Chapter 974 - Welcome to my Hometown
It's not a big city────that's probably the most fitting way to describe the town I spent nearly six years in through middle and high school, the place that has now become my hometown.
It's a scale that doesn't even begin to compare to the capital, Tokyo; it falls short of being a 'metropolis,' so to speak.
Stylish spots are pretty much limited to chain cafes. The latest trends generally only arrive via radio waves, and you rarely get a chance to see them in person.
But on the other hand, it's not exactly the boonies, either.
The facilities necessary for modern life are all there, albeit concentrated in densely populated areas like the one around the station. The infrastructure and services are well-developed, so you could just about survive without ever stepping outside.
There's no sea, but there is a castle, so we get a decent number of tourists. It's not so bustling that you get swallowed by the noise, nor is it so deserted that you feel lonely.
It's really just... decent.
Not a big city, but not the deep countryside either. It's a comfortable place to live────
...There's just one thing. One part that's inconvenient, or rather, awkward for me right now.
"........................Whoa... there."
"...?"
Due to the town's layout, where entertainment and convenience facilities are clustered together, the decent-sized population also tends to be concentrated in certain areas. In other words, if you walk through a busy place like the station...
"I just passed by an acquaintance. Got stared at hard."
"Huh, eh... A-are you okay?"
...it's not particularly rare to run into a familiar face────Less than three minutes after getting off the train. As we walked along the platform of a station that was, again, laughably small compared to those in Tokyo, I whispered a report of this very common occurrence.
Following my muttered words, the black-haired princess, who had tilted her head, and my partner, in her discreet high-society-daughter mode, furtively glanced around... but,
"Well, the one getting stared at was Nia-chan, though."
"Huh!?"
"I guess she stands out no matter what, huh..."
On top of that, my hometown gets a fair number of tourists, including foreigners. This means the locals are somewhat used to seeing people from other countries walking around... but still, this was on another level.
Even if I, who was wearing a gift from someone that likely made me look like a different person to others, was in no danger of being identified...
".................."
I glanced around. One, two, three.
Ashe was wearing a disguise item with recognition-jamming properties, just like me. Sora's hair color and overall vibe were completely different from her avatar's, creating a massive image gap. And Nia's avatar face was never made public in the first place.
Therefore, the chances of them being linked to their 'famous virtual world personas' were... well, I thought it was unlikely────but still.
"............Yeah, we probably should have split into two groups."
I have no idea how Ashe's disguised version looks to others, but Sora and Nia alone have enough of a non-ordinary person aura to attract attention. And Ashe herself is so graceful that her movements alone draw gazes wherever she goes.
Each one of them would turn heads on their own even in the middle of a big city, so it's no surprise that having the three of them together walking through a semi-rural town would cause people to stop and stare.
I was so caught up in my various feelings about coming home that I failed to plan for this, and now here we are. I feel incredibly sorry for Nia-chan, who's probably getting the most attention right now────
'By the way, who was this acquaintance? Was it a woman?'
I take it back. I don't think I need to feel particularly sorry for her.
Anyway, we continued through the station under the barrage of stares. With about a hundred meters to go to our destination, I pushed away the phone shoved in my face, pulled out my own, and started tapping away.
"...────Ah, hello, Mom?"
'Ignoring me, are you? I see.'
"It was a man. Unless I'm mistaken."
"Y-you can tell? We passed by so many people..."
When it comes to being watched, they undoubtedly have far more experience than I do. Ignoring the voices of the three girls—who were now looking beautiful, lovely, and getting along peacefully, including Nia, who had recovered from her initial shock in an instant—I continued my call.
"We're here, how about you? No, it's fine, if you're not here yet, we can kill some time somewhere quiet────...Ah, okay. We'll hop right in, so can you leave the door open?"
With that, communication was complete. Still on the phone, our eyes met from a distance—one of those moments that's always slightly awkward no matter who it is or when it happens—and then,
""...────""
A corner of the parking lot. In front of the large van belonging to the Kasuga family, a vehicle that felt both familiar and slightly nostalgic, waiting for us with the door open as requested.
"────Yo. I'm home."
"────Welcome back. What's with you, wearing glasses?"
I exchanged words—not over a phone, but in person—for the first time in six months with my mother, who stood there as imposing as a guardian statue.
◇◆◇◆◇
────I don't want to rush through this and be sloppy, so introductions can wait until we've settled in.
Following my mother's straightforward declaration, the three girls kept their first contact to a minimum with a simple 'Nice to meet you,' a nod, and a bow, and got into the car.
All three of them, in the back seat.
And as for me, of course...
"Come to think of it, did I not tell you or show you? These glasses are a magic disguise item."
"What are you talking about? Are you okay?"
"I know, I know, that's the reaction I expected. But it's true, you know."
...I was in the passenger seat, acting as my mother's conversation partner.
And well, while there was undoubtedly an infinite number of things to catch up on...
"Oh yeah, I passed by Miura-san at the station earlier."
"Miura-san, who's that again?"
"You know, from the restaurant."
"............Oh, right. The single father you used to babysit for."
"Yeah, that Miura-san."
"...Huh? Were you okay? He didn't recognize you, did he?"
"These glasses are a magic disguise item."
"Don't talk nonsense. Stop teasing an old lady."
"You're still young, Mom..."
"Don't you talk down to me with that half-smirk, you idiot son."
"Is it really okay to insult your son without hesitation, Mom..."
We intentionally stuck to utterly trivial topics.
The reason was clear. My mother, who is admired by her flower arrangement students as 'handsome' and a 'perfect gentleman,' has a manly, fiery... or rather, a strong-willed personality that she wears like an aura at all times. But fundamentally, she's an absolute sucker for young girls. Therefore...
"Oh, Nozomi. You and your father are going to the public bath tonight."
"Huh?"
"Tonight and tomorrow night."
"O-oh?"
"Honestly, it would be better to have the young ladies go to a spacious hot spring, but... you know, it seems like it'd be a hassle, right? With all the people around."
"Ah, well, yes."
"Then the least we can do is let them use our bath without any worries. So the men are out."
"Ah... yes. You're right. Understood."
"I'll even pay for your coffee-flavored milk after your bath."
"You don't need to add a bonus that would only please an elementary school kid."
"Oh, really? So you don't want it."
"Would fruit-flavored milk be acceptable?"
"You and your father both have such a sweet tooth..."
And so it went.
"""────............"""
She was probably carefully showing her personality to our guests, who were quietly watching the parent-child interaction from the back seat, so they wouldn't be as nervous during the introductions later.
She's so kind.
I know she's always yearned for a daughter, having been blessed with only sons, but still────
Yeah, something like that.
"Where's Dad?"
"At home, bracing himself. ...Don't worry, he probably, maybe, surely won't pass out."
"That doesn't inspire confidence..."
With the front seats full of rambling chatter and the back seats gracefully quiet, the two extremes existed in the same space... yet, strangely, a faint sense of peace drifted through the car, with each of us showing our own mix of relief and bewilderment.
And so, we were rocked along the road, entrusting ourselves to the rugged car driven by my mother.
Incidentally, we were photographed several times by inconsiderate strangers on the street as an 'eye-catching, unusual group,' but the invincible princess silently stood in the perfect position to guard Sora and Nia.
What the snapped shutters captured were only pictures rated zero out of ten, where faces and appearances were completely indecipherable, rendered a blurry, out-of-focus mess by a recognition-jamming ability (pure fantasy) that also affects electronics.
Furthermore, any who dared to try and take a video found their devices malfunctioning the moment the thought crossed their minds. Wow, amazing.