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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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The taciturn owner behind the counter handed me the food directly.
“……Hmm.”
Usually, Maya would be the one to serve, but since I was sitting at the counter seat, it wasn’t a particularly special occurrence.
Maya, who had approached my side at some point, explained the food placed in front of me.
“It’s cream edamame.”
She continued her simple explanation of the food.
“It’s a traditional appetizer that has been passed down in the distant island nation of Neo Japan.”
I wondered why they had drizzled cream on top.
Didn’t normal Japanese restaurants usually just serve edamame with salt?
…….
Whatever, as long as it tastes good, it doesn’t matter.
I lifted the aluminum chopsticks.
But, before I could even try the appetizer, the edamame, another dish was quickly served in front of me.
I haven’t even eaten yet.
“……Hmm.”
The owner, ignoring my gaze, went back behind the counter.
“This is a type of salad dish called ‘cheese sushi.’ It’s krill fish made using a 3D printer for food ingredients, but it tastes very good.”
…Just because you mix assorted vegetables into a dish doesn’t make it a salad.
My mind went blank.
Although this place had a sign that said ‘Fusion-Japanese Restaurant,’ even in the past, they never had such grotesque food.
I had no idea which dish to even touch first.
I calmly raised my hand to ask a question.
But the owner’s hands were so fast that yet another dish was served in front of me.
“Finally, the main dish. It’s a ‘steak with a special sauce’ made from soybeans. Thanks to our careful and fresh storage, there’s no worry of parasites even if it’s slightly rare.”
I looked at the three types of dishes in front of me.
Thankfully, It didn’t seem like any more food was going to come out.
The owner, seeing me sitting there without a single word, let out a short hum.
“……Hmm.”
“Ah, he says that if you finish the entire course meal, he’ll give you dessert after. It’s an ice cream type, so it might melt.”
Where should I even start pointing things out?
First of all,
“…That.”
I asked the thing I was most curious about first.
“The recommended dish I ordered was ‘fresh gratin,’ but why is a course meal serv—.”
Maya, cutting off my question, smiled brightly.
“Come to think of it, why did you change into such dirty clothes to come here? Surely you’re not going to say that’s a disguise.”
“……”
I shut my mouth.
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I secretly walked out of the restaurant.
Clutching my full stomach, I collapsed and sat down in a corner of the back alley.
“Whew.”
I naturally inhaled and exhaled.
As I breathed in the cold air unique to the lower level, the stuffiness in my chest from the feeling of fullness eased a little.
Really, I thought I was going to die from my stomach bursting.
It seemed that my finishing all the dishes, including the dessert that came out last, was my greed.
The food the owner made tasted exactly like the nostalgic taste in my memory.
To give a specific example, It was more delicious than the food I had eaten when I went to Drek’s house, and not as good as the food Eve made by hacking the recipes of the Monolith’s head chef.
In a word, it was good.
I lifted my head from looking at the dusty floor. I looked at the familiar scenery of the alley.
Through the alley, old cars busily moved around, spewing noisy exhaust fumes, and the mayfly-like lives of people who earned a day’s living for a day’s survival trudged by with listless steps.
This place really hasn’t changed. I thought briefly, remembering the time I first entered Neon City.
It was Maya who cut off my continuing reminiscence.
“…What are you doing here?”
She approached me as I was squatting down.
Judging by the fact that her apron was slightly wet, it seemed she had just finished the dishes and came out.
“Just getting some fresh air.”
I lifted my head and looked at Maya.
“What do you mean, from someone who always wears a mask because the city air is bad.”
Maya, who had laughed softly, sat down next to me.
She positioned herself in a spot where our shoulders were almost touching, being careful not to let her apron touch the floor.
I asked Maya, who had started to admire the alley scenery just like me.
“Is it okay to close the shop already? Don’t bars usually start business from now on?”
“It’s a shop where only the regulars come anyway, so what does it matter? It’s up to the owner. Dad said to close a little early today.”
Maya, who had finished her sentence, moved her gaze from the outside and looked directly at me.
Her short, pink-streaked bob of hair swayed gracefully with the movement of her head.
“So why did you really come today?”
Maya asked me.
Since it was a question I had been expecting, I answered naturally.
“I said I’d come by once last time.”
“…Then why were you wearing that disguise again.”
Maya asked, tilting her head slightly.
It was a genuinely puzzled expression.
“……”
That, you see, It’s just something that happened.
I decided to change the subject of the conversation.
“How’s the shop? Is it okay?”
“……Hmm.”
Maya looked at me sharply.
And then, as if letting me off the hook, she continued the conversation following my topic.
“It’s the same as before. Almost nothing has changed from when I was gone.”
Well, it looked that way to me too. Except for the addition of many surveillance cameras, the position of every single decoration was the same as in the past.
Perhaps it’s the owner’s consideration to create a place that could still exist even after his daughter returned.
I remembered the owner thanking me earlier.
I guessed that his gratitude probably contained such a meaning.
“Thank you.”
“Huh?”
At Maya’s sudden words, I turned my head and looked at her.
“Just, for everything.”
Maya, who couldn’t finish her sentence about what she was thankful for, avoided my gaze.
“First of all, thank you for not giving up, and thank you for saving me again in the end.”
Maya scratched her head as if embarrassed.
“I only have things to be thankful for to you, Shiun.”
“…Well, it wasn’t a difficult thing.”
On the contrary, I felt more sorry.
At that time when Maya was kidnapped, if I had remembered a little sooner, what had happened to her would not have happened.
As if sensing my feelings.
Maya laughed playfully.
“You’re the same as before, Shiun. You’re too kind. Ah, except for the shabby clothes you were wearing when you came into the shop a little while ago. I almost didn’t recognize you at first. Hehe.”
…….
Please just forget about that.
I had already thrown away the hat and coat I had looted from the vagrant the moment I was found out, and I had even gone to get the coat I had hidden in the alley.
It was unpleasant enough as it was. The smell was still on my body.
As I couldn’t answer right away, a short silence fell again.
I secretly rolled my eyes and looked at Maya’s profile.
As if she too was reminiscing, she was looking beyond the alley with a somewhat nostalgic gaze.
It was a few minutes after that that Maya broke the silence and opened her mouth.
“…My father asked me last night.”
Maya’s words continued as if to herself.
“He asked if I had any intention of leaving Neon City this time and going with him to Neo Japan.”
“……”
Since it was a difficult topic to answer, I maintained my silence and listened to her words.
Maya forced a smile.
“He said it was something he had been thinking about for a while. That if his daughter came back…, he would have to leave this place and go to his hometown. The security in Neon City is a little bad, isn’t it.”
She said, propping her chin on her hand as if it were nothing. But her emotions were surely as chaotic as the city’s sky.
Her voice was trembling slightly.
“He said Neo Japan is a famous land of dreams in the world. Besides, since it’s his father’s hometown, he has connections. He said it would be much better than living here.”
Maya looked up at the gray-stained sky.
Clouds of a clumsy color, like a smudged crayon, were covering the sky.
“……What should I do?”
Maya asked me for an answer.
Perhaps because it was hard to wait for an answer while looking into my eyes, her gaze was still on the sky.
I couldn’t answer easily.
From Maya’s perspective, returning to her hometown would make her life much more comfortable.
There would be no nuisance customers making a scene like before, and there would be no people gossiping about her past.
Forgetting the past. And starting anew.
Wouldn’t that be much better for her?
That’s what I thought first.
But
Even if my thoughts were right, I felt that it wouldn’t be the best answer.
The answer Maya wanted from me wouldn’t be that either.
Having thought that far, I answered briefly.
“Don’t go.”
“……Pardon?”
“…If it’s dangerous, I’ll protect you, so don’t go.”
This time, my gaze moved away from Maya.
Ugh, I said something unnecessary, so unlike me.
Even without turning my head to look at Maya, it was clear that she was looking at me now.
I stood up from my seat awkwardly.
“…I should get going for today.”
“Already?”
For some reason, there was a hint of laughter in Maya’s words.
It was the brightest voice among all I had heard today.
“…Something came up suddenly.”
I let out a short, dry cough and readjusted my mask. I also pulled my hood down deeply.
To be honest, I wasn’t in a position to say something like this to Maya.
In the past, we were just an employee and a customer.
And the guilt of not being able to protect her was something I alone carried.
Still, I could fix my mistakes.
“It’s getting too late, so I’ll come visit again next time.”
“…I think it would be faster for me to visit your house, Shiun—.”
I ignored the truth in Maya’s now playful words.
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After being seen off by the owner and Maya, I headed to the monorail station.
My steps felt a little lighter.
…Now that it has come to this, it would be right to get rid of all my worries.
I opened my mouth.
“Eve.”
[Acknowledged.]
“Can you find out the locations of all the scavenger dens in this area?”
[Of course. Displaying the locations of the scavengers or vagrant groups in the said area on the map.]
Since they were rat-like bastards, even if I cleaned them out now, more trash would continuously appear to fill the void.
But then, that was a problem to be dealt with then.
“I don’t have anything to do when I get home anyway.”
Having finished my self-rationalization, I turned my steps, following the guide that appeared in my visual interface.
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[ SleepComesForTheGrap(Rogue): When is that damn Warrior Union guild master coming!!! ]
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Hoho, just wait ]
[ SleepComesForTheGrap(Rogue): He’s lateee… I am going to become a grandpa at this rate. ]
[ SleepComesForTheGrap(Rogue): I’m just leaving gl ]
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Hoho, what are you going to do if the raid content gets bugged again like last time if you leave. Just wait patiently ]
[ SleepComesForTheGrap(Rogue): (inappropriate language) ]
…….
I thought as I looked at the chat log on the monitor.
They’ve been waiting all this time.
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