Source
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n0573je/4/
Perhaps because of the rampage when the assassin came to my house, the charging cord of the smartphone used for streaming was disconnected, and when I noticed it, the battery had 2% remaining.
I could have continued while charging, but since this was my first time streaming with guests present, I didn’t know where to cut off when I continued.
I’ve already fried all the karaage, so the timing is perfect if I finish it now.
So I said, [That’s enough for today] and ended the stream.
“Ah. Even though I stream so that someone can call the police……”
I turned off the live feed and realized that I had given away my lifeline with my own hands.
……Well, I don’t care. If I keep going like this, someone will never call the cops. All they can say is that the assassin is cute.
“Streaming !? Oh, y-you were streaming everything that just happened !?”
“Eh !? Ah, uh, that’s……! !”
The assassin’s eyes widened as she ate her eighth bowl of white rice.
Oh no, this is bad. Come to think of it, I didn’t tell her I was streaming it.
From her point of view, it was as if she had caught the scene of the crime. If I can’t get away with it, she might come and kill me now.
“I-I’m sorry ! My job is streaming ! I didn’t mean to expose you on the Internet or anything like that……!”
I explained that I had no other intention, and somehow I managed to beg for my life.
The assassin thought for a moment and muttered.
“If it’s work, I guess it can’t be helped. That’s how Inami earns his money, isn’t it?”
“……Eh? You forgive me?”
“It’s nothing like that, I didn’t come here to harass Inami. If we’re causing trouble for each other because of work, aren’t we both the same?”
I appreciate your generosity, but isn’t the percentage of the trouble you cause bigger than me?
……Well, I’m glad she didn’t lose her temper and start waving a knife around.
There is still a possibility that it will be swayed from now on.
“Besides, Inami, you should eat too ! Karaage is so delicious !”
“Oh….t-that’s right.”
I thought about sitting at the table with the person who had come to kill me, but I decided not to worry about it since it was too late. No matter how much I make a fuss, I can’t win, and if I have to die, I want to die with a full stomach.
So I moved to my living room and put karaage on the retro Showa-era tea table I bought for the shoot. In my videos and stream, I put the finished dishes on the table and filmed the actual eating scene.
“Ah, I didn’t do the prayer ! Oh, no, no !”
The assassin sits across from me.
She impatiently put her hands together, poured mayonnaise and shichimi (seven spices) on the karaage and gobbled it up, then used the momentum to shovel down the white rice. I couldn’t help but smile at her boldness in eating, and I joined hands with her before picking up my chopsticks.
“It’s been a long time. It’s been ten years or so since I’ve sat down to eat with someone.”
“I-Isn’t it difficult being alone? As for your family…”
“I’ve never even seen their faces. I don’t even know who I am or what country I was born in. I’ve been doing this job since I found myself wandering around the world.”
For an assassin, this is probably not much of a problem.
But to me, it’s a big deal, and I was surprised that she didn’t think anything of it.
“Does Inami have a family?”
She gulped down a piece of karaage and tilted her head.
“I have relatives, but I’ve never met my father, and my mother died when I was in elementary school.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Did I ask you something sensitive?”
“No, don’t worry about it. ……Something made me happy today.”
“What is it?”
“When I made curry for my mother, she said it was delicious, and that made me so happy that I decided to become a chef. But my own restaurant, which I finally had, was ruined, and I felt empty even though I put out cooking videos and such, and I kept wondering if this is what I wanted to do……”
Normally, I would never go so far as to reveal my innermost thoughts to others.
But in front of her, my mouth moved naturally.
Perhaps it’s because she’s so far removed from the everyday life of a killer, but my body is strangely light and I don’t have to strain my shoulders.
“I felt saved today when you said it tasted so good. Thank you so much.”
“Ugh…..this is so embarrassing. It’s not like I said that to make Inami happy. It’s the first time I’ve eaten something this delicious…but that’s all…”
She scratched her burnt cheeks and looked visibly shaken from side to side.
As I watched her, she suddenly looked up, took a piece of karaage, and forcefully shoved it into my mouth.
“Y-you don’t have to look at me like that ! Inami, you didn’t eat even though you’ve said your prayer ! You have to eat !”
I did as I was told and chewed the karaage.
Crispy on the outside, juicy inside. My kind of karaage as usual.
…However, today it feels incredibly delicious.
After all, it’s nice to have someone around the table.
It’s even better when it’s with someone who says it’s delicious.
“Speaking of which, what’s your name, Miss Assassin?”
“Name? Ah……hmmm, I wonder. I’ve been called many things, but I think [Tie] is the most common. It means [iron] in Chinese.”
“I-Isn’t that a nickname, not a name?”
“I don’t have a name. I’ve never thought about it.”
With that, she stuffed her mouth with karaage, and as soon as she swallowed it, she clapped her hands.
“Just call me Karaage ! It’s delicious !”
“No, no, no, no. Absolutely not. It’s not just a glittering name, it’s a weird name, isn’t it?”
“Eh? Then, I’ll just call myself Hakurikiko.”
“Isn’t it too unoriginal to name yourself after a word you learned today?”
“Because I’m a woman who’s always at the forefront of her field.”
She puffed her chest out with a smug look on her face, but it was hard to look good if her name was thin flour.
But if I say no, she’ll probably say something like potato starch next time. ……Is it better if it’s thin flour? No, that’s not the point.
“If that’s the case, how about Haku? It can also be written as [white] in kanji, and I thought it would go well with the assassin’s appearance.”
Blinking her silvery white eyes, she muttered, [Haku……?].
After a few seconds of thought, her eyes lit up with a twinkle.
“Haku ! Yeah, sounds good ! Well, actually, I was thinking of calling myself that, too, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
She was mysteriously insistent, but there was no point in dealing with her, so I let her off lightly.
Then she stood up abruptly and borrowed a pen from my desk. When she sat down again, she put the knife on the table.
“Eh……hm…..what are you….”
She takes one look at my upset face and takes off the lid of the pen, saying, [I’ll write my name on it.]
“You’re supposed to write your name on your belongings, right? Well, now that I have a name, I figured I’d write it down before I forget !”
“……A deadly weapon with your name on it, that’s as novel as it gets !”
“I know, right ! Inami, give me your hand !”
“Eh?”
“Come on !”
When I timidly held out my right hand, Haku san grabbed my wrist and pulled it. Then she write my name in a clumsy clatter on the palm of my hand.
“I don’t want someone else to take Inami , who makes such delicious food ! Now you’re mine !”
Hehehe, I peeked her white teeth as she smiled innocently.
I can’t imagine how childishly cute she is from her cool exterior, so I hide my grinning mouth and reply nonchalantly, [I-I see.]
“But are you okay with owning me? Haku san came here to kill me, right?”
I asked, hoping for an answer that would be enough.
–I soon realized that I had made a mistake.
The friendly mood changed drastically.
She seemed to have remembered her duty, quickly picked up a knife and pointed the tip at me.
However, her eyes are not as cold as they were when she came barging into my house, and there is a definite hesitation in them.
“……”
“U-um, actually, I still have a lot of food in the fridge…….”
“……”
“So, I think if you kill me, everything will be ruined and you’ll be wasting your time killing me…….”
“……”
“Ah, would you like to come over tomorrow? I’ll make you something delicious.”
Haku san bit her back teeth and put the knife in her pocket with a gasp. She then resumed her meal as if nothing had happened, ate her bowl of white rice cleanly, and clasped her hands together saying, [Thank you for the meal]
“I’m leaving today, b-but it’s not because I have feelings for you or anything ! It’s to avoid unnecessary killing ! That’s all !”
“Who did you learn that tsundere style from?”
“A-anyway, I’ll be back tomorrow !”
“I get it. Do you have any requests for food?”
“…..I’ve already had a salty one, so I’d like a sweet one next time.”
“Something sweet. I’ll think of something.”
To that response, she said, [Yay !] she raised my hand and immediately cooled down, coughing to cover it up. She stared at me with eyes full of regret and walked to the front door, shaking her silver hair.
“Well then, Haku san, good night. Please be careful on your way home.”
No reply.
She silently puts on her leather shoes, stands up quickly, and straightens her back.
Slowly she turned back to me, her brow furrowed with difficulty for some reason.
“What’s wrong?”
“…..It was my first time.”
“What?”
“On the way home……like a normal girl, you’re worried about me. That made me happy…..um……”
She pinched my sleeve with her long, slender fingertips and looked up at me.
Her pale vermilion lips were soft and loose, forming a refreshing smile.
“–Ah, thank you. Good night, Inami.”
She wrinkled my sleeves and let go of them regretfully.
Haku san smiled once more and left with a small wave of her hand.
I touched the spot she was pinching and listened to the sound of her footsteps moving away through the door.
Thinking about what I will cook tomorrow.
◆
“N-no way…..”
After Haku san left, I slept like mud, tired of everything, and checked my channel as soon as I woke up.
Last night’s stream had more people than ever before. Maybe the number of subscribers had increased by a few hundred.
“…….I’m not mistaken, am I?”
I’m not talking about hundreds of people.
The original number was 50,000.
In just one night, that number had doubled to 100,000.
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