set theory 2

Natsume: Tch... to think they pulled one over on me.

I must have underestimated them. I didn’t think anyone else had their eye on the game club.

That student council... What is their aim? The uncertainty is disquieting.

I simply can’t see this as mere coincidence. I’ll have to watch for more developments.

Wataru: Might I ask what you’re talking about, Natsume-kun?

Natsume: Oh... My apologies, Master. I didn’t mean to interrupt you while you were reading.

Wataru: Not at all~ I was only doing it to kill time, really.

Natsume: You have some free time, Master? Then lend me a hand. I am devising a scheme to make my school life more worthwhile ♪

The first step was to join the game club, then gradually bring it under my commend by tossing the other members out...

With that accomplished, I would have sold off the valuable retro games stored in the clubroom to accumulate wealth.

But it seems the student council beat me to and has taken control of the game club.

Indeed, I installed a wiretap in the clubroom when I visited it earlier, so I can hear their conversation.

Wataru: That is a crime, you know. Why not simply open your ears? You’d be able to hear conversations within the school, at least.

Natsume: Unlike you, I have not yet managed to perfectly control my hearing, Master.

In any case, I had thought I could kill two birds with one stone, so to say, by acquiring both funds and a base of operations.

But rather than that, I must have run after two hares, instead. I am still a novice.

Having no funds is the same as having no head. Somehow I will need to accumulate considerable wealth.

I can turn a small profit by divining the fortunes of others and letting them confide in me.

However, there is a deep-seated prejudice against the occult due to negative propaganda on television and other outlets.

So this method won’t result in a fortune.

The idol department here is effectively an all-boys school, and males are statistically less likely than females to feel the mystical allure of divination.

Which is why I have struggled finding clients.

Wataru: Fufufu. There’s no point in complaining about that, Natsume-kun.

Growing boys are especially devoted to the philosophy of machismo.

As they build muscle and become capable of accomplishing more thing with their own strength, they come to adore themselves as gods and worship their own bodies.

It’s the age, really—the physiology of adolescence.

By contrast, the growth of the mind in disproportionate to that of the body, and it causes a certain instability...

If you can worm your way into that opening, it should be rather simple to manipulate them.

Boys also tend to have a certain curiosity and fixation on female bodies, as they are unlike their own.

You could also try to dress as a woman and seduce them; you’d certainly get them under your thumb. I believe you’re cute enough to pull it off.

We have adorable, feminine clothing in the drama clubroom. If you’d like, I can also teach you to do makeup ♪

Natsume: I’ll refrain. It would be a dream for you to teach me something, Master, but I would rather it not involve acting like a girl.

If you could, I would much prefer you to teach me magic... Master ♪

Wataru: I’ve told you this many times now: I cannot use magic.

That which we call magic is something one can only learn once they have studied and mastered every single conceivable skill in the world.

If you have accomplished that and you have nothing left to learn, then you must begin anew.

For there is no such thing in our world. It is merely a classy way to pass time in one’s old age, when there is opportunity to study endlessly without interruption or solution.

Natsume: Like Faust. I assumed you would have already reached that point, Master.^[1]

Wataru: No, I am not so desperate quite yet.

...Oh. It seems I’ve spent a considerable amount of time here. I ought to head back to the clubroom.

Currently I’ve become a bit entangled with a bothersome child~ I’m trying to leave him be until he finally gives up.

Natsume: Hmph. Is that why you spend the entire day in the secret room, Master?

I was hoping it might have something to do with me.

I even left the game club early so that I could meet you here.

I should have mentioned: there are hidden cameras and security devices to detect intruders installed all over the room, so no one can enter here without my knowing.

Fufu, nothing escapes my notice ♪

Wataru: You do enjoy your little gadgets, hm...?

If you set up too many of these surveillance cameras and listening devices, you’re bound to witness certain things you should not.

The secret to enjoying one’s life is to not see, not speak, and not hear.

With so many cameras everywhere, even I would eventually tire of trying to entertain and perform my role all the time.

Natsume: You could always forget that the cameras are there... can you not just pretend not to notice them?

Wataru: Alas, but I am a performer to my core.

But then again, even if no person is watching, God sees all.

Yes, don’t you think reality is quite the lonely stage?