Estimated reading time: 6–7 minutes
Chapter 48
April 7th. It’s the day of the physical examination. My drowsiness is the same as always, but my fatigue remains unrelieved. If anything, it’s safe to say it has worsened compared to before.
That’s not to say it’s constantly overwhelming me. It’s the little things I notice. For example, like this:
「I thought my room number was M-312…」
「Morning, Kanji. I already explained it to the teacher.」
「Morning. You played too many games yesterday. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter since it’s just the physical exam today.」
That’s right, I magnificently got my room number wrong. I thought I had arrived at my destination, but the classroom was empty. In my despair, a call from Reina came at just the right timing.
No one else is in the classroom yet except for the two of them. They’ve staked out the back of the room and are waving their hands at me. I guess the explanation about the physical exam is already over. But am I the only one who thinks this kind of explanation could be done online too?
「Momiji, did your surgery go well?」
「It went fine. There were plenty of precedents, and the replacement was done quickly. Finishing it in a few days, as expected of Mr. Tanaka.」
「Because of that, you couldn’t log into ‘HAO’ yesterday, right? What would you have done if there was something like a login bonus?」
「There is a login bonus called interest, you know.」
「That’s the worst… And you get that even without logging in.」
「By the way, did you pay back your debt?」
「I heard from Kana this morning that you at least paid back the interest.」
I wondered if I had ever told them that I restarted playing ‘HAO’… but I see, it’s information via Kana. But playing in the morning too, that’s some serious addiction. Well, this guy has always had that tendency.
Reina, who was sitting on the desk, hops down. We have things to catch up on, but first is the physical exam. I absolutely don’t want to stand in that ridiculously long line. It may be too late already, but it’s better to go sooner rather than later. Just as I’m thinking that, Momiji says something unexpected.
「Ah, we already finished ours in advance.」
「Then why did you come?!」
「Well, I had no choice but to do it before the surgery. Reina’s circumstances are complicated too.」
Circumstances are complicated…? As I’m thinking that, Momiji’s gaze goes to Reina’s hat. …I had a vague idea, but could it be that she’s bald underneath? If she’s thoroughly hiding it out of embarrassment, that would explain why she’s always wearing a hat. I don’t know if she read my thoughts, but Reina narrows her eyes and instantly moves behind me. Then she pinches my cheek with a boing.
「Shut up.」
「Whaa ah hyoo hahing?」
「Now, now, don’t play around. Hurry up, you two. Since you’ve made your comeback, let’s play ‘HAO’ together when we get back.」
「Sounds good. But before that, we need to silence this mouth that only says unnecessary things.」
「Ha ga ha ga」
Reina finally sticks her fingers in my mouth and tries to make me go 「ahhh」 by pulling on my cheeks from the inside. It doesn’t hurt at all, but remembering the power of NPC Reina from 2060 fills me with fear! Exasperated at the sight of us, Momiji grabs my waist and forcibly pulls her fingers out. Huh, are humans this easy to lift just by grabbing their waist?
Only after being separated does Reina seem to notice the saliva clinging to her fingers and blushes. Then, after a brief silence, Momiji is the first to move, quickly wiping it off with a handkerchief from her pocket.
「You were thinking something unnecessary just now, weren’t you?」
「W-Who knows…」
…Hmm, maybe she does see me as a member of the opposite sex after all. Kana’s story is starting to seem quite realistic. That train of thought is interrupted by Reina’s shout.
「Let’s just go!」
Hey, you’re the one who stopped us.
About 30 minutes later, we’ve already passed many points like height and X-rays. Incidentally, Reina and Momiji had been with me partway, but partway through it became examinee-only and they got kicked out. The inside is facilities that aren’t normally used, converted for the physical exam, and final interviews are being conducted here and there. Not that the interviews are anything major. It’s just checking that everything matches the questionnaire filled out in advance.
「Tsu-chan, you know what?!」
I hear a familiar voice. I reflexively look back and see the glasses upperclassman and Urairo chatting. They stand out as much as ever as a couple. Before I can dwell on that, I’m called for my interview with a 「Next person, over here please!」 But another voice interrupts that.
「You there, could you come here please?」
It’s an older woman with some gray in her hair. Despite her white coat that screams school nurse, her sharp gaze is clearly different from those around her. She was a bit scary, so I timidly sit in a different seat from where I was originally instructed. When I hand her my interview form, she nods with a 「hmm」 and then shows me a card.
The card has pictures drawn on it. Suspicious, I look away from the woman as she starts to talk.
「Based on your X-ray, it doesn’t seem to be affecting your body, so this time we’ll examine your brain. This is called picture arrangement, where you rearrange the contents drawn on the cards to make a story. For example, if there were cards that said ‘took a walk’, ‘caught a bug’, ‘took the bug home’, you would just arrange them in that order.」
「???」
「Look, look at the cards. The kid in the middle of the walk isn’t holding a bug, right? So you can tell the chronological order and flow of the story is in this sequence.」
「Now that you mention it, I guess so. But why all of a sudden?」
「I looked at your exam results. I think you’re probably fine, but just in case, I want to check for any effects on your brain too.」
…I don’t really get what she means about my brain, but apparently I can go home if I take this test. Why am I the only one being kept here while everyone else from the interviews is leaving one after another? With a bit of dissatisfaction, I start answering the test that I don’t really understand. …Today was supposed to be the physical exam, right?
『Picture Arrangement』
A test mainly used for intelligence assessment. By using this along with other tests, one can gain a decent understanding of a person’s strengths and weaknesses in their thinking.
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