Chapter 4 – Wait!! (Part 1)
The girl from Hidamari-tei approached me with a smiling face. However, that smile amplified the terror inside my heart, instead.
I’ll turn into a frog the moment “Judgement of the Spirit” comes out from her mouth.
Deprived of my human rights, forced to join those guys in that dim wetland….
No, I don’t want it.
I should escape from this situation!
“Customer!?”
“Y-Yes!!!” (Yashiro)
I answered with a sprained voice. I felt suffocated by the fact that my life was being held by the hand of the girl in front of me. The girl stopped in front of me and extended her hand.
Ah, it’s coming!
She’s going to call Judgement of the Spirit!
She’s going to declare the end of my life!
I firmly closed my eyes as I resigned myself to the fate. However, I suddenly felt a soft touch on one of my hands, instead. Slowly, I opened my eyes to look at the situation, and found the girl from Hidamari-tei took my hand.
No way, a flag!? Is this where the situation turned to the other way around!?
“I’ve been looking for you since the sun rose because I wanted to return this!”
The girl put something on my hand. That was the dummy wallet I left at her restaurant last night.
………… wanted to return this!?
“You left while forgetting your wallet, so I was worried. I kept waiting until dawn, but since there was no sign of you coming back, I decided to go looking for you when the sun rose.”
I’m speechless….
What the hell is she talking about!?
“I’m sorry for being late. I hope you didn’t get into a trouble because of this.”
I didn’t get into a trouble. I intentionally left that wallet after all. There’s also nothing to forgive or to worry about.
“Well, anyway, I’m glad I’ve finally found you. You shouldn’t forget your wallet again, okay? Ehehehe, you’re unexpectedly quite careless, Customers!”
The girl chuckled, bowed to me once, turned around, and then started walking away.
Oi, you forgot to charge me for the dinner!
Aren’t you quite careless yourself!?
What’s the hell with her!?
Didn’t she realize that she had been tricked?
Were you really waiting for me all night to come back?
Were you really looking for me all the way here since the dawn?
To deliver this dummy wallet?
Worried if I would be in trouble, showed such a relieved expression when she found me was fine, but she forgot the most important thing — the payment for the meal I ate last night……. are you stupid?
Walking tall and proud, no hesitancy shown from a small back of the girl who was gradually getting away.
Look, there’s a genuine fool over there!
She’s not cut out for running a business. She’s not even cut out to live a normal peaceful life. I can see her crying in the future.
Get deceived badly, driven to an irreversible point, having her life fvcked, saying “it can’t be helped” or “sorry”, before finally give up and choosing to die.
Looking at her small back as she walked along the main street, I suddenly remembered my foster parents.
They were not good people, but fools.
Never doubting other people even though they had been betrayed so many times
Never understand no matter how many times I told them.
The result was life full of hardship.
The image of the girl seemed to be overlapped with the image of my foster parents. Then, at the same time the girl's figure disappeared from my sight, I felt an intense anger surged from the bottom of my heart.
Don’t screw with me!
Are you pitying me?
That’s not funny!
I live much better life than you do!
Being fooled by the others and living a life full hardship without even a single complaint. If you are a person on the side of being exploited, I am on the side to exploit. Our standing is completely different.
I’m smart and you’re stupid.
Yeah, those who get deceived are at fault.
Those who smile even though they have been deceived or exploited are not good people but fools.
Did she return this to me without realizing that she had been tricked?
It’s impossible she doesn’t aware that I dine-and-dashed.
It doesn’t make any sense that she forgot to ask the payment.
“Judgement of the Spirit”, even though she could end my life with that single line, she abandoned her superior position and left….
DON’T LOOK DOWN ON ME!!!
I’m not a weak guy who needs your sympathy.
I’m not someone like you who couldn’t live without other people’s help.
I don’t need your kindness.
“H-Hey, wait!!!” (Yashiro)
Driven by anger with unknown source, I started running after the girl.
Why am I so angry?
Is it because she was sympathizing me?
Is it because I felt like she was looking down on me?
Is it because she reminded me of my foster parents?
Is it because my heart stirred while remembering the past?
Or... am I actually angry to my past self who couldn’t do anything?
Hey, Me. What are you getting angry about?
Hey, Me. Who are you angry with?
I don’t know!
I don’t know, but I feel like I need to do something about this anger.
I saw the girl entered an alley on the side of the main road.
That’s the direction to her restaurant. I guess she’s going home.
“I don’t need your sympathy!”
“Don’t get cocky when you’re living in poverty!”
“Help yourself before thinking about helping the other people!”
I will catch up to her and say those words to her face. For a stupid girl like you, it’s ten years too early for you to help someone.
I inserted my hand into my blazer’s pocket where I kept the 3,000 Rb I’ve got at the tavern. The silver coins inside made a clinking sound.
There are 30 of them, so each coin is probably worth 100 Rb. The price of stir-fried vegetables is 20 Rb. Well, it’s fine. I will give that girl 100 Rb.
I gripped the 100 Rb coin hard. The moment I was about to enter the narrow side street where the girl went….
“Geh!?” (Yashiro)
.…my feet involuntarily stopped. On a large bulletin board installed on the corner of the street, besides a simple map of 42nd District where things like the guild memo or the likes had been posted, I saw a poster with a familiar face drawn on it.
This is Me….!?