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A new chapter begins.
I plan for this chapter to be a mix of modern times.
I hope you enjoy it.
“The food in the other world is delicious, but the food here is also really delicious, Senpai.”
“Yeah, it’s probably because I’m used to it. You crave it when you crave it.”
This is not the company cafeteria or my dorm room, but a ramen shop in Tokyo.
Kaidō and I, two men, sit side-by-side at the counter, slurping noodles that steam as if to warm our bodies chilled by the winter cold.
“Still, even though something like that happened, no one in the world knows about it, do they?”
“It went to the police, but that’s as far as it went. If they handled the external response properly, information wouldn’t leak. Considering the peculiarities of our company, I understand their being sensitive about information outside the company. So, this response this time is natural.”
The commotion caused by Carter, who became a hero just the other day, has subsided, and the alert level within the Demon Lord’s Army is said to be gradually lowering.
However, it has not been resolved, so we have been told by our instructors and supervisors that we will be busy with cleanup until the end of the year.
Amidst such days, while the food from another world is delicious, I also find myself craving this kind of Japanese takeout food.
Several days have passed since normal operations gradually resumed.
It’s a holiday during my work as a tester.
Today, for the first time in a while, Kaidō and I have the same day off, and since I had errands to run anyway, I decided to come out and visit our old favorite ramen shop.
As I was soothed by the unchanging taste of the ramen soup, which made me nostalgic for the ingredients I had eaten recently, though it hadn’t even been a year, I turned my eyes to the television set in the ramen shop.
The news anchor who was touting the disappearance of a group of high school students in the summer is now excitedly discussing the upcoming Christmas.
“Speaking of which, it’s almost Christmas, isn’t it?”
“You’re stating the obvious.”
“Until last year, it was an event that didn’t concern us. Especially this time of year, we were in the middle of crunch time, so perhaps that’s why. I feel a sense of dissonance eating ramen so leisurely.”
“I can understand that feeling. Christmas was an event that didn’t concern us last year.”
On the other side of the screen, some cake looks delicious.
A restaurant with a night view.
A special feature on date spots for spending time with a lover.
It was filled with such peaceful content.
“If I have time to think of the word ‘Christmas,’ then prioritizing calculation efficiency would come first.”
“In parallel with that, I was thinking about how I could legally punch my boss in the head.”
“Ah, me too.”
Last year’s Christmas was so busy that I could have mistyped it as “Merry Christ-mess.”
I drank countless energy drinks.
Documents that never seemed to decrease.
Whether it was due to the heating or not, the air in the room, which was not ventilated, felt stale, and the complexions of the people inside were so bad they might as well have been told to understand it.
“Frankly, I didn’t expect to be able to spend the year-end this leisurely.”
“Yeah, I thought this year’s end of the year would be busy too, with all the complications.”
Having said goodbye to that company, we can now laugh about our past experiences.
I am grateful to the current company that has brought us to this state, and I think about the other departments that are still in an uproar.
The aftermath of this incident, which could be called a civil war, still remains.
As someone involved in such an incident and commotion, the days when I can spend my time in peace feel very precious.
“The noodles will get soggy.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lost in thought, I averted my gaze from the television screen, which I had been watching for a bit too long, and ate the remaining ramen.
My appetite has increased compared to last year because I’ve been exercising, and even though I ordered a large portion, it was gone before I knew it.
Holding our respective bills, we left the shop, passing through the noren curtain.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
“It’s December. It rarely snows, but the cold is unavoidable.”
The winter cold tries to chill our bodies, warmed by the ramen.
Kaidō rubs his hands together to warm them, and I pull up the collar of my long coat.
Unlike the warmth of our usual company, Tokyo winters are cold.
With no further business here, neither of us says anything, and we start walking toward the station.
“It’s changed, in a way.”
“Huh? It hasn’t changed that much, has it?”
“No, the buildings haven’t changed, but… how should I put it? The way we see things, our sensitivity, you know?”
“A difference in consciousness?”
“That’s it. Thinking about what I learned at my current company, this scenery looks different too.”
“…Perhaps.”
An unremarkable Tokyo streetscape.
A lot of people, tall buildings, and noisy chatter.
For us, it should be a familiar scene, and in the past, I probably wouldn’t have felt anything, thinking it was just another day. But now, it looks different.
The casual flow of people, and this peaceful scene, so far removed from conflict.
In the first place, I feel like my past self would have equated peace with boredom.
But now, this scene feels very precious.
My perspective may have truly changed since I changed jobs this spring.
There are many people and troublesome human relationships, but this is a country protected by law, maintaining peace.
I am being reminded of this obvious fact anew.
“That’s not like you.”
“Did you say something, Senpai?”
“Nothing.”
I laugh off the words that come to mind with a wry smile, asking myself why I’m getting sentimental after finishing such a big job, and continue walking.
“Speaking of which, Min-chan said she wanted to have a Christmas party. I think it’s a good idea, what about you, Senpai?”
“Isn’t it fine? I was planning to take both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off.”
“Oh. Then it looks like it can happen! In that case, let’s do that!”
“Don’t forget the subject, I don’t understand ‘that’.”
As if oblivious to my sentimentality, Kaidō cheerfully speaks of what he remembered, and when I give a favorable answer, he happily exclaims what he wants to do.
“Of course, when you say Christmas, it means exchanging presents!”
“Is that decided?”
I thought they might still have a student mentality, but I realized that Suella and the others don’t really do events like this.
In that case, it might be good to do something like that once in a while.
If there’s a Christmas party, I think it would be a fitting occasion.
“Well, it might be good. We don’t have much time, so we’ll have to let the participants know soon.”
“Yes! I’m looking forward to seeing what the people from the other side will prepare!”
“Before that, let’s finish our own errands. We’re only halfway through our plans.”
“Yes, sir!”
While chatting like this, we walk towards our destination amidst the crowd.
Tokyo’s streets are completely in a Christmas mood.
Adorned with illuminations, below them, part-time and full-time employees dressed as Santa Claus are waving signs appropriate to their respective industries.
The reason why I, rather than Suella, Memoria, and Himik, am walking with just Kaidō in this townscape is…
“Is it this way?”
“I think it was around here.”
Kaidō and I are here to buy Christmas presents for the women.
The world of outsiders might not be familiar with it, but for us Japanese, it’s a major event.
The first year I started dating Suella and the others, unlike last year when I was too busy with work to have personal time, I am making sure to participate in events this year, and I came to find presents for them.
Kaidō is also thinking that he is being liked, whether they will accept it or not, and has come with me to shop like this.
It might seem strange to say we’ll exchange presents at a Christmas party while looking for individual gifts, but I’ll treat them as separate things and search earnestly.
“This is it.”
“Wow, you have quite a variety.”
“We chose this place for a reason.”
That reason is that we came to a multi-purpose general store.
In other words, we came to a shopping mall where various stores are gathered.
It’s close to the station, with various shops lined up, and bustling with people.
It probably has all the general items like clothing, accessories, and books.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Kaidō, I’ll finish my part first.”
“No problem. As for me, I can get most of what I need in Akihabara.”
Ideally, I’d like to bring Suella and the others and have them help me search, but bringing them to this world without magic would cause various problems.
Especially Suella, who is pregnant, and I don’t know what effect this magic-less Japan might have on her child, so I can’t take her out.
So, the two of us free men go around various stores.
“You’ve decided what to buy for Himik-san, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m hoping to find a good apron.”
First, I’ll start with Himik, who is easier to decide for.
She always helps me with cooking and cleaning.
I plan to give her an apron as a token of my gratitude for her daily assistance.
This is not a specialty store, but the store we heard had a good selection of aprons lived up to its advertisement. There were so many types of aprons, with variations in color, shape, and embroidery.
From these, I narrowed down the options and selected a few.
Incidentally, regarding the question of what they wanted, I asked Minami and Kitamiya to investigate, but it seems they had a hard time getting information from the three who rarely received gifts for various reasons.
So, I managed to choose based on that little information.
“You’re choosing surprisingly simple ones. There are a lot of cuter ones.”
“Himik moves around a lot, so I thought an apron with too much decoration would get in the way.”
I picked up aprons of simple design and different colors. Black, blue, and yellow. The black had a white embroidery of a cat family, the blue had dolphins, and the yellow had chickens.
They were cute with a sophisticated depiction of animals as a single accent.
The fabric was also good and well-made.
Thinking this would be a good start, I asked the shop staff to package it and headed to the next store.
“Next, a wine shop?”
“Yeah, Memoria said she wanted to try our local sake.”
Perhaps it’s my prejudice, but a vampire makes me think of wine.
However, I’m not buying wine for Memoria. This wine shop is more for when the four of us drink privately.
The real target is the glass studio next to this wine shop.
“They’re beautiful.”
“Yeah, which one should I choose?”
If she wants to drink alcohol, I thought it would be good to get her nice glasses, so I chose this shop.
From my prior research, I learned that glasses from Isal and the continent are usually not as thin and finely decorated as those here.
I made this judgment because, from a design perspective, I thought it would be better to give her something from this world.
While they primarily deal with wine glasses, they also have other items.
Looking for something good among the considerable number of items displayed on shelves, in showcases, from inexpensive to high-end, I found a product in a box.
“This is…”
A slight digression, but I consider blue to be Memoria’s image color.
Perhaps because of this image, a pair of glasses with a faint blue tint caught my eye.
They were securely in a wooden box, and the price was considerable, but my intuition told me they were good, so I picked them up without hesitation.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Did you find something good?”
“Yeah, shall we go to the next one?”
“Yes, sir.”
After paying, I rejoined Kaidō, who was browsing inside the store, and we headed to buy Suella’s gift.
“Still, your shopping list this time is amazing. After all, you’re buying gifts for different women, which is objectively strange.”
“Don’t you say that, you’re no better. The number of people is the same.”
“No, mine is different. This is just a thank you.”
“You can say that when you can fix that terrible whistling of yours while looking me in the eye.”
Kaidō teasingly brought up the fact that I was buying gifts for my officially approved three girlfriends, but his words were a boomerang that would come back to him.
If he had thought about what would happen next, he wouldn’t have said that.
I lightly poke his head as he looks away, whistling poorly, and head towards our destination.
While Himik and Memoria are progressing smoothly, Suella is actually the most troublesome.
Even Minami and Kitamiya couldn’t find any information for her present.
“Well, from here on, it’s a matter of feeling.”
Looking at the map of the commercial facility, I check what kind of stores are available.
“Man, this is tough. They seriously tell me they already have everything they want.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you blushing?”
“Shut up.”
I push back Kaidō’s face, which is trying to peek at mine with a smirk, and recall the grumbling I received from Kitamiya and Minami because Kaidō said that.
“Honestly, why do I have to listen to you gush about your love life?”
“For once, I agree with you,拙者. I suddenly feel like having black coffee or bitter melon stir-fry.”
Kitamiya, looking exasperated, and Minami, smirking like Kaidō is now, relayed the results of their investigation into what I wanted.
“I am satisfied just being able to conceive a child.”
Recalling those words, I remember my face turning red, and I fan my flushed face.
“Ah, you are blushing.”
“Let’s go, Kaidō.”
“Wait up, Senpai!”
Trying to hide my face, I quicken my pace and walk away.
Today’s Quote: Change becomes apparent when you look back at the past.
That’s all for today.
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*The first volume of the novel has been decided to be published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
The e-book version was also released on October 31 of the same year.
Additionally, the second volume will be released on December 19.
The content has been revised and expanded from the version posted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō, and includes previously unpublished inter-chapters.
Please check out the new releases!
Furthermore, a comic adaptation for Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third” has also been decided.
