ch41-ch60 · 050-ch49

Chapter 49: A Shopping District Where They Also Sell Gelato and Hot Dogs and Stuff

　　Me, Dodo Haruki, twenty-two years old. Long time no see!

　　Last time, I got snatched up by a bunch of tough-looking guys and nearly sold off, but I managed to get rescued by some stroke of luck.

　　So, I was saved and all, but I'd missed work and was sweating bullets about getting fired. But then this old man I met—the 'Tamamushi Elder'—happened to know my company president, and he put in a good word for me, so I managed to keep my job. Whew, that was close.

　　Anyway, I'm still doing the shuttle service job.

　　The president seems to think I'm friends with the Tamamushi Elder or something, so now I sometimes drive him over to the old man's place so they can play shogi. Is it really okay for an employee to use company cars for personal stuff like this?

　　Well, I just tell myself it's all part of the job, and it's easier than other shuttle runs, so I can't complain. Can't complain, but... having to play with that huge dog while I wait is rough. That thing's got power. Cute, though.

　　So right now I'm on my work break. Drinking coffee in a convenience store parking lot downtown.

　　My next job is a pickup from the station nearby, and since it's Saturday there's a lot of foot traffic. Ah, I work weekends too. Shuttle service stays pretty busy on Saturdays and Sundays.

"Well then."

　　I grab my empty can and step out of the car. Other employees use the company vehicles too, so I try to throw away trash whenever I can. Newbies gotta watch out for that stuff.

"Um, excuse me."

　　...Huh, is someone calling out to me?

　　Getting approached by strangers during my break is pretty traumatic, honestly.

"Um, hello?"

　　Crap, I stopped in a weird spot, so I can't pretend I didn't hear them.

　　Hmm, what should I do... Well, I already have to turn around at this point.

　　It was a woman's voice, so even if she tries to sell me some overpriced painting, it's gotta be better than getting kidnapped by some old dudes. Yeah, a man's gotta have guts!

"Um..."

"Yes, what is it?"

　　I turn around with so much momentum that I seem to have startled the person, who freezes up.

　　And then I freeze too. Because standing there was this insanely gorgeous eight-heads-tall blonde beauty.

　　Small face, eyes that are way too pretty... Wait, crap, is she some foreign model or something?

　　I stand there with my mouth hanging open, and then the blonde beauty starts speaking in fluent Japanese.

"I'm so sorry to bother you suddenly. Um, I was wondering if you could tell me somewhere I could get a good meal. I just arrived in this city and I'm not familiar with it yet..."

　　Ah, ahh, ahh, a tourist.

　　I've seen online that lately there are more foreigners who skip the famous tourist spots and go straight for the local food joints. This beautiful lady speaks Japanese so fluently, she must've been to Japan multiple times and started venturing into smaller towns.

"Umm, if you want casual B-grade gourmet food with lots of variety, I'd recommend the shopping district up ahead."

"Bee-kyuu?"

"Ah, um, Japanese fast food, okay?"

　　I tried using some cheap English, but it didn't get through to the beautiful lady. She tilted her head even more than when I was speaking Japanese. Must be because my pronunciation is garbage. Garbage, garbage! ...Sorry.

"Umm, umm... walking while eating? You know? They sell croquettes at the storefronts and stuff."

"Ahh, walking while eating! That sounds nice. My city's market has street stalls too."

　　The beautiful lady breaks into a bright smile. Whoa, the destructive power of a smiling blonde beauty is insane.

"And if you go to the end of that shopping district, there's a food truck, which I'd also recommend. I just found out about it recently myself."

"Foodo torako...?"

　　Huh, don't they have those overseas? No wait, they definitely have them in America.

　　But I guess depending on the European country, they might be rare.

"It's a place where they cook food inside a vehicle and sell it."

"Oh! Those small locomotives that run around everywhere! That's amazing!"

　　L-Locomotives?? Where the heck did this person come from?

"Chartreuse-sama, my apologies for the wait."

　　Then a black-haired lady comes out of the convenience store holding a plastic bottle and talks to the blonde beauty. ...Wait, did she just say "sama"?

"Ah, Fuchsia! I just heard about something wonderful!"

"...Food again? We still haven't done anything about that 'certain matter'..."

"Now, let's go! Ah, thank you so much for the wonderful information!"

　　The blonde beauty bows politely, then turns on her heel and strides off energetically.

　　The black-haired lady makes an exasperated face, gives me a quick polite nod, and hurries after the blonde beauty.

"...Man, it's like something out of Roman Holiday or whatever."

　　If I were the protagonist of some story, I'd probably end up giving her a ride on my scooter or piloting some red glowing robot to save the day. ...Unfortunately, I've lived my whole life with the soul of a supporting character, so I never expected that stuff from the start.

"Alright, back to work, back to work."

　　And so I headed to my next job... a pickup from the station to the hot spring resort, and as luck would have it, for better or worse, I didn't end up encountering the major incident that happened in town afterward. Yeah, I'm just a mob character through and through.