Every time he went grocery shopping, Yuto couldn't help but sigh.
'So expensive.'
Buying groceries at the market in his previous life was much cheaper than here.
However, the quality of the produce was quite good.
"Granny, I'll take this, this, and that!"
Yuto often came to this elderly woman's stall to buy vegetables because the quality of her produce was among the best of all the vendors.
"Why don't you come yesterday Yuto-chan?" she asked.
The elderly woman and Yuto were already well acquainted.
He had a naturally likable appearance, a handsome boy easily stirred the doting instincts of older women.
Moreover, he always conducted himself politely when he came to buy vegetables.
Compared to boys his own age, Yuto seemed exceptionally mature, which made those who interacted with him feel an even deeper fondness.
"I had something come up unexpectedly yesterday," Yuto smiled, casually picking up several eggplants and placing them on the scale.
It had been a long time since he'd made braised eggplant.
Tonight, when he opened the shop again, braised eggplant would be today's special!
He had thought about it last night—perhaps his shop should also start a daily special promotion. It couldn't always be udon noodles on special.
It was time for the financially challenged alliance to try some other dishes.
Although, the alliance led by Saitama and Suzuki had lost Suzuki, who had now become Ainz.
The only remaining heavyweight was Saitama, though Saitama didn't know it yet.
"I was quite worried about Yuto-chan yesterday morning." Though the elderly woman was old, her movements were anything but slow.
She deftly weighed all the vegetables Yuto wanted and even took the extra step of double-bagging them.
"I didn't expect to make you worry, Grandma. How much in total?" Yuto felt a warmth in his heart.
The true essence of a simple, ordinary life lay in ordinary people caring for one another
Since coming to this world, everyone he had met were kind people.
The older sisters at Ichinosuke who looked out for him, the elderly woman at the market, and his customers.
They were all good people.
This life he had now—even if offered countless treasures, Yuto wouldn't trade it.
"That'll be 2,660 yen. Just give me 2,500 yen, Yuto-chan." The elderly woman didn't want to take extra money from him.
She had a rough idea of his situation, and just knowing that he lived alone made her unwilling to take any extra money from him.
"No, Grandma, you're always like this. 2,660 yen, not a yen less!"
Just as the elderly woman was considerate of him, Yuto was equally considerate of her. Farming was an exhausting job, he had done it himself in his past life.
That life of rising early and working late—even he, as a strong young man, had found it hard to bear, let alone an elderly woman.
Besides, thanks to his generous customers, he wasn't short on money.
Yuto didn't give her a chance to refuse.
He directly counted out 2,700 yen, pressed it into her hand, and picked up the ingredients.
"Ah! Yuto-chan!"
"Bye, Grandma~~~"
Yuto waved goodbye, and soon his figure disappeared into the crowd.
The elderly woman sighed with a mix of helplessness and deep affection.
She really liked this child!
...
Yuto placed the ingredients in the basket attached to the back of his bicycle. To make it easier to carry groceries, he had specially installed a basket on the rear seat, it looked somewhat like the side compartments on police motorcycles.
Just as Yuto got on his bicycle and prepared to ride off, a group of bald-headed men in the distance caught sight of his back.
"Boss, isn't that the guy from that night?!"
"Huh?! Let me see... Damn it! It's him!"
"Boss, should we intercept him?"
"Idiot! That night he took down all of us alone. He could do the same today!"
"Then what should we do?"
"Follow him! Find out where he lives, then ambush him later!"
"Got it!"
Yuto's eyebrows twitched slightly.
He felt like someone was watching him. He turned his head and seemed to spot a bald head in the crowd.
'Never mind, never mind. Not important. Time to head back.' He pushed off with his foot and rode back the way he came.
Behind him, several shiny bald heads were hurriedly following his bicycle on foot.
...
Yuto returned to the Kamisaka Shop.
He pushed his bicycle along the narrow path beside the small restaurant. Reaching the back door of the rear courtyard, he unlocked it and wheeled his bicycle inside.
Meanwhile, at the entrance to Ichinosuke Street, several bald-headed men were panting heavily.
They had followed him entirely on foot, and now they were utterly exhausted!
"Haah—haah—Boss, we lost him."
"Huff—huff—It's fine. This street is a dead end. As long as we know he's on this street, we'll bring the big bosses here tonight and search for him thoroughly! We'll find him for sure!"
"Boss's boss, how many people should we bring? Won't that be too conspicuous?"
"Are you saying we should give up on revenge?! Should we just throw away Hosen's pride?!"
"No, I just... I'm just a bit worried about the police."
"Don't worry. We're all still high school students. As long as we don't go too far, they won't dare do anything to us..."
...
Back at the shop, Yuto stored all the vegetables he bought in the refrigerator.
Although not all the braised dishes from yesterday had sold out, he wasn't planning to give up.
Having fully absorbed yesterday's experience, he didn't make a massive batch this time—only about ten pounds.
This way, there shouldn't be much left over.
After finishing this, Yuto felt a bit drowsy.
From his last sleep until now, he had gone a full two days without resting.
The bit of youki essence Yuuka had given him ultimately had its limits.
Yuto went up to the second floor, took a quick shower, and lay down on his bed.
Although the second floor was quite spacious, he usually only used a small portion of it.
"Ah~~~~" Yuto yawned and stretched.
After his shower, his drowsiness became even more pronounced. He simply covered himself with a thin blanket.
It was early summer, a thin blanket was more than enough.
"Set the alarm for one in the afternoon."
He had to accompany Utaha to meet her new editor at two, so he couldn't sleep for too long.
Closing his eyes, Yuto's consciousness slowly sank away.
...
"Unlock... accessible... world... expanding..."
A faint, fragmented voice whispered intermittently in his ear.
But it lasted only a moment, and it didn't even register with Yuto, who had already fallen into a deep sleep.
He was currently trapped in a grueling nightmare.
"What's with this math problem? Why is it so difficult?!"
"Squares... exponents... ugh..."
"Ahhhhh!!! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!!!"
When the alarm finally rang, Yuto was freed from his torture.
A fine layer of sweat covered his forehead, and his eyes held a look of lingering panic.
"Why would I have such a dream... Could it be that the shadow of math from my past life has followed me all the way to now?!"
Back then, Yuto had turned to cooking precisely because he felt so suffocated by math.
He thought he had forgotten the agony of facing math problems head-on, but this dream brought it all rushing back.
He let out a long sigh, his expression still visibly troubled.
Even after washing his face, he looked somewhat downcast.
...
After getting dressed and leaving the house, he headed for Shinjuku Station.
It was afternoon, and the early summer sun wasn't too harsh yet.
Amid the gentle warmth, cool breezes occasionally swept by.
Sunlight spilled onto the streets, casting shadows of trees and buildings on the ground.
Yuto walked along Ichinosuke Street. Though it was only a little past one in the afternoon, some shops had already opened their doors.
Of course, they were just physically open—none were actually operating at this hour. Several older sisters and young men who spotted Yuto greeted him warmly.
On Ichinosuke Street, Yuto was something of a neighborhood darling.
Young, cute, polite, and with the tragic background of living alone, he easily earned the sympathy and affection of everyone on the street.
During leisurely gatherings over drinks, you'd often hear things like:
"If I had a little brother like Yuto, I'd gladly give up ten years of my life."
"You can't beat me—I'd give up fifteen!"
"What a shame I never met a boy like Yuto when I was younger."
"Sigh, if I ever have a son after retiring, I'm definitely raising him to be just like Yuto."
Though such words were often spoken after a few drinks, they reflected just how beloved Yuto was on the street.
Even while enjoying everyone's affection and care, he never took advantage of it or acted out.
He understood gratitude, that was why he was willing to share his food with everyone.
He didn't have any grand hopes for the future—he just wanted to preserve the peace he had now.
Ichinosuke Street wasn't too far from Shinjuku Station.
Yuto hailed a taxi at the street corner and arrived in under ten minutes. Luckily, it was just past one in the afternoon, so traffic wasn't too heavy.
Yuto checked the time: 1:45 PM.
'Perfect.'
When meeting a girl, he couldn't possibly make her wait for him!
But after taking just a few steps, he spotted the girl standing in front of the station.
In the sunlight, her hair shimmered with a captivating glow, as if lit from within.
Passersby kept glancing her way, but she paid them no mind.
She looked at her phone, then scanned the crowd, as if searching for someone.
Until her eyes met his.
Only then did the girl offer a faint, genuine smile.