Kays Translations

Chapter 17: Dream Chaser

It took about an hour by car to reach the hot spring area, which also served as a tourist spot.

During the journey and at the hot springs, nothing unusual happened. Unlike Tokyo, the occurrence of monsters here was low. It was impossible to be attacked by monsters while driving, unlike in Tokyo.

The view from the window of the car, driven by Renji, was lush greenery. This scenery was something you couldn’t see in Tokyo. However, I recalled going to Okutama for “bear hunting” when I was five years old. You could see this in Tokyo too, I guess…

“Where are we going next?”

“Oh, I thought of going to the winery to buy souvenirs, like wine. We’re going back the day after tomorrow anyway.”

“Oh, I see.”

When Renji-san said that, I remembered that I hadn’t asked about the schedule for the proper trip.

Thinking about it as a two-night, three-day trip seemed like a normal vacation. However, for exorcists like my father, Renji-san, and Irena-san, it must have been quite challenging to take such a vacation. Seeing their usual work, I couldn’t help but think that they must have made quite a lot of adjustments.

Or maybe Akane-san took care of it for them. It wouldn’t be surprising if she showed that kind of consideration.

Speaking of which, my father said he would receive a letter from Akane-san addressed to the blacksmith. I wonder where he intends to have it delivered. Maybe the inn. Well, it wouldn’t be for pickup at a convenience store. There aren’t any around here.

Well, it’s fine to return the day after tomorrow, but…

“What will happen to our school?”

“Hmm…”

Nina-chan, sitting on the left side, shivered at Renji-san’s response.

“Currently, Kamirazuki is handling it, but… I don’t think the school will reopen immediately.”

“Then…”

Before I could ask what would happen, Renji-san continued.

“I think it will be up to the Board of Education, but don’t worry, it won’t be anything bad. They have strong ties to Kamirazuki, after all.”

“Is that so?”

“Otherwise, how could they dispatch exorcists to schools, right?”

Renji-san’s expression was serious as he said that. I recalled when I had just entered elementary school, he had said, “Monsters gather at schools.” Where people gather in groups, monsters are drawn to them. And to exorcise them, exorcists are dispatched.

Unfortunately, due to a shortage of manpower, there are no full-time exorcists at our elementary school… That’s what my father said.

“However, according to the current reports from Kamirazuki, some teachers and students seem to be regaining consciousness little by little. At this rate, everyone might be back to normal in less than a month.”

“Is that so?”

I was delighted at Renji-san’s encouraging report.

But I couldn’t bring myself to say “that’s good.” Sure, if you only consider the school, the outcome seems positive. No one died at school; they only lost consciousness.

But… I couldn’t say “I’m glad” when I thought about Nina-chan sitting next to me.

Because I saw it.

The hellish scene created by “Marionette of the Sixth Rank” in England.

As I recalled that, a large parking lot and a winery came into view in front of us.

“Hey, Renji-san, exorcists usually don’t drink alcohol, right? So why buy wine as a souvenir?”

“Exorcists don’t drink, but they’re supported by various people. Like the cleanup crew, and Kamirazuki.”

“Hmm.”

As Renji-san said that, I groaned.

Come to think of it, when I was working in my past life, people who went on trips during the Bon holidays would distribute souvenirs to their coworkers. Human nature shows in such small gestures.

By the way, I had been watching YouTube throughout the Bon holidays, so I didn’t go out at all. Come to think of it, I really didn’t do anything in my past life.

As I indulged in such pointless reminiscences, Aya-chan asked Renji-san with interest,

“Hey, Dad. Is wine delicious?”

“It depends on the person, I like it.”

As he replied, Renji-san parked the car in the parking lot.

“Aya-chan and the others can’t drink wine because they’re kids… but there’s grape soft serve and grape juice here, so I think they’ll enjoy it.”

“Really!?”

Upon hearing that, Aya-chan leaned forward eagerly, unbuckling her seatbelt.

“I’m looking forward to it, Itsuki-kun!”

“Yeah. I hope it’s delicious.”

I replied and also unbuckled my seatbelt like Aya-chan.

I thought there would only be wine at a winery, but surprisingly, there were various other things.

And if there’s grape juice, Nina-chan can drink it. Or rather, can she eat ice cream? I hadn’t even considered that possibility.

While thinking about that, we got out of the car and joined our fathers who had parked nearby.

We entered the winery smoothly.

Upon entering, we were greeted by shelves filled with wine bottles and the smell of alcohol. I wondered if they really sold juice and ice cream… As I looked around the store, there was indeed a small food court in the back, and they did sell ice cream there.

Hmm, where’s the juice…?

As I looked around, Aya-chan pulled my hand.

“Look, Itsuki-kun. There’s juice!”

“Hmm? Oh, you’re right.”

Looking where Aya-chan pointed, I saw bottled grape juice.

They were selling it, but it was about 1000 yen. Seriously? And it’s not even in a carton but in a bottle?

I remember when I was small and couldn’t leave the house, my father bought something like this as a souvenir. But is it really this expensive?

However, compared to other wines, it seemed quite cheap. My sense of money is getting messed up.

While I was shaking at the price of the juice, Irena-san behind us took Nina-chan’s hand.

“It seems you can also taste it.”

Irena handed us small cups with grape juice in them.

When I tasted it, the rich taste and aroma of grape juice spread in my mouth.

It’s definitely worth 1000 yen… I silently reviewed the taste with my foolish palate. But Nina-chan murmured quietly,

“…It’s delicious.”

“In that case, shall we buy it as a souvenir?”

As soon as I said that, Irena had already put two bottles into the basket. She moves fast.

It was delicious, and I wanted to give some to Hina, so I thought I’d ask my father. But I couldn’t see him anywhere.

Where did he go? I wondered as I searched for him, and right behind me, Renji-san and my father were choosing wine.

“Does Akane-san like red wine?”

“That woman will drink anything.”

“In that case, shall we buy both?”

The two fathers picked up a couple of promising wines, one red and one white.

As Renji-san was putting them into the basket, my father shifted his gaze to a completely different red wine.

“Come to think of it, doesn’t red wine taste better when aged?”

“Hmm? Yeah, that’s what they say, but you’d need a wine cellar. Are you going to buy it?”

“No, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to buy one for the family’s memories.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Good wine ages well, they say.”

Renji-san said that, and my father smiled quietly.

“Yeah, it’s a dream for when Itsuki becomes an adult.”

I wonder how many years it will take for that dream to come true… I thought as I headed towards my father with the bottle of juice.

After we finished paying, we moved to the food court to eat grape soft serve ice cream. There was regular vanilla ice cream too, but everyone naturally chose grape soft serve. I did the same, of course.

Eating ice cream at a winery was a first for me, and maybe because it was my first time, it felt like the flavor was richer than regular ice cream… My opinions are either intense or weak, it seems. I’m getting sad thinking about how foolish my palate is.

However, while I was feeling sad, both Nina and Aya-chan were enjoying their ice cream, and above all, it was good that Nina-chan could eat it too.

And then, just as we were thinking about where to go next… my father’s phone vibrated slightly.

“Itsuki, a letter from Akane-san has arrived.”

My father said after checking his phone.

Maybe he received an email or SMS.

Maybe I’m just too modern to think that letters would be fine in that case too.

“What should we do? If we’re going today, we have to go now to make it in time…”

“In that case, let’s go now.”

“…You don’t have to push yourself, okay?”

Certainly, considering my priorities until yesterday, it would have been fine to visit the blacksmith’s tomorrow. But it’s different now. The “Fairyland” that Harunaga taught me about. The blacksmith might know how to get there.

So I shook my head.

“No, I want to ask that person something.”

“Something you want to ask? Hmm. Well, if Itsuki is up for it, let’s go now.”

My father said that and put away his phone, then hurried over to Renji-san and the others to explain the situation.

As I watched my father explaining to Renji and the others, Nina-chan, who had been standing silently next to me, spoke up.

“Umm, Itsuki. I’m prepared.”

Before I could ask “prepared for what?”, she continued.

“I-if… if I’m told to ‘stay’ again next time, I’ll… I’ll go there…”

I could tell her legs were trembling.

I could tell she was pushing herself.

Come to think of it, Nina-chan has been a child who pushes herself since we met. She wanted Irena-san to look at her, to look back at her, so she decided to become an exorcist. Even though she would hyperventilate just from seeing monsters, she still tried to move forward.

That’s why I had to say it.

“Nina-chan, I…”

Even now, it’s the same.

Nina-chan was reminded of being “mocked” by the “Marionette,” stumbled in her goal as an exorcist.

Nevertheless, she’s saying such reckless things in order to assert her own worth.

That’s why I have to put it into words.

“I don’t need a magic sword so much that I would abandon my friends.”

That stance hasn’t changed.

There are other uses for relics besides magic swords.

They can be used as fairies even without being made into swords.

But friends cannot be changed.

I mean, it’s not sensible to sacrifice friends just to get a sword.

Whether my feelings got across or not, Nina-chan didn’t say anything after that.

Instead, Aya-chan returned with my father.

“Itsuki-kun. Are you going to visit that blacksmith’s grandfather now?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“I’ll come too. I think Nina-chan will come too.”

In response to Aya-chan’s words, Nina-chan nodded.

“In that case, I have to go too.”

I don’t get it. Why does it turn into a “in that case”? But not understanding girls is nothing new, so I just replied, “Yeah, that’s right” for now. I don’t understand the meaning, but nods are important.

So, this time, instead of Renji’s car, we got into my father’s car and set off.

“We’ll go back to the inn first to receive the letter.”

Ah, so we were receiving it at the inn after all… I thought as the car started moving.

However, the winery and the inn are close.

We stopped by the inn in less than an hour, my father picked up the letter in the envelope, and this time, we set off for the mountains. We followed the road I saw yesterday, but this time, my father was driving, and we moved through the mountains again.

“…Hmm.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The mist…”

The moment we entered the mountains, our field of vision turned pure white again.

Since I couldn’t see anything like this, as usual, I created lenses to cut through the magic fog with “Transformation” and secured my vision.

We parked the car at the same place as yesterday, and we climbed the narrow mountain path again.

There was an accident on the way where Nina-chan ran out of energy and had to take a break… but we arrived at the blacksmith’s hut again, almost a day later.

And then, what caught my attention again was…

“Hey, Dad. This is a peach tree, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

The first to react to my father’s acknowledgment was not me, but Aya-chan.

“Huh!? But peach blossoms bloom in March, don’t they?”

“This is a place with a strong ley line. It’s not uncommon for flowers that don’t usually bloom to bloom due to the strong vitality.”

Saying that, my father continued walking.

Certainly, that explanation makes sense… but it reminds me of what Harunaga said. But I have to ask the blacksmith about the “Fairyland.”

My father knocked forcefully on the door of the large cabin near the peach tree.

“Sensei, are you there?”

As he called out, there was a thud from inside the cabin.

And then, along with the sound of footsteps coming towards us from inside the cabin, the door opened.

“So you’ve surprisingly returned early.”

And with those murky eyes, the old man looked down at us and continued.

“Shall I ask whether you’ve decided to leave that child behind?”

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter