Just as she stood there at a loss, feeling desperately anxious, a savior's voice reached her ears.
She turned to look at Sakurakoji Talent, who had come over at some point. Like someone clutching at a lifeline, she straightened up forcefully, faced him, and hurriedly explained.
"Mr. Talent! These guests seem to be foreign tourists. They can't understand my explanation. What should I do?"
After understanding the reason, Sakurakoji Talent nodded. So they weren't reckless idiots unafraid of death. That made things easier.
He looked at the group and first asked in English.
"Can I help you?"
After the man saw the two of them exchange a few words and heard Sakurakoji Talent speak to him, he understood that the person in charge had changed. He continued babbling away in a language Ichiji Nijika couldn't understand.
What kind of bird language was that?
A question mark rose in Sakurakoji Talent's mind. What the other side was speaking was clearly not English, and he had no idea what country's language it was. Going abroad without knowing the local language was one thing, but not even joining a tour group or hiring a guide? What the hell kind of trip was this?
...If it had been his previous life, he definitely would have thought that.
But unfortunately, in this life, he actually knew it.
Once he understood what language the other party was speaking, Sakurakoji Talent switched channels, and his tone became rhythmically expressive.
"Was kann ich Ihnen helfen?" (What can I help you with?)
The man's pale green eyes lit up. He hadn't expected the other person to know his country's language, and immediately began gesturing excitedly as he spoke.
Sakurakoji Talent nodded repeatedly as he listened. After hearing him out, he said a few words as well and pointed him in a direction. After accepting a crisp new ten-thousand-yen bill, he handed back the change and three admission passes tied around their wrists.
Having received a satisfactory answer, the man smiled kindly, lightly nodded and bowed, then left with his wife and child.
As Sakurakoji Talent watched the three leave and was about to return to work, someone tugged on his sleeve.
Stars sparkled in Ichiji Nijika's eyes as she looked at him with admiration, her voice high and excited.
"You're amazing, Mr. Talent!"
"You could communicate with foreigners so fluently, and it was even in a language I've never heard before!"
"It's nothing. I'm technically a returnee, after all." Sakurakoji Talent pulled out the identity he had used before as a shield.
"Oh, right! Then it isn't strange!" Ichiji Nijika tapped her palm, remembering that there was such a thing.
"But you're still amazing! This is the first time I've seen someone around me speak a foreign language so fluently. As expected of a returnee!"
"Not every returnee is that impressive, though."
Yeah, like a certain someone. Or another certain someone.
"Right, what language were you speaking just now? I don't think I've heard it before!"
Faced with Ichiji Nijika, who was overly excited and kept leaning closer like an inquisitive child, Sakurakoji Talent couldn't exactly push her away. He could only explain.
"I just happened to have studied it. It was German."
"German is so amazing!"
"No, German itself isn't amazing, is it?"
"What were you talking about just now?"
"His child needed to use the restroom and asked me where it was, so I pointed it out."
"I see! I thought he was just buying tickets. That's a blind spot. I'll definitely pay attention next time!"
Seeing that she showed signs of continuing, Sakurakoji Talent quickly interrupted her.
"There are still customers waiting. Let's talk later."
"Ah, right."
After glancing at the somewhat dissatisfied customers farther back in the two lines, Ichiji Nijika quickly ended the conversation and returned to enthusiastically welcoming the next person.
Back at his post, Sakurakoji Talent let out a sigh of relief and continued the work he had interrupted, hoping the topic would end there.
But reality proved that he had been thinking too optimistically.
During the lull after the rush hour, Ichiji Nijika cheerfully told the others about what had happened, and he was surrounded once again.
"As expected of you." Yamada Ryo gave him a thumbs-up in admiration.
"Well, what can I say? I'm used to it already. I can't even be bothered to be surprised." Resting her cheek on one hand, Ichiji Hoshika's delicate, languid face showed no reaction.
"As expected of my best friend!"
"Heh, an interesting man."
"Uh..." Stared at by the several girls with gazes of varying meanings, Sakurakoji Talent got goosebumps all over and unconsciously rubbed his arm.
Tch. Female gaze was seriously disgusting.
"You said before that you had only recently returned home. Were you staying in Germany before that?" Ichiji Hoshika asked as she drank fruit juice, voicing the question everyone wanted answered.
"No, New York."
"Huh? Then Mr. Talent's English is also really good? Amazing!"
"My family just had me learn a lot. It's nothing impressive."
"Knowing three languages isn't impressive?" Ichiji Nijika looked astonished, unable to understand.
Image: "Please give me some tickets, thank you," location: "Images/1754245491-100446961-113679000.jpg"
The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: You Don't Go to School Either?
"Mm—average, maybe? I don't know what level that counts as, but everyone in my family has mastered at least several languages. My mother and younger sister both know several, and my father has mastered more than ten."
"..." Everyone fell into a brief silence.
"Could... Talent's family be a family of diplomats?" Yamada Ryo shakily offered her guess.
Other than diplomats, she couldn't think of any family that would be like this. And they lived in America now—were Talent's parents diplomats stationed in America?! Yamada Ryo was stunned.
"No. It was just treated as a basic education course, and they drilled a lot into me from childhood." Sakurakoji Talent imitated the movements of some bartenders, carefully wiping a glass with a white cloth as he answered casually.
He gave a cold laugh at Yamada Ryo's innocence. Exaggerated? It was supposed to be exaggerated!
In this world, there were simply too many unreasonable things and people. He couldn't even be bothered to complain about them one by one.
"..."
"..."
Other than Sakurakoji Talent, the people gathered around the bar looked blank. After exchanging a few complicated glances, they decided to move past the topic.
"By the way, what school did you attend in America? Was it also a language school?"
"I didn't go to school."
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
Hearing their confused little questions, Sakurakoji Talent clicked his tongue and explained further.
"For certain reasons, I didn't attend school much."
But that explanation only caused even more misunderstandings in their minds.
"Certain reasons... D-don't tell me it was bullying at school!"
"Come to think of it, I've heard bullying over there is really serious."
"Mr. Talent is so outstanding-looking. It wouldn't be strange if he got bullied..."
"Poor Talent!"
Yamada Ryo and Ichiji Nijika hugged each other and trembled, seemingly already imagining Sakurakoji Talent's miserable circumstances back then. They somewhat regretted bringing up the topic.
"Could it be that your grades were so bad that you were encouraged to leave?" Ichiji Hoshika offered her own speculation.
"Could you please not judge others based on your own experience?" PA countered with a bitter smile.
"Shut up! I wasn't encouraged to leave! I graduated, at least!"
Ichiji Hoshika glared at her. Her beautiful face twisted slightly as she expressed her displeasure, but all she received was a perfunctory response.
"Sure, sure."
"Could it also be because you wanted to stay at your family's shop and play instruments instead of going to school?" Kanau guessed reasonably while drinking her Drinks.
"No, isn't that strange too? No one would really do that, right?"
Ichiji Nijika waved a hand, feeling that idea was too out there. She couldn't imagine someone skipping school over something like that. Weren't they afraid of getting beaten by their parents?
The others nodded in agreement as well. If that really happened, one beating would set them straight.
There obviously was! Kanau puffed up her small cheeks indignantly and blew bubbles into the Drinks in her hand through her straw.
So cute~
Seeing her reaction, they all had the same thought and smiled fondly before casually looking away.
"Stop guessing. None of those are the reason."
Sakurakoji Talent set down the glass, helpless before their imaginations.
Rather, it would have been better if it were something as minor as school bullying. Even if bullying had actually happened, he would have been the one bullying others.
With his looks, merely standing there was silent bullying toward everyone around him.
Not to mention that in a capitalist society like America, how many people would dare bully him? Were they not afraid of getting knocked out after school, then being found with more than ten gunshot wounds in the back and ruled a suicide?
But if he told them the real reason, the atmosphere here would probably freeze instantly. They likely wouldn't be able to sleep at night, and would wake up in the middle of the night to slap themselves more than a dozen times while saying they truly deserved to die.
For the sake of everyone's mental and physical health, he chose to remain silent and say nothing.
"Alright, alright. It was just because of some personal matters. It's not a big deal, so stop guessing."
Seeing that he didn't want to explain, no one pressed further, and they naturally switched to another topic.
"I think I heard Mr. Talent mention the word younger sister just now. Does Mr. Talent have a younger sister?"
Ichiji Nijika suddenly recalled a keyword from what he had said earlier. Tilting her head slightly, she asked curiously.
That question drew everyone's attention again. They wanted to know too, since this was the first time Sakurakoji Talent had talked about his family.
Given how perfect he usually seemed, they were also curious about what his family was actually like.
Especially Ichiji Hoshika. As someone who also had a younger sister, there was a trace in her gaze of the look one gave a fellow enthusiast.
"Yeah, I do have a younger sister."
"Huh? Really! Is she cute?"
"No, since she's Mr. Talent's younger sister, she must be cute!"
"Isn't that judgment a little too arbitrary?"
"Because, look, right?"
"Whether she's pretty..." Sakurakoji Talent frowned slightly. That really was a question for him.
Objectively speaking, Ashiri was certainly very cute.
But within the family, her looks seemed to rank near the bottom.
It was understandable that she couldn't compare to him, but she also had difficulty comparing to their parents. Even if the Okura Family Relatives were included, she didn't particularly stand out. At most, she was average.
At most, if he added the brotherly filter he had toward his younger sister...
Sakurakoji Talent hesitated before answering, "She should be... fairly cute, I guess..."
Ashiri: I'm the ugliest one in our family.jpg
Before you continue