Episode 6 – Lunch Wagon Owner

“There it is, Oni chan!”

The girl named Hina pulled my hand and pointed toward a certain place.

In a nature park surrounded by trees, there was a crowded area.

There was a large carriage parked there.

The side of the carriage was open and a man who appeared to be the owner was hurriedly preparing food.

Some customers received their food and sat down at the tables prepared for them, while others ate standing up.

It smells …… good. And it looks delicious.

It was certainly a terrible sight for a hungry man like me.

“Father~! I brought the part-time onii chan”

Hina waved her hand at the owner.

Hm? A part-time job? Me?

“Oh, come here! You must be hungry, eat first, then come work!”

The man beckons me over with his lively, austere voice.

Wow, if I look closely, …… I see that he is missing one arm. Single arm, huh?

It looks as if the arm is completely missing from the owner’s left shoulder.

The rest of him is a middle-aged man with a muscular, fearless face and dark hair with a beard around his mouth and chin.

“Come on, onii chan, let’s go!”

Hina pulls me by the hand and I head for the food stall.

I sit down at an empty seat, and soon after, the owner brings me a dish with one arm.

A large, deep-bottomed bowl filled with pasta dipped in a black broth.

There were also various vegetables and ham toppings.

What is this? I have never seen this dish before.

But it smelled so good.

The owner showed me how to use a chopstick to eat the pasta

“Yes, it’s delicious! I have never tasted such delicious food! What is this dish called?”

“It’s ramen. I can also make fried rice, tempura, and many other dishes.”

Hina answered proudly.

But I’ve never heard of any of these dishes.

“Hina. You can’t tell that to people on the continent of the Grand Line. Onii chan, many of the dishes I make are from Japan. Of course, I can serve dishes from this continent if you wish.”

“Japan (倭国 Wakoku Ancient Japan)? I have heard of it. I am sure it is the continent of Eurasia on the east side? I believe it is a continent that is quite far from the Grand Line.”

“Ah, that’s right. I am Io. I am Io Shiranui. I am the owner of this mobile “lunch wagon” and I travel all over the continent with my daughter Hina. You have dark hair and eyes of the Eurus type, where are you from?”

“Eh? No…well, it’s just a few spots. It’s definitely not the Grand Line…Ah, my name is Seti.”

I’ve been in an orphanage for as long as I can remember. I don’t even know if that’s my hometown.

“Hmm~ I see. Seti, nice to meet you.”

Io-san smiled at my eating without mentioning it any more.

“Come on, Onii chan Seti, eat with us.”

Hina put her ramen on the table and took a seat across from me.

“Yes, okay.”

“Eheh, It tastes good when we eat together, doesn’t it?”

“Eh?”

Hina’s words suddenly reminded me of the memories I had with them.

The girls I treated as a fake Hero …….

The days we spent fighting and spending time together.

I had a fake relationship with them, but it must have been an important time for me as it gave me a chance to recover my lost heart.

The tears are falling from my eyes.

“…… Onii chan, what’s wrong? Are you crying?”

“Hmm? Ah, it’s so good,……, I haven’t eaten anything for a while.”

“Yes, eat a lot!”

“……Thank you, Hina-chan.”

I can feel people’s warmth and kindness again.

I felt glad to have my freedom again.

After finishing my meal, I immediately went to help Io-san.

I did everything I could, from washing the dishes to cleaning up afterwards.

I don’t know why, even though it was just a chore. It’s so much fun.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been doing nothing but assassinations and deceiving others, but for the first time I felt a sense of work and fulfillment.

Oh no, I’m going to start crying again ……. It seems that my tears gland has weakened since my emotions returned.

Hina is also helping out with a healthy smile and a smile on her face. I think it’s great.

But Io, the owner of the store, is also amazing …….

He is dexterous and does everything quickly even though he has no left arm. It’s as if he doesn’t feel handicapped.

But the way he moves, which can be seen in places,…… no, it’s nothing.

Let’s not pry into it unnecessarily. He is a good man, after all.

In the midst of all this, I notice something moving fidgetily in the corner of the carriage. “Anggya!” I even hear a strange squealing sound.

When I looked in, there was a baby dragon, also known as the “child of the dragon.”

Its entire body is covered in white scales, and only its tail is glistening with seven bright colors, like a rainbow.

It was about the size of a medium-sized dog, without horns and rounded all over.

A rope was wrapped around its long neck and connected to the post of the carriage.

At first glance, I thought it was a juvenile white dragon, but there was something different about it. I had never seen this kind before.

‘–“It’s Shabazo, Seti onii chan.”

Hina tells me.

“Sha, shabazou? What’s that?”

“That’s the name my father gave.”

“Hahahaha, he’s a very bossy fellow who’s always yelling, but he’s also a very timid. That’s why I named him after the Japanese word for thug.”

That’s a strange name. …… I see.

The shabazo looked at me and roared, “Goooooo~~!” When I tried to get any closer, it immediately hid in the shadows.

“Is this baby dragon a white dragon?”

“No, I don’t know. …… I picked this baby dragon up somewhere during my travels. I’ve been keeping him ever since.”

“He was badly wounded,……, so I rescued him.”

“He must have been a hunter. It must be a rare dragon, as onii chan has heard.”

I nodded in agreement with Io and Hina’s explanation.

Then it gets dark and dinner is served.

As I was jobless, Io-san offered to hire me as a part-time worker for the duration of my stay in the Kingdom of Woana. I bowed my head and asked him for a job.

Then

“–I’m going to go to the restroom.”

I left the carriage and disappeared into the trees.

“What have you been doing there all this time?”

I called out to the three men hiding in the shadows of the trees.

They were dressed in black and had black cloth wrapped around their mouths and faces, so it was hard to tell who they really were.

But they always smelled like the men who tried to kidnap Hina during the day.

“Who are you, little black-haired boy? Why are you interfering with us?”

“Isn’t it natural to protect innocent, young children from those who would turn their fangs against them? That’s what I use my power for now.”

“Are you in the same business as me, boy ……?”

“So you’re Hades?”

Do you know the organization? But from the way you talk, you’re an assassin for another organization?

Not on the Grand Line continent,…..so

While I was thinking about this, one of the men pulled a dagger from his pocket and attacked me.

“Get in my way then die——Guh!”

“Too late. Did you possibly think you had an opening?”

I close the distance between me and the black-robed man with overwhelming speed.

I take the dagger from the man and thrust it into his throat.

“Y-You!”

The other man fired a crossbow at me.

I read the trajectory of the arrow, grabbed it with my bare hand, and threw it back at the man.

The arrow pierced the man’s forehead and he fell to his knees.

“HH-hi! H-He’s so strong!”

The last remaining man screamed and ran away.

The man’s legs had been strengthened by magic, and he was clearly more agile and quicker than any normal person.

But,

“It’s too late–you can die now.”

In no time at all, I caught up behind the man, snapped his neck, and butchered him.

I already knew what they wanted and what they were after.

So I decided to kill him immediately without questioning him.

I slipped out of the trees, and sure enough, there he was, waiting under the moonlight.

Io was standing there waiting for me under the moonlight.

Yes, their target was not Hina.

–It was Io-san.

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