Ex-Machina in Dimensional Travel

After cleaning up the kitchen utensils, Yuko Kobayashi walked out of the kitchen.

At this time, the peak period of customer flow has passed, and many customers have left one after another. There are still a few customers in the store chatting.

She looked at the rest of the people and, as expected, they were all acquaintances.

After casually greeting these people, the old store manager came to the counter.

Looking at Xiuer tidying up the table neatly, a smile appeared on the old man's face.

"Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Xiuer."

She pulled out a chair and sat down next to the counter.

Although the old man is in very good health, he cannot withstand continuous standing.

At least after fighting with pots and pans for a while, most of Kobayashi Yuko's physical strength was consumed.

Fortunately, the store is not big and most of the customers are just acquaintances from the neighborhood, so she does not have to face an exaggerated workload.

And now, the only chef in the store will walk out of the kitchen at this moment because there are no new customers coming into the store.

After all, it was already past mealtime, and she didn't need to stay in the kitchen.

“No, I won’t be tired.”

Xiuer's attitude was still as cold as ever. He just cleaned up the debris quickly and then stood quietly inside the counter.

He certainly didn't look tired at all.

"Actually, you can rest now. It's past dinner time now."

Yuko Kobayashi waved her hand, indicating that the other party could rest.

"Ah."

However, in response to the old store manager's gesture, Xiuer just responded faintly and then there was no movement.

He is analyzing the intelligence he just received.

As for the things going on around him, he really wasn't tired, so it didn't matter if he continued to stand at his workstation.

It looks like he doesn't want to leave his "workstation" yet.

She was happy about the serious attitude towards work, but she was also more worried about the child's health.

After all, according to her impression today, the other party remained like this, standing at the counter for a whole morning, and did not even go to the toilet once during that time.

Although the other party's temperament is like that of an exquisite doll, Yuko Kobayashi will not really treat the other party as a machine to exploit.

"Um, I mean you don't have to stand behind the counter anymore."

The old man felt a little ashamed.

As she spoke, she took out a stack of banknotes from her pocket.

"...?"

Seeing several pieces of paper being handed to him, Shuul, who was originally analyzing the information he had obtained from Homura Akemi, immediately shifted his attention away from the "progress" of the analysis.

The golden eyes quickly focused on the "paper" on the table, which was a stack of banknotes.

"Here's your reward for this morning."

The old man smiled and placed the folded note further into Shul's hand.

"A total of 14000 yen."

"..."

Xiuer did not respond, but just stared blankly at the banknotes stuffed into his hands.

He was not surprised that the other party would give him money. After all, he would not work for free, and he himself did not have any rigid material needs.

He was just surprised that the salary was paid now.

"Today's work is over."

The old man smiled.

Although the child in front of her didn't show much emotion, she could still read a hint of doubt from his slightly stunned behavior.

"Haha... Come to think of it, I forgot to explain it to you earlier. It was indeed my mistake."

She laughed awkwardly a few times, and a slight blush appeared on her somewhat withered face.

Hearing this, Xiuer nodded slightly and shifted his gaze from the item in his hand to the old man in front of him.

"Confused, off work?"

"Is such that."

Xiuer blinked, then turned his head and looked at the sign at the door, which stated the store's opening hours.

[6: 00-22: 00]

That’s not right. Isn’t this a store that is open for one day?

He was about to ask back when he met the old man's gaze.

"……learn."

In the end, Xuer just opened his lips slightly without saying a word and silently took the item.

After putting the banknotes in his pocket, he cast a spell at an angle where no one was paying attention, and collected the money into the magic space.

Although for Xiuer, this amount of money can be used by him to obtain dozens or even thousands of times more wealth by using his own characteristics.

But what's the point?

After all, he didn't need too much of this kind of stuff; enough to buy some delicious food was enough to satisfy him.

Seeing that the other party handed over the money without hesitation, the old man's mood immediately improved.

"Will you come again tomorrow?"

"affim."

After all, with the convenience of Shul's ability, it can be said that as long as he has the coordinates, he can achieve global transfer, and it is just a matter of arriving at a small shop.

"Hahaha... Thank you very much for being willing to accompany an old woman like me."

Yuko Kobayashi smiled softly. This seemingly cold child was actually so gentle in her heart.

This contrast made her feel surprised and relieved at the same time.

After all, the other person is a child who has lost his parents. In this situation, it is easy for a person's character to become extreme.

Fortunately, this child named Xiuer was much stronger than the old man expected.

"By the way, is your home far from here?"

With nothing to do, the elderly begin to show their interest in chatting.

After all, he had never seen this person with an unusual personality before, and even the neighbors who had just come to the restaurant to eat had never seen him.

Therefore, she was very curious about this matter.

"Answer, I just got here yesterday."

"That's it."

It turns out he just moved here.

The old man understood, after all, only this answer could explain it.

"Then that's it for today."

She slowly stood up and left the counter.

"You can leave work now."

Kobayashi Yuko said with a smile:

"But if you want, you can stay and keep me company."

As he spoke, the old man looked at the remaining people in the store. The Hanako from before was chatting and laughing with people at one of the tables.

Everyone is familiar with the neighborhood, so this kind of scene is a daily occurrence in this store.

After a few quick glances, Yuko Kobayashi looked back at Xiuer, who seemed not ready to leave.

"But before that, would you like to have a meal before leaving?"

“I am quite confident in my craftsmanship.”

Seeing Xiuer looking at him, the old man raised his arms with a look of confidence.

"You can consider this as part of your reward."

Looking at the old man's expression, Xiuer lowered his eyebrows slightly. He did have something to do today, but unless there were some special circumstances, he basically didn't need to be present in person for his affairs.

So after thinking about it, it’s not a bad idea to stay for a meal before leaving.

"learn."

"Wait a moment, we'll bring it out right away."

Hearing this, the old woman's expression became happier, and her steps became more steady and quicker.

Watching the other person walk into the kitchen, Xiuer also walked out from the counter and found a random table to sit down.

The humming sounds inside the kitchen revealed the old man's joy.

He is really a... kind person. He even pays me a lot of salary, although I don’t need much of it.

Xiuer evaluated in his heart.

Golden data appeared in his field of vision. After half a day of deployment, all areas of the city were included in his "field of vision".

……

----

……

Around 4 p.m.

To Homura Akemi, this short period of time seemed so long.

Because after resolving the incident of her first meeting with Xiuer, her inner thoughts were filled with the "problem" that the other party had pointed out earlier.

There are no "traces" of time going back on my body.

This is undoubtedly a piece of bombshell news.

She spent the entire afternoon trying to understand this sentence.

She did not doubt that the other party could sense the changes in time, because in previous reincarnations, she had witnessed the other party's terrifying abilities no less than ten times.

"Time" is just one of the opponent's many abilities.

After thinking for an entire afternoon, the girl still couldn't come up with a real answer.

And as she thought about it, a terrifying guess emerged in her mind.

She didn't want to confirm, nor did she dare to confirm.

When that guess first surfaced, Homura Akemi immediately stopped her thoughts from wandering because of the growing sense of panic in her heart.

When she finally came to her senses, it was already time to go home from school.

The school bell rang throughout the school.

Students walked out of the classroom one after another and headed home after school.

Only a few students on duty or waiting for their friends remained in the school for the time being.

The students in this country are even more "lax" in their watch-taking than those in Xiuer's previous life.

The ringing of the bell brought the girl back to her senses from the world in her mind, and she looked around.

At this time, several classmates were standing next to her desk, trying to invite her to play with them after school.

After politely declining their kindness, Homura Akemi walked out of the classroom carrying her schoolbag.

Just as she walked out of the school gate, a gust of cold wind suddenly blew past her.

The girl understood, and the other party came again as agreed.