To have lunch with Shea-san, I’m walking with her through the city but…… The troubling matter is that the conversation doesn’t get lively at all.
Of course, this is partly due to Shea-san’s negative filter, but more than that, it’s probably because I haven’t been able to gauge Shea-san’s character yet.
To be honest, I still don’t know what kind of person Shea-san is or what kind of personality she has. In fact, Shea-san’s personality is difficult to read.
I don’t know if she doesn’t think of me that well or not, but she’s indeed being hostile towards me, is what I thought, but she suddenly gave me those snacks and a roundabout apology…… I really can’t understand her.
Following Shea-san’s back as she silently walked a few distance in front of me, I was looking at her back and thought of initiating some kind of conversation, when Shea-san suddenly stopped.
[Is something the matter?]
[…………………….]
As I tilted my head and asked her, Shea-sand didn’t answer my words and only slightly turned her face towards a direction. Out of the corner of her eye is the figure of a young girl who was buying a snack that resembles an ice cream from a food cart and has a happy smile on her face.
Is something the matter with that young girl? As I was thinking that, the young girl ran past us Shea-san and I with a happy expression on her face…… At that moment, I saw what looked like a glowing line on the young girl’s body flash in an instant.
[!? S- Shea-san, that is…… What is that?]
[………………..]
Before I knew it, Shea-san was holding an ominous-looking scythe in her hands.
Looking at Shea-san’s current stance, no matter how I look at it, feels like she has already swung that scythe, and I hurriedly looked at the young girl from earlier but…… It doesn’t seem like her body was particularly cut or anything like that.
Shea-san takes a glance at the flustered me, before she makes her scythe disappear and starts walking as if nothing happened.
[……My scythe can sever misfortune.]
[……Eh?]
[You can just think of these misfortunes as things that brought people unhappiness.]
[Errr, does that mean that something like that was about to happen to the young girl earlier?]
[……Misfortune is everywhere. These misfortunes can be big or small.]
Does that mean it’s something like how those people banish bad luck? Did she do that to that young girl who was just there?
[……If I just unreasonably sever a great misfortune, it may affect them. However, if it’s just a small misfortune, there wouldn’t be a problem if I just sever it.]
[……Incidentally, what would happen to the young girl earlier if you didn’t do anything?]
[I dunno? I can’t see fate just like God of Fate-sama could. I could just see misfortunes…… I wouldn’t know what would happen unless I see it happen, but with a misfortune of that size, well…… It will probably just be something to the extent that she will trip and drop her snack.]
It seems that Shea-san can’t see fate, but she can see what could be called as omens of misfortune, and she had severed the misfortune that was inside the young girl just now.
If she hadn’t done so, the young girl would have suffered a small misfortune such as tripping on a pebble.
[……Then, Shea-san helped that young girl……]
[Don’t misunderstand. Other than the people they have blessed, the Gods don’t just help every single person she meets.]
[Eh? H- However, just now……]
[……I was just doing my daily swinging exercise, and that brat just happened to be walking through there. That’s all there is to it!]
[Eh? Ah, yes……]
[……Hmph.]
That’s a really forced excuse she did there but, I see, I guess that’s just like Shea-san…… I may have misunderstood her.
There was some harshness in her speech and conduct, but she’s unlike the Gods who wouldn’t help just about anyone…… I could clearly see it now after she gently helped that young girl. She’s a kind person at heart.
Well, I’ll just keep it to myself, because Shea-san would probably get mad at me if I say that out loud.
Shea-san brought me to one of the restaurants and going inside, we sat down.
Since Shea-san is the No. 5 of the God Realm and the top of the High-ranking Gods, I thought that there may be a commotion that would happen with our arrival but…… It seems that Shea-san is someone who basically works behind the scenes, and since she doesn’t appear that much, her face is hardly known by the public.
So, even if she’s sitting on a chair in a normal restaurant like this, she doesn’t need to cast Recognition Inhibition Magic on herself.
[……Order whatever you want.]
[Ah, yes.]
While looking at the restaurant which somehow has an ethnic feel to it, I looked at the menu that Shea-san handed me.
……Doesn’t all of them look spicy? What kind of shop is this? A restaurant specializing in spicy food?
It seems that the hot and spicy snack that Shea-san gave me before was really her favorite, so I decided to order the relatively milder one from the menu that was filled with spicy looking stuff.
When the waitress came to take my order, Shea-san and I each ordered a dish……
[You are free to choose how spicy the food in our restaurant, so would you like it to be adjusted?]
[……100 times more.]
[Eh?]
[Eh?]
Hearing Shea-san’s words as she said that so matter-of-factly, both me and the waitress reflexively stiffened.
[……100 times more.]
[U- Ummm, I beg your pardon, ma’am…… B- But we’re a restaurant that sells food that are already spicy enough. I’m not saying that it’s impossible for us but…… Ummm, are you really alright with that?]
[There’s no problem. 100 times spicier for me.]
[U- Understood…… Would you also like 100 times spicier, sir?]
[N- No, just regular spiciness……]
When the waitress asks me, clearly shaken by Shea-san’s order, I tell her that I’m fine with normal spiciness. 100 times spicier, are you freaking kidding me!? Eating something like that would make my taste buds disappear.
And as the waiter bowed her head and left, for some reason, Shea-san looked at me with a surprised expression on her face and muttered.
[……You, could it be…… You’re one of those people with a sweet tooth?]
[……………….]
No, that’s not right. Just because I ordered something with regular spiciness in a restaurant that specializes in spicy food, you’re asking me if I have a sweet tooth…… How terrifying could your criteria be……
After we waited for a while, the waitress brought us the delicious-looking dish with normal spiciness that I ordered and…… a frightening dish that looks like “it was boiling red like lava”.
Red…… I couldn’t see any other color on it other than red…… Can you really eat something like that?
With that thought in mind, I looked at Shea-san as she took a bit of her food…… and her expression puckered up a bit.
S- See, I knew that it would be too spicy for Shea-san too……
[……Still a bit sweet.]
[………………..]
Is her taste buds broken already? Where the heck can you see any sweetness in that dish? That dish is already on a level that makes me feel its spiciness just by looking at it…… U- Unbelievable.
A- As I thought, is Chronois-san really the only sane person among the Gods?
I feel like I saw something terrifying. With that feeling in my mind, I finished my food and walked out of the restaurant, who had just consumed a dish that I wouldn’t even hesitate to call extremely hot.
[……Shea-san, thank you for the food.]
[Hmm…… How can you eat such a sweet dish?]
[………………...]
Rather than that, isn’t it me who should be asking you how you could eat a really spicy dish like that, Shea-san? No, seriously……
[……Anyway, I’ve fulfilled my promise now. You don’t have any complaints with that, right?]
[Eh? Yes, thank you very much.]
[Then, let’s go back.]
[Yes.]
Saying that, Shea-san started walking while I started walking towards the inn.
Arehh? However, Shea-san is staying in the royal palace, right? Isn’t the royal palace in the opposite direction…… Could it be that she was sending me back to the inn?
As I was going down the street, thinking about this, Shea-san stopped again and her face turned somewhere.
This time, the sea was out in front of her gaze, and she could see a boat in the distance, looking like they were catching fishes.
[……Great misfortune.]
[Eh? In that ship?]
[……………..]
[W- What are you going to do?]
The words Shea-san quietly muttered, great misfortune…… which should mean that the ship could sink or something like that……
Thinking about such a possibility, I asked her about it, but Shea-san looked as if she saw nothing in particular and took her gaze off the ship.
[Nothing. Like I said, Gods doesn’t help Humans in every single thing.
[……B- But……]
[Don’t impose your good intentions on me…… I don’t care what you think, but everyone have different values. Don’t ask me to do something what you think is right.]
[!? I- I’m sorry.]
[……Tsk.]
Listening to Shea-san’s words, sounding somewhat annoyed, I bowed my head.
Indeed, it may not be right for me to ask Shea-san to save that ship.
Thinking about this, my shoulders slumped a bit, but I can’t really overlook them now that I know about it. The moment I was thinking of a way I could help them, Shea-san clicked her tongue and took out her scythe.
[…….A swing to clear away disasters……]
[ ! ? ]
After quietly muttering, Shea-san brandished her scythe and a huge jet-black slash immediately flew out of her and flew towards the ship.
As the slash disappeared as if it was sucked into the ship, Shea-san made her scythe disappear as if nothing had happened.
[……Shea-san.]
[If I were to sever a great misfortune, it may affect them but…… Well, if I get serious about it, I can adjust that kind of thing…… I owed a debt of gratitude to you for persuading God of Fate-sama before. Just this once, I’ll go along with your sweet thoughts.]
[……T- Thank you very much.]
[……Hmph…… It would be great if everyone can be happy on their own……]
After announcing that, sounding a bit uninterested, Shea-san started walking again.
The moment I heard those words, it’s just a hunch but…… I somehow feel like Shea-san was going to help that ship without me saying anything else.
[……Shea-san, you’re a really kind person, aren’t you?]
[Wha!? W- W- W- What kind of nonsense are you talking about now!? What kind of schemes are you brewing now!!!?]
[Eh? Ah, no, I’m sorry. I’m not plotting any schemes, I just reflexively spoke what I was thinking……]
[Kuhh…… S- Shut up, idiot! Go die!!!]
[E- Eeehhhh……]
What I said was meant to be honest words of praise, but Shea-san, probably not use to being praised, shouted with her face bright red, and ran off.
How should I say this…… Looking at her back as she ran away…… The word tsundere just popped into my mind.
Dear Mom, Dad———– There’s still lots of things I don’t know about Shea-san. I’m not really sure if she hates me or if she sees me favorably…… but there’s one thing I know of———- Shea-san is a kind person.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai: [What is this…… this feeling of being betrayed by yourself……]
T/N: 18/151