The Assassin Girl Who Stayed by My Side in Another World… Somehow Followed Me Back to Modern Japan - Chapter 14: Because We’re Out in Public

Chapter 14: Because We’re Out in Public

While holding Aira’s hand, I brought her to Saizeriya.

I mean, I spent a good while thinking it over, but in the end, this place had plenty of variety, Aira would probably be happy with it, and more importantly—it was super easy on the wallet.

…Plus, I’d kinda been craving it myself after all this time.

“This is the place?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“What’s that?”

Aira pointed with the hand that wasn’t holding mine, and I followed her gaze to see… a capsule toy machine?

Gashapon? Gacha something?

I never remembered the official name, but yeah—those toy machines I used to mess with all the time as a kid.

…Well, technically I still looked like a high schooler, so I guess I still counted as a kid, too.

But there was no way I was about to spend money on a machine that spat out tiny food-shaped keychains or whatever.

That said… what about Aira?

Technically, she was sixteen.

But until she met me, she’d lived as an assassin—never even knowing what love was.

So in a lot of ways, she was still just a kid inside.

…That’s exactly why I included the kanji for “love” in the name I gave her.

Not as some kind of joke—but because I wanted to be the one to love her.

To teach her what love even meant.

“If you put some money in and spin it, one of those little toys inside pops out at random.”

As I said that, a wave of nostalgia quietly washed over me.

…Though back then, I never imagined Aira would end up looking at me with those kinds of feelings.

W-Well, anyway—if she did want to try the capsule machine, I’d let her give it a spin on our way out.

“What’s with that one that’s all blacked out?”

“The blacked-out one…? Ah, that’s a secret item. You don’t know what it is until it comes out.”

While we chatted, I told the staff how many we were, and they guided us to our table.

“If you really want to try it, I’ll let you do one spin before we head home, okay?”

Even though there were plenty of open seats across the table, Aira made sure to sit right next to me as I said that.

“Thanks, Hiroto. But it’s okay. You already bought me so much today.”

She said it sweetly, then leaned into me like she was trying to snuggle up.

I didn’t say anything—just gave her a gentle pat on the head.

It was such a peaceful moment, I kind of lost track of time.

But eventually, I snapped out of it—remembering, oh right, we came here to eat and hadn’t even ordered yet.

So I quickly grabbed the menu book and handed it to Aira, who looked just a little sulky—probably because I stopped patting her too soon.

“I’ll give you head pats anytime you want, okay? But for now, let’s figure out what we’re ordering.”

“Really?”

“C’mon, even back in the other world I always did, right? Of course it’s true.”

“But back in that world, you let me sit on your lap too.”

“…That’s because we were indoors. Out here in public? Yeah… not happening. If we’re alone, then sure—you can do whatever you want.”

Aira was my beloved daughter.

Even if my body had gotten younger and my brain occasionally slipped into “teen mode,” it was still totally fine.

I mean, it’s not like anything weird happened at school or anything…

Yeah. Everything was totally fine there.

With all that in mind, I gave her my answer.

“Anyway, pick something already.”

“Mm. I love you, Hiroto.”

“…Yeah. Love you too. As my daughter.”

Saying that, I grabbed a different menu booklet from the one I’d given Aira and started flipping through it, figuring out what I wanted for myself.