Chapter 13: Shopping (Part 2)

"I'm starving..."

After finishing what felt like an endless shopping ordeal, we all dropped our bags off at the car and returned to the shopping mall for lunch.

It was already past 1 p.m.

Even I, who had a late breakfast, was feeling this hungry—our girls are seriously tough.

"What do you want for lunch?"

"Burger!"

I named a certain famous burger chain.

"Ugh, you can eat that anywhere. Besides, we had hamburger steak yesterday..."

Yuna complained with a dissatisfied look.

"A hamburger steak and a hamburger are totally different. And besides, there were no burger joints in the other world."

There's no way Yuna could understand how a high school guy feels after being denied junk food for a whole year!

Food in the other world tended to be pretty simple in flavor. There were tasty dishes too, but sometimes, I just craved that greasy, junky taste out of nowhere.

I want a burger!

"…Alright then, why don’t we go to the food court?"

We all agreed with Mom’s suggestion. At times like this, food courts are convenient since everyone can eat whatever they like.

The food court was lively, typical for a weekend, so we had Mom secure us some seats while the rest of us split up to find food.

'The food court feels just like a festival with all the food stalls! It's so exciting. And everything looks delicious… What kind of dish is that?'

'That one is…'

Answering Alicia’s questions, I made a round through the food court. I’d already decided on a burger for today, but next time, we’ll go with whatever Alicia wants.

Clutching the bill I'd gotten from Mom, I headed toward the burger shop, full of enthusiasm.

...But I guess I got a little too excited.

Caught up in the thrill, I wasn’t paying attention and ended up bumping into someone whose path had crossed with mine.

"...Ah, sorry—"

Looking up to see who I had bumped into, I found myself facing a clearly sketchy group of three guys.

"Ow… what the hell?"

"Huh? Is this girl a foreigner or something? Her hair’s totally white—so cute."

"…Damn, she’s unreal."

"Hey, how about coming with us to karaoke or something? We’ll pay for everything..."

...Seriously?

I just had to get caught up with this kind of hassle.

'Ikuto-san, it seems these men have had no combat training. Just ordinary thugs. If I use Ice Lance, I believe I can subdue them instantly.'

Alicia, thinking with that otherworldly mindset, was already suggesting hostile elimination.

'You can’t do that. If you kill someone just for picking a fight, it’ll be a huge problem in this country.'

And besides, using magic in a crowded place like this would definitely cause chaos.

'It’s fine! The Ice Lance freezes the damage area instantly, so there won’t be any blood loss or death!'

…Yeah, let’s pretend I didn’t hear that.

I could deal with these guys on my own if I had to, but I really didn’t want to stand out here. If possible, I wanted someone to notice the situation and call security.

"...Sorry, I’m here with my family."

"Just say you decided to hang out with some friends! We’ll even take you home. Plus, the spot where you bumped into me really hurts… Might be broken, y’know?"

If it were actually broken, you wouldn’t be standing there all smug.

Ugh, what a pain. I’m hungry too... Maybe I should just beat them up right here and be done with it—

Just as I was about to snap internally, a voice finally called out to save me.

"Hey, you guys… What the hell do you think you’re doing, hassling a little girl like that?"

I turned around, recognizing the voice—and was stunned when I saw who it was.

"Souta…?"

It was my childhood friend since preschool and my annoying twin brother, Kamishiro Souta. We hadn’t seen each other since parting ways on the ferry during the school trip a year ago.

"...Huh? You know me? Well, whatever. Anyway, she’s with me. So you guys can get lost now."

“Hey… Don’t mess with me, alright!?”

“Whoa, this is bad. When you say Souta, you mean the Rampaging Wolf of Hirako, right?”

“The Rampaging Wolf of Hirako—that guy who single-handedly wiped out a delinquent gang, that one!?”

“No way, seriously, that’s insane.”

Souta, you’re known by a nickname like that? You were just a rough but ordinary student until last year... And what do you mean by wiping out a delinquent gang?

“…Tch, let’s go, guys.”

The trio of thugs clicked their tongues and grudgingly shuffled off.

…What a relief.

“Thank you very much.”

I thanked Souta.

“Don’t mention it. But why do you know my name... Have we met somewhere? Nah, that can’t be. There’s no way anyone could forget a girl with such distinctive looks.”

“Well, um… my sister talked to me about you once.”

“…I bet it wasn’t any good. I’m not gonna lie, you’d be better off not getting involved with someone like me.”

…Wait, was that really the bad-boy act you were going for? I thought we’d long since graduated from middle school drama.

“I’ve heard that Souta-san is a good person. So, it’s okay…”

Trying not to slip up, I made my words careful and vague. But there was no way I could slowly explain my life story here at the shopping mall.

“Well then, my family is waiting, so I’ll go buy the burgers… Thanks.”

I hurried off toward the burger shop.

…That took way longer than I expected. My family might be starting to worry.

It seemed Souta was headed to the same place, because he queued up right behind me.

When my turn came, I ordered at the counter, which had gotten pretty expensive.

“I’ll have a Teriyaki Burger large set with fries and a cola! And two plain hamburgers without pickles, please!”

That was the standard menu I always ordered back in the day.

“Eh?”

The clerk called out, and when I nervously looked back, Souta was staring at me with a confused expression.