I am back – Chapter 16

Well, I could tolerate high school students gathering like that.

After all, they’re just kids, blissfully unaware of how not-so-charming they actually are. More than anything, being a guy originally, I felt no real interest in any of it.

My older sister seemed to feel the same way, deftly handling those kids who were sneakily trying to draw out conversation or slyly asking for contact info. Honestly, that was something to admire. It’s a skill to speak in a way that doesn’t hurt someone’s feelings, right?

In that world over there, almost everyone lowered their gazes in front of me. Even when I told them not to, their attitudes didn’t change easily.

It was hard to adjust at first, but after hearing some stories, I understood it wasn’t without reason.

Unlike this world, where many had doubts about God, it was clearly proven that the Goddess existed. And Divine Power originating from her was an extremely important part of everyday life here. I, having descended to save the world being ‘chosen’ by the Goddess, was an important ‘guest’ that even the King couldn’t treat carelessly.

I held no title. If it came down to legal status, I was pretty much in the position of a commoner. I had never received a rank from anyone.

But it wasn’t that someone from outside was being treated rudely; it was a religious matter of ‘how dare a human assign another rank when there’s a rank appointed by the Goddess.’ For a similar reason, the Saintess Pia held no title either. But just by being a Saintess, she had the right to summon the Pope and meet with the King during necessary times.

So, to put it plainly, one could say I was in an ‘extralegal’ position. In theory, I could demand anything, even from royalty or a duke.

Having spent five years in such a position, I was surprised when I started this job.

It wasn’t a story about someone harboring ill will towards me or maliciously approaching me. Rather, I was astonished by the attitude ingrained in me.

I wasn’t looking down on others, but without realizing, I thought they would conform to my expectations.

Like people coming up to me without a word until the check was settled, or those glancing at me with strange expressions.

Once, an auntie asked an unusually excessive number of questions about my personal information. What was that about?

Fortunately, if I hesitated in front of the customers, my older sister quickly stepped in to dismiss them.

I couldn’t help but wonder if it was acceptable to be like this while getting paid for my work—

“Everyone starts out like that.”

My sister waved her hand with a smile, saying that.

I felt it while working.

My sister was exactly the same as I remembered her.

Kind and gentle. She wouldn’t just ignore someone in trouble.

And every time I saw her like that, I wondered if the other people hadn’t changed as well.

Mom too, friends too, and all those who were around my sister.

I still hadn’t seen Mom while working here. She might have moved far away. Maybe during those five years, she and sis had lost contact. Relationships between people usually drift apart naturally rather than falling apart due to some special event. It might be the same between my sister and Mom.

I hadn’t seen any neighborhood friends either. They might have scattered during the redevelopment. I remembered a few contacts, but… I couldn’t reach out like with my sister for the same reason. Calling out of the blue to someone I didn’t know would be incredibly creepy.

Honestly, aside from being so close to my sister, I hadn’t accomplished anything.

Even if I tried to have a conversation—

“Which school did you graduate from?”

I found it hard to answer even such a casual question from my sister.

If I said I graduated from the high school in the same neighborhood as her, she’d definitely ask who I knew, and the deeper we went into the conversation, she’d realize something was off.

But I hadn’t even graduated from university. I had gotten in the same uni as her, but before I even attended that school…

“Uh, I, um…”

Moreover, I had no talent for fabricating stories, so I stammered in front of my sister.

The more I failed to respond properly and stumbled over my words, the more ambiguous her expression became.

“…Ah… Sorry.”

Then, however she interpreted my reaction, she ended up apologizing like that.

It was easy to guess what she might have envisioned. She probably thought I hadn’t properly completed middle or high school due to personal circumstances.

But still, I had graduated from high school without any issues.

It was supremely frustrating not being able to express that properly.

Fortunately, my sister didn’t give up on conversing with me.

“Do you have any hobbies?”

Hobbies.

If I had continued living in that side world, I would have probably found joy in watching movies or dramas. I would have gone so far as to donate blood regularly just to watch movies back in high school. And if I’d worked part-time after becoming a university student, I would have eventually subscribed to the streaming sites I initially deemed too pricey.

But there was nothing like that in this world where I had spent five years.

Even when I tried to read books, they were all written in the script of that side world. While I had managed to learn how to read and interpret minimally, it was useful for reading reports with strict grammar rules, not novels filled with all sorts of literary phrases and poetic licenses.

Adding idioms into the mix made it even tougher.

If I asked my colleagues to read, they could enjoy it, but everyone had their tasks at hand. I couldn’t disturb their precious break time.

So I usually spent my free time training.

I wasn’t really a workout person, but once I started seeing results with muscle growth, it turned out to be unexpectedly fun. It wasn’t like I could maintain a low-salt diet alongside my traveling body, so I couldn’t build myself up like a bodybuilder, but I managed to get a decent physique.

And that ‘hobby’ I maintained through those five years continued after arriving in this world. I jogged every morning before work and after getting off, I’d sweat it out with exercise, wash myself off, and then sleep peacefully.

“I jog every morning.”

The air wasn’t as good as in this world, but it was bearable.

“Jogging?”

My sister’s eyes widened in surprise like she was genuinely shocked.

“You must like exercising, huh?”

“Ah, yes. A little.”

“That’s impressive…”

My sister seemed genuinely to admire it. To be honest, I felt a bit proud.

If it were the old me, I probably wouldn’t have had such a conversation with her. I wasn’t one to particularly like exercising, after all. I didn’t mind playing outside with friends, but if someone asked me whether I preferred playing outside or inside, I’d lean towards staying indoors.

I had never actually done camping or anything; it was just a fantasy in my head.

Thinking about it that way, it seemed I had changed quite a bit. Maybe it was just living amidst party members.

I almost called her my sister but quickly closed my mouth and rearranged my words.

“You must like reading books.”

The term ‘older sister’ felt oddly unfamiliar, but using ‘my sister’ in this body was out of the question.

Saying something like ‘Ayun’ was even more cringeworthy. Since my sister hadn’t shown any discomfort at me calling her ‘older sister,’ I figured it was all right to go with that for now.

“Yeah, well…”

My sister had always liked reading books. But the reason I could ask her like this wasn’t that I knew her original hobby, but because I had seen her reading during her breaks while working here.

“Is it something you like?”

My sister tilted her head, muttering that before chuckling shyly.

“Yeah, I could say reading is my hobby.”

Seeing her awkwardly respond like that reminded me of how she’d smile bashfully whenever I praised her for being good at studying back then.

I became curious about my sister’s past.

Had she graduated from university? What was the story behind her working in that bakery?

Besides, I still didn’t know who the manager of this place was. The only person who interviewed me and hired me as a part-timer was my sister.

I had so many questions. However frustratingly, I didn’t feel like I had the right to ask all of them at once yet.

“Do you have any books you would recommend?”

But still, having seen a glimpse of her past, I joyfully asked. I had read a few books that she recommended before. Most of them were interesting and had great stories.

My sister’s eyes widened slightly at my words.

And just as she was about to respond—

Ding.

Someone entered the bakery.