Episode 14: The grocery store.
"Now all we have left is to shop for groceries and other daily necessities."
"That's right."
After finishing our lunch, we will do the rest of our errands.
"Let's take the elevator downstairs."
"Okay."
The first floor is where daily necessities and food are sold, but taking the escalator down can be a bit inconvenient.
Agreeing with Kaho, we make our way to the nearby elevator.
Seram tugs at my sleeve from behind and asks in a low voice.
"Jin-dono, what is an elevator...?"
"Oh, it's like a machine that moves people and luggage inside a box. It's easier to move between floors compared to an escalator."
"Is there a machine that can move more easily than an escalator!?"
"That's right."
When I explained it in a simple and easy-to-understand way, Seram looked amazed.
"Escalator is already convenient machine, and yet they create even more convenient alternatives...! People in this world never seem to run out of the desire to laze around..."
Once again, that may be true.
Seram's comment reminds me to appreciate the convenience of things around me.
We reach the elevator platform, and I press the button to go down. However, all the elevators appear on the lower level, so we must wait for them to arrive.
During this brief wait, I notice Kaho opening her SNS on her smartphone. She smiles as she looks at the screen, perhaps engaged in a chat with someone.
Watching her absorbed in her phone from a third-person perspective, I can't help but find it amusing. It's a familiar sight. I also used to do the same.
As we stand there waiting, we suddenly hear a pinging sound.
"...... The door opened by itself."
"Don't just stand there in a daze. Let's get in."
I give Seram a gentle push to enter the elevator and press the button for the first floor. However, Kaho remains outside, too focused on her phone to notice that the elevator has arrived.
"Hey, Kaho. Let's go downstairs."
"Oh, sorry. I'm coming!"
Kaho realized what was happening when I called her and quickly put her smartphone in her pocket. She walked towards the elevator, but Seram, standing beside me, pressed the close button.
"Ah."
As a result, the elevator door closed quickly, leaving Kaho locked out.
"So-sorry! I was so curious about this button and pressed it! Jin-dono, what should we do?"
While Seram panicked, the elevator descended with us on board. It was her first time experiencing an elevator, and she seemed shocked after leaving Kaho behind.
I couldn't help but feel sorry for Seram, but at the same time, I found the situation somewhat amusing.
"She can't come with us."
"Why not?"
"We can only use the elevator once a day."
"No way!"
"It's a machine that transports people from one place to another in seconds. Do you think you can use it repeatedly without paying a price?"
"You're right. We reached the first floor while I was panicking..."
Of course, it was a lie, but Seram was convinced, and her body trembled.
I was so amused by her reaction that I continued to lie.
"Then what is going to happen to Kaho-dono?"
Seram asks frantically, and I pause momentarily, trying to make a sad expression.
"...... She will never be able to move from that floor again. We have lost a good person."
While I was teasing Seram, Kaho arrived.
It seems she came down using a different elevator.
Too bad, I wanted to tease her a little more.
"Well, I was so surprised when the door closed before me. And I felt embarrassed because I felt like I was being left behind."
"Kaho-dono! Thank goodness you're okay!"
"Why? I was just locked out."
When Kaho tilted her head, Seram relayed what I had just told her.
Then, Kaho burst out laughing.
"Ahaha. Of course, those were lies. You can take the elevator as many times as you want in a day, and even if you can't, there are escalators and stairs."
Through Kaho's explanation, Seram finally realized she had been pranked.
Her puzzled expression transformed into a pouty one.
"Jin-dono, you are a wicked liar."
"Sorry. I'm sorry, I just found your reaction amusing."
I tried to calm her down, but Seram remained silent for a while, probably dissatisfied with being pranked.
However, her attitude quickly changed once we arrived at the grocery store.
The shelves were filled with vegetables, fruits, fresh meat, fish, frozen foods, beverages, candies, toilet paper, kitchen utensils, and various other food items and daily necessities.
The store is in a shopping mall, and the scale differed from the local supermarkets.
"Jin, Jin-dono, are the markets in your country always this huge...?"
Seram looks overwhelmed rather than surprised when she sees the grocery store.
"Of course not. There's a supermarket nearby our house, but it's smaller."
"Re-really?"
After hearing it, Seram let out a sigh of relief.
If sales floors of this size were everywhere, all small and medium-sized supermarkets would go bankrupt.
Kaho and I grabbed the basket and put it on the cart when we entered the store.
"Oh! This cart is very convenient!"
"Do you want to push it?"
"May I?"
"Do not bump into anyone."
Seram's eyes light up excitedly as I ask her to push the cart. Seeing her enthusiasm, I can't help but smile. She looks like a child, happily pushing the cart around.
"Well then, I'll buy my family necessities."
"Okay. We'll meet up later."
When shopping grocery, it's more efficient for each person to do it individually.
Shopping together would only slow us down.
Therefore, we have decided to temporarily part ways with Kaho.
"Oh! I was asked to buy toilet paper and tissues, so help me carry them later."
"Again?...."
"Do people often ask for your help?"
"Well, it's a depopulated area, and many elderly live in the countryside."
When you go out to a big city with shopping malls, it's common to be asked by elderly neighbors to do some shopping. This is a common occurrence in the countryside.
Understandably, they would prefer to ask young and energetic people to help carry heavy items.
While online supermarkets offer the convenience of home delivery, many of them are analog-era people.
"I see. We can't refuse the requests of the elderly."
"Well, that's true. Besides, I've learned a lot about farming from them."
"Jin-dono, is that your experience?"
"Yes, when I first started, they were incredibly helpful."
I failed over and over again, and the old people's words were nothing but annoying. But looking back now, I realize that they genuinely cared about me. I can't say it often, but I was truly grateful to them.
"I see. Then that's even more reason to help them."
"Still, don't go around promising them things without thinking. They'll just keep taking advantage of you endlessly."
It was easy to imagine the old people taking advantage of Seram's strong sense of justice and asking her to do anything for them. Seram would willingly accept their requests.
"It's only natural for a knight, or any young person, to help the elderly in need."
"If it starts affecting your work, I'll cut your pay and meals, okay?"
"... I'll help them as long as it doesn't interfere with my work and living."
When I warned her, Seram nodded with a serious expression.
If I warn her like this, she won't be reckless.
"Oh! Aren't these Jin-dono's long eggplants!"
Seram picked up something on display in the vegetable section.
It was a bag of long eggplants with Mita Farm stickers on it.
"That's right. My vegetables are also delivered to the supermarket here."
"Amazing! I didn't know Jin-dono's vegetables were sold in such a big market!"
"It's just a local supermarket, though."
"Even so, there must be many other farmers. And yet, the long eggplant grown by Jin-dono must have been recognized by the purchasing person as a high-quality ingredient. You should be proud of that."
"Do, do you really think so? Thank you."
There was a mix of shyness and humility in Seram's expression, but she appeared to be genuinely impressed.
Somehow, I feel that no one can match this girl's honesty.
"Fufufu, this is a long eggplant that I labeled and bagged... Alright, I'll buy it."
"Why? Even if you don't buy it from this store, we have plenty of them on our farm."
"I'm buying it because I want to. Deduct the cost from my salary."
I pointed it out, but Seram showed no signs of backing down and confidently placed the long eggplants in her basket.
I could tell how happy she was to see the long eggplants we had worked with being sold.
I understood her feelings because I had experienced the same excitement when I first saw my vegetables in the market. I decided to respect Seram's feelings.
"Are there any other vegetables that Jin-dono is growing?"
"The cucumbers should be on display, and we are scheduled to deliver tomatoes next time."
"Oh! Then let's go see the cucumbers too!"
After completing my shopping while browsing through the vegetables, we joined Kaho. We headed home with a large number of daily necessities.
