Chapter 46: There are so many stray cats.
Morofushi Sora'aki took a liking to Mikoshiba Mikoto—nothing more than the red earring that matched the color of his hair.
Those were the most ordinary round stud earrings, small and set in the earlobe, which not only complemented his red hair but also added a touch of unruly handsomeness.
After giving the stray cats a ride, Morofushi Sora'aki seriously considered whether he should get his ears pierced. Perhaps it was because he had been spending too much time with his two friends, but his initiative had become quite frightening; after having this thought, Morofushi Sora'aki had already arrived at the relevant store.
In this era, everything has become quite advanced. Even getting your ears pierced is a matter of just a second or two, as long as you confirm the position.
After doing so much after school, it was already quite late when Morofushi Sora'aki got home; it was time to have dinner.
The dining table was unusually quiet; it seemed no one noticed the little gadget on Sora'aki's ear. It wasn't until Sora'aki finished his meal quietly and left, as usual, that Mother Morofushi spoke up, "Just now, Sora'aki's ear...?"
"He got his ears pierced." Father Morofushi exclaimed.
Mother Morofushi frowned slightly, worriedly asking, "...Is school okay? Won't Sora'aki get scolded by the teachers...?"
"Have you forgotten? We chose Rouman Academy because of its relaxed atmosphere," Father Morofushi reminded her.
Mother Morofushi suddenly realized: "That's right... Besides, if a student doesn't break a few school rules, it feels like they've wasted their time going to school!"
Father Morofushi was silent for two seconds, his expression deep and serious: "Mrs. Morofushi, have you forgotten that the person sitting in front of you is a teacher?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Morofushi." said Mother Morofushi with a smile.
The two exchanged glances and laughed again.
The next day, when Nozaki Umetarou went to school, he also noticed the earring on Morofushi Sora'aki's ear. It was a metal earring specifically for getting pierced.
In response, the comic artist's habits resurfaced. During the break, he patted Morofushi Sora'aki on the shoulder and pulled out a small notebook: "Morofushi, how does it feel to get your ears pierced?"
Morofushi Sora'aki thought for a moment: "Do the schools in your comic allow ear piercings?"
Nozaki Umetarou: "..."
Nozaki Umetarou was stumped by Morofushi Sora'aki's question and realized that his comic's setting was not complete enough.
So the next evening, when Sakura Chiyo and Mikoshiba Mikoto arrived at Nozaki Umetarou's house, they saw Nozaki Umetarou handing them a notebook filled with writing.
"What is this?" Sakura Chiyo took it and glanced at it, immediately noticing the bolded words on it—"School Rules".
Sakura Chiyo's expression visibly stiffened, and she flipped through the pages in shock: "These are all school rules?!"
Nozaki Umetarou said in a serious tone, "I suddenly realized that Mamiko and the others are really too relaxed, and they don't even study at all!"
Sakura Chiyo hesitated and said, "...Because it's a romance comic?"
"This absolutely cannot continue, so I must add school rules!" Nozaki Umetarou declared righteously.
Sakura Chiyo fell silent: "Why did you suddenly think of this, Nozaki-kun?"
"Ah, it was Morofushi who said it. I think he's right."
Sakura Chiyo: "..."
Sakura Chiyo: It's you again! Morofushi-kun!!
Then one evening, Sakura Chiyo picked up Nozaki Umetarou's inspiration draft once again.
Then she looked at the unfamiliar girl with pigtails on the screen and paused for a moment: "Huh? Is she a new character?"
"No, it's Mamiko." Umetaro Nozaki replied.
Sakura Chiyo: "But the hairstyle..."
"Because Morofushi said, it's impossible for a normal person not to change their hairstyle for several years, right? Hair gets longer or shorter, you can change your hair accessory or wear some small embellishments."
"Everything's normal," Nozaki Umetarou replied. "I think he's absolutely right!"
Sakura Chiyo: It's you again! Morofushi-kun—!?
"But after changing her hairstyle, you can't recognize Mamiko at all…" Sakura Chiyo said cautiously.
Nozaki Umetarou recalled what Morofushi Sora'aki had said: "However, some people know what hairstyle suits them best, and even if it pricks their eyes or is unbearably hot in the summer, they won't consider cutting their hair."
Nozaki Umetarou looked at Mamiko in the comic and suddenly realized something: "So Mamiko works this hard all the time?"
Sakura Chiyo: "..."
Sakura Chiyo: Ah, I'm completely done with this.
Sakura Chiyo was exhausted, but then she suddenly became curious about something: "Morofushi-kun knows that you draw comic, Nozaki-kun—does he also do some of the work?"
Sakura Chiyo is the blackening color assistant, while Mikoshiba Mikoto is in the atmosphere team; he's good at drawing beautiful flowers around the male and female protagonists to create a certain ambiance. There's also a senior who's in charge of the backgrounds, but he's been busy with his club lately, so he's been arriving very late these past few days and it's been difficult for him to meet Sakura Chiyo.
Nozaki Umetarou was taken aback by the question, then silently took out a stack of papers that he had arranged to be placed aside.
Sakura Chiyo picked it up and glanced at it. The original draft was blacked out of bounds, the part with halftone dots was obviously out of place, and some parts had been turned into cutouts.
"I asked him before, but surprisingly, Morofushi is completely different from his appearance… he's clumsy." Nozaki Umetarou said, "He's also quite easily distracted, and by the time he comes back to his senses, the manuscript is basically ruined."
"Fortunately, I only had him try it out at the time, and I used a discarded draft, otherwise we wouldn't have made it to the deadline," Nozaki Umetarou said.
Sakura Chiyo suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."
Just then, the Nozaki family's lamp broke down and started flickering. Nozaki Umetarou glanced at it, took out his repair kit, and began fixing it with practiced ease.
Sakura Chiyo, watching from the side, exclaimed in surprise, "You can even do this? Nozaki-kun, that's amazing!"
"Ah, it was Morofushi who taught me. He's quite good at fixing things." Nozaki Umetarou explained.
Sakura Chiyo: "..."
Could someone with clumsy hands fix a desk lamp? Sakura Chiyo pondered for a moment, and then she noticed a miniature robot model that Nozaki Umetarou had made on his desk. "So, Nozaki-kun is interested in this?"
"What? Oh, that was put together by Morofushi." Nozaki Umetarou replied, "He said he was doing it to pass the time when he was bored, but after putting it together he didn't like it anymore, so he gave it to me."
Sakura Chiyo: "..."
Sakura Chiyo: "Nozaki-kun."
Nozaki Umetarou: "Huh?"
Sakura Chiyo: "I think you've been tricked."
These little robot figures have many complex parts, and even a normal person might not be able to assemble them well, let alone someone with clumsy hands!
Upon hearing this, Nozaki Umetarou tilted his head in confusion: "...?"
Morofushi Sora'aki suddenly sneezed, then sat on the sofa and heard the door open. He turned around and saw that it was Morofushi Hiromitsu who had come home.
Morofushi Hiromitsu has exceptional observational skills. He immediately noticed the new earring on Morofushi Sora'aki's ear, and his first thought was: ...So, is he really going through a rebellious phase?
The second reaction was: there were more options for giving gifts afterward.
"Good evening, Sora'aki," said Morofushi Hiromitsu with a smile.
"Welcome back, good evening, brother." Morofushi Sora'aki nodded to Morofushi Hiromitsu.
"Yeah, I'm back." Realizing he'd missed a line, Morofushi Hiromitsu added, then patted Morofushi Sora'aki's hair: "Why the sudden urge to get your ears pierced?"
"Because I think he's very handsome," Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
"I see." Morofushi Hiromitsu breathed a sigh of relief, then habitually asked, "Have you been having headaches lately?"
"No, I'm learning to control it."
The Morofushi family did not expect Morofushi Sora'aki to turn this illness into a talent; they only hoped that it would not affect their daily lives.
Even if Morofushi Sora'aki is unable to enter society normally in the future, his family can still support him in doing what he wants.
However, despite having this minimum expectation, Morofushi Sora'aki's performance surprised them. Because he was free from excessive emotional influence, Morofushi Sora'aki's control over his memory system was gradually improving, and his lapses in concentration had significantly decreased.
"While I have indeed been trying, progress shouldn't be this fast." Morofushi Sora'aki nudged the feigning-dead amulet: "You did this?"
The amulet ignored him, but Morofushi Sora'aki became unusually interested in the amulet—or rather, the small stone inside it.
After so many years of missions, Morofushi Sora'aki actually doesn't quite understand what missions he has done or what the consequences of those missions will be.
However, he was also somewhat aware of the butterfly effect. In other worlds, even if he did nothing but simply appeared in another world, it would cause a certain deviation in the timeline.
Whether he maintained the storyline is unknown, but it's certain that he caused a shift in the world's direction.
"Rather than a Plot Maintenance System, you're more like a Plot Destruction System." Morofushi Sora'aki casually remarked before putting away the amulet, pulling the covers over himself, and closing his eyes. "Goodnight."
And the long-awaited otherworldly mission has arrived.
When Morofushi Sora'aki opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a dirty, black curly-haired cat that smelled of gunpowder.
Upon closer inspection, there are still many scorched areas on the black curly hair.
It looked disheveled, as if it had just experienced some danger, and even its bluish-green cat eyes were full of fatigue.
Morofushi Sora'aki paused for a moment, then squatted down and stared at the cat, which was too lazy to even run away, for a long time.
Two completely different cat eyes stared at each other, and whether it was just his imagination or not, he actually saw a hint of surprise in the cat's eyes.
However, compared to these, Morofushi Sora'aki was surprised by something else. He muttered to himself, "He looks a lot like Jinpei-chan."
Morofushi Sora'aki skillfully lifted the cat by the scruff of its neck, then took out his phone and dialed a familiar number—even in another world, the number was surprisingly the same.
"Hello, is this the pet hospital? I'd like to schedule a spay/neuter appointment for a stray cat."
As soon as Morofushi Sora'aki finished speaking, the black curly-haired cat, which had been barely moving, widened its eyes in shock, as if it couldn't believe what it had just heard, and its fur instantly bristled!
"Meow--?!!"