Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 48: The Night Before the Festival
It’s the second week of February and tomorrow is a Day of Rest and the Spring Festival.
However, Mr. Henry still hasn’t invited me to join him. When he came for lunch today, the restaurant happened to be crowded with a group of customers. There was another customer next to Mr. Henry, and he left without having a conversation.
Huh? Wasn’t the Spring Waiting Festival a festival where lovers gather together? I thought to myself as he left. The situation of not being able to freely communicate with each other was like a romantic drama before the advent of cell phones.
I wonder if Henry will be working overtime again tomorrow. I wonder what I should do. Just as I was thinking this, Mr. Henry came to the “Hideaway ” a little past eight o’clock at night.
“That’s unusual. What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to see you.”
He told me so with a happy face. What a cute guy.
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“Right now, the main street is getting ready for the Spring Festival. Would you like to go and see it? The preparations are also worth seeing. There are also night stalls set up for people who come to see the preparations.”
“I’ll be there. I’ll be ready in two minutes, so please wait for me.”
We walked side by side and headed for the main street. The preparations for the festival were more extensive than I had expected. I thought they were just going to set up bonfires on both sides of the street, but it was more than that. Thin ropes were stretched from one roadside tree to another on the other side of the road, and small colorful flowers, stars, fish, and animal motifs were tied to the ropes like the international flags at a sports festival.
“Mai-san, can I hold your hand?”
“Yes.”
As his big hand wrapped around mine, I felt a sense of emotion, thinking (it’s been a long time since I held hands with a man).
“Oh, I’m going to let go of your hand for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
We were approaching the pastry shop when he asked to let go of my hand.
A group of what would be considered junior high school students in Japan appeared from the side. One of them bumped into my back. I felt something was off, so I touched my back, and found that the stick-like candy that the boy was holding was stuck to my back. The boys immediately started talking to me all at once.
“Whoa! Sorry! I’ll wipe it now!”
“You better watch where you’re going.”
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“Sister, I’m sorry, please don’t be angry.”
“Oh, man, it’s sticking again.”
A group of six people surrounded me, talking to me and wiping my back. Just as I was about to say, “That’s enough,” Henry’s low voice came down from overhead.
“That’s enough. Any more and I’ll have you all thrown in jail.”
“Run!”
(What’s going on?) While I was fretting, all the boys ran away.
“What prison? What happened?”
“Classic tactic. Put the drawstring bag in the back of your bag.”
“Ahh! The pouch is about to come out!”
“I see you finally noticed. Let’s go around together.”
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After that, we held hands again and walked through the bustling shopping district.
I had never seen the main street light up at night like this. Many people were busily preparing for the event.
“Mai-san, what are your plans for tomorrow? Are you free?”
“Now?”
I asked back, laughing. Henry is a very good person, but this time I felt he was not getting the point across. I think that’s what’s so cute about him, and that’s why I have a soft spot for him too.*
“Sorry. I’m busy with work right now, and only found out what time I’ll be able to leave the castle today.”
“That’s all right. Work is important.”
Mr. Henry squints his eyes and looks as if he is looking at something dazzling. After a while, he said, “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not angry. It’s okay.”
“Has anyone asked you out yet?”
“Yes. A customer.”
“Ugh. What did you say?”
“I said no, of course. But since you didn’t invite me, I was thinking of coming to see the show by myself.”
“Wow, that was close. a young woman walking alone at the Spring Waiting Festival, it’s like saying, ‘Please call on me.’ Sorry. It was my fault. Please forgive me.”
“I’m not angry.”
Recently, when Henry comes for lunch, he would leave immediately without relaxing. I knew he was very busy without him telling me. I don’t mind waiting. I have time now.
A girl about Sophia’s age runs across the street in front of us. I chuckle, remembering what Sophia-chan said this morning.
“What’s wrong?”
“This morning, while Sophia and I were playing with our stuffed toys, my cat was scolded by Sophia’s rabbit, who said, ‘Don’t drink the bath water! You’ll get a tummy ache!’ It was so funny.”
Hearing that, Mr. Henry started laughing, too. When he laughed, his face became kind all at once.
“she drank it.”
“She must have drank it. Hehe. She’s just so cute, so cute.”
We walked together, laughing for a while. On the way, I remembered something about my experience at the market and decided to tell him. It was about magic, so I asked Henry to bend down and whisper to him.
“Now that I think about it, I found someone with magical powers at the market this morning. It was the method that Mr. Glidden taught me.”
“What? You did it after just one lesson? Really?”
“Yes. It was a lot of fun to identify the other person using detection magic. Shall we try it now?”
“Yes, by all means.”
I moved to the side of the road and cast a thin, wide beam of magical power out of the way of passersby.
Ripples of light spread all around me. But …….
“What? Huh?”
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“What’s wrong?”
“I just had a quick look and there are three beastmen nearby. They are neither cat nor dog type. I see one green and two orange.”
“Let’s go back to ……. Can we talk at the store?”
“Yes.”
Overwhelmed by the seriousness of his expression, I went straight back to the restaurant.
“I want you to be careful not to talk about what you have seen tonight, or what you will see in the future, regarding beastmen. People in this country have no knowledge about beastmen. If information suddenly gets out in such a situation that ‘a number of beastmen are in the royal capital,’ people will become suspicious. People who are suspected may be assaulted. Beastmen, including myself, are dangerous because they are seemingly indistinguishable from ordinary people.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
People fear the unknown. They may become aggressive toward beastmen out of fear. They may blame beastmen for everything that goes wrong. That’s what I thought, too, ever since I found out that Sophia was a beastman.
“I’ve been wondering about this ever since I heard what Dr. Gonza said. He said that there were about 100 of them in the Royal Capital and its surrounding areas, right? Don’t you think that’s strange?”
“You mean there are too many?”
“The opposite”
Hm?
“If it is normal for a child to be born between a human and a beastman, then there would be a good number of them, marrying and having children. The family trees of ancient royalty and high-ranking nobles in the past have proven that repeated marriages within a limited bloodline will cause the descendants to taper off. I don’t think there are a hundred beastmen in total, as there are many different races. It would be unnatural otherwise.”
“Oh, …… it’s a genetic issue.”
Henry’s eyes lit up.
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“What are genes? Can you elaborate?”
“I can only remember what I was taught when I was thirteen or fourteen, and I think there are actually a lot of other factors involved.”
“I don’t mind. Please.”
I brought a piece of paper and a pen and explained Mendel’s laws by drawing a diagram. When I finished explaining, he slowly nodded twice.
“Excellent. Really excellent. The diagram is clear and convincing. Can I take this paper home with me?”
“if you wish.”
“And do you also know the minimum number of people needed to sustain a species?”
“No, not at all.”
Mr. Henry must be in civil servant mode. He has a very crisp, intelligent expression on his face. I can’t help but admire it.
“I suppose things are probably different between complete animals and beastmen. I am very interested, both personally and as a civil servant, to know how many beastmen there are in this country and how many different species there are. I’d like to think of steps we can take to prevent any major human vs. beastman conflicts down the road.”
Then the ten o’clock bell rang.
“It’s getting late. I’ll come and pick you up tomorrow evening after six o’clock. Let’s go to the Spring Festival together.”
“Yes. Yes, let’s.”
“Well, good night!”
After giving me a gentle hug, Mr. Henry hesitated for a moment and then gave me a kiss on the forehead. Then, shyly and avoiding eye contact, he put the paper I had illustrated in his breast pocket and hurried off.
I had a feeling that Mr. Henry’s mind had been stolen by Mendel’s laws, but oh well. Henry is so cool and cute when he’s engrossed in new information.
TL Note
‘巾着袋’ (pronounced “kinchaku-bukuro”), a traditional Japanese drawstring bag. Kinchaku-Bukuro is a traditional Japanese bag that is carried with the kimono