Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash Volume 11

“Oh, no, I dunno... Having a friend like you? For me, that might be kind of
unusual, I think.”

“Is it really?”
“Not that I have a lot of friends to begin with.”
“It doesn’t really matter if you have a lot or a few, does it?”
“Maybe.”
“That’s what I think.”
That’s what I think, too, Haruhiro silently said to himself. The wind was nice,
and the lunch break would soon end.

Scene #3: In the Classroom

“Hrmm...”
While Ranta was staring at his smartphone and groaning, Monzo asked him,
“What’s up?”
Ranta ignored him. “Hmm...” He kept groaning. “Hmm... Hmmmmmm...
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...”
He glanced to the side. Monzo was facing forward.
“Hey!” Ranta stood up and whacked Monzo lightly in the head. “Moguzo!
Listen! Normally, you’d ask what’s up!”
Monzo held the spot where Ranta had hit him. “Y-Yeah...” he said weakly. “I
did ask, you know? But you didn’t answer...”
“If you’re interested, ask two or three times! Ask, man!”
“I’m not that interested, though.”
“Huh?! Did you say something?!”
“No, um... Sorry. You were thinking, so I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“Heyyyy. Hey. Hey. Heyyyy.”

“...Wh-What?”

“Moguzo!” Ranta threw his arm around Monzo’s shoulder forcefully. “We’re
buds! No need to be considerate! Even if I was thinking, there’s no way I’d snap
at you for talking to me, right?!”

“Huh? But you do snap at me sometimes...”

“Okay, sure, sometimes!”

“So you would...”

“I’m human! When I snap, I snap! When I don’t snap, I don’t snap! That’s how
humans are! Because we’re human, right?!”

“...Human, right.”

“We’re human, aren’t we? Moguzo, don’t tell me you’re not human?! What
are you, then?! A frilled lizard, or something?! I can’t see how you would be,
though!”

“I’m not a frilled lizard...”

“What? You aren’t?! Say these things sooner! You had me shocked for a
moment there!”

“...So, what were you doing? On your phone?”

“Hm? Ohhh, that? Ramen.”

Monzo’s eyes opened wide. “Rameeeeen?!”

“Y-Yeah... Wh-Why so excited, all of a sudden?”

“When I hear ‘ramen,’ how can I not be? I mean, it’s ramen! Ramen!”

“Did you say that twice because it was important...?”

“Of course! I mean, it’s ramen, right?! So, what’s this about ramen?!”

“Nah, I’ve been in a ramen mood since this morning, so I was thinking I’d go
eat some after school. That’s why I was searching for ramen places on my
phone...”

“If that’s all, then leave it to me!” Monzo brushed off Ranta’s arm and pulled
a notebook out of his bag. “Here! Shio?! Shoyu?! Or miso?! You’re fine with

seafood broths, too, right?! You love meat, so you’ll want to be particular about
your chashu pork! That means...”

He flipped and flipped through the notebook. Each page packed tight with
details. It looked like it was all info on ramen shops. Monzo opened to a certain
page, showing it to Ranta.

“This is the ramen place I recommend for right now! Uchinachu Haiden-ken!
The name sounds kind of Okinawan, but that doesn’t matter! This place is
delicious! The asari clam broth is exquisite! The nori on top is raw, but that’s the
best part! Their chashu is excellent, too!”

“O-Oh, yeah?”
“You want a thicker broth?! If so, then, uh, right, here! Ramen House Kanzen
Jizai! It’s super rich, and their portions are great. It’s super hearty, and you’ll be
so satisfied! But it’s rather heavy, so it’s tailored to a certain self-selected
crowd, but, right, if you want something easier to eat...”
Class was about to start soon, but Monzo wasn’t about to stop.

Scene #4: The Little Guy

It had been one week since she’d gotten her first smartphone.
It was on top of the desk.
She reached out.
Pulled her hand back.
She averted her eyes. Looked outside the classroom. The sky was blue, with
cotton candy like clouds shining in it.
She lowered her eyes to the desk. Came close to reaching for the phone.
Resisted.
“Hey, hey!” a voice called out to her. Yume’s face popped into view from the
side of the desk.
“Wh-What?” Merii asked.

Yume opened her eyes wide and tilted her head to the side. “Merii-chan,
what’ve you been doin’?”

“...Nothing, really.”

“Really?”
“I haven’t really... done anything.”
“Hmm. Okay. But, y’know, you were lookin’ back and forth between the
phone and the window a whole lot, weren’t you?”
“I was looking.”

“You were lookin’, huh. That phone, is it broken?”
“He’s not broken. If anything, he’s too boisterous...” Merii hung her head.
“Yeah... He’s full of energy, the little guy... Full of energy? Is my way of saying
that weird?”
“The phone?”
When Merii nodded, Yume puffed up one of her cheeks.

“Maybe you wouldn’t say a phone’s full of energy? If you say it’s full of
energy, it’s like it’s a critter? No, like a living creature.”

“You’re right. But the little guy—I can’t get my mind off him.”
“Hmm.”
“For some reason, I can’t help but look at him. Even when I don’t have the
time, it just happens.”

“Ohhh.”
“I look so much. I can’t use him well yet, but I end up taking pictures, checking
the news, searching for things, and that’s about it.”
“You’re usin’ it real well, then.”
“...You think? I’m managing to use him well?”

“Yeah, sure. Yume, she can only use her phone to phone. See, Yume’s phone
is one her mom used before her, one of those fold ones.”

“A flip phone?”

“Ohh! Yume learned it wrong, huh? So it’s a flippin’ phone!”

Flip, not flippin’, but whatever, thought Merii.

“I didn’t have a smartphone before, either, but they bought me one,” she
said. “I wanted to learn how to use it, and I seem to have gotten hooked on it
while trying out various things.”

“Oh, yeah? Fungh...”

“Yume...”

“Nyoo?”

“You shouldn’t bite the desk.”

“Unoo.”

Yume had apparently begun absentmindedly gnawing on the edge of the
desk, She immediately pulled her mouth away from it.

“Meow! Yume’s got her slobber all over it. Even though it’s not her desk.
Sorry, Merii. Yume’ll wipe it now.”

“...You shouldn’t wipe it with your sleeve.”

“It’s fine! These are Yume’s clothes.”

Merii produced a packet of tissue paper from her pocket and handed it to
Yume. “Use this.”

“Nyoh! Thanks.”

While watching Yume wipe the desk with tissues, the smartphone at the
corner of her eye caught her attention. Merii reached out, unable to resist, and
touched the phone. She pressed the button. The lock screen appeared. Without
a moment’s hesitation, she pressed the button again, turning off the screen.

She brought up the lock screen. When she inputted her password, the home
screen came up. She immediately turned it off.

“Nyeehee!” Yume let out a weird laugh. “Merii-chan, you sure like that
phone!”

“...Do I?”

Merii held the smartphone in both hands.

Yume might be right, she thought. I have to be careful with the little guy, so he
doesn’t break.

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Copyright

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash: Volume 12
by Ao Jyumonji
Translated by Sean McCann Edited by Emily Sorensen

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2017 Ao Jyumonji Illustrations by Eiri Shirai
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2017 by OVERLAP

This English edition is published by arrangement with OVERLAP, Inc., Tokyo
English translation © 2018 J-Novel Club LLC

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the
scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the
permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s
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Ebook edition 1.0: August 2018