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~ - 140. Night of the Journey

140. 140. Night of the Journey

After finishing the discussion with Isezaki-san and the others, I headed towards the bonfire where the members of “Stinger” were gathered to hand over the provisions.

As they sat around the bonfire, they were munching on the usual black bread and dried meat. It’s common for adventurers on the move to have meals consisting of these two items, as they are lightweight and have a long shelf life.

During the previous journey, despite starting off luxuriously with Great Boar meat on the first day due to the adventurers’ skills, they ended up relying mainly on dried meat in the latter half. The convenience of my personal “Storage Space” was truly appreciated.

With that said, the baguette sandwiches with my monster meat hamburgers were well-received by “Stinger.” However, it was a bit unexpected that they seemed to enjoy the bread more than the hamburgers themselves.

Presumably, skilled adventurers like them have had their fair share of high-quality monster meat, and moreover, bread in the other world is known to be less tasty compared to Japanese bread.

Thanks to the Earth Dragon, my finances are currently stable, but since I plan to continue doing business in the other world, this kind of research proves to be quite educational.

After delivering the provisions, I promptly returned to the carriage. The guards were always on duty in a sense, so I didn’t want to disturb them unnecessarily.

In the carriage, Colin was sleeping wrapped in a towel blanket on the coachman’s seat. Although it was still early for sleeping, Colin, being a child after all, might need it.

Today was quite an eventful day with Colin, but her sleeping face looked so innocent and charming, it brought a smile to my face.

For a while, I found myself idly gazing at Colin’s peaceful sleeping face, but then Isezaki-san approached me quietly and whispered in my ear.

“Um, sir…? It’s best not to get too close to Colin-chan while she’s asleep…”

“Eh? …Ah, yeah, it’s rude to stare at a girl’s sleeping face like that, huh?”

Even though she’s still a young girl, she’s someone else’s child. I was inadvertently looking at her with the mindset of a guardian, but it could lead to serious consequences in Japan.

However, as I averted my gaze, Isezaki-san furrowed her brows slightly and continued,

“No, it’s not about that…”

She pointed towards Colin’s abdomen, which was covered by the towel blanket.

As instructed, I stared intently at that spot. Then―

I noticed the sharp tip of a knife, stealthily protruding from the towel blanket, aimed towards us.

“――――!!”

Suppressing the urge to shout, I stepped back a few steps. In response, the knife smoothly disappeared back into the towel blanket.

Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I asked Isezaki-san in a low voice,

“…What was that?”

“Colin-chan told me before going to sleep that even while sleeping, she’s trained to attack immediately if something happens. I don’t think she’ll accidentally attack you, but just in case…”

“R-Right. Yeah, thanks Isezaki-san…”

I expressed my gratitude to Isezaki-san’s warning and moved away from Colin as she slept.

◇◇◇

After that, I and Isezaki-san spent some time passing the time until we felt sleepy.

By the way, we didn’t bring any entertainment gadgets like manga or gaming consoles into the “Storage Space.”

I figured I could enjoy those when I’m back in Japan, and besides, since Isezaki-san, who I’ve been acquainted with for several years, was my company, I didn’t think we’d run out of things to talk about, even when alone together.

So, we spent the time watching the stars in the night sky, observing strange insects in the shadows of rocks, and petting the horses that were pulling the carriage. Suddenly, drowsiness came over me.

Seeing me stifling a yawn, Isezaki-san smiled softly and said,

“My, sir. Shall we call it a night soon?”

“Yeah… Sounds good. I think I’ll turn in now.”

During the journey, early morning departures were the norm. Although it was usually early for me to sleep, it shouldn’t be a problem.

I took out my sleeping bag from the “Storage Space.” It was my reliable companion from the previous journey.

However, Isezaki-san stopped me as I was about to do so.

“Sir, please wait a moment. Are you planning to sleep outside?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan. Why?”

“Well… Since we’re supposed to be a married couple, it might seem odd to the members of ‘Stinger’ if we don’t sleep together in the carriage.”

“No, but last time―― Oh, I see…”

Last time, Isezaki-san and Lady Levia slept together in the carriage because she was Lady Levia’s favorite, and I ended up sleeping outside alone. The situation is different this time.

“If the couple sleeps separately, Seriphos-san might start suspecting our relationship and try to push me into a relationship again.”

Hmm, I wonder about that. Judging by his demeanor, he seems to have let it go, but… Well, that’s not something I can say for sure.

If Isezaki-san is worried about it, I do want to alleviate her concerns, but…

“But even you, Isezaki-san, wouldn’t you dislike sleeping with me in such a cramped carriage? I’m used to sleeping in a sleeping bag, so I’ll just convince them to let me sleep outside.”

You could come up with excuses like wanting your wife to sleep comfortably in the carriage or claiming that I snore loudly. But Isezaki-san shook her head.

“No, sir, there’s nothing unpleasant about sleeping next to you. Besides, we shared the same room at the inn before, and even today, we took naps in the carriage during the journey, didn’t we? So, nothing has changed.”

Isezaki-san spoke quickly but calmly.

Indeed, today we both took short naps in the moving carriage. Thinking about it, the only difference is whether it’s daytime or nighttime. …Yeah, it doesn’t seem weird at all.

Besides, Isezaki-san is like a younger sister to me. If she doesn’t mind, then I’m fine with either option.

“That’s true. In that case, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Yes, please go ahead and rest. I’ll spend a little more time enjoying the night breeze.”

“Okay, got it. Goodnight, Isezaki-san.”

“Yes, sir. Goodnight.”

As Isezaki-san gave me a slight bow and watched me off, I headed towards the carriage.

Well, that felt a bit awkward, like I was overly conscious of it. I lightly scratched my cheek to hide my embarrassment and climbed into the carriage.

Original Author’s Comment:

―― Author’s Note ――

Next time will be from Isezaki-san’s perspective.