novelShort Story 03 - There are many unknown things in this world
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Short Story 03 - There are many unknown things in this world
There was a time when her mother had attempted to fire energy beams from her eyes.
Even though Nodoka had not wanted to know about such a past, how should she interact with her mother now that she had found out about it?
Nodoka felt like she was seeing her mother in a whole new light.
Speaking of seeing people in a new light, it was no longer possible to just write it off as a joke after seeing the chain of events that had been caused by Diana's actions, but putting that aside for now,
"Besides, just what made you want to try such a thing?"
"Ah, umm... sorry, I'd appreciate it if you didn't pursue this matter any further..."
Next to Nodoka, Diana was wearing the sunglasses and had hung her head in shame.
Although Diana clearly did not want to attract attention from other people in the street, she was still accompanying Nodoka to her school as a guard.
Would she still be able to fight if the otherworld monsters called Shii showed up? Moreover, did she really intend to fight the Shii, that looked like black shadows, while wearing black sunglasses?
As Nodoka looked at Diana who was slightly taller than her, she noticed Diana's golden hair sparkling in the early morning sunlight.
"...Mu."
"Umm... Nodoka?"
"It's unfair."
"Huh?"
"Those sunglasses are the ones Dad uses when driving, right?"
"Yes, that's what I had heard."
"Beautiful people are so lucky... although the glasses obviously don't suit you, you still end up looking somewhat cool."
"Please don't tease me!"
"No, I'm actually being kind of serious, you know? You look like an actress who is going to Hawaii on vacation."
"By Hawaii, do you mean that place in Tottori...?"
"Why do you only know about such strange things, Diana-san?"
There's a hot springs resort called 'Hawai' in the Tottori Prefecture that has become pretty famous in recent years, and it has many good reviews online.
However, why did this person from Ante Lande know about it, when she was only supposed to have information about Japan that was over thirty years old?
"Ah, actually it was shown on TV yesterday..."
"Diana-san, you're actually quite fond of watching TV, huh?"
"Yes, I am. It's something that does not exist in our world after all, and it's easy to learn a lot of things because it displays text and produces sound at the same time."
"Ah, you mean like how you feel you can understand what they are saying in English if the video has subtitles?"
From what Nodoka had seen so far, she knew that Diana had a wide variety of tastes when it came to television programmes.
She could understand why Diana would be interested in the news and documentaries, but she had also occasionally come across Diana watching variety or comedy shows, travel documentaries, and TV shopping programmes with a serious expression on her face.
"Are travel documentaries and TV shopping programmes really that interesting? Diana-san, you're still not that familiar with the geography of Japan, right?"
"Whether they are interesting or not... that doesn't really matter."
"Eh?"
"Watching TV shopping programmes helps me understand the value of currency here as it lets me know the relative value of different items. As for travel documentaries, they teach me about the different modes of transportation available in this world. I would like to ride on those vehicles called trains and buses some day. They also help me understand the geography easily as it is presented in a visual format. Of course, I will also need to study it properly using textbooks, but for me, the most important thing right now is to align myself with the Japanese way of thinking as soon as possible. I just thought that travel documentaries are best suited for that purpose."
"Hmm? Align yourself?"
"Yes. Remember when I acted rudely towards one of Yasuo's friends?"
"Ah, you mean that time when you intimidated one of Onii-chan's friends from prep school?"
Not long after Diana had come to Japan, there had been an incident where Diana had mistaken Tatewaki Shouko, one of Yasuo's classmates from middle school, for an enemy and intimidated her.
"The people who appear in travel documentaries are those you mentioned earlier, the actors, correct? So they're all famous people."
"Well, yeah. Although that depends on the type of documentary."
After hearing that, Diana lightly patted the pocket of her jacket and smiled.
"I need to get used to the fact that even such people, and the staff personnel around them, do not need to go armed in this country called Japan. Maintaining public order and actions taken to preserve the peace are directly dependent on whether the country is peaceful to begin with."
"A-Armed!?"
Diana was wearing Madoka's jacket, but she had Pollux, which was one of her twin bladed Techno Weapon, concealed under it. The other half, Castor, had broken in the previous fight and had been left behind in the room Diana was using.
"Although it's shameful to admit, there are many places and districts within the Resteria Kingdom that are beyond the reach of not only the Magitech Knights, but the local authorities as well. Such places are either a hotbed of crime, or are overrun by dangerous wild beasts... there are no such places in Japan, right?"
"I don't think that Japan is absolutely free of such things."
"No, there are really no such places in Japan."
Diana gave a shallow smile.
"I mean, Nodoka, you've never had to arm yourself for self-defence, right? There is no need to carry weapons in the course of your usual life, right?"
"Well, yeah. More like, possessing weapons is a crime..."
"Children who live on the streets because they have lost their parents ambush people on the streets and steal their money. Groups of bandits attack merchants who are traveling on the highway and kill them. There are no places in Japan where such things happen on a daily basis, right?"
"...Well, I'm sure things like that won't happen here."
There are many reports of incidents that are so cruel that they want to make you cover your eyes.
However, even though Nodoka didn't know much about the world, she could confidently say that there was no place where such things were considered normal.
"That's why, I need to understand that this country is that kind of place. I need to understand that Yasuo... was born and raised in such a country."
"Ah, I see."
Yasuo was a person who had very little experience with real malice and killing intent. However, the path that he had chosen to follow was saving that 'other world' from a crisis, where fighting and bloodletting were common even during peaceful times.
"Putting it this way might sound bad, but it's probably better to not expect too much from him. Onii-chan has no courage at all."
Diana merely laughed and shook her head after hearing Nodoka's critical appraisal of her brother that she had given after seeing him all her life.
"Even though I was born in such a world, I was raised while being pampered in the society of nobles, so it took me a long time to accustom myself to that reality and build up my courage as a soldier."
"...Well, if you're okay with it, Diana-san, then that's fine."
If Yasuo was still determined to follow this path and Diana didn't change her mind either, then it was not something Nodoka could do anything about.
Nodoka had strongly rejected the idea of her father going to Ante Lande, but she didn't particularly feel anything about Yasuo's training.
Nodoka already knew the reason for that, but after remembering it once again, she asked a question to try and change the subject.
"Diana-san, you're very fluent in Japanese, but that's not a language spoken in Ante Lande or Resteria, right?"
"Yes, it's not."
After hearing that, Nodoka sighed and said,
"Onii-chan is really bad at English, you know."
"...I know that. But the national language of Resteria is not English, and thanks to the influences of Hideo and Madoka, a little Japanese is also spoken there."
"A little...?"
"Umm, like the names of food and so on..."
"......"
So it was like how words like 'sushi and 'tempura' had become load-words in English, and it was not at the level where people could speak or understand the language at all.
"Putting it this way might sound bad, but it's probably better to not expect too much from him."
"...It all depends on his actions from now on."
Diana's eyes were hidden by the sunglasses, but Nodoka was certain that her eyes were filled with worry.
- The End -
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