I was starting to get nervous.
I had booked a restaurant with private rooms inside an underground facility, and the thought of being able to meet them in my private time after so long, for some reason, made me feel this way.
I had flown straight here after work, so I was in my suit, but I didn’t care about that.
However, for now, I felt a little constricted, so I loosened the necktie that I had tied tightly.
“Is it about time?”
I was heading to the restaurant, aiming to arrive at the appointed time.
And it seemed I was punctual, as checking the time on my phone, I was five minutes early by the time I reached the front of the store.
“Ah! Welcome, Human King!”
“Ah, have you all arrived?”
“Yes! Everyone else is already here!!”
In reality, I wanted to meet them somewhere and go together, but due to my work, I couldn’t help but prioritize it until the last minute.
That’s why I had them head there first, but even though it’s just that, I feel a sense of distance from them.
When one’s position changes, so do their relationships with people.
I was called by my title by a staff member, and the manager immediately came out to greet me. I explained that this was a private occasion and had him put away the signed color paper he was about to present.
He probably wanted to advertise it as a restaurant patronized by the Human King, and though I felt sorry for the manager, who looked a little disappointed, I let the staff guide me.
“This way, please.”
And so, I was guided to a private room at the back of the restaurant, where the staff member knocked on the door.
“Excuse me.”
I opened the door.
“Oh! You’re here, Senpai!!”
“If you had been thirty seconds later, we would have started already.”
There were Kaido and Minami, who hadn’t changed their attitudes despite the change in our positions.
“Ah, please don’t worry about it. It’s just like always.”
“Yes! The best thing is that you saw nothing!”
Seeing the staff member’s confusion at their attitude, Kitamiya gave a wry smile and said it was fine, while Amelia suggested ignoring it.
“Please, have a seat here.”
“Thanks.”
And Katsu, who had subtly reserved the seat of honor, guided me.
To the staff member, who was looking at me with concern, wondering if I was alright, I smiled and waved my hand to reassure them. With a relieved expression, they left, telling me to call if I needed anything.
“First, draft beer!”
“I hear that often, but it’s only you and Jiro-san who drink it.”
“I don’t understand the deliciousness of beer, gozaru.”
“Beer isn’t about deliciousness, it’s about the feel and the gulp!!”
The banquet began with Kaido’s somehow nostalgic shout.
We had been told beforehand that there was something important to discuss, but these guys weren’t going to approach it with their shoulders tensed.
For my part, I find it easier to talk with a drink in hand, and I have no intention of turning the atmosphere solemn here.
“Kaido, just be careful about alcohol harassment, okay? I’m fine with draft beer.”
“I got it. If I make enemies of our female group, I won’t be able to live tomorrow, yeah. So, it’s draft beer for me and Senpai, right? What are the others drinking? Katsu-kun and Amī-chan, you’re having soft drinks, right?”
I decided to give a gentle warning.
The world is quite sensitive about harassment these days.
Our company, in that regard, is rather old-fashioned.
Especially with Ogre Tribe banquets, alcohol harassment? What’s that, is it delicious?
Besides, Kitamiya and Minami are not women who would easily get drunk on alcohol.
“You understand perfectly.”
“If you did, you wouldn’t be able to walk home at night, gozaru.”
Naturally, Kitamiya ordered a cassis orange, and Minami ordered a peach oolong.
At my previous job, the first drink was always fixed as beer, and no one here would bring such nonsense.
“Minami, take it easy.”
“I know, gozaru~ but~ if it comes down to it, there’s someone who will carry me and Kitamiya home, so I can drink with peace of mind.”
“Wait a minute, I…”
Amelia ordered an apple juice, and Katsu ordered an oolong tea, and everyone received their drinks.
Speaking of which, Minami and Katsu’s relationship had progressed, but what about Kitamiya and Katsu’s relationship?
I thought I’d ask if the timing was right, watching their interactions that created a subtly strange atmosphere in a good way.
Various dishes were brought out, and it was obvious that the manager had put a lot of effort into preparing the ingredients.
They’re definitely using more expensive ingredients than the budget allows.
“Ooooh!!”
“It’s because of Jiro-san’s influence.”
“Is that so?”
“No doubt about it.”
Kaido and Minami were genuinely surprised, Kitamiya calmly saw through the intention behind the dishes, Amelia tilted her head, and Katsu followed Kitamiya’s words.
This is a skill that Katsu, who has been appraising ingredients from the Otherworld since we worked together as Testers, can perform.
“Alright! Is everyone’s drink ready?! Then, unprepared, I, Kaido Tadashi! As a father of one, I will lead this drinking party!!”
However, we couldn’t just keep admiring the food.
We couldn’t enjoy these dishes if the banquet didn’t start.
If left unattended, these delicious-looking dishes would get cold.
Kaido took the lead, deciding it would be a waste to let that happen.
“Yo! The man who laid hands on a legal loli!!”
“That’s something we promised not to say!! There’s plenty of love involved!!”
Minami, who chimed in to tease him, seemed already drunk, showing an interaction that made me think so.
Ah, what is this feeling?
It’s calming.
When I’m with Suella, Memoria, Himik, Evia, and Keiri, our interactions feel like family, and there’s a warm sense of security that makes me truly feel this is my place.
But this is different; there’s laughter, fun, and a little excitement. I felt like I had returned to such a place.
Unchanged, and I don’t want it to change.
I felt this desire within me as I looked at this scene.
“Ugh, come on! Start already! Shall I cool down your heads before the food gets cold?”
“Ah, yes, we will start immediately.”
And that exchange was suppressed by Kitamiya, and the scene again elicited laughter.
“Um, cheers to celebrating with Senpai for the first time in a while!”
“Recently, Senpai’s presence has been fading! Cheers!!”
“Can’t you do this normally?”
“Yeah~!”
“Good work.”
“Ah, good work.”
As glasses were raised, I also raised my beer mug.
“Ahhh! It’s seeping into my very being!!”
And Kaido, who quickly finished his draft beer at the start of the banquet, wasn’t the only one. When drinking with the instructors, beer was no different from water.
My trained liver seemed to taunt me, as if to say, “Is this all you’ve got?”
“Another one (please!)”
I immediately reached out to order.
“I wonder if they have enough alcohol at this restaurant.”
“Don’t worry, gozaru. I vote that Kaido-senpai will be the first to pass out.”
Even at this pace, I’m still going slow.
Even I would find it difficult to empty the alcohol stock of an entire restaurant.
“However, Leader, it’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? You haven’t been coming to the Party Room much lately, have you?”
“Yes, you check on our results occasionally, but you hardly go into dungeons anymore.”
“I can’t go anymore, can I? I’m on the creation side now.”
Thinking about it, I found myself feeling nostalgic about these exchanges as I answered Minami’s question.
“Are you that busy?”
“Ah, very busy. I wish I had three bodies.”
I didn’t want to brag about being busy, so I answered with a hint of a joke.
“But, well, it’s something I chose to do, so it’s not difficult.”
“That’s good then!”
“How are things on your end? I haven’t been able to pay much attention, but the reports say you’re progressing smoothly with your攻略 (strategy/conquest) and submitting improvement proposals.”
And then, instead of just talking about myself, I decided to hear the real situation on the ground.
The main topic was the promotions of Kaido and the others, but there were many things that couldn’t be learned from reports.
I often hear stories where things are going “well” on the surface, but in reality…
“Are you going to listen to me!?”
“Oh, oh. What is it, Kaido? Have you been holding it all in?”
If I could put it nicely, it would be worries, but if I had to say it badly, it would be pent-up frustration. In a fight, one might think they could relieve stress by just going wild, but if you think about it calmly, it’s no different from working in a situation where danger is always lurking.
Even if your physical abilities are greatly enhanced by magic.
Kaido had foam that looked like a mustache made of beer on his mouth. I wondered if it would look like a comedy sketch as I turned my body towards him to listen.
“It’s not anything! What’s going on with Division 2 and Division 3?! They keep finding fault with our improvement plans, and Testers clash during攻略 (strategy/conquest)!”
“What?”
It was a more serious topic than I expected, and my tone of voice involuntarily dropped slightly. I hadn’t heard any such reports.
I couldn’t imagine Keiri not reporting such troubles to me.
“To be precise, it just ends with them being a nuisance that doesn’t make it into the reports. And it’s not the Testers, but the members of the department chief’s faction who come to us.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s too much of a hassle to deal with them one by one, so we’re just ignoring it. But because we’re subordinates directly under the Leader, it feels like they’re taking it out on us more. They don’t commit any clear acts of sabotage.”
Nuisance, huh? That’s another troublesome thing to deal with.
On the surface, it could be considered obstruction of business, but it’s too trivial to file a clear complaint about damages.
If I were to intervene, I’d be labeled as someone petty who concerns himself with trivial matters.
“Don’t make that face, it’s alright~. It’s not something you need to trouble the Leader with. Kaido-senpai is just taking the brunt of the harassment from other Testers to protect them, so he’s accumulating stress, but we’re handling the other matters properly.”
I thought I’d have to check with Keiri about this later, but it seemed I didn’t need to take any action.
Minami, with a cocktail in hand, wore a smirk that resembled a crescent moon. Her action philosophy, learned from the instructors – “If they underestimate you, kick them down” – seemed to be ingrained in her, and the situation didn’t seem as serious as I thought.
“Yes, rather, they’re the ones who are in a tougher spot.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing~. I just upgraded what we did to Karen and the others back then~. That’s why our performance hasn’t improved recently, and Evia-san is giving me the evil eye, so I don’t have time for such things~. It seems an audit was conducted regarding the treatment of the Testers deployed there.”
And, Minami, with the way you said that, Kitamiya… wait?
“If that’s the case, then I’m relieved… Minami, did you just call Kitamiya by her name?”
At that moment, I noticed that Minami had casually called Kitamiya by her name.
“I didn’t, gozaru~. I started calling her that recently.”
“…Kitamiya, could it be…”
“Why are you asking me? Normally, you’d ask Minami directly in this situation.”
Seeing that exchange, I glanced at Kitamiya, who was blushing slightly and looking away, and Katsu, who shuddered as if startled by the conversation, and Kaido, who started grinning, I understood the reason.
“I won’t pry too deeply. I’ll ask when you’re ready to talk about it. Besides, if I say anything about your relationship, it’ll be like throwing a boomerang at myself.”
I had already thought their sense of distance was quite close.
“…That’s right.”
This is the same pattern as Kaido, whose relationship progressed without my knowledge.
“Congratulations.”
“…Thank you.”
While we had such exchanges, the banquet continued.
Today’s word:
As they grow, so too do their juniors spread their wings.
Thank you for your usual comments and for pointing out any typos.
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Pandora Pandemic Panic – Pandora’s Box Has Been Opened Again, But We are Fighting Back with Various Things at Our Secret Base!!
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