The Neighborhood High School Girl, Miss Isezaki, Is the Great Saintess Returned from Another World~ And I, Suddenly Awakened as Her Exclusive Mana Supply Uncle, Travel Between Earth and Another World with Time-Space Magic~ - 1. Thirties and High School Girl

1. Thirties and High School Girl

“I’ll be leaving now.”

“Oh? Matsunaga-kun, you always leave so early, don’t you think it’s rude to leave before your boss? Oh, that’s right. If you have time, could you look over these documents—”

“Hahaha, I have plans for today…”

With a wry smile in response to the boss who tries to force unpaid overtime, I quickly leave the office.

Behind me, I hear a click of the tongue. I feel like my boss really dislikes me, but it’s not a problem since I have no intention of getting promoted.

Having escaped from overtime work again today, I arrive at my nearest station by train and check the time on my smartphone.

It’s eight o’clock at night. Although it’s still a time when restaurants are open, I’ve given up on climbing the corporate ladder and need to save money. So, naturally, my destination is the nearby supermarket.

Arriving at the nearest supermarket, I wander around with a basket in hand.

Supermarkets tend to have a lot of discounted items at night, but it’s not so much the case for 24-hour supermarkets like this one. Popular fried foods are already sold out.

While wandering around the store without deciding on a menu, it’s quite enjoyable to make dinner based on my mood of the day. It’s one of my few hobbies.

Feeling like eating meat today, I walk around the meat section, checking each item on display one by one, and find a pack of beef for steak with a half-price sticker on it. Alright, this will do for tonight.

I reach out for the steak, and—my hand collides with another hand that’s reached out as well.

“Oh, sorry—oh, Isezaki-san.”

“Oh my, sir. Hehe, what a coincidence.”

Saying that, Seina Isezaki smiles elegantly with her hand on her mouth. She’s a high school girl acquaintance of mine.

It’s a little past eight in the evening. It’s quite odd for a high school student like Seina to be in this supermarket in her school uniform, but she participates in club activities until late and commutes by train from a well-known private high school.

Because of that, occasionally… no, quite frequently, we run into each other at this supermarket.

However, in her case, rather than the time of day, I feel a sense of incongruity about her shopping at such a common supermarket in the first place.

That’s because Seina Isezaki lost her parents in an accident, and her grandfather passed away a few years ago.

I’ve heard rumors about her inheriting a considerable amount of inheritance at the time, and it doesn’t seem like the kind of supermarket she would frequent. Of course, even if she’s wealthy, it’s still better to save money.

“I’m good now, Isezaki-san, please go ahead.”

When I offer Seina the half-price steak, she laughs mischievously and says,

“Hehe. Sir, it’s alright. Look, there’s another one here.”

Lifting up the pack of half-price steak, there’s another steak with the same half-price sticker underneath.

“Oh, you’re right. Thanks to you, I can have steak for the first time in a while.”

“My, sir…”

Seina laughs, finding something amusing. I can’t help but feel like an old man to a high school girl… Is “sir” the only better option?

◇◇◇

After that, we go around the supermarket together and decide to go home together.

We always do this when we meet at the supermarket. Although the public safety around here isn’t particularly bad, it’s still uneasy for a high school girl to walk alone at night.

“By the way, sir. My grandmother mentioned inviting you over for a meal next time. Would you mind telling me your schedule?”

“Huh, is that okay? You just treated me the other day…”

Seina’s grandmother and I have known each other since before I met Seina. After all, she’s the owner of the apartment I live in. We’ve been close since my university days.

“It’s always just my grandmother and me having meals together. If you come, it’ll be lively, and both my grandmother and I will be happy.”

“Is that so? I don’t think I’m that lively, but… If that’s okay with you, I’ll come for another treat.”

“Wow! Thank you so much! Then, how about next Tuesday—”

At that moment, Isezaki-san’s words and footsteps suddenly halted. I averted my gaze from Isezaki-san and looked ahead, just like her.

In the distance, I could already see the apartment where I live.

Further back, beyond my apartment, there was a traditional Japanese-style mansion that seemed out of place in this typical residential area— the Isezaki residence. But between the apartment and the Isezaki residence, I could see a man standing on the road.

The man turned his face towards us and hurriedly approached. The nearby streetlamp illuminated him, and I finally realized that he was a boy, probably about high school age.

The handsome boy stood in front of Isezaki-san and raised his voice.

“I-Isezaki!”

“Y-Yes…”

“Oh, it’s me! I just can’t give up! So, I’ll say it again! Please go out with me!”

Phew, a live confession scene. I’ve never seen anything like this before.

Isezaki-san is a level of beauty that you don’t often see even on TV, so I had a feeling she was popular.

Come to think of it, she’s at an age where she should be getting a boyfriend and enjoying her youth. Even though I’m called an “uncle,” I’ve always thought of Isezaki-san as a younger sister, so I felt a little lonely.

But when Isezaki-san spoke to him, her response was cold, unlike anything I had ever heard from her.

“I should have already declined. My answer hasn’t changed. Please refrain from speaking to me privately anymore.”

The boy’s voice became agitated in response to her words.

“…Wh-Why! I have top grades in the school, and I’m the captain of the soccer team! It would be fun for Isezaki to be with me, wouldn’t it!?”

Oh, a high-spec guy. But well, it might not be acceptable to brag about it like that.

“…I won’t say it again. Please leave.”

Isezaki-san coldly replied again. Then the boy’s gaze turned to me.

“Wait, who’s that old man!? He’s not your… parent, right? No way, Isezaki, with that guy…!”

It was tough being thought of as Isezaki-san’s parent at my age, so I was relieved, but it would be better to clear up this misunderstanding first.

“Boy, I’m just a regular old man from the neighborhood who happened to meet you. Maybe you should come back another day?”

While Isezaki-san muttered, “Even if I say come back, my answer won’t change,” it seemed like he didn’t hear her. Let’s not provoke him further.

“I won’t listen to an old man’s orders! S-Seina! If you won’t be mine… at least let me…!”

The boy, suddenly closing the distance with a familiar name and a threatening tone, pulled out— gleaming from his pocket—a heavy survival knife, and then, holding it in both hands, he dashed towards Isezaki-san.

Huh, is this for real!? A guy saying things like “If I kill her, she’ll be mine forever”!? While my heart was pounding at the sudden turn of events, I glanced beside me, only to see Isezaki-san’s face stiffening in terror.

—Dangerous! That’s what I thought, and my body moved on its own.

I intervened between Isezaki-san and the boy—

“Nooo! Sir, sir!!”

Isezaki-san screamed. It’s hot, my stomach is hot. I look down at my abdomen, and there, the survival knife is deeply embedded up to the hilt.

“No way! Sir! Sir!”

Isezaki-san clutches my shoulders, tears streaming down her face.

“I-It’s your fault. It’s your fault for not being mine…!”

Isezaki-san’s cries and my blood-red blood brought me back to my senses, and the boy, looking at us, began to retreat and then turned his back and ran away.

“No! Sir, don’t die! C-Call an ambulance…!”

Next to me, collapsed on the ground as if crumbling, Isezaki-san trembled as she operated her smartphone. But the smartphone slipped from her hand and made a light clattering sound.

As I watched this scene… Ah… somehow, the pain from being stabbed is starting to fade away…

It was surprising for my life to end like this, but it was just a life of living leisurely. If I could save a girl who I thought of as my younger sister, then maybe it was all worth it…

As I was vaguely pondering such things, cold droplets began to fall on my face.

When I opened my eyes, which had been closed for who knows how long, Isezaki-san’s face, wet with tears, was right next to me. It seems like she’s been using her lap as a pillow.

“Something like this… I-if I had regained my ‘power,’ then something like this wouldn’t have happened…!!”

Isezaki-san murmured strangely as tears continued to fall.

Haha, even Isezaki-san says such chuunibyou-like things like regaining her ‘power’…

I was a little worried that Isezaki-san, who was already in high school, was developing chuunibyou, but well, she’s beautiful, her family is rich, she has a kind grandmother, and she’ll somehow manage in the future.

I couldn’t speak anymore, my throat felt blocked. Instead of a farewell, I mustered my last ounce of strength and squeezed her hand.

Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve ever held her hand. It was slender and delicate, and when I grasped it tightly, it felt like it might break. It was pleasantly cool.

“Sir, please don’t die, please…!”

Isezaki-san sobbed uncontrollably. At least until the moment I lost consciousness, I decided to look at Isezaki-san’s face.

But perhaps the light from the streetlamp entered my eyes, and Isezaki-san appeared dazzlingly bright, causing me to inadvertently squint.

“No… My ‘power,’ it’s returning…!?”

I heard Isezaki-san’s bewildered voice in my ears.

Chuunibyou is so embarrassing to remember later, so it’s better to cure it as soon as possible. But I couldn’t even give advice like that anymore to myself, who was on the brink of death.

“This should work…!”

With a determined voice, Isezaki-san muttered something and tightly gripped my hand with both hands.

“Healing Heal…!”

The moment Isezaki-san shouted that, a light brighter than before enveloped the surroundings, no, it enveloped my body.

…What is this, it’s warm and pleasant. It seems like this is what it feels like before you die. It’s good that I didn’t have to suffer in pain.

Realizing my impending death, I relaxed all the muscles in my body and closed my eyes again.

—

“Sir! Sir!?”

I was shaken gently. When I opened my eyes, I saw Isezaki-san, her eyes swollen red from crying. It seems I’m still alive…

“Sir, are your wounds… healed?”

“Huh, that’s ridiculous—”

For some reason, with the arm that seemed to have regained strength, I touched the spot where I was stabbed. It didn’t hurt. Then I rolled up my shirt.

For some reason, Isezaki-san was staring intently at my abdomen, but that’s beside the point. I also stared intently at my own stomach.

…It was wet with blood, but there was no wound anywhere. The survival knife was lying right next to me.

“It’s healed. Why…?”

“Oh, thank goodness…! Sir! If something happened to you, I…”

With trembling voice, Isezaki-san embraced me.

Until a moment ago, I was gradually losing my senses, but now I could feel Isezaki-san’s voice, warmth, and scent all over my body, and along with that, some sort of strange vitality was circulating around my body—

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Is something wrong? Do you have any other painful areas?”

With a worried expression, Isezaki-san peered at me.

“No, it’s not that, it’s just that I feel kind of… dizzy—”

“?”

Isezaki-san tilted her head in confusion. At that moment, it felt like a scene from somewhere else was being reflected in her eyes.

—Where is that?

That’s what I thought at that moment.

The vitality swirling within me was released, surrounding us—

And then, enveloped in a feeling of floating, I let my consciousness fly into the darkness.