Chapter 116: Template

How a person takes their meals shows their character.

Take me, for instance. Since I am, as a rule, bad with people, when I eat out I prefer either Doggy House, where I am already a regular, or chain restaurants where the service has been standardized into something a little curt. If the water is self-serve, all the better.

Take E.B., for instance. She likes people enough to ignore the handicap of her species entirely, so she favors strangely homey little owner-run places, or standing bars where the staff talk to you far more than necessary.

And then there is Shinzo. In his case, he prefers eating at street stalls. The kind run by children only slightly better off than street kids.

I can tell they are doing their best.

But that is all.

There is no one to teach them, and no established supply route, so the food is not good. They at least try to make up for it with volume, but even that is less than what you would get at a place buying in bulk, and the taste is worse.

That was the kind of stall these children ran.

“One large curry set, please…”

“One large curry set for me as well. And could you make something that is just steamed potatoes? —Ah, you can? Then I’ll have that too. Let’s see…”

At my feet stood an absolute idiot of a creature. Because he was so low to the ground, the reflected heat must have been getting to him; Rudo had his tongue hanging out. His round acorn eyes were bright and shiny, and who knew what he found so enjoyable. I reached down and pinched the flesh of his belly. I could pinch quite a bit. Normally I ordered three, but—

“Two, please.”

Rudo let out a sad little pii, but I ignored him.

Business was not exactly booming at a stall whose only menu item was a curry set where you could not even choose the spice level. Of the three round standing tables set out for customers, only Shinzo and I were using one.

“Sorry for dragging you into this.”

“Into your self-satisfaction, you mean?”

“Shut up.”

One meal here would not amount to much. Shinzo knew that too, most likely. His voice had lost some of its usual force.

“Better fake kindness that does something than real kindness that does nothing. It’s not a waste, right?”

“No. But you should not mistake what this is. You’re looking down on them. You’re using the place because you’re doing them a favor. That’s what this is, isn’t it?”

“Hey. Come on. Let’s stop. I’d like my food to taste good.”

All they had to do was ladle curry over rice cooked in advance. Two trays arrived with side salads. The one who brought them was not the girl who had taken our order earlier, but the boy from the kitchen. He must have heard us talking and decided this looked dangerous.

Perfect timing.

“But it’s true. No one comes here because they like the food. No one except people like you, Shinzo, who use the place as a favor.”

Right?

I pointed my spoon at the utterly ordinary home-style curry, the kind with barely any ingredients.

“Hey, stop it. —Ah, sorry. It’s nothing, okay? Don’t worry about it. Go on ba—”

“Better not, if you think the current situation is a problem.”

Shinzo had probably meant to send the boy away to keep him from getting dragged in. I cut him off and pressed harder.

The boy started to leave and stayed.

“What the hell don’t you like about this? Was inviting you to lunch the problem?”

“…What I don’t like is that you’re looking at reality and pretending not to see it. Worse, you aren’t even managing that much, but you think you are.”

Amateur.

If you were going to see something and pretend you had not, then do not let your heart move. Brush off cheap provocation like mine without so much as blinking.

“Pity doesn’t last, Shinzo.”

“Hey. Watch it. That’s far enough. Keep talking and I’ll shut you up myself, asshole.”

“Is it because you’ve only just become Shepherd Dog? Your bark needs work, newbie.”

Gau, gau. I held up my right hand beside my mouth and used its little mouth to demonstrate. This is how you bark.

Something made a grinding sound.

Maybe it was the spoon in Shinzo’s hand.

At this distance, I would lose easily.

So I shrugged. “It was a joke.”

The steamed potatoes arrived late, and I gave them to Rudo. Then I said my own “thanks for the food” and dug in. Whether they had misjudged the water, or whether the curry had been made on the assumption it would keep simmering, it was watery. I shoveled it down anyway.

I ignored Shinzo’s glare.

I ignored the boy standing there awkwardly, and the girl tugging at his sleeve.

I ignored them, finished everything, and said, “Thanks for the meal.”

Then I placed a thousand C’s worth of crystals on the table and gathered up my things.

“Oh, right—apparently, we’ve got more kids at our camp now, Shinzo.”

“…Troublesome.”

“But we don’t turn them away.”

“Can’t be helped.”

“They came to us for help. We can’t just throw them out.”

“If they made it that far, all we can do is look after them.”

“That’s what they call taking all comers.”

“Right, Shinzo?”

Saying just enough for the people around us to hear, I then very accidentally left the note with our camp’s coordinates sitting on the table and took my leave.

As I passed Shinzo, I tapped him on the shoulder.

『This is how you do it.』

『Do not push yourself too hard.』

“…You think Howard didn’t tell me? The finances are tight.”

The part he left unsaid was probably, That’s why I gave up.

“I’m afraid I don’t follow. You make it sound as if I brought new children back to the camp. I did no such thing.”

“…”

“If money is tight, then I suggest working. Sheepdog, even pretending to be a villain is beyond you. Give it up. You are soft. If you’re going to let things snag at you anyway, tear out the snag and work yourself to the bone.”

He and I were different at the root.

I could give up. He could not.

That difference was too great.

“Even then, we can’t take everyone, can we? These kids, sure, maybe this’ll work out. But what about the next ones? And the ones after that? What the hell am I supposed to do? What’s the difference between these kids and the ones we don’t save?”

“The difference? Obvious. Whether they’re lucky or unlucky. If you hate choosing who to save, then make your arms long enough to reach everyone, hero of justice.”

That, too, was better fake kindness that does something than real kindness that does nothing.

One was more than zero, after all.

“…”

I took Shinzo’s silence as an answer.

Then, this time for real, I took my leave. Leaving Shinzo there with his curry still untouched, I started walking with Rudo.

The Monoz that had been scattered around the area came gathering back in.

Then, for some reason, Rat Unit tackled me.

It hurt in a small but definite way.

What was that for? I glared down in protest, and a message appeared on my terminal.

Tsundere, huh: if Shinzo is sweet, then Friend is sweet-and-spicy, apparently.

“Am I?”

Well.

That certainly sounded like it would go well with rice.

***

I had already eaten lunch outside.

I said as much, but Potato Man still set a plate of homemade potato chips on the counter. Sparkling water came out too. In exchange, he demanded my terminal.

The app he told me to open was the skill management app. I launched it and handed the terminal over. He connected it to his own terminal with a cable and began fiddling with something. Was there some kind of change to my skills?

As I tilted my head slightly, wondering that, Potato Man busied himself reading paper documents, signing things, and doing whatever else needed doing.

“…”

I bit into a potato chip. Lightly salted.

At my feet, Rudo put his paws on my leg as if to say, Gimme. I made an X with my fingers and showed it to him.

Too bad. Genetically modified or not, heavily seasoned food was still no good for dogs.

“Being on TV made a big difference.”

He handed my terminal back with words I did not really understand.

Potato Man jerked his chin, telling me to check it, so I did.

“Ah. I see.”

My skill had gone up.

What I had needed was ability and fame.

I had been told my ability was already more than enough. So my fame must have finally caught up.

Rank 3 was the boundary between quantity and quality.

Rank 4 was the boundary between hero and human.

“Should I say something like, I’m quitting being human…?”

“Suit yourself. More importantly, for now, do the ‘big spender’ routine.”

“To get my name out there?”

“That’s right. I’ll give you a bit of a discount.”

“Please do.”

I did not exactly have much money to throw around.

I said that, then let out a long breath and drew another in. Potato Man gave me a look: Ready? I nodded back. Just then, Shinzo pushed through the swing doors.

Good timing, as they say.

“Oi, you bastards! Order fresh drinks and fill your glasses! Hound has finally—no, at long damn last—been recognized!”

Potato Man’s deep, booming voice pulled every eye in the room toward me.

“Hound did?” 

“So that means sniping?” 

“What else does the guy have going for him?” 

“Hell, the weird thing is that freak skill of his was only 4 until now…” 

“Oh, we’re drinking tonight!”

The mercenaries in the bar started chirping however they pleased. Shinzo, who had been staring wide-eyed, caught on to what was happening, leaned his weight against the wall, and gave me a thumbs-up.

I returned it, then held up my terminal.

“As you can see, it’s 【Sniping: 5】. —Which means today’s on me.”

Please drink with some restraint.

The answer to my plea was roaring laughter.

I gave up early on expecting any kindness from this pack of good-for-nothings.