I asked Carol to stay calm and then sacrificed Destiny so I should be safe for a while.
After leaving the room with a subtle expression of a doll, I decided to go to the ground floor and give her a detailed explanation.
I arrive before the kotatsu in the living room and sat down.
In front of me, she crosses her arms and settle down.
I mix some truth with the setting which I had assembled in my mind.
"So she is an immigrant from abroad who came with her family from the village which you had helped about which I heard before."
"That's right."
I want to praise myself for thinking about this setting.
"Her family has to urgently reutrn back to the home country for a short while so her parents dropped her here and asked me to take care of their daughter. I had my family so I took it lightly but I hard forgotten that my family will leave for the New year. I was also busy with the work and the Stalker case so I forgot about it."
I told her quickly.
I guess I managed to talk well as it is usual for my sister to point out that I am telling a lie.
"I know that whatever you do has nothing to do with others but I need to know more. I will talk about this with aunt after New Year."
I have known that when she talks in an overly polite tone like her Student Council President days, its pretty dangerous.
She pretends to be calm but her convulsions and jerky cheeks her habit of suppressing her anger.
If a women is angry and you make an excuse, it will be like adding oil to the fire.
This is one of the few techniques which I learned during my NEET days.
"How about that its a lie and you are actually married and she is your daughter."
Why the crying look? Is it because that she is shocked? Or...Dont go into delusions.
"No. I was a NEET. I was withdrawn from the world and stayed at home all the time except the night. How can I get married?"
"That's right."
Apparently that was very convincing argument but....I am not happy
She is still a bit suspicious but it fortunate that I was a NEET....She is really happy about this?
Anyways, this seems to have mislead her but the problem is the future.
Will I always feed this girl from another world?
The best solution would be to return her to the original world but how?
Even if she returns but finds the village destroyed then she will be lonely then wouldn't it be better for her to stay here?
Several questions come to my mind.
If I had money and I lived alone then I might have been able to feed Carol but the men now hasn't everything.
Even I myself am all alone. Can I even save one girl who has lost her place?
"Yeah. Why was I sleeping in the japanese-styled room? I feel I am still dreaming. I cant remember properly. Take care of yourself—are you listening?"
"Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something. What to do tomorrow?"
I noticed some things.
Confusion in memory...It seems that Sayuki's stalker also had said something similar to the police. That the memory before and after the incident was strange.
I thought that it was an excuse to escape the punishment for his crime but maybe.....
Does the Destiny's mist have that kind of effect?
It just licked Seika and that ingredient entered her through the tongue?
I may want to verify it but I dont want to bother with that mist.
"Well, I think I have to take care of you till your parents come back. If you are worried about taking care of the child then I'll help ...
"Well, would that be really okay?"
"Yup"
"Is the story over?"
Looking back at the unexpected sound which I heard, Carol was standing in front of the stairs. She was holding Destiny like a stuffed toy.
"To, to, to, to, to kage"
Seika trembles and suddenly retreats to the wall.
"Carol. Onii-sama is not good with lizards so dont take Destiny close to her."
"Okay. I understand."
She walks to me with Destiny.
Seika was stroking her chest as id she was relieved with the distance.
"I'm sorry if I scared her with your pet.
"She has always been bad with the insects and lizards."I
"Its amazing. I dont understand your words but still I am able to have good conversation with you."
I am glad of her impressed and respected look but what did she just say?
She doesnt know my language. Isnt it usually Japanese?
I am hearing Japanese in my ears.
"... Carol. That onii-sama is my friend."
"Oh, that's right. Nice to meet you, I am Carol!"
She bows down and says hello.
Seika laugh gently but does not reply..
"Okay, what did that child say?"
"Nice to meet you, My name is Carol."
"Ah, Carrol-chan. It doesnt dound like English, Spanish or French neither an Asian language."
Yeah. Seika can greet others in multiple languages.
She said that she works in a large company and has many exchanges with foreigners so she has learned light conversation and greetings.
"... She is from a mountainous area in Europe and their ascent is bad. You know like how we dont understand that dialects of Tohoku and Kyushu regions. [1]"
Even Japanese locals cant understand all ascents.
In fact, the ascent of my grandparents living in the countryside have a bad ascent and I sometimes dont understand what they are saying. Sometimes, I need to ask my father to act as an interpreter.
"Oh, I see. I dont want to be sticky but that it seems to be an skeptical excuse but it should be true if you can speak it fluently."
"If its just simple conversations then you will be able to learn it after talking online for years."
She seems convinced
I feel that my excuses and lies are getting better and better since I started the game.
I feel relieved but another question arises.
Carol's voice can only be heard by me because of the fact that she is fromt he game or it could be translated and heard because of a mysterious power.
I am speaking to Carol in Japanese.
"Do you understand what I'm saying? and do you understand what onii-sama is saying?"
"I understand Yoshio but I cant understand her."
Such a setting?
"Seika do you understand what Carol told me?"
"I don't understand because I have never heard something like that"
Is it automatically translated during the game?
I have lots of questions but lets be optimistic that the language helped me. Now that one or two mysterious phenomenas have increased.
Guuuuuu.
When I search for teh source of the sound, I see Carol blushing while holding her stomach.
"Are you hungry?"
"The year is going to be over so lets eat soba. I will make for Carol as well." [2]
... I speak Japanese but when I talk to Carol it gets translated into the language of the game.
The first thing is that the language of the game is not Japanese.
Seika went to the kitchen and started cooking.
"I'll help you too."
"Its good, You stay with Carol. She might be worried being alone in someone else's house."
"That's right, so I'll ask you for the food."
"Please leave it to me"
She winks and laugh with a playful look.
I react with a light bite. I am really comfortable with such a relationship.
How is Seika life with her lover? I want to ask but I dont want to know as well.
My worries are increasing.....
"Yoshio, a desk covered with this cloth. What is this?"
Carol pulls my arm and points to the kotatsu. [3]
She is looking cheerful now. She doesnt seem to be worrying about waking up in a strange place.
I have to act dignified as not to show any anxiety. I dont want her to be depressed and remember the village.
"This is a heating system called a kotatsu. Put your feet in, it's warm."
"Wow, really. That's amazing!"
Seeing the frolic behavior of Carol, my worries seems to be stupid. [4]
Lets protect it with all my power. In case of an emergency, I will protect this child even if I need to go against my parents.
I am just a miserable God of Fate who coudnt even protect a village.
"The soba is ready. Help me carry things."
"Aiyo"
When I went upto her, Carol also followed me.
"What happened?"
"Carol will help."
She seems to be quite clever.
Destiny, who had been playing with her till now relaxes while pushing its lower body into the kotatsu.
It doesnt look like a lizard anymore.
What would happen in the next year?
The upcoming year will likely be more intense than the past decade.
Translator and Editor Notes:
[1] Regions of Japanese
[2] Soba is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It usually refers to thin noodles made from buckwheat flour, or a combination of buckwheat and wheat flours. They contrast to thick wheat noodles, called udon. Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup
[3] A kotatsu is a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, formerly a charcoal brazier but now electric, often built into the table itself.
[4] play or move about in a cheerful and lively way.