The lingering echo of "as planned" still hung in the air above the stage. Tatsuki Takuma turned his name tag over and over in his palm, standing in the corner of the venue, chewing on that echo. 『Skill: None　Status: Ordinary Person』 No matter where he looked, the same text. Unchanging. Unchangeable. The memory of the self-introduction segment crept back into his mind. That was——truly terrible. The self-introduction that came through the PA system——the party microphone——had been: "Um, I work in stationery sales, and um, I don't really have hobbies, but ah, I'm confident in cellophane tape inventory management……" Cellophane tape. Stationery. Through the PA. In the Salon Lumière on the 36th floor of Hotel Grand Cresta, a venue with a capacity of 80 people, that line had echoed beautifully. The silence that followed was perfectly described by the phrase "absolute zero." Not a single person laughed. Not a single person reacted. The air simply froze, quietly. （Why did I say that?