*Clap clap clap clap*
At the early afternoon, right when I started getting hungry, the Chinese restaurant [Menmen]was bustling from the many visitors and conversations inside and outside the kitchen .
"Thank you for waiting . Roasted pork ramen, Soy ramen and your Gyoza set dinner is ready . "
"Oh, it's here!"
The old man exclaimed as if he was waiting for those meals .
As he promised, the old man took me to eat ramen outside .
I tried to keep silent and wait until the case had settled, but I knew that he would start playing dumb to avoid treating me .
That's why I told him to go with me on the last day of our school 'break' . Rather, I forced him to do so . And as I expected, he tried to feign ignorance at first .
"Aight then, The food is ready and all, shall we eat? Hm, what's wrong?"
"...No, it's nothing, really . "
That's a rather pretty cheerful att.i.tude for someone who was making a grim face all this while . Is it that unpleasant to treat me to a single meal?
I kept silent towards his sudden change of mood, but the old man didn't mind my silence and dug in .
"SUSUSU!! ...…Ah-, Just like the rumors, this ramen is delicious!"
"ZUZUZU!! ...… You're right, this is good . "
As to be expected from something that airs on TV and appears in various magazines . The perfectly boiled noodles, the transparent soup, everything in this ramen tasted great .
Okay now, next is the Gyoza . I moved my chopsticks over, picked one up and carried it to my lips .
Mhmhm… yep, this is delicious . That's [Menmen]ramen for you . I can't find a single flaw in their meals .
"But still, you got quite the unfortunate luck to encounter a terrorist organization right after you finished your second day school began . " The old man spoke while he eating his ramen .
"I know . But hey, I owe that to me now eating such a good meal . Not that bad of a deal if you ask me . "
"Terrorists subjugated for the sake of ramen…"
A bitter smile reached the old man's face as he muttered .
Well, regardless of the motive, It wasn't mine but the terrorist's bad luck . They choose the only school where someone harboring the skills of a different world like me out of ten thousands of schools, after all .
"Well, either way, glad you're fine . "
"There's now way I'd be done at the place you know . "
"Hahaha!! Yeah, you got a point . "
A short while after he chuckled, the old man uttered while making a nostalgic expression .
"Come to think of it, You were like this the first time . "
"First time?"
"The first day we met . "
"Ah…that day you mean . "
Unlike the old man who thought back about that time with an emotional mood, I didn't care the least about it .
"I was seriously startled at that time, you know . Who knew that someone who could do such stuff actually existed . "
The old man closed his eyes to recall the event of that day .
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"Dammit, what did he mean by 'do your job diligently' ?! How about you take it seriously too, you dumba.s.s!!"
At that day, after I got unreasonably rebuked by my boss, I was complaining on my way back from a bar to my place .
Since I was drunk, my steps were rocky . But suddenly, as I was unsteady walking my way through a dark path—-
Gyaaaaah!!
A shriek from the surroundings reached my ears .
What was this scream? Is it from the construction site nearby?
Despite being a bit drunk, I came back to my sense and immediately rushed to the building .
After looking up inside the building, I found someone laying on the ground . I ran up to where he was, but I naturally halted my steps half way .
The reason I stopped was because I glanced at the figure of a single boy surrounded by several delinquents holding knives .
(Woh woh, what's going on in here? I need to save him . )
I made my resolve and prepared to dash in, however, what I witnessed in front of me was something of unpredictable .
A ma.s.s of wind possessing the shape of a sphere appeared out of nowhere and started to attack the delinquents .
"Gyaaaah!!"
"H-Help me!!"
"My bad!! I'm sorry!! Please forgive…Gyaah!!"
They begged the boy with all their might, but he didn't show a sign of stopping that wind ball .
The wind ball remained blowing off the delinquents and the pillar inside the building crashed into the ground resulting in an awful sound .
What the heck is this? What is going on in here?
I lost my words to the spectacle in front of my eyes .
My drunkenness had completely disappeared due to the extreme shock and I remained standing still while gazing at that scene .
It didn't take too long for the boy to realize my presence; he glanced at me, a vigilant look in his eye .
Okay, I knew the situation wasn't good . . At the rate it was going, I would face the same fate as those delinquents .
I thought of saying something .
"Ah- What is this? A magic trick?"
"...…Ha?"
A few seconds of silence followed my words before the boy showed he was perplexed .
Uh? Did I say something weird?
"A… No, wait . I'm not a suspicious person . I'm a cop . "
"Cop?" The boy opened his eyes wide after I said the word, 'cop' .
"What is an officer doing in such a place?"
"Coincidence . I heard some screams and came rushing to find you beating those guys down . "
Despite hearing out my explanation, the boy's gaze seemed to still hold some doubt . I knew there would be no progress if we kept standing like this .
"Tell me, who are you? Was that a magic trick just now?"
"No, such magic tricks doesn't exist in the world . "
I guess he's right .
"Well, how about a change of scenery . Right, want go for some ramen?"
"Ha, Ramen?"
"Yeah, There's a ramen stall nearby . How 'bout it?"
At that moment, I had turned my back to him and slowly started walking, but the boy had urged me to stop .
"Wait . Shouldn't we do something about these guys first?"
The boy pointed at the delinquents who were collapsed on the ground .
"Ah, yeah… just leave them . "
"You're gonna leave them?!!"
"It's not that they're dead or anything . So yeah, let's just leave them there . My shift has already ended today and this would just give me unnecessary work . "
"... Are you really a cop?"
"Yes, I am a splendid officer . So let's go . Somehow, tonight I'm in the mood for some ramen . "
The boy followed after me, his expression still filled with puzzlement .
We arrived at the ramen stall and then, started a conversation as the both of us atel .
"ZUZUZU!!… Hoo, summoning to another world…"
"ZUZUZ!! You believe me?"
"Well, after what I saw earlier, what can I say…?"
Honestly, it wasn't a credible story as he said it, but for me, it didn't sound like a lie .
"A different world…hey, can you check my stats to see if I have some of those skills?"
"Wait a second . "
The boy said as he deliberately gazed at me .
"You got two martial art skills . "
"Seriously? But isn't that because I did Judo and Karate?"
"Probably . "
Doesn't that mean that I have no substantial skills? This makes me sad .
"Well, the fact that you have a skill is impressive . Not everyone has a skill, after all . "
Maybe because it seemed that I was slightly dispirited, the boy made a quick follow up to cheer me up .
Had he been concerned about me? What was this, he's a better person than what I initially thought .
"Thanks . "
"About what?"
I had faintly smiled at the boy who was feigning ignorance; he then turned to his bowl again and resumed eating .
"Come to think of it, what were you doing at that place?"
"Hm? Ah, I was intending to test some new magic skills but soon enough found myself involved with those delinquents . So I decided to beat them at their own game . "
The boy casually declared, not seeming to feel bad about it at all .
Well, those delinquents didn't have the best of luck this time around .
But, for some reason, I had felt a little sorry for them in that moment .
"But still, those skills are pretty convenient, aren't they? Can you do anything you want with them?"
"Not anything I want . But yeah, they're indeed convenient . "
"I see… alright! I've made my decision!"
I had roughly put my chopsticks on top of my bowl and turned to look at the boy .
"If something happens from now on, just come to me for help . I'm a police officer, after all . Pretty sure I can be useful for you one day . "
"Ha? What are you talking about suddenly? Do you get any advantage from doing this?"
"In some cases, I may rely on you to help me out with my job . Don't worry, it should be an easy work for you . Of course, I won't talk to anyone about your skills . What do you think? Wanna team up with me?"
Finished, I extended my hand to the boy .
His gaze went between between my arm and my face for while, only finally did he grab hold .
"I will be merciless if you betray me . "
"Same here . "
Like that, we exchanged our cordial handshake .
"I know it's late to ask this, but…what's your name?"
"It is late indeed…I'm Kamiya Yato . "
"I'm Ijida Tetsuji "
"Ah, old man . "
"Old man!? Could you at least call me Mr . Ijida?"
"An old man is and old man . let's get along from now one!"
"Listen!!…well, whatever . "
And thus, Kamiya Yato and my give-and-take relationship was born .
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MC's POV
"~That's how our first encounter went, right?"
Such a long reflection .
Well, our encounter went like that indeed .
At that time, I still didn't have [Teleportation Magic], so I was forced to choose the construction grounds since I couldn't go anywhere far . Although, I didn't expect to meet with those delinquents .
However, when I think back about it now, I wonder why I didn't erase his memories immediately .
If something like that happened to me now, I would have definitely knocked him down first .
… Who knows why?
"Welp, many things happened until now, but I'm still relying on you, partner . "
"Who's your partner?"
Stop arbitrarily change me into your partner just like that .
"Don't be like that . Give me that Gyoza!"
"Ah, wai-! That's the last one!"
"A real man doesn't let these small matters upset him," the old man said before bursting out in laughter .
This guy is getting too full of himself…
After that, we enjoyed our time as we ate .
Guess this is what we'd call as the inevitable .