Entering a Company From Another World! – Chapter 494

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“I’ll pay, I have other things to do, so please enjoy yourselves after this.”

With that, Evia-san stood up with the check in hand and headed for the register.

While her departing back looked cool, we, who were left behind, were in no condition to admire it.

All that remained were the empty, oversized bowls occupying most of the six-person table and the corpses of high school girls who, while not dead, were in a state comparable to it.

Indeed, a waitress in the distance looked at us with trepidation, wondering if we had truly finished it all. But we had no energy left to react to her.

Evia-san, who had presumably eaten the most, left the shop energized, but we, who hadn’t even eaten half of what she did, had lost the vigor we had just moments ago.

“This warm barley tea is delicious.”

“I know! I ordered the pumpkin juice, so I feel like this bitterness is bringing me back to life right now.”

After Evia-san left, the shop manager, as a post-meal service, had prepared for us: “You’ve shown us something wonderful. This is on the house.” And he brought us each a cup, which soothed our hearts.

“You know, that was amazing,” said Izawa-san, breaking the quiet moment of relief. Sasagawa-san, sitting next to her, nodded in agreement.

“Yeah.”

The storm had passed. Gently sipping her barley tea, Sasagawa-san spoke with a look of enlightenment.

Before the remnants of our “battle,” the huge bowls, curious customers occasionally glanced at us with startled eyes, but Sasagawa-san was lost in her own thoughts and didn’t even notice.

I thought I saw a regular customer looking at us, wondering if people actually ordered that often, but I couldn’t even be bothered to care.

The staff seemed to understand that we wanted to savor the aftermath of our “conquest” before they cleared the bowls, as they left them untouched.

I wonder which “amazing” Izawa-san was referring to. Was it Evia-san, whom we happened to meet at this cafe? Or was it the “Magical Deluxe Wonderland Parfait” that five sweet-toothed high school girls and one demon managed to finish?

“Ugh, I think I’m good on sweets for a while.”

“Me too, I feel a little sick.”

Either way, there’s no doubt that we, as young ladies, suffered considerable damage. Evia-san brought not only pure damage to our stomachs but also…

“I’m going on a diet starting tomorrow.”

“Hahaha, Hitomi, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“Saina?! Come back to us!?”

She dropped a calorie bomb on us innocent young ladies.

Saeki-san and Haga-san were suffering from heartburn due to eating too many sweets. Izawa-san, while feeling a sense of accomplishment, was worried about how to digest the calories consumed, and Sasagawa-san was in denial.

It’s safe to say that our section of the cafe had a rather peculiar atmosphere.

As someone who dances regularly, the amount I ate isn’t something I’d worry too much about in terms of calories. I might need to moderate a little, but I already have a high activity level. With my usual amount of exercise and training for dungeon battles, I can maintain my physique. That’s why I can handle plenty of sweets, even more than I imagined, and the word “diet” is not something I often consider. However, eating so many sweets has made me want to avoid them for a while.

But I understand that saying I don’t have to worry about gaining weight would be like making enemies of my friends. I can’t bring myself to destroy the mood and provoke them.

I quietly kept that thought to myself and pretended not to see Izawa-san desperately shaking Sasagawa-san’s shoulders, who was still lost in her own world.

“What should we do next?”

I decided to confirm our plans, unexpectedly having endured such damage at a cafe we entered for a break. I assumed we’d probably just go our separate ways, but…

“Let’s walk.”

The resolve of young ladies is, it seems, far stronger than I, another young lady, imagined.

“Let’s burn off at least one pound of calories. Fortunately, we still have plenty of time today.”

Saeki-san adjusted her glasses. Having recovered from her heartburn thanks to the barley tea, her expression was filled with fighting spirit.

“Yeah, you’re right. We still haven’t gone to the shops I wanted to visit.”

Haga-san agreed.

“Then! Which shops should we go to?”

Izawa-san merrily began suggesting places.

“Let’s see, considering the distance, we should go to this shop and this one too.”

“Oh, since we’re at it, I want to see some new accessories, so can we go to this shop too?”

Sasagawa-san, who had been escaping reality, quickly operated her smartphone, proposing various shops as a way to burn calories. I couldn’t keep up with how fast she was typing.

What drove them so fervently? The reason was their nemesis: calories. To defeat this enemy, they wouldn’t hesitate to walk until their legs gave out.

Hmm. I was a little troubled by the considerable difference in enthusiasm between them and me. I wanted to look at clothes, but I wasn’t keen on walking a whole station without taking the train. However, suggesting that would seem insensitive.

Perhaps it’s better to just embrace it and have fun.

“Alright!! Then let’s head to the next shop!!”

“OK!”

If I inject a little more energy and cheerfulness, we can definitely enjoy ourselves.

“Oh! Amelia-san is getting into it too!! Then our goal for today is to visit ten more shops!!”

We stepped out of the shop with such enthusiasm, but…

“Next shop, here we come!!”

“Wait, hold on, let’s take a short break, Amelia-san.”

As expected, around the third shop, Izawa-san was out of breath. I, who had started to warm up, turned around and saw that the others were also showing signs of fatigue. The spirit of young ladies didn’t last long, it seemed. It was about three train stops away. If we could have carried our shopping for that distance, it would have been impressive, but to say we’d burned off that parfait? We were still far from it.

“Then… should we go into that shop nearby?”

We couldn’t keep walking like this. Everyone was tired, and continuing like this would only dampen the mood. It was time for a break.

“Yes, let’s do that!! Oh, there’s a nice looking food truck just there.”

Izawa-san enthusiastically raised her hand at my suggestion.

“Yeah, I agree. I’m also a bit thirsty.”

Sasagawa-san, who had been walking next to me, chimed in.

“I agree. Some moderate hydration is necessary.”

“Yeah, I’m really thirsty too.”

With half the group agreeing, the rest naturally fell into step, and we decided to take a break. We eagerly headed towards the coffee shop operating from a kitchen truck to buy drinks. Everyone was holding more shopping bags than before, which I suspected was also contributing to their fatigue. If only we could use the magic bags we used inside dungeons, we wouldn’t have to worry about this. I was thinking about how convenient it would be to use such a useful item even outside the company when I approached the shop.

“Oh, Masaru-kun!! Hello!”

Unexpectedly, we ran into someone I knew.

“Oh, hello.”

Masaru-kun, the healer of our party, gave a slight bow, holding an eco-bag with the top of a leek peeking out.

When I waved enthusiastically, Masaru-kun noticed me and waved back.

“What?! Amelia-san’s acquaintance?! And another boy our age this time?!”

“Wow, Amelia-san, you know so many people.”

“At this rate, we might keep running into acquaintances wherever we go.”

“That could be interesting, though.”

I could hear all the voices from behind me, but I didn’t let it bother me as I approached Masaru-kun.

“Are you shopping?”

“Yeah, you too?”

“Yes!! I’m shopping with friends!!”

We talk often, so I wasn’t nervous at all, and neither was he. We fell into casual conversation. Unfortunately, the stares from behind us were incessant, and we had plans for later, so I didn’t expect it to last long.

“Oh, is this the group date Karen-san mentioned?”

“Yes!!”

“Wow, you do that too?”

“Are you interested too, Masaru-kun?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m not, but with Minami here, I can’t really think about that.”

“Ah, I see.”

However, the casual chat went on longer than I expected. The stares from my classmates were becoming more intense. Masaru-kun also started to notice them, glancing around periodically.

“Um, I think my friends are waiting, so I should probably get going.”

“OK, see you at the company.”

“Yeah.”

It was clear we couldn’t continue chatting indefinitely, so he tried to leave promptly, but…

“Ah, rain.”

Drip, drip. The weather had been fine just moments ago, but it suddenly turned bad, and it began to rain heavily.

“No way!?”

“Over there!! We can take shelter from the rain!!”

“Yeah!!”

“Masaru-kun too!!”

“Okay!”

“This way!!”

We all ran together and dashed into a nearby shop, but in that short time, we were already soaked.

“Haa, this is the worst. The weather forecast was completely wrong. They said it would be sunny all day.”

“Yeah, ah, we’re pretty wet.”

“A handkerchief might not be enough.”

“But it looks like we’ll be stuck here for a while.”

Looking up at the sky, it was covered by thick clouds, as if to say, “Sunny? What’s that?” Heavy rain poured down. Izawa-san grumbled about the sudden change in weather, wondering why it had to happen at this timing. Saeki-san lamented that her handkerchief could only cover a small area. We had taken shelter in a bookstore, where it seemed unlikely they’d have towels for sale.

“Please, take these if you like.”

To our surprise, Masaru-kun gently offered us unopened towels.

“I bought them on sale by chance, so I’m glad I had them.”

“Thank you.”

“That helps a lot.”

“Is it really okay?”

“Not at all.”

After handing over the towels, Masaru-kun subtly averted his gaze from us and looked into the distance. When someone else walked nearby, he positioned himself to subtly block their view of us. He didn’t move around frantically, but rather with quiet, subtle movements. Saeki-san and everyone else kept glancing at Masaru-kun, impressed by his quiet consideration. To be honest, none of the boys in our class would act like this. Even during summer P.E. class, when our gym clothes would become sheer from sweat, some would give us lecherous glances. Men’s sidelong glances were women’s direct stares. That’s a fact. But Masaru-kun, who was conscientiously trying not to do that, waited for the rain to stop.

“It’s a bit chilly.”

“It does get a little cold when it rains.”

Hearing the quiet murmurs of Saeki-san and Haga-san, he subtly looked around as if searching for something. Meanwhile, it looked like we were discussing our plans for later, but we were actually trying to subtly gather information about Masaru-kun without him hearing.

“Amelia-san, Amelia-san. What’s your relationship with him?”

“Relationship? … He’s a co-worker from my part-time job.”

Izawa-san leaned in and whispered, asking me about Masaru-kun. I had noticed her glancing at him, but I never imagined she’d be so concerned.

“He’s a bit short, but he’s quite handsome, and he’s been looking out for us since we got here. He seems like a good guy.”

And inevitably, the conversation turned in that direction.

“Ah, yeah. That’s right. Masaru-kun is a good guy.”

However, knowing that Minami and Karen have unrequited feelings for Masaru-kun, I wanted to avoid this topic if possible.

“If you like, please take these.”

As if ignoring my feelings, Masaru-kun bought us warm drinks out of goodwill. Seeing my classmates happily accept them, I worried if Masaru-kun would think this was normal at the next group date, and I agonized over what to do.

Today’s thought: “Adult-like behavior” – it’s something to aspire to.

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