Chapter 13

Chapter 13 - It's not an Isekai Reincarnation if there's no Goddess

After sweating it out at the dojo until around noon, Haruto, who had changed from his training uniform to casual clothes to prepare to leave, was stopped by Ishigura.

"Haruto, I'd like to ask you a favor for something."

In his hands, he held a box made of thick white cardboard, similar to the kind used for cakes.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Well, it's this. Ah, Shizuku! You come over here too."

Ishigura called out to Shizuku, who happened to be passing by.

"What is it, Kazu-senpai? Are you about to confess your love? Sorry, I'm only devoted to Haru-senpai."

Shizuku said with a deadpan expression, causing Haruto to give her a wry smile.

"If you could express it with a bit more bashfulness, it might make an impression on me too, but when you say it so matter-of-factly with that straight face, well, it's hard to feel anything."

Letting out a sigh, Haruto said. Hearing this, Shizuku twisted her hips slightly and leaned her head a little bit, giving Haruto a coquettish look from below.

"How about this? Does this get to you? Does it leave you swooning?"

"...Shizuku, before you work on your posing, work on your facial muscles."

"So, Haru-senpai wouldn't be satisfied unless he dyes women in his hue. What a predicament."

"Hey, you two. Instead of doing this skit, could you listen to my request?"

Interrupting the banter between Haruto and Shizuku, Ishigura cut in with a look of exasperation. Haruto then turned a serious face toward him.

"I'll listen to whatever Kazu-senpai has to say. So, which gang are we going to take down this time?"

"We'll do anything you want, boss."

Playing along with Haruto's playful tone, Shizuku also chimed in enthusiastically.

Though she might be misunderstood due to her usual expressionless demeanor, she had quite an agreeable personality, readily joining in on Haruto's antics.

"Come on, you guys... Can you be a bit more serious?"

Ishigura, shaking his head at his two juniors' antics, gave them a stern look. If someone who didn't know him well saw his menacing looks, they might think he was intimidating enough to make not only kids but even adults burst into tears.

However, Haruto and Shizuku, who had known him for a long time, simply met his gaze with unperturbed expressions, or in Shizuku's case, she even teased him further.

"Hey there, Kazu-senpai. Grats for having the most menacing glare in Japan!"

"Who are you calling menacing! Sigh... well, whatever. For now, I want you two to try these."

Saying so, Ishigura took out mini-sized fruit tarts from the box he was holding.

"Huh? Can we really eat these?"

"Kazu-senpai, I'm not some cheap girl who falls for things like this."

"Yeah, go ahead and try. Shizuku, you're already eating one. What a cheap girl!"

While glancing sideways at Shizuku, who was eagerly devouring the fruit tart with a delighted expression, Haruto also picked up one for himself and took a bite.

"—!? This is insanely delicious! Where did you buy these?"

Haruto's eyes widened at the taste.

The custard cream had a distinct sweetness which carried a rich egg flavor that gently spread through the nose on the first bite. Subsequently, the pleasant acidity of the fruits washed away the cream's sweetness, leaving a refreshing aftertaste. The crispy texture of the tart crust served as a wonderful accent, and Haruto finished one in no time.

Looking to his side, he saw that Shizuku was already on her way to finish her second tart.

"Was there a cake shop around here selling these fruit tarts?"

"Well, not exactly. Truth is... I made these."

"Eh?"

"Cough!"

Haruto's mouth fell open at Ishigura's shocking revelation, while Shizuku choked on her third fruit tart.

"What!? Seriously!? You made these? Kazu-senpai, you, like you you?"

"Even with that fearsome face that could turn sugar into salt, you made these, such a… such a..."

"I don't have a fearsome face! And no, I don't have that kind of ability!"

To the rather disrespectful reactions of his juniors, Ishigura's tone grew rough.

"Still, Kazu-senpai, these are really delicious. With such quality, it wouldn't be strange if you could easily sell them at a shop."

"O-oh. You think so?"

Haruto's words seemed to have calmed Ishigura's anger.

"Indeed, it's to the level where you can easily open a shop. Let's call it 'Gap of Lightning 893.'"

"Alright, Shizuku. How about a little sparring with me?"

"Oh, I have to do chores at home."

Wanting to escape from the approaching Ishigura, Shizuku hurriedly fled into her house just adjacent to the dojo.

"Good grief. She's cute when she's quiet, what a waste."

"That's just Shizuku for you. If she suddenly became quiet and stopped cracking jokes, that might be a bit scary in its own way."

"True, true."

Ishigura agreed with Haruto's view.

"By the way, your fruit tart was really delicious, Kazu-senpai. Since when did you become so skilled at making sweets?"

Knowing that Ishigura had a penchant for baking, Haruto was aware that the sweets he made were naturally tasty. However, the ones they had today seemed to be of a noticeably higher quality than before.

"Well, you know, nowadays you can find countless recipes online, and there are videos too, right? So, I decided to seriously study baking for a bit."

"Heeh, that's impressive. You should teach me how to make sweets sometime. I don't have much experience with making Western-style sweets."

"Sure thing. How about we make a cake together next time?"

"That sounds great. Ah, I should be heading back now. After shopping for my grandma, I've got to go to work."

Haruto looked at the clock on the dojo wall and said so. After stopping by the supermarket to pick up the natto his grandmother had asked for in the morning, he had to head to the Toujou household to do housekeeping in the evening.

"Right, you started working part-time during summer break, didn't you, Haruto?"

"Yeah, that's right. Then, see you next time, Kazu-senpai."

"Sure thing. Good luck with your part-time job."

After bidding farewell to Ishigura, Haruto left the dojo.

As he walked along the path, making his way to the supermarket, Haruto reminisced about the fruit tart Ishigura had made earlier.

"I bet Ryouta-kun would be thrilled if I made tarts or something for him."

Imagining Ryouta's innocent smile, Haruto's lips curved upwards.

"I'm confident in making dishes like chawanmushi or ohagi taste great, but I'm still a bit unsure about Western-style sweets."

While he knew the basics of making cakes and such, Haruto understood that making sweets wasn't as easy as just following a recipe to guarantee a tasty outcome.

"Even though they turn out so sweet when you eat them."

Haruto mumbled something trivial as he headed towards the supermarket.

On a scorching midsummer afternoon, sweating profusely under the unrelenting sun, Haruto arrived at the supermarket. Holding a shopping basket at the entrance, he stepped inside, enveloped in the pleasantly cool air, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"Hmm? It's surprisingly crowded."

In Haruto's perception, supermarkets were usually less crowded after noon, but perhaps it was because of the summer break that there were quite a lot of people.

As Haruto walked through the store, intending to buy natto, he noticed an advertisement posted on the wall.

"Oh? They're having a limited-time sale. So that's why it's so crowded."

It seemed to be the supermarket's strategy to hold a limited-time sale during the off-peak hours to attract more customers.

"Let's see, what good stuff do they have?"

Haruto approached the advertisement, checking it out. Apparently, the main selling point of this limited-time sale was meat.

"Boneless beef rib, 100g for 128 yen... Hmm. It's cheap, but... not tempting enough for me to jump at."

Haruto didn't find the items in the advertisement particularly enticing. Perhaps due to walking in the scorching heat just before, his appetite seemed to have diminished, and he wasn't feeling drawn to the meat itself.

"Anything else... Oh, seasonings are also on sale. I should have checked the remaining ones at home... Huh? Hmmm!?"

In the middle of his sentence, Haruto's eyes widened as he fixed his gaze on a certain point in the advertisement.

"Sesame oil for 78 yen… No way?"

It was cheap. Too cheap.

Sesame oil was considered a luxury item in Haruto's mind. Even the store's own brand and other budget products cost around 200 to 300 yen. If you were to buy well-known brand products that everyone is familiar with, just that alone could make a 500 yen disappear in an instant.

Despite this, sesame oil had many uses. Its aromatic sesame scent had the power to revive one's appetite even during the hot summer, making stir-fried vegetables and fried rice much more delicious with just a drizzle. On humid tropical nights, placing kimchi on cold tofu and adding sesame oil on top turned it into a sensational dish.

"I have to buy this!"

Haruto hurriedly made his way to where the sesame oil was displayed.

Gasping for breath, he stood before the shelves displaying the sesame oil. What his eyes focused on was a large number written on a yellow tag. It was unmistakably 78.

"What in the world... what in the world is happening here?"

Haruto was so shocked by the price that he couldn't help but feel bewildered.

"Sesame oil being this cheap... Ha! Is this an isekai?! Is this what they call isekai reincarnation?!"

Muttering something quite foolish, Haruto reached out toward the displayed items. However, he suddenly realized something and stopped his hand.

His gaze was fixed on a certain line written beneath the price in the advertisement.

"Limited to one item per person... Kkh, my mortal enemy…"

With a gaze that could be compared to a hero facing a demon lord, Haruto glared hatefully at the line.

"Limited to one item per person" is the arch-nemesis of all housewives. To defeat this formidable foe, all housewives of the world have to summon their friends and relatives to face against it.

Haruto quickly took out his smartphone from his pocket and tapped frantically to summon assistance.

From the phone pressed to his ear, a leisurely summoning sound that was quite contrary to Haruto's mood echoed.

Presumably, right now, rival housewives were probably engrossed in the eye-catching boneless beef ribs. During this window of opportunity, Haruto desperately needed to secure this sesame oil.

Suppressing his impatience as best as he could, Haruto waited for the other end to pick up the call. Finally connecting after a few seconds, his friend's carefree voice reached his ear.

[Hey there, something up?]

"Are you free right now?! Can you come to the supermarket!?"

[Yeah, sounds like you're in a tight spot. Is it that thing again?]

"Exactly! I absolutely cannot let this one slip away today!"

Haruto had summoned Tomoya numerous times before this, conquering the mighty 'Limited to one item per person' adversary on multiple occasions. This meant that Tomoya was not just a friend but also a fellow warrior.

However, an unsatisfactory response came from his ally this time.

[Uh... sorry, I'm practicing with my band members in the studio right now…]

"...I see, no worries. Sorry for bothering you. Don't mind me, focus on your practice."

[U-uh, yeah. Um, sorry.]

Tomoya's voice sounded considerably downcast as he sincerely apologized.

"It's fine, really. It's not your fault, Tomoya. I'll hang up now."

Haruto tapped the screen of his smartphone, ending the call. Simultaneously, he let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh... well, I can still get one bottle, so I'll have to be content with that."

Haruto picked up only one bottle of sesame oil from the shelf and placed it in his shopping basket with a somewhat lackluster spirit.

"Sigh, time to buy some natto and head home."

Haruto walked away with a somewhat dejected gait.

Just then, a voice from behind him called out.

"Ootsuki-kun?"

At that voice, Haruto turned around and remembered. In every isekai reincarnation, there was always one thing that would surely make an appearance.

A goddess.

A goddess who bestowed immense power upon heroes and occasionally rescued them from danger.

And right in front of Haruto's eyes, that goddess had appeared.

Facing the challenge of the "Limited to one item per person" rule set by the Demon Lord, but falling short of power and reaching his limit, the goddess appeared before Haruto.

Once again, she bestowed him with the strength to stand up.

"Aaah! Toujou-san! You are my goddess!"

"Fueeeh!?"

At Haruto's perplexing enthusiasm and words, Ayaka involuntarily let out a strange noise.