Chapter 5
The Woman Next Door
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We came to the supermarket in front of the station.
All the gazes were fixed on Chamomile with her silver hair.
Foreigners aren’t that rare these days, right?
So that just means… she’s that beautiful.
According to Ami, this supermarket is supposed to be expensive.
Since I can’t drive, I can’t really go to the cheaper one farther away.
Ami’s dad has a car and can drive, though.
I really want to get my license soon.
We can get around by train since this is near the station,
but without a car, Gunma can be a pain.
“Yuya, there are so many people.”
“Ah, yeah.”
Chamomile seemed surprised by the crowd.
A lady with a brand-name bag.
A man in a luxury suit.
Families with kids everywhere, of course.
“Vegetables sure got pricey… We’ve got rice, so— let’s add some meat… Oh, and we ran out of soy sauce, right.”
I pushed the cart, tossing items into the basket.
Chamomile looked around curiously.
Everything must seem new and strange to her.
You can buy stuff online these days, sure—
but for fresh food, supermarkets are still the best.
Especially for fruit.
“Apples, huh. So it’s that season already.”
When I’m alone, I never eat fruit.
Guess I’ll get some this time.
But while I was lost in shopping,
there was a pair of eyes watching me from a short distance away—
and I didn’t notice at all.
＊＊＊ Ami Nakajima’s Perspective ＊＊＊
“Who’s that woman next to him?”
“Ami, what’s wrong? Let’s go.”
I’d come shopping for groceries with my mom.
This supermarket is close, but pricey, so we don’t come often.
It’s not strange that the boy next door would come here—
but usually, he’s alone.
Back when his parents passed away, he used to live off store-bought lunches.
Lately though, I’ve heard he’s been cooking for himself.
Today, there was a tall, slender foreign woman beside him.
Even from far away, I could tell she was beautiful.
No way I could ever compete with that.
A fuzzy heaviness filled my chest.
I’d never been able to confess to him, after all.
“…Is it too late now?”
I’d had plenty of chances before.
I just never had the courage.
I was scared of ruining what we already had.
If he rejected me, things would become awkward.
We’re childhood friends—
if he started avoiding me, I wouldn’t be able to stand it.
“Hey, Mom… what do you think about Yuya?”
“What’s this all of a sudden? Did something happen?”
“Nothing…”
“Hmm? He’s a good, reliable boy. But I still worry about him a bit. He’s still young, after all.”
Yuya’s parents died in an accident three years ago.
Since he’s an only child, he must have had no one to really talk to about his pain.
He didn’t say a word during the funeral.
I think one of his father’s younger brothers handled the arrangements.
They apparently offered to have him move in with them,
but he decided to live alone in that house instead.
He’s been by himself ever since.
“I’d be happy if he became my son-in-law, you know.”
“Wha—! Mom! What are you saying all of a sudden!?”
That escalated fast.
“You like him, don’t you?”
“That’s not true!”
…Since when did she notice?
“Be honest with yourself. Feelings like that—
they don’t get across unless you say them directly.”
I like him.
Just seeing another woman next to him makes me jealous.
It’s too late now, but I really regret not confessing to him.
＊＊＊ Chamomile Rumfe’s Perspective ＊＊＊
“…I feel someone’s gaze.”
“Well, you’re beautiful, Chamomile. The guys are probably all staring.”
Hmm.
That’s not what it feels like, though.
It’s probably from a woman.
And it feels… kind of like jealousy?
Maybe it’s not me they’re looking at—
but Yuya.
Perhaps someone he knows is here.
“Maybe one of your friends is around, Yuya.”
“Ugh— I didn’t think about that. The last thing I need is my classmates giving me a hard time.”
In the other world, I fought monsters all the time, so I’m used to being watched.
Actually, being sensitive to that kind of thing was necessary to survive.
The gaze I felt just now wasn’t hostile—
nothing like killing intent.
Even among adventurers, things could turn into fights to the death sometimes.
But this sticky sort of stare… definitely felt feminine.
Even I, who knows little about romance, can tell.
It must be from someone who likes Yuya.
I’m not that kind of “target” myself,
but I doubt whoever’s watching understands that.
