About a week has passed since I became the twenty-first penguin.
After that, I went around giving swimsuits I had set aside for close friends as gifts, and enjoyed the pool together with everyone.
Even Laudette-san, who usually prefers to stay in, joined us this time, which was rare. I enjoyed water play to my heart’s content with all kinds of people.
In the middle of that, some regulars of the 4-1 area said things like――
『Alec is switching between women again…. He is switching so much it is actually shocking….』
I almost ended up on the receiving end of such groundless slander, but anyway, I fully enjoyed 4-1.
Even though I was spending such fun days, there was one thing I still had not done in the 4-1 area.
To take care of that unfinished business, today I visited Jerepapa’s home center.
「Excuse me」
I opened the door of the shop and greeted as I stepped inside.
But I could not see the shop owner. Maybe he was working in the back.
「Well then, for now……」
I walked toward the shelf where a huge iron war hammer was displayed among the weapons in the shop.
「Alright, let’s see how it goes today……」
This war hammer, which I have seen since I was little. Standing in front of it always fills me with a strange sense of emotion.
I grabbed the handle with both hands and lowered my stance.
「G-gnnnn」
I poured all my strength into trying to lift the war hammer, but――
「—It is heavy!」
No good. Still no good…….
It feels like it moved a little, but lifting it is still completely out of reach.
Someday, I want to lift this war hammer.
Every time I come to the home center, I perform this little ritual with that thought in mind.
I challenge it each time like a legendary sword stuck in a rock, but it seems I still have a long way to go.
「You are doing that again, kid……」
「Ah, Jered-papa-san. Thanks for your hard work」
「Yeah……」
「I mean, you really look exhausted……」
「…………」
I greeted Jered-papa, who staggered out from the back of the shop, but he looked completely worn out.
It was less that he casually appeared, and more that he wobbled out. He looked utterly drained, with fatigue plastered all over his face.
……It is a face I have seen many times before.
A face I often saw during infinite Reversi hell.
The kind of face that made me think every time, ah, this must be what my face looks like right now…….
「This is your fault, kid…… And yet you have such a healthy-looking face……」
「I am sorry……. I am really sorry for everything……」
Jered-papa probably thought the same thing. Back then, both of us had dead eyes.
But this time, the only one tasting hell is Jered-papa. The only one with dead eyes is Jered-papa…….
The reason Jered-papa ended up like this goes without saying. It is because of the swimsuits.
Right now, Meiyu Village and Lukmine Village are in the middle of an unprecedented water play boom. Because of that, orders are flooding into Jerepapa’s home center.
――And of course, both the water play boom and the flood of orders coming here are entirely my fault.
Because of me, Jered-papa is going through this. I am sorry, Jered-papa…….
「Every single day, I cut frog skins and stitch them together, stitch stitch stitch. I am seriously at my limit……」
「That sounds rough……」
That is brutal. Infinite toad hell, huh…….
「Maybe I should have gone with boomerang pantsus and bikinis after all……」
「When I showed them to you, you were totally put off though……」
「Yeah, I know……」
Back then he was clearly taken aback just by looking at them, but it seems Jered-papa realized that making those would have been much easier after all.
「……Ah, but something good did happen」
「Something good?」
「World Tree-sama came to check on me, you know, to give me some encouragement」
「Oh. Something like that happened」
Now that I think about it, kind-hearted Yggdrasil-san was worried about Jered-papa.
She was probably concerned that hard days were about to begin.
「So, it was encouragement. What did you talk about?」
「Huh? Well, just normal stuff like 『Aren’t you tired?』 and 『Are you getting enough sleep?』」
「I see, I see. And what did you say, Jered-papa-san?」
「Of course, I said 『I am not tired, and I am sleeping properly』……」
「You are not tired, and you are sleeping properly……?」
「I am tired, and I am not sleeping」
「…………」
It seems Jered-papa put up a brave front in front of World Tree-sama.
Well, maybe he did not want to worry her…….
「I mean, if someone asked you that, you would answer the same way, right?」
「Is that so……」
「You would too, kid. You would answer like that too, right?」
「Huh? Me? Um…… well, I guess so?」
「See?」
……I wonder.
If it were me, I feel like I would honestly say 『I am tired. I am not sleeping……』 and end up crying about it. I might even start relying on Yggdrasil-san…….
「Anyway……」
「Yes?」
「World Tree-sama called me 『Jered-papa』, you know?」
「…………」
It seems Yggdrasil-san has also remembered the name 『Jered-papa』.
Well, everyone has been calling him that during normal conversations anyway…….
「And then people from Lukmine Village come in saying things like 『Is this Jered-papa-san’s shop?』, you know?」
「Is that so……」
「That is obviously your fault, right?」
「I am sorry…… I am really sorry for everything……」
Come to think of it, I did tell all sorts of people in the dungeon things like 『If you want swimsuits made, please visit Jered-papa-san’s shop』.
Because of that, the people of Lukmine probably learned the name 『Jered-papa』 and even went out of their way to come to Jerepapa’s home center.
「The name, and the swimsuits too…… Why do I have to handle swimsuit production for two villages all by myself……」
「I am sorry. This is my fault……」
「Seriously……」
From my point of view, if people were going to make swimsuits anyway, I wanted them to be made properly, at a proper shop.
That is why I introduced Jerepapa’s home center, but it looks like I caused Jered-papa a lot of trouble…….
I am truly sorry. I thought there was no way I would be making them myself this time, so I promoted it aggressively and guided everyone there without hesitation…….
And on top of that, I was enjoying water play with everyone to my heart’s content the whole time. I could not feel worse…….
next chapter: Float Ring
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