Things really did turn out exactly as Vera predicted. As soon as Emiya rode off on his motorcycle, Acheron, full of indignation, came right up to complain.
"Why is that, huh? It was clearly us who made plans first, so why did you agree to let Emiya go see that wom, go to the supermarket to work!"
"Lady Acheron, you're asking something you already know." The corners of Vera's lips carried a smile.
"The deputy manager always takes such good care of Lord Emiya. If she asks for help and he doesn't go, he definitely wouldn't be able to enjoy himself today."
After saying this, Vera smoothed her hair and walked straight downstairs. "Lady Acheron, I'm going to my room to pick out clothes for tonight. We leave at five."
"Wait, what should I wear tonight?" Acheron grabbed Vera, wanting her advice on what to wear.
"Lady Acheron, just wear sportswear. Warm, comfortable, and it doesn't stain easily."
As soon as those words left her mouth, Acheron pressed her lips tight, her eyebrows furrowing into knots.
She wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself to. After struggling a while, she still let go of Vera's hand.
Vera had wanted to tease Acheron a little more, but seeing her pitiful, sulky expression, she really couldn't bear it. "Come with me then, I've already prepared clothes for you too."
Christmas seemed to have a special compatibility with Neon, a country that worships romance and the two-dimensional world.
Today, heavy snowflakes were falling, and the temperature hit a record low, but it didn't dampen people's enthusiasm in the slightest.
On the streets and alleys, girls in short skirts could be seen everywhere.
Some whispered softly while holding hands with the boy they liked, others pulled along a few good girlfriends, chatting and laughing happily while shopping.
Naturally, they formed a beautiful scene.
"Emiya, over here, over here!" In front of the supermarket entrance, Kiyomi hopped as she called out Emiya's name.
Kiyomi had a beautiful girlish face, and her figure was slim and tall, but her twin peaks had somehow reached an exaggerated size.
With every bounce, they swayed dramatically up and down. Forget just men passing by, even women couldn't help but cast their eyes over.
Yet, such a girl seemed to already have someone in her heart. The passersby's faces filled with indignation, gritting their teeth as they followed Kiyomi's gaze, wanting to see who exactly had bewitched their goddess into this state.
'Damn… they actually kind of look good together…' The moment they actually saw Emiya, that thought involuntarily surfaced in everyone's mind.
"Have you been standing out here long?" Emiya brushed the snow off Kiyomi's head, then smoothly put his motorcycle helmet and his own coat over her shoulders.
"Not long, not long at all!" Kiyomi tightened the coat, savoring the warmth that came through, her eyes closing in comfort.
"It's minus 30 degrees today. Why wait for me outside? I promised you I'd come, and I definitely would have." Emiya's voice carried a hint of anger.
Humans were far too fragile compared to him, a Heroic Spirit. Even a small cold could leave them bedridden, even life-threatening. As a human, she should be more self-aware, and take better care to protect herself.
"It's fine, I'm wearing skin-colored tights underneath, and I've got heating pads!" Kiyomi lifted her long thigh and gave it a little pinch, trying hard to act calm. But her frostbitten-red fingers and the frost clinging to her eyelashes mercilessly betrayed her.
"Isn't the manager on duty at the store today? You should go home and rest. I'll handle everything. There's absolutely no problem." Emiya frowned tightly.
If not for the difference between men and women, he would've just scooped her up and carried her home to warm her up by force.
"Papa's resting today, he couldn't come. You haven't had lunch yet, right? I made you a bento!" Ignoring Emiya's angry gaze, Kiyomi grabbed both his hands and, without giving him any choice, dragged him into the office.
The office had heating on, but Kiyomi's hands were as cold as ice blocks.
Worried she might get frostbite, Emiya took her hands in his own warm ones and rubbed them quickly for a while, only stopping once he was sure her temperature had fully returned to normal.
"Sigh… I'll finish the bento. After that, I'll take you home. Otherwise I'll have no choice but to call the manager to drag you back by force." Emiya let out a heavy sigh.
At last, he finally understood the feeling Hans and Kobayashi had when worrying about their daughters.
Of course, seeing a weak and cute little girl bouncing around was joyful. But the bigger feeling was fear, fear she might get hurt where he couldn't see, fear he wouldn't have the ability to protect her properly.
By comparison, Emiya was lucky. The two back at his own house were unmatched in power. No matter where they went or what stupid thing they did, he never had to worry about their safety.
"Letting you send me back isn't impossible."
Sitting across from Emiya, Kiyomi propped her chin in her hands, watching him eat hungrily, and said slyly, "But my house is empty today. If I'm there alone, I'll be really scared. You'll have to stay with me. I'll even count it as a paid day of work for you!"
"I'm sorry, I..."
"Today the store's about to explode with busyness, we can't do without Emiya!" Hans suddenly burst into the office, cutting him off. He wrapped Kiyomi up tightly in a thick down jacket, then directly hoisted her onto his shoulder.
"You won't be lonely. I already called your mom to go keep you company. She's probably at your house stewing meat right now."
"Emiya, save me, quick, save me!" Kiyomi struggled desperately.
But her father was a full two meters tall, broad and burly. Forget a young girl, even an adult man couldn't break free. In the whole supermarket, the only one who could go head-to-head with her dad was Emiya.
But the only savior in Kiyomi's eyes calmly wiped his mouth, then grinned wide and waved to them. "Kiyomi, Mr. Hans, be careful on the way!"
And just like that, the little farce finally came to an end. Emiya watched the two of them leave, his face completely darkening.
The bento Kiyomi made couldn't really be called delicious. But he could feel how much effort she had put into it, so much effort it was almost too much.
Still, there are some things in this world that, no matter how desperately you work at them, are simply impossible to achieve.
'Looks like… this job might be at its end.'
Emiya rubbed his temples irritably, carefully cleaned the bento box and the table, then glanced around once more at the now-familiar scene. Only then did he put on his work uniform and step into the bustling supermarket.
Hans Supermarket was already the most popular shop on this street, and today traffic was more than ten times higher than usual. Even though the employees were all industry elites, they were reaching their limit.
To fill in for every department, Emiya was like a flash of lightning, one moment unloading fruit in the cold storage, the next frantically restocking the electronics section, and finally even chopping pork and gutting fish in the fresh foods area.
At last, near six o'clock, Hans arrived with a whole squad of reinforcements. Along with him came Kiyomi, bundled up like a little rice dumpling.
"Emiya, you must be exhausted. You can rest now!" Kiyomi tugged at the rabbit ears on her hat and gave a hard pat to Emiya, who was still vigorously chopping at a pig's leg.
"No need, I'm not tired." Emiya wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and shook his head firmly. He wanted to fight on until the very end.
"It's fine, these are all Papa's old friends who came today. They come every year to help. Just leave it to them."
"All right then, I just so happen to have something to talk to you about."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.