Ch.51Child Care (4)

“Big bro!! Play with me!!”

“Cafes are boring!!”

The children immediately shifted their target to me after finishing their shaved ice.

“Alright, alright.”

Well, cafes aren’t fun for kids. I stroked their heads and prepared to head outside.

As for my remaining coffee… I just downed it in one hot shot.

“He downed hot coffee in one go…!!”

“Is this passion?!!!”

“Shota, is he a god? Is he a god?”

The children immediately began to go wild.

These kids have amazing reactions.

“Hmph. Are the children already following you?”

Shotaro said.

“Yeah! I like him better than big bro Shotaro!”

“Big bro Shotaro hardly ever comes home!”

The children cheerfully declared the change in popularity.

“Ugh….”

Shotaro immediately became dejected.

“This is…..NTR.”

Shotaro muttered as if he had realized something.

No… I don’t think that’s it, Shotaro.

“Well… I guess I should get back to work soon.”

Shotaro also started drinking his coffee.

His drinking style was completely different from mine. He was just having a leisurely time with his coffee. This is what a work-worn office worker looks like…!!

“Eri. Could you take the kids for a bit? I need to talk with Shota.”

At that moment, Shotaro spoke up.

“Ah… okay.”

Eri nodded and took charge of the children.

“Come on. Follow me.”

Eri said to the children.

“No! I like big bro Shota!!”

“Who are you?”

“I really don’t know you!”

The children immediately rejected Eri’s authority.

“These damn little brats….”

Eri clicked her tongue slightly, then just grabbed the children by their necks and dragged them out of the cafe.

——

Shotaro and I headed to the parking lot next to the cafe.

“Mind if I smoke?”

Shotaro took out a cigarette.

“No, go ahead.”

Secondhand smoke doesn’t particularly bother me. Since I was a heavy smoker in my original world, I actually welcomed it.

“Phew….”

Shotaro exhaled cigarette smoke. The cigarette burned with incredible intensity. Shotaro seemed to have become a slave to nicotine and caffeine.

“The children seem to follow you quite well. Eri too.”

Shotaro said.

“Well… I guess so.”

Taking care of children was kind of my specialty.

“I was surprised when Eri said she got a boyfriend. Eri has high standards. And I was worried. Since it’s her first relationship, I thought she might have fallen for some weird guy.”

Shotaro said. He was a caring older brother.

“But… with you, I feel at ease. You seem like a good guy.”

Shotaro said.

“That’s a relief.”

If he knew about my unintentional harem situation, he’d probably take back those words, so I decided not to mention it.

“I hope you stay with Eri for a long time.”

Shotaro looked at me seriously.

“Hah. It’s not like Eri would let me go anyway.”

I said with a laugh.

“Hahaha! That’s true.”

Shotaro laughed heartily.

“Let’s head back then. I’m counting on you from now on.”

Seemingly satisfied with our conversation, Shotaro stubbed out his cigarette and headed toward his car.

“Thank you for today!”

I immediately bowed politely.

Shotaro waved his hand and got into his car. The car also had anime characters painted on it.

Vrooooom-!

Soon, the car departed.

——–

Afterward, I met up with Eri and took the children back home.

Everyone in the Nishikawa family seemed tired from their rare outing. As a result, everyone immediately took a nap upon returning.

Eri and I… seized the opportunity for some happy time.

After the storm had passed, Eri and I leisurely touched each other’s bodies, confirming each other’s warmth.

‘Ah… right.’

Today was the day to request payment. Since the metrics were good, quite a bit of money had accumulated in just a week. I immediately requested a withdrawal.

“Oh… that’s quite a lot of money?”

Eri’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“Yeah. It should come through within this week.”

I said.

“When the first payment comes in, let’s go eat something delicious somewhere. My treat.”

I smiled and stroked Eri’s hair.

“Ehehe! Sounds good!”

Eri immediately snuggled against me.

Taking Umi, Eri, and Taiga… it would cost quite a bit. However, it was a necessary expense.

While Eri and I were busy with each other, Eri suddenly spoke to me.

“Shota. Honestly, you weren’t completely happy, were you?”

Eri looked straight at me.

“Huh? Today is the best day of my life?”

I felt like singing like SpongeBob SquarePants.

“Cut the crap. My brother’s… evaluation was too cold. When he called you a stable leadoff hitter, your face stiffened a bit.”

Eri said, kissing me.

“That’s… yeah. You’re right.”

I decided not to protect my pride and simply admitted it.

I acknowledged that I was a plain writer without explosive potential. But it was also true that I felt somewhat bitter about it. I had ambitions as a writer. I wanted to write a masterpiece.

“You’d rather be the cleanup hitter, right?”

Eri saw right through me.

“Eri… you know everything.”

I said to Eri.

“I know because I’m always watching Shota.”

And Eri held my hand tightly.

“I believe in you, Shota. I know you’ll write a masterpiece someday.”

Eri said with a bright smile.

“…Thank you, Eri.”

Yeah. This is my second chance at life. Maybe it’s possible here. I seriously thought about it.

Perhaps due to the mood, Eri’s and my faces drew closer. Afterward, we leisurely confirmed our love for each other.

And so Wednesday evening came.

Eri’s parents were coming home for the first time in a while after dinner. That would mark the end of my babysitting job.

“It was fun.”

I said, kissing Eri.

“Kiss us too!!”

“Huh?”

“Kisssss!!!”

The three little Nishikawa girls immediately clung to me. I couldn’t refuse, so I gave each of them a kiss in turn.

“Hmm…so you’ll kiss any girl who asks?”

Eri narrowed her eyes as she spoke.

“Are you jealous of kids who haven’t even started school yet?”

I asked Eri.

“That’s different from this?! They’re girls! I’m the embodiment of jealousy!”

Eri exclaimed.

“You could stay longer… and meet my family.”

Eri mumbled afterward.

“Let’s do that another time.”

I didn’t want to intrude on their family time after the parents had been away for so long. Besides, Eri’s parents would be tired from their business trip, and I couldn’t make them entertain a guest in that state.

“Okay. Next time…”

Eri seemed to notice my consideration and smiled. She’s quite perceptive.

“Big bro! Don’t worry!! We’ll say really nice things about you!!”

“We’ll say you have inhuman kindness!!!”

“Public opinion manipulation!! I saw it in a drama!!”

The children chattered excitedly.

“Great. That’s reassuring.”

I patted the children’s heads one more time before leaving the Nishikawa house. Eri planned to spend the night at home and then continue our semi-cohabitation lifestyle tomorrow.

And so my babysitting mission was completed.

——-

That night, I received a message from Sasitsu.

‘Can you hunt monsters today?’

Sasitsu asked.

‘Oh. Of course.’

Since I hadn’t gone to the dojo yesterday or today, I was feeling restless. I replied immediately.

‘Good. Since the dungeon appears once a month, let’s build up our strength in the meantime. Umi said she can come today. Taiga said she can’t.’

Sasitsu’s text was dry, but joy was evident. He was excited because the party attendance rate was good for once.

Tonight, I planned to hunt monsters with Sasitsu and Umi.

———-

Around midnight, when this city was about to be engulfed by the other world.

“Kirrrrrrk!!!!!!”

Monsters immediately closed the distance toward me. They were lizard-like creatures with swords. As if the typical JRPG power inflation had begun, the level of field mobs had generally increased.

“Pinocchio!!!!”

I immediately materialized Pinocchio and grabbed him.

“Shield!!!!!!”

I used Pinocchio as a shield to block the sword attacks.

Clang-!!!

“Master!! Damn it!!”

Pinocchio’s language had become increasingly rough from being hit every day.

“Go!!”

While blocking the monster’s sword attack, I immediately stabbed my knife into its stomach.

“Kuhurk!!!”

The monster collapsed.

“Go!! Grenade in the tiger’s mouth!!!”

After that, I threw Pinocchio at the monsters.

“Giooot!!!”

“Giriit!!!!”

Pinocchio immediately became the monsters’ primary aggro target. The monsters began one-sidedly beating Pinocchio.

“Now!!!”

I immediately rushed forward and cut down the monsters one by one.

“Now! Sasitsu!! Their weakness is ice!!”

I directed Sasitsu.

“Inuitum!!!!”

Sasitsu immediately summoned his Psychorobo. It was an ice-specialized Psychorobo. It was definitely a higher rank than the Miraking he used before. Sasitsu had been building relationships during the day and unlocking higher-tier Psychorobos one by one.

A barbarian warrior wrapped in leather immediately let out a roar filled with ice.

Tzzzzzzrk-!!!

The monsters caught in the ice storm immediately turned into ice fragments and scattered.

“Ouch….”

Due to my body-tanking combat style, damage had accumulated. I was a one-trick tank.

“Umi. Heal me.”

I said to Umi.

“Really… you’re hopeless.”

Umi’s face reddened as if she was happy to heal me, and she used her Psychorobo’s power.

Piriring-!!

My health was immediately restored.

“Having a healer definitely makes things more stable.”

Sasitsu said.

“Definitely….”

Previously, we had to rely on store-bought healing potions, but now we didn’t have to worry about that.

Indeed, healers… there’s a reason they’re considered nobility in any game.

“Hmph. Praise me more.”

Umi immediately made a goofy expression. Right… she was also weak to praise. Umi was a praise-hungry puppy who would lap up any compliment.

——-

After hunting for about two hours, we decided to head home.

Sasitsu’s level had already reached 25. His level increased really fast. Faster than in the game.

Umi’s level was 11.

My level had now reached 9. I had just hit level 9. The leveling difficulty was truly hell just for me. As I said before, it really felt like I was the only one playing on a classic server.

“Wait… Shota. You’ve been hunting with Sasitsu for quite a while. But you’re still only level 9? Hehehe.”

Umi looked at me like I was a noob.

“What would you know, just clicking heal whenever someone’s health drops? I envy you, Umi. Even playing Taiyaki Tycoon gives you steady levels.”

I said. There’s a heat that healers don’t know, but tanks experience…!

“Hey!! Summoning a Psychorobo and using heal is quite difficult too?!”

Umi immediately protested.

“Hey. Don’t fight. Anyway, everyone did well.”

At that moment, Sasitsu intervened.

Twitch-!

But Sasitsu’s mouth corner was twitching tremendously.

Ah… that’s it. He was getting high on playing the role of a leader mediating party member disputes. Really… this cool guy.

“Let’s go home and rest well today. And if possible, let’s continue hunting like this. There might be other dangerous elements appearing.”

Sasitsu wrapped up the conversation and declared the disbandment.

Umi and I returned home amicably.

And that’s how Wednesday of Golden Week passed.