Chapter 4

Saito-kun, the delivery man, is nineteen years old. He is the driver and delivery person who comes to Kikawa Metal every day.

When Natsuka Rei first saw Saito-kun, she was surprised to think, "Such a man actually exists in the real world." He had loose, wavy perm hair in a light brown color, gentle droopy eyes, and a slender build despite doing heavy work. He looked like a Korean idol from TV or the internet.

If he were in the Kingdom of Uje, his brothers would probably say, "Are you even a man? Fine, I'll toughen you up!" with a snort. Despite his frail appearance, Saito-kun once peered into Rei's bento and spoke to her.

"Rei-san, you have a bento again today. And it's a lot."

"Yes, I'm a big eater."

"To eat so much and not gain weight, it's a mystery, isn't it?"

"Hehe, it really is."

Rei's bento box is a large metal type that high school boys often use. That day's bento was filled with white rice, topped with sweet and spicy stir-fried pork, cabbage, and bell peppers, grilled egg, and salmon flakes. Rei thinks it's colorful enough, but the employees at Kikawa say, "It looks like a high school boy's bento, not just in quantity but in how it's arranged."

When she was in her home country, cooking was the chef's job, so she had no experience with cooking. But in this country, very few households have a live-in chef. She had to learn from books, but she is proud of her cooking skills. Rei generally doesn't undervalue herself.

"That's nice, it looks delicious."

"Would you like to try a bite?"

"Is that okay? Then I won't hesitate."

She offered a plastic spoon and her bento box, which she always keeps in her desk drawer. Saito-kun scooped up some grilled egg and the white rice underneath and put it in his mouth. He chewed and his eyes widened.

"Mmm. It's delicious. Rei-san, you're beautiful and a good cook, you'd make a great wife."

"Thank you."

Even though she knew it was just a social nicety, she felt a little happy. Since then, Rei has been a little more interested in Saito-kun.

"He looks so fragile, I want to keep him healthy with my healing magic."

"I want to feed him plenty of food every day to build up his physique."

"It seems fun to spoil someone younger."

She enjoyed imagining these things, but one day, she learned a shocking fact.

While Saito-kun was talking to a part-time female employee at Kikawa Metal, he said,

"It's my son's birthday today, so I'm going to buy some toys."

"Oh, congratulations. How old is he?"

"He's two. He's a handful, so my wife is having a hard time."

"I understand, two is a tough age."

(You, who look like a fluffy squirrel, are married? And you even have a child? At your age?)

"I can't imagine it."

"Huh? Did you say something, Rei-san?"

"No, nothing. Saito-kun, you're married?"

"Yes! It was a shotgun wedding. I had to take responsibility as a man."

The part-time employee interjected.

"Rei-chan, Saito-kun, despite how he looks, was a vice leader of a biker gang not long ago. Can you believe it?"

"Hehe, that was when I was in Ibaraki. It was a youthful mistake. Now I'm a serious and good young man."

Rei said, "Is that so?" while putting a grain of rice flavored with pork into her mouth, thinking, (This fluffy guy is a father...) (What was a biker gang again?).

"Rei-san, show her that photo, Saito-kun."

"Eh? That one? It's a bit embarrassing."

While saying this, he operated his smartphone and showed the screen to Rei. There was a thin, shaved eyebrow, lusterless blonde all-back hair, and a bad-looking teenager flipping the bird and glaring at the camera.

"Is this Saito-kun?"

"Yes, but it's old news. It was four years ago."

Rei chuckled, "Four years isn't that long ago."

She selfishly thought, I wish he was a fluffy guy who had never even kissed.

"Rei-san, what kind of person do you like?"

"Me? Hmm, my parents..."

She was about to say, "Anyone my parents choose is fine," but then remembered her设定 (setup) of having no past memories and quietly closed her mouth.

Seeing Rei close her mouth, Nishida-bucho quickly changed the topic, and they started talking about professional baseball.

She returned home feeling a bit down. On the way back, she saw a mother cat carrying her kitten in her mouth. Both the mother and the kitten had poor fur condition.

"Are they sick?"

She looked around, squatted down, and gently cast a healing spell on both of them.

"Heal."

Fleas fell off the bodies of the two cats. She had cast a spell to remove harmful things, and there might have been parasites as well, which would be expelled in a day or two.

"Bye-bye."

She watched the mother and kitten enter a narrow gap between buildings and returned to her apartment. On the way, she bought two cream puffs at a convenience store.

Her vague, unrequited feelings had shattered before they could take shape, but the delicious Japanese sweets comforted her heart.

"Mmm, delicious. Convenience store sweets are the best. This world and Japan are the best."

She is always a positive magician.