Volume 3 Chapter 4 Part 4
We took our seats. Just as the copypasta had predicted, we were directly in the line of sight of the men sitting at the other end of the U-shaped table.
This was definitely not a date location. I could almost hear the burly men from across the table looking down on us, telling us that this was a place for warriors looking to gorge themselves on somewhat decent, reasonably priced food. [1. TL Note: this entire section is just memeing about the copypasta]
「Ah… what else did I expect…」
「Sir Thor, is something the matter?」Ria asked in broken Japanese.
I had asked her to speak in Japanese in crowded places.
It gave off the impression that she was a cute foreigner who’d barely learned Japanese, but that only caused fiercer stares from the men sitting across from us.
Our two orders of large beef bowls with egg arrived.
「How should I eat this?」
「Break the egg and mix it on this plate here, then pour it over the rice.」I said, demonstrating with my own order. Ria copied my actions, then took a bite of her food.
「Mm~ it’s delicious~ I can’t believe you can get all this for less than a onecoin.」[2. TL Note: Onecoin is a term referring to 500-yen (aka the 500 yen coin)]
Ria even knew terminology like ‘onecoin,’ huh.
She really was conscientious when it came to finances.
Abruptly, I felt the atmosphere of the restaurant change. It was as if the savage warrior spirits of the men sitting across the U-shaped table had suddenly quieted when confronted by the sight of a beautiful, blonde girl who was happily stuffing her face with a 430 yen large beef bowl topped with egg. Everyone was staring at Ria, and they all seemed to be in paradise.
「That was delicious~!」
「Yeah. It was.」
Every time I went to Yoshiyamaya, I felt compelled to eat until I was completely stuffed without a care for taste. But today, I was able to truly savor the flavor of my meal.
「Every type of Japanese food tastes so good!」Ria commented. 「But shall we head home now?」
「Actually, there was somewhere I wanted to take you.」
「Eh? Where?」
I pointed towards the sky. Towards a towering man-made structure. And running along that structure was a box-like object.
「What’s that?」
「A vehicle.」
「Y-you mean, you can ride on that thing!?」
「Yup. We’re gonna ride it. It’s called a monorail.」
A monorail ran throughout Tachikawa.
When I saw it in the manga earlier, I knew I had to take Ria for a ride.
「It’s… certainly high up, isn’t it.」
「The city skyline at night is really pretty up. You have to see it.」
The fare for riding all the way to the last stop and back was 620 yen per person.
But the night skyline was really the best. And besides…
「W-w-w-woah! People actually ride on it!」
「Well, hopefully it’s empty right now.」I said. I didn’t want to board a vehicle crowded with people.
Luckily, other than the two of us, the monorail car was completely empty. Like with a train, the seats in the monorail faced each other from across the aisle. Only two pairs of seats at the very front faced forward, one pair on either side.
They were kind of like half box seats, where the other passengers couldn’t see you.
Instead of other passengers in front of you and to your side, there were instead large, glass windows where you could see outside.
In other words, at this time of night, it was almost like a private room where you could freely enjoy the nighttime scenery.
「Woaaaaaaaaaaah! Amazing!」
Though she was from the other world, Ria gave off celebrity-vibes in modern Japan. At this point, I’d almost become accustomed to the wide-eye stares we kept receiving, so the fact that no one was watching us was a breath of fresh air.
The monorail slowly began to move.
「Sir Thor! What’s that huge building over there!?」
「That’s EKIA, a furniture store.」[3. TL Note: naturally referring to IKEA]
「What about that place with a ton of cars?」
「That’s LuLuport.」[4. TL Note: refers to LaLaport, a shopping center. Thank god for google autocorrect else there’s no way I would have known what they were referencing]
I had banked on the mood being a little more intimate though.
The area where we first boarded the monorail was the most developed part of Tachikawa, so the city scenery below gradually grew to resemble more of a residential area.
「It’s so pretty. It’s like there’s a starry night sky on the ground.」
For me, the city at night was the prettiest scenery I’d experienced, but for Ria, who was used to the other world, the sparsely populated residential areas must have made her the happiest.
By the time the monorail had turned around, heading back to its original stop, I felt like Ria had moved a little closer to me.
「Sir Thor.」
「Hm? What?」
I answered absentmindedly, totally immersed in the outside scenery.
「Do you feel cold?」
「Now that you mention it, yeah.」
It was early winter, and every time the monorail made a stop, the doors would open. Because of how large the doors were, the frigid winter air could easily make its way inside the compartment.
「Excuse me.」
「Eh?」
Ria removed the long muffler from around her neck. Then, she brought her shoulder close to mine and wrapped it around both our necks.
「Is this warmer?」
「Yeah.」
The muffler, warmed by Ria’s body heat, was certainly warmer.
But that wasn’t the only reason. A glance at Ria’s profile revealed her red, blushing cheek. I was probably in a similar state.
Despite having come this far, Ria was much quieter than the way here, barely even speaking word.
As if to compensate for that, she moved even closer to me.
As we travelled back towards the city region, the starry night sky below us gradually became the sparkling lights of the city. As we neared LuLuport and EKEA, Ria asked softy.
「Um, yesterday, what did you do with Deet?」
At the sudden question, I lost all forms of coherence. 「W-wh-what did we do? N-nothing much…」
I hadn’t pierced the heavens or anything.
「I’m not trying to criticize you.」Ria said.
She sounded sincere, without a trace of mockery in her voice. Rather than kindness or gentleness, it sounded more as if she were embarrassed, stumbling over her words.
「Um… I know that Sir Thor likes Deet. She’s really pretty, and compared to me, she, um…」
I knew what she was trying to say. Something about Deet’s sex appeal, probably. But in Ria’s case, I also…
I tried to tell Ria, but for some reason, I was at a complete loss for words.
As I frantically tried to stutter out a sentence, Ria interrupted me.
「It’s okay, Sir Thor.」Ria smiled. 「But, if you really did do something with Deet yesterday… and if you’re able to think of me in the same way as Deet, even if just a little… then, could you please do those same things to me?」
A-ah. So it was something like that. Ria glanced at me, embarrassment written all over her face. This time, I could tell she was waiting for me to say something.
All I had to do was gently tell Ria that Deet and I hadn’t done anything. It was a simple mission.
But instead, what came out of my mouth was…
「W-we didn’t do anything. All we did was bathe together.」
「B-bathe together?」
C-crap. In my panic, I’d said too much. The monorail neared Tachikawa station.
The monorail arrived at Tachikawa station.
I stood up, removing the muffler and readjusting it on Ria. Ria silently latched onto my arm and stood up.
The air was freezing outside, but Ria was warm.
「Let’s go.」
「Okay.」
Before I knew it, there was only one hour before midnight.
The station was still bustling with people, and occasionally Ria would still draw some looks, but by the time we arrived back at my apartment street, not a single soul was in sight.
Without the usual presence of human life, the air somehow felt even colder than before.
「Are you cold, Ria?」
「Sir Thor is warm, so I’m not cold.」Ria smiled softly and brought her shoulder closer to mine. 「What about you?」
「I’m fine, but it’s starting to get a little chilly.」
「Yeah. Then, let’s hurry… home… and um… 」
Ria trailed off. Her cheeks flushed as she stared at the ground.
「And?」
「Bathe…」
Ria was probably talking about the thing I’d done with Deet yesterday. In other words, bathe…
「Y-you mean, together?」
Ria tightened her grip on my arm. I couldn’t see her expression, but she nodded several times.
Neither of us said a further word until we reached the apartment.
「We’re home.」
Just as as a precaution, I called out a greeting, verifying that no one else was there. You could never be too careful. Certain unnamed individuals had often let themselves in uninvited in the past. But today, there was no one but the two of us.
Tateishi had sent a LIME message wishing me goodnight. Deet and Shizuku had purposefully made themselves absent.
However, I hadn’t yet mentioned an important detail. That when I’d bathed with Deet, she’d been wearing a school swimsuit.
「Sir Thor.」
Do I tell her, or do I not?
「Sir Thor, Sir Thor.」
「Hm?」
I blinked out of my stupor at Ria’s call.
「What’s wrong? You had a really stern expression.」
「Ah, it’s nothing. Um… I was wondering if you enjoyed the monorail ride.」
「I did! It was an amazing experience.」
I lied without thinking. In that instant, I made up my mind. I wouldn’t tell her about the swimsuit!
「I was entranced by the beautiful Japanese scenery. I think that’s why I was able to find the courage to express my wish.」
「That would be doing the same thing as Deet did… so basically, you want to bathe with me, right?」
「Yes… does that make you uncomfortable?」
So she really did want to. I instinctively shook my head from side to side.
Ria looked relieved. 「Even if you had refused, I was planning on continuing to request it from you though…」
「It’s not like I’m against it.」
「But my chest isn’t as developed as Deet’s… a-and I’m not as sexy…」
Nah. Your chest is more than developed enough, and there was a high demand for refined ladies like you.
I looked at Ria. 「I think you’re extremely attractive…」
「Do you really mean it?」
I nodded, this time not on instinct, but willfully.
「T-then, please go on ahead of me. I-I’ll join you in the bath later.」
「O-okay.」
As I had correctly surmised, girls needed to make certain preparations before bathing. Just like with Deet, I entered the bath first, awaiting Ria.
That said, this time, I had completely failed to mention the school swimsuit part. Not that that had been an accident.
And besides, Ria might choose to wear a school swimsuit regardless.
「Sir Thor… I’m coming in…」
「O-okay. Go ahead.」
I saw skin color beyond the translucent glass. The 100 million yen was coming!!!!!
100,000 yen- er, I mean, navy blue, was also good, but nothing could beat what was about to occur. The glass door opened, and Ria stepped through.
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