Chapter 980 - Incognito Reality
Our house was located in a residential area a little ways from the main 'town,' and it was a leisurely walk of twenty-something to thirty-something minutes from there.
By car, it would only take five or ten minutes, so the access was decent enough. After traversing the country road and arriving at the Kasuga family's go-to supermarket…
The first thing I thought was:
"…………I'll say it as many times as I have to, this feels weird."
"Get used to it."
The sight of the princess mixed into the familiar store scenery was so out of place it was unsettling.
As usual, her disguise seemed to be working perfectly, and no one besides me seemed to be paying any mind to Ashe blending into the non-urban, everyday landscape… but—
—When I received a 'magical item' from a certain someone and started using it, we had to run some tests for various reasons, and we discovered a few things.
First, there's a functional difference between my glasses and Ashe's bracelet.
Simply put, mine don't have the supernatural AR function like Ashe's color-change ability. In other words, if I put on my glasses, I just become me wearing glasses.
So why does my disguise actually work? That natural question was the 'reason' for our tests, and the answer was found easily enough.
These magical items broadcast a perception-jamming effect on 'things that need to be deceived,' responding to our conscious and unconscious thought manipulation.
It doesn't matter if it's a person or an object.
It affects not only the human eye but even mechanical video recording devices like cameras. It's a terrifying, fantastical technology that can only be described as magic.
To put it simply, as long as we're wearing these items, Ashe and I will appear as completely different people to anyone we allow to be deceived.
Even the invincible princess herself had been unnerved by this new fact in the past.
At the same time, it raised the additional mystery of 'Then why does the bracelet have a color-change function…?' but we've since abandoned that as a waste of time to think about.
We couldn't possibly understand the technical details, let alone the intentions of its god-like creator.
In any case, thanks to the blessing of this wondrous item, we've secured a daily life where we can walk around peacefully without hiding our faces, anytime, anywhere—
"Seriously… I wonder what they see."
"Who knows. It seems to vary from person to person."
Still, we do get the occasional glance from time to time.
I've always assumed it's usually because of Ashe's overly dignified and graceful demeanor, but on rare occasions, the gazes are directed at me, so I can't be sure.
I really wonder what they're seeing.
"I understand the feeling, but it's pointless to worry about it."
"Yeah, I guess so."
We won't be exposed. I trust the item based on its track record, but since it's a strange phenomenon whose principles I don't understand, I can't have blind faith in it.
In fact, once I become conscious of it, I start to feel like I'm doing something vaguely wrong, which makes me even more aware of the stares…—
"…We're on a date."
"H-Huh?"
My hand was pulled firmly.
"Focus your resources… on me."
And then, my arm was captured. …Which naturally meant…
"Um, this is a public place."
"This should not yet be considered a violation of public order and decency."
In exchange for the number of scattered glances clearly increasing, the reason for those indistinct 'eyes' transformed into something incredibly simple.
Namely, into exasperation toward a lovey-dovey couple not worth a second glance.
So… well, yes.
If I could clearly discern the reason we were being watched…
"See? It's fine."
"Stop with that smug, deadpan face—and you're too close, I didn't give you permission for that…!"
The only remaining problem was the peerless beauty, which appeared unchanged only to me, being at zero distance.
…Inside my head, the me that was bragging about being used to this proximity by now and the me that was instantly smacking him down, yelling 'Like hell you're used to it, are you kidding me?!', began to brawl.
And so, next to this ever-changing, yet unchanging idiot of a man…
"Pumpkin. Found it."
On the opposite side from where I held the shopping basket.
Ashe, who had both her arms wrapped tightly around my right arm, used a power that seemed impossible for her slender frame to lead me along, leaving no room for argument.
"………………"
No, really.
"I wonder if there's a way to tell which one is good."
"…The ones where the stem is withered and dry. Then there's the look of the skin and the weight."
"As always, you know a lot about things unrelated to the virtual world."
The daily life mixed with the extraordinary feels so incredibly real that it makes me sigh.
Beside me, the girl smiling happily and peacefully…
"…………The bottom shelf. Second from the right?"
"Yeah, I was about to grab the same one."
"Fufu, then it must be the right one."
…is so painfully a girl that I can't deal with it—
Ah, seriously. I can't deal with it, but.
"Ashe… I mean, girl. Let me teach you something useful."
"Mm?"
"You need a hand to pick things up, and hands are attached to the ends of arms."
"Mm-hm."
"And one of my arms is holding a basket, while the other is being militarily occupied."
"But you look so happy."
"Come on, hurry up and grab the pumpkin. Liberate my arm."
"But you look so happy."
"I'm pretty sure my face is mostly filled with bewilderment, though…!!!"
It's okay, hang in there a little longer, me.
You'll manage, and you'll make it work—
"Ha… I mean, boy. I'll teach you something useful."
"What would that be?"
"I may not look it, but I'm strong. A whole pumpkin is nothing for me to lift with one hand."
"…Yeah, you're right. You probably have more horsepower than I do."
…Well, probably, maybe, surely.