After finishing our tour of Kirk Village, we headed to Kirk-ojisan’s house.
「Even so… what would we have done without Kirk-ojisan, I wonder」
「Hmm?」
「If it had been just me and Jisrare-san, I feel like we would have had a pretty hard time」
「Ah, well, with that mask of yours…」
At every shop, the first thing they ask is 『What is that mask…?』, and even while walking down the road, people occasionally stop to talk to us.
Each time, Kirk-ojisan explains, 『He is very shy』, which keeps things from getting complicated… but if it had been just me and Jisrare-san, who knows how that would have gone.
「Ah……Come to think of it, Alec, about that mask of yours, or rather, your real face…」
「Yes? What is it?」
「Actually, I ended up telling a few acquaintances about you…」
「About me?」
「I told them, 『I saw an unbelievably beautiful elf』」
「Ah, from two months ago?」
During the second world journey, Kirk-ojisan ran into me while I was not wearing my mask, and it seems he told his acquaintances about that time.
Well, if you saw such a beautiful young elf, you would want to tell someone about it.
「Sorry. I just…」
「No, no, it is fine. If anything, I did the same. I told Nana-san that I saw a normal ojisan」
「A normal ojisan… Yeah, well, compared to an elf…」
「Ah……Um, I did say a normal ojisan with a rather sharp and manly face…」
「I see… Thank you, Alec」
It seemed Kirk-ojisan took a bit of a hit, so I hurriedly added more to soften it.
…Though whether 『a normal ojisan with a sharp, manly face』 really counts as proper damage control is questionable.
「I was there at that time too」
「Eh?」
「You did not mention me?」
「Ah, no, um…」
At an odd moment, Kirk-ojisan ended up getting pressed by Jisrare-san…
「W-well, Jisrare-san has apparently visited Kirk Village a few times, so maybe there was no need to bring it up again?」
「Ah, I see. That makes sense」
「That so…? Well, I do not really mind」
Seeing Kirk-ojisan at a loss, I stepped in to help.
Thankfully, the rescue seemed successful. Kirk-ojisan is also sending a 『Thank you, Alec』 with just his eyes.
「Anyway, because of that, someone might see your masked appearance, Alec, and remember the story I told before about the beautiful elf」
「Ah, I see what you mean」
So, someone might see the masked man traveling with Kirk-ojisan and think, 『Could that be the beautiful young elf Kirk-ojisan mentioned before?』
「Even then, I will tell them 『He is shy, so he cannot show his face』, but you should be careful too, Alec」
「I see」
So, I need to be careful…
At this point, if it is already that obvious, it almost feels like it would be fine to show my face a little…
「I am counting on you, Alec. Even if the other person is a woman, do not show it, alright?」
「I see…」
Does that line not carry a bit of bias about me as a person?
「If the other person is a man, would it be fine to show it a little?」
「Even with men, you should probably be careful…」
I see…
「Who knows, that man might awaken to that kind of preference, oh, here we are. This is my house」
Kirk-ojisan cut off his rather unsettling remark midway and stopped walking as well.
I am quite curious about how that sentence would have ended, but for now, this seems to be Kirk-ojisan’s house.
「So, this is it. I see, it is a nice house」
「Really? As you can see, it is a small house though」
「Not at all, it is quite impressive」
It is indeed a small, single-story house, but Kirk-ojisan lives alone, so it should be more than enough for one person.
Owning his own home at thirty-one. That is quite impressive.
「Alright then, come on in」
「Excuse me for intrudingー」
「Excuse us」
Following Kirk-ojisan, Jisrare-san and I stepped inside the house.
「Oh ho. So, this is how it looks」
「This way. Follow me」
「Okaaay」
Led by Kirk-ojisan, we walked further into the house.
At a glance, the inside looks neat and well-kept, as if it is cleaned regularly.
Even though he lives alone, he keeps up with the cleaning…
「Here it is. I was thinking you two could use this room. …Sorry it is a bit cluttered」
「Not at all. It is perfectly fine」
The room Kirk-ojisan showed us is about six tatami mats in size. It does have various tools and belongings placed around, but it does not feel particularly messy.
The room itself is clean, and the items seem fairly well organized.
「I usually take care of my equipment here」
「I see….Oh, is that a sword?」
As I casually looked around, I spotted a sword resting in its sheath.
Come to think of it, Kirk-ojisan uses a sword.
…When we met again earlier today, he nearly used it on me.
「That is a spare sword. I was doing a bit of maintenance on it」
「I see, maintaining a sword――――Hah」
「Hmm? What is it, Alec?」
「This is…」
Something small and brown, about the size of a palm, caught my eye.
It seems Kirk-ojisan was using it to clean the sword…
「Kirk-ojisan, this is…」
「That is an Alec Brush」
「…………」
And so, the Alec Brush, a scrubbing brush.
Ralina-papa mentioned it before, but it really has spread all the way to the human world…
And with that exact name…
next chapter: Alec Brush 2
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