kscans

Chapter 126 - Someone to Welcome Me Home

(I still can't accept this...)

A day had passed and work was over. As the train swayed, I found I was still hung up on what happened yesterday.

(All I did was the job they wanted!)

...It would be a lie to say I didn't have some personal fun. Yeah, me, Takahashi, and Suzuki all had a blast. Picking a fight with a huge group when you're outnumbered is just plain fun. Using the fact that you're at a disadvantage as an excuse to let your reason melt away is also... well, let's put that aside for now.

(I behaved just as they wanted, and I even got them proper results...)

Isn't that cruel? The air was freezing cold. The stares, like they were thinking, are these guys for real..., just kept stabbing into me. But Satou-kun doesn't give in. They say Satou-kun is as earnest as the Little Match Girl, after all. I will endure the lack of understanding and act as if nothing is wrong.

(Oh, right. I think I'm running out of toilet paper.)

I got off at my station and was about to start walking home when I remembered. It was a bit of a detour, but I decided to stop by the drug store before heading back.

(...Might as well buy some snacks, too.)

Drug stores are devilish places, aren't they. You go in planning to buy only what you need, but before you know it, you've bought snacks and cup noodles that are cheaper than at a regular supermarket. I finished my shopping and this time headed straight home without any more side trips.

"I'm home."

A moment later,

"Welcome home, Hero Uncle."

Saku-chan, wearing an apron, came to greet me. Today marks the third day since Saku-chan came to live here, but... man, this is nice.

"...Um, I can't just ignore this anymore, so I have to ask. Why are you on the verge of tears every time...?" Saku-chan said as she took my jacket, her eyes looking at me as if I were some unknowable creature.

"Coming home to find someone there, who says 'welcome home' to you... that's a truly wonderful thing."

"Huh...?"

"You're still a kid, Saku-chan, so you wouldn't get it. Once you hit your mid-thirties, still single, you'll understand how I feel."

I headed into the living room and plopped down onto the sofa. Then Saku-chan, who had hung my jacket on a hanger, took a beer from the fridge and placed it in front of me. What is this, is she some super considerate wife...? I'm floored by how high her girl-power is, from a guy's perspective, with every little thing she does.

"Dinner's ready, but what do you want to do? Have a bath first?"

"No... let's eat, please."

"Okay. I'll heat it up again, so just wait a minute."

Who would ever think this was a conversation with a high school boy...

"Oh, right. I finished writing up the report, so please grade it."

As she spoke, I looked at the table and saw a file folder. The report was about yesterday's hellish siege. I explained it in fair detail during the meeting, but not everything. I'd omitted the minor points. I had told them to write a report on what they noticed from watching our battle, including things like that.

"...But you did it just one day after yesterday?"

I had them write the report as a team, not individually, so it's not impossible to finish in a day. If they all brainstormed and had Saku-chan and Sarna-chan compile it into sentences, it would probably take some kind of shape. But I was planning on giving them about a week.

"You know what they say, strike while the iron is hot, right? We decided we should do it while it was all still fresh in our minds," Saku-chan answered my muttering while reheating the food in the kitchen.

They're so diligent. Well, three-fourths of the kids' party are the serious type, so I guess it figures.

"Let's see here."

I scanned the loose-leaf pages, beer in one hand. ...Oh? So they noticed I was basically using only elementary spells and techniques. For the hellish siege, I used almost no advanced skills. I centered my tactics on fundamentals like transformation magic, suggestion, perception dampening, and enhancement. Well, even if they're fundamentals, their quality was top-tier. It's like, they're basic techniques, but their mastery and skill levels are high.

(Hmm... and they seem to have a certain degree of understanding about the reasons why, though not all of them.)

There were several reasons I only used fundamentals. One of them was cost. I wanted to conserve resources so I could keep up the harassment for as long as possible. I was harassing them from start to finish. I stated that clearly during the meeting. So the fact they realized this reason is proof they were listening carefully. And it seems they understood the other point I absolutely needed them to grasp.

Reason number two for using basic techniques. It was to show them that a high difficulty of acquisition doesn't necessarily determine superiority. It's true that advanced techniques can be a great weapon if you can master them. But does that mean techniques with a lower difficulty are inferior? No, that's not the case at all. There are even guys who have clawed their way into the upper echelons of the Supernatural World by training a rudimentary magic spell that just shoots a fireball.

(...Well, guys like that are usually weirdos.)

They don't increase the number of cards in their hand, they just keep polishing one. It's easy to say, but hard to do. After all, the technique is basic to begin with. In game terms, it's like your stats don't improve much even when you level up. A late bloomer. The road to seeing any real results is just so long. Many give up along the way, thinking it's far better to turn their attention to something else. Do they lack grit? No, I'd say it's a perfectly natural conclusion. That's just how people are. But these guys swim against that common-sense current. They have to be out of their minds.

"What do you think?"

"I've skimmed through it... it passes, I guess."

"Is that grading leniently? Or strictly?"

"That's a strict assessment. Professor Satou prides himself on being a tough critic... More importantly, food. Food. This old man is starving."

A bowl was placed on the table. Last night, I'd casually mentioned that I wanted to eat gyudon at home, and she magnificently delivered.

"Isn't that too much shichimi?"

"Heh heh, the old man's way is to put on so much shichimi you think it's overkill."

Gyudon is sweet, right? That's exactly why a sharp, zinging spice goes so well with it. I personally think sweet and spicy is a pretty high-ranking flavor combination.

"Time to eat."

"Enjoy your meal."

I start shoveling it down. You don't need good manners for gyudon. Ahhh... so good... the flavor has soaked right into the meat... The soft onions and shirataki noodles are great too. They provide a nice variety of textures.

"You have school starting tomorrow, you going to be okay?"

"It'd be a lie to say I'm not nervous... but yeah, a lot has happened recently."

Compared to all that, this is nothing, Saku-chan said with a smile. Well, yeah. She got caught up in a mobile Alternate Realm and fought monsters, and learned about the deep end of the Supernatural World. It's no surprise her senses have gone numb and a school transfer seems like no big deal.

"I see. But if anything gives you trouble, don't hesitate to rely on your old uncle, okay? I may not look it, but I'm pretty good with relationship problems."

"Okay. I'll be counting on you then, okay?"

"Yeah, leave it to me."

August, with all its happenings, was over. Tomorrow, a new chapter begins.

(Time for a fresh start. I'll give it my all again.)