Still, I was already across the street from my condo and ready to meet up with Marie and Kaoruko, who should have been arriving soon. I was watching the building and wondering when they would come out when I heard a voice from behind.
“We don’t need to change, do we? We’re just going to get some food.”
It was Toru, who wore a suit just like me and looked more handsome than usual with a coat on. I had gone to dinner with the married couple before. While I usually spent my time in my room and had little interest in social gatherings, I had gone because I wanted Mariabelle to get to know more people. Toru was likely thinking the same thing since he had once told me his wife was from Hokkaido. He must have invited us out because we had few friends and acquaintances, and he wanted to do something about it.
“Of course,” I agreed. “We should go to the restaurant directly. Is it close by?”
“Yeah, it’s right down this street and across the bridge. They’re open late, and you will love their amazing, authentic Chinese dishes.”
“Oh,” I noted as I walked with my umbrella. I didn’t know such a place was so nearby. Usually, I cooked at home because nothing could beat a freshly cooked dish, even if it saved money. Chinese restaurants were also pricey, so I didn’t go often. I explained this to him, and he chuckled.
“Actually, this place is pretty affordable. If you end up liking it, you should take that adorable girl of yours, just the two of you.”
“Was I that obvious? You’re good at reading people’s thoughts,” I said.
“I may work in the government, but half of it is pretty much a service job. Many people aren’t good at communicating there, and the paperwork is a pain. I often have to read people and think ahead.”
I was impressed that Toru and his wife were expressive people who were good at conversing with others. Come to think of it, I had dealt with a very unfriendly person at the government office before. That was a pretty unpleasant experience, but it probably would have gone a lot smoother if he had been there instead.
“You said half of it is like a service job, but what’s the other half?” I asked.
“Hmm... I guess you could say that’s the technical side of things. Making plans for regional development, construction, inspections. That kind of stuff. I basically check whether everything is on track, but it’s a lot of work because there’s so much going on in Koto Ward,” he said. He explained that there was a lot he had to deal with because he was so close with the locals and laughed dryly. “Just look at this stomach.” He pointed at it as he talked. Judging by his wry smile, this was probably a joke he used a lot.
As we continued walking, we saw the two women coming out of the condo. The elf girl Marie was holding up a plastic umbrella, and next to her was Toru’s wife, Kaoruko.
I waved, and Marie jogged over to me. Her beautiful, pale-purple eyes were visible under her brown knit cap with bear ears on them. She folded her umbrella as soon as she got close and stood beside me. I always came home around the same time, and we saw each other every day. Yet we couldn’t help but smile. She welcomed me home, but then her expression turned sad. To my surprise, the next words that came out of her mouth were in Elvish.
“Wridra has been crying. I felt so bad for her. She wanted to go with us so badly. We should bring something tasty home for her.”
“Oh no... I completely forgot about her,” I responded.
So that was why she had spoken in Elvish. We couldn’t really let the others know we wanted to bring home some Chinese food for our hungry cat. I looked over at Kaoruko and bowed my head in greeting. As a Japanese person, the language of elves sounded quite wonderful, almost like a mystical song. Perhaps the couple felt the same way because I could sense them watching us.
“Just bringing something home probably isn’t going to be enough...” I told Marie. “How about we invite her to Japan sometime soon? She might cheer up if we take her out for some good food.”
“Yes, good idea!” agreed Marie. “Heh heh, I’m sure she’s going to be in a bad mood even if we invite her.”
“She wouldn’t turn us down, though. It’s obvious when she’s excited about something, even if she tries to hide it.”
Marie pictured Wridra’s reaction and laughed, clutching at her stomach. She was very close with Wridra and seemed excited about her friend visiting in her humanoid form. We couldn’t bring a cat into a restaurant, so this was the only way we could make it up to her. Thankfully, we discussed this in another language, since we obviously couldn’t tell the Ichijos that we were bringing a guest from a dream world.
Wridra had been busy raising her children, although we could still invite her here because she had the ability to create clones of herself. We had even helped her relieve some stress from childcare responsibilities when we first brought her to Japan. So, she would probably be pleased if we invited her again.
Kaoruko was waiting for a break in our conversation. We heard a splash as she stepped on a puddle and stared at me. Her black hair danced softly just past her earlobes, and the subtle design of her glasses suited her as a librarian.
“Good evening. I see you two are as close as ever. You seem so different from your usual laid-back self when you speak another language,” she said, putting a hand to her mouth. It seemed she was surprised that an unassuming guy like me started speaking a foreign language so fluently.
Marie gave me a cold look for some reason and said, “You were so excited to learn Elvish. You kept following me and asking me to teach you words. I’m sure you were like that with the Lizardmen too. You should realize that’s not normal.”
She had a point, but I thought I was dreaming back then. Plus, I rarely had the opportunity to study the language of elves. It wasn’t as if I could just go to school, so I wished she could understand I had no other option.
Kaoruko couldn’t comprehend what we were saying and just blinked blankly. It went without saying that not many people were fluent in Elvish. I cleared my throat, then said in Japanese, “Thank you both for inviting us out to dinner tonight. It is our second time now. I’m sorry we’re always taking advantage of your hospitality.”
“Heh heh, we wouldn’t mind going out with you two every day,” said Kaoruko. I was relieved to see they really didn’t mind and genuinely welcomed our company. I had to ensure we didn’t overdo it and make them sick of us.
When Kaoruko smiled, we all began walking together. The condo’s grounds were like a park, and the paved paths made it easy to walk even when it was raining. As the Ichijos led the way, many cars drove by on what I assumed to be their way home from work.
I folded up my umbrella, and water dripped down onto the ground. The restaurant’s interior had dragon and tiger ornaments, with many orange-colored lanterns illuminating the place. It was a completely different world from the outside, lively with the voices of people enjoying their meals. Perhaps Marie was enjoying the exotic nature of this place, as I saw a smile spreading across her face.