Otherworld Dagashi Shop Yahagi

It’s the season of dazzling fresh greenery.

According to Michelle, summer can get pretty hot in this part of the world.

Hopefully, shaved ice and ice cream will be available for sale before the summer heat gets too strong, but so far, there’s no sign of that happening.

Michelle is currently away, off to the deepest part of the dungeon to continue her research on filling magic orbs with mana.

According to the schedule, she won’t be back until tomorrow.

However, that doesn’t mean that my daily life will be any different.

[Good morning! For the time being, I’d like to have my usual scratch cards.]

[Good morning, Merle. You’re also working hard today huh.]

Merle plays the scratch lottery every morning, but she has only won once so far.

Her luck is so bad that it’s well-known among the regulars.

[Good morning. I’d like some 10-rim gums and vinegared kelps please.]

[Mira, are you two going to hunt Gas Ghosts?]

Vinegared kelp is indispensable to breaking the Silence curse used by the Gas Ghost.

[Yes, we plan to earn big money and go to Garju.]

[Garju?]

[She’s talking about Mount Garju. This is the season when the fujiru flowers are so beautiful that everyone in the Capital goes there to see them.]

[Yuusuke-san sure is clueless about things as usual. People buy lunch boxes from top restaurants and go to Mount Garju to go flower viewing.]

Is it something like the cherry blossom viewing back in Japan?

Society is in a bad shape, but it seems like people are willing to work hard for such a small pastime as flower viewing.

[That sounds like fun. Is Mount Garju near the Capital?]

[It takes about an hour to get there by horse-drawn carriage. We are going in a chartered carriage, right?]

[Yes, we need to earn money for that.]

It’s apparently a fad to go to Miranshe in a comfortable chartered carriage.
(T/N: I don’t know where that ミランシェ/Miranshe came from. It could be the location of Mount Garju.)

[Hmmm, that sounds interesting. Maybe I should invite Minerva to go with me.]

Merle grinned when I said that.

[You two sure have become particularly close lately.]

Rather than close, we’ve actually been dating in secret.

Hopefully, this flower viewing will be our first date.

[Yuusuke-san, aren’t you gonna have a girlfriend?]

[Ehh!?]

[I had my doubts too. If you just wanted to, you could have one right away.]

[Y- You think so?]

I’ve never been popular before.

Ah, Michelle is a different case.

[That’s right. You work hard every day, and your face is, well, you aren’t ugly.]

Oi!

""

[Yep, what she said. You seem to make a fair income, and you don’t have a bad personality. You seemed like the type who would do whatever your lover asks.]

Merle and Mira exchanged looks before giggling.

[Are you two making fun of me?]

[That isn’t the case. I’m saying that in the eyes of the public, it’s not surprising that you would have a girlfriend.]

[That’s right. And yet, since you always hang out with Minerva-san, everyone’s holding back. Yuusuke-san, there were quite a few female adventurers who had their eyes on you. However, everyone is afraid of Minerva-san……]

[Is that so!?]

I had no clue at all.

However, I’d better not let Michelle hear about this.

She’d easily get jealous and sad.

Perhaps, is it because she lacks self-confidence?

Even though she’s a magical genius, cute, attentive, and stylish, how strange.

I’ll praise her a lot for her good qualities when she gets home.

[So, there’s something I’d like to ask. Where are these popular restaurants? Also, how do you rent a carriage?]

Since this would be my first date with Michelle, I gathered information with great enthusiasm.

When Michelle returned, she looked tired.

The deepest part of the dungeon is littered with powerful monsters, and continuous encounters with them mentally strained her.

And yet, when Michelle came to my apartment, she was carrying a large shopping bag and was about to cook dinner for the two of us.

[I’ll cook tonight, so you just sit down.]

[No, I’ll cook.]

[Let’s have my home cooking once in a while. I’ll put my love into it.]

[Uuuu…… Unnn.]

I managed to get Michelle, who had been doing her best, to sit down and make us a pilaf.

Even though I sounded haughty when I told her that, my ability to cook was actually only on that level.

The meal I prepared for us was just a spiced pilaf with sunny side-ups on top, and bacon and vegetable soup.

However, Michelle was pleased.

[It’s very delicious.]

It sure feels nice to be praised.

The pilaf was a little spicy because I may have put in too much pepper, but it isn’t bad.

Since we’re at it, I guess I should invite her to Mount Garju to go flower viewing.

[Michelle, are you busy with your research?]

[I guess you could say I’m busy. My recent experiments haven’t been going well. Why?]

[You see, lately, I haven’t been taking any breaks from the shop at all.]

[Now that you mentioned, that really was the case. You do open your shop every day, don’t you, Yuusuke?]

[That’s why, I was thinking it’s about time for me to take some break, but why don’t we go somewhere? For example, Mount Garju perhaps.]

[………………..]

[I heard that the flowers there called fujiru are beautiful. I’ve never seen it before, so I was wondering if you have time to go with me.]

Clang!

The spoon fell from Michelle’s hand and hit the plate of pilaf with a loud clang.

[That’s……]

[Well, it’s a date invitation.]

[Uuuu……]

She’s so moved to tears that she’s even holding her chest!?

[Oi, are you okay?]

[I’ll have a mini cola……. My heart hurts……]

[No, you’ll have to wait until after meal……]

Instead, I got her a glass of water and gave it to Michelle, who seemed to be hyperventilating.

[By the way, what’s your response?]

[Eh?]

""

[Are you going or not?]

[I’m going! I’m definitely going!]

Michelle’s eyes were lowered from embarrassment, but I could see a smile on her lips.