Chapter 347: Chapter 345 Monday Again_1
July 10, Monday.
It was early morning. At six o’clock sharp, the alarm on the bedside mobile phone went off on time. Aozawa was woken up but didn’t open his eyes; he just realized he needed to change his boxers.
His right hand seemed to still recall the sensation from when he’d walked through the door at four o’clock yesterday afternoon. It had been unimaginably soft.
For this young body, it was undoubtedly an overly stimulating event that led to colorful dreams and, as a result, the body’s natural physiological response of youthful vigor.
This wasn’t anything strange.
Aozawa didn’t pay too much attention to it. He took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.
Superpower: Global Travel.
The words slowly dissipated in the air. Aozawa stared, then suddenly sat up straight. From these simple four characters, he understood how vast the scope of this superpower was.
Global Travel—if you can’t appear at any location on Earth, what kind of Global Travel is it?
The current issue was language.
He only knew Chinese and Japanese. His English was passable, but communicating normally with people was clearly a challenging task.
He wondered whether Global Travel came with some sort of translation feature.
He hoped it did.
As he thought about this, Aozawa wasn’t sure how much the defensive capability of his Defense Barrier had been reduced. However, the barrier he had placed on Chitose and the others showed no changes, indicating that the number of people he could protect with the Defense Barrier had not decreased.
Time wouldn’t be cut either.
The only possible reductions would be in range and strength.
Thinking this, he used his Element Replacement ability to turn into a wisp of wind and then employed the Global Travel superpower.
In an instant, his vision was as if dragged into space, and a blue planet appeared in his mind, rotating silently.
There were various selectable locations on it.
New York, USA.
If he wanted to test whether the superpower had a translation function, he naturally needed to find a country where everyone spoke English.
And among those countries, the United States had the biggest reputation.
With a thought, his view suddenly changed, and the breeze blew over to New York on the other side of the ocean.
Due to the time difference, New York was basked in sunshine. People of various skin colors gathered in Times Square, where massive LED advertising screens flashed, broadcasting advertisement after advertisement.
"I saw a shooting in Manhattan yesterday." "The priest said my child was possessed by a demon, which is why he’s so disobedient. Poor Johnson."
"Support environmental protection!" "Support minority groups!" "I know a good place for some consequence-free shopping."
All sorts of noisy sounds fell into Aozawa’s ears. What should have been indecipherable English became as clear and understandable as Japanese or Chinese.
Clearly, this was the result of the Global Travel superpower, similar to the state of desirelessness experienced when using Catalyst Induction.
Aozawa had a thought and returned to his bed, canceled the Element Replacement ability, and changed back to his human form.
He quickly extended the Defense Barrier around himself. It could only extend three kilometers; the range was drastically reduced.
Defensive strength unknown.
Could the newly added Global Travel superpower allow others to go to any place in the world?
Could he speak the local language?
There wasn’t enough time; he would need to test it later.
The pressing matter was to take a shower and change clothes.
Aozawa jumped out of bed and took out his school uniform, boxers, and a bath towel from the wardrobe.
He opened the door.
Outside was a long corridor.
The door to the living room was open, with rhythmic music playing inside.
This was also a disadvantage of having a big house. Previously, the first thing he would see upon opening his door was Morimoto Chiyoda doing yoga, but now he needed to walk a bit further.
"Good morning, Chitose."
"Hmm, what do you need your clothes for?" Morimoto Chiyoda asked, noticing his actions were different from usual, her expression curious.
Aozawa moved the clothes he was holding out of the way.
"You little stinker, hurry up and take a shower," Morimoto Chiyoda said. One look was all it took for her to understand why he was carrying the clothes.
She rolled her eyes, somewhat surprised. This kid really has grown up.
Back when she used to bathe Aozawa, he was just a tiny thing.
Morimoto Chiyoda’s mind raced with these thoughts. Then she remembered his hand from yesterday afternoon, and felt her blood boil. This forced her to focus entirely on her yoga, to suppress the thoughts in her heart.
「...」
「School.」
The club building had plenty of light.
Ayatsuki Ayaka obediently stayed in a corner, humming a song, tapping her index finger on the surface of her thermos.
She occasionally peeked outside, waiting for the Kendo club’s Department Head, Ishigami Kenta, to leave so she could sneak into the Kendo club.
Ayatsuki Ayaka didn’t think Aozawa smelled unpleasant after training, but she really couldn’t stand the stench of the other Kendo club members.
They were all boys, so why did Aozawa smell nice while they seemed as if they’d fallen into a latrine?
This question flashed through Ayatsuki Ayaka’s mind, then her thoughts quickly shifted to the camping photos, and she felt a smug satisfaction.
She peeked outside again.
Ishigami Kenta had left the Kendo club.
Ayatsuki Ayaka quickened her pace toward the Kendo club. She opened the door, saw Aozawa standing inside shouting loudly, carefully closed the door behind her, and sat in a corner to wait.
After Aozawa finished his practice, he took off his protective gear and towel, and strode out of the changing room.
"Good morning, Aozawa."
Ayatsuki Ayaka handed him a thermos with a smile. "The photos from the camping trip have been edited," she said. "I’ll send them to your phone later."
"Oh, what do they look like now?"
Aozawa twisted open the thermos and took a big swig. He wasn’t particularly interested in photo editing, but Ayatsuki Ayaka insisted on sending the photos to him only after she had finished editing them.
Despite being very beautiful, Ayatsuki Ayaka was still keen on editing photos.
"Hehe, let me show you." Ayatsuki Ayaka took out her phone and opened the gallery.
The first photo showed Ayatsuki Ayaka under the moonlight in the dim forest, cautiously riding a bear, while Aozawa stood beside her, holding the bear’s ear, like a loyal knight holding a horse for a princess.
Aozawa blinked, his expression blank. "Does this photo look any different from before?"
Ayatsuki Ayaka’s large eyes widened in shock. "Can’t you see the obvious difference?"
Aozawa fell silent and shook his head. "I can’t tell. It looks the same as the old photo to me."
"Aozawa, you are really slow," Ayatsuki Ayaka pouted, then pointed at the photo and began to explain the differences between this edited photo and the previous one.
「...」
Walking into the academic building, despite Ayatsuki Ayaka’s elaborate explanation, Aozawa still couldn’t understand.
She had put so much effort into such a minor change. Was it really worth it?
While he thought so, Aozawa didn’t deny Ayatsuki Ayaka’s efforts.
At least, being able to listen to Ayatsuki Ayaka’s explanation was somewhat enjoyable.
"So that’s how it is. I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t told me." Aozawa adopted an expression of earnest acceptance, greatly satisfying Ayatsuki Ayaka’s desire to express herself and making her feel her speech had not been in vain.
"Well then, see you later." Ayatsuki Ayaka waved and walked to her seat.
Peter, who was near the back door of the classroom, spoke up. "You’re definitely pulling her leg, aren’t you?"
"No, I sincerely think it’s great that Iroha can talk about these things."
Sophia looked confused. "When did your relationship get so good?"
"Your definition of a ’good relationship’ is really loose. By that logic, my relationship with you has also gotten really good," Aozawa retorted, walking to his own seat.
Sophia furrowed her brows, looked at Peter, and asked, "Does that guy have a thing for me?"
"Auntie, I thought I was narcissistic, but you far outdo me," Peter replied honestly.
Aozawa had already reached his seat. Ignoring Hojo Tetsuji, who was sleeping on his desk, he pulled out his chair. The sound alerted Phoenix Academy Maggie in the front seat.
The young lady quickly turned around, leaning over to occupy his desk space, and said with a smile, "Aozawa, did you hear? While we were camping, Dio didn’t make a peep. Isn’t that amazing?"
"Why do you say amazing?" Aozawa asked back, his expression unchanged.
"Because it’s so coincidental, like it was timed with our trip." Phoenix Academy Maggie narrowed her eyes, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. She didn’t pursue the subject further and said, "The negotiations between Mother and The White House are nearing an end. Soon, The White House will issue an official statement to lift the weapons restrictions on Japan."
"Aren’t those kinds of things done in secret?" Aozawa was accustomed to their secrecy. Finding them suddenly so open was unusual for him.
Phoenix Academy Maggie folded her arms and laughed. "It’s impossible to do it in secret. For something like this, The White House must hold a press conference. Otherwise, how could they convince those congressmen to agree to a capital flow of over two hundred billion US dollars?"
"Do Japanese congressmen even matter?" Aozawa was more surprised by this than the press conference.
He thought all those congressmen were just lackeys raised by the United States.
Phoenix Academy Maggie laughed. "Politics is a complicated thing; not everything can be solved with force. If it were that easy, the US wouldn’t be trying to export democracy and freedom all over the world."
"I just prefer to simplify complex problems."
"So that means killing them?"
"I’m a law-abiding citizen," Aozawa replied with a serious expression.
Phoenix Academy Maggie was amused by his words. She flicked his forehead and said, "What law-abiding citizen? Your joke-telling skills are getting better and better. Maybe you should consider becoming a comedian."
Aozawa shrugged.
What did Dio’s actions have to do with Aozawa?
He really was a law-abiding high school student.
「...」
After the morning’s four classes, Aozawa went to the club building to pick up his lunch bento. He was waylaid by Shouko, who pestered him with questions about the Glacier Camping Site, before he returned to the rooftop to eat with Hojo Tetsuji.
After eating his fill, he used the excuse of needing a nap to go alone to the school’s forest.
Aozawa, as usual, used his Catalyst sensing ability to search the surroundings, confirming no other students were present.
He then used his Element replacement ability to turn himself into a breeze before utilizing his Global Travel superpower to appear on a street in New York, USA.
Now it was time to test the applications of Global Travel and the strength of his Defense Barrier.