Side: Amabashi Sho
Due to shopping here and there, I have a lot of luggage. I’ve stored my bags in a coin locker and am now at an electronics store.
I haven’t taken the train yet, but I did take the bus. I thought she might be surprised, but it seems there were other vehicles there, so she wasn’t as surprised as I expected.
“That’s amazing.”
Surprisingly, the one most delighted at the electronics store is Noctia. Her expression is clearly different from when we were shopping for clothes. She had also shown interest in the electronic devices we have at home, saying she wanted to take them apart. Of course, I stopped her from doing that.
She wandered off alone into the electronics section.
“Kakeru, look at that!”
As I tried to catch up, I heard Filia’s slightly surprised voice and turned around to see the TV section. It seems to be streaming from a video-sharing site.
“Whoa…”
We quickly approached the video, captivated by what we saw.
It showed me fighting a lesser goblin and a slime-like monster, firing a gun at them.
The setting appears to be inside a dungeon, but it looks like a cave type. Thanks to the translation magic item, I can understand what’s being said, but the language isn’t Japanese. They’re speaking English, so it’s probably somewhere in the English-speaking world.
The filming seems amateurish. Based on the camera angles and shakes, I think it’s a video posted by an amateur.
“Recent CG is so realistic.”
“It’s even better than some movies.”
The young couple watching nearby is making a fuss over how realistic it looks. Of course, it should be; it’s likely actual footage.
“Wait…?”
“Hey, let us see the end!”
As I was watching, wondering what was happening, the video suddenly stopped and changed to a screen stating that it was removed by the administration for violating terms of service.
The young couple walked away, looking dissatisfied…
“That’s… that’s it, right?”
“Yeah, no doubt about it.”
Filia is confident that the previous footage was from a dungeon. It seems Pritia and Sanctina share the same opinion.
“There must be more out there.”
“Why does no one know about it?”
“It seems more natural to think they’re hiding it. That’s how rulers are.”
Pritia is right. While Sanctina questions the unnaturalness of people not knowing about the dungeons that exist, it’s clear that there is some kind of cover-up.
If the video-sharing site deleted it, does that mean there’s a high possibility of a cover-up at the international level?
Wait. Conversely, could some country or faction be gradually leaking information to gauge the reactions? It might be too soon to make any conclusions.
“Shall we get back to shopping?”
I pondered for a moment, but now I need to buy things necessary for everyone’s lives rather than focusing on dungeons. I came here to buy a smartphone.
I need to make one more round to check if there are any essential electronics. Honestly, I don’t know what they need, so I can’t figure it out alone.
By the way, where did Noctia go?
She’s not around, even though she’d likely want to join in on this discussion. While we searched the store, we found her talking to a staff member, asking various questions about the electronics.
“I see, so it has such features.”
“Yes, the latest models are incredibly high-performance.”
Isn’t she being treated like a foreign tourist making bulk purchases? The staff member seems to be trying to sell her on whatever she’s asking about, while Noctia is happily inquiring about various things.
“Kakeru, this is amazing. I can buy a tool with intelligence at this price…”
What she was looking at was a refrigerator. It’s what they call a smart appliance. While calling it “intelligent” is a bit exaggerated, she certainly doesn’t look like a Japanese person. It wouldn’t be uncommon for foreigners to be surprised. The staff member doesn’t seem to mind at all.
“Ah, that’s true. But our refrigerator is still working fine…”
“Really…”
Noctia looks visibly disappointed. Is this really who she is?
“How about that? It’s fine to just look, right?”
“No, we came here to check out smartphones first. Let’s look over there first.”
Yeah, at this rate, she’ll want to know everything about the appliances in the store. When I glanced at Pritia and Filia, they started walking on either side of Noctia to make sure she wouldn’t wander off.
“She’s quite the person, isn’t she?”
Sanctina looked stunned. She seemed to have an air of enlightenment or an ability to see right through everything.
Honestly, I’m surprised too.
“Thinking about it, it’s actually strange that she shows us her true feelings. In Noctia’s case.”
I still don’t fully understand her.
What is clear is that she intended to quit being the Demon King and that she plans to live in this world. That’s about it, right?
Her true feelings and lies, truth and falsehood, she always keeps them ambiguous. Just when I think she’s being sincere, it turns out to be a lie or a joke, and I sometimes wonder if she’s trying to hide her true self from those around her.
“Kakeru, this is your smartphone, right? How is it different?”
When we arrived at the smartphone section, Noctia’s eyes sparkled again. However, I’m at a loss for words when asked about the differences. I do have a pamphlet, so I can look at that and explain.
By the way, she has already learned that machines operate on electricity. She understands our household electronics best and knows how to use them.
As the questions poured in one after another, I felt the staff member I had seen earlier was hesitant to approach us. It seems he doesn’t know as much about the details as I expected.
As for Pritia and the others, they look like they’re thinking anything would be fine.
“I see… That’s wonderful!”
She probably only uses it for calls, internet access, and electronic payments, so I thought a cheap one would suffice. But it seems Noctia wants a high-performance smartphone.
“Um, Noctia, we’re being taken care of by Kakeru, so…”
“Oh, yeah. It’s okay. I’m thinking it through.”
Filia involuntarily tried to stop her. But despite saying that, Noctia is busy checking out all the high-performance items.
“What do you all want to do? If you see something you like, we can consider it…”
“I’m fine with anything…”
“Yes. I’m also fine with anything… as long as it works.”
Just to be sure, I asked for everyone’s opinions, but it seems Pritia and Sanctina aren’t particularly interested. They seem to think it’s convenient enough if it works, though I’m sure there’s some hesitation too.
“Um… this middle-class model is quite affordable. It’s an older model, but the performance isn’t bad. We’ll also include a screen protector if you buy it now.”
As I pondered what to do, a staff member who had been watching from a distance came to offer assistance.
“That sounds good. I think that would be fine.”
Yeah, it seems Noctia can agree on this model. I’ll put the purchase under my name. We should head back before Noctia becomes interested in any other electronics.
I’m a bit scared she might ask to sell gold coins or jewels.
