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A-51 At the General Store

Ａ－５１　雑貨屋にて

 

 

 

After finishing our lunch, we decided to look around the city while heading to our destination, the North Gate of the Royal Capital, as originally planned. According to the four companions accompanying me, this seems to be a date of sorts. If I were to show this scene to my past self, who used to say things like “Real-life couples should explode,” I would probably faint.

昼食を終えた俺たちは、当初の予定通り目的地である王都の北門を目指しながら街を見て回ることにした。同行する四名によると、これはどうやらデートになるらしい。リア充爆発しろとか言っていた過去の自分にこの光景を見せたら卒倒しそうだ。

 

Looking at the streets from inside the carriage, the people walking by only glanced our way with a hint of interest, but didn’t seem to pay us much mind. It’s not like we were adorned with elaborate decorations or had any royal emblems; we probably just looked like possessions of some slightly wealthy individuals.

馬車の中から街並みを眺めてみると、街を歩く人はチラッと興味を示したように一度視線を向けるだけで、あまりこちらを気にする様子もない。特にこった装飾をしているわけでもなく、王家を示す紋章なんてものも付属していないし、ちょっとしたお金持ちの持ち物程度に思われているのだろう。

 

“Not having the conveniences of civilization has its pros and cons, huh?”

「文明の利器がないってのも、良し悪しがあるもんだなぁ」

 

I unconsciously muttered that while watching the slowly flowing scenery of the city.

ゆっくりと流れていく街の光景を見て、無意識にそんなことを呟いた。

Then, Fenon, who was sitting upright next to me, immediately reacted.

すると、隣で姿勢良く座っているフェノンがすぐに反応を示す。

 

“By the way, in the world where you were, Esuar-san, there are vehicles that don’t require horses, right? I’ve heard they don’t even need magic stones.”

「そういえばエスアールさんのいた世界では、馬を必要としない乗り物があるのですよね？　なんでも魔石すらも必要としないとか」

 

“Well, even if they say they don’t need magic stones, it’s just that they use a different fuel, so it’s not like fuel is unnecessary. In the place I was, there were vehicles that could fly in the sky and others that ran underground. But in terms of enjoying the scenery, they might not be very good. They go pretty fast.”

「まぁ魔石要らずって言っても、別の燃料を使ってるってだけで燃料が不要ってことじゃないんだけどな。俺がいた所では空を飛ぶ乗り物もあったし、地面の下を走る乗り物もあったよ。だけど景色を楽しむって意味じゃ、あまり良くないかもな。かなりスピードでるから」

 

In this game’s world, there are things that hint at Japanese culture, like food and entertainment, and while they aren’t widely spread, there are communication magic tools that serve the role of a telephone. However, there are certainly no things at the level of airplanes or cars. I wish there were at least bicycles to make moving around easier, but unfortunately, I don’t really understand the mechanism well enough to teach it. What a pity.

このゲームの世界には、食べ物や娯楽品など日本文化を匂わせるものはあるし、一般に普及はできていないものの、電話の役割を果たす通信の魔道具なども存在する。だけど、さすがに飛行機や自動車レベルのモノはない。せめて自転車があれば移動が楽だなぁとは思うが、残念ながら仕組みを教授しようにも俺自身が良くわかっていないから無理だ。無念。

 

Fenon let out a sound of admiration, probably imagining the shapes of the vehicles I mentioned in his mind. He must be picturing shapes that I, bound by my fixed notions, couldn’t even conceive of.

へぇ、と感心した様子で息を漏らすフェノン。おそらく頭の中では俺の言った乗り物の形でも想像しているのだろう。きっと固定観念にとらわれている俺には考えもつかないような形状のモノを思い浮かべているんだろうな。

 

“What kind of toys were there? Were there menko or spinning tops?”

「遊びの道具はどんなものがあったんだ？　メンコやコマはあったのだろう？」

 

Sera joined in on the conversation between Fenon and me.

俺とフェノンの会話に、セラも参戦してくる。

By the way, Shiri and Noah are also listening to our talk, but they are in a role of just being listeners.

ちなみにシリーとノアも俺たちの話を聞いてはいるが、聞き役に徹している状態だ。

 

“There were some, but… I haven’t really played much. I have some experience from when I played at festivals as a child. There were various toys besides menko, and there was so much entertainment that I could play for a lifetime and still not be satisfied.”

「あったのはあったけど……俺はあまりやったことないかな。子供の頃に縁日でやった経験はあるぐらいで。めんことか以外にもいろいろな遊び道具があったし、一生かけて遊んでも遊び足りないぐらいには娯楽が溢れていたよ」

 

Mainly games. If I tried to play all of those—how many lives would it take…? No, it would just mean an endless increase in the things I missed out on. Impossible.

主にゲームがな。あれらを全部やろうとしたら――いったい何回人生を送れば……いや、やりそびれた物が延々と増えていくだけだろうな。無理だ。

 

“Oh, that sounds like every day would be fun.”

「ほう、それは毎日が楽しそうだな」

 

“…I wonder about that. Even though it’s entertainment, most of it is about competition— the more seriously you get into it, the more frustrating it is when you lose, and you can get irritated when things don’t go as you wish. There are times when you might forget the fun in that.”

「……どうだろうな。娯楽っていっても、結局は勝負事が大半だし――本気で好きになればなるほど、負ければ悔しい、思うようにいかなくてイライラしてしまうこともある。そんな感じで楽しさを忘れてしまうこともあるんじゃないかな」

 

“But it’s just a game, right? Isn’t it usually fun whether you win or lose?”

「だが、たかが遊びだぞ？　負けても勝っても大抵は楽しいものじゃないか？」

 

“Hahaha, it doesn’t work that way once you get really into it.”

「はははっ、のめり込んだらそうもいかないんだよな」

 

For me, this world itself is like a form of entertainment.

俺にとってはまさしくこの世界そのものが娯楽のようなものだし。

I never imagined that thanks to the game I played, I would be able to save the world and end up marrying such cute girls… No matter how much I fantasized, I couldn’t have imagined that back then.

まさかプレイしていたゲームのおかげで世界を救うことができて、こんなにかわいい子たちと結婚できることになるとは……いくら妄想を膨らませてもあの頃の俺には想像できなかっただろう。

If someone were to tell me now that all of this was just a dream— I wouldn’t just be disappointed; it would be devastating.

いまさらこれが全部夢でした――なんて言われたらさすがに落ち込むだけじゃ済まないな。

 

 

Just then, I spotted a store that seemed to be selling menko, as mentioned by Sera, and outside the store, boys and girls, likely under ten years old, were slamming their own menko onto a wooden platform. I wished I could have submitted my resignation to the company I was working for back then with that much enthusiasm. I was quite troubled at that time and didn’t have the luxury to think about such things.

ちょうどセラの口から出たメンコを取り扱っているらしい店が通りに見え、店頭では１０歳に満たないであろう少年少女が自前のメンコを木製の台の上に叩きつけていた。俺もあれぐらいの勢いで当時勤めていた会社に辞表を提出したかったものだ。あの頃はかなり病んでいたし、そんなことを考える余裕もなかった。

 

Since we still had some time, we got off the carriage a little away from the store to avoid being a nuisance and headed toward the general store selling menko. As we approached, I checked the items inside, and wooden toys were haphazardly arranged. It wasn’t that the store was dirty; it had a nice atmosphere that made it easy to pick things up.

まだ時間に余裕もあったので、邪魔にならないよう店から少し離れた所で馬車を降り、メンコを販売している雑貨屋へと向かう。近寄りながら店内の品物を確認してみると、木製の遊び道具が乱雑に並べられていた。店が汚いというわけではなく、手に取りやすいような良い雰囲気だ。

 

“Welcome… Are you a noble, perhaps?”

「いらっしゃい……ませ。お貴族様、でしょうか？」

 

The middle-aged shopkeeper, who had been watching the children’s match with warm eyes, noticed us and asked with a slightly anxious expression. It seemed more like he was worried than scared.

少年少女の勝負を温かい眼差しで見守っていた壮年の店主は俺たちに気付くと、少し不安げな表情で尋ねてきた。怖がっているというよりも、不安そうな感じが見て取れる。

 

“No, no, we’re just ordinary explorers. Is it okay if we take a look around?”

「いえいえ、普通の探索者ですよ。ちょっと見て行ってもいいですか？」

 

“—Oh! Is that so! I was surprised because you’re wearing such fine clothes. This is a shop for commoners, so nobles don’t come here, and I’m relieved you’re not too good at polite speech!”

「――っ！　なんだそうなのかぁ！　随分と立派な服を着てるからびっくりしちまったよ。ここは庶民向けの店だから貴族様なんてこないし、俺は丁寧な口調があまり上手くないから安心したぜ！」

 

Saying that, the shopkeeper happily patted my back. Without the benefits of my status, that would have been quite a shock.

そう言いながら俺の背中をバンバンと嬉しそうに叩く店主。ステータスの恩恵が無かったらなかなかの衝撃を受けそうな威力だな。

As I was thinking about that and smiling wryly, the shopkeeper turned his face toward each of us.

そんなことを考えながら苦笑していると、店主は俺たちそれぞれに顔を向ける。

 

“By the way, this is the first time I’ve seen faces like yours. Most of the higher-level explorers in the Royal Capital are usually familiar with each other… Did you just come to the Royal Capital recently?”

「それにしても初めてみる顔ぶれだな？　王都にいる上の方の探索者は大抵顔見知りなんだが……最近王都に来たばかりか？」

 

When he said “higher-level,” it was probably because our clothes were relatively expensive. Also, I think he figured out that I had a decent status from my reaction when he patted me.

彼が『上の方』と言ったのは、おそらく俺たちの服装がそれなりに高価なモノだったこと。あとたぶん、俺を叩いた時の反応でそれなりのステータスがあることを見破ったのだと思う。

This shopkeeper himself is likely a current or former explorer, or perhaps he has someone close to him who is a higher-level explorer.

この店主自信が現役――もしくは元探索者である、あるいは近しい人に上位の探索者がいるのだろうな。

 

“Ah, we came from Lindale.”

「あぁ、俺たちはリンデールから来たんですよ」

 

“Oh! Is that so! Speaking of which, I’ve heard that the ‘strongest explorer’ from Lindale and their companions have come to this country! Well, I guess you would know that in your home country, haha! My daughter went to see that match, and she talked all night about how ‘this part was amazing’ and ‘it looked fun.’”

「ほぉ！　そうだったのか！　そういえばこの国にリンデールから『最強の探索者』とそのお仲間が来ているらしいぞ！　って、母国ならそれぐらい知ってるか、ははは！　ウチの娘も例の試合を見に行っていたんだがな、もう一晩中『ここがすごかった』とか『楽しそうだった』とか、ずっと話を聞かされたよ」

 

The shopkeeper shrugged his shoulders but seemed to be enjoying the conversation a bit.

やれやれと肩を竦めながら、だけど少し楽しそうに店主は話す。

Me? Of course, I’m frozen with a smile. While it’s nice to be praised like that, it’s undeniably a bit embarrassing.

俺？　もちろん笑顔のままフリーズしておりますよ。そうやって褒めてくれるのは嬉しいけど、気恥ずかしいことには違いない。

Besides, the foreign people invited to that match must have been somewhat limited… What could this mean?

というかあの試合に呼ばれた他国の人は、それなりに絞られていたはずなんだが……どういうことだろう？

 

“Hey, you guys should also work hard to aim for ASR’s Esuar! It’s a good thing to have your goal nearby! After all, my daughter grew up aiming for my back!”

「兄ちゃんたちもＡＳＲのエスアールを目指して頑張りな！　目標が近くにいるってのはいいことだぞ！　なにしろウチの娘も俺の背中を目指して育ったからな！」

 

Laughing heartily, the shopkeeper patted my back once more. We’re practically at a level of being one with each other in terms of distance.

はははと笑い、もう一度俺の背中をバンバンと叩く店主。近いどころか一体化しているレベルの距離なんですけどね。

Since both I and my companions were starting to feel a bit awkward, I decided to steer the conversation in another direction and asked something that piqued my interest.

さすがに俺も仲間たちも気まずい雰囲気になってきたので、話題を別方向に逸らしつつ、気になったことを聞いてみる。

 

“Is your daughter perhaps a member of the ‘Crimson Blade’? I thought there were pretty strict admission limits for that match.”

「娘さんって、もしかして『紅ノ剣』のメンバーの方ですか？　あの試合って、結構入場制限厳しかったと思うんですけど」

 

“Oh, you know about my daughter? Wow, she’s become quite famous. I’m proud as a parent.”

「おっ、娘のことも知ってんのか？　いやぁ、アイツも随分と有名になったもんだ。親として誇らしいぜ」

 

Nodding with his arms crossed, the shopkeeper looked pleased.

うんうんと腕組みをして頷く店主。

He seemed as happy as if he were being praised for himself. I wonder if I would feel that way if I had children? I can’t really imagine it.

まるで自分の事を褒められているように嬉しそうだ。俺も子供ができたらあんなふうになるんだろうか？　あまり想像ができん。

 

As I was thinking about such things, I heard a light sound of footsteps coming down the stairs from the back of the store, tap-tap-tap. Then the door behind the counter swung open energetically, and who appeared was—

と、そんな事を考えていると、店の奥の方からトントントン、と軽やかに階段を下りる音が聞こえてきた。それからカウンターの後ろにある扉が勢いよく開かれ、現れたのは――、

 

“Hey, Daddy! I think I’ll go in this gear tomorrow, but does it look weird? —Oh, customers are here…………… huh?”

「ねぇパパー！　明日この装備で行こうと思うんだけど、見た目変じゃないかな？　――って、お客さん来て………………え？」

 

It was Neska, whom I had just met a moment ago.

つい先ほど、顔を合わせたばかりのネスカさんだった。

 

 

 

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