The Assassin Girl Who Stayed by My Side in Another World… Somehow Followed Me Back to Modern Japan - Chapter 04: I’ll Do My Best

Chapter 04: I’ll Do My Best

“I’ll just grab whatever looks good, so if you see something you want, just tug my sleeve a little, alright?”

We were finally in front of the convenience store, and I whispered that as quietly as possible.

…There hadn’t been anyone around earlier, so I could talk normally, but now?

If I started chatting with thin air at full volume, I’d definitely look like some kind of lunatic.

“Understood.”

“…And just so we’re clear—two items, max, okay?”

“Okay.”

Alright.

Here goes.

Once inside, I started picking up anything that looked cheap and filling… then putting it back.

Then I’d pick up something else… and put that back too. Rinse and repeat.

…Come to think of it, this was probably the first time Aira had ever seen something like this.

She was probably overwhelmed, stuck trying to decide.

If we had more time, I’d let her take as long as she needed.

But unfortunately, I had a ticking clock—I had to get to school soon.

…So yeah. If she could speed things up just a little, that’d be nice.

“…Hiroto.”

“!”

Her whisper came out of nowhere—right by my ear—and I practically jumped out of my skin.

My whole body jolted backward with a dramatic whoosh.

I immediately glanced over at the cashier.

Sure enough, the guy behind the counter was giving me a look.

Like I was some suspicious weirdo who just freaked out for no reason.

Yeah… fair.

From his perspective, that’s exactly what it looked like.

…I mean, I know what happened, but still—

Knowing doesn’t make the embarrassment burn any less.

My face was on fire.

“…What’s that?”

Whether she realized how embarrassed I was or not, Aira—like always—asked her question like it was just any normal moment.

Still whispering right by my ear.

I almost flinched again, but this was round two. I managed to keep it together and let her take the lead.

She gently guided my arm toward the hot snack display—the one with all the fried goodies lined up in the heated case.

Ah, so she wanted something warm, huh?

Well, fair enough. That stuff did look pretty tasty.

But… two hot snacks, huh…

…Wait, no. She never actually said she wanted two.

I was just assuming the worst-case scenario.

Still, if she did go for two, that’d be a critical hit to my poor, fragile wallet—

“…You want something from over there?”

Thinking that, I casually shuffled over to a corner of the store—somewhere I wouldn’t be under the cashier’s suspicious glare.

After checking that no one else was around, I covered my mouth a little and asked in a low voice.

“…Yeah.”

“…Alright then. I’ll head over to the hot case. Once we’re there, just guide my hand to whatever you want.”

As I said it out loud, a sudden thought hit me.

Wait… this is a convenience store, not school.

Did Aira really need to stay hidden here?

…Which means—

I just embarrassed myself for no reason.

Great. Absolutely fantastic.

…I’ll be more careful next time.

If we were somewhere Nee-san or my friends might randomly show up, then yeah, keeping Aira hidden would totally make sense.

But there’s no way any of them would show up at some random convenience store like this.

Yep. I 100% humiliated myself for nothing.

Well, whatever.

Too late to undo it now.

And if we left just to come back in again together, that’d look even weirder.

Let’s just roll with it.

After I heard Aira’s quiet little “yes,” I stepped up to the hot snack case.

She gently guided my arm—

First stopping at the fried chicken skewer,

Then again at the frankfurter.

So those were the two she wanted, huh?

…That’ll be around 400 yen.

Not too bad, honestly.

Let’s call it a win.

“Here.”

After buying the two items, I stepped away from the convenience store, made sure no one was around, and handed the food to Aira.

“Thanks, Hiroto. …I love you.”

“…Yeah, I love you too. …As a daughter, though.”

“Mm. I’ll do my best.”

…Okay.

Time to pick up the pace and get to school.

If I didn’t seriously hustle, I was going to end up late.

I decided to pretend I didn’t hear Aira’s last line—

And started walking a little faster on my way to school.

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Author’s Note:

If you enjoyed even a little bit of this, tossing me a star or heart would seriously boost my motivation! Thanks!