Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Volume 2  Chapter 15  “Child”

——Koosuke Igami——

“Sorry, but I have something to take care of from noon tomorrow. I’ll take the day off,” I informed Miyano and quickly left the scene.

Why the rush, you ask? Well, it’s to avoid being stopped by Miyano and the others.

Even at this moment, I feel a heavy burden thinking about tomorrow, and if I were to talk with such a reluctant attitude, it might upset them. So, I decided to avoid small talk and head home swiftly.

“Saeki-san, I’ll be there soon,” I said.

And so, the next day arrived. I had made my way back to the research facility I had visited before.

“Is that so? Got it. Then, I’ll wait for you in front of the door,” came the response.

Following the same routine as last time, or rather, as always, I bypassed the security and made my way to the designated building. There, as expected, Saeki-san was waiting, smoking a cigarette.

“Good morning.”

“Ah, good morning. It’s quite tough for you to handle these consecutive tasks.”

“Well, the same goes for you, right? Going out again in such a short period. Handling that person requires a lot of caution as it is. I don’t know what they’re up to, but I’m sure the people behind the scenes are facing a tough situation.”

“Well, you’re right. But in order to keep them willingly participating in gate operations in the future, it’s important to keep them in a good mood. Besides, if we delay it carelessly, it’ll only cause more trouble. Well, as for the adjustments and all the other things related to that matter, I’ve thrown them to the higher-ups, so it’s not that troublesome for me personally, you know?”

Saeki-san shrugged his shoulders, extinguished the cigarette, and started walking with me into the research facility.

──◆◇◆◇──

And as time passed, we found ourselves once again outside the building after just finishing watching a movie.

For me… well, for us, we didn’t particularly want to linger in crowded places like movie theaters. But it was more of Nina’s strong desire to come here, or rather, we had no choice but to come.

Apparently, she decided based on some mysterious logic that if it’s a date, it has to involve a movie! Maybe it was written somewhere in a random magazine.

Well, honestly, there aren’t many noteworthy dating spots around here, so watching a movie seems reasonable enough, I suppose.

Sure, if we drive for about an hour, we could find plenty of other things to do, but considering the time constraints for this outing, it’s probably best not to spend too much time on the move.

Well, watching a movie alone takes about two hours, so even if we slightly exceed our planned time, it should be manageable if we don’t engage in any other activities.

Or rather, if we don’t, Nina might go into overdrive.

“Indeed, the experience of watching a movie can change so much just by the place where you watch it.”

“Well, otherwise there’s no point in going to a movie theater, right?”

“Hehe, that might be true.”

Though it’s the second time, I walk beside Nina without letting my guard down, just like last time.

We just have to go to the meeting place and get a ride in the car, but I still can’t relax.

“…I couldn’t have imagined a time when I could walk through the streets with someone like this.”

But even though she knows I’m on high alert, she continues to smile so cheerfully that I can’t help but wonder if it’s really necessary to be so cautious.

Of course, I understand that it’s necessary, and I don’t intend to let my guard down.

…However, there’s a part of me that sympathizes with her circumstances.

That’s the truth of it.

“Hmm?”

While walking, I sense Nina’s gaze directed somewhere, so I follow her gaze… Are those two a parent and child?

The parent and child are holding hands, and the father is carrying some kind of package—probably a box of snacks.

…Does she also want to have some snacks? Even if it means going slightly over time, should I buy some snacks before we leave? If it’s to please her, the higher-ups wouldn’t complain either.

As I ponder over such thoughts, Nina looks up at me and smiles.

“I am very happy right now.”

When I look at her like this, all the usual danger seems to vanish, and she just appears to be a normal girl her age…

I couldn’t help but think that. For just a moment, even though I had just reminded myself not to let my guard down, I found myself momentarily distracted from Nina.

“Now, where should we go next—ah!”

As a result, Nina accidentally bumped into a passerby and dropped the drink she was holding.

Damn it! I think, but it’s already too late.

I immediately shift my gaze and notice that Nina is clearly frustrated. If this continues, not only the person she bumped into but everything around us will turn to ashes.

Some may think it’s just a minor incident, but that’s how Nina is.

“How annoying… interfering with us… not even leaving ashes…”

“Hold on, hold on! Don’t go using that here!”

Anticipating that she might use her powers recklessly in her emotional state, I quickly grab Nina’s hand to prevent her from exerting any force.

“But…”

“Just stop it!”

I said so, and reluctantly, it seemed like she gave up using her powers. However, due to raising our voices in the middle of the street, the attention of the people around us is now directed towards us… Tch!

“For now, come over here.”

“Ah—”

I kept holding Nina’s hand and veered off the main road, taking a nearby side street.

“Haaaah…”

Now that we’ve escaped from the public eye, I let out a deep breath and faced Nina.

“Listen. Don’t use your powers in the middle of the city.”

“But earlier, that man pushed me from behind…”

“He didn’t push you, he just bumped into you.”

I pointed at the movie merchandise in Nina’s hand as I continued speaking.

“Look. You have something you bought today in your hand… Did you have fun?”

“Yes! Absolutely! I never dreamed that a day like this would come for me!”

A day like this, huh… Tch.

Considering the mere few hours of travel time by car, it seems like there’s hardly any time for actual activities, yet she claims to be happy.

I couldn’t help but dislike it.

I know what she has done.

I know what kind of person she is.

I know all too well that she is a dangerous presence.

But still, as I look at Nina smiling before me, I can’t help but dislike her circumstances, her choices, and the environment surrounding her.

And above all, I can’t help but dislike myself for accepting this current situation, despite being involved in it.

Nina and I have been together for almost three years now.

If I’m thinking about this now, one might ask why I’ve overlooked it until this point. Perhaps it’s because of this recent outing we had.

Until now, I had never gone out with her like this.

I simply tried to keep her in a good mood as someone to talk to, while thinking of it as nothing more than a troublesome burden.

However, after going out together last time and now this time, I must admit… some affection has developed towards her, I suppose.

That’s probably why I feel unusually displeased.

Maybe it’s also because of my newfound role in teaching Miyano and the others. They’re around the same age as her, after all.

Or perhaps it was because of the conversation with my sister? Talking about my niece made me think that I should take care of Nina like a niece too. That could be a possibility.

It’s not like I haven’t been looking after Nina all this time, so it’s not an entirely far-fetched idea.

Or… could it be because I was reminded of my past lover?

During conversations with Miyano and my sister, the topic of my ex-lover came up, and it made me start overthinking things while walking beside her.

Though it was many years ago, at that time, I sincerely wished for my former lover to be happy and genuinely wanted to see her smiling by my side.

Perhaps my hesitation this time stems from recalling those memories.

—I want her to be happy. I couldn’t help but think such a thing.

It’s not in the context of a lover but rather, as I mentioned earlier, more like a student, niece, or even my own child or sister.

However, the fact remains that I wished for her happiness.

As I understood my own emotions, I let out another sigh.

After a brief moment of hesitation, I finally made up my mind and opened my mouth.

“…If you had fun, that’s fine. But the reason you were able to buy this is because there are people gathered here. If there were no one here, I wouldn’t have brought you here today, and we wouldn’t have been able to go shopping like this. Understand? Just because it’s bothersome, don’t turn everything around you into ashes. If you do that, you won’t be able to enjoy shopping like you did today ever again, you know?”

“Well…”

As Nina heard my words, her eyes widened, unsure of how to respond.

If I were to lecture her, it would only incur her displeasure and cause her to retaliate. That was the norm for her.

So, lecturing her… no, not even lecturing, but having a straightforward conversation where she truly sees herself and talks about it, had never happened before, I suppose.

If you become an obstacle or annoy her, she would eliminate you without hesitation. That was her “normal.” So no one wanted to get deeply involved with her.

“Besides, if you turn this place into ashes, it’s synonymous with saying that the place we went shopping today was a worthless waste. Is that what you think? Was today that uninteresting?”

“N-No, not at all! It was very… very enjoyable!”

“If you think so, then don’t be quick to resort to using your powers.”

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

As she said that, Nina slumped her shoulders in disappointment.