Chapter 126 - Come Back Quickly!
"Welcome—"
After finishing my information exchange with Sugitani-san, I had stopped by a convenience store immediately after leaving the cafe.
As expected, my hunger was reaching its limit, so I thought I'd buy some rice balls or something.
Why didn't I order lunch at the cafe?
Well, if I stayed there any longer, it felt like Sugitani-san would relentlessly press me with, "I'll introduce you to this kind of woman."
I wanted to physically distance myself from her and eat my meal in peace.
Besides, the food at fancy cafes doesn't really suit my palate.
While self-deprecatingly thinking that I probably just have a poor palate, I picked up a salmon rice ball, a mentaiko rice ball, and a canned coffee, then headed to the register.
The store was nearly empty, so there was no waiting in line.
At two-thirty in the afternoon, most shops tend to be idle.
I felt a sense of nostalgia, remembering how I used to take a breather around this time when I was working part-time.
"Excuse me."
I called out to the clerk who was working diligently behind the counter.
As I watched, wondering if he was perhaps preparing fried foods,
"Yes, coming right up!"
the clerk responded with a unique intonation.
It was a peculiar, staccato way of speaking with a rising inflection at the end.
I had suspected as much from the "Welcome—" earlier, but he was likely a foreign clerk.
"Do you have a point card?"
The young man began serving me in rapid speech, a stiff smile plastered onto his face.
He looked to be around twenty years old, but perhaps he was an international student?
When I glanced at his nameplate, the name "Tei" was printed in clear characters.
"Ah, I don't have a card."
"Would you like to make one?"
"No, I'm fine."
I exchanged words with him plainly while observing the Chinese clerk in front of me.
He was of medium build, a black-haired boy wearing glasses.
He had the atmosphere of an extremely ordinary student you could find anywhere, and visually, he was indistinguishable from a Japanese person.
If this clerk were to take off his nameplate and remain silent, no one would notice he was a foreigner.
It could be said he was the exact opposite of Angelica.
Even though her appearance is clearly non-Japanese, she can speak Japanese with perfect pronunciation thanks to her [Language Comprehension] skill.
...A Chinese person who can't lose their accent, and a Westerner who speaks fluent Japanese.
I wonder which one would find it easier to integrate into Japanese society?
Will the day come when Angelica also wants to work a part-time job like this young man?
What should I do if she says she wants to attend a Japanese school?
Even if that happened, would she be accepted by her colleagues and classmates?
What if she were bullied because of her appearance?
Lately, whenever I see a foreigner in town, I find myself thinking such things.
It's what you call a parent's heart, worrying about their daughter.
"That will be 449 yen for the three items."
I took my wallet out of my pocket and placed a 500-yen coin on the tray.
A hand reached out quickly to put it in the register, and then he began taking out my change with a clattering sound.
I received my coins.
A few dozen seconds later, I was handed my bagged items.
"Thank you very much—"
I left the store, the plastic bag dangling from my fingertips.
The sun was still high in the sky, and the sunlight was terribly bright.
I shielded my eyes with my hand, creating a makeshift visor, while looking for a place to sit.
I found a bench not too far away. That should do.
"Whew."
I plopped down and began my late lunch.
I unwrapped the rice balls and shoved them into my mouth greedily. I washed them down vigorously with coffee, continuing a meal whose sole purpose was nothing but energy replenishment.
Eating such a crude meal like this gives me an indescribable feeling, as if it reminds me of when I was scarfing down rations on a battlefield.
I remember that while I was on the front lines, I did nothing but gnaw on terrible preserved foods. When even those ran out, I would roast monsters and force myself to eat them.
The unit under my command back then was undefeated in consecutive battles.
I forget which book I read it in, but it seems that regions with strong soldiers tend to have crude meals.
Surely, a gourmet wouldn't be able to endure the food situation in a war zone.
The militaries in English-speaking countries are more disciplined than the gourmet nations around the Mediterranean, after all.
When you put it that way, I can nod in agreement.
The feat of continuing to fight even by eating grass and insects—I hate to say it—requires a certain level of rough upbringing.
Soldiers who were born and raised in harsh cultures are more useful.
As I swallowed the convenience store food, which had become much tastier than when I was a kid, I thought:
The food in the other world was terrible.
In other words, that world is full of hungry-spirited, high-strung infantry.
And yet, since their minds are those of medieval people, they are a crowd that possesses almost no sense of human rights.
From the perspective of modern Japan, they would be a group that could be called barbarians.
If such people were to invade, what kind of situation would be triggered?
This country overwhelms them in technology, but they have magic.
Furthermore, if a Dragon's flight performance is on par with a fighter jet, the Dragon Knight units of the other world would be able to fight on equal terms with our aerial forces.
In my head, ominous images continue to swell.
The capital being burned to ash. People being impaled. Gold and goods being looted.
Of course, it's not decided that the other world's army will invade.
Right now, it's just a state where Sugitani-san is feeling anxious.
But even so, I find myself imagining it.
In the unlikely event that we have a full-scale conflict with that world.
At that time—
—what would Angelica think?
Her homeland and my homeland would be in conflict.
When our respective countries are divided into friend and foe, there is no guarantee that our current relationship can be maintained.
There were signs that Angelica felt dissatisfied about being made a Holy Maiden, but even so, her home is her home.
Her sense of nostalgia might be stirred, causing her heart to ache.
"This is something..."
I had intended to deliver the happy news that I finally obtained her identification, but instead, I found myself in a heavy mood.
"Nn."
As I was moping by myself, my smartphone's notification sound rang.
"Shine!"
A cheerful voice announced that a new message had arrived.
The communication app, Shine.
It seems to be some kind of SNS popular with young people, but for an old man like me, I don't quite understand it.
Rio recommended I install it, and just when I thought I had somehow learned how to use it, the contacts for Ayako-chan and Angelica had been registered before I knew it.
...I think it's a bit much for them to mess with my phone without permission, but regardless, Angelica's learning ability is remarkable.
As expected of someone with a young brain, she has a good memory.
Now, she types emails with a speed that is almost no different from a modern person.
Dad, where are you right now?
As I scrolled through the screen, messages urging me to come home followed: How long are you going to keep wandering around—!
I'm at the convenience store in front of the station.
Ehh, so you're not coming home for a while yet?
I'll head back after a little rest. It shouldn't take more than an hour. Did something happen?
Did Philia make a mistake, or did she have a fight with Ayako-chan?
With a slight stir of anxiety in my chest, I asked.
The program you're in is broadcasting right now, Dad. The pulsating muscles are so sexy that we're all having a viewing party, but we thought it would be more exciting if we could watch the real person while we do it.
I've decided to wander around here for about three hours. Enjoy the TV.
Stamps of a cat performing dogeza were being pasted over and over again.
It probably meant "I'm sorry, please forgive me."
If your gender were reversed—no, even if it weren't—that would be a sexual harassment case. What kind of daughter feels lust toward her father's body?
...Is it wrong for a daughter to feel horny for her father's body?
In human society, yes. We aren't dogs or cats.
If I'm going to feel this way, I wish I had been born a dog or a cat.
You've suddenly become a poet.
I had been thinking about heavy things, but thanks to her, my pace was completely disrupted.
No, perhaps it was better that it was disrupted. There's nothing good about sinking alone... I thought with a wry smile.
Hey, please come home quickly—. Without Dad, the room smells like young women—.
That sounds like a very fragrant space to me.
Mixing in my body odor would be nothing short of a sacrilege.
Alright, I'm coming home soon. I have a souvenir, so look forward to it.
Really!? Yay!
She rejoiced openly. She is a girl with rich emotional expression, even through text.
Hey, Ange.
What is it?
Want to go for a walk, just the two of us, later?
...A date?
You can interpret it that way, but do you want to go somewhere?
A stamp of a bear jumping up with both hands was pasted.
A bright, honest girl who loves me very much.
I must make this girl happy, no matter what.