Chapter 152: A Stroll through Town

「There are so many different things here looking at this town again. It’s fascinating. 」

Rock and I had been walking around town with Luna since then, and she showed interest in all sorts of things in this town.

Yes, I really should have shown her around sooner.

「Oh, isn’t that the diner we went to the other day? 」

「Yeah, that’s Mina’s Restaurant. It’s lunchtime, want to grab a bite to eat? 」

「Are you serious!? 」

Luna’s eyes lit up when I suggested that, and she jumped at the chance.

Yes, she must really like Mina-chan’s cooking.

We went into her diner and ordered our usual dishes. Incidentally, just like the other day, Luna tried to woo Mina-chan by asking, “Will you become mine?”, to which Mina-chan responded with a wry smile.

After we finished eating, as we were walking through town, she suddenly stopped in front of a street stall in a corner of town.

「Kyou. What’s this? 」

She pointed to pendants, earrings, and rings made from gems extracted from the bodies of monsters.

「Ah, that’s women’s accessories. Shall I buy them for you if you’re interested? 」

「Really? 」

Luna’s eyes lit up again at my words.

She chose a necklace embedded with a shimmering green gem after hesitating for a while in front of the shop.

「Oh, young lady, you have good taste. They say that gem is said to improve your love life. 」

I felt a little awkward after hearing the shopkeeper’s words, but Luna said, “Love life? What’s that?”, so I didn’t mind and decided to buy the necklace for her.

「Hmm. It’s a pretty nice color gem. I like it. 」

Luna seemed pleased with the necklace, putting it around her neck and touching it with a satisfied look.

The anxious expression she’d shown in front of Chocolent earlier was gone, and that alone made me relieved that I’d taken her out into the town.

She seemed to enjoy the stroll too, showing a pleasant smile on her face.

「Did you enjoy walking around the city?

「Yes. For some reason, walking around like this brings back memories of walking with someone somewhere before. 」

「Wait, does that mean your memories are returning? 」

Luna shook her head in response to my question.

「No, it just felt that way. I’m sure I’d done something similar to this kind of city walk before. 」

Well, that was true.

I was hoping it would be a clue to Luna’s memories, so it was a little disappointing.

However, Luna gave me a somewhat mischievous smile as she watched my reaction.

「I might have walked around town with someone like you before, surprisingly. 」

「Like me? 」

I took Luna’s question seriously, but she laughed and said, “I’m kidding.”

Hmm. I couldn’t tell how serious she was.

As we walked through town like that, we came across John’s Restaurant.

Ah, how nostalgic. This was the first restaurant I visited after coming to this other world, and the place where I was kicked out.

The owner of this restaurant even hired Fitis to compete in the restaurant contest.

As I was reminiscing about those memories, John, the owner of this restaurant, appeared from the storefront.

「Hmm, you’re… I think you’re Kyou, right? 」

「Ah, hmm, hello. 」

It was the first time he’d spoken to me first, so I was a little nervous.

Whether he noticed my nervousness or not, John cleared his throat awkwardly and started making small talk.

「Uh, yes. It’s been a while. More importantly, how’s it going? That thing of yours, is everything going smoothly? 」

「That thing? 」

I asked, repeating it back without thinking. John seemed restless as he answered.

「Well, you know, that thing. Monster cultivation. With you, it had to be that, right? 」

Ah, that was true.

I answered, “It’s going smoothly”. Then, I briefly explained about the chocolate-growing monster and the vegetable-growing monster that I’d just finished making. Suddenly, John’s eyes lit up, and he latched onto me.

「What!? Chocolate!? You have a monster that grows chocolate!? 」

「Ye…Yes. 」

John’s face suddenly came into close-up, and I instinctively took a step back.

「What!? I hear that chocolate is a confection created by that wise hero, or rather, that genius hero, after much trial and error. There are a few in this town, but they’re high-class sweets, something only people like me, who frequent restaurants or belong to the nobility, can eat regularly. You mean you cultivated a monster that produces it like a nut!? And what’s more, I hear that this vegetable you’re talking about is quite different from the original monster; it’s not too strong-tasting and very easy to eat. Ky…Kyou, if you don’t mind, would you be willing to share some of that ingredient with me in the future? O…Of course, I’ll pay! I’ll even pay double the market price! 」

「Ye…Yes, sure. I’ll trade it at the normal price, not double. 」

When I replied like that, John shouted “Yes!” and pumped his fist in the air.

Was he always like this?

「By the way…if you don’t mind, we’d be happy if you’d do business with us regularly from now on. Your monsters are of truly excellent quality, and I’ve wanted to contract with you for a long time, but… 」

John stammered, seemingly hesitant to speak.

I see. Given our initial encounter and our subsequent rivalry at the contest, it was certainly difficult to ask me for a contract now.

Perhaps, he had been waiting for an opportunity like this.

I couldn’t help but smile wryly and extended my hand to John.

「Yes, that’s fine. I’ll supply you with my monsters from now on. 」

「…!! Re…Really!? Tha…Thank you! Thank you, Kyou!! 」

John happily shook my outstretched hand, expressing his joy with his whole body.

Yes. It was wonderful for me to have another business partner like this.

More than anything, didn’t this mean that the ingredients for this town’s famous diner have now become my monsters?

Thinking about this, John thanked me repeatedly, then suddenly shifted his gaze to Luna, who was standing beside me.

「By the way, is that woman your girlfriend, Kyou? 」

「Of course not!! 」

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

I desperately denied it.

I was glad Lily and Fitis weren’t here.

Luna herself didn’t seem to understand what we were talking about, but immediately after we parted ways with John…

「Hey, what did he mean by “girlfriend”? 」

She asked a truly difficult question to answer.

「Hmm, well, a woman who’s important to me… something like that? 」

When I answered vaguely like that, Luna nodded and said…

「I see. Then, to me, you are my girlfriend. I consider you my important possession. 」

「Ahahahah! 」

I burst out laughing again at Luna’s declaration.

Meanwhile, Luna was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

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