I introduced myself once again to Okura Shigenobu-san, whom I hadnāt expected to encounter.
[Errr, you already seem to know this, but once again, Iām Miyama Kaito.]
[Ou. Can I call you Kaito? Living in this world, Iāve gotten into the habit of calling people by their first names.]
[Ah, yes. Itās alright.]
[You can also call me as you want, Shigenobu, or Shige like Kaori-chan does.]
As expected, Iām not comfortable calling him Shige-san out of the blue, so Iām just going to call him Shigenobu-san here. After I introduced myself, Shigenobu-san turned to Aoi-chan and Hina-chan.
[Errr, so those girls are Japanese too. I did hear that there was a summoning accidentā¦ā¦]
[Ahh, yes. Iām Kusunoki Aoi.]
[Iām Yuzuki Hina.]
[!? ]
When the two introduced themselves, Shigenobu-sanās eyes widened in surprise for some reason. As I tilted my head at that unfamiliar reaction, Shigenobu-san paused for a while and with an expression that couldnāt hide his surprise, he spoke.
[ā¦ā¦Could you be Kusunoki Groupāsā¦ā¦ I seeā¦ā¦ So a fate such as this exists huh.]
[Errrā¦ā¦]
[Ahh, sorry. Youāve grown up a lot, and it has been decades here, so I didnāt realize it right awayā¦ā¦ but I didnāt expect to see someone I knew here.]
[ā¦ā¦You know who I am?]
Apparently, what Shigenobu-san was surprised about was Aoi-chan, as judging from the way he spoke, he seemed to be talking about Aoi-chan.
Aoi-chan also asked back with a surprised expression on her face, to which Shigenobu-sanā¦ā¦ had a rather lonely look on his face.
[Iāve met you several times beforeā¦ā¦ Oh, thatās right. When I decided to emigrate to this world, my existence in that world had been removed right from the start. Itās natural you wouldnāt know about meā¦ā¦ No, even without that, with me being at this age, it wouldnāt be strange if you have no idea what Iām talking aboutā¦ā¦]
[Errr, in other words, you met Aoi-chan before you were summoned to this world?]
[Yeah, Iām the eldest son of a small companyā¦ā¦ No, well, itās a small company compared to the Kusunoki Group, but I met her at a party I attended as the successor candidate of our company. Though I say that, our exchanges were merely just greetingsā¦ā¦ In the first place, I was just 10 years old at that timeā¦ā¦ Good gracious, even if I understand in my head that the flow of time between this and that world is different, seeing you like thisā¦ā¦ Iām really feeling like Iāve experienced what Urashima Taro felt.]
I see, the flow of time between this world and the other world is nearly 10 times. Even if itās been 10 years here, only a year would have passed back on Earthā¦ā¦ Seeing Aoi-chan again, who was probably once not more than a year older than him, even if he understands in his head that thereās a time difference of tens of years, itās understandable that heād be surprised.
[ā¦ā¦Well, it might just be my memory being hazy, but I feel like youāve become different from the impression you had back then. How should I say thisā¦ā¦ The you back then had cold eyes.]
[No, it would probably be the same now, as I really hate parties and stuff like those. I hate that household to deathā¦ā¦]
[Hahaha, I seeā¦ā¦]
Aoi-chan seriously feels antipathetic about her familyās householdā¦ā¦ the Kusunoki Group, to the point where she seriously declares that she will immediately disassociate herself from them when she comes of age. According to her, āIn the first place, Iāve only met my parents a few times, so Iāve almost forgotten what they look likeā.
With Aoi-chanās personality, it seems that she will seriously cut ties with her once she becomes an adult, so I was worried that she might get into a dispute for thatā¦ā¦ but surprisingly, Aoi-chan apparently āgot Eden-sanās promise to cooperate with her at that timeā, so it seems that that matter was already considered dealt with. As expected of Aoi-chan.
After chuckling at Aoi-chanās words, which sounded really displeased as she talked about her past, Shigenobu-san spoke with a serious expression on his face.
[ā¦ā¦Can I ask you one thing? Do you know what happenedā¦ā¦ to the company called Okura Heavy Industries?]
[Okura Heavy Industries? Errr, if I remember correctly, their President retired as the Chairman a few years ago, and his āonly sonā took over. Immediately after the handover, things were a little confusing, but recently, it seems like things have become stable and theyāre growing little by little.]
[ā¦ā¦I seeā¦ā¦ so thingsā¦ā¦ have been doing well for him.]
The words that he seemed to be digesting, the name of the company and the story of how his existence never existed right from the startā¦ā¦
[ā¦ā¦In other words, Okura Heavy Industries is Shigenobu-sanāsā¦ā¦?]
[Yeah, my parentsā company. And the new President is my younger brotherā¦ā¦ no, the one who used to be my younger brother. I had been caught up in a lot of disputes back then. Thus, I migrated to this world to escape from it all. I have no regrets about the choice I made back then, but even if itās just a little bitā¦ā¦ Iām feeling some reluctance in my heart, making me want to know what happened to my familyā¦ā¦ to my brother. Thank you. Itās nice to know that.]
[Ah, noā¦ā¦]
After saying this and bowing deeply, Shigenobu-san spoke again, smiling brightly with a somewhat refreshed expression on his face.
[ā¦ā¦Sorry, I digressed. I wanted to talk with you guys more leisurely, but you guys still have the awards ceremonyā¦ā¦ Ahh, thatās right. There will be the afterparty today, so it may be difficult to meet up again afterwards, but if you have the opportunity, it would be great if you could come and visit us. My wife also heard about you from our old friend and wants to meet you.]
[I suppose so. We also want to talk about various things, so if you donāt mind, weāll come visit you some time later.]
[Ouā¦ā¦ Ahh, do you have a hummingbird? Letās exchange contact information.]
[Yes.]
And like that, we parted ways with a promise that we would get to know Shigenobu-san and talk again later, while we went on our way to the awards ceremony.