Chapter 57: Honored Visitor

“Thank you very much. You’ve truly helped us.”

“I’m glad I could be of use.”

The next day, I visited Yuuka’s family home to repay the money I had borrowed the other day. It seemed only Yuuka’s mother was home today.

From the battle with the Abystortas until today, I had participated in flea markets every day and desperately saved money. I had borrowed as much as one hundred thousand yen to pay for the drone, binoculars, wireless headsets, and other self-defense products we had prepared for the fight, so I had worked hard to call customers over too…

All that effort paid off, and I managed to repay the debt in full. I was already practically a kept man. If I added debt on top of that, I would be a complete failure as a human being…

“More importantly than the money, I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“I was relieved that Yuuka returned safely. It was her own decision, but as her parent, I would rather she didn’t do anything too reckless.”

“I’m truly sorry!”

I bowed deeply to her mother again. This was a far greater issue than the money.

Naturally, we had told Yuuka’s parents about the Abystortas. I had assured them there was almost no danger, yet Yuuka ended up suffering an injury severe enough to require a high potion, and Aoi’s spell left her unable to move for a full day afterward. Her parents had only just learned that Yuuka was safe. Of course they wanted her to avoid putting herself in danger.

During that time, it had been difficult for Yuuka even to walk or eat by herself. I tried to help feed her and assist with other things, but Aoi promptly took charge of all of it, which left me feeling rather apologetic.

“Oh, I wasn’t blaming you, Kakeru-san. Ever since she was little, once she made up her mind about something, she would charge straight ahead… or perhaps I should say she was single-minded. Even if we tried to stop her, I’m sure she would still act for the sake of her benefactor, Kakeru-san. It would help us if you could keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t do anything too reckless.”

“Yes!”

Somehow, she ended up bowing to me instead. I was the one at fault for asking Yuuka, so I felt truly sorry.

Now that she mentioned it, after being transferred to the other world, Yuuka had worked single-mindedly to save Haruka-chan without looking aside. She had risen all the way to S rank in just two years, so perhaps her will really was that strong.

Surely nothing like this would happen again. Rain was also going to use his influence to arrange for Yuuka to take a break from adventuring for a while, so she should be fine.

“…All right. Aoi’s family home looks fine too.”

After Yuuka’s home, I went to Aoi’s as well. There was no sign of troublesome people such as reporters or video uploaders hanging around the neighborhood. Looking at social media, the outrage surrounding Gondo seemed to have calmed down somewhat. Trials took a considerable amount of time from their beginning until a verdict, so I would keep monitoring the situation until then.

At this point, checking Aoi’s family home about once a month, just like my own, might be enough. Even after reincarnating and visiting my family home, I had continued to check on it once a month. Somehow, even after being reincarnated, I still worried a little about my family.

Now then, all that remained was to shop as usual and return to the other world.

“Hm?”

After finishing my check on Aoi’s home, I headed toward the deserted park on the outskirts of town that I normally used. Whenever I checked Aoi’s home, I came to this empty park, confirmed that no one was nearby, put on the Void Robe, and used [Return to Japan]. That way, even if someone happened to see me activate my skill, they would be unable to perceive me.

Ordinarily, there wasn’t even anyone on the street in front of the park, but today someone stood near its entrance. She was a tall woman wearing a close-fitting black suit and pitch-black sunglasses.

This wasn’t a business district, and her outfit looked terribly out of place in such a quiet area. It certainly wasn’t her large chest that had caught my eye. For some reason, the woman also seemed to be looking straight at me.

My foreign appearance and the fact that I was more handsome than in my previous life meant people often stared at me, but I hesitated to enter the park like this. It couldn’t be helped. Today, I would use [Return to Japan] somewhere else.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, honored visitor from another world.”

“!?”

The words were clearly directed at me, and my mind went blank.

However, perhaps because I had learned from the Abystortas’s unexpected attack the other day, my body moved on its own. I gripped my necklace and activated the self-defense magic tool, raising an invisible barrier around myself.

I focused, preparing to use [Return to Japan] and escape to the other world—

“Please wait! We have no intention of harming you! Please, just hear me out!”

“………………”

The woman in the suit raised both hands to show that she meant no harm. Seeing that, I stopped myself from using [Return to Japan].

When I thought about it, if she had meant me harm, she wouldn’t have called out first. If she wanted to attack me, she would have done so; if she meant to imprison me, she would have used something fast-acting, such as a stun gun or a sedative, from behind.

What did she want to discuss? More importantly, how did she know the other world existed?