Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 72

New Year

When it was December, after the Christmas was over the preparation for the end-of-the-year immediately began.

The students who chose to do part-time work couldn’t return home  during this time of year. Those who chose to do part-time work in order  to live alone were the busiest exactly while the others around them were  having day off.

But, they also were still student.

As expected they would still be given holiday between the end of the year and the beginning of the year.

They would be busy until then. Akito too was unable to go home to his parents’ house.

Today would be the last time the fitness club was open for this year. He showed up there in order to sweat.

The sensei was having a practice match with Akito while pointing out his faults.

It wasn’t about his body’s movement.

「You didn’t do anything despite staying in hotel during Christmas?  You stupid idiot! A man should let it out once or many times in such  situation!」

Akito dodged the sensei’s sharp attack and focused on defending while retorting back.

「They’re friends!」

「There’s no friendship between male and female! There’s only doing it or not doing it!」

Apparently this person was actually an amazing person but, he didn’t look like it at all based from his action and speech.

(This person is really……)

Akito was also exasperated, but he always lost against him in  sparring. This person was so strong he wanted to question whether he was  really an old man.

He was receiving instruction like this when the sensei was present.

But, their conversation was always about this kind of thing.

「You’re a man! Be more honest with your desire! Nuh? So you can dodge that.」

The sensei tried to take Akito’s hand to throw him, but Akito dodged and took a distance. The sensei looked impressed.

Akito was breathing hard, in contrast the sensei was calm and composed.

「B-but, a lot of things happened……」

Akito made excuse, which caused the sensei to be exasperated. He  looked at the clock inside the dojo and concluded the sparring match. He  slapped Akito’s waist.

「You’ll be hopeless unless you get a bit greedier. After all someone  like me when I was your age had my thought filled with nothing but  woman.」

Akito replied with a serious expression.

「I think that’s problematic though. There are other things that should be considered more aren’t they?」

「But, you also love breast right? You want to imagine about it all the time right?」

「Yes, I love it. I can imagine it all the time.」

The master and disciple high-fived in shared delight.

The fitness club’s trainer were exasperated seeing the sensei and Akito acting like that.

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Inside a room where the muscle training appliances were placed.

Reona finished doing her menu and walked toward the bench where Yumi was sitting.

She picked up her towel and sports drink.

「What, you’re finished already? It’s you who’re enthusiastic to get slimmer before New Year you know?」

Yumi sighed.

「There’s something more important to think about. Haa, why was it at Christmas of all days……」

Reona was chuckling.

「How about you consider my feeling too from getting woken up by you while you were crying?」

Yumi’s head slumped down limply.

She brought a man into their hotel room during Christmas Eve and then  got a misunderstanding after reading the suggestive memo that was left  behind.

After that she forcefully woke Reona up and made a ruckus while her  mind was in chaos. She must be remembering that right now. When she  calmed down and checked her body, she immediately found out that nothing  had been done to her.

Yumi raised her face and pouted by puffing up her cheeks.

「In the first place, it was horrible of him leaving like that without  even saying thanks. In addition, he didn’t do anything even though  there were pretty ladies like this in the same room with him……that boy,  could it be that he actually has no interest with girl?」

Akito would yell that it was a false accusation if he was here.

Yukine might agree with Yumi if she was here.

Reona was calm.

「He must be acting considerate by not waking us. He left behind a memo right?」

Yumi was looking at Reona with exasperation.

「You’re so calm Reona-chan. You should be panicking even more than me. Because, Reona-chan, you always sleep naked.」

Yes, Reona wasn’t wearing anything when she was sleeping.

But she was unperturbed by that.

「You’re the one who easily get too excited. The sensei is also here  today, so perhaps that boy is also coming. Do you want to meet him?」

Yumi blushed when Reona said that and she shook her head.

「W-wait. I still haven’t finished sorting out my feeling.」

「You’re over thinking it. Even though usually you’re always saying that you want to play around more.」

Reona was exasperated. Then she dragged Reona thinking that she would enter the pool next.

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At the part-time workplace.

The Christmas decoration inside the sotre was taken down and changed into New Year decoration.

The atmosphere of the-end-of-the-year could be felt regardless of  whether anyone wanted it or not. Meanwhile both Akito and Yakumo were  busy working.

It was winter break so their shift had started since the morning, but  there were also many part-time workers who used some kind of excuse to  take a break from work so the number of their shifts kept increasing.

In addition housewives from the neighborhood came here more often in order to buy things that they lacked.

It felt like they would go to large supermarket for shopping, and then went to Mild if they ran out of something.

Akito was lining up products in the shelves. Then he talked to Yakumo when the customer traffic cut off.

「It’s buy too today.」

Yakumo who were tidying up the surrounding of the cash register looked fed up.

「We’re earning a lot of money, but as expected it’s difficult to go through this everyday.」

Prepaid cards were lined up near the cash register.

Point for Pandora was selling like hot cakes.

Yakumo replenished the cards while chatting with Akito.

「Point card is flying off the shelves perhaps because the topic about  Pandora resuming service is widely talked right now. It looks like it’s  selling even more than before.」

The number of people purchasing the point card was increasing than before.

That was just how many people there were waiting for Pandora to resume again.

「Apparently even my friend is working part-time every day right now for the start dash.」

Akito didn’t mention Riku’s name.

But, he talked about how Riku was living.

He kept training his body and working part-time during holiday to  prepare for when Pandora resumed. To him it felt like he was putting in  effort into the wrong way.

But, it was a good thing to exercise and working hard in part-time work.

Regardless of the reason, it wasn’t any reason for him to stop his friend.

Then Akito tried asking Yakumo about something that he was a little curious about.

「Come to think of it, I never see Kurita-san recently.」

Yakumo answered Akito’s question dispassionately.

「It looks like he stole the company’s money. Well, he did a lot of  things when buying point. It looks like he also has a lot of debt, so he  got fired not long ago.」

This was his first time hearing about that, but apparently Yakumo had heard about it from some time ago.

This event was happening around the time Akito was resting.

「……Is that true?」

Yakumo nodded. After she finished sorting the cash register, she helped with sorting the shelves next.

(That Kurita-san was……no, I guess he might do something like that.)

It wouldn’t be strange no matter what that person did, or rather he already showed such signs from before that.

Akito also knew how he was spending hundred thousands of yen for game.

He told himself that he should be careful to not become like that while focusing on his work.

「Ah, that’s right. Which shrine are you planning to go for the New Year?」

Akito answered Yakumo’s question by mentioning the name of a nearby  shrine. Then Yakumo said 「I know a good place so do you want to go with  me?」 in invitation to him.

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At New Year’s day.

Akito went to the place where they promised to meet and found Maya in kimono waiting there.

「Eh, president is also going here?」

She had put effort to dress up.

Even Akito was captivated by how different she looked than usual. Maya smiled to him.

「Yep, I got invited. Shikata-san still hasn’t arrived hasn’t she?」

She was talking happily with Akito while standing. The gazes from the  surrounding turned cold seeing that sight. The gazes from the shrine  visitors who came with their friends were especially piercing.

Akito looked around and felt something was out of place.

「Eh? It feels like there are a lot of people coming here with their friend.」

Few came here with their lover. Those who came with their family were also few.

Maya’s gaze wandered around.

「T-that’s true. I wonder why?」

The two stood side by side while waiting for Yakumo.

Then Yakumo finally arrived barely on time. She was wearing kimono,  but she looked like it was hard for her to move in it. She might be  unused to wear such outfit.

Akito was also captivated by her with how different she looked than usual.

「Sorry. Did you wait long?」

It felt like Yakumo’s expression clouded for a moment. But she greeted Akito and Maya with a smile.

The three of them exchanged greeting politely before they entered the shrine.

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During the prayer in front of the offering box, Maya gave it her all by putting in ten thousand yen.

The wish that she made with such high spirited offering was romantic success.

The shrine that the three of them visited was a shrine that was reputed to give blessing in romantic matter.

In other words, it was a shrine for love relationship.

Akito glanced at his other side and saw that Yakumo was also praying fervently for her wish.

Akito himself was also praying seriously, but Maya and Yakumo looked even more serious than that.

(God, please help me with the boy beside me――please!)

They took so long with their prayer that the people behind them booed.

「Oi, how long is this going――hih!」

The trio of men raised their voice so the group in front of them  would leave already and they could take their turn, but they flinched.  That was because Maya and Yakumo glared at them.

The men fell quiet and the two resumed their prayer.

After that, the three of them pulled fortune slip and bought charm.

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Stalls were lined up inside the shrine.

Akito and the two walked through that place.

It seemed Maya and Yakumo pulled bad luck and became a bit dejected.  Akito brought the two of them to look around the stall to console them.  Then they smell something delicious.

It was the smell of shoyu and sauce.

There was also sweet smell.

With how cold the air was, any warm food would look delicious.

「Do you two want to eat something? The takoyaki maybe?」

The depressed Maya and Yakumo replied to Akito’s offer.

「I’ll pass for now.」

「Me too.」

(Were their result really that bad?)

Akito recalled his own fortune slip.

It mentioned some bad things that might happened to him, but it also wrote that things would go well for him.

Akito told the gloomy duo to sit on a bench while he went to a stall  to buy taiyaki. Then he saw a trio who seemed to be middle school  students in front of a stall.

He knew two people among those three.

「Asano-san? And……Wakamiya-san?」

Yukine saw Akito and greeted him while eating taiyaki.

「Naruse-senpai? W-why are you here!」

Yukine looked embarrassed. Akito thought that was because he saw her while she was eating taiyaki.

Akito thought that she looked cute when she looked like she enjoyed the taiyaki so much.

「I came with my friends.」

Yukine said 「I see」, then Nanami greeted him with a smile.

「Long time no see Akito-san.」

「Err, you are friend with Wakamiya-san?」

Yukine said 「W-we’re friends」, but she looked really awkward when she said it.

The other girl――had a slender body and long black hair. She had  almont-shaped eyes and a face that gave the impression of a lively  person.

「Err, this girl is――」

「Oi, I’m a man.」

He thought that the last one was a girl, but he was actually a man.

Nanami chuckled.

「S-sorry」

The boy, [Saeki Kira] puffed his cheeks angrily.

「What’s with this. Everyone always thought that I’m a girl even though I’m dressed boyishly.」

Certainly he was dressed like a boy, but he looked like a boyish girl.

Nanami calmed Kira down while Yukine asked Akito.

「E-err, umm……senpai, please keep this a secret.」

Akito tilted his head when he was asked to keep this a secret.

「I don’t mind.」

「T-thank you very much! You two let’s go!」

Akito waved his hand to Yukine who dragged the other two away before he tilted his head.

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New Year holidays.

Akito was inside a kotatsu while watching television. He was enjoying his time in his parents’ house after so long.

「Oh man~, it’s nice to be here.」

Meal would be prepared even without him doing anything. The laundry had also been taken care off.

It was a big difference from living alone.

He was leisurely watching a New Year’s special program while reaching toward the orange on the table.

Then the news was broadcasted.

『Good evening. It’s time for news. There was an announcement from the  operating company of the famous game just now. It has been officially  announced that the experience time in the VR world of the popular game  [Pandora’s Box Garden] will be extended. The National Diet has also  given permission――』

Akito dropped the orange.

「……Eh?」

There were many skeptics even when the two days time got extended to four days time previously.

But, the news was broadcasting this information this time as though it was something trivial.

The news program that was broadcasted in between the New Year special ended right in time before the comedy show started again.

But, Akito couldn’t laugh at all.

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