Chapter 9: Kusanagi Godou (Patreon)

March, Spring Break.

A holiday eagerly anticipated by countless students in Japan.

Some went out to have fun, some participated in club activities, while others took on part-time jobs, dated, attended cram schools, or simply stayed home playing games, hibernating through the entire break.

But for Kusanagi Godou, "break" was practically synonymous with "trouble."

Because at the moment, he wasn't in Japan—he was in unfamiliar Italy!

Strangely enough, the color of the sky seemed slightly different when viewed from another country.

The sky Godou gazed up at through the airport window wasn't the ambiguous, depth-rich blue typical of Japan. Here, under the Latin sun, the sky stretched impossibly high, a startling, vivid azure.

Shifting his gaze forward, he saw a bustling crowd of people of various nationalities and races coming and going.

This was an airport at the southern tip of Italy, on a resort island floating in the Mediterranean. Since this wasn't a school trip, he was probably the only Japanese student here—Godou, all alone.

Amid the busy flow of people in the terminal, Godou stared into the distance, grumbling inwardly.

After twelve turbulent hours on the plane, he had finally arrived in this country. The fatigue from the long flight and the effects of jet lag left his entire body utterly exhausted.

This was Sardinia, an island roughly the size of Shikoku.

Its population was around 1.5 million, with the majority concentrated in the island's urban areas.

Surrounded by crystal-clear waters, the natural environment here was breathtakingly beautiful.

Tourism was the island's largest industry. Every summer, visitors from all over the world flocked here for a European vacation.

Particularly famous was the northeast coast, renowned as an exclusive resort for the upper crust, with its emerald-green, stunning shoreline.

But this time, he wasn't here as a tourist. He had come to this unfamiliar place on business—during what should have been a rare break.

"...I'll explore this town today, then take the train tomorrow to the town where Miss Lucretia lives."

Standing on a street outside the airport, Godou considered whether to head straight to his reserved hotel first.

He was here to deliver an item on behalf of his grandfather, returning it to an old friend.

That was why he had no choice but to come to Sardinia, Italy. Originally, for his third-year junior high spring break, he had planned to work a part-time job.

But considering that he couldn't let his grandfather break the promise made to his grandmother, he resolved to deliver it himself.

Even though he didn't speak Italian and wasn't particularly skilled in other foreign languages either.

He had, however, been taken abroad by his grandfather several times before, mostly to Southeast Asian countries.

There had even been instances where he got separated from his grandfather during their travels and had to reunite later.

Every time something like that happened, he would end up spending half a day or more in a place where he didn't speak the language and had no money. In severe cases, it took days.

After experiencing this countless times, he had somehow grown accustomed to such situations.

If languages failed, he relied on body language—surprisingly, it worked well enough to communicate. Even if complex ideas were hard to convey, his clean-cut looks and friendly smile helped him connect with others.

Even if a foreigner approached him on the street speaking English, which would stump most people, he could patch together broken conversations using the bits of English he knew.

["Heh, so you're going in my place, Godou... Are you sure I can really trust you with this?"]

["Yeah. A man keeps his word. It's spring break anyway—I've got nothing better to do."]

And so, having made that declaration, Godou found himself alone in a foreign country, a place entirely unfamiliar to him.

Now, standing outside the airport, he browsed maps of Sardinia and a guidebook on his phone, sketching out his next steps.

The town where his grandfather's "friend" lived was located in the central part of the island. He planned to rest here today, letting his body recover from the fatigue of jet lag and the long flight.

Having decided this, Godou looked around. It was a little past 1 PM. The Mediterranean sun shone brilliantly, and the sky was a cloudless, endless blue—a view you'd never see back in Japan.

It would be a shame not to take in the scenery while he had the chance.

Feeling a thrill akin to witnessing dawn breaking, he decided to explore a bit and ask for directions along the way.

If he needed to rest, he could do it at night. After all, he'd come all this way—why not look around a bit?

Lugging his suitcase, Godou decided to leave the airport and wander around the town for some sightseeing.

"Wow?!"

"So handsome~"

"Hey~ should we go talk to him?"

"An Easterner this good-looking... could he be a celebrity?"

"..."

But just then, a commotion rose among the pedestrians at the airport.

Even Godou, standing outside, couldn't help but turn toward the noise.

Then he saw a tall, slender figure stepping out of the airport, drawing everyone's attention.

Putting everything else aside, Godou felt like he'd just been utterly outclassed in the looks department. He couldn't help but feel a mix of envy and inadequacy.

There, moving through the crowd, was a young man with a striking presence and extraordinary aura—clearly someone destined for greatness.

He wore a long black coat paired with matching trousers, a white shirt, and casual leather shoes. His short, thick black hair and vibrant green eyes added to his handsome appearance.

Japanese? No, Chinese?

With looks and charisma like that, was he an idol or a celebrity?