I am back – Chapter 55

The time that followed was as leisurely as any other.

I never once thought that this job wasn’t suitable for me, nor did I ever struggle with it. Of course, there were customers who could be troublesome, and a few who quietly tried to get my number… but it’s hard to explain, it just seemed amusing.

In the first few weeks, I was incredibly flustered by such customers, but not anymore. After seeing people for a while, patterns begin to emerge. If I recognized those patterns and responded well, the other party would scamper off with their tails between their legs.

…Although, I did put in a little effort to make sure my sister wouldn’t notice.

Well, where would I even use these skills? It’s for situations like this. There were times when I wondered if the advice about picking up skills in school was intended for this.

No, probably not.

Anyway, after the morning customers had finished, when I was preparing to bake some pastries again in the afternoon—

Ding! The little bell on the shop door chimed.

Turning my gaze, I saw a small girl standing there.

Her long hair fell just below her neck. She had somewhat gentle-looking eyes and fair skin. She was a pretty child, but her impression seemed a bit weak. I thought she might not stand out much in a crowd. Plus, she was quite short.

Well, “short” might be a stretch… she just looked a bit young. Though, seeing her in her school uniform suggested she couldn’t be that young. I didn’t recognize the uniform; it definitely didn’t belong to any of the local schools that sent students here every morning.

As soon as she entered the door, I noticed the girl hesitating while holding a small note. When our eyes met, she quickly stuffed the note into her uniform pocket.

“Welcome!”

I greeted her, and she stuttered, “Ah, um, that…!”

Just then, she locked eyes with my sister, who had just stepped out from behind the counter.

And she froze.

My sister tilted her head in confusion and then smiled brightly.

Now that I think about it, I had that same reaction when I first came here. Of course, I had a reason for it. I was taken by surprise when I accidentally bumped into my sister, someone I didn’t know how to interact with at the store, probably guided here by the Goddess.

At that moment, I completely forgot what I wanted to say.

But that girl… well, on the surface, she didn’t seem that strange. Her attitude was a bit odd, but her uniform was neatly worn, and her shoes and bag looked clean. By appearance alone, I could assume she was just an average kid from an average family.

Earlier, she had been holding a note; perhaps it contained the name of this store?

“Welcome!”

My sister also greeted her kindly, just like I did.

“Ah, yes! Ah, hello!?”

Finally, after being greeted, the girl realized she had spoken too loudly and blushed again.

…

Hmm.

Thinking I must have been like that too makes me a little embarrassed. Thankfully, my sister didn’t seem to recall that incident.

“Please take your time to choose.”

My sister’s gentle voice gave me a bit of courage, but… it seemed that the girl wasn’t encouraged by it.

“Uh, um, well…”

After hesitating for a bit, the girl said, “I-I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Saying that, she swiftly turned around and dashed out of the shop before we could even stop her.

“…Uh?”

My sister voiced her confusion a moment late.

“What’s going on? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, I don’t think that’s it.”

“Hmm…”

My sister reacted as if she wasn’t convinced by my answer. I guess it was understandable. If someone reacted that way when talking to me, one could hardly think it wasn’t my fault.

I was curious as well.

That girl had been holding a note when she entered. It seemed like she had come here on purpose.

Thinking about it, there would be no reason for someone to have a note while looking for directions. If she were looking for a restaurant, wouldn’t a smartphone be more useful? Opening a map app and entering a nearby restaurant would yield plenty of results.

Unless someone specifically wrote it for her, there wouldn’t be a need to carry it around like that.

Moreover, her reactions toward me and my sister were different. When I spoke to her, at least she didn’t run away; but once my sister spoke to her, she bolted.

I didn’t think either of us left such a scary impression.

“By any chance, have you seen that girl before?” I asked my sister.

“Huh? No?”

My sister looked puzzled.

“…”

Hmm, well.

From what I could see, she didn’t seem like a dangerous child.

She said she’d come back tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens by then.

*

After finishing work, I walked my sister home and then returned to my neighborhood.

It was already getting dark, yet quite a few people were out and about. Some were already faintly smelling of alcohol.

Still, it wasn’t late enough to call it “night.” If I hurried and brought my friends down, there’d still be time to buy a few clothes.

“Ah, welcome back.”

Today, my party members had complied quite well with my request to wait at home, and they were all present.

They were all dressed in the track suits I had brought for them. Kalia and I were of similar heights, and while Arna was a bit taller, she was still slimmer than I was, making it work out fine. Pia and Dana were both a little oversized, looking a bit baggy, but since they usually wore somewhat loose clothes, they didn’t seem too uncomfortable.

“It looks like everyone had a decent meal.”

A stack of disposable containers was piled up nicely.

I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if they ignored what I said and wandered out. While I didn’t think there would be any serious danger… there were still many societal norms they were unaware of.

Even without any bad intentions, if they crossed a street without a crosswalk and ended up getting caught by the police, it would become a huge mess.

Telling the Pastor at the Church could sort out some identity issues, but that was still not the case.

“Well, all in all, the food was satisfactory. Although, it might have been a bit too spicy compared to Irrelaysia.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

In this world, spices like pepper were considered quite precious. Even nobles wouldn’t waste them lavishly.

I heard that in past Europe, some aristocrats used excessive amounts of pepper in their dishes to showcase their wealth, but in Irrelaysia, the quantity available for trade was so minimal that such a thing was impossible. The few that did circulate were brought in primarily for the royal family, who had fleets to protect their trade routes, and then sold to the nobles. Even for royals, pepper was treated almost like a lavish decorative item—something they could quickly convert to cash if needed.

“Now that the Kingdom is picking up a bit, we should be able to distribute by land once we develop the Demon territory.”

Of course, most of it would still rely on maritime trade… but it was definitely true that things would become safer in many ways.

“Even so, it still feels a bit dull for me.”

Kalia replied with a smile to my words. She elegantly crossed her legs while sitting on the couch.

Dana was sitting on the floor, engrossed with my smartphone… while Pia was lounging in another part of the sofa.

Arna was by the window, staring out at the cityscape.

“This place has almost no visible stars.”

It was an accurate assessment by Arna.

“The air is worse than in Irrelaysia, and the city is just too bright.”

“Still, there are quite a few distinctive buildings, so I doubt we’d get lost.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

In reality, there were far easier ways to navigate, but honestly, if it were Arna, it might be quicker for her to find her way based on her instincts rather than fiddling with a smartphone.

…Actually, since returning, I had been somewhat moving similarly.

“Alright then.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall. It had just passed nine fifteen. The nearby grocery store was about a ten-minute walk away, and it closed at 11:30, so we still had plenty of time.

“Shall we go and get some clothes first?”

At my suggestion, Dana jumped to her feet.

“While we’re at it, can we also buy a few books?”

“There’s a section selling books in the grocery store, but I don’t know how many they’ll have.”

“It’s fine. I’m not looking to buy a ton. Just some books that would help with language learning.”

…Would there even be those kinds of books at the grocery store?

Well, since it was a place that sold clothes, there was a chance.

“Let’s go check out what we might need. After hearing from you guys, if I think we need any, I’ll grab a few.”

Hearing that, everyone nodded and got up.

…

However.

Since we were all dressed in the same clothes, it felt a bit odd.

Maybe it would be better to have each of us change into different styles.