nhp | (Sutamai) Character Main Story - Arakida Sosei, Vol 0 Ch 1

CHAPTER INDEX

1.1.

I stop in my tracks, and turn back to look at the path I’ve walked coming here.

It’s neither a good one or bad one in particular, but…

If anything, what’s striking is how my way of life keeps on tilting to the slightly unfortunate side.

It’s definitely going to be like this from now on until forever.

There’s no such thing as a happy ending waiting for me.

* * *

-Arakida’s Room-

Arakida: (… I’m not meant for that getting-chummy-with-someone business.)

(It’s enough that I live out my life quietly, all by myself.)

If I get involved with others, I’ll be pushed around.

If I get involved with others, I’ll end up breaking them.

Arakida: Wait… What the hell am I doing, getting all sappy.

… Heck, my life is just like some secondary character to begin with.

I let out a small sigh, and reach for a book at hand.

That’s right—

It only makes sense… that when it comes to the characters appearing in a novel, it’s all I can do to be a supporting role.

So why—

{Fade to black}

Rei: “A-Arakida-san!!???”

* * *

-Boarding House: Hallway-

Arakida: … W-What the…

Why on earth was I, right now, being pushed down by this woman again?

Rei: Err…

Um… That is—! I—!!

I hesitantly opened my eyes.

That weird NCD woman—Izumi Rei—was saddling me.

Rei: … I’M SO SORRY!

Arakida: … Hngh…

Izumi was looking at me from above with a face as red as a beetroot.

And pressing down on my chest was a rather soft sensation.

I let my eyes wander around as I remained pinned under and unable to move.

Arakida: (… Hold on a sec here.)

(How did it turn out like this?)

I was having difficulty taking in the all too sudden situation.

But before I could retrace my short-circuited train of thought…

Izumi closed the distance between us even further.

Rei: That is… I’ll take proper responsibility, for sure!

Arakida: What…?

(… Heck, you’re too close—!!)

(Any more is bad news…)

My casting was supposed to have been for the supporting role.

And yet, this was as if I were playing the part of the protagonist’s love interest.

Arakida: (Sorry, but that’s the last thing I want happening.)

(… No, wait.)

Suddenly, someone’s words tugged at me inside my jumbled mind.

Arakida: (Come to think of it, I was told something kind of odd this afternoon.)

(I’m pretty sure that was…)

{Fade to black}

Fortune-teller: “Oh my, what’s this now? I see here that you have bad luck with women.”

* * *

-Divination House-

Arakida: … What?

It all started with the interrogation at the divination house that we visited.

The shady fortune-teller had stared fixedly at my hand, and then went on to declare something outrageous.

Fortune-teller: Like I said, my dear. It says here that you have bad luck with women.

Although it looks like you’ve had that since the very beginning.

Ooh, yes. Going by this, it’s getting even stronger.

Arakida: … What?

Fortune-teller: In the near future, you will meet with misfortune because of a woman.

Sugano: Pfft…

Haha—AHAHAHAHA—!!!

Arakida: … You’re overdoing it with the laughing.

Sugano: B-But, dude—!

She’s saying that you have shitty luck with girls!!

HAHAHA… Oh god, I can’t breathe…

Arakida: *Sigh*…

(Weren’t you the one who told me to get her to do my reading…)

(… I should’ve just said no and went straight home.)

The very person who had put me up to the whole thing was clutching his stomach and laughing uncontrollably.

On top of not getting anything worthwhile out of the questioning…

I was left with a prophecy resembling a curse. I couldn’t bring myself to find it funny, even for me.

Fortune-teller: Oh, but…

It doesn’t look like your luck with love is any bad.

Sugano: So she says, Sosei-san. What a relief, huh?

Natsuki interjected once again while tearing up from laughing so hard.

Arakida: That’s useless information.

Or rather, it was the worst news by far.

Sugano: There it is—your woman-hating ways.

Arakida: Leave me alone.

He was right. For starters, I couldn’t stand women.

… To put it even more bluntly, I’d fall under the category of being a misogynist.

Arakida: (They’re weak, and cry easily.)

(They say one thing one day, then the complete opposite the next day.)

How many times have I been toyed around with by those words of theirs that I had no idea if they were lies or the truth?

The only one who had any intention of being in a relationship was me.

In the end, to this day, I still didn’t understand what it was that they wanted from me.

… It wasn’t just a one-or-two-time thing of the past either.

Arakida: (They’re a nuisance, and a pain to deal with.)

(You can’t tell what they’re thinking at all.)

At some point within that repeating cycle, I figured it out.

That the best thing to do was to not let these beings known as “women” to get close to you.

Sugano: Hey, Ms Fortune-teller.

Is there anything, like, even more interesting about this guy’s palm reading?

Fortune-teller: Let’s see now… Next is…

1.2.

-Divination House-

Arakida: …………

The fortune-teller looked into the magnifying glass and inspected my hand once more.

Fortune-teller: Hm? T-This is…

Arakida: … Forget it. I’ve heard more than enough.

Thank you for your time and cooperation with the investigation.

I wanted to pass up on being told anything even stranger.

I pulled back my hand from the fortune-teller and shoved it into my pocket, and quietly got up from my chair.

Arakida: … We’re heading back.

Sugano: Yeah, yeah.

Fortune-teller: Wait one moment, Mr Officer. Yes, you.

Arakida: … You still need me for something?

Sugano: Easy on the glaring, Sosei-san.

Arakida: … I’m not glaring.

Fortune-teller: This is the most important bit.

The person who’s going to make you be the protagonist will be appearing shortly.

Whether you change something when that time comes, or continue to stay the way you are right now…

Will, of course, all depend on what you decide.

Arakida: … Change something…?

(… What does she mean?)

I couldn’t quite grasp what the cryptic message was even getting at anymore.

But for just one split second…

Those words tugged at the pit of my stomach like a bunch of soft thorns.

Arakida: (… No, if I let it get to me then it’s game over.)

(Either way, it’s not like it’ll come true or anything…)

(Those people who believe in stuff like fortune-telling are beyond me.)

… Thanks for the advice.

I gave a bow to the all too dubious fortune-teller.

And wanting to drive off the utterly miserable feeling I was put under…

I promptly left the dimly lit room.

* * *

-On the way back-

Sugano: Aw man—well, that was a complete bust.

At this rate, we’re gonna be dead meat at You-san’s mercy before we even track down the murder suspect.

Arakida: … I was at a dead end with this case anyway.

I told you to get back to your investigation with Tsukasa-san, didn’t I?

Sugano: But c’mon, You-san was the one who personally left me in charge of being your chaperone for today.

Like hell I could’ve said no.

Arakida: What are you saying you’re my chaperone… It’s the other way around, I reckon.

(I would’ve been perfectly fine on my own for an investigation like today’s.)

(… What the heck is You-san thinking?)

Lately, You-san has been wanting to pair up Natsuki and I non-stop.

Even if I refused and tried to leave by myself…

Natsuki would go getting himself involved with me regardless, so I haven’t been able to escape it.

Sugano: Oh, yeah.

Mind if I pop by your place tonight for dinner?

Arakida: Yes. Don’t come over.

Sugano: Whaaat.

But I promised Aunt Saeko that I’d be dropping by today.

She’s definitely made my share as well and is waiting for me, dontcha think?

Arakida: … Don’t bother asking me then.

Actually, don’t cause too much trouble for her.

Sugano: Not to worry! It’s all good!!

Unlike you, I’m super pro at handling myself when it comes to that sort of thing!

Arakida: …………

Sugano: Oh, right. So, the other day…

I bought one of those new MG Mobile Suit kits.

AND IT’S FRICKIN AWESOME!!

I want you to check it out too so I’ll bring it over along with me!

Arakida: … A-Another plastic model?

I’m not helping you put it together.

Sugano: Ahaha. I’m just showing it to you, man, I mean it!

Arakida: What a load of bullshit…

My colleague, who was one year younger than me, was as rowdy as always.

That day as well, I continued to be one-sidedly caught up in his pace until we made it back to the office.

* * *

-CIU First Division-

Hattori: … Now then.

What should I do about this, hmm.

When we got back to the office, You-san was unusually in his work mode.

He seemed to be thinking about something or other as he spun the chair he sat sunken into, round and round.

Sugano: How’s it going~ We’re back!

Arakida: … We’ve returned.

Hattori: Oh? Well now, thanks for all your hard work.

What have you got to report for today then? Make it brief.

Arakida: We went around questioning those within the victim’s perimeter, but…

I summarised everything in simple terms, and relayed it to You-san.

Having said that though, there was hardly any useful information today for making progress with the investigation.

Hattori: Goodness.

So you wasted an entire day and that’s all you’ve got to show for it.

Arakida: … My apologies.

Hattori: No biggie?

But if you give me the same report tomorrow too, then that’s a roundhouse kick in the training hall for you.

Be sure to keep that in mind.

Arakida: …………

(Getting hit with a roundhouse kick from You-san is an instant K.O. for sure.)

(Seriously, I might actually be killed by this person first…)

Hattori: It’s not as if you can’t produce results, right?

Arakida: … Yeah.

The aura coming off from this person would more-or-less be an indifference to everything.

But every now and then, you’d catch a glimpse of an awfully dispassionate and stern expression.

Arakida: (He basically asks for the unreasonable a lot of the times, but…)

(He’s got it properly together for where it counts.)

(… He assesses other people with incredibly severe eyes.)

More often than not, I’d be unable to read what it was that he was thinking.

But I was constantly of the thought…

That it was just what you’d expect of the most powerful person-in-charge leading this division.

Asagiri: Natsuki—check over this urgently.

When I returned to my desk, the smell of artificial seasoning hung in the air.

From the looks of it, it would appear as if Tsukasa-san was having a late lunch.

He was slurping up the cup noodles with a serious face, all the while handing the file to Natsuki.

Sugano: Are these documents for the investigation?

Asagiri: We’re leaving once I finish eating this.

Sugano: Roger that!

Arakida: (… Didn’t he also have cup noodles yesterday?)

(The day before that too… Wait, has it been like that this whole week? And last week was pizza everyday.)

(I’m surprised he’s not sick of all that junk food…)

It was a miracle that his body could hold up with that absurd diet.

Arakida: (I respect his work ethics, but…)

(I definitely wouldn’t be able to imitate his eating lifestyle…)

I’ve heard that people who are distinguished often have something not quite right about them.

This person was probably of that sort of type as well.

Asagiri: … What?

Arakida: … No, it’s nothing.

(Actually—)

(Now is not the time to be taking it easy and observing people.)

Was my intel lacking or did I overlook something?

Either way, it seemed like it was necessary to re-examine the investigation file.

Asagiri: You-san, we’re heading out now.

Sugano: Be back later!

Hattori: Sure. Go wild and be reckless.

Tsukasa-san had cleaned up his cup noodles, then dragged Natsuki out on a different case.

In the end, it looked like I was the only one left…

To sort through the piled up documents on the desk.