Episode 151: The Lanky Foreigner
Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture. A large, white dome soars above a section of the cityscape.
The members of D-Minor were entering the city in a jeep driven by Kanzaki. They were heading to their hotel, their lodging for a week of Dungeon exploration starting today.
“We’ll enter the Dungeon in the afternoon. Tanaka-san, please take care of the procedures.”
“Understood.”
Kanzaki parked the car in the hotel parking lot, and everyone carried their luggage inside to check in and head to their rooms.
They were staying at a neat and pleasant business hotel in the heart of Niigata City.
They had reserved two rooms, with Kanzaki and Maika in one, and Tanaka and Yuma in the other.
“Alright! Tanaka-san’s gone to the city hall, so we have free time until the afternoon.”
After putting his luggage in his room, Kanzaki took Maika and Yuma down to the lobby.
Since it was a weekday morning, there weren’t many people coming or going in the hotel.
“What should we do until the afternoon?”
Asked by Kanzaki, Maika took out her phone, saying, “Hmm…”
“Since we’ve come all the way to Niigata, I’d like to do a little sightseeing.”
“What’s with that? You can do that after all the work is done, right?”
“You’re always rushing when we go home! I want to buy souvenirs now.”
With that, Maika quickly left the hotel.
“Jeez. Then Yuma, shall we go grab some lunch?”
“Sure.”
“Then let’s go for yakiniku.”
“Huh? Yakiniku?”
“What? Is there something else you want to eat?”
“Well, since we’ve come all the way to Niigata…”
Yuma took a magazine out of the bag he was carrying.
“I was thinking of going to a ramen shop near here. It’s featured in this magazine!”
Yuma showed Kanzaki the page marked with a sticky note.
“Tch! You can eat ramen anywhere!”
“No, no, if you say that, you can eat yakiniku anywhere too!”
To Yuma’s reasonable point, Kanzaki said, “Do what you want! I’m going to eat meat,” and left the hotel.
“Coming all the way to Niigata for yakiniku… no wonder he’s so buff.”
Yuma thought, “Oh well,” and left the hotel with the magazine in hand.
He walked through the quiet office district and into the shopping street. Compared to Tokyo, there were fewer people, but Yuma thought it was more peaceful.
To his right, he could see the white dome roof.
It was the “Green Dungeon” they were planning to go to in the afternoon.
“There are insect-type Monsters there. I can’t use Metallization, so I have to defeat them with just Water Magic.”
Feeling a twinge of anxiety, he continued walking, checking the directions on his phone. In about ten minutes, he arrived at his destination.
“Menya Hanadai” – apparently a famous and delicious shop in this area.
It had a 4.4-star rating on the gourmet website. He was getting a little excited. Just as Yuma was about to reach for the door, he heard a voice from next to him.
“Oh! This is ‘Hanadai Ramen’ desu ka?”
Turning around, he saw a tall foreign man standing there. With blond hair and a thin build, he was smiling and gazing at the shop’s noren curtain.
“Anata mo, here to eat ramen desu ka?”
“Ah, yes, well, sort of.”
“Watashi mo, wanted to eat ‘Hanadai’-san’s ramen, and was looking forward to it.”
He spoke in broken Japanese. He gave off a lanky impression, but his unusual height made him quite imposing.
Yuma said, “Is that so?” and entered the shop.
There were quite a few people inside, but it wasn’t full. Yuma sat down at the counter, but for some reason, the lanky foreigner sat next to him.
There are other seats open! he thought, but he couldn’t bring himself to say that to the smiling foreigner.
“Do you come here often desu ka?”
“Huh? No, this is my first time too. It’s my first time in Niigata…”
“Oh, is that so? Are you here for sightseeing or something?”
“Well, you could say it’s sightseeing.”
In reality, it was a hardcore job.
“Watashi wa, came to Japan for work desu yo. It’s my second time in Japan.”
“Hee, is that so?”
Yuma replied with disinterest and ordered “Hanadai Ramen” from the staff. Seeing that, the foreigner also ordered the same ramen, saying, “Watashi mo sore de.”
The ramen came out in about five minutes, and the two slurped it down.
Yuma had heard that foreigners had trouble eating noodles, but this person was eating just like a Japanese person.
Does he really like noodles that much?
The salt-based ramen was light, rich, and very delicious. Satisfied that he had made the right choice to come, Yuma got up from his seat. Looking next to him, the foreigner had finished not only the ramen but also gyoza and fried rice.
He was thin, but his height easily exceeded 190 cm. It seemed he ate a lot after all. Casually looking at his left hand, he saw rings on four of his fingers.
They were stylish designs with red gemstones. Like a rock musician, kind of cool.
The foreigner also finished his meal, drank a glass of water, and got up from his seat.
Both of them paid and left the shop.
“Iya~ Oishikatta desu ne. I’m glad I came desu.”
“Yes, it was.”
The foreigner stretched out his arms wide.
“The weather mo ii desu shi, kimochi ga ii desu.”
“It’s your second time coming to Japan, right? You speak Japanese pretty well for that.”
“Oh, arigato gozaimasu. I love Japan so much. I’ve been watching anime and stuff since I was a kid.”
“Ah, I see.”
Yuma was strangely convinced that he was a foreigner who was an anime otaku. Although he was tall, he didn’t seem very healthy. He looked completely like an indoor type.
“Well then, I have work to do, so I’ll take my leave desu.”
“Yes, good luck.”
The foreigner waved and walked away. What kind of work does he do?
A system engineer, maybe? But, I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before. Is it just my imagination? As Yuma was thinking about that, Kanzaki came running from across the street.
He had a toothpick in his mouth, so Yuma guessed he had eaten yakiniku, but for some reason, he looked flustered.
What’s wrong? he wondered, when—
“Hey! Yuma, what were you talking about with that guy just now!?”
“Huh? That foreigner? No, I wasn’t talking about anything in particular.”
“You weren’t talking about anything?”
“What’s wrong? Why are you so excited?”
To Yuma’s questioning, Kanzaki held his head in one hand.
“You… do you not know who that guy is?”
“Huh? Do you know him?”
“You idiot! That guy is Albert Müller!”
The back of the lanky man was no longer visible.
“The world’s strongest Seeker, the Flame Emperor Albert!”