As I was on my way to Totoki’s house, I looked down from the [Jet Book] and saw a strange sight.
There were two rather crude, boorish-looking men, sprinting as fast as they could, their faces colored in fear. But there was a dead end in front of them, and the men ended up being pinned against the wall with nowhere left to run. Much to my surprise, a number of women appeared in front of them, completely cutting off their path of escape.
…What are they doing?
Judging by the men’s expressions, they were clearly frightened. The women were all holding dangerous weapons in their hands.
Then, the women brandished their weapons and all rushed at the men at once.
Wha—?
After inflicting fatal wounds on them, causing them to succumb to all fours, a woman with a hatchet proceeded to cut off their heads, of all things. The scene was just like an execution.
I was struck speechless at the sheer gruesomeness of the act. Fortunately, Ior didn’t seem to notice. I wouldn’t want a kid to see something like that.
The women left the slaughtered men behind and left the same direction they came.
…What in the world was that? What did they have against those men?
They looked like thugs, but what did they do that warranted them getting killed like that…?
Then, I expanded my vision a little further and saw another scene of a man surrounded by a group of women, looking like an execution waiting to happen.
This time, it was a middle-aged man who looked like an ordinary salaryman. Even such a common, run-of-the-mill looking guy was being ganged up on and murdered by over 10 women.
What the hell happened in the city since the last time I visited?
I had been doing business with the otherworlders in the countryside for some time, so it had been a while since I was in the city, where I was originally doing business.
“Hm? Master, you keep looking down. Is something the matter?” (Yofel)
“Hm? Ah, no, it’s nothing.” (Bouchi)
Yofel called out to me, but I shook my head and waved it off. I didn’t know what was going on, but it was best not to get involved with those people.
When we were approaching Totoki’s house, Ior was visibly becoming more and more excited. He seemed to really like Mahina a lot.
But it was possible that they weren’t home, so I was worried that they might…
“―Ii-chan!!”
The moment we landed in the Totoki family’s courtyard, Mahina and Totoki, who happened to be tending to their flower beds, noticed our presence. Mahina came running up to us happily.
The two children hugged tightly, happy to see each other again.
“…Welcome home, Bouchi-kun.” (Koine)
“……Sorry to show up out of the blue. Ior wanted to see Ma-chan.” (Bouchi)
Totoki welcomed us with a smile on her face.
“No, not at all. It’s you, Bouchi-kun, so you guys are always welcome! Please, come on in!” (Koine)
Ior was already leading the way into the house, being dragged along by Mahina. I responded lightly to Totoki and went in after them.
After being ushered into the living room, Aika, Totoki’s older sister, appeared from the kitchen.
“Ara, I thought Mahina was being noisy, but it was actually because Bouchi-kun is here! You’re just in time. I just finished brewing some black tea.” (Aika)
“Ah, don’t worry about it. Also Totoki, here.” (Bouchi)
In exchange for their hospitality, I gave her a bag of snacks and sweets that I thought Mahina would enjoy.
“Wow, is it okay for me to have this?” (Koine)
“Hey, hey, what’s that?” (Mahina)
“Hm? Look Mahina, your onii-chan brought your favorite pudding for you, Mahina!” (Aika)
“Really?! I wanna eat it, I wanna eat it!” (Mahina)
“Come on now, you have to make sure you thank him first, right?” (Aika)
Hearing that, Mahina suddenly ran right up to me.
“Onii-chan! Thaaank you!” (Mahina)
“Yeah. There’s a lot, so eat up.” (Bouchi)
“That pudding isn’t store-bought, is it? Could it have been handmade by someone?” (Koine)
“Huh? I made it.” (Bouchi)
“You made it, Bouchi-kun?!” (Koine)
Totoki stared at me, wide-eyed with amazement.
“What, is that really so surprising?” (Bouchi)
“…So you can cook, Bouchi-kun.” (Koine)
“Well, I live alone after all. It’s natural for me to be able to cook for myself.” (Bouchi)
“C-Can I also have some pudding?” (Koine)
“Do as you please.” (Bouchi)
She received a bowl of pudding from her older sister and took a bite. A moment later, her expression was colored with shock, and she trembled slightly.
“D-Delicious… It’s better than anything I could make…” (Koine)
She looked like she had taken a bit of a shock. Her older sister recommended that I leave her be for a while, so I listened to her and went to take a seat on the sofa.
When I looked over at Ior, I saw that he and Mahina were feeding each other pudding, getting along quite nicely. They looked like little lovers. It was a pleasant, heartwarming sight to behold.
Yofel was also smiling gently, looking happy to see her little brother enjoying himself.
Totoki’s older sister came over and offered us black tea, and I accepted it with a brief expression of gratitude.
Then, Yofel said, “Doumo, ari-gatou.”
Her speech was a bit imperfect, but she certainly managed to express her thanks in Japanese.
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