Chapter 499 - Chapter 443: A Mark of Acquaintance
As we exited the airport, a tropical breeze swept over my skin. No, this was my first time in a tropical region, so by "tropical," I just meant it felt similar to the Southern Island in IRO.
"The weather is lovely today~."
"Last year, it was pouring rain on the day we arrived."
"Mhm, mhm. Well, as for the weather, I am a clear-weather woman, so there should be no problem!"
She said, puffing out her chest. And it was true. It never rained on Miki's entrance ceremonies or graduation ceremonies.
"?"
"That's right. How are we getting around?"
We had no choice but to follow Yata-sensei and Bell-buchou, but we passed a bus stop lined with Automated Tour Buses...
"Welcome, everyone. Thank you for choosing our inn again this year."
"The pleasure is ours~. We look forward to another great year~."
It was a muscular man with a tanned complexion. No, an older man? As I got closer, his white hair was more noticeable, but he seemed like a nice guy.
"Suzune-chan, it's been a while."
"It has been, Uncle. Um..."
"I'm Ise Shou, first-year in the Cybernetics Club."
"I-I'm Izumo Mio..."
"I'm Shou's younger sister, Miki."
We introduced ourselves properly. Bell-buchou called him uncle, so this person must be...
"I'm Tsukasaya Takeshi, owner of Villa Tsukasaya. Shou-kun, Mion-chan, Seth-chan, right? N-I-C-E to meet you♪"
He gave a wink.
“Uncle…”
"Ahahaha! Is that kind of vibe better kept in the game?"
"Please do, it exhausts me..." Bell-buchou replied, deflated. It seemed he really was Gold Onee-sama, but that playful persona was only for in-game. No, that in itself was amazing.
"Now, standing around won't do, so I'll show you to the inn right away. Can you load the luggage over here?"
He opened the back door of a van, and we loaded everyone's luggage. The owner also helped, but,
"Oh, I'm so happy to meet Shou-kun in real life!"
“Huh?”
"It's unlikely we'd meet in IRO, right? Suzune told me that two promising new club members joined, but I never imagined it would be Shou-kun and Mion-chan."
"Ahaha..."
Since the owner, Gold Onee-sama, was Bell-buchou's relative, we had him informed about me and Mion. It would have been stifling to keep it a secret throughout the training camp.
"Alright, get in."
"Yes, yes. Everyone, please get in the back."
Bell-buchou went to the front passenger seat. Yata-sensei and the rest of us divided into the two rows of back seats.
"How is Yuuki-san doing?"
"Ah, perfectly fine. She's been looking forward to all of you coming."
Listening to their casual, family-like conversation, the car entered the main road. After a while, what spread out on both sides was...
"Oh, wow, Sugarcane Fields! Mion, look!"
"Wow..."
"Ooh!"
Mion and Miki in the front seat were both surprised, looking out the window. As for Bell-buchou...
"Isn't it strange that you can tell it's a sugarcane field just by looking?"
"As expected of Shou-kun!"
I'm sorry. I had only researched it because we talked about exploring the Southern Island...
…
…
…
“Yuuki-san!”
“Welcome! I’m glad you could come again this year!”
The owner’s wife, Bell-buchou’s aunt by marriage, I suppose. They seemed quite close, already deep in conversation.
“I’ll take your luggage to the room, so you can check it later.”
“Ah, yes.”
We arrived at the inn in less than 10 minutes from the airport, but what stood there was more of a villa than a guesthouse. Its luxury was completely different from what I had imagined, surprising me, Mion, and Miki.
“Um…?”
“You’ll have this entire building to yourselves~.”
“Seriously…?”
Perhaps anticipating our surprise, Yata-sensei stepped in to clarify. This Villa Tsukasaya was originally a rather expensive inn, a place where celebrities would secretly visit. All of this was because Bell-buchou’s uncle, who was originally a theater troupe member, fell in love with the daughter of the former owner—now his wife—and was adopted into her family.
“It feels like I just heard a lot of private family talk, is that alright?”
“It’s perfectly fine~. Before long, you’ll be hearing them both gush about each other~.”
“O-oh…”
Miki, uncharacteristically, seemed taken aback. By the way, a diving license apparently takes about three days to acquire, and if interested, the owner would teach us. Well, that’s fine… While we were talking, Bell-buchou and the proprietress, I suppose, seemed to have finished their conversation.
“Sorry, I got carried away talking with Suzune-chan. I’m Yuuki Tsukasaya, the proprietress here. If you have any questions, just ask.”
She said, leading us to the room, or rather, the house. She was quite a… large, reassuring proprietress, but probably not very knowledgeable about games, I guess? She mentioned leaving all that to the current owner.
“Come, this is it. My husband has already brought your luggage, so please check it.”
“Thank you~.”
In the incredibly spacious living room, our luggage was neatly arranged in a corner. There were two bedrooms, each with two beds. I would share with Miki, and Mion with Bell-buchou. Yata-sensei would be in the living room, as the sofa apparently converted into a sofa bed.
“By the way, have you eaten lunch? You didn’t last time, did you?”
“We only had a little something sweet~.”
“Oh, that’s right!”
For lunch, we had only eaten apple pie on the plane. Bell-buchou and Yata-sensei had advised us to eat lightly for lunch since dinner would be lavish. Well, that’s fine, but since we were guests and receiving hospitality, we should give a gift.
“Shou-kun. This.”
“Thanks.”
Mion noticed first and retrieved a neatly packaged folding box of apple pie from her luggage. (Incidentally, this folding box was an empty one from expensive sweets sent to UZUME…)
“I’m sorry it’s homemade, but I made some apple pie.”
“Oh my! Thank you so much!”
“Oh? Could it be, Shou-kun’s homemade?”
The owner, who had appeared out of nowhere, was really digging it, probably because he watched our live streams.
“Y-yes…”
“That must be delicious without a doubt! Yuuki, let’s have tea!”
“What are you saying! Suzune-chan and the others said they want to go see the sea, so guide them properly!”