Chương 98: Chapter 28 Oh? (Part 2)

(Part 2)

"Kaori, we're entering the Gate this afternoon. We don't need much, but bring a gun, even if it's just a toy. Depending on your Class, you may need one."

"Understood. Is there anything else? Something that would be useful to have?"

"Hmm?"

"You should bring one of those," my wife said, having overheard us.

"A portable toilet. It takes a fair amount of time to reach the fifth floor." I see. Men can just go wherever, but women can't do the same. Since my current body had no biological functions of that sort, I had completely overlooked it. Thinking about it, things like wet wipes and deodorant spray might be necessary too. If Tachibana and I escorted her, we could almost certainly make it safely to the fifth floor. The problem was the route and the distance we would have to travel.

When entering a Gate, you can set the floor you want to go to, but the first entry is always assigned to the first floor. Even if a companion has already gone deeper, when entering as a party, the shallowest floor among the members becomes the limit. This was probably the Sorts' intention as well. They didn't want to needlessly reduce the number of Sweepers while carrying out their cleanup work.

If there were no restrictions and a first-timer could specify the fifth floor or deeper, that newcomer would certainly die or suffer severe trauma. The amount of effort required from the person escorting them would also be enormous.

"Rina-san, what did you bring the first time?"

"I went in with the kids, so... Oh, I brought a feather duster! There wasn't anything else that could be used as a weapon, so I brought it just in case. Haruka gave me most of the other things. Food, drinks, and so on."

"I see... Tsukasa, do you have a portable toilet?"

"... No. And I don't use one. I'm always running, so it's not like I can't hold it for that long."

"... You haven't been going somewhere around there, have you?"

"I haven't. Well, I never know when I'll need to go, so I guess I should buy one."

"That's right. You should keep one with you too, just in case, Tsukasa." Mochida gave me a suspicious look, but my wife knew the secret of my body. So she didn't really get involved in this conversation. Still, portable toilets were apparently a necessity for diving into the Gate. Where was I supposed to buy one? Normally, I could probably get things like that through online shopping, but it was too late for that now. Besides, come to think of it, I couldn't remember the last time I'd gone shopping outside.

"In that case, let's head to the Gate a little early," Mochida suggested.

"Apparently, there are shops near the Gate that are open for Sweepers."

"Really?"

"Yes. Sweepers are both men and women, after all. Apparently, selling necessities is reasonably profitable." The spirit of commerce was certainly vigorous. Even in places I knew nothing about, the economy was still turning. It was probably an extension of camping equipment, but with safe spaces available, you could sleep and stay inside to some extent. For people who wanted to go deeper, it might be more efficient to stay inside rather than coming back outside every time.

Even when you came out from the dim interior, your eyes didn't particularly become dazzled by the light. The real problem was probably mental fatigue, but even that could be alleviated to some extent when you were in a party.

"Then let's do our shopping there. Rina, do you want to come? I don't know if there'll be anything that counts as a souvenir, but there might be something interesting."

"Of course I'm coming. Wait a moment. I'll just pack up the things for the trip home." Not long afterward, she finished packing. I put on a white jacket and my dog tags, and with Mochida driving, we set off for Setagaya. There wasn't much change around the hotel, but as we approached the Gate, more and more people appeared who looked as though they were dressed for Halloween. Still, what were those people I occasionally saw carrying scissors and cameras?

They were probably Scripters, but did they really need cameras? The gothic lolita groups were still around as usual, but mixed among them were people wearing women's business suits who looked like newly hired office workers. They had probably seen the news. That intimidating-looking guy I'd seen before was now wearing a sharply pressed suit and looking quite distinguished. Good. It seemed he had been trying various things, but apparently he'd finally graduated from gothic lolita.

Then there was the lanky man wearing a tank top. What was he supposed to be? He was probably a Sweeper, but I couldn't tell what his Class was. Weapons could simply be stored in rings, after all, so it was becoming difficult to determine someone's Class from their appearance alone. Even so, the uniform effect still seemed to exist, and plenty of people dressed in ways associated with their particular Class.

"We're here," Mochida said.

"Chloe, put on your sunglasses for now. Also, people might recognize you by your voice, so maybe you shouldn't talk..."

"No, I'll wear the sunglasses, but I'll talk normally. We might get surrounded by people, but if I keep doing this, I'll really become unable to do anything. Rina, if things get noisy, get back into the car immediately..."

"I'm not going back," my wife said.

"Neither you nor I have done anything wrong, and we're not celebrities. Well, you've certainly become famous, but we can't keep acting like this even after we go back home. We're husband and wife. It's perfectly normal for us to walk together, isn't it?" The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I understood what she meant, but what frightened me was the possibility of my wife or family being targeted. For better or worse, I had talked about my wife publicly.

There had also been the kidnapping incident the other day, so I didn't want her appearing in public too much. If she were targeted while I was nearby, I would deal with it with everything I had. But once we returned to our hometown, there would be physical distance between us. There were two possibilities I could think of. One was to make her identity public and increase the number of eyes watching her.

If people knew she was my wife, she might become a target, but at the same time, it would become harder for anyone to make a move against her easily. The other was to hide her completely. But it was already too late for that. The fact that I had family was already public knowledge. All anyone had to do was figure out who they were.

Tracing my original appearance from my current appearance would be quite difficult, but unfortunately, information about where I came from and sightings of me in my hometown had already surfaced. Information posted on social media couldn't simply be erased, even if you wanted it gone. And determining whether those reports were true or merely rumors would only require someone to go there and check. Right now, Yuki-kun was probably at the inn with Haruka and the others, so they were being protected.

But it was also unfair to force them to live such a restricted life forever. If so, perhaps making things public really was the better choice.

"Tsukasa, Rina has security too, and another SP will escort her on the way back."

"Eh? I have someone guarding me too? I suppose it can't be helped, but I feel a little bad about it."

"Rina... I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

"It's fine. But now I'm the wife of a celebrity! When I get home, I'll have to look for a security company." With that settled, we got out of the car. I was short, and if I blended into the crowd, I wouldn't be easy to spot. From the parking lot, I walked with my wife, our fingers interlocked tightly in a shell-like grip, toward the area around the Setagaya Gate.

The area was lined with street stalls like those at a festival, displaying photographs of medicines obtained from the Gate and weapons that had been taken from chests. If someone wanted to inspect an item, the shopkeeper would probably take it out of their ring for them. It would obviously be dangerous to leave weapons sitting around carelessly. We wandered around looking at the stalls. Since these were items obtained without having gone very deep, there wasn't much that was new.

Still, my wife and Mochida bought several inexpensive-looking medicines.

"Hey, can I buy this?"

"Hmm? What is it... Do we really need this?" My wife held out a plush toy with a large, exaggerated head, apparently modeled after me. It wore a gothic lolita outfit and was posed as though Superman were flying. Hmm. Black underwear. I didn't think the craftsmanship was bad.

"It's a good opportunity, and it isn't that expensive..."

"Well... do as you like." My wife spoke with the shopkeeper and paid, while the shopkeeper kept glancing at me. If he was going to ignore me, there was no reason for me to speak to him. For some reason, Mochida bought a plush toy as well. We also found a shop with a sign advertising itself as a place for Gate necessities, so we went inside and bought portable toilets and other things. As expected, my white hair attracted quite a few looks.

Fortunately, there were plenty of Chloe cosplay groups wearing white wigs and white makeup as well, so I managed to avoid being recognized.

"Um... are you First-san? I saw the picture from the yakiniku restaurant."

"... Yes, I am. But please don't speak too loudly. I'm here privately."

"Understood. Could I have your autograph? If possible, could I get the others' as well?" It was my wife, Mochida, and me. We were indeed the three people who had been photographed at the yakiniku restaurant. A young woman handed us a board, and I began signing it. The other two had somewhat awkward expressions. I understood. Neither of them was famous. After thinking about it, Mochida simply wrote her name, while my wife wrote, "Wife."

"... Why did you write that?"

"Hmm? Because it's the truth. And if I write my name, various things might be exposed."

"Um... Are you his wife?"

"Yes. Without a doubt, I am Chloe's wife." My wife answered with a smile, but the young woman stared blankly at her. That made sense. Even if someone suddenly told you she was another woman's wife, you'd probably freeze for a moment. Same-sex marriage was legally recognized now, but public awareness was probably still low.

"Chloe-san, let's move away for now. It's almost time." At Mochida's urging, we started moving, weaving through the crowd. Partway through, I looked back at the woman. She was smiling and giving us a thumbs-up, so I figured everything was probably fine. We slipped through the gaps in the crowd and arrived in front of the Gate. A line of people waiting to enter had formed, and it was fairly crowded.

I contacted Tachibana through my smartphone and social media, and since he was nearby, we were able to meet up immediately.

"I was thinking about going to meet you, but did everything go all right?"

"Yes. It worked out fairly well." While Tachibana and I exchanged brief greetings, Mochida called another SP over and handed Rina's protection over to him. He was probably Mochida's colleague, the person who had always guarded the hotel door. I hadn't spoken with him much, but he seemed devoted to his duties.

"This is where we say goodbye."

"Yeah. If I can make it in time to see you off, I'll go."

"That's all right. I trust you. Tachibana-san, just because my husband is cute doesn't mean you can make a move on him, okay?" My wife hugged me and glared at Tachibana as though threatening him. Tachibana, however, merely looked bewildered. As I'd thought, my wife had been worrying too much. We had once trusted each other enough to have each other's backs, and like Miyafuji, Tachibana was also one of the people who knew who I had been in the past.

"There's no need to worry about that. I don't have a particular partner, but I can say with certainty that it won't happen."

"Even though he's this cute?"

"Even if he's cute, I know what he used to be like." My wife made a complicated expression when she heard that, then kissed me on the cheek as though deliberately showing it off before stepping away.

"All right. Mochida-san is going too, so I'll trust you. Darling, don't push yourself, okay? Don't worry about seeing me off. Just come back safely."

"Yeah. I promise." We exchanged a farewell kiss, and she disappeared into the crowd accompanied by the SP. People around us were watching with curious eyes, but I didn't particularly care. Because we were husband and wife.

"Well then, Tachibana-san. I look forward to working with you today."

"We met at the hospital before, didn't we? Let me introduce myself again. I'm Ryoji Tachibana. I look forward to working with you today. For the sake of proving my innocence, too."

"I'm Kaori Mochida. I'll keep a close eye on you." The two exchanged greetings and were about to line up when Tachibana stopped them. Thanks to his priority as a government official, we didn't have to wait in line and were able to enter the Gate in one leap. It wasn't as though this was my first time coming here, but the inside was still dim, and it wasn't exactly the sort of place that made me want to enjoy myself. I took out my kiseru and puffed. Now then, how were the two of them doing?

"It's my first time coming in, but surprisingly, you can see around you pretty well." Mochida looked around curiously. When I had first entered, I hadn't had enough composure to pay much attention to my surroundings. So watching someone enter for the first time like this made me feel somewhat warm inside.

"Tachibana-san, how are you doing?"

"Hmm... It feels like I'm just one step away." Then Tachibana remembered something.

"Come to think of it, didn't you say there was something you wanted me to appraise?"

"Ah, yes. This." I took one escape item out of my ring and handed it to Tachibana. I'd be happy if his appraisal could tell me whether it had a limited number of uses, a charge system, or was simply disposable. And if it could provide that final push toward his advancement, that would be even better.

"Well then, Kaori. What Class did you get?"

"Let's see... Tracker, Meat Shield... Oh! S-Sakimori! Wait, seriously? Did I do it? It came out! This means I can win!"