....
Chapter two (2). Trash Collecting.
In a certain, unattended part of the city.
An eye-catching ivory hair fondled with the tongs in his hand as he explored the dumpster filled with broken, dirty, and anything possible to describe the trash he would find.
Sometimes, it was left–overs but sometimes torn and unwearable clothes. It comes with every variety, it was a degraded and free shopping mall for poverty stricken people (there's an exception!).
...
"Cleaning up for environmental protection♪ Come on and let's take it♪—Ah, that's another dollar for me, I suppose."
The Ivory haired youth clasped a broken toy using his tongs and placed it inside the trash bag he was holding.
After putting that trash inside, he caught sight of another pile of garbage and placed it inside his bag one by one.
While doing so, he hummed a playful tone and sang a song. "Wander around the world before, of beautiful weather and symmetric roads♪ hot summer sun melts me till I drop into a pond~"
[Ransom-San! Please! Don't the stench from the wastes on your hands not irritate you, come on, you used to be a king, no? How could you do such peasantry like garbage collecting, this is a job for the low of the lows, don't you see the despise on the eyes of others!?]
The youth froze and clothed an unpleasant smile. His facial expression showed how displeased he was with the system's nagging and quickly fanned it to leave his sight.
[Ransom-San! Don't you wish to enjoy luxury? I happen to have seen a recruitment ad earlier and it has a more higher wage than being a garbage collector. It has free lodging, meals and tons of benefits! Spare a bit of mind to it!]
The system frustratedly nudged the young man while the youth sighed helplessly and refused. "For the seven hundredth time, I will not. In addition to that, please stop using my nickname and alias to call me, I have my real name and that's Reo Aturomi. Understand? Reo. Atu. Romi."
[But...!]
Not waiting for the system to reply, Reo slammed its panel towards the wall while he strolled back to the trash bin and placed the dusts he had sweep inside.
Just then, a can rolled beneath his feet and Reo immediately bent down and picked it up.
He shot a glare at the person who had thrown the can and told them, "Are hands useless and legs unwilling? If no one has reminded you that you can actually placed the can in here manually, then I will. Now go, your unsightly face tells you aren't feeling good."
Hence, the person quickly ran away in fury.
Reo did not pay any mind to the angry curses the man had mumbled directed to him as he placed the can inside the bin and dusted his hands off the dirt.
"Now that I noticed, its actually late already. And based on how much work I've done, my salary supposedly be good today as well." Reo said to himself before looking back at the system panel still stuck on the wall and asked. "Do I have to help you?"
[I'm fine, Ransom-...Eek! Wait for me!] The system was panicky as it jolted out of it's frozen state, quickly following behind the poorly dressed youth as the two returned to the building of waste management.
Reo went inside and took his pay. As he was counting his salary, the boss on the counter called him. "Ey, Reo."
Reo looked at him and raised a question. "What is it boss? Are you calling for me?"
The boss groaned and complained. "Are there any other Reo person in here? Much less someone with a peculiar surname like Aturomi. Aside that, there was somehow a space in Daniel's team. I was wondering if you'd like to fill."
Reo thought about it. "I think I'll pass, boss. I just felt that I will probably be busy on the next few days. Moreover, all he had was a cold, he'll surely heal tomorrow and my help won't be needed."
The boss grumbled. "Come on boy, how about you rethink?"
Reo, "'Kay."
....
"Oy, system. Be useful for once and pick me a random food I shall buy." Reo told the system as he strolled in the streets.
The system quickly nodded and began its search, after a while, it hurriedly said: [How about this, Ransom-San? You have been eating ramen these days and you must try something different!]
Reo stared at the list with picture and agreed. "Looks tasty. Let's go buy one on the nearest store."
Reo turned around and walked as he said. He happened to not notice the strange occurrence happening to the system who was following him from behind as usual.
[Ra—Er_...W–wait for me!]