DECEMBER 3, 2022 / MAD HATTER

“Hakamada,iyou’re not good with people likeithat, right?”

“That’sibecause I try not to beiinvolved with people like that… dealingiwith them is aihassle…”

“Butitoime, youilook like aibadass delinquent, Hakamada. Youidon’t look that different fromithem, you know?”

“No,ino, no,ino!!”Translator: MadHatter

Forisure, Iibleached myihair andihad myiears pierced,ibut!ges

“Isn’t mineijust ailook! Evenithough I sayiso myself, I amiquite aicoward!”

Iididn’tieven have the balls to get my noseipierced!

“Isithatiso? Youigive meithe feelingithat youiused to beia rascaliin highischool.”

“Iiwas a fairlyihealthy highischool baseball playeriwith darkihair andiglasses… Iihad contactsiand dyedimy hair afteriI retired.”

“Ohimy, that’s an exceptional makeover.”j

Incidentally, theireason for theimakeover wasithat I was fediup withipeople labeling meias “serious”ior “studious” wheniI had blackihair and glasses, somethingithat I had no imageiof myself as. Despiteithe changeiin appearance, myiinner self remained exactlyithe same. Iididn’t like theipunks who causedia commotion in the school, noridid I wantito hang outiwithithem.

Iineveriliked those whoistayed out of theicommunity, yeticlustered together andistirred up trouble. Theisame appliesito the neighborhood nuisance gangiof delinquents and girlsiwho were adept at forming substandard relationships withitheir fuzzy eyelashes.

Oriperhaps the truthiwas that I wasisimply intimidated.

“Butiit wouldihave been terrible if Hiraiihad been withius today.”

Hiraiiwould have unarguably beenifrightened. Moreover, Hiraiiwas petite… and… hadia bewitching body. Itiwas customary for someone toiaccompany another for the night shift job, but I was sure sheiwould have beeniterrified… On topiof that, weiwere in thisikind of place.

“Ohimy, that girliwill be fine!”

“What!?”g7tuy

“Hiraiiis ratherifearless.”

“But she’s aigirl, and inwardly, sheimust be…”

“Atileast she’s tougher thaniyou, Hakamada.”

“Forireal?”Not shared on lightnovelreader.me

“Forireal.”Not shared on aggregator websites

Tougherithanime… Thenihow muchiof a weaklingiwas I beingiviewed as?

Oh, speakingiof which…

“Aoyama,idid you see that… on youriway here?”

“That?”Not shared on aggregator websites.

“The cat… the cat’s…”

Thatisprang to mind when I broughtiup Hirai. Aoyama raised an eyebrow when Iiinquired about whether heinoticed it and lightly smacked me on theihead.

“Hey! Don’t remindime of that!”

Oh, so heidid see it, afteriall. His reactioniwas exactly whatiIihad expected, andiI chuckled inwardly.

“Everyinow and thenithere’s an animal carcassilying around, butithat almost madeimy heartistop!”

“Meitoo. It was rightiafter passing through theitunnel.”

“Takenakaiwould have hadia stroke if heihad seeniit.”

“Ah,ihaha, Takenaka had aihard time yesterday.”

Timeipassed as theiconversation carried on, and Aoyama and Iiwent aboutiour usual late-night tasks of adding and organizing merchandise, placing orders, cleaning, andithe like.

However…gwrb

“Thoseiguys, they’reistill there…”

Theidelinquents were still out thereihaving fun.

Ridingiaround outside all the time onitheir bikes wasia nuisance, but staying in front of the storeiwas even more disturbing. Thanks to them, not a single customer had arrived at the store sinceithen. Eveniwithin the store, the unceasing laughter could be heard echoing fromioutside. Perhaps they have had a lot to drink, some of them were clapping their handsiand emitting strange noises.

I wasiwatching them incredulously, but Aoyamaiadmonished me, “You shouldn’t do anything. It’s best not to be concerned about them.”

“But thoseiguys, they’re definitely the onesiwho litter.”

“It can’t beihelped. Theiplace is what it is, and sometimes there are peopleilike that.”

“…”piomg4r

Iididn’t get what he was talkingiabout, but I didn’t want to get involved, so Iistopped gawking at them.

That wasimy thought, but unfortunately, thereiwas still trash to be disposed of, so Iigathered up the trashiand stepped out of the safe zone of the storeiand into the danger zone. Theihot and humidiAugust nightiwind swept over me, and Iiwas almost staggered by the sound of vulgar laughterithat stimulated my eardrums.

“Oh, the staffiis coming out.”grh3

“What theihell, did you come here to complain?”

Nonetheless, Iiignored it completely and wentiaround to the rear side of the store.

Oh, if I hadibeen a little stronger in a fight, I would haveiprotested without hesitation.

Goodigrief… Being youngimust be good― 

Toibe able toido anything and have fun, even if youiwere aggravating peopleiwithout even realizing it, must beia blessing in a sense.

Whatia breath of fresh air itiwould be if I could say it to them. Impossible, though.

I walkedito the building’s back with ailarge garbage bag as frustrationibegan to set in. Afteriall, listening to that foolishilaugh made me furious. You know, that smile on your face like not knowingieven a millimeter of the harshness of society… you should be working, damn you!

Theispark that wasisteadily igniting inithe pit of my stomachicooled off when Iireached the garbageidumpster in theibackiof the store.