Chapter 2: Too Strong, But My Heart Throbs at a Fateful Encounter
BEFORE we go into the same Guild building as yesterday, we peek into the bar next door. There’s a fair amount of people, but fewer than yesterday. No doubt, adventurers are out working during the day. Still, it’s lunchtime, so there are some people eating here and there…and a few day-drinking.
But everything being served here looks tasty. It’s been a while since breakfast and we haven’t had lunch yet. I’m hungry.
“Shall we grab lunch? You look like you’re barely coping.”
“I do not!”
Typical Kazuya, so rudely pointing that out. I’m not a glutton, and I don’t look like I’m starving! At least, I don’t think I do! But I am hungry, so I swallow my pride and follow Kazuya to a table. A waitress soon comes to take our order.
Kazuya takes a coin from our leather pouch and gives it to her, flashing a perfect smile full of sparkling teeth. “Is this enough for food and drinks for two?”
The blushing waitress takes the coins with care and nods over and over. “S-sure!” Then she patters to the counter with a cute bounce in her step.
Kazuya…
Why does he hit everyone and their mother with that shady smile? My lip curls.
He notices. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“N-no reason.” I shake my head and change the topic. “After we eat, should we head to the quest window?”
“Yeah, that was the plan, but it may be hard for the two of us to take on a quest alone. I’m a merchant and you’re a cook. Neither of us are fighters. Besides which, we still lack a lot of basic knowledge about this world and monsters, so we shouldn’t go off on our own.”
“You’re right,” I agree. “It’ll be tough with just you and me, when I’m so dainty.”
“Yeah, yeah. I heard you. Also, Jabrin said that adventurers usually operate in groups. We should probably join a party until we’re more used to things.”
“Uh-huh.” Yeah, a party, where everyone works together to achieve something! Martial arts are essentially solo sports, so I’ve always admired teams. I’m ecstatic to have the chance to join one. And maybe my soul mate will be a member of said party…
“Thank you for waiting! Here’s your food.” The waitress sets down two gigantic plates of meat and some sort of salad. There’s bread and soup, too. The servings are so generously portioned that they could easily satisfy four people.
“Do we get all this for just that much gaul?” Kazuya smiles brightly.
“Yes!” The waitress blushes. “And a little extra from me! Ha ha.”
“Thanks.”
“N-no problem! Come again sometime, won’t you?” She skips away.
Kazuya’s smile is frozen for a moment, then relaxes into his usual neutral expression.
Really, Kazuya, what’s with the 180-degree change in attitude?
…Fine, I get why he does it, and it’s okay, really. It just doesn’t sit right with me.
“It’s weird to get this much extra food. I know I’m good-looking, but this is a bit much, and she’s overdoing the blushing.” Kazuya frowns.
He didn’t even hesitate to call himself good-looking. I think he’s handsome, too. Everyone in our neighborhood used to say he was. But is it cool to say it about yourself?
“Maybe it’s another skill of mine. The book said some skills are permanently activated. When we ran into that large monster and you put a hole in its body—that might be another skill you have.”
“Yeah, speaking of that, it’s easier than normal to prime myself for a hit. And I can see things far away, don’t get tired, and feel light on my feet.”
“Aha. Maybe we have more skills than we thought. I wonder how much it costs to get our skills assessed at a temple… Well, for now, let’s eat.”
When Kazuya gives the go-ahead, my mouth opens reflexively. I mean, I’m hungry, surrounded by food, and it looks amazing! We load up our smaller plates from the shareable platters in front of us and dig in.
Mmm, this chicken’s been roasted with herbs to make it fragrant. They’ve sprinkled Quesella oil evenly on the meat to add flavor, then roasted it to bring out this aroma… Oh, more things I shouldn’t know just popped into my head. Skills are weird. I keep eating, analyzing the food as I go.
Kazuya says he’s full after eating a normal-sized serving and sits back in his chair. He’s a light eater.
What? But there’s so much left. Am I allowed to finish it all?
“Can you make it through the rest?” Kazuya asks.
“Yeah! No worries! Leave it to me!” I enthusiastically pull the platter toward me. Yay, I get to eat all this good food! I dive into what’s left without hesitation.
Kazuya looks around, taking in the room. He points to a wall at the back of the bar. It’s covered in posters, and he abruptly asks, “Sakurako, can you read what’s written on the wall over there?”
There are a lot of people milling around one poster in particular.
“Uhhh… They’re standing in front of a notice for a quest. I can’t see the details because of the crowd.” I go to stand up, but he stops me.
“So it’s just a job advertisement? I’ll go take a look; you stay here and finish eating.”
“Aw, I wanna come too.”
“No, you’re busy. I’m just going to take a peek. Be a good girl and wait here.”
Ha! What’s with that turn of phrase? He’s treating me like a child, when I’m like his big sister! But he’s right—we shouldn’t leave the table unattended while there’s still food left.
“All right. Take care, okay?”
“Yeah,” he replies lightly and heads over to the wall.
Well then, without further ado, better eat up! I munch in silence until I get the feeling someone’s approaching. I turn to see a pair of middle-aged men with beards coming over to me.
They grin broadly when they catch my eye. “Yo, missy, are you by yourself?”
I am right now, I suppose. But maybe I should say I’m with someone since Kazuya is here. “Um, I—”
“This is the Adventurer’s Guild, you know? It’s no place for a young lady wearing plain cloth clothes.”
“Are they against the dress code?” Uh-oh. We didn’t expect there’d be a dress code.
“That’s cute! You’re so naïve. Say, wanna join our party? We’ll teach you all kinds of things.”
Oh my God! Did he just call me ‘cute’?! Woohoo! Is he for real? Actually, wait. He said ‘party’. Kazuya said we should join a party. Maybe I should hear this guy out—
Out of the blue, he puts his hand around my shoulder.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don’t invade my personal space!
He’s too close! And he reeks of alcohol. “C-could you please let go of me?” I try to wriggle out of his hold, when it occurs to me he might be trying to pick me up. What? No way. Wow! I’ve never been hit on before! All I had to do was come to another world, and a guy immediately hits on me!
I give his face a once-over. Besides the smell of booze, his teeth are yellow, he’s quite a bit older than me, and he has a lot of stubble. To be honest, he’s kinda ugly. But it’s what’s inside that’s important!
He went out of his way to tell me that I’m not wearing appropriate attire for a place like this, so he must be caring. And he said he’d teach me a lot of things and called me cute, so his face aside, he could well be a wonderful person!
But before we talk anymore, I need to call Kazuya back over. If this guy’s going to tell me about his party, Kazuya will need to hear it, too.
“Uh, actually, I’m with someone. Can we talk when he comes back—”
Huh?!
I’m so stunned. This guy, who’s casually coming on to me, is trailing his hand over my chest. So wait, this isn’t a pick-up? He’s just a molester? What. A. Bastard.
A second ago, I was excited at being hit on for the first time ever, and now it turns out he’s a molester? That’s so cruel.
I slowly, but firmly, put my hand on the bastard’s shoulder and push him away from me.
“Hey, what? You… You’re strong!” The pervert looks shocked. When he tries to bolt after realizing the sheer difference in our power, I tighten my grip on his arm. I’m not letting him go. I’ll never forgive him for trampling on my innocence!
Suddenly, another person grabs the molester’s arm, their hand near mine. It’s a guy. He glares at the molester and says, “Aren’t you ashamed to lay your hands on such a defenseless girl?”