Yuusha no Segare

Short Story 06 – Chokansha Fair 2017

In ancient times, the world at night did not belong to the humans.

Even some time after man had obtained culture, items like oil and candles that could be used for illumination at night were very expensive, and they were not something commoners could use without reserve.

However in this other world called Japan, even a child could summon the brightness of noon at night by pressing a single switch.

The Magitech Knight, Diana, was still astonished at the simplicity of these 『Nighttime Lights』, and she whispered softly,

“It’s finally… time……”

It was 1:00 AM, the time when most people were fast asleep. Diana’s heartbeat sped up and her slender throat moved as she gulped.

She was nervous.

Even she thought it was silly behavior for a person who had risked their life and lived through many battles, but it was only natural for people to be nervous when faced with the 『Unknown』.

With trembling fingers, Diana picked up the 『Unknown』.

When she shook it, she heard the sound of something light moving inside.

She awkwardly removed the transparent wrapping from the 『Unknown』 and gathered her resolve before opening the lid.

“……H-Huh?”

However, the instant she took the lid off, it curled up in her hand. At this rate, it would be impossible to carry out the next step from the instructions she had heard earlier.

“C-Calm down… How can I give up when faced with an emergency of this level…”

This lid could no longer be used. When Diana was looking around to find something that could be used instead,

“Is that you, Diana? What are you doing?”

“Hiyaaaaaaaa!”

The lights in the living room were switched on, and the light illuminated the kitchen as well.

Diana gave a small scream and jumped because she had not expected someone to call out to her all of a sudden.

“Y-Y-Yasuo! You were awake?”

“I had been studying until just now. What’s wrong? Why were you so surprised?”

“N-No, it’s nothing! I wasn’t doing anything wrong!”

She had overlooked this possibility.

Since the house was silent, she had assumed that everyone was asleep, but the eldest son of Hideo the Hero, Yasuo, was preparing for exams, so he stayed up late every night to study.

“What do you mean, ‘wrong?’ I thought I’d grab something to drink before going to sleep. I need to open the refrigerator, mind moving out of the way?”

“Eh… Ah… Umm… Please wait!”

“……Diana?”

In contrast to Yasuo’s smile, Diana was trembling like a lamb that had been cornered by a carnivorous beast.

Yasuo wondered why Diana was so scared.

And then, three minutes later.

“It’s delicious!”

Diana was smiling happily while eating cup ramen.

Apparently, she was interested in the true nature of this method of food preparation that is 『complete in three minutes after adding hot water』. She had asked for the most basic variety, and then decided to challenge herself in the middle of the night to prepare cup noodles for the first time in her life, while looking forward to the results.

“You should peel the lid halfway and pour the hot water inside, then put chopsticks or something else on top to keep it closed.”

“I see! So we’re not supposed to open it all the way!”

“That’s right. Or you can just cover the opening by putting a flat plate on top like we did just now. By the way, why were you so scared?”

“I’m not scared or anything.”

Even so, Diana still cast her eyes downwards while looking a little embarrassed.

“Being awake in the middle of the night for no reason is already a problem, on top of that, I was shamelessly meddling around in the kitchen preparing a snack, which I was taught was unbecoming behaviour, so I feel like I’ve done something bad… But surprisingly I haven’t found the opportunity to eat it at any other time……”

Even though she was still looking down, Diana had a blissful expression on her face while she finished eating the cup ramen in the blink of an eye.

“……That was heavenly.”

Diana said that with a sigh of satisfaction, and,

“That’s great.”

Looking at her expression, Yasuo could not help but smile.

– The End –