Magical★Explorer - Chapter 11

Hanamura House

When one talks about worry, most people would think about money or relationships.

I also experienced it first hand in my previous life. There are even research on this subject conducted through questionnaires.

This held true even in the game. Especially to an Eroge player. The protagonists would always have to worry about how to better get along with beautiful girls. It was natural considering that they were love simulation games though.

Furthermore, an Eroge is very expensive. It was really harsh to pay ten-thousand yen for a game. It was the price that a normal salaryman couldn’t afford. You have to rely on your guts and make a gentleman’s choice.

After you are done choosing what to buy, next is the [relationship] problem. When you buy the first edition of an Eroge you will get bonus items like posters, clear file set or other store specific bonuses. However, every heroine will not be included in these bonuses. Each product will often feature only one specific heroine.

In other words, you had to choose an item featuring only one heroine when you haven’t even played the actual game yet. Of course there was the choice of buying everything, but for a salaryman to spend ten-thousand yen just for a heroine bonus item is too expensive so us gentlemen had to choose their favorite heroine before the game was officially released.

Even when you can finally play the game you still had to ponder on who to capture. You have to compare various beautiful girls and decide who to go after. What a luxurious problem to have.

By the way, although it was not revealed in the game but  Takioto Kousuke seemed to have a lot more of these trouble than the protagonist. There’s his backstory, his limiting special constitution and now he has to adjust himself to his new family……

“Umm…..”

“……….”

A woman is staring at me without even the slightest movement. Hanamura Hatsumi, as Marino-san’s daughter her height and appearance was similar to that of Marino-san but her expression is much harder to read. One could say she is so expressionless that I don’t know what she’s thinking about. I know from the game that she is a silent type character but…..

When I was wondering about what to do, suddenly Hanamura Hatsumi opened her mouth.

“……I heard about your situation.”

“Y, Yes.”

“………..”

“U,Umm…….Hatsumi-san?”

“……….”

That’s all !? Can’t you at least  say something more !?

She said nothing more and keep staring at me. Is she upset with me?

There’s no doubt that this is one of the reasons Takioto Kousuke didn’t stay at the Hanamura house.

He couldn’t live with Hanamura Hatsumi. Of course, being the daughter of Marino-san the beautiful magician, she is undoubtedly a beautiful person. However, I don’t know what she is thinking, I don’t know how to start a conversation with her, plus she is so gloomy. Looking from the outside Takioto Kousuke seemed like a frivolous character so they are opposite to each other. He is already broken inside though.

Well, Takioto Kousuke and Hanamura Hatsumi are like water and oil. Choosing to stay at the dorm might have been the only viable option for him.

If I didn’t know that this was the world of Magiero I might have chosen to stay at the dorm too. Of course, I won’t deny the possibility of being taken care of by a pair of beautiful mother and daughter. I am not the game’s Takioto Kousuke but a gentleman who thoroughly experienced the world of Magiero. Thus I will not choose to stay in the dormitory.

I already experienced various kinds of human relationships from my previous life, I worked in a black company after all. I ended up accustomed to those shitty bastard already (I have to check-in at the hospital due to stomach pain though.). Since I was already used to dealing with difficult relationships there’s no reason for me to leave this place.

“Hatsumi-san, I will be in your care from now on. I am sorry for bothering you all of a sudden but could you lend me a book about magic? One about space magic if possible?”

This was the house of Hanamura Marino, the Witch of Tsukuyomi and a lecturer from Tsukuyomi academy, Hanamura Hatsumi. It was natural that there are magic books here. This place also has the pair’s magic workshop. Of course, there’s a workshop for enchantment magic as well. There’s also one at the academy but you can only use it for a limited time and I had to consider the dorm’s curfew too.

Certainly it might have some uncomfortable mood but this is the best house (environment) for a magician. Why do I have to leave this place on purpose? I have to use what I can right?

However, I hope that I won’t cause too much trouble for them.

“……..This way.”

Hatsumi-san said that and started walking into the hallway so I immediately followed after her. The place she brought me to was a big library, it was too big for a single household though.

At the center there was a table, a sofa and a number of chairs. On top of the table is a PC-like device and on top of the sofa there was a blanket and pillow. Around the center were bookshelves that were filled to the brim. Not just thousands but ten thousands of books were being kept here. The scale was even bigger than a small library.

When I casually looked around, there seem to be books other than magical ones. There were picture books for children, plant encyclopedias, there are also normal literature and light novels. Of course I found the books aimed for alchemist and the one with details on advance magic too.

“Here.”

I was guided to the corner of the library. Among the many books that were lined up, there were also things that could only be described as a paper bundle

“Is it okay for me to read everything here?”

I knew that her research subject was space magic and that she would eventually invent the cheat space-time magic and teach it to the protagonist.

There’s a possibility that the books here are important to her research. If there were some papers with important details on her research lying around, her research might leak out…Can she easily show it to a stranger like me?

“……..You knew my research?”

“You were researching space-time magic, the subject of your father’s research, right?”

Hatsumi-san nodded.

Although there was no detailed explanation in the game, it seems like her father was caught in a trap set by a certain researcher and killed. The developer blog on the official site said [We worked hard to come up with her backstory but it was cut due to budget reason lol] so there wasn’t much to learn in the game. Rather, isn’t this game cut too much content?

“There’s no real important things here.”

I nodded.

“Thank you very much, then please let me read here for a while.”

After that she turned her back and walked away.

Normally it might have been better to talk with her a little longer to get closer to her but that exciting future is still not possible for me yet. Moreover, it would be hard for her to talk to me too. We seem incompatible after all.

I took multiple books from the shelf and placed it on the table. Then while I was reading I was also practicing my magic by turning the pagse with Third and Fourth Hands. I already confirmed it from several days of experiments that the larger the area the more magic power was needed to control the stole and the longer the length was, the harder it was to make a delicate movements. Since I practiced a lot, I was gradually increasing its dexterity………probably.

When I read a few pages I heard a rustle like something moved behind me. When I turned around, I saw Hatsumi-san moving her belongings my way.

“………Don’t mind me.”

What did she come here for?

While being conscious of Hatsumi-san I kept reading the book. However, there is no sign that Hatsumi-san will leave anytime soon.

I took my eyes off the book and looked at Hatsumi-san, for some reason she had a cup of coffee with her.

When I met my eyes with her, she got up and approached me.

“Here.”

“Th, Thank you.”

Saying that, she gave a small nod and headed back to her corner and started working.

……….Why did she start working here? Is it to keep an eye on me?

“Ah, it’s delicious.”

It had a unique flavor that was slightly different from ordinary coffee, it had low acidity and rich in bitterness along with a clear aftertaste. Because it was such a strong coffee, people who hate bitter coffee will definitely hate it. However, if you prefer coffee with less acidity you would surely be delighted by its finesse.

I glanced at Hatsumi-san. She seemed to be silently writing something on the paper. I will talk to her about the coffee later.

I proceed to turn the page with my Third Hand again.

——————-

I wonder how many hours have passed. Hatsumi-san got up and approached me.

“Let’s have a meal.”

I took a look at my smartphone and it was already well past noon. A company or school lunch break would already be over by now.

“Did you wait for me?”

“No, because it’s not crowded at this time.”

Seem like she planned to eat out. Come to think of it, does the Hanamura family hire a housekeeper? The house was smaller than I thought but for just three people living together, it was very very big. Marino-san always seem like she’s busy so I thought that it wouldn’t be weird if there’s someone to clean up and cook for them.

“I can guide you around the neighborhood on our way back.”

When she told me that, I shook my head sideways.

“Ah, It’s okay…….Marino-san already guided me around beforehand.”

When I said that, her expression slightly changed, the change was so small that I thought I was making a mistake.

“Okay, let’s go then.”

The place she brought me to was a small cafe about five minutes away from the house. It is not very large and there were only a few tables and a counter for several people.

We sit down on an empty table and looked at the menu. I looked at Hatsumi-san and dropped my eyes to the menu again.

“Do you have a recommendation, Hatsumi-san?”

The town I lived in before was nearly the same as Japan. The buildings, the magazines sold at convenience stores and the food in restaurants were similar. But this town looks like a whole new world to me, the buildings look unique and dishes written in the menu are unfamiliar.

“….Everything is delicious. I will go with Bloodhorn Rabbit Karaage if I have to choose one.”

You might laugh at me for this but….

Isn’t Bloodhorn Rabbit a monster? I remembered hunting them to raise my level and find some rare drop in the early-game. Seem like monster meat can be eaten here.

“Then I will have that.”

We ordered the same thing and silently wait for the dishes to be served.

What should I talk about? I could just sip some tea and take out a book to read but now that I was sitting face to face with her, taking out a book now would be rude. Let’s try talking to her about something we have in common.

“Umm, Hatsumi-san graduated from Tsukuyomi academy right? What was it like? Like, what kind of people were there, are all of them elite like the rumors said?”

She averted her eyes.

“……There were a lot of great people…but I had very few friends at the academy.”

“Ha, haha ha.”

I feel that the atmosphere grew heavier. Certainly, I thought that was very likely to be the case for Hanamura Hatsumi.

“But, if you are looking for academic ability and strength then it is the best environment. I can confidently confirm that much.”

“I will do my best.”

When we started to talk properly, the food was being served. The atmosphere might have turned cold but the food was still warm.

We continue our talk while having a meal, this time I changed the topic to the classes.

“Eh, so the higher my performance the more classes I can choose to attend?

“Yes, First are basic subjects and classes on basic magic. Which additional classes you will be able to attend will depend on the subject you have acheived enough mastery in.”

I nodded to her answer, seem like it was still pretty much the same as the game. In the game if one raised one own status, more lessons will be available. As multiple classes have been unlocked, you will be able to learn more magic.

However, even if the class I can choose from is the same as the one from the game then it might not be worth much to me right now.  To Takioto Kousuke additional classes won’t be necessary after all.

“Is that so…..By the way, will the additional classes focus on attack magic?”

“…………….That’s right. You can learn high ranking attack magics there.”

Yup. it’s not necessary to me after all. Specifically speaking, I can use attack magic but the output will be so bad that it would be better not to use it. Well, I don’t really have to care about those classes. It’s all good as long as I can graduate. When the time comes I will just train my other skills or dive into a dungeon instead.

With that said, I am organizing the schedule inside my head. I will train my basic physical and magical strength after I entered the school, after that I will probably train my countermeasure against long range attack.

Wait… Isn’t that the same as what I am doing right now?

“………..I can teach you.”

What is she talking about? I was confused for a moment but I realized that it was about the magic from the additional classes.

“I have to tell Hatsumi-san this first, actually I can not use most magic with my constitution,. So even if you taught me how to use them, I don’t know whether I will be able to use it or not.”

When I finished, she said  [I see.] with a sad expression. She even stopped eating and started staring at the food in front of her.

“Rather, I want to consult Hasumi-san about my constitution…..I was hesitating whether it was okay to consult with you but……”

Hasumi-san raised her face and made a thumb up.

“Leave it to me.”

She was very quiet and I don’t know what she is thinking most of the time but I think she is not a bad person.

This monster meat is surprisingly good though.