Volume 5 Chapter 4 Winter break sub-event: Christmas
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Before leaving for the trip to the 5th District, there is one thing that must be done.
A sub-event to deepen the bond with my best friend.
Today is Christmas.
Christmas exists in this world, but it is a bit different from the Christmas I remember in Japan.
Exchanging gifts is the same.
But it is not just for lovers. Friends give each other things casually, too. Think of it as a more relaxed version of the year-end gift-giving tradition1.
Since it is originally a religious event from another country, it holds no special meaning for the sorcerers here. It is not something they would put first. Sorcerers focus on the old customs of the land where they were born and raised. In fact, the calendar suggests staying inside on this day.
But for the “Plain-folk,” whose actions are not limited by sorcery rules, Christmas is a new and fun event. They can enjoy themselves without feeling pressured by sorcerers.
You can see this in the streets, which are full of Plain-folk. There are couples, groups of close same-s*x friends, and families — all kinds of people.
In the middle of all that, I was waiting with Ryota in front of the station.
”Hey Minoru, are you sure about this?” Ryota asked, worry in his voice. He kept glancing at the crowd passing by, like he was second-guessing the whole plan.
”Of course. Trust me,” I said, keeping up a confident look.
I answered Ryota’s worried question with a confident face.
Truth is, I am worried too. But since I am the one who set this up, I cannot show any fear. There are still 5 minutes left. It will be fine.
”Tatemiya-kun, sorry to keep you waiting — ” Ishimoto said as she arrived. She was slightly out of breath, like she had rushed from the station.
”Ishimoto, thanks for coming,” I said with a polite nod.
”Okuma-kun too, long time no see — ” she said, turning to my friend.
”Long time no see,” Ryota said, keeping cool.
The one who arrived was Ishimoto. I felt relieved just knowing we had not been stood up.
She is a classmate from junior high who I happened to go to karaoke with the other day. Ryota knows her face too. We are not particularly close.
”Did you wait long?” Ishimoto asked with a smile.
”No, it’s fine,” I said.
”Sorry about that. I should have come a little earlier,” she said.
”Don’t worry about it. I am the one who should apologize for asking so suddenly,” I said.
”It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s for your request, Tatemiya-kun. Right, everyone — ” she said, looking toward her friends.
Ishimoto turned to the three people who came with her.
She arrived with three classmates, making a group of four.
The three girls behind her all seemed to agree with Ishimoto, and they each greeted us one by one.
”Well then, shall we go?” I said.
”Okay — ” the group said together.
Now a group of six, we introduced ourselves lightly and started walking toward the shopping street.
Neither I nor Ryota are the type to call Plain-folk girls to hang out. If we just wanted to hang out with girls, we could have picked someone from the healthy and free Strong-Females (Shoji’s group members) who know about sorcerers. Or, to begin with, there are already girls in my own group who listen to whatever I say. But today, I am trying to hang out with four Plain-folk girls who are almost strangers.
The reason I held this event is to have contact outside our group and to build a network beyond it.
As long as I keep living as a sorcerer, building connections and information networks between sorcerers is necessary. The girls in my group are acting with that goal too. And lately, a network outside of sorcerers is also needed.
In the future, science will grow strong. It is easy to guess that the opinions of Plain-folk, who far outnumber sorcerers, will have great power in society. I won’t say I am trying to build a “good relationship” right now, but I should at least plant many seeds as a starting point for contact.
From our short talk at karaoke the other day, Ishimoto did not seem to have a bad view of sorcerers, so I decided to take the chance and invite her. I asked Ryota to come because I was nervous about going alone.
Originally, Ryota and I planned to try to pick up some Plain-folk girls, but we found a good chance and good partners by accident.
To be honest, we are doing the same thing as the guys who tried to hit on us at karaoke the other day. But we are not pretending to be sorcerers. We are the real thing. And surely, the girls who came did not come because they could not say no. Probably. It will be fine, right…?
While making small talk, we headed toward the bowling alley in a slightly hidden corner of the shopping street.
”Tatemiya-kun, do you actually play bowling?” one of the girls asked with curiosity.
”No? This is my first time too,” I said.
”Really!?” she said.
”I was a bit curious about it. I wanted to come here once… and is that it?” I said, pointing toward the building.
A large building came into view, with several flower stands celebrating its opening.
A sign with a giant pin was standing out.
Benches were set up outside the shop, and I could see nearly 20 people lined up, waiting to go in.
”Wow. It’s crowded — ” Ishimoto said.
”Yeah,” I said.
While saying that, I ignored the line and went into the store.
”Wait, is that okay?” Ishimoto asked, sounding unsure.
Everyone was surprised by how boldly I ignored the line.
”It’s fine, I made a reservation,” I said.
”Oh, you can make reservations?” she said, surprised.
”Yeah. There’s no sorcerer power or anything to skip the line, so don’t worry. Anyone can make a reservation normally,” I said.
”Huh — ” she said, finally relaxing.
I had done a fair amount of research so I would not have to rush. As soon as the reservation time opened, I called and booked right away. I don’t want to get caught up in weird trouble that has nothing to do with today’s goal, after all.
The girls followed me into the store. Ryota walked through the entrance last.
I told the reception we had a reservation and asked about the store’s system.
In my memories of Japan, I remember playing bowling too. It is almost the same as back then.
You rent shoes and throw the ball toward the pins in your own lane. By the way, the rules are exactly the same.
Inside the store, that familiar sound of rumble… crack is echoing.
”Is this ball okay?” Ishimoto asked, holding a sphere.
”It’s pretty heavy — ” her friend said.
While the girls were choosing their balls, Ryota and I ordered some light snacks.
In this world, in this country, bowling is still a rare sport. There are no set manners yet, and this shop lets you eat and drink while playing.
Once everyone was ready, the game started.
My first throw. With everyone watching, the ball I rolled knocked down only the one pin on the far right.
”””””Oh — “”””” the group said.
The five people watching from behind made sounds that could mean “amazing” or “so close.”
Since no one in today’s group has ever played bowling, no one will make fun of me for being bad. In that sense, it’s reassuring.
I can’t look pathetic when I’m with the girls in my group. To avoid that, I need to practice beforehand. So, I invited Ishimoto and the others to come practice with me — a reason that doesn’t really hold up if you think about it calmly.
My second throw hit the middle pin, and eight pins fell.
For a first try, it’s a decent start.
The turn went on with Ryota, Ishimoto, and the other girls.
Everyone was saying “I knocked down one” or “I knocked down nine,” trying things out and seeming to have fun. The atmosphere was fairly lively.
The game went smoothly, and the first game ended.
Ryota came in first with a score of 150. The other five were all between 90 and 110.
I got exactly 100. Well, I suppose that’s to be expected.
We moved to the second game. By this time, we had relaxed, and the conversation had become a bit smoother.
”What’s wrong? Is something bothering you?” I asked Masuki, who had been staring hard at the pins.
”Well, it’s very interesting,” she said, her eyes bright with curiosity.
”Interesting?” I said.
”Like how the pins are set up, or how the score is calculated automatically. I was wondering how they work,” she said, showing her analytical side.
”Indeed, I’m a little interested in that too. I wonder if it detects which pins were knocked down when it grabs and lifts them,” I said.
Since I have memories of going to a science university in the past, I naturally get excited when I see mechanical things. It seems this girl feels the same.
”I’m itching to take those kinds of machines apart,” she said.
”Take them apart? Itching…?” I said, amused.
”Ah, s-sorry. I said something strange…” she said, blushing a little.
”No, I understand that feeling. It’s fine,” I said.
Thinking she had given me a strange impression, the flustered girl waved her hands to cover it up before picking up her juice. She looked a bit troubled, so I gestured that the seat next to me was empty and had her sit down. …The situation is like picking a hostess at a club.
”Until a little while ago, setting up the pins was done with sorcery. Because of that, bowling was a minor sport played by some sorcerers. But now, such a convenient machine has been made. Science is amazing, isn’t it,” I said.
”I think so too,” she said.
The girl who sat down timidly agreed with my words.
”Things that only sorcerers could do can now be done with science. Society can run even without sorcerers… It’s a dream,” she said, her voice full of hope.
”That’s right…” I said.
”…S-sorry. I don’t mean to speak badly of sorcerers!” she said, panicking.
Seeing my dull reaction, the girl tried to follow up in a panic. Things that sorcerers were doing are being replaced by machines. In other words, sorcerer jobs are being taken by machines. She probably thought my dull reaction meant I was in a bad mood.
But something else had popped into my head, so I had given a half-hearted reply. Failure, failure.
The possibility of jobs being taken by machines is the same for Plain-folk. I don’t get in a bad mood over things like that one by one.
”It’s fine. I think about things like that often too. What kind of world would it be if there were no sorcerers?” I asked.
”I can’t imagine such a world…” she said.
”Maybe we could live normally, don’t you think? If science develops smoothly. What would be troublesome… is anything related to dungeons, I suppose?” I said.
”Science doesn’t work inside dungeons… that’s true,” she said.
”If that’s the case, the jobs that will remain in the future are dungeon exploration. By focusing on that, efficiency will improve. The development of science might be a good thing for sorcerers,” I said.
”…That’s a way of thinking I hadn’t considered,” she said, impressed.
While we were talking, my turn came.
”Alright, I’m going to throw,” I said.
”Good luck!” she said.
I threw with her cheering me on. Maybe I put too much power into it, but I only knocked down one pin on the edge.
Might as well try, so for my second throw, I tried throwing a curveball. It felt good halfway through, but the curve was weak, and I only knocked down three pins.
”Oh, then I’ll go too,” Ryota said, stepping up.
Ryota also started following my lead and throwing a curving ball.
”Eh — ? That’s cheating. Teach us too — ” Ishimoto said.
At Ishimoto’s request, I taught everyone how to throw.
I’m glad Ryota and I had practiced how to throw beforehand.
I taught Ishimoto and the girl I spoke with earlier, Masuki-san, how to throw, and Ryota taught the remaining two.
Everyone tried the new throwing method while making noise. Maybe because of that, the scores in the second game were worse than in the first. But in terms of fun, the second game was better.
We went into the third game.
Each person threw the ball in their own style. For me too, the curve felt somewhat decent.
Luck was on my side, and I got a score of 169 in the final game.
Seeing that the girls’ arms were starting to lose strength, we finished after three games. As a result, I came in second place overall.
We finished paying and went outside. Even though a lot of time had passed, the line of people waiting to go in was still there.
”Ah — that was fun — ” Ishimoto said happily.
”It was interesting — ” Masuki said.
The girls’ evaluation did not seem bad, so I was relieved.
”Thank you for today. That was fun,” I said.
”That’s my line. I even got treated. Thank you — ” Ishimoto laughed.
The girls behind also gave their thanks one after another. It was a bit of an expense, but if I can get this much appreciation, I’d say I got my money’s worth. I think the favorability rating is not bad either.
”Well, see you again,” I said.
”Bye-bye — ” they waved.
Ryota and I watched the girls leave.
Once their backs grew small in the distance, we moved to the next place.
A batting center away from the shopping street. After working up a light sweat, we shared our thoughts about earlier in the rest area.
”I don’t think their impression of us was bad… Ryota, what do you think?” I asked.
”Same opinion. They all seemed unused to men, but I feel they tried their best to talk to us,” Ryota said.
”Ishimoto was trying hard,” I agreed.
”I haven’t seen her in a while, but she wasn’t like that, was she? I had a more quiet impression of her,” Ryota said.
”Maybe she had some thoughts after entering High School?” I said.
”Maybe,” he said.
”What about you, Ryota? Those girls,” I said.
”A little lacking in meat,” he joked.
”That’s not what I’m talking about,” I sighed.
”It’s a joke. I think it’s a good start,” he chuckled.
All four people today go to the same High School as Ishimoto, a 1st-year High School student.
In other words, they are classmates. Though, the only one I had met before was Ishimoto. The remaining three were the second time since we saw them at karaoke.
”Everyone is from the 13th District’s 2nd High School. They’re smart,” I said.
”That I know,” Ryota agreed.
The District number + 2nd is a public Plain-folk High School. The test scores are high.
Actually, the girls who came today were more the quiet type who focus on studies rather than trying to enjoy their youth with sports and studying.
”Then, I’ll contact Ishimoto and Masuki-san,” I decided.
”I’ll take the remaining two. Understood,” Ryota said.
That is how I decided to expand my human relationships.
It seems the girl with glasses, Masuki-san, belongs to something called the Sorcery Engineering Research Society at High School. And, when I asked for details, there was someone I knew in that research society.
It’s Aikawa Shiho-san, Risa’s older sister Momono-san’s friend, and a magic-engine-mania.
Good grief, fate is a strange thing — you never know where or how things are connected.
”Alright, one last battle, let’s go,” I challenged.
”Yeah, let’s do it!” Ryota agreed.
Ryota and I spent Christmas just like every other year, sweating it out and eating junk food as we pleased.
—
Summary:
Minoru orchestrates a social outing to a bowling alley with his friend Ryota and four female classmates as a strategic networking event. The group navigates the novelty of bowling in a world where such activities are traditionally sorcerer-centric. Minoru successfully manages the interactions, including a technical conversation with Masuki, and confirms his plan to expand these connections.
—
Trivia:
The setting distinguishes between “sorcerers” and “plain-folk,” where bowling was historically a niche activity for the former.
Christmas in this world is viewed as a “plain-folk” event, as sorcerers prioritize their own ancient land-based customs.
Minoru is a former science university student in his past life, which influences his interest in the bowling mechanics.
Masuki belongs to the High School Sorcery Engineering Research Society, linking her to Risa and Aikawa.
The group consists of students from the 13th District’s 2nd High School, known for being smart but quiet.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• B – A student originally from North Middle School who was added to S’s group.
• A – A student from South Middle School described as an idol who has been recruited into R’s high school squad.
• T – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has recruited K and N from East Middle into his group.
• S – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has taken B from North Middle into his squad.
• Ryota – A loyal, outgoing middle-school student and well-connected sorcerer who often feels anxious socially. Minoru’s best friend, he maintains a slightly uncertain demeanor, planning separate activities but following Minoru’s guidance. This ‘Great Bear’ stamina leader heads a ‘Strong-Female’ squad, speaks for Tsuyo-Osu, knows Mitsuki, uses the Nagase house hideout, and trains at a shrine dungeon.
• R – A first-year student at District 13 High School who has successfully built a squad and added multiple girls, including M and A, into his group.
• Minoru – A lean, black-haired student sorcerer and dungeon leader with adult memories secretly controls Aberrations via space magic. Pragmatically cynical yet calculated, he treats social interactions as strategic networking between sorcerers and plain-folk. This hidden Demon Lord and logistical caregiver handles the 5th District and a dramatic schoolmate harem (Mai, Risa, Mitsuki) at a resort cottage.
• M – A first-year student at District 13 High School and the childhood friend of Anonymous Student 0006, described as an atavistic strong-female who looks plain but possesses significant power.
• Ishimoto – A friendly and proactive junior high school classmate of Minoru who organizes a group outing. While maintaining a positive, though sometimes self-conscious, rapport with others, she politely acknowledges Minoru with a nod before leaving the room and later thanks him for his help.
• Tatemiya – The prestigious Tatemiya family plays a central role in the group’s social dynamics. Their name references the household where the protagonist Minoru, Kotoha, and his witches return to live, bond, and interact.
• Okuma – The family name of Ryota.
• N – A student from East Middle with an eccentric personality who entered National High School due to complex family circumstances and used herself as leverage to negotiate a protective agreement for K.
• Shoji – A conspicuous, top-ranked male transfer student from the 5th District who wears a distinctive white uniform. He leads an independent exploration group and views tower-conquering and diving as a break. Encountered by Minoru at the airport while traveling, he associates with Kotoha’s group and other curriculum students, maintaining a dry, direct demeanor that is often baffled by others’ intense focus.
• Masuki – A serious, glasses-wearing student who is interested in mechanical systems and sorcery engineering. She is analytical, slightly socially awkward when her interests are revealed, and studies at a public high school.
• Momono-san – A petite, chubby high school senior with gentle, drooping eyes, Risa’s older sister, Momono-san, is a refined yet mischievous tutor and supportive companion. She cleverly orchestrates family interactions and uses Risa’s favorite pastries as leverage. A friendly girl, she is also a friend of Aikawa and displays a welcoming curiosity rather than hostility toward Risa’s partner.
• Aikawa – The older sister of Risa and a magic-engine-mania who is connected to the sorcery research society.
• Momono – Risa’s older sister, Momono-san, is a petite, chubby high school senior with gentle, drooping eyes. A refined yet mischievous tutor and supportive companion, she uses pastries to orchestrate family dynamics. Welcoming toward Risa’s partner, she is also a friend of Aikawa, with whom she connects alongside Risa through the magic-engine community.
• Shiho – A shy, bespectacled upperclassman and self-proclaimed magic-engine-mania collector who is deeply knowledgeable about magic technology. Though usually reserved, she becomes animated when discussing hardware. In her role, she holds sway over the approval process for anyone looking to borrow magic equipment.
• Risa – A tall, well-endowed Naruse merchant student raised as Plain-folk by a guild executive father. Aikawa’s sister and Anri’s older sister, she is a disciplined Onibara practitioner wielding a grenade rifle. As Minoru’s protective, authoritative childhood friend, she manages family tensions, cooks with Chifumi and Manaka, and maintains a sharp, distrustful attitude toward Komoda and newcomers.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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