Chapter 10 – Outing – 2
-Screech.
Yuka and I stopped the bike in front of a small corner store, about a ten-minute ride away.
The name of the store was…
'Hanaya?'
It sounded like a flower shop.
At first, I thought we had come to the wrong place. But soon, I realized my mistake.
The sign said "Hanaya" but in the corner of the letters, it also said "Hanaya" in different Japanese characters.
'Maybe it was some kind of gag.'
While I was thinking that…
-Slide.
Yuka was already inside the store.
"Takuya, aren't you coming in?"
"Ah. I'll be right there."
Following Yuka inside, the store had a rather quaint atmosphere. To be precise, it felt like looking at a nostalgic old scene.
'It's the kind of place that makes me think of the snacks I used to eat in front of elementary school.'
Of course, it looked much older than the place I remembered.
I carefully looked around the interior.
Inside the store, there were various food ingredients and snacks.
Among them, one product in the corner particularly caught my eye.
It was Umaibo.
Umaibo is a famous snack, considered a representative snack of Japan. Its taste is roughly similar to what we think of as Chakan, according to Wikipedia.
Well, if you say it's not, then you're right.
'Hmm. It looks delicious. Should I ask her to buy me one too?'
I had never eaten Umaibo before, so I was curious about its taste and considered buying one.
'But still, is this a bit too much?'
It felt awkward to ask people who weren't my mom for such a favor on the second day of being possessed.
While I was debating whether to ask for it or not,
"What are you looking at so intently?"
Yuka approached me. She grabbed my shoulder and looked at what I was staring at.
When I casually pointed at the Umaibo with my finger, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh. Umaibo? It's been a while. I used to eat them a lot when I was in school."
Yuka said that and picked up an Umaibo. She was examining it very seriously.
After looking at it for a while, she nodded and said, "Hmm~ It hasn't really changed."
She grabbed a handful of Umaibo. I was about to say something in surprise at that sight when Yuka smiled brightly at me and said, "Delicious things should be eaten together in large quantities. Don't you think?"
At that smile, I nodded without realizing it. Yuka was pleased with my answer. She patted my head and said, "Good answer! Then, let's buy the soy sauce Ayaka mentioned and some snacks."
"Yes."
She took her hand off my head, but strangely, her warmth seemed to linger. Of course, not in a weird way. Just…
'I missed it.'
It was just a misunderstanding caused by the unfamiliarity of someone's touch after a long time.
'Yeah, it was probably just a misunderstanding.'
After thinking that, Yuka and I, who had chosen soy sauce, snacks, and ice cream to eat on the way, stood at the checkout counter.
We called out to the owner inside.
"Grandma Haruna! Come out!"
The owner of this Hanaya was a seventy-year-old grandmother. Her husband had died during the war.
I had heard that the unit he was conscripted into happened to be the one with Mutaguchi, and the operation he was thrown into was the infamous Imphal operation, so he died immediately.
Of course, there was no compensation.
Grandma Haruna hated the Japanese government.
This was probably too much background story.
Grandma Haruna wasn't coming out, so I was digging through Takuya's memories and spouting all this useless information.
'No. But why isn't she coming out? Is something wrong?'
Yuka also seemed to find it strange and was about to go into the room behind the counter. Then…
-Slide.
The door behind the counter opened, and someone popped out.
And it wasn't Grandma.
"Haaam…"
She was a young woman with messy hair. She was wearing a tracksuit and glasses while yawning widely.
To be clear, she wasn't just young compared to Haruna Grandma—she looked like a fresh graduate just starting her career.
Yuka was surprised by her sudden appearance and asked awkwardly, "Who are you?"
The woman stopped yawning and answered nonchalantly,
"I'm Haruna Machiko. I'm Haruna, Grandma's granddaughter and a university student. I'm working part-time now because it's university vacation."
Her explanation was so detailed that Yuka and I couldn't help but nod.
Perhaps she had said it many times, as the words came out like a machine gun.
'By the way, her way of speaking is unique.'
She spoke in some kind of dialect, but the endings were strange, like she was dragging out her words.
Anyway, after hearing Haruna's self-introduction, we started to pay.
Unexpectedly, she was also good at math. Haruna finished the calculations very quickly and told us the price.
"It's 600 yen in total."
Yuka nodded and took out coins from her coin purse. Meanwhile…
'What is this?'
I started to see a strange screen in front of my eyes again.
To be exact…
'Why is that in front of Haruna?'
Something seemed strange in front of her, but I was very curious about what would happen if I pressed it.
'Honestly, I'm curious…'
I wondered if some kind of event would happen if I pressed it. But it felt a bit awkward to check while Yuka was there.
While I stared at the window that appeared in front of Haruna and pondered, Yuka, who had finished paying, walked toward the entrance and said, "Takuya. Let's go now."
"Ah. Yes!"
It seemed better to come back later and check it out.
I thought that and left the store.
"Come again~"
Haruna's listless greeting was a bonus.
After stepping outside, Yuka and I unwrapped our ice creams and walked.
Step… Step…
-Ting-a-ling.
We walked in silence while licking our ice creams.
It might have looked awkward to someone else, but since it was the same atmosphere as when Takuya and I used to walk together, I didn't think much of it.
After walking for a while, I arrived at the park where I had originally planned to part ways.
For reference, this was the same park where I had played with Sota last time.
It seemed that Yuka and I often parted ways here, so I decided to do the same.
Just as I was about to say goodbye and leave, a strong floral scent suddenly wafted by.
"Wait a minute."
Yuka's slender finger brushed my ear. I was surprised for a moment.
When I looked at her, she picked up a speck of dust and said nonchalantly, "There was some dust on you. Poof~"
After blowing away the dust, she smiled casually and said, "Then, see you tonight~ Be careful not to get hurt!"
I replied unconsciously, "Okay…"
"Okay, okay. Takuya, you're a good boy."
Yuka patted my head again and headed home with the things she had bought from Hanaya.
I watched her for a while. When she was out of sight, I turned my bike around and went back to the store.
Slide…!
I opened the door and entered the store again.I saw Haruna dozing off at the counter.
"What is it? What do you need?"
She looked at me and immediately asked, and I answered by slightly nodding my head.
At that, she nodded without suspicion and said, "Then, find what you left behind and leave when you're done~."
Haruna started dozing off again, and in that gap, I quickly clicked on the screen that appeared in front of her.
What appeared was
[Elixir of Stamina]
[Elixir of Strength]
[Elixir of Luck]
[Aphrodisiac]
[Elixir of Conversation]
[Elixir]
.
.
'Could this be… a game shop?'
It was a shop window commonly seen in adult games.
And also…
'Jackpot. The scroll is super long. And the prices are mostly a steal?'
It was a shop that boasted an endless number of items at very reasonable prices. Because of that shop window, I thought about canceling today's schedule and just looking at the items here.
'If I stay here too long, I'll probably be misunderstood, so I should check it out later when I get closer to her.'
I was about to go outside again when I noticed something next to the shop window.
There was another option, so I clicked on it.
[Sub-Episode: Purchase something from Haruna Machiko, the granddaughter of the corner store grandmother.]
A screen with absurd words started to pop up.
While I was thinking what the hell this was, an explanation began appearing on the screen automatically.
[TIP 1. Give her 10 yen and say, 'Noona, my dick is weird,' and she will take you to the inner room.]
Unlike with Miyuki, this was a very kind explanation.
The problem was that it was a bit embarrassing.
'But will she really have sex with me… can I really pass this up?'
At that, I eventually swallowed hard and steeled my heart. I then handed Haruna the 10 yen I had in my pocket, saying, "N-Noona…"
"Uh-huh. What is it?"
"M-My, my dick is weird…"
'Damn it, I am over twenty years old and had to say these words.'
I couldn't lift my face in embarrassment.
'But whether my words were really effective or not…?'
"Hmm~ Is that so?"
Her face, which had been dozing off just now, instantly changed into a lioness-like expression.
"Then, come to the inner room for a bit and let me help you~?"
"Ah. Yes!"
At her words, I smiled brightly inside my heart.
'The screen is invincible and godlike.'