Chapter 13-14 – A Normal Day
[MC POV]
After being forced into a sex ban by Machiko, I wandered around farming items, which had been my original goal.
Naturally, my mood was terrible.
I began farming near Souta's place, where I had the most memories from the game, then gradually expanded my range of activity. Items weren't only in boxes. They were hidden in cracks in walls, under large rocks, and even beneath some middle-aged man's wig.
I wasn't sure how long I had been farming. Just as my stomach began to rumble, I sat down on a newly installed park bench and checked the items I had collected.
[Aphrodisiac]
[Stamina Booster]
[Reverse Bunny Girl Outfit]
[Health Recovery Potion]
"Heh heh. I've gathered quite a bit."
The moment I checked the items, a joyful smile appeared on my face for the first time that day. The haul was impressive for a single day's work, and I had also collected a fair amount of money from the simple cases where cash appeared during the farming process.
But the real reason for my happiness was that I had obtained an unexpected treasure while farming this time.
That treasure was: [Mini Camera & Mini Recorder]
These were crucial for capturing Miyuki. Originally, I had planned to break her down slowly, just like in the game. But with these items, that step was no longer necessary.
'Since I'm going to bang her anyway, I should do it quickly.'
I thought that as I carefully placed the mini camera and recorder into my pocket. They were far too important to lose.
"Hoo. Well then, shall I go grab some food?"
After all, life was about eating.
With that thought, I stood up from the bench and headed toward the convenience store that had opened just a few days ago.
…
…
After searching through Takuya's memories, I easily arrived at the convenience store.
Beep. Beep.
"Thank you. Please come again."
I heated up my lunchboxin the microwave and stepped outside. The moment the convenience store door closed behind me, I cursed while staring at the lunchboxin my hand.
"What the hell? They don't even let me eat inside?"
What kind of place was this? Even in Korea, where hospitality was terrible, they still let you eat inside.
After cursing at the store for a while, I finally sighed. "Haa… Well, this is my fate."
There was no point in complaining. Nothing would change. I would just have to sneak in later and eat inside, even if the part-timer gave me a dirty look.
With that resolution made in my mind, I started searching for a place to eat.
The area in front of the convenience store was out of the question. The ground was scorching, and if I sat there to eat, my lunchboxwould probably spoil before I even finished. No—maybe it would melt first. So that option was gone.
I decided to check the nearby park.
Clatter!
The first spot I found was blocked off for construction.
"Don't let go of my hand!"
The second spot was being used for drama filming.
"Aah♥ Do it more roughly!"
"Of course! Honey!"
'Shit.'
The third spot was worse. Instead of a man and a woman, the moans I heard belonged to two men.
If it had been a woman, I might have listened for fun, like it was a 19+ ASMR. But two men? That was a bit much.
So the park was completely out. The problem was that without the park, there seemed to be no place left to eat.
'Isn't there anywhere quiet? Somewhere with few people, where I can sit in the shade and eat?'
After sweating and worrying for a while, another thought came to me.
'Come to think of it, isn't there a shrine nearby?'
I remembered a moderately sized shrine I had found earlier while looking through Takuya's memories. As far as I recall, no one lived there to manage it, so it should be fine to eat in.
With that, my next destination was set. The nearby shrine.
Fortunately, it wasn't far away. It stood on a small hill in the plains, only about a five-minute walk from where I stood. The path leading up was a little winding, but the location itself wasn't bad.
On top of that, the shrine was surrounded by many trees, making it the perfect place to avoid the sun.
I sat down on the shrine's veranda and opened the lid of the lunch box I had bought.
First of all, the smell passed the test. A pleasant aroma of rice and meat rose into the air. There was a pickled plum on top of the rice, which annoyed me a little, but since this was Japan, I decided to let it slide.
'Now, how would it taste?'
I rubbed the chopsticks between my palms, anticipation building. To be honest, expecting much from a Japanese lunchboxin 2009 was unreasonable. There was nearly a twenty-year difference from the lunch boxes I knew. But even so, I had bought it out of vague expectations, the kind born from anime and old YouTube videos. They had praised Japanese lunch boxes so much that I thought they had to be good.
Of course, if it disappointed me, I wouldn't touch another for ten years.
With that thought, I broke the wooden chopsticks apart, scooped up a big bite of rice, and brought it to my mouth.
No!!
– Zzzzzing.
Just as I was about to eat, I felt an intense gaze from the side. I didn't lower my chopsticks. I shoved the rice into my mouth anyway, followed by the egg roll and pickled plum. I wasn't the type who lost my appetite because of someone's stare.
After chewing and swallowing the food, I finally turned to the side. And what I saw was—
"What is it, kid? Do you have some business?"
Standing there was a long-haired girl with black hair and black eyes, as if she had walked straight out of an anime flashback scene.
Of course, I admitted she was pretty, but it wasn't enough to stir any hidden urges. She simply gave off the impression of a girl who would get plenty of praise for her cuteness.
Anyway, I asked the girl who was staring intently—not at me, but at my lunch box. My question seemed to jolt her out of her trance. She looked me directly in the eye and declared,
"I'm not a kid!"
Saying that alone was already proof that she was a kid, but I didn't bother pointing it out.
"So what, kid?"
I had no intention of calling her anything else. At my words, the girl—no, the kid—flared up.
"I'm all grown up!"
"You're a kid in my eyes."
"Is it all about height?!"
"Yeah, it is."
'Hmm. That was a sharp question for a kid. But still.'
"That's right. I'm not small either. But something else is big."
"Liar. Show me the proof!"
"No."
I had been a confident member of society (past tense) who could brazenly lie in the face of facts.
At my retort, the girl stomped her feet in frustration and glared at me. I only kept teasing her by calling her a kid. Maybe I pushed it too far.
"Ugh. You're annoying…"
The girl's pretty brow furrowed, and it was like a button had been pressed that shouldn't have been.
As she said that, she suddenly started muttering something incomprehensible. To my shock, the color of her eyes began to change—from black to white.
While I sat there bewildered by the bizarre sight,
[He's bullying me. Punish him!]
The girl seemed to be speaking to someone in an unfamiliar voice.
Of course, I couldn't see anyone, but I could feel it. She had summoned something here.
I wondered how to deal with the situation when—
[What do you mean, no? You've been doing well so far!]
A look of confusion spread across her face. No, more than that.
[What, you want me to look at that kid closely? What kind of…]
Her confusion turned into fear.
"Hic, hic!"
'Ah. She even started to cry.'
I couldn't understand what was happening. A moment ago, she had been glaring at me with annoyance, and now she looked at me with fear, tears streaming down her face.
'What am I supposed to do?'
My mood, which had already been ruined by how messy the day was, only grew worse.
'Haa… Still, she's a kid. Should I try to comfort her?'
I thought I should at least comfort her. So I tried to get closer to the girl.
"Waaah! I'm sorry. Please don't kill me!"
The moment I moved toward her, she screamed and cried even louder. Her wailing sounded like the sky itself was falling.
I was really going crazy.
After that, I spent a long time trying to comfort a girl I didn't even know.
It was so unfair.
…
…
And after comforting her for a long time, I finally managed to convince her that I was a good man and had no intention of harming her. Only then did the girl stop crying.
"Sniff…"
She wiped her tears and introduced herself. She said she wasn't a kid but a girl named Misaki. Then she explained why she had cried, and her answer was quite something.
"So, you're a spiritualist, and you can see a weird-looking ghost behind me?"
"Yeah… sniff."
She said it was because she had seen a ghost. At that, I asked the girl—no, Misaki—in a dumbfounded tone,
"The kind of ghost that appears in legends and ghost stories?"
"Sniff. Yeah…"
'What are you, a shaman?'
"Haa… okay…"
"Do you believe me?!"
"I don't know, you brat."
It seemed like I had gotten mixed up with a strange girl.