Three Heroes' Drinking Party

"Where did you live, Leona-san? I lived in Kanto."

"Oh, are you thinking of meeting when we return to Japan?"

"No, no, no. I just wanted to talk about our hometowns, it's not like people from this world would understand."

Wataru and Leona hit it off immediately at the inn.

Moreover, Leona was supposedly 17 years old, so she was drinking juice, not alcohol.

I'm not very good at drinking either, so I was also having juice. Ah, the fried chicken is delicious.

I'd told Nerune to go back for now.

For Nerune, we were talking about another world. Even though she could finally get a chance to talk about Japan, it wouldn't be nice to disrupt the conversation by trying to join in.

What about me? Well, I had Japanese parents and more than enough knowledge about Japan.

And I don't want to leave Leona alone, so I didn't have a choice.

"Heeh, so you came to this world when you were in high school Wataru-san?"

"How long have you been in this world, Leona-san? If you need anything, I can arrange it for you, I am a recognized hero in the Empire after all!"

Wataru proudly puffed out his chest.

Too bad she was his senior by, well, a lot. Wataru's reaction whenever he ends up learning the truth was going to be priceless.

"Hehe, I'm doing fine. I'm enjoying this world too. I have the power of a Hero skill, so I can make it on my own."

"She's actually an assassin sent to train me by Haku-san. She's definitely stronger than me, you should spar with her later."

"Oh! I remember hearing about that. How does she fight with that massage skill? Like, massaging her own body to increase her abilities?"

"I can also clearly see the opponent's weak points. Fufufu."

Leona spoke, her eyes glowing red.

Ah, she's using [Super Appraisal]. How bold.

"Wait, you're one of Haku-san's, so that'd make you an Empire-recognized hero, right? So aren't we colleagues then?"

"I suppose, that's one way to look at it. I've only recently come to Haku-chan's service, so we may see each other more in the future."

Leona took a big sip of her fruit juice. A telepathic conversation ensued.

[I've been avoiding his [Super Luck] all this time by not revealing any information. It's unfortunate, but encountering me is considered unfortunate for him.]

[I think that's true overall, wish I had it too.]

… It would've been great if I had [Super Luck] too though.

"I want to talk more about Japan. Let's see, what kind of music did you listen to, Leona-san?"

"Hmm? Let's see… um…"

Leona stumbles in her response.

[Kehma-san, help me a bit!]

[Why? Just tell him about some songs you remember.]

[That's five hundred years ago, I've almost completely forgotten!]

Right, Leona spent overwhelmingly more time living in this world than she did in Japan.

I reluctantly told her about a nostalgic melody.

"—-And that's one of the songs I used to listen to. Yeah. I haven't heard it since I came here, so I only vaguely remember it."

"Heeh, I've heard my parents sing that one. Was it the same for you, Leona-san?"

"Y-yeah, I didn't listen to music much myself, so it was just whenever I heard something playing."

Hmm, a generation gap.

[Kehma-san, don't you know any songs for younger people!?]

[I'm the type of person who doesn't know much about recent songs.]

Speaking of which, if Leona's been living in this world for five hundred years… doesn't that make her a person from five hundred years ago?

Five hundred years ago in Japan was the Sengoku period. There wouldn't be any young people around from then, would there?

[You're off track there though? I'm a modern Japanese person from the 2000s, you know?]

[Oh, right. You did mention something about games before.]

[See? Ah, right. Maybe I should tell this hero about it too.]

Saying so via [Telepathy], Leona clapped her hands.

"Do you know this? The flow of time is different between this world and Japan. So it's possible for someone who was younger in Japan to become older in this world."

"Oh, you're quite knowledgeable! I was thinking the same. When I consider the story of the most famous hero, Food God Ishidaka, it seems like that."

"Yes, that's right. From what I've heard, even though there was a hero summoned after Ishidaka as far as Japan's timeline is concerned, he was actually summoned a hundred years before Ishidaka in this world."

I wonder if hero Ishidaka got lost when he was summoned? For about a hundred years or so.

Leona sent me a telepathic message saying, [This hero here's pretty well informed compared to you huh?] but I wasn't particularly interested in that stuff, so eh.

"The food that Ishidaka-san used to make was very much like the kind of food you'd find on a Japanese table. There were things like omelettes and mapo tofu."

"The food culture had advanced several centuries by the time of Ishidaka. Many recipes that didn't use rice seem to have been lost."

"Rice, huh… The dungeon here drops rice. I think there must be some connection to Japan. I'm sure there's a clue to get back to Japan, at least that's what I've been thinking."

Leona glanced at me.

Speaking of which, Leona wasn't particularly impressed when rice was served at the inn.

She said she could make polished rice with her [Super Alchemy]. It was just annoying since it went one grain at a time.

I'd wondered why she didn't just make the seeds, but she wasn't able to for some reason.

"Do you want to go back to Japan, Wataru-san?"

"Oh, no, I've resolved to rest my bones in this world."

Wataru was searching for a way to return to Japan for the sake of other heroes who did want to go back. What a noble thing to do.

[——What's with this guy, is he that good of a person?]

[He's ridiculously good. By the way, Leona, do you know a way to go back to Japan?]

[I know a few ways to kill summoned heroes.]

Apparently, there were various ways to get rid of heroes who were no longer needed five hundred years ago.

[Haku-chan should have erased those records after she established the Empire.]

Five hundred years ago sounds like it was a violent era.

… I'm glad Wataru and I weren't summoned back then.