Kays Translations

Side Story: Mika’s Perspective, Part 2

While I was playing with Lime, the attendant who had gone to report on me returned.

It seemed they had managed to work things out, and Ren and the others would be coming over later.

I felt awkward about running away without saying anything, but it wasn’t because I disliked them. I just wasn’t ready to face them and talk things out yet.

As I hung my head in regret, the conversation shifted to Lime.

The uncle explained in detail what had happened earlier and asked the attendant what might have caused it.

“It’s likely that Lime evolved into a Dark Slime. I believe it was the result of giving it the magic core, which triggered a species evolution. While I didn’t know that monsters could evolve, judging by the change in its body color and the shape of its core, it’s unmistakably Lime, but it has become a Dark Slime.”

According to the attendant, Lime had evolved.

I had been pretty worried, but if it was an evolution, then it couldn’t be a bad thing.

Still… evolution, huh.

I loved Pokémon, so the very idea of evolution sparked a sense of wonder and excitement in me.

Caught between my heavy feelings about Ren and the others and my excitement over Lime’s evolution, I was a mess emotionally.

As Lime snuggled up to me affectionately, I petted it and found comfort in the simple act. That’s when…

“Mika, I’ve been debating whether to say this, but I can’t hold it in any longer. Please stop calling Sato-san ‘uncle.’ Address him properly as Sato-san.”

The attendant spoke to me in a firm tone.

They had a point. It might have been disrespectful to call him “uncle” when he had taken me in so kindly.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t know his name, so I just called him uncle.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I am, in fact, an uncle.”

“No, it’s absolutely unacceptable! While you’re here, he is Sato-san, and I am Sheila.”

Sheila and Sato.

Now that I knew their names, I resolved to use them properly from now on.

“Got it. So I’ll call you Sheila and Sato, right?”

“I do find your casual approach a little concerning, but fine. Now, Sato-san, shall we return to the farmwork? You’ve made little progress while I was away, haven’t you?”

“That’s right. With Lime’s evolution and all, I still have a lot to do.”

“If it’s tough, I’ll help! Watching you work, it actually looked kind of fun.”

“Really? That would be a big help. Thank you.”

To make myself useful, I decided to help with the tasks Sato had been working on.

Keeping busy would keep my mind off things, and helping Sato and Sheila was a win-win. Time to shake off my gloom and give it my all!

By the time the surroundings were bathed in the colors of twilight, we had finally finished all the work.

Sato had been smiling as he worked, which made it look fun from an observer’s perspective, but actually doing it myself was twice as hard as I had imagined.

Still, the process of growing something turned out to be three times as rewarding as I had expected.

“Whew, I’m beat! It’s way more of a workout than it looks!”

“Dungeon crawling is harder, of course, but farming is no joke. I’d love for you to experience the joy of harvesting vegetables you’ve grown.”

“I want to! I think I’ll stick around here for a while—”

As we were cleaning up, I spotted three figures heading our way.

My refreshed mood was instantly replaced by a racing heart and a tightness in my chest.

“Mika, so you really were here.”

“Why did you leave without saying anything? We were seriously worried!”

“Shoji, please don’t raise your voice. You know Mika had her reasons.”

“Ren, Shoji, Yui, it’s been a while. I’m glad to see you’re all doing well.”

“Uh, yeah… Uncle—thank you for looking after Mika.”

Standing protectively in front of me, Sato began talking with the three of them.

It was a small gesture, but it meant the world to me at that moment.

Thanks to him, I regained enough composure to take a deep breath. After exhaling deeply, I thanked Sato, who was doing his best to give me time to gather myself.

“Not uncle—it’s Sato, right? …Sato, thank you. I’m okay. I’ll keep my promise and talk to them.”

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“Yeah. I was just tired of all the missions and fighting. I still love the three of them.”

“Then that’s good to hear. Take your time and talk it out in the villa’s living room. Sheila and I will wait outside.”

“Um, Sato-san, thank you. I’ll take you up on that.”

“Of course. Take your time and have a thorough conversation.”

With Sato seeing me off, I went into the villa with Ren and the others.

I thought they would scold me for running away, but it turned out they weren’t angry at all.

Even someone as clueless as me could see they were genuinely worried about me.

I started by apologizing for running away without saying anything.

Then, I explained why I had run, and we had an honest, heartfelt conversation.

The biggest surprise was learning that I wasn’t the only one who had been struggling.

Though they might have been sparing my feelings, they admitted that they, too, had been at their limits.

“That really surprised me. Shoji, especially—you always looked like you were having so much fun!”

“Fun is fun, but hard is hard, you know? Like you said, Mika, not being able to bathe and smelling awful was rough, and for me, the worst thing was the food! No matter what I ate, it tasted terrible, and I just couldn’t get any energy from it! It felt like a little piece of my soul was taken away with every meal!”

“I feel the same. I didn’t think much about food before, but bad food is hard to handle. Also, I love sweets, so not being able to eat them was stressful.”

“So we all hated the food. It smelled weird, tasted awful, and even made my stomach upset more often. It really made me appreciate how amazing Japan was.”

Everyone agreed about the food.

Since dungeon crawling was so physically demanding, eating three meals a day was non-negotiable.

But the fact that the food was awful only added to the daily stress.

“So you were all enduring it, too… Oh, that reminds me! I ate a tomato here!”

“A tomato? Like, a red, round tomato?”

“Yeah! A red, round tomato!”

“What!? Why are there tomatoes here?”

“I don’t know either, but Sato was growing them!”

“No way. I really want to eat a tomato now.”

“But there weren’t many, so he might not share.”

“I wasn’t angry about you running away or even struggling… but hearing that you ate a tomato without us makes me furious.”

“Wait, why!? Yui, you sound way too serious—it’s scary!”

“Because I am serious.”

Yui’s smile was warm, but her eyes were serious. Shoji and Ren nodded in agreement.

It seemed I’d have to negotiate with Sato to see if he could share some tomatoes with the three of them, even if it took some time.

“Alright! In that case, I’ll ask Sato myself! It might take a while, but I’m sure he’ll say yes!”

“Ah, no, let me handle this. We’ve already caused trouble with your situation, and I don’t want to impose any more. I’ll negotiate to see if he’ll trade them for something.”

Shoji said.

“I think that’s the right approach. Still… just knowing there are tomatoes here has me really hyped!”

Ren chimed in.

“Same for me. I wasn’t even that fond of tomatoes before, but now I really want one.” 

Yui added.

Their eyes sparkled, and the previously heavy atmosphere shifted back to something lighter and more familiar.

It wasn’t just about the tomatoes—I owed Sato so much. I’d have to find a way to repay him someday.

“For now, leave the negotiations to me. But since we’ve settled everything, we should head out quickly. We’ve kept them waiting outside for long enough.”

With that, we hurried out of the villa.

As soon as we stepped outside, Sato approached with a concerned look, speaking gently to me.

“Mika, are you alright?”

“Yeah! Sato, thank you so much for everything. Because of you, I was able to take my time and have a proper conversation.”

“I’m glad to hear that. So, what did you decide to do next?”

“I’ve decided to stick with everyone a little longer! But… if it doesn’t work out, would you let me come back here to work?”

“Of course. Actually, you don’t need to wait for things to go wrong—feel free to visit anytime.”

“Thank you! Just knowing I have a place to escape to makes me feel so much better!”

“Absolutely. Escape whenever you need to. There’s nothing wrong with running away when you have to.”

There’s nothing wrong with running away—those words resonated deeply with me.

I’d been consumed by guilt for running away, but Sato’s words washed away those feelings, leaving me lighter.

His presence was so warm and comforting. In this unfamiliar world, he became the one person I could show my vulnerable side to without fear.

At the same time… I’d thought of him as just an ordinary, unlucky old guy, but now, he seemed a little bit cool.

Hiding my feelings, I squished my cheeks with my hands to calm down and avoid showing how flustered I was. Then, I started walking toward the carriage.

“Sato, I’ll definitely repay you for this someday!”

“There’s no need for that. Just take care of yourself and help someone else in need when the time comes.”

“Got it! …Sato, you’re just an old man, but you’re kind of cool.”

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

“Nope, nothing at all! I’ll definitely be back!”

After saying my goodbyes, I climbed into the carriage.

It felt like a lifetime ago that I’d fled to this place earlier this morning, even though it was just a single day. My heart felt so much lighter.

Right now, I felt ready to take on dungeons, demon kings, or whatever else came my way.

While I’d caused a lot of trouble for everyone today, for me, it was a precious and irreplaceable day—one where meeting Satou saved me from breaking completely.

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