We thirst for the seven wailings.

We bear the koan of Jericho.

Booting up Shittim Chest.

Welcome, Sensei.


Unknown

It's blue… The sky, the sea, even the classroom itself is blue.

The sound of the sea waves are splashing, the cool air breezes and the smell of fresh air is actually refreshing.

Opening his eyes is a young man who appears to have bandages under his shirt to his neck, sitting up while grunting in pain which leads him to move his arms.

Silence in awe, the young man, Kyosuke, puts on his glasses and looks around him, witnessing a classroom that is bright, yet lonely, giving him the impression that it could be some sort of a post apocalypse.

What catches his attention is a blue haired girl that is snoozing on a table while Mumbling about doughnuts.

Afterwards, Kyosuke pokes the girl's face, causing the girl to grunt and slowly opens her eyes.

"Mmn…"

Sighing, Kyosuke sits on a different chair and watches the peaceful scenery which is something he wanted for a long time.

What he sees next to the girl is an umbrella that has a barrel at the end and inside is a trigger, giving him the impression that it's a gun masquerading as an umbrella.

"Mmn… Huh?" At last she wakes up which makes Kyosuke bring the girl's attention.

"Ah…"

"Huh? Good morning… Eh!? Oh no! I fell asleep with a transferee here!" The girl quickly stands up and jumps towards Kyosuke out of shock.

"Transferee?" Kyosuke is unsure about being a transferee.

"Huh? You're not Sensei? Then you must be an intruder!"

"What are you on about? I'm not some intruder, I just woke up out of nowhere." Kyosuke is mildly annoyed while keeping cool with his tone.

Although, he wishes to ask a question about her halo disfiguring itself when she changes her emotion, like zigzag spikes when angry or wavy when scared or upset, but he won't ask.

"Hm… Are you sure about that?" The girl squints her eyes, curious about the man's unintentional arrival.

"I'm positive. So where am I?"

"Hm? You don't know? You're in the Shittim Chest, where teachers own the device." The blue haired girl said while stopping suspecting Kyosuke.

"The what?"

"Ah! It's supposed to be confidential for Scale's teacher! I'm not telling you anything!"

"This isn't going anywhere. I'm leaving." Kyosuke sighs while turning around and heads towards the door.

"Wait! I'm sorry!" The girl yells while trying to stop the man who is genuine about leaving the classroom.

As the misunderstanding bickering goes on, Kyosuke and the girl are finally arguing with one another as Kyosuke won the argument over him not being an intruder.

"I'm just an odd jobber and a part timer at a restaurant. If anything, maybe Schale's Sensei is busy or has forgotten about this Shittim Chest thing in the dumpster. I think it has something to do with the student thugs I saw outside the restaurant." Kyosuke explains his side of the story.

"Uu… Why? I was being mobbed by those robbers." The girl cries after hearing what's going on earlier.

"I guess it couldn't be helped."

Then the girl continues after she wipes her tears and clears her throat.

"Anyway, this is the Shittim Chest and I'm a system manager that serves as its main operating system."

"I see. For some AI, you don't seem like one, aside from your… tone." Kyosuke is surprised to see an AI that is far more human than he thinks.

"Ahaha! I get that a lot. I'm Arona. by the way. I hope we can get along with each other."

"Arona, huh? I'm Kazami Kyosuke. We'll get along just fine."

Finally, Kyosuke and Arona introduced each other as Arona raised her finger, which surprised Kyosuke.

"Uh."

"Come on! Use your fingertip."

"Ah. You mean like that old movie where a boy and an alien befriended. A classic." Kyosuke chuckles.

Arona is unimpressed, pouting as if she's being made fun of. "It was supposed to be a user verification! That way, I can verify your fingerprint!"

"Sorry. You don't look all that suspicious, so I can give it a try."

"Eh? You're saying I'm from a shady company?" Arona asks with a deadpan look on her face.

"Most likely." Kyosuke admitted.

"Uweeh…" Arona cried again.

Finally, both Kyosuke and Arona touch fingertips as Arona blinks and lets go.

"Alright. Let's see here… Hm." Arona is preparing a user account for someone she met.

"Ah! Done! So you're Kazami Kyosuke. That means we'll work together from now on, Kazami-sensei!" Arona smiles, calling Kyosuke by the title 'Sensei' out of nowhere.

"Huh?"

"That's right. Now that you're the owner of the Shittim Chest, I can now address you as Sensei."

"But I'm not even anyone's teacher. I'm just a worker at a ramen shop." Kyosuke points out about himself.

"Then how about going to Schale." Arona suggested.

"Me? But wouldn't that mean they'll take you away from me?"

"Ah. Good point. Am I going to be okay without a user?" Arona asked.

There's something that catches Arona's attention and it's the bandages under Kyosuke's shirt and was on his neck.

"Sensei."

"Hm? What is it, Arona?" Kyosuke turns towards Arona.

"Those bandages… What happened to you earlier?"

"Oh that? Yeah, I used to serve in a war as a kid back then." Kyosuke explains his past while rolling his arm.

"Wait! You're a child soldier!?" Arona shrieks, panicking that Kyosuke is exposing his history to an AI.

"Long story. So now that it's all done, what now?" Kyosuke asked.

"That's all. Ahem! Sensei, let's hope we work together for Kivotos." Arona raises her hand, only for Kyosuke to hold and shake.

"Yeah. Let's do our best, Arona-san." Kyosuke said.

"Sure, but just call me Arona." Arona points out.

"Sure, Arona."

As the world flashes, Kyosuke is hearing a voice while looking at the sky.

"It's time for you to go, Sensei. We'll talk to each other later." Arona nods while waving.

"Huh?" Kyosuke then vanishes out of the Shittim Chest, leaving Arona to watch the sky alone.

"Good luck, Sensei."

We thirst for the seven wailings.

We bear the koan of Jericho.

Welcome to the Shittim Chest, Kazami Kyosuke-sensei.


Abydos, Shiba Seki Ramen

"-ke… Kyosuke…" A girl's muffled voice is heard.

Grunting, opening his eyes as his vision blurred, Kyosuke is back to reality and he sees a black haired girl with cat ears repeatedly calling for his name as he slowly moves his muscle.

"Kyosuke!"

"S- Serika? Ngh… I'm awake." Kyosuke lifts himself up and turns towards Kuromi Serika, the girl with a halo, that of a red crosshair, that's been calling his name.

"Honestly, you haven't been waking up for 30 minutes. What happened to you!?" Serika asked, worried that Kyosuke would end up put in a crossfire by those thugs Kyosuke and Arona mentioned.

"Relax, I'm fine. Just putting trash in the dumpster." Kyosuke admitted while avoiding going into full detail about what happened.

"Really? Lucky no one's here to shoot you. You should be careful where you sleep."

"I'm aware of that. Also, I wonder if Master is giving out more requests for us to make."

"Well, Master is waiting for you, so don't slack off if you want payment!" Serika orders her fellow employee.

"Yes, ma'am." Kyosuke stands up and enters back in a ramen restaurant where he works at. "Oi, Master, do you have a job for me?"

Serika sighs and then looks through the buildings to see if no thugs are around, making her squint her eyes.

Fortunately, there's no one suspicious as Serika went back into the building and worked with Kyosuke.

Once they're inside the ramen shop, Kyosuke is doing the cooking alongside his master Shiba, and Serika is handling the orders.

With the customers satisfied and paying Master Shiba, the work is going well as per usual.

The sun is setting and both Kyosuke and Serika are standing outside the ramen shop as a shiba inu dog man, Master, stands in front of the duo.

"All's well that ends well. You two did a good job. Once we keep this up, I'll pay the two of you more."

"Really!?" Serika gasps with excitement.

"That's great." Kyosuke is glad that everything is going smoothly.

"Thank you, Master." Both Kyosuke and Serika bow as Master laughs.

"It's no biggie, see you tomorrow." Master waves as both his employees are leaving. "Oh, Kazami-san."

"Hm? Yes, Master?" Kyosuke halts and turns towards Master.

"I heard you were sleeping earlier. Did something happen?" Master asks, curious about what happened to Kyosuke earlier.

"Oh. Nothing happened, I was just exhausted." Kyosuke lied.

"Hm… Anyway, next time, don't sleep outside, got that?" Master warned calmly while going back to his restaurant.

"Yes, Master." Kyosuke bowed and then continue his leave.


It's getting dark and Kyosuke is watching the cars moving past, indicating that people are heading home, only for Kyosuke to question that he as an adult lacks the childhood other people had.

"Still not home?" Serika appears on Kyosuke's right as she approaches Kyosuke himself.

"Kuromi-san? I thought you're going back home."

"I was. You're still not taking off your bandages? Are you trying to be a chuunibiyou?"

"Heh. I'd rather not." Kyosuke leans onto a fence and looks at Serika to his right. "If only I was there for you." Kyosuke is worried about the school Serika is from.

"I mean you don't have to, I'll be fine! And besides, debt is Abydos Academy's problem!" Serika expresses gratitude, but refuses to accept Kyosuke's help.

"Right. What if I was a teacher?" Kyosuke points at himself, curious about the scenario of him being a teacher.

"Like hell you'll be a teacher! And besides… We'll be fine. That's all." Serika turns away after snapping at Kyosuke.

Before Kyosuke stands straight, Serika lowers her head and moves her eyes towards the man in bandages.

"Just don't get involved with the school. This is never your problem." Serika turns away from Kyosuke and leaves the bridge while leaving a can on a bridge for a fellow part-timer.

Kyosuke lowers his head, knowing Serika's school isn't the only thing that's in the heaviest of debts.

Pulling out a tablet that is the Shittim Chest, Kyosuke stares at the black screen, wondering if it's all a dream. Kyosuke presses the side of the device, showing a symbol of Schale while booting up.

"We thirst for the seven wailings. We bear the koan of Jericho." Kyosuke speaks out with no one noticing.

Welcome to the Shittim Chest, Kazami Kyosuke-sensei.

Finally, the Shittim Chest opens up by showing the similar classroom he woke up in earlier.

He thought to himself that it's not a dream, seeing as Arona is asleep.

When Kyosuke taps the screen, it has Arona reacting as she mumbles.

"Arona, it's me."

"Hm? Sensei?" Arona stops and then picks herself up as she exclaims. "Sensei!? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sleep again!"

"You don't have to be sorry. So, what are we going to do tomorrow?"

"Eh? We're going to Schale tomorrow?" Arona tilts her head, confused about Kyosuke's question.

"That's something I'm worried about. Arona, will they accept a former child soldier like me to be their teacher?"

"Of course! They'll accept any adult to be a teacher! Even your account is official!" Arona explains the condition that is signed by Kyosuke himself. "Hm? You look sad?"

"Yeah. I had a friend, if you consider a fellow employee to be a friend. Nevermind." Kyosuke shakes his head while stopping himself from explaining the situation he's in.

"It's okay, Sensei. If you want to teach a friend, then why not do so?"

As Arona asked the question, Kyosuke had a reason for not going to Abydos Academy, making him silent.

"Ah! Sorry, Sensei!" Arona exclaims.

"I said you don't have to be sorry. I just have nothing to say, that's all."

"Sensei…"

Sighing as Kyosuke pulls up his glasses and rubs his temples, he can tell Arona is as worried as he was to Serika, making it difficult for him to decide whether he will go to Schale or not.

As he turns around, a submachine gun is found closer to his head, catching him off guard.

"What th-" A thwack to the back of Kyosuke's head made him collapse as the Shittim Chest device fall and slide, causing Arona to shriek.

"Sensei!? Sensei! Wake up!"

"He's not your Sensei. Honestly, I guess putting you in a dumpster isn't enough to get rid of a single teacher." A thug of a student giggles while picking up the Shittim Chest, preparing for another trip to the junkyard.

Before she sees the screen, Arona instantly logs out, causing a thug to exclaim and shake the device.

"Hey! Don't turn off on me!" The thug that picks up the device yells.

"Huh!? Is that thing out of batteries or what!?" The second thug growls, realising that the device isn't charged up.

"The hell I know!?"

"Hm… That adult must've been in cahoots with Schale. I say we found ourselves a bonus!" The third thug chuckles, thinking that Kyosuke is the teacher.

"White shirt and black pants with bandages? He looks more like a hobo than a teacher." The second thug points out the appearance of the man they knocked out.

"W- Whatever! Let's just take him somewhere!" The third thug snapped.

"A… Ro… Na…" Grunting, Kyosuke reaches his arm towards the same thug that has his device.

"Huh? Still awake? Shut him up, will ya." The second thug ordered.

"Huh!? Why me!?" The third thug complained.

"Because we'll be screwed if he gets up!" The second thug yelled.

"Ugh! Fine!"

Finally, a boot to the face knocks Kyosuke unconscious, even causing him to bleed out of his mouth and nose.

"What the hell!? I said shut him up, not kick him in the face and make him bleed!" The second thug shouted.

"Well, what do you want me to do!? Find a chloroform!? Where are we gonna find it at!? The Millenium Academy!?" The third thug argued.

"Girls! That's enough! At least we found Sensei, so we'll be using him for ransom." The first thug giggles, leading the other two thugs to laugh.

"Indeed we do. Pick up his glasses! We're gonna have a little meeting with our new toy." The third thug sneers while picking Kyosuke up but the arm.

"Hurry! Before the Valkyrie Police Squad arrives!" The first thug shrieks as the trio of thugs make a run for it with an unconscious human male.

In the end, Kyosuke is now a victim to some unruly students' actions and behaviours, and an adult at that.

Who are they and why're they targeting Kyosuke of all people?