Chapter Nine: Part-Time Work

With a wooden sword in hand, Aoki Tsukasa mechanically repeated basic slashing movements into the air, his concentration wholly absorbed in the skill interface.

[Swordsmanship LV1: Beginner level swordsmanship. At present, you only know how to hold the wooden sword. Additional bonuses: Strength +1, Agility +1, Charisma +1. (Experience 11/100)]

Staring at his charisma, which had reached a terrifying sixteen points, Aoki Tsukasa felt utterly helpless.

That was already half again as much as a normal adult! If this charisma could be put to good use, he thought he could debut as an idol right now.

But in reality, this sixteen points of charisma had no effect aside from making Saiki, the student in front of him, tremble with fear.

"Um... um... Aoki Tsukasa, you’re learning so quickly... It took me an entire week just to master the basic sword swing..." Saiki pushed up his glasses with trembling fingers.

Aoki Tsukasa turned to look at him. The frail, bespectacled student stiffened, frozen like a block of wood from just that glance. With a sigh, Tsukasa looked down at his wooden sword. As he swung, he asked, "Can I take this wooden sword home to practice?"

"Um... um..." Saiki broke out in a cold sweat, unable to utter a single refusal.

"Is that alright?" Tsukasa thought his tone was gentle enough, but to Saiki, it sounded quite different.

Saiki stood upright, as if he were a soldier called to attention, and replied without hesitation, "Yes, you can."

Tsukasa glanced at him. Seeing that Saiki looked as if a few more words would make him faint from fright, Tsukasa sighed again and stopped swinging the wooden sword. Now that he had mastered the skill, all he needed to do was mechanically slash to gain experience; a basic knowledge of swordsmanship filled his mind. He decided he would practice at home from now on, rarely showing up at the kendo club.

Stretching his shoulder, sore from practice, Tsukasa patted Saiki's shoulder and tried to speak as gently as he could. "I’ll head home for today. If it’s not allowed to take the sword home, or if I need to pay for it, just come find me in Class 1-3. Oh, and that membership application senior Busujima mentioned..."

"I understand! I’ll fill it out for you! You’re Aoki Tsukasa from Class 1-3, right? Please, take the sword home, I’ll talk to the club president! Even if you don’t return it, it’s fine, I’ll handle it!" Saiki stood rigid as a board from Tsukasa’s pat, blurting out the entire string of assurances in a split second.

No, that’s not what I meant at all! Tsukasa was dumbfounded by Saiki’s wild imagination. He awkwardly withdrew his hand, deciding it was better to speak as little as possible in the future.

“Well, thank you…” What else could Tsukasa say? Staring at the friendly Saiki, Tsukasa sighed, pondering whether he should buy a mask to hide his face, while removing his protective gear and casually swinging the wooden sword as he headed out of the dojo.

Not far away, Saeko Busujima, holding her own wooden sword, watched the scene with amusement. She smiled quietly but said nothing, only watching Saiki, who sat on the ground gulping air as if he'd narrowly escaped death. In her heart, she offered a silent apology.

She hadn’t expected that there would be such… interesting people in this world. Saeko Busujima swung her wooden sword thoughtfully, musing to herself, “Just moments ago, before Saiki taught him, he didn’t even know how to hold a sword. Yet after just two slashes, he had already fixed his movements. Though his technique still lacked any real power, only the standard form… it’s still an impressive capacity for learning.”

“Busujima, want to go another round?” The burly young man approached with a cheerful smile.

Saeko’s expression flickered with a hint of impatience, but she said nothing more, raising her sword and replying coolly, “Alright.”

Meanwhile, Tsukasa, feeling like a child with a new toy, swung his wooden sword with a crisp sound as he walked home with his shoulder bag slung over one side.

On the way back, he suddenly remembered something important.

“I still need to find a part-time job.” Tsukasa stopped swinging the sword, sinking into troubled thought. If he only looked for something like a convenience store or handing out flyers, he probably wouldn’t save much money over a semester.

The private Muyou High School he attended—just looking at the kendo club’s dojo earlier—was definitely not a cheap place. Trying to ease Uncle Haruno’s burden with such simple jobs seemed far too difficult.

Besides, Tsukasa really wanted to buy a computer—the technology in this world had developed almost exactly as in his previous life, both seemingly set in the year 2016, but all the famous people had changed, and even history had shifted in many ways.

This meant that anime, movies, and games had produced a host of entirely different masterpieces. Tsukasa hadn’t played much in his last life, and now, he wanted to make up for those regrets.

“In my previous life, I learned a lot of professional skills before working, but after starting my job, most of what I needed was social interaction and communication…” Thinking of his current face, which frightened everyone, Tsukasa sighed, “If only this charisma could be put to good use, there’d be so much more I could do…”

He thought for ages and still couldn’t come up with any reliable answers.

[Task Triggered: Extraordinary Part-Time Job]

Tsukasa’s face stiffened, and he felt a vague sense of foreboding.

[Extraordinary Part-Time Job: As a man destined to become the strongest delinquent, your part-time work must be exceptional. If you want to take a job, your hourly wage must exceed (or equal) 5000 yen, to prove your uniqueness. Otherwise, part-time work is forbidden. Task reward: Random attribute bonus. Depending on completion, there may be additional item rewards.]

Five thousand yen an hour?

Tsukasa quickly converted it in his mind and was left despairing at the result: “That’s about three hundred yuan an hour? Even selling blood wouldn’t be that efficient! Where in all Japan is there a part-time job that pays that well?”

[According to your memories, Japanese host clubs…]

Get lost! Tsukasa nearly cursed aloud.

Even if I wanted to be a host, this damned charisma wouldn’t let me!

No, even if I starve, jump from here, and get erased by this rotten system for failing the task, I will never be a host.

[Really s—…]

Shut up!

Tsukasa interrupted the dog system angrily, his wooden sword trembling in frustration.