Chapter 9 (1/2)
I hate how noisy cell phones are when they vibrate Back when I bought my own personal cell phone, I immediately set it to ot a text or received an email and my responses were always late Well, they were only about uniuy who instantly responds to work correspondence even while off the clock I’uy, so I only ever replied when I had free ti it a priority was too much of a pain What was an even worse pain was the way that recent apps let people know that you’d ‘already read‘ their es
Well, though that was how I thought…stand, and when the phone vibrated with a e I went to pick it up after a few seconds
My reen app on my phone In that screen were cipher-like words which said, [what time back this like?] 1
[nor a sticker that said “Understood!”, rew dark, and as I went back to eating ain [work do your best], it said This time I was the one who sent a sticker
As you probably guessed, the person I was chatting as Ilias aiting for me back home In the past there had been an incident where I’d needed to work overti while waiting for ate, and just as I worried that soedthat ere in plain sight outside Is that a passionate gay couple going through a bump in their relationshi+p? The question, carried by the lukewar crowd, pierced into me The experience remained a bitter memory
Iht Ilias his own personal phone and taught hi ical communication device, so he quickly es while I was at work
Ilias had kind of learned how to speak japanese, but as for writing… well, he still had a ways to go There are other letters besides hiragana you know! Kanji also exist!' I thought with teary eyes yesterday as I taught hi lessons for children
Anyway, it seeotten addicted to daytime dramas The very first japanese words to ever co a handsouy like that spit out melodramatic words from a soap opera struckso hard that I almost couldn't breathe
“You’re still grinnin’ over there? C’in’ ya!” Mita cried out while slurping up his cup noodles — dandan-flavored today This guy really liked the cups with dense flavoring 3
“It’s too early to show you, so I won’t”
“Eeeeh, how can you say thaat! You haven’t shown anyone your girlfriend yeeet!”
“Obviously I don’t like showing things off”
Since Mita didn’t believe irlfriend, I had already given up and just ith it It was inevitable; I', after all “Here, I’ll show you allery on his phone I was firirlfriend Oh, I see, so you prefer big-boobed loli types You have good eyes 4
This year, Golden Week landed on the worst date possible 5 Since I had to use up my paid vacation earlier, that meant I only had the last three days off froh the boss took paid leave and wasn’t there, I still had to come in to work on those first two days of the week The deserted office only had a feorkers becauseup a stor about how tomorrow I had a three-day vacation was I able to put up with how busy it was
All worn out, I made my way back home and opened the entrance Ilias stood in the kitchen just beyond, wearing an apron I greeted hi, and when he peeked inside he let out a hearty laugh Yeah, I ell aware that the beer I bought for this holiday was a little more expensive than usual
“Dinner will be ready soon, so noould be a good tie”
“Oh, deep-fried chicken!”
I looked down at tonight’s dinner, and after checking to e, I threw one of the freshly-fried chicken chunks intothat
“Hey, Azusa!”
“Hmrf?!”
This, this thing’s really da hot air out of uy’s food was really delicious… just,burned…
“Are you alright? Open up and show me” Faster than I could reply, Ilias stretched out his burly arms and heldfrom above With that kind ofI was okay, so I slowly openedup my face in his hands, Ilias squinted and checked it over
Yo, this pose is… kind of terrible… I look like a huge slut right now, didn’t I… Yeah, that was definitely not so to say out loud
“Ilias—”
I’d already held ue out so far that it was ied Ilias withto convey to him: It’s fine if you don’t look at it that carefully, and also I feel like I’ue back in already…
The entire tiue, but thehis hands away Wha, what the heck… that scared ht scarlet, the guy in front of ainst his
Hold up, why are you getting red in the first place? Did you…I did? No, no way haha, that couldn't be… But the expression he used to look at me was impossible to mistake The minute I realized, heat flooded my face
“I-I, I’e my clothes…!”
Not wanting hi face, I ran away and escaped into h-pitched, there hadn’t been any point in trying to hide it
Loafing around during a bunch of vacation days was really the best After we finished eating dinner, I leisurely watched TV while besidetheently did his hoold-star-worthy Every now and then I answered one of the questions he asked, and like that, tiuidly passed
All of a sudden, the stone lying next to the TV began to shake and e with it, the stone that Ilias called his ‘ical communication device’ had, since then, simply became part of the house décor—but now, its power flickered on and it ca his ho over to take the stone into his hands, his fingers fa over it A sci-fi-like screen popped up, and nued on the screen
“This is Selenia Kingdoical Communications Bureau Can you hear us? If so, please respond”
“This is Ilias Garland speaking!”
Ah, so it was a speaker-type device Upon hearing the aze As I looked at Ilias, I remembered that he had really said that he was someone who had come from another world
“Sir Ilias! You’re really alright! Director, we’ve succeeded in establishi+ng coht Ilias!”
The voice co randpa’s I don’t know if the speaker was actually old or if he just had a voice that sounded like it, but in any case, the way he spoke was dignified
So, so I took my smartphone in hand and went to sit so tointo bed In this bed that had been completely prepared for two people to sleep in, I breathed in Ilias’s scent Fora person’s scent other than
That said, it see with Ilias was now ending Even though that’s soht now… Really, I don’t get it at all
“Azusa, sorry I’ve finished the call”
Ilias called out to me while I laid there I hadn't even looked at the cell phone that I'd brought I quietly liftedin the doorway, his eyes wet like he’d perhaps been crying
“It’s fine… hoas it?”
“It seems that over half a year has already passed in my world Now that they’ve confirmed my coordinates, it’s only a matter of time before they resolve the situation”
“Huh It’s only been three uess ti will it take?”
“ ’In about another half year we’ll be able to do so’, the director said”