.....
Chapter Three (3). Peace.
Time skipped and in a blink of an eye, it was December.
Reo sat down on the lounge as the boss walked to his colleagues one by one and gave them a bonus to their salary.
Reo took his envelope and was satisfied. "Thank you boss." Reo thanked the leader who was waving at him and looked at his comrades with a confused look.
"Daniel, what's with the bonuses?" Reo asked the man sitting next to him curiously and waved his envelope around.
Daniel, a bust man, looked at Reo with surprise.
He held his own envelope and told the youth who was patiently waiting for his reply. "Have you lost your common sense, Reo? The boss would of course give out bonuses because it's almost Christmas and the holiday is here. There won't be any jobs in the afternoon as today's marked as a no work in the calendar."
"Pardon? You mean, I don't have any work?" Reo was flabbergasted and quickly hid his frustration beneath his eyes.
He had greatly enjoyed the job of waste collecting. Not only does it help the environment, it pays well.
Daniel couldn't understand the young man and decided to ignore him.
Reo who was about to ask another question shut up abruptly as the boss turned around and hastily announced, "Enjoy your holiday! Hoho!"
And the fat man entered his office while the workers quickly shot up from their seats and exited the building.
Reo was speechless by the progression.
He stood on the halls as his colleagues went and said bye to him.
"Ey, Reo, bro. Wanna visit the shrine—Huh? Are you alright?" A passing friend came and asked the petrified Reo.
Reo broke free from his daze and gave him a look of disapproval. "I'm fine, but I have to pass."
"Oh man. Not you too. Why does no one wanna visit the shrine with me?"
"Sorry." Reo bluntly apologized as he watched the man scroll away. He then went to the cabin and took off his work clothes.
"What a waste of time..." Reo muttered to himself and fetched out his phone. It was an ordinary and affordable smartphone he had brought by mistake during the first month of his return.
Now that he thought about it, it was almost a year since he had returned home after he went and ventured a tiresome adventure in a world called Demi.
The situation he had when he arrived was not pleasant, and it took him a few months to reform his mindset.
Looking at the event being programmed and shared by a media on his phone, Reo frustratedly sighed as he couped his cheek using his left hand and recalled his past.
Flipping across each years, his speed slowly decreased when the picture of a lovely raven haired woman appeared in his memories.
He wanted to see her again.
After scrolling down on his fyp, Reo placed his phone in his pocket and took his belongings with him outside.
He then passed by the counter and excited through the main entrance, he opened his folded jacket and began to wear it.
"See ya next month, Reo!" A colleague said as he boarded his bike.
Reo glanced at him for a short second and immediately turned around and made his way to the park.
Winter had yet to fully arrive despite being December in Japan. But, the night wind had now become cold and was slowly merging to be as cold as ice.
Reo sat down on one of the bench in the park. He rolled down his carpet and placed down his blanket next to his homemade pillow slanting on the bench's handle.
Reo was homeless. And he lives and sleeps in different places depending on the weather and need.
He chose the park this time because he had an impulse to do so.
Reo looked at the center of the park where a large Christmas Tree could be found entranced by dazzling ornaments showcasing light.
"It'd be better if Emelia was here to enjoy the view with me. She hadn't seen anything like this before and it would've be a pleasant surprise for her to enjoy such event. Unfortunately..." Reo was clearly unhappy and his mouth pursued a frown.
"System?" Reo all of a sudden called out for a friend who had accompanied him in his return. That interference didn't appear since a few days before nor later, it was oddly very quiet.
"Oy, system. Why so silent?" Reo cocked his head in disturbance as he looked around in search of that non–human companion.
Hastily, the familiar system panel appeared from thin air and simply replied with it's troubled robotic voice. [Y...Yes?]
"What's wrong?" Reo asked showing slight concern.
[T–There's nothing wrong, Ransom-San. Just had been recalled back to my hometown.] The system answered bluntly as it sheepishly returned to silence.
Reo didn't pursue the matter anymore and simply leaned back on the bench.
"Hello? Can you understand English?" Out of the blue, a female voice called aloud and voiced with worry.
Reo opened his eyes and looked at the person standing in front of him.
"Erm. Can you understand English?" The person in front of him was a beautiful brown haired woman clothed in black dress that was similar to what nuns would wear. Without even trying, Reo knew what she was.
The nun awkwardly waved her hand and continued to ask Reo. "English? Do you know?" Her voice slowly began to creak as she forced herself to speak a language she was unfamiliar with, fluently.
Seeing that Reo hasn't replied. The nun decided it was time for her to give up and prepared herself to leave.
Reo wondered what the woman was trying to say. In a moment's haste, he called out the system and asked if it has a translation feature.
The system hesitated and it reasoned, [Ransom-san, it's unfamiliar of you to show concern to others like this so easily. She's also someone you do not know, why bother helping?]
Reo realized what it meant but he was curious on what that woman's trouble was. He ignored the question of the system and pursued, "Do you have a translation feature or not?"
[Ransom-San, how about if you forget about other's? You know, I started to feel uneasy so...]
"Do you have a translation feature or not?"
Finally, the system could only swallow back it's refute and quickly stated. [I have...]
"Turn it on." Reo ordered.
Hence, the system did as told.
Reo moved his head to the direction the woman was heading and spoke in english. "I know a bit."
Hearing his fluent english, the nun turned around and looked at him with sparkling eyes. "You can? Oh good, oh good. Finally, someone who knows English!" The nun exclaimed in happiness as she briskly walked back to Reo's location.
"I will introduce myself first, I'm Zane. And I was helplessly wondering if you know where Caroline Restaurant is. It's a western Restaurant." Zane asked and then explained. "I was looking for it everywhere but I don't really have any idea on where it is. The clue given to me by my fellow colleagues were insufficient and I think I'm lost.. Do you perhaps know where it is located in? If not, well, sorry to bother you."
Reo was quiet, after a while he voiced. "If it's Carol Restaurant then it's located behind that alley, just go straight from here to that building and turn to the left to enter there and you will find a well hidden western restaurant."
"Carol? Oh my, I actually forgot it was Carol. So that's why I haven't seen it, nor would I have expected it to be so well hidden. In thanks, do you mind coming with me? I will pay for your dinner." Zane happily proposed.
Reo thought about it for a while and thought it was a great offer. He hadn't yet eaten his dinner because it was only a few hours before evening. Moreover, eating with another person would cease his loneliness.
After he made his decision, Reo agreed. "Sure. I'm hungry and free food is always good."
"Hmm." The nun hummed in appeal.
Reo began to clean up his items and placed them inside his bag. Just as he readied himself to stand up, the system rang in his ears in alarm. [Ransom-San! Please take your decisions seriously!]
Reo answered it with a confused laugh. "I am, what do you think I am doing?"
[Then, if anything happens then don't blame me.] The system said aloud and vanished.
...
Reo and Zane entered the restaurant and began to pick their choices with the food on their menu. Suddenly, a waiter exclaimed in surprise, "Hey! Who the hell are you to barge in here—"
Reo blankly turned his head to look at the entrance and was stunned. Zane looked at him in confusion and looked towards that way as well.
Standing on a few steps on the door's sill, a woman clad in black one piece dress was staring at their direction with anger radiating from her red eyes.
Her raven hair that was tied into a simple low pigtail shook as she bobbed her head to the right.
Reo was sure he wasn't mistaken. That was his wife.