Act 2 Vol. 1 Ch. 1 Ep. 2: The Chief Officer's Day Off 2

"Rin...?"

...Please let me explain.

I realize the implications you are probably drawing from my outfit, but I assure you they're incorrect.

I woke up and had fully intended to put on my usual uniform.

But, Aoi, no, the Chief of Finance, stole all the uniforms from my closet. She insisted that I needed to fully separate myself from work this weekend.

So I was essentially forced to meet with you in my civilian clothes. I hope you understand.

...

I would like to emphasize that this is NOT a date.

Sensei...!

*sigh* I'm choosing to ignore that comment.

If I were to react to every single one of these jokes of yours, we would end up spending my entire weekend off on this stoop.

...So where are we going today?

Of course. You're the one who invited me to spend our day off together, Sensei.

Don't tell me...

If you haven't planned anything in particular, I'll go back to my room to get some work done.

A "local"...?

I know you've been here for a while now, but I do believe I've lived in D.U. significantly longer than you have, Sensei.

Well, I suppose seeing the district through your eyes may not be the worst use of time.

Shall we?

Where is this...?

I've seen the reports of Ramini Town's recent profit margins...but it's different seeing it in person. You can feel the energy from all the hustle and bustle.

The entire alley is food stalls now, which are causing long lines that stretch all the way to the main road.

...I didn't realize how congested it is here. We'll need to allocate more resources to facilitate foot traffic.

Let me make a note to reach out to Valkyrie and ask them to deploy personnel to this location...

Oh! Sensei!

Alone again? I'll give you a special discount for today, come in, come in!

What? You're taking a student out, and you brought her to this dump?

She deserves better than some street food! Take her out to a nice restaurant!

Don't take advantage of your popularity and make sure to treat your students right!

That kind of mindset is going to get you in trouble one day! Hahaha!

(Sensei fits right in with everyone. The citizens treat them like any other local.)

"Let's see... What's the daily special?"

Hm... I'd recommend the seafood yakisoba. We got a real fresh shipment of squid from Kanesaki Port this morning.

Coming right up!

Here you go! Two seafood yakisoba. Eat while it's hot!

Th-Thank you.

...I actually haven't had yakisoba in a while.

No, no. It's not that.

I usually work while I eat, so I tend to go for simple, easy meals.

I rarely have a chance to eat things like yakisoba. Noodles get soggy quickly, so they're best eaten as soon as they're made.

But when the General Student Council President was here...

She was the type to take a break for a quick snack, no matter how busy it was. Now that I think about it, we had street food like this a lot.

So it's nostalgic, more than anything. I'm glad it still tastes the same.

Does it? It's hard to figure out what students like to eat nowadays, so it sure fills my heart to hear that!

I swear it was just yesterday that everything was about making things as spicy as humanly possible! But now, the trend seems to be to drown everything in cheese.

I've been debating if I need to change up my recipe to keep up with the times.

While there's value in adapting to change, it's equally important to preserve our culture and values.

...Because there will always be those who miss those steadfast times.

You sure know how to soothe an old soul. Hahaha!

Now that I'm getting a good look at you, your face looks awfully familiar! I usually never forget a customer's face!

Ah, I'm...

Don't call me Rinny.

Ah, that's it! I've seen you on the emergency press conference on Kronos. The Acting President, right?

You're dressed up so nice for your date! That's why I didn't recognize you. Haha!

It's not a date...

Perfect timing. I've been having some trouble with something lately. Maybe you could help.

Has there been something wrong with the D.U.'s water supply? It's been turning off as it pleases lately!

I almost closed at a loss yesterday because the water got cut off in the middle of the day. Without a single word of warning!

On behalf of the General Student Council, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

We're still working on restoring the Sanctum Tower, which is largely responsible for managing infrastructure in Kivotos. Until it's fully repaired, you may continue to experience similar outages.

We've recently increased the number of personnel working on the Tower, so I'd like to ask for your continued understanding.

O-Of course. I feel a bit bad for complaining now.

"Huh? I thought the restoration efforts were all done."

Structurally, the building itself is. But the Sanctum Tower is meaningless without its operating system, which is where we're having the most trouble. We've installed some temporary measures to restore power and water to the citizens for the time being.

The Sanctum Tower's OS is like much of the other supernatural technology in Kivotos, and the President was the only one who knew how it worked. While we were able to maintain it in her absence, rebuilding it from scratch is a different matter.

While the temporary system we've installed has been functioning well enough, it falls short when compared to the original control system's capabilities.

"(Oh no. Rin's work mode has been activated)"

"(I need to steer us away from work, by any means necessary!)"

"Now that we're done eating, do you want to go watch something?"

Did you have something specific in mind?

"Shuppo"... That puppy mascot that won the character competition hosted by the D.U. Road Management Bureau and the Transportation Office?

According to reports, they selected the "safest" option as the winner, as there were too many issues with using Momo Friends characters in official documents.

However, it never really caught on with students, so there's been a lot of criticism across departments that it was a waste of resources.

Hm... Okay. It'll be a good opportunity to evaluate its effect and possible improvements in person.

"The movie was more serious than I expected..."

"What did you think of it, Rin?"

Hm. I thought...

The aisle leading to the emergency exit was narrow in comparison to the size of the screening hall.

Narrow walkways like that can cause bottlenecking during an evacuation, endangering citizens' safety. I'll need to send a ticket to the establishment later to rectify that and ensure their building is up to code across the board.

Sensei, did you ask for a receipt for those clothes?

Even if it's cash, or for personal use, please keep the receipt for your taxes.

What? You're hiding your shopping habits from a certain someone?

Surely you don't mean anyone from the Treasurer's Office, do you?

Sumomo, I'm currently in Aoba Central...

Seiun Tower was scheduled to be demolished last month, wasn't it? Why am I still seeing it here?

...To summarize, demolition was delayed because cost negotiations with the contractor came to a standstill?

This matter should have been reported to me as soon as it happened.

...Please submit a detailed report on why this occurred by next Tuesday.

"(This wasn't in my original plans...)"

"(But it looks like I have to resort to drastic measures!)"

...What is this?

"We're at an arcade!"

"No weekend date is complete without an arcade!"

"Have you been to an arcade before, Rin?"

This isn't a date... I'm getting tired of correcting you on that point.

...But no. Even before I joined the General Student Council, I'd never been to one.

No, this would be my first time. Even before I joined the General Student Council, I'd never been to one.

Is that so shocking? I never saw a reason to.

I've never had much interest in video games, nor am I particularly good at them.

And they're not useful for my studies or work. So I saw no advantage in investing time into them.

"...Fight me in Student Fighter 2!"

"The winner gets to ask one thing of the loser!"

What? You can't be serious...

And the odds are stacked too highly in your favor. I don't know how to play.

Schoolyard taunts don't work on me.

Anyways, there's no need for bets. If we're trying to have fun, I would rather play without any looming penalties.

Hm? You didn't think I would enjoy it if the stakes were too low?

*sigh* Please don't worry about that. You sound just like her...

Rinny, Rinny! Wanna play Reversi? I found an old Reversi box in the storage room!

Let's make a bet! The loser buys the winner a drink!

Huh? But you never play seriously if I don't put some kind of stakes on it, Rinny.

I want you to be as invested as I am!

Waaah?! I swear all I did was blink, and you filled the entire board with black stones!

...Fine. I'll take the bet, as long as the request is within reasonable bounds.

Exactly as it sounds. Like buying the winner a drink, or doing their work...

While there are plenty of rumors about you, I'm sure you wouldn't actually ask a student for something absurd, like licking your feet or getting down on all fours.

A reward of some kind could make the game more interesting, I suppose.

We're already here, so I may as well make the most of it.

But let me use the first round to get used to the mechanics.

So these are my skills. Got it.

This button to block an attack...

I understand it now.

...Let's continue.

My character does better from a distance... If I just apply pressure...

Then go for a low...

...

...

"...A PERFECT?!"

"Are you SURE you've never played before?"

I did tell you when we first got here... This is my first time at an arcade.

And no, I've never played this genre of game before either. But all you need to do is enter the attack and block inputs at the right time, no?

It's easier than working at the General Student Council, that's for certain. I have to be ready to react to anything, at any time.

You flatter me. Even if I have some crude talent, I'm sure someone who was actually good at video games would laugh at the notion.

For example...

...Sensei. It's a bit early, but could I make my request right now?

Just what are you thinking?!

...I'd like to ask you to accompany me somewhere.

There's someone I want to talk to.