My Happy Marriage (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 4.0

Second Vignette Coffer

Team-Building Get-Together

“Let’s have a team-building get-together!” Godou suddenly declared.

Kiyoka glared at him sharply.

It was the end of the summer, and after being laid up in bed for a short time, Kiyoka had finally returned to work and had gotten back into his daily routine.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

His subordinate had burst into his office, but he didn’t have any pressing business to communicate—just nonsense to spout. Unfortunately, Kiyoka didn’t have the slightest hint of tolerance for a subordinate to act like this.

Nevertheless, Godou slammed his desk with a grave look, ignoring his boss’s cold reception.

“I’m talking about team building, Commander!”

“Quiet. If you’ve got spare time to fool around, I’ll make you work overtime.”

“I don’t have any spare time, and this isn’t about fooling around. Drinks! We need to get drinks together!”

“That’s the last thing I need! Buzz off and go home.”

Collecting the documents had he finished processing, Kiyoka began getting ready to leave for the day.

He had finished his work. The only thing left was to return home, and he definitely wasn’t going to entertain his obnoxious aide’s ideas. Drinking parties were nothing but trouble, and he wasn’t having any of it.

Kiyoka stood up to signal that if Godou wasn’t going to leave, he would, but Godou got in front of him and blocked his way.

He beamed an aggravating grin at Kiyoka that was completely opposite his serious look moments prior.

“Nuh-uh, that’s not going to work! I’m not letting you go home today!”

“Move. You’re getting on my nerves. Out of the way, I’m leaving.”

“I thought you might say that, so…”

“…”

“I called over a veeeeery special guest!”

Kiyoka’s eyes widened, and he glanced over at the door to his office. He hadn’t sensed anyone at all. Despite that, someone had appeared in the doorway at some point.

…I didn’t even notice.

The man was capable of moving without alerting Kiyoka of his presence. There was only one person skilled enough to accomplish that feat.

“Good evening.”

The man Kiyoka would describe as his natural enemy popped his shrewd smiling face into the office. He had wavy chestnut-colored hair and friendly, handsome features, and he was flawless in both dress and conduct. No matter how many times they met each other, Kiyoka could never let his guard down around him.

The next head of the Tsuruki family—rather, the next head of the Usuba family—Arata Usuba.

“…Godou. You must have a death wish if you’re inviting outsiders into our station.”

Kiyoka threatened Godou, taking his anger out on his subordinate. But Godou didn’t seem to care at all.

“Well, this was just to ensure we take you out tonight, by force if necessary!”

“An idiotic reason like that isn’t going to fly, you buffoon.”

This wasn’t a problem Godou could just laugh off. Leading an outsider to the reception room was one thing, but bringing them all the way to this office was a complete violation of military regulations. The punishment would be severe.

Kiyoka assumed a hostile position, signaling for Godou to prepare himself for the worst, when the outsider in question brought the two men’s spat to a halt.

“No need to get heated, I have permission from Major General Ookaito.”

“Excuse me? The major general gave you permission? For this farce?”

“Well, you know how good my negotiation skills are.”

“…You’ve got to be kidding.”

Flabbergasted, Kiyoka lowered his raised fist.

Everyone around him was off their rockers. Both the two brazenly violating military regulations, and the one giving them permission to do so. Not that Kiyoka wanted to speak ill of his superior.

“Oh yes, and I have a message from Major General Ookaito, too: ‘You could stand to do some team building with your subordinates from time to time.’”

“…”

Kiyoka just barely choked down his retort about the advice being unwanted and followed Godou and Arata.

Kiyoka saw red for a brief moment when Arata informed him, with an affable, nonchalant smile, that he had already filled Miyo in on the situation. For some reason, it was Kiyoka’s job to lead the way to their favorite pub near the station.

“I made sure to reserve us a table!”

He had lost the energy to quip back at Godou, who proudly puffed his chest out behind him.

“Where’d all this team-building talk even come from?”

“I mean, you’ve gotten so unsociable ever since Miss Miyo showed up.”

“…”

“Only joking, of course… I had a bunch of things I wanted to ask Tsuruki here, see. I figured it would be a waste not to have you join us, Commander.”

“Doesn’t sound like a waste at all from where I’m standing.”

As they talked, Godou, having slipped in front, energetically pulled open the sliding door with a “Good evening,” and the three men flipped back the hanging entry curtain one by one to step into the pub.

The Akita was a five-minute walk from the station, and the unit members patronized it regularly. The place was small, and the building was old and fairly grimy, but this was all the more reason why it became a hangout spot for men on their way home from work.

The boss was a good-natured old man, and it was a comfortable place overall, so when anyone in the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit talked about getting drinks, this was usually where they ended up.

“A rather folksy little place, isn’t it?”

Arata looked around with curiosity.

“Oh, of course, this is exactly the type of place—Bleh!”

So pleased he could’ve started humming a little tune, Godou had begun to reply to Arata when he abruptly let out a weird grunt and stopped in his tracks.

“Why is he…?”

“Godou?”

“U-uh, never mind, we should go home.”

Godou frantically turned on his heel and tried to leave the pub, but in a rare moment of unity, Kiyoka and Arata blocked his path from behind.

In Kiyoka’s case, with a slight amount of enmity and exasperation included.

“You want to go home after coming this far?”

“W-well, I mean, you know,” Godou stammered at the question, his eyes wandering left and right.

“Hey Godou, don’t just stand there, come over and drink with me.”

Kiyoka was very familiar with the voice he heard from a table in the corner of the pub. It instantly explained Godou’s sudden, suspicious behavior.

Those two truly got on like cats and dogs.

“…Tatsuishi?”

“Oh, Kudou. And Mr. Nobleman’s Son whose name I’m not supposed to say.”

“It’s Tsuruki.”

Kazushi Tatsuishi, the newly installed head of the Tatsuishi family, reacted to each of them with a cheerful smile, waving to beckon them over.

“Now, now, come on over and take a seat. Plenty of room for four here.”

“Noooooooo thank you!”

Sake cup in one hand and wearing his gaudy, brightly-colored kimono as loose as always, the playboy slid up to them and pulled a reluctant Godou to the empty seat.

Kiyoka was convinced Kazushi was just as sloshed as he looked.

Sighing at the spectacle of his two incorrigible subordinates, Kiyoka headed toward the seats with Arata.

“…Okay, time to start our little get-together I guess…”

The man behind this whole night immediately addressed the table, but his expression was far gloomier than usual, suggesting his spirits were low.

Conversely, Kazushi squinted with glee, while Arata maintained his usual genial smile.

The addition of Kazushi made their group look even more dubious than before. However, none of the other men took even the slightest notice.

…What about this is a team-building get-together, exactly?

Kiyoka was the only one who couldn’t help but feel suspicious about the group around him.

For the initial table appetizer, they were served cold tofu drizzled with a specially made sauce. From there, they were brought shochu and sake, as well as their own individual servings of the grilled meat dishes, the pub’s famous simmered seasonal vegetables, and more, one after another.

By the time all the food had just about disappeared from their plates, the mouths of the four men had grown much looser than when they’d first arrived.

“Seriously, why are you even here in the first place, Tatsuishi?” Godou grumbled quietly, to which Kazushi shot him a gleeful sidelong glance.

“What, am I not allowed here?”

“Playboys should just go to those places with the pretty ladies in them like they’re supposed to.”

“Everyone needs a change of pace now and then, don’t they?”

Kiyoka knocked back his shochu before he tried to ply Kazushi, happily squinting as he replied to Godou, for information.

“You’re taking your head of family work seriously, right?”

“I suppose, though I’m not really thrilled about it. It’s annoying, and I’m very lonely being by myself in the house.”

Although in essence admitting to laudable work, Kazushi shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

All of Kazushi’s family had been sent off far away after the spring incident involving Miyo and the Saimoris. The previous head of the Tatsuishis and his wife had retired to the countryside, while Kazushi’s younger brother was training in the old capital. That left Kazushi to live in the relatively large Tatsuishi estate by himself.

Kazushi was carefree and single, so Kiyoka had assumed he would lose himself completely to entertainment, but that wasn’t quite the case.

For even when his family had lived in the manor, Kazushi would often wander about enjoying himself and staying away from home. In other words, he wasn’t new to leading a carefree lifestyle.

“Actually, what about your family, Godou? I have a bit of hard time imagining what it’s like…”

Arata was the one to ask the question.

“My family? Well, we’re a rowdy bunch, that’s for sure.”

“Rowdy…you mean you have a lot of brothers and sisters?”

“I have an older brother and a younger sister, sure, buuuuut…”

Three children didn’t constitute a very large family. But Arata, who was unfamiliar with the Godou household, cocked his head, thinking that perhaps this meant Godou’s brother and sister were quite talkative.

However, Kiyoka understood what his aide meant, of course. The one who caused the most trouble in the Godou household wasn’t Godou or his siblings—

“My mother’s the rowdiest of us all, actually.”

Godou turned his ruddy face to Kiyoka, seeking his agreement.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“You know just as well as I do, don’t you Commander? What our house is like.”

“…Well, sure, I guess.”

Godou’s mother had a wide range of interests, and she would often move from one hobby to the next very quickly.

She would try her hand at music, painting, and other artistic pursuits, and attempt making challenging foreign dishes and sweets; Kiyoka had even heard of a time she had grown fond of traveling and would leave the house for several months at a time.

Kiyoka remembered that the Godou family home felt small despite its size, packed with the mistress of the house’s collectibles and creations, along with tools for her various hobbies.

Her personality could be described as “spirited,” a little bit strange, and extremely pushy at times. However, she wasn’t a bad person, and she was far more well put-together than Kiyoka’s mother.

“I’d say she’s a good mother, myself. She’s always looking after you.”

“More like ‘dragging us into her messes,’” Godou murmured with slurred speech, looking quite intoxicated.

“She sounds like quite an idiosyncratic person, then.”

Arata nodded, and Godou continued.

“Oh yeah, definitely, if it wasn’t for my older brother, I don’t think a Gift-user like me would’ve had as much freedom as a student.”

“Really now? Your school years were that carefree, were they?”

Kazushi raised an eyebrow and perked up at the word “freedom.” Kiyoka sipped from his sake cup without adding anything unnecessary.

“I was free all right. Free to study a whole bunch, seeing what a diligent guy I am and all.”

“Wait, free to study?”

“I studied abroad in England. I saw the clock tower, the whooooole deal.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Kazushi’s and Arata’s eyes both went blank. They must have been unable to reconcile their idea of Godou with the fact of him studying abroad. Looking at the man now, it was a natural reaction.

Kiyoka was the only one who found it nostalgic, keenly reflecting on the past.

When Godou was a student, he had studied abroad in an island nation in Europe.

That country was the center of Western magical practices. Even Gift-users, who used a completely separate system of arts and supernatural powers, could get a lot out of learning the magical arts of another nation. Still, even in this day and age, there were very few parents who would actively push their children to go abroad.

Ultimately, there was still a deep-rooted mental diffidence toward the countries across the sea.

“You? Study abroad? Color me surprised,” remarked Kazushi, in a rare show of honest admiration.

“Really?” Godou asked.

“I didn’t think you were you so dedicated. I’ve gone abroad for work quite a bit, but that’s much different than studying abroad,” said Arata, the noble son of a trading company. “Did you know about this, Commander Kudou?”

“Yeah. He snapped at me right after he got back.”

“Gaaah! Commaaaaander, I told you before to forget about all that, didn’t I?!” Godou shouted.

“I don’t care.”

That took him back. Yet at the same time, it made his chest throb with pain.

Back then, Godou had been so on edge, it had seemed like he’d cut down anyone with the slightest touch. He’d condemned Kiyoka and had planned to get his revenge. To make Kiyoka feel the pain he’d felt. In those days, that had been his sole motivation in honing his own skills.

Godou was a completely different man today. Still, none of what he’d learned had ended up going to waste, and he was a far stronger now than he had been in the past, so everything had worked out.

Regardless, Godou himself appeared to consider everything that had happened back then an embarrassing memory.

“Wow, snapping at Kudou? Aren’t you bold?”

“Forget it! Forget he said anything!”

Godou shouted at Kazushi’s smirk. Unfortunately for him, it was already too late.

“Still, that’s another surprise. Right now, you come across as Commander Kudou’s loyal dog…ahem, loyal subordinate.”

“Hold on, did you just call me his loyal dog?!”

Arata’s doubt was understandable.

Back when Kiyoka was still young and hadn’t taken over as commander yet, Godou had come back from abroad with experience and knowledge far outstripping those of the other recruits. After training nonstop until bloodied, Godou had challenged Kiyoka, using his confidence, his desire for revenge, and his hatred of the man as motivation.

Given the circumstances, Kiyoka didn’t take it personally and brushed Godou off, and their relationship ultimately developed into what it was now. It was nothing short of a marvel.

“…Weeeell, all that was me being young and foolish. I was cocky, so I figured the Gift-users throwing their weight around in the Empire were just big fish in a small pond to the outside world. Acting all important even when they didn’t have the skills to back it up. I was blind to what was around me.”

Godou evasively added that there were also some personal circumstances at play. Kiyoka agreed that it certainly wasn’t something to bring up over drinks like this.

The story of the sin Kiyoka could never fully atone for.

“Young and foolish, hmmm?”

“C’mon, that’s enough about me, right? It’s your turn to talk about something, Tatsuishi.”

“I don’t really have much to say, though… Ah! How about we talk about our preferences in women?”

Kiyoka sighed at the next hackneyed topic. Wasn’t this supposed to be a team-building get-together? It was just devolving into who could say the silliest nonsense next.

As they chatted, they each ordered more drinks and food.

They all had drunk a fair amount of alcohol by this point, and the initial atmosphere was gone, the conversation growing surprisingly heated.

“Y’know, Commander, it’s just not fair!”

“What isn’t?”

“I wanna get married, too! I want a cute wife of my own!”

“I still prefer being alone, I think.”

“Well, I’ve definitely considered it before.”

Arata peeked over at Kiyoka.

…All of them, just saying whatever they damn please.

Glaring sidelong at Arata’s belligerent smile, Kiyoka quickly returned his sake cup to the table.

Kiyoka had never thought marriage was that great to begin with.

He needed to get married to produce an heir—he understood that much. But if a husband and wife weren’t very compatible, the results would be disastrous. Ultimately, it would turn into a truly obligatory relationship.

According to what he had heard, there were apparently services that would introduce marriage partners to one another. It sounded like a lot of men went to these places. They would tack on a never-ending stream of requirements for their partner, insisting she be young, good-looking, tactful, previously unmarried, good at cooking…

It was absolute foolishness.

Hang on.

As these thoughts ran through Kiyoka’s mind, he suddenly thought of his own fiancée, likely waiting back home for his return.

“You’re engaged to Miyo, right, Kudou? I’ve known her for a long time, and I always thought she’d be a real beauty in the future,” Arata said.

Kiyoka couldn’t have agreed more.

She was still far too scrawny, so some people may have thought she looked weak and poor, but as far as he was concerned, Miyo was gorgeous.

“She’s my cousin, so it’s only natural, really. Miyo’s best point has to be her personality, though. She’s kind and considerate…but when push comes to shove, she works up the courage to do what she needs to do. Truly wonderful, wouldn’t you say?”

Kiyoka was in complete agreement on this point, too.

Due to the environment in which she had been raised, Miyo was bad at bringing her own thoughts and feelings to the surface. On top of that, her thoughts tended to go in the worst possible direction.

However, it was safe to say that if she could get past that, she would have everything going for her; she was smart, kind, and gentle, and she calmed Kiyoka just by being at his side.

She’s a hard worker, too.

So much so, she occasionally pushed herself too hard and made him worry.

In response to Arata’s incomprehensible boasting and overly proud smirk, Godou exaggeratedly raised his hand.

“Okay, my turn!”

His gesture sent some of the drinks spilling on the table.

“The best thing about Miyo is how good she is at cooking!”

Kiyoka didn’t particularly enjoy hearing other men talk about his fiancée like this, but he couldn’t disagree with what Godou had said.

He silently nodded in agreement.

Miyo’s homemade cooking was very tasty. She had always been skilled, but she was rapidly improving because she had been learning from Yurie lately, increasing the number of dishes in her repertoire even further.

The soy sauce-simmered tsukudani and sesame sauce salad in his lunch that day had been delicious.

While he may have simply been viewing his fiancée in a favorable light, he even felt that Miyo’s simmered side dishes tasted better than the pub’s food he had just eaten.

“Maaan, you’re so lucky, Commander. A fiancée who’s young, beautiful, kind, and a good cook…”

Godou was absolutely right, and Kiyoka wouldn’t deny it.

It was then that Kiyoka returned to his senses. Men who wanted a young, good-looking wife who was tactful, previously unmarried, and good at cooking—he had heard this before.

That basically means I’m no better than the men who make all those unreasonable demands…

He couldn’t let himself probe the thought any further.

“C’mon, Commander, you gotta say something, too!”

Kiyoka brushed off Godou’s attempt to drag him in and stood up.

“I’m going home.”

“Huh?”

“What? Leaving already, Kudou?”

Leaving Godou blinking in surprise and Kazushi cocking his head, Kiyoka put down his share of the bill and quickly exited the establishment.

If he stayed there any longer, he sensed he’d likely hit upon even more problematic truths. After how much he had kept other women at arms’ length up until now, he was ashamed to have ended up like this.

However, for some reason, Arata followed Kiyoka as he exited the pub.

“Would you like me to see you back home, Commander Kudou?”

“No need.”

“Yes, but, you drank quite a fair amount while you sat there listening quietly. Are you sure you’re not drunk by now?”

Kiyoka did feel the alcohol coursing through him. Nevertheless, it was far too shameful to need someone to see him home after only this much alcohol.

“I’m fine.”

“…I see. In any case, don’t be angry about having Miyo become the topic of conversation like that. It’s just some friendly banter over drinks.”

Arata’s lips curled upward. More than the previous conversation, Kiyoka found his expression, as if confident in his superior position, far more unpleasant.

“I’m not angry, really.”

When he replied with a slight huff, Arata’s grin grew even wider.

“In that case, did you start to yearn for her after hearing all her best points reaffirmed in front of you? Quite lascivious, aren’t we?”

“Enough. Go back inside already.”

“That I will. I wouldn’t want to get cut down by a drunk Major Kudou, that’s for sure.”

“I told you, I’m not drunk—”

With no end in sight, Kiyoka swallowed his protest, and walked straight toward home.

It was already close to midnight.

When Miyo came to greet Kiyoka at the door, she was stunned by the overpowering smell of liquor in the entryway and almost keeled over.

“Kiyoka?!”

“…Miyo. I just got in.”

“I—I see. Welcome back… Um, are you all right?”

It was a bit difficult to tell, even on close inspection, but Kiyoka was different than usual. His fair skin had flushed a slight pink, and he smelled dreadful. Miyo felt like the smallest whiff would make her tipsy, too.

She knew he had gone out to a bar, but just how much had he drank?

“Can you get your shoes off?”

“I can.”

“Water, do you need water?”

“…”

There was no answer.

When Kiyoka was finished taking off his shoes, he drooped down until he was sitting on the wooden edge of the sunken entryway.

Miyo had no idea at all what she was supposed to do at a time like this.

“Um, Kiyoka? Are you sure you’re all right?”

Calling to him, she placed a hand on his broad back and peeked at his face, only to grow startled and confused.

Kiyoka’s eyes were popped wide open while he drooped forward, and he sat perfectly still.

As she stood there speechless, the abnormality too much to handle, he began to babble at her.

“Miyo, you’re real considerate.”

“Excuse me?”

“We talked about that.”

“I—I see…”

Miyo was baffled. He really was dead drunk after all.

Kiyoka had never been an eloquent speaker, but even he wasn’t usually this incoherent. It was like he was a totally different person.

“I’m lucky.”

“…”

“Miyo, you’re a man’s ideal woman.”

“Ideal woman…? No, that’s not—”

“It is.”

Right as Miyo began to grow seriously concerned about his incoherent behavior, Kiyoka suddenly lifted his head, moving his exquisitely handsome face close to hers.

Caught off guard, the intense shock made Miyo’s heart pound hard enough to burst.

“Eeep! K-K-Kiyoka?!”

“You’re amazing.”

“What?!”

Miyo was at a complete loss as to what was going on, and her eyes started to spin.

Her cheeks were too hot to stand, and it felt like her heart was pounding nonstop in her ears. She started to get more and more unbalanced.

“Miyo…”

She felt his breath. This was when Miyo reached her limit.

“N-no, stop!!”

Miyo reflexively activated her Gift on Kiyoka, who had gotten even closer to her.

“Oh no…”

Her fiancé collapsed limply to the entryway floor. A second later, she heard his breathing become slow and steady.

When she confirmed that he was merely just asleep, Miyo stared at her own hand. Her heart was still beating as loud as an alarm bell.

That really scared me… It seems like this Gift can put people to sleep, too.

At that moment, Miyo swore to train harder to better control her powers.

Incidentally, Godou showed up at the house the next morning, pale in the face.

“How is he?! Is the commander still alive?!” He asked. “Last night when I went to leave the pub, I saw a whole forest of empty two-liter shochu and sake bottles near where he’d been sitting! Drinking that much in that short amount of time would kill a man! Knock him dead!”

Miyo was convinced by this explanation for the events of the night before. At the same time, however, she was startled by how well Kiyoka handled his liquor; he had woken up that morning ready and raring to go without the slightest of hangovers. That said…

“Um, there’s no need to worry, Kiyoka is just fine.”

“Oh, what a relief!”

“But—”

Right as Miyo went to explain what came next, Kiyoka finished getting ready and headed over to them.

“…Godou.”

“Commander! I’m so glad you’re still alive!”

“I’m in a terrible mood today. You’ve been warned.”

“Aha, so that’s why you look so furious, I see… Wait, what?! Why?!”

Indeed, Kiyoka naturally retained all his memories no matter how drunk he got. Thus, the very first thing he had done after waking up that morning was prostrate himself in front of Miyo.

From there, he spent the entirety of breakfast brooding in self-hatred.

“Miyo. I’m heading out to work.”

“Okay. Have a good day.”

“…I’m truly sorry about last night.”

“I-it’s all right, no more apologizing…!”

Miyo couldn’t handle him bowing so deeply like this.

“Huh? Commander, what did you do?” Godou carelessly asked, not really understanding the situation. This earned him a punch in the face, courtesy of Kiyoka.

Afterward, Kiyoka swore off all alcohol for a while.