SS5 "Itch, Delicious"
■ Keeper's Log
Mar 10, 2015
My name is Nakata Hideotoshi.
Starting today, I've been assigned to care for the animals at the evacuation shelter.
...That said, it seems Asahina-chan will be handling most of the work.
I'm just supposed to be a backup in case we need extra hands for animals beyond the ones currently in my care.
I'm not really looking forward to it, but I'll do my best.
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Mar 11, 2015
At night, I played Catan with my friends Tanaka-kun, Hirao-kun, and Asada Rika (who is also the president of the board game club). Asada-san won solo. The dice rolls were suspiciously skewed—I even started wondering if she was cheating.
"Ooh, ooh! Is Midota-kun having a bad streak?" Her smug expression is unforgettable.
Damn it, you damn fool.
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Mar 12, 2015
Yesterday, the staff room’s higher-ups assigned me the task of taking care of a new monster.
Her name is Hakui Iroha—a petite girl who, despite her appearance, supposedly has the strength of a gorilla.
...Wait, I don’t remember ever agreeing to take care of a monster!?
She just really wanted to eat her fill, so I gave her the leftover "monster" meat. She devoured it in no time at all.
How can such a small body hold so much?
What kind of appetites do these monsters have?
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Mar 13, 2015
Around five o'clock this morning, I was woken up by a strange being frequently visiting the shelter lately—a girl with elf ears (her name was something like Kohigawa Momoka)—and was asked to take care of a flying dragon.
...Now I'm stuck looking after a dragon too. What kind of job is this caretaker position, anyway?
Well, I suppose there's no help for it.
Still, she seems to have been darting around nonstop, even through the night.
Her effort can't be denied, and I'll do my best too.
As a matter of fact, dragons are omnivorous and efficient eaters, apparently consuming anything. Giving each one about five bags of cat food made them happily devour it.
Looking at them now, they're quite cute.
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Mar 14, 2015
I haven't taken a bath since yesterday, thanks to being forced to tend to those flying dragons nonstop.
I'm just really prone to skin issues from being unclean, so my whole body is itching terribly.
Frustrated, I turned the usual culprit—Ayano-chan's snack—into cat food.
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Mar 15, 2015
I went to the infirmary because the itching was unbearable, and the usual red-jerseyed weirdo (I forgot their name) shone some strange light on me, curing me completely.
Thanks to that, I should be able to sleep well tonight.
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Mar 16, 2015
When I woke up this morning, I felt refreshed and in good spirits.
Honestly, I’ve been reflecting lately on how I’ve previously dismissed magic users as "villains"—maybe I was too quick to judge.
I used to think they were all arrogant, unpleasant types, but now I’m not so sure.
Also, taking care of the flying dragons has been going smoothly.
They’re surprisingly mild-mannered—apparently, going three days without food barely bothers them at all.
Because I faced them without fear and stayed firm, I received thanks from Renkai.
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Mar 17, 2015
Yesterday, one student who tried to escape from this shelter was killed by those "zombies."
He was a friend of mine—a really strong player of Dominion and Othello. I still feel a tightness in my eyes.
For now, we've decided to hold a simple funeral within our group, but the body was horrific to see.
There were scratches on my chest, and the flesh smelled like the rotten stench of those "zombies."
What on earth has this world turned into?
For a while after that, I was followed by a girl named Hane Kizuna, which made things a bit awkward.
But looking back now, she might have just been trying to comfort me.
When I looked in the mirror, my complexion was so pale it was no wonder people were worried.
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Mar 18, 2015
My fever suddenly spiked around noon. Since I couldn’t take a bath, my back itched too.
It seems my recent stress has finally caught up with me—I’ve come down with a cold.
The teachers have reflected on the situation and decided to increase the number of caretakers.
The doctor says it’s nothing serious, but for now I’m stuck in my room.
With nothing to do but write in my journal, I’m bored out of my mind.
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Mar 19, 2015
It's because I couldn't take a bath that I'm itchy, so itchy.
While I was aimlessly lounging in my room, that mysterious figure... no, Yuge Sayo came by.
It seems she came to keep me company, seeing how bored I was.
In the end, we ended up playing Gai Star.
A board game similar to chess, where we take turns capturing pieces representing "good ghosts" and "bad ghosts."
She's really bad at lying, and that day she barely lost at all.
Maybe she was being considerate and deliberately let me win.
According to her, I'm "the type who'd probably hang himself any moment."
After the game, when I apologized for serving cat food as a snack, she just giggled and said, "Hehe, actually, it wasn't bad at all—no problem."
That couldn't be true. She's such a kind girl.
Then Ayaka-chan made congee for me.
She finely chopped some olives and scattered them on top—it's supposed to be good even when cold.
We'll eat it tomorrow morning.
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20
Congee
Delicious!
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Mar 21, 2015
Yesterday I had to rush, so my writing was sloppy. My apologies, my apologies.
Apparently, the girl in the red jersey, Renkai-san, and Ayaka-chan are going on another adventure together.
Moreover, it seems this journey might be a long one.
I'm glad I finally became friends with Saya-chan, but there's nothing I can do about it.
After all, they have a mission to save this world.
When I said goodbye to that girl, "Let's play games together again," she waved back with a smile.
For now, I'm praying that everyone returns safely.
May luck and victory be with them on their journey.