1 Young Lady

Ethan was a quiet and shy boy during his childhood. Besides his friend Eddy, whom he had known for a long time, he had no other acquaintances, nor did he attempt to make any.

Ethan usually spent his days leveling up in online games, occasionally taking a break to eat fast food or watch some porn.

Turning 18, he graduated school with a mediocre degree and started working part-time at a convenience store close to his shabby single room apartment. While it was a place no person should have to live in, it was only here that he was able to escape his pitiful life.

Once Ethan was at home and turned on the PC, he could forget about the girls who secretly laughed about him, while he was on cleaning up a mess at the store.

He could forget about the businessman bumping into him, and the consequential tongue-lashing he received for 'blocking the whole pathway with his wobbly potbelly'.

He could also forget the beet-red face his mother had when an old acquaintance asked detailed questions about her son's life.

No, he did not find a girlfriend yet.

No, he wanted to find a paying job right away. He was not interested in university.

Where is he working? At... an upcoming local business dealing with consumer needs.

Life continued like this until he was 29 years old. While he gained a lot of experience and wanted to turn his life around, it seemingly was too late.

With his background, no decent-paying employer would hire him.

Finding a girlfriend while already being 29 years old, and with no social connections whatsoever was close to impossible as well.

His current appearance wasn't helping either. He actually had some attractive features, however. Ethan was quite tall. He had dark brown hair and surprisingly smooth, fair skin.

As an adolescent, he often received compliments about his aquamarine blue eyes, which seemed to catch everyone's attention quite quickly.

Sadly these features were buried under a lack of sport, paired with a diet consisting of close to one hundred percent fast food and poor hygiene.

One day, while he was at work, reading a magazine behind the counter to kill time, the bell rang, notifying him that a customer had entered the store.

Disinterested, he only slightly rolled up his eyes, intending to check if it was one of the regular shoppers.

What he saw took him by surprise. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped ever so slightly.

The person who entered was a young girl with a broad smile on her face. She was wearing a long white dress. Together with her radiating golden hair, which flowed down her small back, she had the appearance of a cute angel who just descended from heaven.

Not giving him any thought, she strolled along the isles analyzing all sorts of different snacks they offered. Her eyes were sparkling, and her smile was only widening even further with every new type of candy she discovered. She almost resembled a kid on his first trip to Disneyland.

Ten minutes and several excited gasps later, she cautiously and very slowly waggled over to the counter. Taking great care that none of the various chocolate bars she held in her hand would fall onto the ground. For the first time, she took a look at the man behind the counter. While he most certainly was unkempt and therefore usually did not make a favorable first impression, the beautiful girl wasn't bothered by his appearance. She looked at him with a gentle smile, carefully placing the candy selection on top of the counter. With the most soothing voice imaginable she said,

"Mister, can I get a bag for these, please? They are so hard to carry! I'm afraid I will lose some on my flight home."

Ethan gave an approving nod before starting to scan the items. Content with the reply, yet confused by what he was doing with his hands, she tilted her small head and asked,

"Mister, what are you doing to my candy? I just need the bag."

Ethan seemingly couldn't make sense of the question and answered with his eyebrows drawn together, showing his confusion,

"I'm scanning them to calculate the total price, of course. The plastic bag is twenty cents extra, by the way."

Hearing this, the girl's smile vanished without a trace. Replaced with deadly seriousness. She asked, her voice full of worry,

"I have to pay for the candy? Oh no, how could that be? I just arrived, of course I don't have earthly things like money."

"You don't have the money to pay for these? I'm sorry, but in that case, I, unfortunately, can't give them to you."

Ethan answered, intrigued by how out of place this young girl seemed. The lovely child couldn't believe it. Her face was pale, and tears were about to escape her watery eyes. She tightly clenched her petite fists and replied with a quiet voice,

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't know I had to pay for these. Older sister Hestia always talks about how delightful this place is, so I just assumed. I didn't want to steal. Please believe me, Mister!"

Ethan thought that the worried girl was acting silly, but was also quite cute. With an understanding smile, he replied,

"I know you wouldn't. Don't worry about putting these back. I'll do it."

"Thank you." The girl replied and gave a dejected look. As she was about to leave without any loot, Ethan called out to her. Holding one of the chocolate bars in his hand, he said,

"No need to be sad, little lady. This one is on me. I know you wanted a lot else, but it's all I can do."

Surprised, the girl almost couldn't believe it. She grasped his hand, and with wide-opened eyes and an eager expression, asked,

"Is that true, Mister? I knew older sister Hestia wouldn't lie. This place is the best. Hehe, you are the best!"

"Don't worry about it, isn't it just a candy bar? As long as it makes you happy, it was worth it."

Returning to her previous lively grin, she opened the candy bar and took a huge bite. Savoring the sweet taste, she looked at Ethan and expressed her gratitude,

"To believe that the first person I meet in this world has such a kind soul, the others wouldn't believe me. Surely this is fate, don't you think, Mister?"

"Fate? I hope something like that doesn't exist. Otherwise, wouldn't it also be fate that I'm 29 and still a cashier working in a convenience store?"

Surprised by the answer the young lady inquired,

"Oh, I'm sorry. It sounds like you aren't too happy with your life. I shouldn't have made such a stupid comment. Forgive me, Mister.

This place seems so fun, can I ask why you aren't happy?"

Thinking about the situation he found himself in, Ethan could only chuckle. A 29-year-old talking about his failed life with a juvenile girl. Nevertheless, he enjoyed talking to her and responded,

"It's not so much that I'm unhappy. Sometimes, I just wish that I did things differently in my younger years. I could have enjoyed the fun parts of life more, and maybe I could have even started my own business. But it's all just wishful thinking in the end. You only get one chance at life, and I failed to use it."

The girl nodded, seemingly understanding a lot more about the kindhearted man in front of her. For a moment, she was lost in thought.

'I wonder if sister Hestia would allow me to help him. I already got in trouble for moving these two douchebags to hell last week, after all. I want to enjoy my stay here on earth without any of these old geezers lecturing me again.

On the other hand, he does seem quite pitiful, and he has a beautiful soul. He also bought me chocolate, so I guess it would only make us even..."

Confidently nodding her head, as if she came to a decision she spoke,

"If you would have the chance to go back in time, how far back would you like to go?"

Ethan took this as a classical what-if question and thought about it for a moment. Eleven years back to his graduation, so that he could attend university? No, things turned bad way before.

"If I could go back in time, it would be to the day my mother and I had to move to our current city, I guess. I think I was around 15 or so. Sadly, I never really managed to adapt to my new life here."

"Very well, it's decided then! I, the goddess of flowers, will bless you with a second chance at life. You will return to your life as a 15-year-old as soon as the sun rises again."

As she gave her chuunibyou speech, she performed multiple gestures with her hands pointing at Ethan. He had to work hard not to laugh and interrupt her joke. As she completed her performance, she added,

"I hope you will find satisfaction in whatever you do. Though, sister Inus always claims sex is key to happiness, hehe."

Shocked at what the girl, who was no older than twelve, was saying, Ethan remained speechless.

The young lady looked at his shocked face in satisfaction and giggled while taking another bite of chocolate and turning around to leave.

It was only after the kid was gone that Ethan managed to process what happened today. On the one hand, he had fun talking to the self-acclaimed goddess, and it was an excellent way to kill some time at work. On the other hand, something definitely wasn't right with her education. She seemed to know only little about money, yet was out here, advising a stranger on his love life.