Read Online 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad: Local by Ryohgo Narita - Free Book Online Page B

single reason for him to apologize, he teared up and bowed repeatedly.
    “Hey, Miria. He apologized to me again.”
    “That’s two wins in a row!”
    “I see… To think you’d let me win twice. You’re a really good guy!”
    “Yeep……huh?”
    “You’re a good person!”
    “Come, come, don’t cry. When good people cry, it makes
us
cry.”
    “Yes, it’s contagious!”
    When Jacuzzi raised his head, there were tears in the eyes of the couple in front of him as well.
    As they held a handkerchief out to him, he realized that this had gotten rather strange.
    “It’s all right, mister. Dry your tears and have some of this Chinese food.”
    “It’s all-you-can-eat!”
    From the kitchen, he heard Fang’s voice say, “No, it’s not!” When Jacuzzi looked bewildered, they just went ahead and shoved food into his mouth.
    “Mgrph…”
    Carried away by the current of events, in spite of himself, he swallowed.
    The taste of the steamed chicken Fang had made spread through his mouth. Come to think of it, this was the first time he’d eaten anything Fang had cooked.
    “…It’s good.”
    Before he knew it, he’d stopped crying.
    “And so then I just let him have it. ‘Hang it all,’ I said!”
    “Wow, Isaac, amazing, that’s amazing!”
    “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
    “Ah! Jacuzzi laughed out loud. I haven’t heard that in forever!”
    By now, the dining car counter had turned into the site of a miniature banquet.
    At some point, Nice had joined the conversation as well, and they were making the atmosphere in the dining car even more cheerful.
    Although the night had begun to deepen, the dining car was as crowded as ever. However, there were no members of the black orchestra or the white-suited group to be seen.
    “By the way, Mr. Isaac, you haven’t ordered anything except meat for a while now.”
    Speaking with startling frankness, Jacuzzi pointed out that his orders were lopsided.
    Nice had never seen Jacuzzi be so fearless around people he’d just met. No doubt he’d taken that much of a shine to the strange couple; the fact that he wasn’t afraid showed how much he trusted them.
    To think they’d get so far with Jacuzzi in such a short time…
    What in the world were these two? Nice felt a little jealous, but more than that, she’d begun to like the couple as well.
    “Oh, meat? It’s fine, no worries. After all, this is beef.”
    “Domestic beef!”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “Well, cows are herbivores, right? That means, if you eat meat from those cows, you’re eating both meat and grass!”
    “Wow! Isaac, you’re really smart!”
    “Huh… Really…?”
    Ignoring Jacuzzi, who seemed puzzled, Isaac and Miria kept whooping it up in their own little world.
    “Right, that’s right, if you eat something that ate something, they say you eat that other thing, too. It’s not just food, either: If you pick up something that already had something, it all belongs to you! For example, if somebody picks up a bag that has lots of money in it, that person has both the money and the bag!”
    “Whee, they’re rich!”
    “Yes, in the Far East, I believe the law is stated this way! Erm, ‘Maybe you did, but—’”
    “‘—I ate
you
!’”
    “Wow. Is that right… ‘Maybe you did, but I ate
you
,’ huh?”
    “That’s great, Jacuzzi. You heard something interesting!”
    Having learned a rather mistaken tidbit of Eastern knowledge, Jacuzzi happily stuffed his mouth with beef.
    A familiar impact ran through his back.
    “
Mghk-ghk-gak!
”
    Swallowing a piece of beef he hadn’t managed to chew thoroughly, he hastily washed it down with some water that had been nearby.
    Then, from behind him, a voice that was also familiar flew his way:
    “Aah! Mister, again…! I’m really sorry!”
    When he turned around, coughing, there was the boy he’d met before boarding. The one thing that was different from earlier was that he had a girl about his age beside him.
    “Oh, no, it’s okay,