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~ - 220. Colin's First Shopping Trip

220. 220. 220. 220. Colin’s First Shopping Trip

Since I was a paper driver, I was a bit anxious. But no matter who presses the accelerator, the car will start moving. Despite my clumsy driving, the scenery outside the window gradually began to flow by.

“Matsunaga-sama! The car is moving! It’s much faster than a carriage!!”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right. By the way, Colin-chan, in Japan, someone like me—just an ordinary guy—wouldn’t have a bodyguard. So, maybe we should reconsider that setup.”

“Is that so? When I asked Lady Isezaki, she said, ‘For someone as amazing as Uncle, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have a bodyguard…'” 

“Yeah, that’s not quite right.”

It seemed that behind Colin’s statement, Isezaki-san had been working behind the scenes. She still seems to be overly flattering me, but if I think of it as a sign of trust. It’s kind of endearing… or at least, I think it might be.

In any case, I discussed it with Colin and ended up developing the idea I had casually mentioned earlier about a relative’s child. It turned into a story where my sister (who doesn’t exist) has a daughter with a foreign husband.

She’s a cute, highly capable child prodigy. And I think this setup makes more sense than saying she’s the child of an average person like me. I’ll make sure to inform Isezaki-san and Aihara about this later.

—

After driving for a while, we arrived at our first destination. It was a large shopping mall located at the border of the prefecture. I heard that there was a 100-yen shop among the mall’s tenants. This was my first time actually visiting.

Whether it was out of curiosity or because of her role as my bodyguard, Colin looked around, her eyes darting everywhere. So I accompanied her into the 100-yen shop.

I began by picking up some standard items: lighters, pens, LED lights, and plenty of batteries. These were things I’d been told by the handsome merchant, Ryas from the Reymar Trading Company, that were in high demand and seriously lacking in stock. Whenever I saw them, I made sure to buy them.

That said, just buying the usual products is boring. Since I was there to explore new items for the shop, I figured I might as well look for something that could become a hit—something new and interesting.

I wandered around the store for a bit. But in the end, I didn’t find anything that really caught my eye.

Well, of course. If a beginner like me could suddenly become a skilled buyer, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge. But on the bright side, I came up with a good idea.

—If I want to know what people from another world want, I can just ask people from that world. So, I decided to ask Colin.

“Um… Colin-chan, are there any items in this store that might be rare or unique in the other world?”

“Hmm, if that’s the case—it’s over there!”

Apparently, she already had something in mind. Colin walked off, so I followed her. She stopped in front of a shelf, and there it was—

“Eh? A calendar?”

“A calendar…? Ah, I see! This character represents the calendar, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right. Don’t people in the other world have calendars like this?”

“They do, but nothing as fancy as this. But the reason I thought it was rare wasn’t just because of that. Look here!”

She pointed to the usual section of the calendar with pictures of landscapes, dogs, and cats printed on it.

“I’ve never seen pictures like these—more delicate and realistic than paintings!”

“Ah, I see.”

I could definitely see this item selling well. The Reymar Trading Company targets the wealthy. And rich people often want rare paintings and will pay a large sum for them… or maybe that’s just a prejudice on my part.

Now that I think about it, when I sold canned tuna at the Reymar Trading Company, the buyers were more interested in the photo printed on the can than the actual contents.

Also, since the calendar had decent photos for each of the six months, all priced at 100 yen, it seemed like a bargain. 

I could just cut out the photo part of the calendar and have Ryas frame them in a nice frame to add some luxury. This could definitely be worth a try.

“Colin-chan, you’re amazing. I’m going to go with your idea.”

“Did I do a good job?”

“Yeah, yeah, great job!”

“Yay!”

Colin bounced up and down, looking very pleased. She seemed especially happy to be praised for something other than her bodyguard duties. She wore a very satisfied expression.

“…….You know, as a reward for your good work, Colin-chan. How about I buy you something from this store? Anything you want, just tell me.”

“Eh, but…”

Colin hesitated, her eyes downcast. She looked like she was trying to hold back. She seemed reluctant, but she kept glancing at a shelf in the distance. It looked like she really wanted something but was too shy to ask.

“Come on, kids don’t need to hold back. If you want something, just tell me.”

“…….Is it really alright?”

“Of course.”

Sighing in resignation at my insistence, Colin lowered her head politely.

“Thank you very much for your kindness! Well then, I’ll go ahead and say what I want—”

She headed straight for the kitchen section, where various dishes and kitchen gadgets were displayed in a crowded space. Given that Colin, a maid, wasn’t particularly good at housework, this was an unexpected choice.

Maybe she planned to practice cooking in Japan. If that was the case, I thought it was a great attitude to have. If that’s the case, I’d buy whatever she needed, no problem.

“This one! I want as many as possible!”

With sparkling eyes, Colin pointed eagerly at something. Wait, what!?

There, lined up on the shelf, were small knives—petty knives.

“Eh… I see… What kind of dishes do you plan to use them for?”

I already had a bad feeling, but I asked anyway.

“No, I thought they’d be perfect for throwing! They’re a bit too light to deal a fatal blow, but they seem great for intimidation and deterrence! As soon as I saw them, I knew they were just right for that! Right now, there are only these two.”

Ah, I knew it… I stiffened as Colin, without paying any attention to my troubled expression, lifted the long skirt of her maid outfit up to her thighs. There, like some spy, two knives were strapped to her leg with a band.

The blades of the knives had fine scratches, giving them a used look. And they had a certain quality about them that spoke to craftsmanship. The handles, however, seemed poorly maintained. It had something red and black staining them that sent a chill down my spine.

Then I realized I was staring at the thighs of a little girl, which made me feel socially cold too.

That aside, a man’s word is his bond. I took all the petty knives off the shelf, grabbing about ten of them, and tossed them into the shopping basket.

“Wow! Thank you so much!”

Colin’s cheerful voice caused the other customers nearby to turn around, and everyone couldn’t help but smile at her beaming face. However, no one would ever guess the reason for her smile was that she had just been given throwing knives. As I thought about this, I could only smile wryly to myself.

――Afterword――

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