何故、布都ちゃんが玄関に居るのか、驚いていると、僕の顔を見た布都ちゃんはふぅ、と笑って、「お帰りなさいぞ。「」殿」と僕の帰りを労った。僕はただいま、布都ちゃん、と挨拶を返した。「今日は、遅い帰りであるな。」と布都ちゃんは問いかけた。僕は、妖夢さんと寄り道したとは言えず、適当に帰宅が遅れた理由を答えて、布都ちゃんに、お土産だよと、持ち帰ったおでんを見せた。「それは、なんであるか？汁物のようだが・・・？」ときょとんとする布都ちゃん。僕はおでんと言うんだよと、封を開けて、匂いを布都ちゃんに嗅がせてみると、布都ちゃんは「おお・・・」と感嘆の声を上げて、唾を飲んだ。晩御飯にしようか。と僕が言うと、「う、うむっ」と布都ちゃんは口元をにやけさせて答えた。「美味いぞ、美味いぞ。復活して良かった・・・。」と布都ちゃんは大根をむしゃぶりつつ、おでんを貪っていた。どうやら、僕が帰るまで、気を使って、晩は何も口にしていなかったらしい。寄り道したのは、悪い事をしてしまった。と自己嫌悪しつつお茶をすする。僕は帰宅した時、布都ちゃんと対面した。その時に布都ちゃんと目を見合わせたのだけど、その目が、一瞬すごく悲しそうな目をしていたのを考えた。あの時、僕と目があって、僕を認識する前の彼女の目が酷く悲しそうだった。何故、彼女が玄関で僕を待っていたか？それは、彼女の身辺を考えれば判る。判るだけに、とても悪い事をしてしまったと思うのだ「ん？お主、どうしたぞ？難しい顔をして・・・？」と布都ちゃんが訝しげに僕に聞いてきた。僕はなんでもないよと答えて、話題逸らしの為に、そんなにおでんは美味しい？と聞くと、「うむ、美味しいぞっ」と満面の笑みが帰ってきた。布都ちゃんの時代は何を食べてたの？と続けて聞いてみると、「うむ・・・我の時代はな・・・。」と僕の食の基準からすると、粗食の様な、メニューをつらつらと話した。「だから、こんな美味しいものは初めてぞ」とちくわを咥えて、美味い美味いと頬張った。明日、休みだから、里に下りよう。あそこには、他に美味しいものが一杯あるよと僕が言うと、布都ちゃんは「ほ、本当か！？」と驚いて、「そ、そうか、楽しみにしておるぞ」とにまにまと笑みを浮かべた。そこには、玄関前の彼女の面影は無かったけど、きっと彼女は僕が思っている以上にわっふるわっふる

I was surprised to see Futo-chan there. Upon seeing my face, she sucked in a breath of air, smiled and burst out with, "Welcome home, my lord!" "I'm back," I replied. "You were rather late in coming home today," she noted. Without telling her that I had stopped by to see Youmu, I told her I had a present for her and showed her the oden I brought. "What is that? A sort of soup?" she asked, staring in amazement. I told her it was called oden, opening the lid for her to smell. She let out an awe-struck "Ohh..." and gulped. "Shall we eat now?" I asked. "Y-yes," she replied, breaking into a grin. "This is absolutely delectable! I'm glad to have been revived," she said as she devoured the oden, a daikon in her mouth. It seems she had refrained from eating until I got home. I shouldn't have gone off to see Youmu after all, I thought in contempt of myself while sipping tea. When I got home, I was face to face with Futo-chan. We met eyes, and I thought that for a moment I saw sadness in them. Yes... before she recognized me, there was a profound loneliness in her eyes. Why was she waiting at the door for me? It was obvious just by thinking about her state.

Realizing why she was there, I thought that I had made a terrible mistake, when she interrupted with, "Oh? Is something the matter? You have a puzzling look on your face," in a suspicious tone. I told her it was nothing, and changing the subject asked if she liked the oden. "Yes, it is quite delicious," she replied, the smile returning to her face. "What did you eat in your time?" I continued. "Hmm... in my time..." she began, detailing various foods that would comprise a destitute diet in this age. "But I've never before had a meal so good," she said holding a chikuwa in her mouth and going on about how tasty it was. "I have the day off tomorrow, so let's go into town. There's plenty of other delicious things there, too," I offered, to which she replied with a startled, "Really!?" before calming back down to a smile. "W-well then, I shall enjoy myself." She didn't have the same face she did when she was at the door, but I'm sure that, moreso than I thought, she was... to be continued