NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: [5] Feces
Chapter 5: Feces
The next day.
Shunsuke woke up early again. Despite playing late last night with Sagiri, he didn't feel tired at all. Instead, he noticed that his memory had been enhanced to a terrifying degree.
"Photographic memory? This is really scary."
While getting dressed, Shunsuke directed Star Platinum to quickly take notes, and by the time he finished brushing his teeth, he had already completed writing the entire first volume of "Overlord."
Shunsuke had thoughts of engaging in some large-scale plagiarism.
Continuing to remotely control Star Platinum, he began preparing breakfast for three people. Before long, Star Platinum had everything ready.
Star Platinum is really useful.
Although it was an invincible Stand, he was using it as a household tool, which made Shunsuke feel a little guilty.
After finishing breakfast, he placed the meals for the mother and daughter into a thermos and quietly said, "I'm heading out."
Since he had contacted the Yasuraoka family last night, today he would go to their house to wait for Hanabi. It was better to arrive early.
With time still to spare, Shunsuke leaned against the wall of the Yasuraoka house and let his thoughts drift.
Having this free time finally allowed him to consider what changes the Stand system would bring to his life.
If he were to put it bluntly, he was already invincible, right?
Looking at the wide variety of Stands in the redemption interface, Shunsuke came to an objective conclusion.
But he was just an ordinary person, without the ambition to dominate the world or the interest in becoming a righteous partner or superhero.
Having so many Stands didn't seem to matter much; for Shunsuke, it was enough to ensure his comfortable life.
But what level of comfort counted as sufficient?
Shunsuke couldn't come up with an answer at the moment, so he concluded—he should focus on collecting points first.
"Just cross the bridge when you get to it." Without points, everything was just talk. So, the key was to win over his "waifu" first.
Yes, as the memories of his past life fully returned, Shunsuke decided to start calling her "waifu" again.
The mindset of a transmigrator had changed a little.
"Mom, I'm heading out."
Hanabi's voice startled Shunsuke, prompting him to greet her. "Good morning."
"Good morning! Are you alright, Shunsuke?" Hanabi asked politely. "I wanted to stay yesterday, but Mrs. Izumi insisted that I go to school."
"It's fine; no need to be so tense. Mrs. Izumi was right," Shunsuke reassured her. "Which class are you in, Hanabi? Do you have any good friends there?"
National Sobu High assigns students to different classes every year. If there are friends from previous years in the new class, it's easier to adapt, but if he didn't know anyone, that would be a problem.
"I'm in Class 2-C, and Sanae is in the same class as me!" Hanabi exclaimed happily.
"Sanae, huh… that's pretty good. Yes, that's really good."
Having regained his memories and knowing Sanae's true nature, Shunsuke said this with a clear conscience.
"Also, the Japanese teacher is Narumi-san, so it looks like this year will be really easy. It would be even better if you could be in the same class as me!"
"Is that so? Then I'm truly sorry."
"By the way, do you know what class you're in, Shunsuke?"
"They informed me yesterday. I'm in Class 2-F."
"That's quite far, so it seems like it will be hard to hang out with you."
The two continued chatting casually. However, on their way to school, Shunsuke suddenly spotted a shrine and thought of his awakened Stand; he suddenly felt the urge to check it out.
[Please rest assured, Host. This is a daily world.]
The system reminded him once again.
"Really? I don't believe you."
[...]
With this punch, at least twenty years of experience was behind it; even the system fell silent after being hit.
"Shunsuke, what are you doing?" Hanabi asked, puzzled.
"Hanabi, you go ahead. I have something to take care of."
"Then I'll go with you."
"No, it's fine. Hanabi, your stamina isn't great; climbing up might be a bit tiring."
"Then I'll wait for you here."
Unable to persuade her, Shunsuke let Hanabi wait while he summoned Platinum Star to possess him and quickly dashed up the shrine.
The shrine, Kanda Myojin Shrine, was open 24 hours a day, but at this early hour, there wasn't a soul in sight, making it feel incredibly desolate.
Upon arriving at the shrine, Shunsuke saw only a shrine maiden in a miko outfit sweeping the area.
"Are you a guest? How unusual to come for a visit this early," the shrine maiden said, turning around in surprise upon hearing his voice.
"It was a sudden whim," Shunsuke replied, momentarily taken aback by her appearance.
"Do you know me?" she inquired.
"Was I that obvious?"
"No, it's just my intuition," she smiled, and Shunsuke felt as though he was being led into conversation.
"Although I completely don't remember where I may have met you before, pursuing that now would be quite rude, so let's get straight to the point," the shrine maiden said, covering her mouth with a hint of amusement.
"My name is Tojo Nozomi. May I ask why you've come? Are you seeking love, wanting to resolve troubles, or hoping to enhance your studies?"
"Kanda Myojin truly has great power," Shunsuke replied, seemingly complimenting her, while internally pondering whether Tojo Nozomi's successful divination in the Love Live lore was perhaps due to the blessings of Kanda Myojin.
"Hehe, I get the feeling you're thinking about something very cute," Tojo Nozomi said with a mischievous smile, then pulled out a large stack of tarot cards from her sleeve.
"So, how about a divination? Although it's just a mere shrine maiden's reading, it can be quite effective."
Shunsuke took a deep look at the tarot cards, then decisively summoned Star Platinum: "Toki Wo Tomare!"
Time stopped, and Shunsuke stood silently in place, closely observing Nozomi.
A second passed.
Nozomi remained completely still; even with Star Platinum's precision A-level eyesight, there was no sign of her reacting.
At that moment, Shunsuke made his move. He approached Nozomi and lifted the sleeve of her miko garment.
Don't think too much; he just wanted to see how she managed to carry such a large stack of tarot cards with her.
Naturally, Nozomi remained unresponsive.
Two seconds passed.
As time resumed, Shunsuke retracted Star Platinum and summoned The World: "ZA WARUDO!"
Time stopped once more.
This time, Shunsuke examined the tarot cards that Nozomi had taken out, discovering they were all very ordinary tarot cards, with no sign of anything unusual whatsoever.
With no unusual findings, Shunsuke decided to reposition Nozomi and stepped back to his original spot but kept The World positioned in front of her.
The World leaned down, staring intensely at her, with their faces only about ten centimeters apart.
"Now, let's resume time."
After snapping his fingers in a very dramatic fashion, Shunsuke canceled the time stop.
"Go ahead, please do draw a card at your leisure."
A terrifyingly large face suddenly appeared before him. If Nozomi could see Stands, she would undoubtedly react, but instead, she continued to smile as she offered him the tarot card.
"...Maybe you should shuffle the cards again."
Feeling a mix of disappointment and relief, Shunsuke retracted The World.
"Hmm? Alright."
Although she didn't understand why, since the guest requested it, Nozomi complied.
Once the freshly shuffled tarot cards were presented before him again, Shunsuke casually drew the top card.
At the same time, he couldn't help but comment, "Is this really how you use tarot cards? Shouldn't it be a bit more serious, with a proper tablecloth, card layout, and all that?"
"Hmm, this is our unique method of divination. There's no need to be so serious; the deities will guide us."
Nozomi appeared quite confident, signaling for Shunsuke to flip the card over.
It was The Star in the upright position.
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•Sanae Ebato [Scum's Wish]
•Narumi Kanai [Scum's Wish]
•Tojo Nozomi [Love Live]
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