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~ - 221. Colin's First Shopping Trip: Afterward

221. 221. 221. 221. Colin’s First Shopping Trip: Afterward

While pretending not to notice the store clerk’s strained expression at the sheer volume of knives in our shopping basket, Colin and I finished paying and left the 100-yen shop.  

This wasn’t the only 100-yen shop we planned to visit today. We had to move briskly to hit them all.  

—

After that, Colin and I hopped from one 100-yen shop to another as if we were on a stamp rally. And before we knew it, the sun had completely set.  

The shopping spree was largely uneventful—there were no significant troubles, and Colin wasn’t approached by anyone. Which meant the elaborate backstory I had prepared for her went unused. A bit of a shame, honestly.  

The one thing that stood out was how Colin seemed eager to drive after watching me closely. In the beginning, her mimicking my steering motions was just cute. But as she got more comfortable, she started commenting when I missed a turn during a right-hand maneuver or advising, “You should get into the right lane now,” while watching the GPS. She had become the slightly annoying type of passenger. Sorry, I’m just a paper driver…  

That aside, this drive seemed to have been an exhilarating experience for Colin. The sparkle in her eyes as she enjoyed herself left quite an impression.  

Though the trip was part of my frugal budgeting efforts, I’m glad Colin had fun too.  

Afterward, I returned the rental car at an office across the prefectural border and used [Dimensional Teleport] to get back home.  

—

Next on the agenda was dropping Colin off at the Isezaki residence, setting up the [Void Gate] in the guest room, and wrapping up the day’s tasks.  

That’s how I ended up visiting the Isezaki residence. At the entrance, Isezaki-san greeted us with a warm smile.  

“Uncle, Colin-chan, you went out today, didn’t you? Thank you for your hard work.”  

“Yep, we did. And here’s a little souvenir for you—these are for you and the landlady to enjoy.”  

I handed her some specialty buns I’d picked up at a roadside station along the way.  

“Oh my, thank you so much… Wait, you went quite far today, didn’t you?”  

Noticing the label on the buns, Isezaki-san blinked in surprise.  

“Yeah, I thought I’d check out some new 100-yen shops. Ended up going to the neighboring prefecture for the first time in a while.”  

“I got to ride in a car today! Vroom, vroom! Screeeech!” 

Colin enthusiastically mimicked driving, complete with sound effects. While it was endearing, I wish she hadn’t recreated the sudden brake and jolt that occurred at one point.  

Isezaki-san tilted her head at Colin’s actions.  

“A car? But Uncle, you don’t own one, do you?”  

“True, but this time I rented one. Colin and I went on a little trip to some 100-yen shops outside the prefecture. It was my first time driving in ages, but we managed.”  

“W-Wait a moment! U-Uncle… You… went on a drive… with Colin today?”  

“Uh, yeah, I guess you could call it that?”  

“I… I haven’t even…”  

“Um, is something wrong, Isezaki-san?”  

Noticing her leaning against the wall, muttering something, I asked if she was okay. She lightly shook her head and gave me a faint, wistful smile.  

“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, Colin-chan, how was your drive with Uncle? Where did you go?”  

With a bright smile, Isezaki-san shifted her focus to Colin.  

“Well… for lunch, we went to a kaiten sushi place. The plates spinning around were so fun! And I tried copying Matsunaga-sama by putting wasabi on my sushi. But it was so spicy I cried! It’s amazing how he can eat it like it’s delicious!”  

“I… see. Sounds like you had fun. What else?”  

“I saw the ocean from the car! I’d never seen the ocean before, and it was so big—so incredibly big!”  

“Th-that’s… nice…”  

“Then, the sunset was so beautiful that Matsunaga-sama took a picture of it as a keepsake! Oh, Matsunaga-sama, could you show me the photo from back then?” 

“Sure, here you go.”  

I operated my smartphone and showed Colin the screen.  

The picture was just an amateur snapshot taken on a road overlooking the ocean, with Colin in the foreground against the sunset. An old man holding a fishing rod was awkwardly in the frame too.  

But seeing it, Colin’s face lit up with joy.  

“Wow, it’s really so beautiful! Thank you for taking this, Matsunaga-sama!”  

“Really? If you like it that much, I’ll print it out for you next time. Feel free to take it home.”  

“Yay! I’m so happy! Oh, and please print the one we took together too!”  

“Ah, that one? If you don’t mind having me in it, of course—”  

—Thud!  

Suddenly, there was a loud noise of something hitting the floor. Turning to look, I saw Isezaki-san collapsed to her knees.  

“Isezaki-san!? What’s wrong? Are you okay!?”  

Was it anemia? Isezaki-san lowered her head, trembling.  

“Ugh… uuuugh…”  

“Huh?”  

When she raised her face, her brows were furrowed tightly. And in a trembling voice, she spoke.  

“—I’m jealous…!”  

“What?”  

“Uncle, I wanted… I wanted to go on a drive too! I wanted to have pictures taken too!”  

“Eh? No, no, it was just a trip to pick up supplies from some 100-yen shops. The photos weren’t even of any scenic spots or anything…”  

But Isezaki-san wasn’t listening. She clenched her fists and looked at me with determined eyes.

“Uncle!”  

“Y-Yes!?”  

“Next time, please, please take me on a drive too!”  

“Uh, well…”  

“I don’t care where! Even to a 100-yen shop, the local supermarket, or a convenience store! I just want to go on a drive with you, that’s all!”  

While I was flustered by her sudden request, Colin nodded knowingly for some reason.  

“Yes, yes, I understand! Matsunaga-sama’s driving is so entertaining! Trusting yourself to such an unstable vehicle that doesn’t behave the way you want is thrilling and exciting!”  

It was probably her honest opinion, but why did it sound like a diss?  

Anyway—  

I looked again at Isezaki-san’s face. She was utterly serious; it didn’t seem like she was joking.  

Well, maybe she felt a little left out after hearing Colin talk so enthusiastically about the trip. That wasn’t hard to understand.  

If that’s the case, I should take her feelings into account. 

“Alright. Then next time I go shopping, would you like to come too, Isezaki-san?”  

It was just a simple errand run, nothing fancy. Colin had enjoyed it because she was from another world, after all.  

But to my surprise, Isezaki-san’s face lit up with a radiant smile. And she grabbed my hand tightly.  

“Really!? I’ll definitely come! Promise me! Promise! Promise!”  

“Haha… Just remember, I’m not the best driver.”  

“I don’t care about that. Hehe, I’m already looking forward to it!”  

She hopped lightly, unusually excited.  

Honestly, riding in my car is less comfortable and safe than having her usual chauffeur take her in a luxury car. But if this makes her happy, then I guess it’s fine.  

Watching Isezaki-san’s childlike excitement, I let out a relieved sigh. I was glad I managed to settle things for now.  

Original Author’s Comment:

–Afterword–

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