episode_0008

Having been forcibly forbidden from sex with Machiko, I wandered around to fulfill my original objective: item farming.

Of course, I was in a terrible mood.

I started item farming near Sōta’s place, where my game memories were strongest, and gradually expanded my search radius.

For reference, items weren’t just in boxes; they were scattered in various places, like wall crevices, under large rocks, or even beneath some middle-aged man’s wig.

How long had I been item farming?

Just as my stomach began to rumble, I sat on a newly installed park bench nearby and checked the items I’d collected.

[Aphrodisiac] [Stamina Enhancer] [Reverse Bunny Girl Outfit] [Health Potion]

“Hehe. I found quite a lot.”

The moment I checked the items, a joyful smile naturally appeared, erasing the terrible mood I’d been in earlier.

It was a considerable haul for a day’s work, and I’d also accumulated a good amount of money, as I’d found simple cash during the farming process.

No. In fact, the biggest reason, more than all of that, was that I’d acquired an unexpected treasure while item farming this time.

That is.

[Miniature Camera & Miniature Recorder]

An item that would be crucial for my strategy to conquer Miyuki.

Originally, I planned to approach it by gradually breaking down her walls, just like in the game. But with this, there was no need for that.

‘Since I’ve decided to have her anyway, I should do it quickly.’

Thinking that, I carefully placed the miniature camera and recorder into my pocket.

This was a very important treasure needed for the strategy. I had to keep it precious.

“Phew. Well, I suppose it’s time to go eat.”

After all, you have to eat to live.

With that, I stood up from the bench.

My target was the convenience store that, according to Takuya’s memory, had opened a few days ago.

***

Rummaging through Takuya’s memories, I easily arrived at the convenience store.

Chime. Chime.

“Thank you. Please come again.”

I microwaved my bento box there and then went outside.

The moment the convenience store door closed, I cursed as I looked at the bento box in my hand.

“Seriously? What the hell, I can’t even eat inside?”

What kind of place is this?

Even in Korea, where hospitality has gone to shit, you can still eat inside.

After cursing the convenience store for a moment.

“Sigh… Right. This is my fate.”

I simply let out a deep sigh and accepted reality. After all, nothing would change no matter how much I grumbled.

Next time, I’ll turn dark and forcibly eat my bento inside the convenience store, even if the part-timer glares at me.

I vowed that internally and began looking for a suitable place to eat.

The convenience store front was out, for starters.

Looking at the scorching ground before my eyes, it felt like if I sat there to eat, my bento box would spoil before I even finished my meal. No, wait. Would it melt before that?

Therefore, the convenience store front was out. And the nearby park…

Scrape!

The first one was under construction.

“Don’t let go of my hand!”

The second was filming some kind of drama.

“Moan♥ Be rougher!”

“Of course! Darling!”

‘Damn it.’

The third one, where I clearly expected to hear moans from a man and a woman, was instead filled with moans from two men.

If it were female moans, I might have felt like I was listening to R-rated ASMR. But between men, it was a bit…

For these reasons, the park was also out.

The problem was, if the park was out, there wasn’t really anywhere else to eat…

‘Is there anywhere good? A place with few people, where I can eat my meal peacefully.’

After pondering for a while, sweating profusely.

‘Now that I think about it. Is there a shrine nearby?’

Suddenly, a moderately sized shrine I’d found while rummaging through Takuya’s memories came to mind.

As I recalled, there was no one residing there to manage the shrine, so it should be fine to eat there.

Thus, my next destination was decided: the nearby shrine.

Fortunately, the shrine wasn’t too far.

Perhaps because it was a shrine located on a slight hill above a flat plain, it was about a 5-minute walk.

Aside from the path being a bit winding, the shrine was in an excellent location.

As an added bonus, there were plenty of trees, making it an ideal spot to avoid the sunlight.

I sat on the shrine’s wooden veranda and opened the lid of the bento box I’d bought.

First, the smell… hmm… it passed the test.

The pleasant aroma of rice and meat wafted gently.

The pickled plum on top of the rice was a bit disappointing, but since it was Japan, I decided to understand.

Alright. So, how about the taste?

I rubbed the chopsticks together in my palms, anticipating the taste of the bento.

Honestly, it was a bit much to expect anything from a Japanese bento in 2009.

There was nearly a 20-year difference from what I knew, after all.

Even so, the reason I bought the bento was due to a vague expectation of Japanese bentos I’d had since long ago.

It was that feeling of “Anime and YouTube praised them so much! It’ll be fine!”

Of course, if I was disappointed, I wouldn’t eat it for about 10 years.

Thinking that, I broke apart the wooden chopsticks, scooped up a large portion of rice, and put it directly into my mouth.

No.

-Buzzing.

I tried to put it in.

Due to the sudden intense gaze from beside me, I didn’t drop the rice I was about to put into my mouth… instead, I put it in, and then neatly added the rolled omelet and pickled plum too.

I wasn’t the kind of person who couldn’t eat because of a gaze.

Only after thoroughly chewing the food in my mouth and swallowing it, did I turn to look beside me.

And what I saw when I turned was.

“What do you want, kid? Do you need something?”

It was a pretty-looking girl with long black hair and black eyes, the kind who might appear in an anime flashback scene.

Of course, I merely thought she was pretty; there was no surge of hidden ‘lolicon energy’ boiling up inside me.

I just felt like she’d get a lot of affection during Chuseok.

Anyway, I asked the girl who was intently staring at me—no, at my bento box.

At my question, the girl, who had been engrossed in my bento box, seemed to snap out of it and looked me directly in the eye before speaking.

“I’m not a kid!”

Saying such a thing was already proof she was a kid, but I didn’t bother correcting her.

“So what, kid?”

Of course, I never said I wouldn’t call her a kid.

At my words, the girl—no, the kid—flared up.

“I’m all grown up!”

“In my eyes, you’re a kid.”

“Is being tall everything?!”

“Yes, it is.”

Hmm. A pretty sharp question for a kid. But.

“That’s right. I’m short too. But something else is big.”

“Liar. Show me proof!”

“No.”

I was a confident member of society who could shamelessly lie about facts (past tense).

At my reply, the kid stomped her feet, seemingly indignant, and glared at me, but I just continued to nonchalantly tease her by calling her a kid.

The problem was, perhaps because I teased her too much.

“Ugh. You’re annoying…”

The kid’s delicate brow began to furrow, and it seemed as if a button that shouldn’t be pressed had been.

As the kid said that, she suddenly chanted some indecipherable words, and to my surprise, the color of her eyes began to change.

From black eyes to the complete opposite color, white eyes.

While I was flustered by her bizarre appearance.

[That kid’s bothering me. Punish him!]

The girl seemed to be speaking to someone in an incomprehensible voice.

Of course, I couldn’t perceive if there was actually something there, but I could tell by instinct.

That the kid had summoned something here.

I pondered how to react to that sight, but.

[You can’t? What do you mean? You’ve been good to me until now!]

Suddenly, a look of confusion began to appear on the kid’s face.

No. Beyond that.

[What, look closely at that kid? What do you mean…]

A look of fear even began to surface.

“H-hiccup!”

Ah. I even made her cry.

I couldn’t understand what kind of situation this was, seeing the kid suddenly terrified and staring at me.

First she got annoyed looking at my face, then she got scared, and now she’s crying—what in the world am I supposed to do?

As if today hadn’t been screwed up enough, my already irritable mood worsened even further.

‘Sigh… Still, she’s a child. Should I try to comfort her?’

I thought internally, ‘Still, I should comfort her…’ and tried to soothe the kid—no, the girl.

“Waaah! I’m sorry! Please don’t kill me!”

When I approached a little. She started crying like this again.

Moreover, unlike before, she wailed as if the sky would split.

I’m seriously going crazy.

After that, I had to spend a long time trying to comfort the unfamiliar girl.

It was incredibly unfair.

***

After comforting her for a long time, and only after she realized that I was a safe person and had no intention of harming her, did the girl stop crying.

“Sniffle…”

As an added bonus, she introduced herself, saying she wasn’t a kid, but a girl named Misaki.

And then she explained why she cried. It was quite… odd.

“So, you’re a spirit medium, and you see a strange, dangerous-looking ghost behind me?”

“Mm… sniffle.”

She said it was because she had seen a ghost.

At her words, I asked the kid—no, Misaki—in a dumbfounded tone.

“A ghost from legends or folk tales?”

“Sniffle. Mm…”

Are you some kind of shaman?

“Sigh… right…”

“You believe me?!”

“I don’t know, brat.”

It seemed I’d somehow gotten caught up with a strange kid.

***

[Among the farmed items, there may be objects necessary for episode progression.]