part2 · 093-ep93

Episode 93: Smartphone Debut

After the talk about the magic stones wound down.

Mizuki looked at Ren, suddenly.

"...That reminds me."

"...?"

"You don't have a smartphone, do you, Ren?"

"...A smartphone?"

Ren tilted his head. Seeing that reaction, Mizuki's eyes widened a little.

"...Right."

"...?"

"You don't know about them, Ren."

"...About what?"

"Smartphones."

Mizuki picked up her own smartphone.

"Smartphone. These days, this is what a cell phone is like."

Ren stared at Mizuki's hands.

"...A cell phone?"

"Yeah."

"...I know about those."

Mizuki smiled a little.

"But they're pretty different from the cell phones you know."

"...Are they?"

"Yeah."

Mizuki operated the screen.

"You can make calls, and send messages. Take photos, and even browse the internet."

"......"

Ren stared at the screen in silence.

"...So this is what a cell phone is now."

"That's right."

That was when Mizuki realized.

Ren had disappeared ten years ago. Back then, cell phones did exist.

But—

Smartphones like today's weren't yet common.

"...Well, of course you wouldn't know."

"...?"

"Back when you disappeared, there was no such thing as smartphones yet."

"...I see."

"Yeah."

Mizuki thought for a moment, then said.

"Then you should have one too."

"...Me?"

"Yeah."

Mizuki showed him her smartphone.

"So we can keep in touch from now on."

"......"

Ren looked at the smartphone for a moment.

"...Is it necessary?"

"It is."

Mizuki smiled.

"You can reach me when I'm out, and when something comes up."

"...Okay."

Ren nodded obediently.

"Then let's go buy one."

"...Yeah."

The two of them headed to a phone store.

Inside the store. A clerk lined up several models and explained them.

"This is the latest model, and its camera performance—"

"......"

"This one comes with a large storage capacity, and—"

"......"

"As for the pricing plans, this one—"

"......"

Ren listened to the explanation in silence.

But—

He barely understood any of it.

Ten years ago. The cell phones Ren had known were for making calls and sending emails.

Now, they could do far too much.

"...Ren, are you okay?"

"...I don't know."

Mizuki couldn't help but laugh.

"I figured."

Mizuki asked the clerk a few questions.

And then—

"Then let's go with this model."

"This one, then."

"Yeah. I think this much is plenty for you, Ren."

"...Is it?"

"Yeah."

It had the functions he needed, and the controls were relatively easy to understand. Mizuki chose a simple model that looked easy for Ren to use.

"Then we'll proceed with the contract paperwork."

The clerk went over the details to confirm.

"Do you have something we can use to verify your identity?"

"Yes."

Mizuki answered right away and took out her ID.

"This, please."

"Thank you."

The clerk checked the ID. Ren watched in silence.

This time, Mizuki was handling the contract herself.

"Then please fill in this part."

"Okay."

Mizuki filled in the necessary documents. Ren watched from beside her.

"...Sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

Mizuki smiled.

"It's necessary for us to keep in touch, after all."

"...Yeah."

And then—

The paperwork was done.

He received the smartphone from the clerk.

"Here you are."

Ren took the smartphone with both hands.

Thin. Light. Completely different from the old cell phones.

"...So this is."

Ren looked at the device in his hands.

"...A smartphone."

"That's right."

Mizuki laughed.

"Your smartphone, Ren."

Back at the house, Mizuki began the initial setup.

"First, turn on the power..."

"...Okay."

"Press here."

"...This?"

"That's right."

The screen lit up.

"......"

Ren's eyes widened, as if a little surprised.

"...Amazing."

"Heheh."

Mizuki laughed.

"That much?"

"...Yeah."

Mizuki taught him the basic operations one by one.

"Calls are here."

"...Okay."

"Messages are over here."

"...Got it."

"And then—"

Mizuki opened the contacts.

"First, let's register me."

"...You, Mizuki?"

"Yeah."

He registered Mizuki's name. It was the first contact to go into Ren's smartphone.

"Now you can reach me anytime."

"...Anytime?"

"Yeah."

Ren looked at the screen.

What was displayed there—

Kanzaki Mizuki

He gazed at that name for a while.

"...Okay."

He gave a small nod. Mizuki watched him and smiled.

"Then, next is this."

"...?"

Mizuki opened an app.

"Games."

"...Games?"

"Yeah. You can put games on a smartphone too."

Mizuki showed him a few games.

"This one's simple and fun, I think."

"......"

"Want me to put it on?"

"...Yeah."

Mizuki installed the game.

After a while—

Game footage appeared on the screen.

"......"

Ren stopped moving.

"...This."

"Hm?"

"...Is this a game?"

"That's right."

Inside the screen, characters moved as if they were real.

The background. The light. The buildings.

Even the finest movements were so beautiful he could have mistaken them for reality.

"...It's beautiful."

"Games these days are pretty amazing, huh."

"...It looks real."

Ren didn't take his eyes off the screen.

"Then, want to try controlling it?"

"...How?"

"You touch here."

"...Here?"

"That's right."

Mizuki taught him from the side. Ren operated the screen as instructed.

The character moved.

"...It moved."

"Heheh."

"...One more time."

"Sure."

Ren operated it again.

At first he was clumsy.

But—

Little by little, he got used to it.

"...Like this?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"...I did it."

"You're pretty good."

"...One more time."

"Ren, you've been at it for a while now, you know?"

"...One more."

"Heheh."

Mizuki laughed.

Ren stared at the screen with a serious expression. It was the same concentration he'd had when fighting in the dungeon.

Except—

Right now, the opponent Ren was fighting wasn't a monster.

It was a smartphone game.

Ten years. Ren had never played games. He had never passed time laughing with someone.

But now—

Gazing at a small screen, he was completely absorbed.

"...Just a little more."

Ren murmured. Beside him, Mizuki was smiling.

Watching that Ren—

made her a little happy.

To Ren's everyday life, home again after ten years.

Once again,

an ordinary moment had been added.