Teaching Kendo in Tokyo 1980

In truth, Kazuma had no idea what exactly was in Japanese high school math textbooks. The original Kazuma had been a poor student, and the memories Kazuma inherited contained next to nothing about school material.

So all Kazuma could manage was, "I guess they cover it... but not systematically, right? Stuff like derivatives and congruences that come up a lot in analytic geometry are all related to calculus..."

Even as he spoke, his confidence faltered. Wait... was congruence something we studied in high school or in university... back in my old world...?

The iinchō fixed Kazuma with a deep, unreadable gaze. The lenses of her thick-rimmed glasses caught the reflection of the nearby fluorescent lights.

Gritting his teeth, Kazuma decided to brazen it out. He wasn't going to explain further. If she suspected something, so be it. It's not like the class rep could guess that he, Kiryu Kazuma, was a transmigrator!

But then the iinchō calmly said, "Kazuma-kun, strange things aren't always friendly."

A chill shot up the back of Kazuma's neck.

So this world really isn't just a normal tech-based one!

Thinking back, there was a sword that could choose its owner, a Jizō statue that could run away, and swordsmen who could dash fast enough to leave afterimages—well, maybe not a master swordsman yet, but definitely one in the making!

In short, this world definitely had its share of supernatural oddities, though Kazuma still wasn't sure how much they actually impacted everyday life.

And if he wanted to find out... he'd need the help of Captain of Logistics—no, wait, the iinchō!

"What do you mean?" Kazuma feigned ignorance to prompt her to elaborate.

"I mean it literally," the iinchō replied. "Kazuma-kun, you must've gotten a good luck charm for your studies from some small shrine, right? I'm the president of the school's Urban Legends Club. I've compiled a lot of cases like this."

She pulled out a small notebook from her bag and showed it to Kazuma.

It was a scrapbook filled with clippings of supernatural news stories from newspapers and magazines.

She had carefully categorized the clippings, labeled them, and even handwritten detailed notes beside them.

...Huh?

Kazuma scratched his head.

This isn't going the way I expected...

He took another look at the iinchō.

With her figure and face, she'd be perfect in a shrine maiden outfit. Kazuma had fully imagined she was an actual miko.

A model student by day, and by night she'd take off her glasses, let down her braids, don a shrine maiden's garb, and wield a naginata to slay demons.

And now it turns out she's just an urban legends enthusiast...?

Just then, Chiyoko peeked over to look at the scrapbook and pointed to one of the clippings. "Ah, I've heard about this one! My classmate got a love charm, and the next day her crush from another school confessed to her."

"Really?" The iinchō immediately took out a pen and earnestly added Chiyoko's account to her notes. "Could I get your classmate's last name? Just the surname is fine. And if you know the exact date, that would be helpful too."

Chiyoko thought for a moment and provided an approximate date.

"Thank you for the information," the iinchō said cheerfully, handing Chiyoko a small packet of candy.

"What's this?" Chiyoko asked, puzzled. "Konpeitō? I haven't seen this packaging before."

"It's homemade! They're really good." The iinchō beamed, clearly delighted by the new addition to her urban legend collection.

Chiyoko swallowed nervously and glanced at Kazuma.

The candy did look pretty tempting. With how tight money was at home, it'd probably been a while since Chiyoko had any sweets.

"Thank you, iinchō," Kazuma said.

"How long are you going to keep calling me iinchō?" the girl replied with a hint of exasperation. "We're comrades striving for Todai together, aren't we?"

Before Kazuma could answer, Chiyoko chimed in mischievously, "Yeah, Bro, you should be calling her Captain."

"In what sense?" both Kazuma and the iinchō asked in unison.

"Because you're comrades now, see?" Chiyoko grinned, patting Kazuma's shoulder. "Bro, keep it up—being the captain of a wagashi shop someday wouldn't be bad either."

Kazuma chuckled. Being teased by his little sister honestly didn't feel bad at all.

Still... Sis, you let yourself get bribed by one packet of konpeitō? That's a bit cheap, isn't it?

Just as Kazuma was internally roasting his sister, the iinchō tugged on his sleeve to get his attention.

When Kazuma turned toward her, she asked seriously, "So? How long are you planning to keep calling me iinchō?"

Thanks to Chiyoko's earlier teasing, Kazuma was still in a lighthearted mood, so he replied, "About ten months, maybe."

"Huh?" For once, the usually composed iinchō looked stunned—and honestly, it was kind of cute. "You've even set a time limit? Why ten months?"

"Because in ten months we'll graduate. You won't be the iinchō anymore," Kazuma explained solemnly.

He was trying not to laugh, but her surprised expression was just too adorable. He couldn't resist teasing her a little more.

Realizing she'd been played, the iinchō sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Not the time for jokes. Or... did you forget my name entirely and you're just making excuses?"

That hit home. Kazuma realized with a start—he really didn't remember her actual name.

No matter how hard he searched his memories, all he could come up with was iinchō.

A girl this pretty would normally be impossible to forget. Sure, she wore braids and thick glasses, but she wasn't some cliché dowdy character out of a manga.

If she stood on a street in modern-day China in that outfit, passersby would definitely think she was a model doing a photoshoot.

That the original Kazuma hadn't remembered her name could only be chalked up to him being too focused on Mikako.

The iinchō looked at Kazuma, the light fading from her eyes. She must've realized from his expression that he genuinely didn't remember.

Chiyoko fanned the flames cheerfully. "Bro, that's your bad. You flirt with girls and don't even remember their names—one of these days, you're gonna get stabbed."

This time the iinchō joined in. "Exactly. And they'll probably dump your body on Mount Amagi."

"Why Mount Amagi?" Chiyoko blinked. "Is there some special meaning?"

Kazuma answered, "Haven't you read The Dancing Girl of Izu by Kawabata Yasunari?"

"You've read it?!" Chiyoko looked even more surprised.

Thinking about it, the original Kazuma probably hadn't read it.

But no matter—this Kazuma had, specifically to act cultured and impress girls!

Though... he'd read the Chinese translation. If the iinchō suddenly quoted a line, he'd be caught. Better play it safe.

Kazuma looked away, feigning guilt. "Just... a little. I know Mount Amagi is in it."

"You probably just saw it in a travel guide, right?" Chiyoko said knowingly.

She knew full well that her brother's original brain had been a cultural wasteland.

After all, she'd once questioned why he'd suddenly started using idioms.

Thankfully, she hadn't dug too deep—or he'd have been exposed long ago.

Deciding it was risky to stay on this topic, Kazuma steered the conversation back to her name.

"Iinchō, I swear I didn't forget on purpose. It's just that... you're so diligent, the image of iinchō is burned into my brain. That's why I can't remember your real name. Uh, um..."

"Jingūji," she interrupted. "Jingūji Tamamo. This time, don't forget."

Kazuma frowned, eyes drifting involuntarily to the top of her head.

With a name like that, shouldn't you at least have a fox spirit tag floating up there...?

But no—there was nothing.

The iinchō blinked, tilting her head. "Is there something on my head?"

May as well go all in...

"Yeah," Kazuma said. "I see fox ears sprouting."

The iinchō burst into laughter.

Chiyoko teased, "Bro, were you always this good at flirting? You're way smoother than those guys who hit on me."

Of course I'm—wait a minute!

"Who's been hitting on you?!" Kazuma snapped to attention.

"Don't overreact. You know what I look like—it's normal to get approached sometimes."

Before Kazuma could reply, the iinchō brought the conversation neatly back on track.

As if she hadn't heard their detour, she continued, "Originally, my name was Tamako, but I used to trip a lot. My family asked the abbot at Taishakuten Temple about it. He said the name was too round—so I kept falling."

The Japanese Tamako sounds like the word for "egg," which likely led to the comment.

"So when I was three, my family changed it to Tamamo. Supposedly, after that, I stopped falling."

Kazuma nodded. "Oh, well... you're still pretty round. In some places."

Chiyoko promptly stomped on his foot. "Bro! No harassment!"

Just then, a bookstore clerk appeared beside them. "Excuse me, but some customers have complained your voices are a bit loud."

"Oh, sorry!" The iinchō quickly bowed. "We'll be leaving now."

She glanced at Kazuma. "I know a great used bookstore—huge selection, lovely atmosphere, and the owner's a very knowledgeable old lady. I really like it there."

Kazuma nodded. "Sounds good. Lead the way, iinchō."

"...Still calling me iinchō?"

"Sorry, Tamago—I mean, Tamamo."

She pressed her lips together, gave him an exasperated glare, and sighed in defeat.

"Let's go," she said.

"Okay, Tamago."

(End of Chapter)