Chapter 34 – Directly Below
Volume 3, Resonance 5, Part 1
Novel Title: 共鳴熱情 オメガバース (Resonance Passion: Omegaverse)
Author:岩本薫 (Iwamoto Kaoru)
Illustrator:蓮川愛 (Hasukawa Ai)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: MC- 遠峰一紗 (Toomine Kazusa), Lemur & ML- ゼロ (Zero)
*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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Zero, who had started preparing for the opening, parted ways with the cast while Kazusa and Serval left the underground lounge ‘NIGHT SAFARI’. Since Serval wasn’t on shift tonight, Kazusa had invited him to his room to check on the progress of his wound.
“Wow! So your room is 601, Sensei!”
Standing slightly behind Kazusa, who was inserting the key into the door’s keyhole, Serval spoke in an excited voice.
“Is that really something to be so surprised about?”
“Well, yeah, kind of. Oh, by the way, my room is right below, 501.”
“Directly below, huh? I’ll be careful not to make noise that might bother you. —Come on in.”
“Thanks for having me. Wow, it’s so clean. It’s a corner room, so it gets great sunlight, and the view is fantastic. A lot of people wanted to move in here. But room assignments are under the owner’s authority. For some reason, this place was vacant for a long time.”
That explained why the room was in nearly brand-new condition. While it made sense, it also raised questions.
“Even though there was so much demand, why didn’t anyone move in?”
“Hm, I’m not exactly sure. But since this is directly below the owner’s room… maybe he wanted to keep a bit of distance from the cast, except for his close aide, Hawk.”
“Is that so…”
Kazusa was surprised to hear that Zero kept some distance from the cast. Since he’d heard that Zero didn’t lock his door, he thought he would be more open and welcoming.
“That’s why I think the fact that Sensei was allowed to move in here shows how much he trusts you. You’re mature and different from the other residents. So it makes sense.”
(He trusts me?)
Does he really?
―――There’s a good chance other irregularities will come up in the future. We’ll just have to deal with them as they arise. But for now, the best defence is to avoid physical contact.
If anything, he felt like Zero should be keeping the most distance from him compared to anyone else.
“Mind if I sit here?”
Serval pointed to the sofa, and Kazusa responded with “Of course,” before going to the entrance to retrieve a first aid kit containing all the treatment tools. He returned to the sofa with an aluminium box in hand, sat down next to Serval, and began unwrapping the bandage on Serval’s left arm.
He carefully inspected the stitched wound. And as expected from someone young, it was healing quickly.
Kazusa replaced the gauze and wrapped a new bandage over it, then told Serval; “The progress is good. You should be able to remove the stitches in three days.”
“Great! Can I go back to work after the stitches are out? If I take too many breaks, I’ll lose customers.”
“As long as you don’t push yourself. But until the stitches are out, no alcohol.”
“Roger that.”
Serval grinned sheepishly as he agreed. Kazusa immediately realised that Serval must have been secretly drinking. But since his recovery was going well, he decided to let it slide.
“Want something to drink? Though, since I just moved in, all I have is water.”
“Water’s fine.”
Kazusa stood up from the sofa, went to the kitchen, took two bottles of mineral water from the fridge, and returned. Thinking Serval might have trouble opening it with his left arm injured, Kazusa unscrewed the cap beforehand and handed it to him. Serval accepted it with his non-dominant right hand, saying, “Thanks.” Kazusa sat down beside Serval and opened his own bottle, taking a sip as he pondered.
(…I didn’t feel any electrical shock this time.)
Even though he touched Serval while checking the wound, that electric sensation he felt before didn’t happen. This confirmed once again that the sensation only occurred when he made contact with Zero.
It was somewhat a relief that there was only one person he needed to be cautious about…
“Still, it’s pretty surprising, right? Who would’ve thought you were a Latent Omega and would end up here?”
Serval, having drunk about half his bottle, placed it on the low table and brought up the topic.
“…Honestly, it still feels like I’m in some kind of dream that I can’t wake from…”
Kazusa muttered, a hint of self-mockery in his tone. Serval, on the other hand, spoke with a bright, innocent voice.
“But, isn’t it kind of a win for you?”
“A win?”
“Not many people get to experience two gender categories in one lifetime, you know? You can keep using your skills as a doctor, and now that you’re an Omega, you could have kids if you wanted to. It’s like hitting the jackpot twice.”
“Well, I guess.”
Kazusa couldn’t help but chuckle at Serval’s optimistic mindset. He had thought the same thing when they first met — there was none of the gloom often associated with Stray Omegas in Serval. The cast members they saw earlier in the underground lounge, too — though not all of them — seemed to have bright expressions. Even Gazelle and Misa, the mother-daughter pair, though he’d only spoken with them briefly, appeared to be content with their current situation in Kazusa’s eyes.
Being in a shelter meant they had probably faced severe troubles in the past and had fled from such circumstances. Serval likely wasn’t an exception. But if he was able to recover enough to encourage newcomers like this…
(Could this be thanks to Zero?)
Involving oneself with Stray Omegas — people so marginalised they were deemed untouchable by even the government — and taking responsibility for their complicated lives was no small feat.
Yet Zero didn’t seem burdened by the task of pulling chestnuts out of the fire, nor did he appear overly driven by a sense of justice. He had overcome countless difficulties to establish the current ‘RARE’ without boasting about it and remained completely natural, relaxed, and unpretentious. He was the kind of person Kazusa had never encountered before.
What kind of life must he have led?
(Come to think of it, Zero mentioned that Serval has been living here for two years.)
Kazusa glanced at Serval.
He might know more about Zero.
Should he ask him? But would it be against the rules to get information from someone other than Zero himself?
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*Translator’s Note: Lol. Zero kept the room empty so he could place his sweetheart in there someday. 🤣 -K
Next update: 2025.04.19