Chapter 6
Matters of Another World
“Ding dong.”
The intercom rang.
Since the delivery came yesterday, it must be Ami.
Summer vacation is almost over, so maybe she’s come to check on my homework.
It’s fine—I worked hard and finished it yesterday anyway.
I opened the front door, and as expected, Ami was standing there.
“Hey, what’s up? Homework trouble?”
“That too, but… weren’t you at the supermarket yesterday?”
So it was Ami who had been watching me.
I felt relieved it wasn’t the classmates. But Ami had a strange expression.
She frowned, as if she wanted to say something… giving off an odd vibe.
“The woman next to you… who was she?”
Ah, so that’s the question.
“That’s Chamomile. She came from England. She’s visiting Japan as a tourist.”
“Even so, you seemed pretty close… almost like lovers.”
“Lovers? That’s disrespectful to her.”
Ami clearly looked relieved.
I wondered why she had been so tense earlier.
“So she’s not your lover. That’s a relief.”
“We’re living together for personal reasons. She’ll be staying with me for a while.”
““Eh?””
Chamomile popped her head out unexpectedly.
Ami’s face turned pale.
She’s really expressive today… Is she emotionally unstable or something?
“Uh… living together? Even though you’re not lovers? Why cohabitation?”
“Cohabitation? What are you talking about? You read too many romance mangas, didn’t you?”
“Well… it’s not a relationship that needs worrying about. I’m the one who ended up staying at Yuya’s house.”
That’s true, but was now really the time to say that?
If I say that, I’ll have to explain Chamomile’s personal situation in detail as well.
“You speak Japanese very well.”
“That’s thanks to a translation spell…”
““Waaah!””
“Magic?”
“I’m an elf who transferred from another world.”
“Elf? Like in… the ‘Sou〇’?”
“That’s a different story… Ami, anyway, come inside. This is going to take a while.”
“Thanks for having me. It’s been a while since I last came inside.”
“What are you saying? You came last week.”
“By the way, Yuya, did you finish your summer homework?”
“I finished it yesterday…”
“Lucky you.”
Ami had returned to her usual tone.
What was that expression earlier, anyway?
She plopped herself down on the sofa in front of the TV.
She turned it on and started helping herself to the snacks on the table, eating straight from the bag.
“Hey, don’t eat all my sweet potato chips, okay?”
“Don’t know~”
Ami reached for the sweet potato flavored chips.
I personally like the autumn limited sweet-and-salty flavor.
“Hey, hey, elves can use magic, right? What’s another world like?”
Like me, Ami loves anime.
Though her main interest seems to be shoujo manga.
She’s one of the few friends interested in my hobbies.
“What about my Comiket story?”
“I’ll hear that later. I want to hear about Chamomile-san first.”
“About what… it’s not that interesting, you know?”
““Wow! Amazing!””
“See, I told you it’s not that interesting.”
“Adventurers, magicians, sages… it’s like a game.”
“Magic really exists, huh.”
The other world Chamomile told me about was just like in anime or manga.
I thought it was impossible in reality, a product of imagination.
But it really exists.
“I want to go there. Another world.”
“If I could…”
“It’s not as good as you think. From what I hear, this world is safer and more comfortable.”
“But you don’t have to study there! Another world all the way, right?”
“And no need to go to university, no need to get a job either.”
“Being an adventurer isn’t easy. You’re always next to death. Not everyone can use magic, and some people have no skills… well, there are exceptions, of course.”
Chamomile’s gaze drifted off into the distance.
Was she remembering something from her past?
