"...Put that cake down first."
"That's great! You looked so tired a while ago, but you seem much happier now." Hagiwara Kenji said with a smile. "Has the problem been resolved?"
"Yes, it's resolved. I've paid back the money." Morofushi Sora'aki was a little happy and didn't feel the need to hide this from his friend, so he naturally told him.
So he gained two friends who widened their eyes in surprise: "Huh? What—repay the money? What money? Did something happen at home?"
Hagiwara Kenji's family business had gone bankrupt due to the economic downturn. His parents never brought the pressure of bankruptcy to their son, but Hagiwara Kenji genuinely empathized with their hardships and exhaustion. More than once, when he woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, he saw his father standing in the living room, still awake, making phone calls.
Because he had experienced something like this before, Hagiwara Kenji was quite sensitive to this, and the worry in his eyes was palpable.
Morofushi Sora'aki knew about the Hagiwara family's situation, but he didn't connect it to the story and simply replied, "I have to pay because I want to go to school with you."
The process of paying off the debt was tiring and tedious, but after it was done, Morofushi Sora'aki felt a little sense of accomplishment: "I paid it off all by myself."
Morofushi Sora'aki always had plenty of pocket money and never showed any signs of financial distress. Even during the "year of paying back the money" that Morofushi Sora'aki mentioned, he ate and drank as usual and never missed out on cake.
—In fact, it was entirely because he had been heavily in debt before, so he simply continued to increase his debt by a small amount in order to make money. Now that he had cleared his debts, he didn't want to become negative again, which is why Morofushi Sora'aki wanted his friend to treat him to a meal this time.
So it didn't seem like a family problem at all, and Morofushi Sora'aki himself wasn't very nervous. Hagiwara Kenji, realizing this, also breathed a sigh of relief.
Matsuda Jinpei was a little confused: "Don't your parents pay for your schooling?"
"They didn't give it to me this time." They gave it to him back home, Morofushi Sora'aki added in his mind. He didn't want to lie to his friends, so he could only hide part of it.
Matsuda Jinpei noticed the blind spot: "...This time?"
Hagiwara Kenji: "Speaking of which—this time, it was Sora'aki-chan who chose the school himself because he wanted to go to high school with us, right?"
"Hmm." Morofushi Sora'aki didn't dwell on it too much. Remembering what Matsuda Jinpei had said earlier, he said, "By the way, if Matsuda wants a phone, I can give it to you this time."
"Okay, give it to me in a bit." Matsuda Jinpei looked up and casually asked, "Why is it okay all of a sudden?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Because I have a house now."
Matsuda Jinpei: "...So you didn't have a house before?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Yes, but not over here."
"Why do I feel like I'm getting more and more questions?" Matsuda Jinpei muttered, then, seeing that Morofushi Sora'aki had almost finished dealing with the situation, asked directly, "Can we go take a look?"
Neither of them noticed Hagiwara Kenji's unusual silence.
Morofushi Sora'aki didn't refuse. After eating the last bit of cream, just like the first time he disassembled the microwave at the Hagiwara's house, he stood at the door watching them expectantly as Hagiwara Kenji went to pay.
...Although to outsiders, it probably still looks like he has the same expression.
Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei exchanged a glance, both noticing the excitement that Morofushi Sora'aki didn't directly express, and a sense of curiosity arose within them as well.
Previously, the house was still under debt, so Morofushi Sora'aki had never invited anyone over. Now that the debt is paid off, he can invite his good friends to his house to play as usual.
This was the first time that Morofushi Sora'aki had invited Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji. Although they had known each other for three years, Morofushi Sora'aki had always acted mysteriously. Although he revealed many of his habits, he rarely revealed information about his identity or home address.
Ah, I do know he has an older brother, who is supposedly a policeman.
It wasn't that they weren't curious; it was just that Morofushi Sora'aki was very good at changing the subject. He was always honest about what he could say, but for what he couldn't say, he would either remain silent or change the subject without them even noticing.
"I feel a little nervous." Hagiwara Kenji whispered to Matsuda Jinpei.
Matsuda Jinpei wholeheartedly agreed: "I've never been this nervous even when a teacher comes to visit my home."
"You're not afraid of the teacher at all, are you?" Hagiwara Kenji looked over.
"Ah, so you mean I'm not actually nervous." Matsuda Jinpei grinned and said sarcastically, "Coward."
Hagiwara Kenji, who was called a coward, instantly exploded: "You don't understand at all!"
Having overheard the entire conversation from ahead, Morofushi Sora'aki turned around, popped an orange candy into his mouth, and muttered, "Two childish brats."
In an instant, both Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji fixed their fierce gazes on him. Just a second ago they were almost arguing, but the next second they instinctively hooked their arms around Morofushi Sora'aki's shoulders, one on each side: "I think I heard something strange just now, Sora'aki-chan~"
"Yeah, Raki, could you repeat that?"
Morofushi Sora'aki chewed the candy in his mouth and stopped walking: "I'm home."
Even though they knew that Morofushi Sora'aki was trying to change the subject, Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji couldn't help but look away.
The house with the name "Morofushi" hanging by the door is a very common two-story building. After Morofushi Sora'aki opened the door with the key, you could see the general layout of the room from the entrance.
"Excuse me—is no one home right now?" Hagiwara Kenji asked, noticing that there was only one pair of shoes on the shoe rack.
"I live alone." Morofushi Sora'aki changed into slippers and said to the two people who didn't have slippers to wear, "The floor should be pretty clean, come on in."
He thought for a moment and then said, "I'll buy slippers in a couple of days, but I don't have any money right now."
"Oh no, I suddenly feel a little guilty." Hagiwara Kenji clutched his heart dramatically. "How about next time Jinpei-chan and I bring our own slippers?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "It's not impossible."
Matsuda Jinpei: "Wait? Are you serious??"
As Morofushi Sora'aki had described, the room was clean, but empty. Although there was no smell of new renovations, it was immediately obvious that it lacked any sense of life.
While Morofushi Sora'aki was getting water, Hagiwara Kenji suddenly pulled Matsuda Jinpei aside: "Jinpei-chan, I'm suddenly starting to doubt Sora'aki-chan's identity."
Matsuda Jinpei: "...Huh?"
Hagiwara Kenji's expression was extremely serious: "That's right, I just seriously considered what Sora'aki-chan said."
"Exactly, what kind of family would let a minor earn money for high school?"
"...To cultivate independence?" Matsuda Jinpei asked.
"Are you serious?" Hagiwara Kenji looked at Matsuda Jinpei with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot. The curly-haired boy's fist hardened a little, and then he heard his friend analyze seriously: "Think about it carefully, hasn't Sora'aki-chan always been mysterious and a loner?"
"My brother is a policeman, but he insisted that I could not play with guns, not even the guns in the arcade, until I was 16 years old."
"Every time I come to the park, I'm alone, acting all mysterious."
"My home isn't nearby. I've decided to earn my own money after I start high school. Sora'aki-chan has said that his parents are very protective of him and don't trust him. How could they let him live alone?"
"What do you want to say?" Matsuda Jinpei's expression also changed.
"Well... don't you think the way Sora'aki-chan handled the gun today was too practiced? His aura was completely different."
"And do you remember? When we first met, Sora'aki-chan said that his parents and we were from different worlds—"
"What if this world doesn't refer to Earth, but rather... to the worlds of black and white or something...?"
Matsuda Jinpei: "...!"
"Especially... the first time we met, I inexplicably beat you up."
The curly-haired boy's pupils dilated in shock: "Wait, but isn't his brother a policeman? If he's involved with the mafia, he won't pass the background check!"
"It's a fake identity!" Hagiwara Kenji said with absolute certainty, as if he had witnessed it with his own eyes.
"Clatter." Morofushi Sora'aki placed the two glasses of water on the table, making a slight sound.
He watched as the curly-haired boy with his back to him instinctively trembled as if startled. It was unclear whether he was simply feeling guilty for being caught talking behind someone's back, or simply frightened.
"What fake identity?" Morofushi Sora'aki lowered his eyes, his tone slightly regretful: "...Never mind, it's no use now."
Hagiwara Kenji: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Wait a minute? What do you mean it's useless?! Do you still intend to use this fake identity for anything?!