Volume 6 Chapter 13 Who Is That Woman
After that, we went back home once and when the night got deeper, I was organizing the things I heard from Tsuchimikado in a notebook. Humans, demons, Anti-Demon Officials, New World (Try Order). The forces are increasing and my head is already over capacity.
In the past, List or Eris would have organized this kind of information or made plans for me, but they are not here. But this is not the time to say that I'm not good at brain work.
――Hmm.
I looked at the notebook that I had summarized as much as I could and crossed my arms.
I don't get it at all. The information has increased, but I feel even more confused. If the information about the Try Order increases a little more, will this situation change?
No, maybe it was a mistake for me to try to use my head in the first place.
This is a matter of matching the right person to the right job. I realized that it should be done by someone who can do it, yes. It's frustrating that Mevia and others are also smart, so let's hope they come back soon.
Anyway, the honest and wise me quietly closed the notebook.
Ah, using my head makes me hungry. Maybe I'll go eat something sweet.
By the way, this house, which has an overwhelmingly high ratio of girls, has a large amount of sweets in the cupboard. Each one has a different taste preference, so there is a lot of variety.
If that's the case, they won't notice if I take a little bit, right?
That's what I thought and was about to get up when I heard a knock on the door.
Who is it? At this time of night. It's definitely not Sharla. There is no concept of knocking for her who is all-my-way, so the door should already be open.
There was hardly any sound of footsteps, so Lisha was out of the question.
And Kanami's knock would be more modest. That left only one candidate.
"Come in."
As I said that, the person I expected opened the door.
"I'm sorry, is this time okay?"
Along with a modest voice, a face peeked in. It was Tsukiko. I think we've gotten closer in terms of distance since we started living together, but she's never visited me at this time of night.
I myself have been careful not to interfere with Tsukiko's life as much as possible.
Even though we reconciled at the cultural festival, our relationship as "ex-lovers" hasn't changed.
I do get excited by her casual clothes or her sexy appearance after taking a bath. But Tsukiko is here as a job, I tell myself every day.
Still, it's impossible not to be conscious of her. The rest is a battle of how not to let her know that. The experience I had with Eris evolved me from a pathetic virgin to a proud virgin. It might be a regression.
Well, that's another story. What does Tsukiko want with me at this time of night?
"Oh, it's okay, but what's up?"
"...No, it's not that I had any special reason."
Tsukiko hesitantly entered the room. I couldn't see it because she was hiding behind the door, but she had a tray with a tea set on it in her hand.
"I wanted to talk to you a little. Is that okay?"
"A-ah, yeah. Sure, no problem."
"W-well, then I'll take you up on your offer."
We both stumbled over our first words. Calm down, I've been living with Lisha and Kanami until now.
What came to mind was Lisha eating snacks and watching videos, and Kanami subtly avoiding my line of sight. It's strange, they're both beautiful girls, but I've never had this kind of atmosphere with them.
Tsukiko walked stiffly and put the tray on the small table.
Then she poured tea into the teacups.
"It's caffeine-free herbal tea, can you drink it?"
"You know I don't dislike anything, right?"
"That's right. I was surprised that you could eat anything with a straight face. I was a little taken aback when you ate dokudami raw though."
"Eh, really?"
"To correct myself, quite a bit."
"Was that correction necessary?"
When I said that, Tsukiko chuckled.
That's nostalgic. That happened too. Was that when we went to a Southeast Asian restaurant? A dish that looked like a crepe or an okonomiyaki came out with dokudami in it.
Tsukiko, who usually doesn't leave any food behind, took one bite and froze. I remember that.
I thought I'd show off a bit and ate it all, but instead of looking cool, I was treated like a rare animal.
"I wonder if that has something to do with your upbringing."
With that casual remark, I involuntarily looked at Tsukiko's face. When I saw her eyes, I realized why she came to my room.
It was like this when I was with Lisha.
"Yeah. When I was traveling in Asteris, there were many times when I couldn't choose what to eat."
"I see. So it's like traveling in a game."
"Most of it was traveling. I was summoned to kill the Demon Lord, but I couldn't just storm the castle right away. I went around various places and defeated the enemy demons one by one."
Even if they call me a hero or something, what I'm doing is more like a mercenary.
Tsukiko nodded with her eyes closed, trying to understand what I said.
Well, it's hard to feel real about it. Another world or a hero, in the common sense of Earth, they are fixed as concepts of fiction.
Even if she saw me fighting or demons, she wouldn't be able to understand the other world behind them.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's just that I understand why your novel have a strange reality to them, and it's a weird feeling."
Oh, the otherworldly travelogue where the goblin description was gross. I worked hard on writing that.
After taking a sip of tea, Tsukiko opened her mouth again.
"Since we're here, can you tell me about your life in another world?"
"That's fine with me. But where should I start..."
"I wonder what countries or people impressed you the most"
Yes, yes, impressive countries. If it's that kind of story, I have the confidence to tell more interesting stories than any backpacker in this world.
After all, it's a world where magic has developed. There are ideas that humans on Earth would never come up with in reality.
I also moistened my lips with tea and started to tell my memories.
* * *
Even though I didn't drink alcohol, my tongue was talkative and spilled out stories.
I had almost no chance to tell Asteris's story to people on Earth. I was pleased by Tsukiko's surprised reactions every time I told something, and I kept talking about this and that.
Yes, I was in a good mood because of my first experience and I didn't notice Tsukiko's change. It had been enough time to miss the subtle differences in her expressions since we parted a few months ago.
"And then, when Eris did that――"
How much time had passed? When the tea was almost gone, Tsukiko, who had been nodding and listening to the story until then, interrupted the conversation.
"Wait, I want to ask you something"
"Hm? What's up?"
Maybe Glaive's dirty jokes were not good. He was a guy who only had vulgar topics except when he was fighting. He was made up of only his lower body and his sword.
But the words that came out of Tsukiko cut me from an unexpected direction.
"What kind of relationship did you have with Eris, who keeps appearing in your story?"
"..."
Oh?
My tongue, which had been moving smoothly until then, hardened like a stone. Wait wait stay stay house.
Really? Eris's story comes up when I talk about Asteris? After all, we were together for four years, so it would be unnatural if she didn't come up. But I'm a considerate guy, I tried not to mention names of people Tsukiko didn't know as much as possible.
"She, she didn't come up that much. Glaive and Sharla and others"
"The names of other people came up five times or so each. Eris came up seventeen times already"
Seriously? I was surprised that I had unconsciously mentioned Eris's name so many times, but I was also surprised that Tsukiko had counted them accurately. I felt a slight chill, maybe it was my imagination.
"Eris is, you know. She's the princess of Centraris Kingdom, the country that summoned me. She's tomboyish and she also joined the journey to defeat the demon king"
"I heard that. I asked not about Eris's identity, but what kind of relationship you had with her"
"Y-yes"
Scary scary scary. It seemed like sparks were flying around Tsukiko, maybe it was my imagination. She shouldn't have any accidental activation with her level of magic power control, so it must be a mistake.
Eris and my relationship. It's hard to describe in one word. Comrade, friend, person I liked.
All are correct but not perfect. My idea of relationship is based on my subjectivity. The connection that I believed was a strong bond was cut off by her hand.
'You're just a nuisance for this world and for me.'
I wondered what kind of feelings those words came from. The farewell that I used to see vividly in my dreams, now, to me, everything was vague, and I only had a feeling like scooping up the stars reflected in the lake.
In the end, the only thing I can say now is the truth of that time.
"She was important to me. I couldn't have lived without Eris."
As I said that, Tsukiko lowered her gaze for a moment, and then looked at me.
"I see. If it was thanks to Eris-san that you were able to come back to life in this world, you have to be grateful."
"...Yeah."
When I was summoned to Asteris, I only thought about going back to Earth. I wanted to see my parents. I wanted to eat Earth food. I wanted to play games. I wanted to go to school.
I had many dreams, and when I woke up, the reality in front of me looked distorted.
I wonder when it was. When I started to think that it was okay not to go back. When I decided to live in Asteris.
What would Eris say if she saw me fighting like this again? Would she laugh at me and say I'm stupid? Would she slap my back and tell me to shape up?
Her face was clear even in my memories.
"..."
Then, something touched my fingertip.
――What is it?
As I tried to check it out, I realized it was Tsukiko's finger, and my eyes were looking at her face instead of her hand.
Her white cheeks seemed to have a slight crimson on them.
Tsukiko didn't look at me, but at the empty cup. Only the place where we touched was connected with a faint heat.
Before she said anything, I looked away. It was not good to look any longer. I didn't quite understand why.
She spun her next words when our warmth mingled.
"I don't know what your reason for living is now. But still, I want you to take care of yourself. Don't forget that there are people who care about you."
Those words, because they were Tsukiko's, burned inside my chest.
Tsukiko, who chose to leave me once because she cared about me, now chose to be by my side like this. Was it because I changed? Or did she change?
"I understand."
The faces and voices of many people flashed by like a revolving lantern. To make sure that the promise we had exchanged many times did not become empty, I lightly squeezed her stiff fingers.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)