Encounter

So, what should I do now? Mom told me to stay in bed, but there's no way I can sleep anymore. I might as well explore the house! What I remember and what I see are completely different, after all.

As I thought that and lowered my feet to get out of bed, I noticed a pair of shoes beside it. It looks like they wear shoes indoors here.

When I put them on, I realized they were made by weaving together something like grass. They're a little prickly, but I'll have to put up with it for now. Surely these aren't the only shoes available in this world.

I got out of bed and opened the only door in the room. I cautiously stuck my head out and looked around. To the right was a dead end with an open window. Straight ahead was another room, and to the left was a staircase leading downstairs.

First, I decided to open the other door.

"Excuse me~"

I said that softly and opened the door carefully. For some reason, it felt like I was secretly peeking into someone else's house.

The other room was more or less a storage room. Even with my current knowledge, I couldn't make much sense of it, so maybe I shouldn't go in there.

Next, I decided to go downstairs. As I made my way down the creaky, noisy stairs, I found a short, straight hallway. There was one door at the end, two on the right, and one on the left.

I opened the doors on the right first. The first was a toilet, while the second had a table and chairs and seemed to be the living room.

When I went inside, I discovered that there was another door at the back of the living room. It was locked, but when I unlocked it and opened the door, I found a small garden and a well. Wooden fences separated it from the neighboring and rear houses, and another fence kept people from entering from the road in front, making it feel like a courtyard.

Washtubs and the like were propped up nearby, and a rope ran between the house and the wooden fence, so I suppose they do their laundry here as well. According to Leon's memories, they use those tubs to wipe themselves down with a cloth...

I couldn't stand it if that were all there was. Doesn't this world have baths? If it doesn't, what am I supposed to do...?

But there has to be a bath somewhere. I want to believe that, at least. Once I get used to this world, maybe I'll start looking for one.

Next, I decided to open the door on the left, as seen from the staircase. I could hear noises coming from it, so Mom and Dad might be inside.

A little nervous, I opened the door on the left, and... there was the kitchen, where Mom and Dad were cooking.

"Leon, what are you doing? Shouldn't you still be in bed?"

"I'm feeling fine now, Mom. I'm all right."

Looking at her properly for the first time, I realized that Mom was beautiful. She had blond hair and amber eyes, and looked young enough to still be in her twenties. According to Leon's memories, she was kind, but scary when she got angry.

"Are you all right, Leon? I didn't know what to do when you fell down the stairs and hit your head."

"Sorry for worrying you, Dad. I feel completely fine now!"

"That's good. I'm so glad."

Dad's face relaxed with obvious relief. He had brown hair and brown eyes and seemed like a very gentle person. In reality, he was kindhearted and cared deeply about his family.

"Jean, if you don't keep your hands moving, we won't be ready to open on time!"

"Sorry, Roana. I'll get right to it."

Watching my parents, I couldn't help but smile wryly. It seemed Mom was the boss in this family.

Still, it was obvious from watching them that Dad adored Mom. Even now, while she was scolding him, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Mom, where's Marie?"

I wanted to meet my little sister in person, too. Ichigaya Ryosuke had never had any younger siblings, and I had always envied people who did.

"Marie is cleaning the diner. If you're feeling well enough, go help her, Leon."

"Okay."

"Marie! Leon's going to help you, too!"

Mom called out toward the diner. The diner and kitchen were connected, though there was a counter between them.

"Yay! It was so hard doing it all by myself~"

I heard Marie's voice. I returned from the kitchen to the hallway and opened the door at the end. It led into the diner.

"Big Brother, is your head okay? Does it still hurt?"

"I'm fine now. Sorry for worrying you."

"You're so clumsy, Big Brother~"

As she said that, Marie puffed out her cheeks. I couldn't help staring at her.

Marie had brown hair and amber eyes, and her features were as perfect as a doll's. She was way too cute. I needed to make sure no suspicious characters got near her...

Marie was five years old, but she was already doing a fine job helping around the diner and was apparently becoming its little mascot. I vowed to protect her from any unsavory characters. I was already a hopelessly overprotective brother.

"Big Brother, Big Brother! Why are you spacing out? Does your head still hurt after all?"

Oh no. Apparently, my staring at Marie made it look like I was feeling unwell, and I had worried her.

"I'm completely fine now. Come on, I guess Big Brother should get to work, too!"

"Really?"

Marie gave me a suspicious look, but when I nodded emphatically, she seemed to accept my answer.

"Then go sweep outside the front door. I'll clean inside."

With that, Marie handed me a broom for sweeping outdoors.

"Got it. I'll go clean up!"

I took the broom and opened the door leading outside from the diner.

"Wow~!"

I accidentally shouted, then hurriedly covered my mouth with my hand.

But I was still overwhelmed. I had known about it from Leon's memories, but actually seeing it was completely different. Amazing... this really was another world!

The first thing I saw after opening the door was a broad avenue wide enough for carriages to pass each other with room to spare, filled with carriages and people coming and going. Most of the houses seemed to be wooden, and roughly two-story homes stood packed tightly together.

Still, if I only saw this scenery, I could have thought I had traveled back in time. But the fact that this was another world had already been proven by the magic in Leon's memories.

Even so, it was incredible. The streets weren't especially beautiful, and compared to Japan they were underdeveloped and dirty, but the excitement of being in another world more than made up for that.

But I had to live here for the rest of my life, didn't I...? Thinking about that made my excitement fade, and I found myself wishing I could live somewhere nicer.

Well, there was no point worrying about that now. To psych myself up, I slapped both cheeks with my hands and took a step to the right. Unfortunately, someone happened to be walking toward me from that direction, and I crashed right into them.

The impact knocked me onto my backside.

"Ow... Huh?"

I looked up, intending to apologize to the person I'd bumped into despite the pain, and found myself speechless with shock.

The person standing there was a knight. He wasn't wearing full plate armor, but he had on light armor and a sword at his waist. He was a handsome man with red hair and brown eyes.

I didn't know whether this world had nobles, but judging from his clothes and bearing, he had to be an important person. I hurriedly tried to drop into seiza and apologize, but the man held out a hand to me.

"Are you all right? I'm sorry—I bumped into you."

For a moment, I just stared blankly, unable to understand what he had said. Then I hurriedly got to my feet and apologized.

"I'm the one who should apologize. I'm sorry for bumping into you. Are you injured?"

Without thinking, I had fallen back into the polite speech I had used in Japan. Would he find it strange for a child to speak this way...? When I looked up at his face, I saw that his brow was furrowed.

As I fidgeted, worrying that using polite speech had been a mistake, the man asked me a question.

"Where did you learn to speak like that? You're a child from this diner, aren't you? I wouldn't think you would have had any opportunity to learn..."

Was speaking politely a problem regardless of age!? Oh no, what should I do...?

"Um... well... An old man in the neighborhood taught me."

I tried to bluff my way out of it, but the man still looked troubled. As I frantically wondered what to do, his expression suddenly softened.

"I see. Well done."

He patted me on the head a few times. I was so relieved that I let out a sigh without meaning to.

"My name is Frederick. What's yours? And are you sure you aren't hurt?"

"I'm Leon. I'm not hurt. Sorry for bumping into you."

This time, I made sure not to sound too formal.

"Leon, huh? I don't have time to stop by now, but I'll come by the diner another time."

The man gave me a warm smile.

"Y-yes! I'll be waiting!"

I smiled back, and Frederick-san patted me on the head once more before walking away.

"Whew... I think I managed to bluff my way through that."

That had been a close one. I needed to be more careful from now on...

Come to think of it, why had I been able to speak so formally? I doubt Leon could have done that.

Thinking about it carefully, I realized that I understood everything everyone said perfectly, as though they were speaking Japanese, and I could speak it just as naturally as Japanese, too.

What about writing? I wondered that as I wrote some characters in the dirt. I was able to write the language of this other world as naturally as Japanese, and I could read it, too.

What was going on...? According to Leon's memories, at least, Leon couldn't read or write.

I didn't understand it, but apparently I could speak, read, and write this world's language just as easily as Japanese. It was convenient, so I decided to be grateful for it. Still, I had to be careful not to let anyone find out.

While I was pondering that, the door to the house opened, and Marie came out.

"Big Brother, are you done?"

Only then did I realize that I hadn't cleaned at all! I hurriedly began sweeping with the broom.

"I-I'll be done in a little while..."

I gave Marie a dry laugh as I looked at her, but she was staring at me suspiciously.

"You were slacking off, weren't you, Big Brother?"

"N-no, I wasn't! I'll be finished soon, so go back inside, Marie."

Marie stared intently at me, but apparently she was satisfied, because her expression softened a little.

"Then hurry up. It'll be time to open soon."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll be done in a minute."

Marie said that and went back inside.

Oh no! I need to finish cleaning, fast! I swept as hard as I could.