Sasaki and Peeps - Volume 5 - Chapter 2

<Vacation and Daily Life>

The day of the Kraken hunt was behind us, and dawn had broken.

We’d stayed the night at a Japanese-style inn in the coastal city of Atami and departed the next morning for the capital to report to our boss on everything that had happened. As usual, Ms. Futarishizuka was taking us there in her car—I sat in the passenger’s seat with Miss Hoshizaki in the back.

“Are you absolutely sure Futarishizuka should be driving? Shouldn’t you do that, Sasaki? She’s got me worried to death we’ll get into an accident. Her foot can actually reach the brakes, right?”

“How very rude of you,” replied the girl in the driver’s seat. “And when I’m going to the trouble of ferrying you all over the place…”

“I think I’m more likely to get into an accident than she is,” I pointed out.

This was Miss Hoshizaki’s first time in Ms. Futarishizuka’s car, and she was staring with blatant unease at the little girl behind the wheel—an admittedly unusual sight. The high schooler’s restlessness only intensified as we merged onto the highway.

I remember being just as worried at first, I thought, suddenly feeling nostalgic. At this point, though, I’m so calm I could take a nap. I’ll try my best to chat with her, though, since I know she’ll get mad if I fall asleep.

“Dear, if you’re that uneasy,” said Ms. Futarishizuka, “you should have gone home on the train.”

“But Sasaki was going with you,” Miss Hoshizaki said. “And it would be weird for us all to take different routes to the same place.”

“Don’t tell me you’re trying to get some extra pocket money by making the bureau pay for your fare anyway,” I commented casually.

My senior grimaced. “O-of course not! What about you?”

Whenever I went somewhere moderately remote on business, I’d usually rely on whoever I was meeting to drive me around. Then, after returning to work, I’d still receive the full reimbursement for transit since I’d applied for it beforehand. A lot of office workers low on cash did things like that—it was never much, but it always put a spring in my step.

“I never intended to put in for it,” I replied.

“Would you like me to go a little faster?” asked Ms. Futarishizuka in her usual slow, grandmotherly tones.

“P-please just drive safely!” cried Miss Hoshizaki.

We’d sent my neighbor and Abaddon to the hotel near the ruins of our old apartment using Peeps’s teleportation spell. They’d stayed there the day before, too, while we were on bureau business. After bringing the two of them to the hotel, my distinguished Java sparrow planned to return to the villa in Karuizawa where Lady Elsa was waiting. Considerable time had passed since we’d parted ways at the inn, so he was probably already there.

“Anyway, what was all that stuff yesterday?” asked Miss Hoshizaki.

“What stuff?” I replied.

“You know—when everyone suddenly disappeared except for us and the Kraken. It wouldn’t hurt to give me a little explanation. We need to have our stories straight for our meeting with the section chief, right?”

It was obvious she was trying to change the topic after my implicit accusation that she was pilfering from the bureau. But it was true I hadn’t explained anything to her yet about the angel–demon proxy war or the isolated spaces. The same went for the charming sparrow that had single-handedly defeated the sea monster and the otherworldly magic I was able to wield. The term magical middle-aged man had also, of course, been left up in the air.

“Oh, is that all?” asked Ms. Futarishizuka. “Just keep feigning ignorance like you’ve been doing.”

“But I want to fly like Sasaki.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that will be possible,” I told her.

We’d already imposed silence on Miss Hoshizaki the day before by bringing up our relationship with Mr. Akutsu. After mentioning our work at the bureau and our wages, she’d reluctantly agreed to stay quiet. Or so we’d thought.

However, it was clear she wasn’t happy about the situation—especially if she felt the need to revisit the issue after just one night.

“Wh-what if I told you that, in exchange, you could…um, do as you pleased with me?” She gave me a provocative smirk through the rearview mirror. But it only lasted a moment.

“That ploy won’t work,” cut in Ms. Futarishizuka. “The man’s into little girls.”

“Huh…?” Miss Hoshizaki’s smirk morphed into a grimace.

“Ms. Futarishizuka, please don’t use misinformation to ruin my work relationships,” I said.

“Wait, Sasaki, are you…going out with her?” asked my senior.

“Oh, we’re all over each other,” answered Ms. Futarishizuka in my place. She sure was talkative today—probably because Peeps wasn’t with us—and I could see an evil grin on her face. This conversation would benefit her no matter how it turned out. Her composure as she replied revealed a level of confidence that was fitting of her true age.

“Do you honestly think someone like me could handle her?” I asked, resigned.

“…I guess you have a point,” replied Miss Hoshizaki. She seemed convinced.

The conversation was going at a good pace; I had to hand it to Ms. Futarishizuka for that. A moment later, she spared me a sidelong glance that seemed to say Be thankful. Our senior now silent, all I could do was nod in gratitude.

I’d skipped my trip to the otherworld the night before because of Miss Hoshizaki’s presence. Unlike my neighbor and Abaddon, who had gone to their bedroom without complaint, she’d kept a persistent watch on the living area throughout the night, despite the futon we’d set out for her.

We’d given my neighbor and Abaddon a twin bedroom and put Miss Hoshizaki and Ms. Futarishizuka in the Japanese-style room. Peeps and I wound up in the living room. Miss Hoshizaki had come out several times during the night to confirm that I was still lying on the sofa—I was sure of this because Peeps told me the next morning. That, combined with the exhaustion of running all over the place fighting the Kraken, had left us without a good chance to go to the otherworld. We’d accidentally fallen asleep waiting for her to fall asleep.

“I’ll keep quiet about your real powers and your psychic friends for now, Sasaki,” said Miss Hoshizaki. “And if the chief asks about yesterday, I’ll tell him the Kraken suddenly disappeared. Does that work?”

“Yes, thank you,” I replied.

“In exchange, you’ll keep helping with my work like you’re supposed to, okay?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Just to be clear, if you don’t help, I may accidentally let something slip.”

“Rest assured, I’m well aware.”

“Really? You’re agreeing to all of this pretty easily.”

“Well, it is my job.”

“…Right.”

Staying employed at the bureau was exactly what I wanted. If that was her compromise, I could ask for nothing better.

With a little more time, Mr. Akutsu would learn about the angel–demon proxy war on his own. At that point, Miss Hoshizaki could tattle on us all she liked—it wouldn’t matter. I could even tell the chief that my otherworld magic was simply a reward for taking part in the war. Though I felt a little bad for my neighbor, the death game would serve as good cover.

It seemed we’d managed to avoid leaking any information.

“Ugh, this driver in front of us is slow as molasses,” complained Ms. Futarishizuka. “This is the passing lane, you know!”

“I know you’re joking, but please don’t provoke other drivers,” I warned her.

“These police notebooks are real, you know. Maybe I’ll install some lights on the roof, too.”

“……”

Considering she’d previously installed a signal jammer in here, I was a little scared she’d actually do it.

Our conversations continued in this vein as we passed the time on the road.

The ride in Ms. Futarishizuka’s car wasn’t long; we arrived at the office a little after noon. She parked in the lot, and we all headed inside. But we hadn’t even settled at our desks when Mr. Akutsu caught us. At his instruction, the three of us went to the meeting space.

Our positions around the long conference table were the same as always: Mr. Akutsu on one side, with Ms. Futarishizuka, myself, and Miss Hoshizaki sitting across from him. The chief had a laptop hooked up to an external display.

“I’ll spare the pleasantries,” he said right off the bat. “Should I assume the Kraken has been dealt with?”

During the ride here, the three of us had decided how to respond to this.

“Unfortunately, I’m not sure we can answer that question,” I told him.

“What do you mean by that, exactly?”

“After traveling north through the Pacific and entering Suruga Bay, the Kraken suddenly disappeared from the water,” I explained. “I believe word will have reached you of this already, but the SDF is still searching for it.”

Irrespective of our actual role in the incident and whatever our boss may have assumed, that was all the info we could give to him as his employees. Neither Ms. Futarishizuka nor Miss Hoshizaki had anything to add. They silently looked between the chief and me.

Mr. Akutsu immediately put on the pressure. “If there’s a chance it’s still alive, you’ll all be working on-site indefinitely.”

Personally, I was all for enjoying more relaxing inn stays along the southeastern coast. We’d only had one night at the resort in Atami, and I wished it could have been longer. I wouldn’t mind staying there another two or three nights.

“The only fact we can relay is that the Kraken vanished, sir,” I repeated. They could look all they wanted. They’d never find the octodragon. The Starsage himself had guaranteed it.

After hearing the same information a second time, Mr. Akutsu’s eyebrow twitched, and though he opened his mouth to continue, he quickly closed it, seeming to sink into thought.

It was ten or fifteen seconds before he appeared to catch on to our intent. He slowly nodded, then answered briefly. “All right. Then that’s what I’ll report to the higher-ups.”

“Thank you, sir.”

As long as we remained stubborn, the section chief wouldn’t openly play up our existence. He had plenty of other useful subordinates and connections, and I trusted they’d handle the matter skillfully. They probably specialized in things like this anyway. Even if they started now, I imagined they’d get word back faster than the SDF.

“By the way, sir,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “Are we to receive no words of appreciation for our hard work?”

“I am extremely grateful for your efforts over the last few days.”

“Oh, no. That isn’t really what I meant.”

No sooner had my boss and I reached an agreement than Ms. Futarishizuka started pressing him for some kind of reward. She refused to back down. I supposed she had been constantly busy for the past two days.

“If it’s confirmed that the Kraken really has vanished, then the bureau will be up to its neck in paperwork for a while,” said the chief. “Since you three were dealing with things on-site, I’m thinking of giving you all some time off, starting today.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Ms. Futarishizuka’s grim expression did a complete one-eighty, blooming into a smile.

This reward was exactly what Peeps and I needed as well. The otherworld was just as busy as modern Japan these days, and I’d been neglecting my magic practice. I was extremely happy at the prospect of setting aside a whole chunk of time for it. And with Prince Lewis’s motivations still unknown, I wanted to prioritize problems over there for the time being.

Miss Hoshizaki was the only one who looked put out. Rather than vacations, she tended to get more excited about extra pay for extra work. I expected she’d keep her complaints to herself in front of Ms. Futarishizuka and me, though, considering she’d done relatively little during the fight with the Kraken.

“I’d like you all to get some rest for a few days so you’re fresh when you come back,” finished the chief.

“Boss’s orders? I suppose we’ll just have to enjoy ourselves, hmm?” said Ms. Futarishizuka, turning her gaze on me—probably warning me not to bring any trouble to her doorstep during her time off.

“There’s also the matter of your apartment, Sasaki,” added the chief. “Feel free to focus on that until things calm down. But I will need you to write up that report—the one delayed by the Kraken operation—before you start your break.”

“Understood, sir,” I said. “I’ll have it in your inbox by the end of the day.”

What was I going to do about that? I needed someplace to move now that my apartment had been burned down. If I’d still been living my old, average life, this would have been a real emergency. But I hadn’t thought about it at all until now. I’d just figured that if worse came to worst, I could flee into the otherworld. How many days had it been since I’d slept in my old apartment?

Well, this was a good chance to discuss new living arrangements with Peeps. I wanted to pick out a place that would bring more color to our days together. Now that my financial issues were a thing of the past, we could even opt for a custom-built house if we wanted.

“Chief, I wouldn’t mind staying on the job,” put in Miss Hoshizaki.

“I think you’ve had more than enough time on the job,” Mr. Akutsu replied. “I want you to focus on graduating for now. The unofficial decision is to bring you on board after that, but I’d like all our employees to have a decent level of education. Foreign languages especially will go far in expanding the range of tasks you can handle.”

She nodded reluctantly at her boss’s harsh words. “…All right, I understand.”

Maybe I should make an effort to learn English, too, I thought. We didn’t need it for any of this, but who knows what will happen in the future? Now that I’d met Peeps and the world had opened up to me, I felt a little uneasy. I can’t necessarily make do with just my mother tongue anymore.

“Now, then,” said the chief. “Are there any questions?”

“No, sir,” I replied.

“I’d like to get the desk work over with and start my vacation,” commented Ms. Futarishizuka.

“I don’t have any, either, sir,” said Miss Hoshizaki.

“Then this meeting is adjourned.”

I’d rallied my nerves and my resolve before coming in here, assuming we’d be pretty busy for a while. But instead, I now had some vacation time on my hands. Relieved, I left the meeting room and went back to my desk in the office.

After safely wrapping up our work that day, Ms. Futarishizuka and I left the bureau at five. I got back in her car and we drove through the city, heading for a hotel near what was left of my apartment building. This was where Peeps had sent my neighbor and Abaddon that morning. We planned to reunite with the two of them this evening.

We met up in the hotel guest room, and then we all climbed into Ms. Futarishizuka’s car and got going. Our destination was a local funeral home.

The entrance to the property had a sign reading KUROSU FAMILY CEREMONY. My neighbor’s surname was right there, written in black ink on white paper. As I looked at it out of the corner of my eye, the facility staff guided our car to where the ceremony would be held.

My neighbor’s mother’s wake was that night.

“I’m sorry for putting you through all this trouble, mister,” said my neighbor. I looked at her in the rearview mirror. She was bowing.

“Actually, she’s the one who organized the details,” I replied, gesturing to Ms. Futarishizuka in the driver’s seat.

“Really?” my neighbor asked.

“Apparently, she was setting everything up even while we were busy handling the Kraken,” I explained. “Any thanks should go to her. She’ll probably be helping you in the future, too, with moving and everything.”

“It seems we owe you a lot,” remarked Abaddon.

“Oh, no. This really wasn’t that much,” replied Ms. Futarishizuka with a low chuckle.

She was currently doing her utmost to ingratiate herself with the death game participants, doing all sorts of things for my neighbor and Abaddon to strengthen their relationship. Even the funeral ceremony was probably meant to bring them into her fold. She was trying to stake her claim on them before anyone else beat her to it.

Considering my neighbor’s lack of family, I was personally very grateful to Ms. Futarishizuka for doing this. I was pretty sure she’d taken my feelings into consideration as well, leaving nothing to be desired. She was quick at figuring out how to benefit from things—and equally quick at acting on it.

My neighbor bowed again toward the driver’s seat. “Thank you, Ms. Futarishizuka.”

“Don’t worry about it. You two helped me out before, after all.”

“I don’t remember doing anything…”

“If that big guy had come ashore, we would have been up to our eyeballs in work.”

We’d all gotten dressed for the wake at the hotel beforehand. My neighbor was wearing her school uniform, but Ms. Futarishizuka and I wore mourning clothes. She’d traded out her usual kimono for an all-black one-piece dress. The fluttering skirt made her look even younger than usual, and the facility staff was staring at her in bafflement through the window.

Abaddon was, as always, wearing his crown and cape. Nobody else could see him, though, so that wasn’t an issue. In fact, his outfit, with its black motif, actually kind of fit the situation.

“All righty. We’re here,” announced Ms. Futarishizuka.

“Would you happen to know the starting time?” I asked.

“Any moment, I’d expect. We can go straight there.”

“Understood.”

We all got out of the car and followed a map through the grounds.

Some families had wakes at their homes. My neighbor’s home had gone up in flames, however, and so Ms. Futarishizuka had rented this facility. According to her, she’d already planned out everything, including the next day’s funeral. Because of the deceased’s cause of death, her remains wouldn’t be shown at the wake. The funeral would be held with only the coffin; what little remained of her mother would be examined by the bureau and then cremated. For that, the bureau—as well as the police—would be acting as go-betweens for the bereaved family. Since I’d been in charge of handling the explosion’s aftermath, I had a good understanding of all the factors at play—and it was these factors that had pushed back the wake by a day.

I took the chance to ask for more details from Ms. Futarishizuka in my neighbor’s place. “Do you know who the chief mourner will be?”

“They told me they got in touch with the girl’s grandmother,” she replied.

It had only been a few days since my neighbor and Ms. Futarishizuka met. Considering my neighbor’s reserved personality, she probably felt uncomfortable asking a bunch of questions. As an involved party accompanying her, though, I wanted to get what information I could so that I wasn’t rude to her extended family.

“Her daughter—the mother—eloped, so they’ve been estranged for some time,” Ms. Futarishizuka continued. “But she lives in the same prefecture, and she saw what happened on the news. That’s apparently why they were able to get in touch with her so quickly.”

“Will her ex-husband be attending as well?”

“I’m not sure about that one.”

“I’ve never met my grandmother,” commented my neighbor.

“A lot of families are like that,” Ms. Futarishizuka assured her. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

“All right. I won’t, then.”

Ms. Futarishizuka’s words of comfort struck me as a little odd. I didn’t want to voice what I was thinking in front of my neighbor, though, so I swallowed the question.

Even Abaddon, who was always chatting with the girl, had put a lid on his usual banter the moment we got in the car. The proxy war had been repeated many times in the past, so while the world might have changed, he probably had some idea about weddings, funerals, and the like.

We left the parking lot and passed through the entrance. After going down the hallway, we soon arrived at the wake venue. One of the staff members at the reception area showed us to a somewhat large Japanese-style room with a decorative altar in it. An anteroom was available, too, in case anyone had to change clothes. A reception would be held in a different part of the building following the ceremony.

Only Ms. Futarishizuka could have set up something like this—it must have cost a fortune. The wake, plus the funeral, must have set her back millions of yen.

Upon seeing the splendid altar, my neighbor said, “Um, I’m kind of poor, so I don’t think I can afford all this…”

“Just think of it as thanks for your help yesterday,” Ms. Futarishizuka assured her.

“……”

Several other attendees were already present. Naturally, I didn’t know any of them.

After setting foot in the room, we became the center of attention. We’d seen several people in the hallway, too, engaged in conversation—but each time, they stopped as soon as they saw my neighbor. Or rather, they lowered their voices and started whispering among themselves, throwing the occasional glance our way. A few scattered phrases made it to our ears.

“She’s here—that one right there. The one in the sailor uniform.”

“She started middle school this spring, right?”

“A friend of mine has a daughter who goes there. She says she’s the victim of bullying.”

“I heard a child consultation center got a report about her once.”

“What? Really?”

“Who’s going to take her in?”

“Not us, that’s for sure.”

“Will anyone take her in?”

“She’ll obviously end up in a facility.”

“A girl that age… If someone took her in and something happened, it’d be a total mess.”

“That woman is her mother. She’s bound to be nothing but trouble.”

I’d guessed this from her home environment, but it seemed she really was ostracized by her extended family. Many among the attendees were elderly, and most of them were women older than me. I guessed it was mostly the wives coming in place of their husbands who were at work.

“Who’s the girl next to her?”

“A second child?”

“There’s a man with her—perhaps she’s his.”

“Do you think he was the dead woman’s lover?”

“He looks a little old for that.”

“He’s probably rich—I mean, look at this place.”

“I hear the man who died was her lover, too.”

“What a floozy, just like I always thought.”

“I hear the cause of death was a gas leak.”

“Maybe that man got jealous and did it on purpose.”

“Oh god, you might be right.”

Soft-spoken rumors continued to fly every which way. Not only were the stories exaggerated, they were embellished and hyperbolized with such momentum they seemed about to break through the atmosphere. I felt like I was in the middle of a soap opera, and my repulsion gave way to sheer amazement. I stopped short only one step into the room.

Clearly, I was on the away team here. I should have stayed in the car for a few more minutes.

A moment later, I felt Ms. Futarishizuka tug on the hem of my jacket. I looked down at her.

With a childish lisp, she said, “Daddy, my stomach is rumbly.”

“I know you’re joking, but I must ask you to stop right there.” I shuddered, feeling goose bumps on my upper arms. Incidentally, I was hungry, too. We hadn’t eaten dinner after leaving the bureau; we’d come straight to the wake.

“Then quit paying attention to those people,” she replied, “and go take your seat.”

“Right. You’re right.”

At her urging, I sat down on one of the floor cushions set up in rows in front of the altar—as far toward the back as I could reasonably go. I wound up between my neighbor and Ms. Futarishizuka, making me feel like a father who had brought his two children. For the first time since meeting her, I was jealous of my colleague’s overly youthful appearance.

After a few more minutes of sitting with my legs folded beneath me, the Buddhist monk arrived and began to recite a sutra.

(The Neighbor’s POV)

I know about wakes. At least, I know they’re an event that happens when someone dies. But I’ve never been to one before. As I look at the intricately decorated altar at the back of the room and the portrait of my mother hanging high over it, I reflect. I’d never dreamed hers would be the first I’d attend.

I also feel uneasy. This all must have been so expensive. I can barely afford to eat every day—I could never pay for this in a million years. That woman my neighbor called his colleague, Futarishizuka, explained that she’d prepared the whole thing. But I’m still too scared to ask how I’m supposed to repay her.

“Um, I’m kind of poor, so I don’t think I can afford all this…”

“Just think of it as thanks for your help yesterday,” she tells me.

“……”

I suppose that means I can relax about the wake and funeral costs. I just wish she would have spent all this money thanking me in a more meaningful way. But with my neighbor here, I can’t speak up and tell her that, so I end up staying silent.

If I want to negotiate with her, I think, it would be best to do it when he’s not around. If I stay well-behaved when it comes to my mother, he’ll keep being nice to me. I’d do anything to get him to be nice to me. I want to.

“She’s here—that one right there. The one in the sailor uniform.”

“She started middle school this spring, right?”

“A friend of mine has a daughter who goes there. She says she’s the victim of bullying.”

“I heard a child consultation center got a report about her once.”

“What? Really?”

“Who’s going to take her in?”

“Not us, that’s for sure.”

“Will anyone take her in?”

“She’ll obviously end up in a facility.”

“A girl that age… If someone took her in and something happened, it’d be a total mess.”

“That woman is her mother. She’s bound to be nothing but trouble.”

Everyone here is whispering about me. Under normal circumstances, they would have sent me to an orphanage for sure. But because I’m involved in the proxy war, Futarishizuka is letting me live in her Karuizawa villa for now. Of course, if I hadn’t gotten wrapped up in all this, my apartment would never have burned down to begin with. Personally, I’m saddest about no longer living next to him.

“Who’s the girl next to her?”

“A second child?”

“There’s a man with her—perhaps she’s his.”

“Do you think he was the dead woman’s lover?”

“He looks a little old for that.”

“He’s probably rich—I mean, look at this place.”

“I hear the man who died was her lover, too.”

“What a floozy, just like I always thought.”

“I hear the cause of death was a gas leak.”

“Maybe that man got jealous and did it on purpose.”

“Oh god, you might be right.”

My relatives’ interest doesn’t stop at me—it extends to my neighbor and Futarishizuka, too. They start whispering totally baseless rumors all around the room. My mother and I had nothing to do with these relatives before, so I suspect they came just to gossip.

“Daddy, my stomach is rumbly.”

“I know you’re joking, but I must ask you to stop right there.”

Futarishizuka’s playacting irritates me. It’s not fair for her to act friendly with him like that. It’s really, really not fair. Maybe I should try calling him Daddy sometime, too.

At school, students sometimes mistakenly call a teacher Mom or Dad. I haven’t seen it happen since entering middle school, but I witnessed it several times back in elementary. That’s a good plan; I’ll have to try something like that.

We wait awhile, and then a monk comes, sits down in front of the altar, and begins reciting a sutra. Everyone in attendance sits on their cushions, listening. I quickly glance around. Not a tear in sight. In fact, nobody seems sad at all. I’m obviously not, either.

Abaddon, perhaps interested in the ceremony itself, starts floating around the room, here and there, all around the altar. One moment he’s studying the monk’s clothes, and the next he’s sniffing the incense stand next to him, basically doing whatever he likes. The room is too quiet for me to call out and stop him.

A few minutes later, the monk tells us to light the incense. Then his chanting continues like the background music in a movie. An older woman sitting in front of us gets up and goes to the incense stand between the monk and the altar. I know that this sort of thing is done at wakes. I don’t know the rules for it, though. And my turn comes very quickly.

“The girl is the next closest relation, yes? She should be next,” says Futarishizuka.

“Indeed,” replies my neighbor.

I read in some book once that turns are decided by how closely one is related to the deceased. In other words, the one who just lit the incense is the chief mourner—my grandmother.

I’m confused, but my neighbor and Futarishizuka stand up to guide me. I follow them to the incense stand. They then take a step back and watch as I carefully imitate what my grandmother did, bowing and trying to mimic the way she brought the incense to the burner.

It takes me a while, and misgivings flood my mind. If I’m too slow, will the monk’s sutra end? Maybe he’s ad-libbing the whole thing while hitting his bell and wooden block, like a singer going from the B melody into the chorus and then the solo, then repeating the A melody again instead of finishing, since the incense isn’t burning yet.

“She seems awfully calm for someone whose mother just died.”

“I heard she was abused. I wonder if it’s true.”

“You don’t think she messed with the gas main, do you?”

“Stop—she can hear you.”

I hear relatives I’ve never met before whispering about me. I asked about my father on the way, but I don’t see him here. His current family must be more important than my mother’s funeral.

Instead, I notice one woman staring at me. Unlike the other attendees, who don’t seem to care much, her face is locked in a deep frown—a terrifying expression. She looks somewhere in her late twenties or early thirties. She has a pretty face, and since most of the others at the wake are middle-aged or older, her youth makes her stand out. She doesn’t seem to have anyone with her; she’s sitting on her own, away from everyone else.

The woman’s nice mourning clothes are just as wrinkled as her forehead. Why is that?

Once the attendees all finish burning incense, the monk gives a sermon. He speaks for a few minutes at most. After it’s done, he leaves the room, marking the end of the ceremony. My neighbor and Futarishizuka quietly explain each step in the process as it happens.

The hushed room bursts to life as chattering resumes among the attendees. All the people sitting on cushions in front of the altar get shuffled out by the staff into another room.

There’s a reception afterward. Apparently, I’m supposed to attend. But my two companions suggest something else.

“Can we not just go home?” proposes Futarishizuka. “We don’t need to stay until the very end.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” agrees my neighbor. “What do you want to do?”

They’re doing this because of the attention from the other attendees. And I am really uncomfortable.

Even moving from one room to the next, plenty of people are glancing at us. And one of them isn’t just glancing—the woman who was staring at me before breaks from the line filing into the next room and heads our way, stalking over and then stopping in front of me.

What does she want? I wonder.

“Excuse me, but would you happen to be Miss Kurosu’s daughter?” she asks in a firm voice.

“I am… Why?” I say honestly.

She grits her teeth. Then she slaps me.

The sound reverberates through the building.

I stumble. Of all the things she could have done, I didn’t expect that. An arm quickly reaches out to steady me. It then circles around my shoulder and back, gently holding me up before I lose my balance. I reflexively turn toward its owner and see my neighbor’s face from the side.

My heart pounds. This is great.

“No matter what your reason, I must ask you to refrain from violence,” he says to the woman.

“You’re a rowdy one,” Futarishizuka interjects. “Shall I call the police?”

They both look at the woman with severe expressions.

That doesn’t frighten her away, though. Ignoring the two of them, she raises her voice into a shrill cry. “She should have died alone!” she shrieks. “She was a whore—a cheating whore! And she got him involved! I’m carrying his child! How are you going to fix this?!”

I feel my body grow warm where my neighbor’s hand is touching it. He almost never, ever had any reason to touch me in the past. And now he’s done it proactively—he did this for the first time just the other day, when he carried me in the isolated space. In the past, he’d never touch me. No matter how much I wished for it.

I’m so happy I couldn’t care less about the woman standing in front of me. In fact, I want to thank her for hitting me.

“Are you the wife of the man my mother was going out with?” I ask.

“Going out wi—of course he wasn’t going out with her, you bitch!”

Apparently, her husband cheated on her with my mom, and she came all the way to the woman’s wake to yell at her daughter. She must hold an exceptionally deep grudge. Her stubborn glare makes sense now. As do the wrinkles in her mourning clothes—she probably came here straight from her husband’s funeral.

“I’ll never forgive either of you for this,” the woman went on. “You two stole our happiness. I won’t forgive you, even in death. I’ll pray for your misfortune every day. No matter where you go, I’ll follow. I’ll curse you for the rest of my life.”

“As her daughter, I do feel bad about what she did,” I say.

“Excuse me?! What does that matter? Your apology isn’t going to bring him back!”

“……”

Then what do you want me to do? I wonder.

My neighbor and Futarishizuka both look troubled. Eventually, the woman’s arm comes up to hit me again. This time, though, my neighbor moves quickly. I feel his hand leave its place at my shoulders and back.

He takes a step forward and grabs the woman by the wrist as she brings down her hand. “Once again, ma’am, would you please refrain from violence?” he repeats.

“Let go of me, molester! He’s a molester! This man is a molester!”

She shouts her baseless slander for everyone to hear. They all turn toward us, wanting to know what’s going on.

He’s touching her, and she’s complaining? Unbelievable. For years, no matter how much I wanted him to touch me, he never even poked me with the tip of his finger. Even when he handed food to me, he was always very careful not to make physical contact.

“Well, don’t blame us for this…,” says Ms. Futarishizuka, following my neighbor and taking a step toward the woman.

“Abaddon, please take care of it,” I say, interrupting her, invoking the name of my demon. I can tolerate her speaking ill of me. But my neighbor? I can feel my gut churning.

“Aw, come on,” Abaddon whines. “Why use me for something like this?”

“Make sure to keep her conscious,” I tell him.

“If only you’d be so decisive in isolated spaces.”

The demon floats over to the woman. I’m probably the only one who sees him do it. Futarishizuka stops after hearing Abaddon’s name and turns back to look at me. I wonder if they object to me handling the situation. My neighbor looks at me in surprise, too.

The demon’s finger touches the woman’s neck. Immediately, she falls to her knees. Without any energy to hold herself up, she ends up sitting on the floor.

“Ugh… What…what is this…?”

She seems surprised by what has just happened to her. My neighbor lets go of her arm.

I then proceed to solemnly inform her about past events. “Actually, your husband never seemed very interested in my mother.”

“What? Then why was he staying so late at your apartment?”

“According to his own words, he was after my body from the beginning.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! He would never be interested in a child!”

“He assaulted me one day when my mother wasn’t around.”

“Wha…?”

If I tell him how scary it was and ask for comfort, I wonder if my neighbor would sleep with me. If he’s hesitant because I’m a minor, then maybe if he finds out I already have experience, he’ll be more willing to take that first step.

I figure it’s worth a try. I was assaulted, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem even if I bleed after we do it.

“I think it would be best for everyone if you check to make sure he didn’t commit any other crimes,” I tell the woman.

“D-don’t you lie to me! Why would a little girl like you…?!”

“Your husband said he liked little girls like me.”

“You’re insane!”

What about my neighbor? I wonder. I’m very curious about that.

In the meantime, the funeral home staff runs over to us. I’m not sure if an attendee informed them, or they just heard the woman’s shrieking, but several men in suits rush in.

After seeing them arrive, I turn my back to the woman slumped on the floor. “I’m sorry, but I’ll be leaving now,” I say, knowing it’s probably best to go home at this point, just like my neighbor and Futarishizuka suggested.

We start down the hallway toward the building’s entrance. According to Ms. Futarishizuka, my grandmother is handling things at the funeral. That means we don’t need to be there. The other two follow me in silence, seeming to pick up on my intentions.

Farther down the hallway and away from all the attendees, they each give very different opinions.

“You sure told her,” says Futarishizuka. “How refreshing!”

“I believe it’s best to refrain from violence altogether,” ventures my neighbor.

“She wasn’t listening to reason,” objects Futarishizuka. “Sometimes you just have to beat them up a little.”

“That mindset is what earned you the curse mark on the back of your hand.”

“Ugh. You sure know how to hit where it hurts.”

I don’t know what my neighbor is referring to, and I bet they won’t tell me if I ask. They’ll change the topic so smoothly I won’t be able to keep up. I’m frustrated, but all I can do is listen to them, Abaddon bobbing through the air at our side as we walk down the hallway.

As soon as we exit the funeral home, we hear hurried footsteps coming up behind us.

“Wait! Please, wait!”

Turning back, we see her: the first one to stand up and burn the incense. A woman who must be my grandmother is running toward us. She looks sixty or so. Despite the obvious wrinkles on her face, arms, and legs, her back is straight and she seems physically healthy. Once we stop and turn around, she slows to a firm, sharp walk.

I guess I didn’t ever say hello to her, I think. The wake started as soon as we got there, and my mother’s boyfriend’s wife attacked us right after, so there was no chance. Her responsibilities as chief mourner had kept her busy, too.

“Forgive me for not saying hello,” the woman says. “I’m your grandmother.”

“No, it’s my fault,” I reply honestly, bowing. “I should have said hello before leaving.”

The woman’s attention immediately shifts to my neighbor. “Are you the one who contacted me about the funeral?”

“No, that wasn’t me, ma’am,” he responds.

“Then what relationship do you have with my granddaughter?”

“I lived in the apartment just next to hers…”

“What? Don’t tell me you’re after the fortune, too.”

“…Fortune?” my neighbor repeats as my grandmother’s face visibly changes, her smile morphing into something more dangerous.

Practically glaring at him now, she says, “You must be planning to trick her and con her adoptive family out of their money. Is the little one yours? To think you would use a child to get close to my precious granddaughter! I don’t think I’ve seen such an underhanded, cowardly man in my life.”

It sounds like “the little one” means Futarishizuka. She looks on blankly, apparently surprised to suddenly be the topic of conversation.

But my grandmother quickly turns back to me and smiles, rattling off her next words quickly. “You mustn’t rely on a stranger like him,” she tells me. “And you mustn’t depend on any of your relatives here, either. They’re all trash who want to sponge off your adoptive father. But don’t worry—I’ll look after you until you’re an adult.”

It makes me angry to hear her one-sided rejection of my neighbor. I don’t know what she’s referring to when she says adoptive family or fortune, but it’s enough of a first impression for me not to like her very much.

“You see, I’ve divorced your grandfather,” she explains. “And it’s lonely living on my own. Won’t you come stay with me? Your apartment burned down, after all. I can take care of anything you need.”

“Excuse me, but is my grandfather here as well?” I ask.

“You don’t need to pay that good-for-nothing any attention at all,” she assures me.

My parents were already divorced—I didn’t expect my grandparents to have split up, too. The woman’s evident unwillingness to keep up appearances when it came to her poor relationship with my grandfather, as well as my mother’s own attitude toward me, gives me a lot to think about. I never complain about our family being worse off than others. I’m pretty sure there are plenty of other families like this in the world.

But now I know why Futarishizuka consoled me the way she did when I asked about my grandmother.

“Ms. Futarishizuka, how did you contact her relatives?” my neighbor asks her.

“I prepared an adoption for convenience’s sake and had an agent contact them. Why?” she answers.

“She seems to have misunderstood and thinks her granddaughter has been adopted into a well-off family.”

“Yes, it seems like it.”

My neighbor and Futarishizuka trade words in hushed tones. Their voices are soft—soft enough that my grandmother, standing a few steps away, doesn’t hear. Even I can barely make out what they’re saying.

Apparently, now that I’ve lost my legal guardian, Futarishizuka was using her connections to get me adopted by someone or other. Considering my relationship to Abaddon, I feel sure it must be a good situation; she wants to stay on good terms with him, after all.

But I don’t like being kept in the dark about it. Once we get to Karuizawa, I’ll clear things up with her. And if possible, I want him to be my new father. I really want to see him lusting after his own adoptive daughter.

“Why, he’s a complete stranger!” repeats my grandmother. “Forget about him and come with me.”

“……”

“Hmm. My demon senses are saying you shouldn’t do that.”

I don’t need Abaddon to tell me. I know I have to turn down the invitation. She probably sees me as a money tree. The fact that she’s never bothered to contact me in the past is proof of that. And I don’t want to be anywhere near someone who would talk bad about my neighbor as soon as they see him.

But as I calculate my interests with regards to my grandmother, I hear a voice from beside me. “Dear, if you’re looking for an old hag to depend on, I should think you’d be better off with me.”

“Excuse me?” says my grandmother. “What nonsense! What are you even talking about, you little brat?”

“Oh? A brat, huh? I’ll have you know this brat survived the Meiji Restoration and World War II unscathed.”

And now Futarishizuka and my grandmother are having some kind of old lady fight, both puffing out their chests. Futarishizuka looks exactly like a little girl, so her responses probably make no sense to anyone else. My grandmother, on the other hand, is clearly irritated; she most likely thinks a child is trying to rile her up. Futarishizuka must be attempting to steer me in the same direction Abaddon was.

“Mister, could we please hurry up and go home?” I ask my neighbor.

“Are you sure?” he replies.

In contrast to the two of them, my neighbor is trying to be considerate of my family relationships until the very end. His behavior has been the same ever since our apartment building exploded—unlike Abaddon and Futarishizuka, who always speak and act in their own interest. This might be my own arrogance talking, but it seems like he actually respects me.

That makes me very happy. I want to do all kinds of things for him.

“I’m sorry my extended family has been causing so much trouble for you,” I say.

“No, don’t worry about it,” he replies. “Why don’t we head back to the car?”

“Okay.” I start walking toward the parking lot entrance.

Futarishizuka, still grinning smugly at my grandmother, quickly follows, and Abaddon floats along after us.

We hear my grandmother shouting at our backs. “Wait…wait just a second! Where do you think you’re going?”

I briefly turn around and call out, “Please tell my grandfather I said hello.”

“Ugh… No! Did that man do something? Is that it?!”

I end the conversation there.

I feel bad for my unknown grandfather, but I need someone between my grandmother and me to take the brunt of all this. By the time she realizes I’ve never even met my grandfather, I’ll be settled into my new place. As we leave, I see her rush to pull out her phone and call someone.

“That was so…wicked of you,” says Abaddon.

“I’m just putting him to good use. I don’t think he’ll mind much.”

Now that we’ve escaped my grandmother’s clutches, we all climb into the car and leave the funeral home.

Though we attended my neighbor’s mother’s wake, we didn’t take part in the reception, instead going back to the hotel near our old apartments. I felt very bad about how everything had gone. It must have hurt my neighbor even more. I intended to talk with Ms. Futarishizuka later about the next day’s funeral, including whether we’d attend.

After getting back to the hotel room, Peeps used his teleportation magic to warp us over to the Karuizawa villa. Though the sparrow was still abstaining from the internet, he received our message and came to the hotel room to get us.

Once at our destination—the villa’s living space—we all faced one another.

“This may sound sudden,” began Ms. Futarishizuka, looking up from her piping hot cup of tea, “but would you two like to move in tomorrow?”

She and I sat next to each other on one sofa, with my neighbor and Abaddon across from us on the other. The “head of the table” position was occupied by Lady Elsa. Peeps was perched on his little tree atop the low table.

“Music to my ears,” replied Abaddon. Then, turning to my neighbor, “You agree, don’t you?”

“I actually wouldn’t mind living at the hotel for a little longer,” said my neighbor.

“The electricity, gas, water, and internet are all up and running,” insisted Ms. Futarishizuka. “I also put a rush on household goods, so you’ll want for nothing. I’ve received word that the place can be handed over tomorrow morning.”

“…I see.”

“Still, it’s taking a while to get the workers ready. We can’t have unvetted people on the property, of course. So for a little while, you’ll have to cook and do the laundry for yourselves—or come here to eat and wash.”

“This area seems to have a lot of wild edible plants, so I, for one, am satisfied.”

“It’s getting cold, Abaddon. The plants won’t be around much longer.”

“Come on, I was joking. Don’t be so serious.”

The topic of conversation was my neighbor and Abaddon’s living arrangements. It seemed they were all set to get moved in. And with Ms. Futarishizuka handling matters, she probably had their new place well secured. There would be no more self-professed former fathers walking in the front door with explosives. That set my mind at ease.

But at the same time, I was growing a little impatient. We have to do something about our next home, too, I thought. It seemed my roommate was thinking the same.

“They appear to be ready to move. What about you?”

“You literally read my mind, Peeps,” I replied.

“Oh, Sasaki,” chimed in Lady Elsa. “I have a proposal for you.”

“What is it?”

“Why don’t you ask Futarishizuka if you can live here with me? There are so many rooms, and I think she’d be fine with the arrangement. And I’d be happy to have someone else to talk to.”

I had considered it. It was comfortable here—more comfortable than anywhere else I could imagine. Plus, we’d get three meals a day, all delicious and fully nutritious, without even having to ask for it. Still, my relationship with Ms. Futarishizuka gave me considerable pause. I wanted to maintain a certain distance between us.

“Come, come, what did she say?” asked Futarishizuka.

“She suggested that we live here as well,” I told her.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind. But only if you promise not to destroy the place. In fact, your sparrow seems fairly well settled in already—sometimes he’ll go around a corner and run right into me like a pane of glass, you know.”

“……”

Peeps sheepishly fell silent.

We were already having Futarishizuka look after Elsa, and I didn’t want to further indebt ourselves to her. Plus, there was no guarantee our current cooperative relationship would last forever. I also got the feeling she was a very influential person, and the idea of living with someone like that intimidated me a little.

“Um, I have a suggestion, mister…”

“What is it?”

“Why don’t you come stay with us?”

“Oh! That’s a great idea!”

Abaddon’s agreement came very quickly, piling on the pressure. He probably wanted to keep anyone who could help fight the angels near at hand. I’d also seen at the inn in Atami that his opinion of Peeps had changed since the incident with the Kraken.

“That really wouldn’t be good for appearances,” I told them. “I’d prefer not to.”

“…I see,” replied my neighbor.

A middle-aged man living with a minor he wasn’t related to? That would be insane. Thanks to my newfound official powers, I doubted I’d be arrested for it, but there was no guaranteeing my status would last forever. It was always possible my relationship with Mr. Akutsu could sour and all the agencies under his thumb would turn on me.

I felt bad about turning down my neighbor’s and Abaddon’s offer, but I wanted to keep my reputation clean for now—at the very least while my own family register still applied. I didn’t want to wind up with an attention-grabbing prior record.

“And I think it’s completely possible to help you two even if we live separately,” I continued.

“Is that so? Living together sounds pretty handy, though,” pointed out Abaddon.

“Depending on the situation, I could have Peeps stay at your place, or something along those lines.”

“I’ve no objections to that arrangement,” the bird agreed.

“Oh—no, that’s really fine,” insisted my neighbor. “We can’t trouble you like that.”

Now that she had backed down, the matter of where Peeps and I would be living next was temporarily shelved. We’d have plenty of time to think about it in the otherworld. I saw a big dog adoption in my future, so if possible, I wanted to look at large single-family homes. Now that I’d left my former job with its unchanging, meager salary, such a thing was no longer a dream. I’d just have to look a little ways out of the city, in the suburbs.

We’d need somewhere to wash our feet after getting back from walks, right beside the entrance. Lots of small windows on the outer walls. A covered porch with good sunlight next to the living room. Even if the yard wasn’t big enough to run around with a dog, we could still have a nice-size lawn to jump and play on together.

Once I started thinking, my mind spun with possibilities. I was overjoyed just imagining it all. But if I wanted to make that fantasy a reality, our business deals in the otherworld would be extremely important.

“By the way, Peeps. About tonight’s plans…”

“We’ve lost a day. Shall we head there early?”

“Yes, exactly. I think we should.”

“Understood. Then off we go.”

It was time to put in the work to achieve my dream multi-pet scenario. After saying good-bye to everyone relaxing in the living room, we headed off for the otherworld for the first time in two days.

After warping out of the Karuizawa villa, we first visited Count Müller like we always did. Since it had been so long since our last visit to this world, I braced myself for bad news. Surprisingly, though, not much had happened. Soon, we slipped into what had recently become our routine: watching Lady Elsa’s video letter and recording the count’s reply.

Prince Lewis, who had been gallivanting about my barony before, had finished his inspection of the fortress on the Rectan Plains and gone home. He’d already departed from Baytrium, the count explained, and would be arriving at the capital any day now.

With that out of the way, we decided to head to my domain. Peeps used his teleportation magic to pop us over, the count included. When we arrived at our usual spot in the sky and looked down, a majestic fortress was there to greet us.

About 80 percent of the surrounding walls had been built. And around those, the space that used to be a sea of tents was now in the process of transforming into a town of stone and wood. The workers seemed to be improving and maintaining the roads at the same time, too; we spotted several stone paths in the vicinity.

“I’m surprised they’ve kept up the lightning-fast pace,” I commented.

“Even I didn’t expect construction to progress this quickly,” agreed Peeps. “I know I’ve said this before, but the magician aiding them must be skilled indeed. The golems’ movements look as sharp as ever.”

“I’ve never heard you give such high praise, Lord Starsage.”

“Julius, can you tell me aught of the caster?”

“They don’t seem to enjoy social calls. I’ve checked on the matter, but I haven’t managed to secure a visit. I don’t wish to force the issue and cause them to leave, however, so I’ve been communicating through others on-site.”

“Would you mind notifying us should you learn anything?”

“No, of course not.”

Count Müller looked happy as he bowed to the sparrow. I see he still loves the “Lord Starsage” as much as ever.

After that, we descended and met up with Mr. French. According to him, no problems of note had cropped up following Prince Lewis’s departure. The only part of the fortress still to be finished were the interior furnishings and decoration, and some of those working on wall and building construction had already been shifted in that direction.

“And following that, sir, I think we’ll have a lot of work on the self-governance front as well.”

“Yes, you’re probably right about that.”

We were chatting in a room inside the fortress—this would be the reception room, but for now we stood. They hadn’t brought in furniture yet, so the place was empty.

“I wanted to discuss that, actually,” I said. “Will you continue to take the lead on the fortress? I’ll visit regularly and bring the decisions you all have made here to those above me for discussion.”

“Excuse me for being rude, sir, but if you leave it all to us, people are going to do whatever they like. Most of them came here voluntarily, so many are pretty attached to the place. And not all of them know you personally, sir.”

That, however, was all according to plan: We wanted them to band together with enough momentum to overpower “Baron Sasaki.”

“I’m sorry to ask,” I said to him, “but could you handle all that as well?”

I remembered saying something very similar before. I started to get embarrassed, recalling how high-and-mighty I’d sounded, proclaiming I’d hand over all authority for territorial development to him. But it seemed he hadn’t thought I’d leave everything to him—worker management and whatnot were one thing, but actual, permanent dominion over my territory? That was the core of a Herzian noble’s right to rule.

However, this was something Peeps and I couldn’t afford to budge on. After all, it was hard to build an organization from the ground up. Rules about official authority and other regulations—like the kind you might have at a company—made my head hurt just thinking about them. And deciding something on the spur of the moment would only lead to failure down the road. Unfortunately, seriously carrying out these duties myself wasn’t suited to the slow, relaxed lifestyle I was after.

This wasn’t a game of pretend where I could simply appoint so-and-so to take charge of this, or what’s his name to be the minister of that, leaving things to those who seemed good at each task. The ones on the ground, the ones who would be affected, were people of another world with a totally different culture and set of values from my own. If I was to try to bring them all together into a single organization, I was confident only that I’d fail. If I could escape all the hard work and anguish by handing over the fortress’s rights and interests to someone else, it was a cheap price to pay.

I casually glanced over at my shoulder and made out a small nod from the sparrow perched there. All right—approval from the politics pro himself!

“A-are you serious, sir?” replied Mr. French. “I can’t see how that benefits you at all! Won’t all the funds that went into this project evaporate if we mess up?”

“You and the others from Baytrium have done all the work developing the Rectan Plains. I had planned to present the fortress to Count Müller from the start. Will you accept it?”

“Sir, I…” Mr. French’s eyes darted between the count and me, his gaze one of sheer disbelief.

In place of the useless Baron Sasaki, the count himself commented on the matter. “If that is your decision, then I will respect it.”

“I’d just like to ask, my lord,” said Mr. French to the count. “Why would you give all this to a commoner like me…?”

“As you know, Baron Sasaki cannot stay at this fortress permanently. I’ve always known I would need someone else to serve in his place. And if he has directly designated you for that job, then I’d rather not voice any objections.”

We hadn’t discussed this beforehand, and yet the count knew exactly what I was going for. And it was a good deal for him, too, having another base between his land and an enemy border.

“But my lord, I’m not a noble. I’m just a chef…”

“I won’t force you to do this,” I told him. “If you’d like to prioritize your own development as a chef, then introduce me to someone else you think would be suitable for the role, and I’ll have this discussion with them instead. Personally, though, I’d be extremely grateful if you were the one to take up the mantle.”

“……”

“And when it comes to funding, I will continue for the time being at the current rate through the Marc Trading Company,” I said, appealing to his wallet to try to win him over.

I felt guilty for putting so much on his shoulders. But I didn’t think it would be all bad for him, in terms of his prospects in the otherworld. If it went well, it could really transform his life. In a few years, he could yield his post, retire early, and pursue that life of relaxation and leisure that Peeps and I were after. In fact, as far as I was concerned, he was more than welcome to indulge in drink and women while still in his post if he so desired. In my opinion, everyone here would benefit from my proposal.

“A-all right, then, sir. I’ll do my best!”

“Thank you for everything, Mr. French.”

“If you should ever find yourself in need, please feel free to pay a visit to my estate,” added the count.

Now that I had Count Müller’s agreement, I felt like a burden had been lifted. My eyes wandered to the reception room window, and through it I saw, in the distance, large dragons flying up toward the sky, out of the big hole Peeps had made. I was glad they seemed happy and full of energy.

It seemed safe to assume that this border fortress project was now fully off my plate.

Once our tasks in the Kingdom of Herz were finished, we headed for the Republic of Lunge. After transporting the goods from Ms. Futarishizuka’s warehouse into the one belonging to the Kepler Trading Company, we went to see Mr. Joseph, product inventory in hand—all routine business for us at this point.

We entered the company’s reception room, then finalized our deal for the day. Money-wise, we made about as much as last time. The unit price for all these goods was extremely low and stable back in modern times, making for safe, easy transactions. In fact, I’d never once had to worry about breaking even.

After our business was completed, Mr. Marc—also present—wanted to discuss something with me.

“The wireless radio you gave us with the last shipment doesn’t seem to be working very well…”

“Are you referring to the larger device located here at the Trading Company headquarters?” I asked.

“Yes. We haven’t been able to reach our office in the kingdom since the other day.”

“In that case, would you mind showing it to me?”

“By all means, please, have a look.”

At his request, we left the reception room and headed to an upper floor of the building. The radio was set up there, owing to Mr. Joseph’s desire to keep the device’s use a secret. The entrance to the room was constantly under guard, and only the three of us were allowed inside. The antenna and generator had been placed on an attached veranda.

In the middle of the room was a desk, and the equipment was laid out atop it. I fiddled with it for a moment; it didn’t seem to be getting any power. A little more messing around didn’t give me the answers I wanted, so I excused myself and went back to modern times, then grabbed a replacement device of the same model and brought it to them. I’d anticipated this sort of issue, so I had several extra machines stocked in Ms. Futarishizuka’s warehouse, all of which were already set up; I’d just taken one of those.

After swapping out the radios, the new machine powered up easily. A short while later, Mr. Marc tried communicating with the kingdom again at their regular time. They had no problems, and they were able to exchange information just fine. The quality of their voices was about the same as before.

Once the transmission had finished, Mr. Marc bowed to me. “I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Sasaki. I seem to have misused it and broken it…”

“This sort of thing actually happens a lot,” I assured him. “Don’t be too worried about it.” It could have been a manufacturing defect, given how quickly it had broken down after I’d given it to them.

In the meantime, Mr. Joseph asked me a question as well. “I don’t mean to be rude, but are these machines truly so easy to replace? It was much the same with the transceivers—and from what I can see, this device looks nearly identical in construction to the last.”

“I brought a couple of spares with me,” I explained.

“How many, exactly?”

“You could count them on one hand. But even if they’re all defective, I have more in stock. I expected some issues to occur, so you need only say the word and I can replace it for you.”

“Oh! That would be wonderful.”

Just to be sure, I decided to ask Ms. Futarishizuka about the broken machine when I returned to Japan.

Peeps and I stayed the night in Lunge, receiving the same luxurious treatment as always thanks to the Kepler Trading Company. The next day, once they’d confirmed the products we’d brought, the money changed hands and our job was over. Mr. Marc and Mr. Joseph saw us off, and we returned to the town of Baytrium.

There, we stayed in our usual posh lodgings for several days. Sitting on the sofa in the inn’s living room, I talked things over with Peeps.

“It seems this trip, at least, has gone by without any trouble,” he commented.

“I wish it could be like this every time,” I said.

“I suppose the only problem is that the head chef at our eatery of choice is currently absent from the kitchen.”

“Sorry. I didn’t really consult you on that one.”

“No need to apologize. This is doubtless a major promotion for him. He’s allowed us to dine on plenty of delicious morsels in the past, and I’ve always intended to repay him.”

“His restaurant is still open for business. Would you like to go take a look?”

“Yes, that sounds nice.”

For several days after that, Peeps tutored me in magic. This time I put all my efforts into learning the going-to-work spell. I’d convinced the sparrow that because I’d learned that one laser beam spell—which was considered above advanced level—that I could probably learn another of similar difficulty. Unfortunately, even as our final day in the otherworld rolled around, I still wasn’t able to produce any results.

Keep at it, slow and steady were my teacher’s last words on the matter.

(The Neighbor’s POV)

The day after the wake, Futarishizuka brings Abaddon and me to our new home. It’s just a few minutes away from her villa on foot. I read in a book at the school library that Karuizawa is known across Japan for such villas, but this is my first time actually walking around the place. The area is sparsely developed, as if the homes are hiding amid the mountain trees and foliage. It’s such an incredible difference from the city. There, it’s so cramped you can often reach out your window and touch the next building over.

Our new home itself is gorgeous, too. While smaller than Futarishizuka’s mansion, it’s on a completely different level from my burned-down apartment. That whole complex could have fit inside it. The ground floor alone must be over three hundred square meters, and it has two entire stories.

Standing in front of the entrance, we chat briefly.

“Now this is what I call a mansion.”

“It was just about to go on the market,” Futarishizuka explains. “Until around a decade ago, properties like these were sold privately, but that’s gotten more difficult these days. This one was about to go public next month, but I swung in and grabbed it for dirt cheap.”

“Are Abaddon and I the only ones who will live here?” I ask.

“Complaining, are we, dear?”

“I’m not complaining. It just seems too big for two people.”

“Unfortunately, anywhere else would have been farther from my place.”

“Come on, just look at it. I, for one, am a big fan.”

“I’ll send over the workers you’ll need to maintain the place as soon as I procure them,” Futarishizuka tells me. “It’ll be more lively with more people, I’m sure. In fact, I could always send you a good-looking live-in male prostitute or two.”

“I’ll accept help with the chores, but not the rest of what you said.”

“Really? You and that man both—so young, and yet so staid when it comes to such things.”

She’s probably referring to my neighbor. I can’t help but agree with her there—he could afford to be a little more honest about his sexual urges, couldn’t he? We parted ways with him last night at Futarishizuka’s villa, and he told me he was going back to the hotel he’d rented near our ruined apartments. His talking sparrow was with him—they did tend to stick together.

Just to be sure, I ask Futarishizuka to send him our plans for the day.

“Well, there’s no point standing out here,” she says. “Why don’t we go have a look inside?”

“All right.”

We follow her through the mansion’s front entrance, which feels to me like the lobby of a hotel. There’s a shoe rack inside, but it’s so big I can’t tell how many people’s worth of shoes it’s supposed to fit. The entrance alone is about the size of my last place’s main room. If you include the hall extending out from it, it would be bigger than the whole apartment, kitchen and bathroom included.

“What’s the layout like?” asks Abaddon.

“They tell me it’s a seven-bedroom with a living room, dining room, and kitchen. It has a lower level, too, apparently.”

“Seven bedrooms in one house?” I reply. “What are we supposed to do with all of them?”

“Oh, all sorts of things. You could invite guests over or keep a few lovers around. Whatever you like, really.”

“……”

We go down the hallway and eventually find ourselves in the living room. It’s shockingly large. It has to be almost fifty square meters. Just looking at it sets me ill at ease; I feel like I’m standing in the middle of a public place—like I’m at school or something. I doubt I’ll be able to feel at home in here.

I can see expensive-looking furniture all over the room. The sofa, for example, isn’t something you’d ever see in a regular house—it’s so big you’d probably struggle just to carry it in. I wonder how many years’ worth of school meals you could buy with only the price of that one item.

A grand fireplace sits in the corner, just like in Futarishizuka’s villa. I guess it’s something all the mansions in Karuizawa have. It’s a real one, too, set up to burn actual firewood for warmth, rather than one of those fakes made to look like the real thing. Plenty of fuel already sits next to it.

“This mansion is incredible, right?!”

“It really is, though I hate having to agree with Abaddon on anything,” I reply. “This fancy a place will be wasted on us. Is it really okay to live here? Like I said before, I won’t be able to repay you for some time.”

“I have high hopes for you two,” answers Futarishizuka. “Consider it an advance investment.”

“You heard her, Abaddon.”

“As long as you give me the order, I’ll do anything—with flair.”

“Incidentally, would there happen to be any angels or their Disciples set up nearby?” asks Futarishizuka. “That fellow finally has some time to spare, so I think we should launch right into eliminating them.”

“I agree. The two of them are extremely powerful. They’ll prove a force to be reckoned with inside the isolated spaces, too. The idea of joining forces and lashing out with a first strike in our new home is very attractive, indeed.”

“I don’t like how we keep asking more and more of him,” I complain.

“I very much doubt he’d say no if you asked, dear,” says Futarishizuka.

“No, I’m the one who doesn’t like it…”

“So you don’t like him, hmm?”

“That isn’t what I’m saying.”

I just don’t want him to end up hating me over something so stupid.

Winning the proxy war means a lot to both Abaddon and Futarishizuka, albeit for different reasons. But if he starts hating me as a result, there’s no point in it for me. In fact, if that happens, I’d rather have not formed the contract with Abaddon at all and had my mother’s boyfriend rape me.

“Based on my conversations with him, I think taking the initiative and going after him will yield the best results. What about you? If you don’t hate him, I think it’s fine to ask for his help.”

And now Abaddon is bringing up my true motives despite Futarishizuka’s presence. He isn’t a demon for nothing, I think. He sure knows how to take advantage of people.

“You may think it’s fine, but I don’t,” I say.

Even though I used my reward from the proxy war to rouse my neighbor’s lust with demonic power, he ultimately backed away from me. I doubt it’ll be easy to get my feelings through to him. I need something else—something that will appeal to his core. If it’s only surface level, like getting him drunk, he’ll flee instantly.

According to the many books I read in the school library, when a woman pursues a man, it’s all too easy for the man to make a mistake. Japanese literature, at least, is full of such scenes. So why hasn’t he done anything with me?

I must be lacking something, I think. I’m not good enough somehow.

“Abaddon,” I say, “we haven’t been able to show that it would be worth it for him.”

“When you put it like that, I have to agree with you.”

“Whatever we end up deciding, the first thing we need to do is figure out what he wants.”

Sometimes it seems like I know everything about him, but there’s still so much I don’t understand. I think that’s the best angle to approach from for now.

The demon doesn’t object.

While we’re talking, an upbeat melody suddenly begins to play; it sounds like it’s coming from Futarishizuka’s inside pocket. We watch as her small hand takes out her personal phone, which I remember seeing several times in the past.

“Speak of the devil, eh?” she says. “And I don’t mean you.”

“Is it him?” I ask.

“Mm-hmm. Excuse me for a moment.”

Apparently, it’s a call from my neighbor. Futarishizuka politely notifies us before picking up.

“Hello there. What is it?”

That’s a very familiar way of opening a phone conversation—and it makes me suddenly think of something.

Have the two of them already crossed that line?

If so, then his reticent attitude toward me would make sense. He’s an honest and sincere man. If he wants to remain faithful to her, he’ll never give his heart to another woman, even if they’re not actually dating.

“Where are you right now?” she asks.

But that would cause a problem for me. The two of us were made for each other—we were both supposed to have nothing else. And yet, right now, he feels so far away.

“You’re here? You can just come in, you know. The door’s unlocked. Yes, yes, the door in the front of the building. Go straight down the hallway and you’ll come to the living room. No, just come in; it’s fine.”

After this rapid-fire explanation, Futarishizuka takes the phone away from her ear. Apparently, he got her earlier message and has come back.

“Very handy to be within walking distance, isn’t it, dear?” Futarishizuka says boastfully as she puts away the phone.

“You’re very right about that.”

I hear someone approaching the living room from the front entrance, and I decide to pop the question right then and there. “Ms. Futarishizuka, there’s something I want to ask while I have the chance.”

“What is it?”

“You seem very close with him. Are the two of you in a real relationship?”

“Oh? That’s your question? And you want to know right here, right now?”

“Is it something you can’t tell me?”

Her silly, lighthearted tone of voice doesn’t give me any sense of what the answer is. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was a little kid horsing around. But she’s apparently a lot older than even my grandmother, so it seems much more like she’s trying to distract me.

“Are men like that your type, dear?”

“I just want to know the truth.”

If he found out about my feelings only to reject me, I’d be sad—I might go crazy. Futarishizuka might have already caught on, but I don’t want to openly confirm her suspicions. And considering my relationship with Abaddon, she’s probably guessed at least that much.

“You know,” she begins, “despite how he looks, he is quite big.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” she continues jovially, “and my own tiny little hole is just too—”

“Would you mind not judging something you’ve never seen?” interrupts a voice from the living room’s entrance. The footsteps I heard in the hallway were indeed my neighbor’s—he’s here.

“Oh, you arrived so quickly,” says Futarishizuka.

“I only went through the door and down the hallway like you told me to,” he replies.

Thank goodness, I think. They haven’t gone that far yet. I can tell from the sour look on his face as he watches Futarishizuka and his displeased remark that she was just bullshitting me. I am curious about his size, but confirming those details can wait.

“One grand mansion after another,” he comments. “And nobody was using this?”

“Yes, it is grand, isn’t it? Luckily, it was unoccupied and being sold privately.”

I consider additional possibilities. What about his other colleague, the makeup woman? I have suspicions about the magical girl, too, but age-wise, that doesn’t make much sense.

As I mull it over, Abaddon comes over and whispers into my ear. “You’re not going to ask this same question of every single one of them, are you?”

“This is really important to me, Abaddon.”

“Wow, you’re really going for it, huh?”

Going for it? My relationship with him is more important to me than anything else in my life. By all rights, he should have already dragged me to his room and done all sorts of things to me. But a bunch of strange people keep popping up from who knows where and getting in the way, and now we’re here.

Every time I see the bird on his shoulder, it makes me jealous. I want to be touching him twenty-four seven, too—I want it from the bottom of my soul.

“By the way, Ms. Futarishizuka,” he says, “there’s something else I need to talk to you about, if you have time.”

“What is it?”

“The people at Atsugi Base contacted the bureau to thank us for our help with the Kraken incident.”

Work again? I think. His tone is familiar, and hearing it disappoints me. I thought he said yesterday that he’d be on vacation for a while.

After returning from the otherworld to our hotel in modern times, I checked my phone. Mr. Akutsu had said we would be off for a while, so I doubted I’d have any messages of importance. But then I noticed a missed call and a text notification. My personal phone had a new message, too.

The call was from a number I didn’t recognize. The two text messages were from Mr. Akutsu and Ms. Futarishizuka respectively. The former had gone to my company phone, the latter to my personal one.

The message from my boss was telling me that the unknown caller was from the JMSDF in Atsugi. Apparently, Mr. Yoshikawa had contacted the chief wanting to thank us. Mr. Akutsu’s message said I was free to talk to them on my own.

The one from Ms. Futarishizuka had to do with that day’s schedule. She’d finished getting my neighbor and Abaddon’s new home ready and let me know they’d be heading there to see it first thing in the morning. The message also included a link that brought up the house’s location on my phone. And I did want to get Ms. Futarishizuka’s opinion on the Atsugi matter.

“You seem lost in thought. Is there some problem?” asked Peeps.

“No, no problem,” I replied. “But I might need to go out for a bit.”

“If there’s anything I can do while you’re gone, feel free to let me know.”

“Thanks, Peeps. Could you teleport me somewhere?”

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

What a considerate and kindhearted sparrow he is, I thought, checking the time on my phone. Not long had passed since Ms. Futarishizuka’s message, so I decided to start by tracking her down. Leaving my company phone on the desk, I waited as Peeps used his teleportation magic to warp me to the Karuizawa villa.

From there, I headed for my neighbor’s new home on foot. Walking down the mountain paths weaving between mansions this early in the day felt like the epitome of luxury. I was smack-dab in the middle of nature, far away from the congested streets and fully packed trains of the city. The air was so crisp and clean it almost made me worry that I’d have to pay for each deep breath I took.

I walked for a few minutes, then once I’d arrived in front of the magnificent mansion, I called up its owner. She instructed me to come right in. At her insistence, I passed through the entranceway and set foot inside the building. As I took off my shoes, I heard voices from farther in. They belonged to my neighbor and Ms. Futarishizuka.

I walked down the hallway, making sure my footsteps would be heard, and came to a huge living area, just as Futarishizuka had described. She and my neighbor were standing in the middle of the room, with Abaddon floating in the air nearby.

“You seem very close with him. Are the two of you in a real relationship?”

“Oh? That’s your question? And you want to know right here, right now?”

“Is it something you can’t tell me?”

“Are men like that your type, dear?”

“I just want to know the truth.”

“You know, despite how he looks, he is quite big.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and my own tiny little hole is just too—”

Ms. Futarishizuka sounded like she was spinning a tall tale for my neighbor. Anyone who knew her personality would have taken her comments as a joke, but my neighbor had only met her recently. Considering the dubious looks I’d already begun to receive whenever I was out in public, I wanted to make sure to deny her remarks outright.

“Would you mind not judging something you’ve never seen?” I said.

“Oh, you arrived so quickly,” she remarked.

“I only went through the door and down the hallway like you told me to,” I replied, looking around at the living room as the two of them walked over. The interior decoration was just as gorgeous as the building’s outward appearance. “One grand mansion after another. And nobody was using this?”

“Yes, it is grand, isn’t it? Luckily, it was unoccupied and being sold privately.”

Next to us, my neighbor and Abaddon started whispering to each other. I’d heard it said that adolescents were sometimes prone to moral fastidiousness. I wondered if we adults were having too vulgar and dirty a conversation for her—especially since one of us was a middle-aged man. I had zero clue what a girl her age could possibly be thinking about.

As she continued to watch me, I started to feel guilty, despite not having done anything wrong. So this useless adult decided to change the topic to business.

“By the way, Ms. Futarishizuka,” I said, “there’s something else I need to talk to you about, if you have time.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“The people at Atsugi Base contacted the bureau to thank us for our help with the Kraken incident,” I explained.

“Really? Well, I wonder if that blue magical girl is involved.”

“The message I received from Mr. Akutsu didn’t say. The base called me directly, but we were away at the time, so I missed it. I wanted to get your opinion before calling them back.”

“Well, I’d certainly like to know what this is all about.”

“All right.”

If they wanted to thank us for our help with the Kraken, it would only be right to talk to Miss Hoshizaki and my neighbor as well. In fact, the chief had specifically asked me to pass the news on to my coworker.

What about my neighbor, then? I wondered. We hadn’t told the boss anything about the proxy war. Naturally, we hadn’t mentioned my neighbor or isolated spaces in any of our reports, either. And neither she nor Abaddon were there during the incident out at sea.

Since the people at Atsugi Base had never seen her before, they’d probably get confused. But that didn’t change the fact that she had contributed to the Kraken’s downfall. What to do?

“Do you have more work, mister?”

“It probably falls into that category, yes,” I told her. “It looks like we’ll have to talk with another organization about the business you and Abaddon helped with, but we’re not sure exactly who called us.”

“In that case, Abaddon and I will stay here and wait.”

“Are you sure? This smells of a reward.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want to cause him any trouble.”

“Oh, what a good girl you are,” commented Ms. Futarishizuka in that grandmotherly tone of hers.

I found myself agreeing. She really is a good girl. I hoped she would continue to grow into an honest, upright individual.

“You know,” Ms. Futarishizuka said to me, “if you want a wife, a reserved, modest girl like her would be perfect.”

“Look, I don’t mind if you’re rude with me, but don’t be rude to her.”

“…I didn’t think I was being rude.”

“I’m sorry for always asking so much of you,” I told my neighbor. “Ms. Futarishizuka will be looking after you from now on, so you’ll have a lot more freedom than before. She’s been helping me quite a bit lately as well. I really can’t thank her enough.”

In my neighbor’s eyes, I was in a dubious position—the guy next door who had been giving her food since she was little. Plus, I was familiar with the owner of this mansion. The balance of power between us had settled with her one-sidedly in my debt.

In that sense, it was the perfect time to tag in Ms. Futarishizuka. I could use my neighbor’s move as an excuse to put some distance between us. I figured she’d be fine if Abaddon was with her. And Peeps and I had to start a new life in a new home ourselves.

I looked at the mansion again, suddenly longing to live in a proper house with a big dog. And if it was in a resort area, I could probably even set up a little dog park in the yard. I wished there was a spell to magically create the home of my dreams.

Karuizawa might be asking too much, I thought, but what about Atami? It had been so pleasant when we visited the other day. Actually, what if I moved way out to Okinawa or something? That should be more than possible with Peeps’s magic. Every day would be a vacation. I was getting excited just thinking about it.

“Then I suppose the two of us will just head there alone,” said Ms. Futarishizuka.

“All right, then,” I said.

“But could we take a quick look around first?” she asked.

“Sure. Would you mind if I joined you?”

“Of course not. And I doubt the child would say no.”

“Oh, yes,” I said, turning to my neighbor. “I’m sorry for suddenly barging in like this.”

“No,” she replied. “Um, I really don’t mind it at all, so…”

With my neighbor’s permission to view the mansion now secured, it was a perfect chance to get a look at an ideal home. It’ll give me some good ideas for what my new place should look like.

We spent a little under an hour viewing my neighbor’s new home in Karuizawa. After that, we parted ways, and Futarishizuka and I headed to the hotel near my old apartment—using Peeps’s magic, as planned. From there, we got into Ms. Futarishizuka’s car and went to Miss Hoshizaki’s school.

Per the section chief’s orders, my senior colleague was there, hard at work. We picked her up out front, then headed to Atsugi Base together.

Since she’d been at school, she was dressed like a student. She’d donned her uniform, lost the thick makeup, and wore a pair of glasses. Through the rearview mirror, she came off as a bookworm who would look most at home in a library. But every word that came out of her mouth was exactly what I’d come to expect from my senior.

“Hey, Sasaki, there’s something I’ve been wondering about for a while,” she remarked.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Do you always use Futarishizuka as your chauffeur?”

Her question came as she made a big motion out of crossing her legs, despite wearing a skirt. The gap between this gesture and her pure, quiet appearance was immense.

The girl in the driver’s seat next to me commented, “You’re very sharp, you know that? Tell him off some more!”

“I thought so,” replied Miss Hoshizaki.

“I do have a license,” I told her. “But I never drove after getting one. We’ll almost certainly crash immediately if I take the wheel. I do feel bad for burdening Ms. Futarishizuka lately, though…”

“Argh!” groaned the driver. “Quit your rambling. You’re just making excuses.”

“I didn’t think it was that hard to drive a car,” Miss Hoshizaki pointed out.

“You’re right! In fact, you should give it a try!” said Ms. Futarishizuka, sounding like she’d just had an epiphany. “I’m sure you’re only being lazy.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” I protested.

She parked the car on the shoulder, and no sooner had we stopped than she got out and walked to the passenger’s side. I had no idea when she’d unlocked it, but I watched as the door opened from the outside and her little hand grabbed my wrist. She proceeded to tug on me, trying to drag me out.

“Come, come! Out of the car with you.”

“I’m telling you, I can’t!”

“This might be the first time I’ve seen you so desperate,” remarked Miss Hoshizaki.

Ms. Futarishizuka seemed to be serious about handing over the wheel—she pulled on me so hard it hurt. I couldn’t do much against her inhuman arm strength, so I gave up and undid my seatbelt before following her around the car and settling into the driver’s seat.

“Please don’t blame me if we get into an accident, all right?” I pleaded.

“It’s not like it’s a manual,” she replied. “Now stop complaining and get us on the road.”

“…Well, okay.”

I called to mind what general information I could remember about how to drive a car. First, I disengaged the parking brake, then put my hands on the steering wheel. But as I was about to switch on my turn signal, I found I couldn’t remember how. After puzzling over it for a moment or two, I fiddled with the lever to see what happened, only for the windshield wipers to start swiping back and forth.

“You did that on purpose,” complained Ms. Futarishizuka. “That’s so cliché.”

“I would never,” I assured her.

I touched the lever again and this time got the turn signal blinking. After checking behind me to see if it was safe and confirming there was nobody there, I carefully pressed down on the accelerator with my foot.

In response, the car rumbled to a start. I got a little emotional—I couldn’t remember driving a car even once since graduating driving school. Huh, so this is how cars move…, I mused, feeling weirdly impressed. A moment later, I realized something: If I got a house in the suburbs, I’d need to start driving.

And if I adopted a big dog, if I ever had to bring it to the vet, I couldn’t exactly carry it all the way there. I’d heard that golden retrievers weighed thirty kilos or so. I’d need a car for that. And when I thought about going for a drive with a pet dog, well… That sounds so wonderful.

Maybe this would be a good chance to practice.

After going straight for a little bit, we came to an intersection. I tapped the brake to slow us down, then followed the GPS and tried to make a left turn.

“Hey, there’s a bike crossing!” Futarishizuka cried.

“Huh?! Oh, uh, sorry, sorry!”

I’d been so focused on the steering wheel and using the turn signal that I forgot to check my side mirror. Panicking, I swung the wheel the other way. My right foot, moving purely on reflex, stepped on the accelerator.

“Nuwooohhhhhh!”

“H-hey! Sasaki?!”

The engine roared. I felt the back of the car start to slide. The vehicle turned as if to make a right at the intersection, and by pure coincidence, we managed to evade a car coming at us down the opposite lane. We almost hit someone trying to cross at the light, and we were now headed in the opposite direction from what the GPS had said.

Ms. Futarishizuka wasted no time reaching over with her leg, hitting the brake and causing the car to come to a screeching halt.

After the sudden stop, the vehicle went silent. The surprised gulp I made rang very loudly in my ears.

Eventually, Ms. Futarishizuka glared at me. “What the heck was that?” she demanded. “Were you showing off your driving skills or something? Are you trying to aggravate me?”

“I’m really, really sorry. I was so focused on steering that I forgot to check my side mirror.”

“It was clearly a little more than just that!”

“And then I was so focused on avoiding the bike that—”

“None of that could possibly have led to this!”

I quickly checked outside the window. Thankfully, nobody seemed injured, and I sighed in relief.

“Futarishizuka,” said Miss Hoshizaki, “I think Sasaki’s telling the truth here.”

“Grrrrr…”

Trying to show off my driving skills? I thought. Are you kidding? If one single thing had gone wrong, someone could have died. As that reality sank in, I felt a chill crawl down my spine. Driving was terrifying. Just a little bit of inattentiveness could lead to a huge accident. How did most of the world’s people do this so comfortably and naturally when it was so dangerous? It seemed just as strange to me as the otherworld’s magic. Even moving the car a tiny bit involved so many little tasks. Did you just have to get used to it?

“I’ll find some free time soon to practice driving. I know I’m asking for a lot, Ms. Futarishizuka, but would you mind waiting a little longer for me to build up my skills? I’m thinking of attending some classes for people in my position—who got their license, then never drove.”

“Ugh. Fine, I’ll keep being your stupid personal driver for a while.”

“I’m really sorry. I’ll try to resolve the situation as soon as possible.”

“I can’t exactly force you if people are going to wind up dead.” Ms. Futarishizuka sighed in exasperation before trading places with me.

Once she was in firm control of the steering wheel again, we continued our journey to Atsugi Base.

With the correct person back in the driver’s seat, we had a nice, safe drive, eventually arriving at our destination. We climbed out of the car and headed into the office building of Fleet Air Wing 4, which we’d visited just the other day. There to greet us and show us into the facility was Miss Inukai, the now-familiar executive SDF officer from the Kraken incident, taking up the same role she’d had back then.

We followed her into the building’s reception room; Mr. Yoshikawa was already there. Two others were present as well, neither of whom I knew.

One of them was someone I’d seen from afar during the business with the Kraken, though: the blue magical girl. Just like the magical homeless girl I knew, this one wore something straight out of a children’s anime. Basically, it was a quintessential magical girl outfit, absolutely covered in frills and flowy fabric. The design itself was somewhat different from the pink one I was used to, but I could sense an underlying theme linking them together. In contrast to the girl based in Japan and her mostly pink clothes, this girl wore mostly blue. And that wasn’t just true of her clothing, either, but her hair as well. Her alien hair color was just as eye-catching as her outfit.

Next to her sat a large Caucasian man. He looked like he was in his midforties, with chiseled features. The way his small face contrasted with the size of his body made me very envious. And with his Ivy League haircut, blond hair, and striking blue eyes, he was quite an attractive middle-aged man.

He wore the military uniform of another country—one I remembered seeing on the news and in movies. A jumbled mess of badges adorned his left breast, but I didn’t know what any of them referred to. The only thing I could glean was that, from the eagle mark on his shoulder, he must be a captain, the equivalent rank to Mr. Yoshikawa, who was a JMSDF captain.

They’d already positioned themselves on one of the two sofas in the center of the room, with the magical girl and Mr. Yoshikawa on either side of the Caucasian man. But they each stood up at once as we entered the room. I heard Ms. Inukai shut the door behind us.

“Thank you all for coming,” said Mr. Yoshikawa, greeting us before anyone else.

At his urging, we lined up in front of the sofa across from them, the low table in between us. The other group remained standing, so we followed suit. Our ordering was no different from the meetings we had at the bureau, with Ms. Futarishizuka on one side of me and Miss Hoshizaki on the other.

“My name is Captain Mason. I’m stationed over at Yokota,” said the Caucasian man, quickly extending a very large, rugged-looking arm. I assumed he was looking for a handshake.

“I am Futarishizuka. This man here is Sasaki, and the girl is Hoshizaki. As you may have already heard from the officer next to you, we’re not affiliated with this base or the military in any way, so I’d appreciate it if you could treat us essentially as civilians.”

“All right,” he replied. “In that case, I’ll dispense with the formalities.”

“I appreciate it.”

Ms. Futarishizuka took the lead, grasping the man’s hand. At the exact moment they touched, for the briefest instant, I thought I saw the man shiver slightly. He was probably aware of her psychic power. He obviously knew about magical girls, so I assumed he also knew about psychics. Though her hand looked even smaller than usual against his large palm, if she so much as squeezed her fingers, his bones would break under the pressure. I couldn’t blame him for the reaction.

“U-umm, umm…,” stammered Miss Hoshizaki from her spot by my side. I glanced over; she was clearly panicking.

I was, too. Very much so, in fact. After all, the two of them were speaking English to each other. The only thing I could make out from their exchange was our names. Miss Hoshizaki was a minor, so that was understandable, but a man my age, flustered because he was unable to talk? That was the opposite of cool. Ms. Futarishizuka, on the other hand, sounded incredibly fluent.

Mr. Yoshikawa and Ms. Inukai had directed their attention to us as well. I felt sweat begin to roll down my back.

“What about the other two?” asked the man. “Is there some sort of problem? Are they not feeling well?”

“Oh, them?” replied Ms. Futarishizuka. “They’re not on top of their English skills, but I can serve as their interpreter.”

Ms. Futarishizuka’s attention shifted from the man to us, a smirk on her face. “Come, now, and introduce yourselves. I promise I’ll interpret properly for you.”

“…Thank you, Ms. Futarishizuka,” I replied, giving a short self-introduction in Japanese. Once mine was over, Miss Hoshizaki did the same.

Our colleague then converted our words into English and conveyed them to the man. Thanks to her, we were able to exchange handshakes.

While I could make out a familiar phrase here and there, on the whole, I had no idea what either of them was saying. Futarishizuka had total control over the conversation. I wondered how things would have gone if she hadn’t been here. I recalled a meeting I’d once had with foreign investors at my former job. I’d had to rely on a senior colleague who knew English then, too; I remembered sitting still and silent next to him. After returning to the office, I’d decided to take lessons, but it didn’t last even six months. I mean, I hardly ever need to use it.

“This is our country’s magical girl, First Lieutenant Ivy,” continued the man.

“My name’s Ivy!” the girl said. “Pleased to meet you. Thanks so much for getting us out of trouble the other day! I hear that without your help, that horrible monster would have eaten me. I’m really, really grateful.”

“It’s nothing,” replied Ms. Futarishizuka. “We have to watch out for one another in times of need, after all.”

Once introductions were over, we all settled down on the sofas. Eventually, Ms. Futarishizuka fell into a rhythm where she would first provide a short answer to the other side’s questions, then interpret it for the rest of us and let Miss Hoshizaki and me respond. Then she would interpret our words into English.

“I must say,” remarked Ms. Futarishizuka, “you are significantly more polite than our magical girl.”

“First Lieutenant Ivy may be young, but she is extremely talented,” replied Captain Mason. “We have high hopes for her.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Mason! I’ll do my best to serve my country!”

“My! Aren’t you full of energy?”

The bulk of the conversation occurred between Ms. Futarishizuka and Captain Mason. I felt bad troubling her—and found myself saying less and less. Miss Hoshizaki was the same. She seemed to be losing energy throughout, though she kept herself sitting up straight. That, plus her school uniform and lack of makeup, made her come across as very reserved.

“And you’re already an officer at such a young age?” continued Ms. Futarishizuka. “I look forward to seeing where you go from here.”

“Apparently I needed the rank in order to work alongside the soldiers,” the magical girl explained.

“Oh, I see.”

“We’d like her to continue working with us in the future,” interjected the captain.

Magical Blue’s high rank, at odds with her appearance, had probably been conferred in anticipation of her assistance with incidents such as that involving the Kraken. I had some thoughts about their willingness to deploy children in violent situations, but that was their business, so I didn’t comment on it.

As the conversation progressed, our own magical girl—Magical Pink—came up.

“Futarishizuka, where might your country’s magical girl be?” asked Mason.

“Ours? She has a bit of childhood trauma, you might say. She shows up from time to time, but we never know where she is. In fact, I should think that girl might have a better read on her, no?”

“I don’t know where she is, either,” said Ivy. “I’m sorry.”

If our colleague’s interpretation was to be believed, she and they were trading harmless conversation as a kind of extended self-introduction. They asked Miss Hoshizaki and me about our job at the bureau, our positions, and things like that.

Thirty or forty minutes passed before Captain Mason broached a new subject.

“By the way, Futarishizuka, I have a suggestion, and I hope you can interpret it accurately.”

“What’s that?”

The captain seemed more serious now than before, causing the rest of us to straighten up again. I still had no idea what he was saying, but that was all the more reason to at least match his body language.

“I would like to invite the three of you to become psychics for our country.”

“Oh?”

“As for the conditions, I can promise you three million at the lowest. And you can assume that number will increase, depending on how well you work. That Kraken survived a direct nuclear attack, and you three eliminated it in secret. Our country thinks very highly of you.”

“If you intend to find out what happened behind the scenes, then three million seems a tad low.”

“I understand. I’ll discuss it with my superiors.”

After speaking to the captain, Ms. Futarishizuka’s attention shifted to the side. Miss Hoshizaki and I waited for her translation.

“He’s offering us a salary of three million to come over to their side.”

“Is he for real?” asked Miss Hoshizaki incredulously. “He thinks he can pluck away a few psychics for that little?”

This was one of the things I’d considered beforehand. We’d gotten an invitation from the nerd just the other day. “Miss Hoshizaki, I believe he’s suggesting a dollar amount, not yen,” I told her softly to calm her before she went into a frenzy.

“Huh…?” Her expression stiffened. She was probably adding those extra two zeroes onto the number—the approximate exchange rate at the moment. “Wait, so then that’s… Three hundred… Three hundred million…”

“Just like a professional baseball player, eh?” Ms. Futarishizuka remarked.

Our pay at the bureau was certainly nothing to scoff at—at least, not from the point of view of a former run-of-the-mill office worker like myself. But the number the captain had just given us was an order of magnitude higher than that. For Miss Hoshizaki, who lived to make money, this was a difficult proposal to reject outright. A moment later, she turned and stared at the man, shock evident on her face. As her junior colleague, this worried me. Someone’s going to take advantage of her if she keeps that up.

But what about me? I couldn’t accurately gauge the risk from Mr. Akutsu, but we were getting along pretty well at the moment, and I’d secured a degree of freedom in the workplace. Doing so again somewhere new would mean more struggles.

It wasn’t clear how far Ms. Futarishizuka’s finances or connections would get her in a new country, either. And now that my business in the otherworld was predicated on her cooperation, losing all that would sting.

Plus, I wouldn’t understand the local language. With all that in mind, leaving Japan seemed out of the question.

As for my finances, I’d earned more than enough from my dealings with the otherworld. The captain’s offer was, as I saw it, less than what I’d make in a year here. Pay-wise, I’d actually be taking a big hit.

“Tell him that we’re sorry, but we politely refuse.”

“Yes, agreed,” said Ms. Futarishizuka without skipping a beat.

Miss Hoshizaki, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure. “W-wait, Sasaki, shouldn’t we at least think about it?”

“What they want isn’t our strength as psychics, but information on how we defeated the Kraken. If we were to switch over and they decided we weren’t useful, they’d probably dismiss us immediately.”

“Oh… I guess that’s another way to look at it, huh?”

Happily, it seemed I had persuaded her. Ms. Futarishizuka proceeded to convey our refusal to the captain.

He backed off without any further attempts; maybe he’d seen this coming. Whatever our true identities, on the surface, we were government employees. Nearby, two of those entrusted with Japan’s defense—Mr. Yoshikawa and Miss Inukai—were watching us closely. This invitation was probably only meant to sound us out. I bet they’ll be approaching Miss Hoshizaki again in the coming days.

“Any incoming medals or awards aside,” said the captain, “you saved one of ours, and our gratitude for that is sincere. If you ever need assistance in the future, we would be happy to provide it.”

“Oh! I’m very happy to hear that,” replied Ms. Futarishizuka, breaking into a smile.

Once she’d explained her reaction to Miss Hoshizaki and me, the meeting came to an end. Ms. Futarishizuka and Mr. Yoshikawa were both of the opinion that we’d just received a very substantial thank-you gift, considering the captain’s position.

I didn’t know much about the subtleties of the world, so I simply decided to accept it.

With our meeting at Atsugi Base over, we got back on the road and headed home.

“Sasaki, I just realized something,” said Miss Hoshizaki, sitting alone in the back seat.

“What is it?” I asked. We’d just finished discussing the events at the base a few minutes ago. I glanced at her through the rearview mirror; she had a somewhat difficult look on her face. Maybe she was uncomfortable with the silence in the car.

“Just taking classes at school won’t be enough for me to learn to speak English.”

This was a topic I knew well. Every Japanese person had that realization at some point, and it usually made us give up on the language entirely. Our brains just weren’t wired to speak English.

“Unless I’m using it every day, it doesn’t matter how many hours I put in studying at a desk, does it?” she pointed out. “I can write down all the notes I want, but none of it will matter if I can’t make out the words and phrases someone’s saying!”

“Yes, I agree with you there,” I replied. It was a very simple concept, but Japanese people tended to have trouble realizing it. And even when we did, we’d still pick up our pens and open our notebooks and textbooks anyway. Because that was how studying worked for us—that was how to get good test scores.

“Right? Then we should practice English together, Sasaki.”

“What?”

“Let’s use the bureau conference room every day from now on to have English conversation sessions.”

It must have really pained her to be unable to participate in the meeting earlier. And it wasn’t hard to imagine how much she longed for that three-hundred-million-yen contract.

And so she’d landed on English study sessions. Judging by the way she was talking, she was probably also angling for extra overtime pay—like an office worker who never punched out and instead studied for certification exams in secret from their boss.

“I believe we’re on vacation,” I pointed out.

“Mgh… Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

But her suggestion had really hit me where it hurt—at this point, I’d tried and failed to learn the language more than a few times. And I was fully aware of the need to study English, considering the likelihood of similar conversations in the future. Having a buddy striving for the same goal would help keep up my motivation, too. It would be very beneficial.

“Then let’s do it at my place during the break instead,” she suggested.

“Are you being serious right now?” I asked, dubious.

“I mean, you’re single, aren’t you?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with it.”

“Then what? Are you simply against the idea?”

“I should be asking you that.”

I couldn’t possibly impose. I could easily see myself being reported to the police by her family or neighbors. And even if the police weren’t involved, I’d be chased out for sure. And if, somehow, I wasn’t chased out, I’d be so uncomfortable I’d have to leave of my own volition. In any case, it was a big “no” from me. Just imagining it gave me a stomachache.

“Well, you’ve already seen me naked,” she insisted. “No point sweating the small stuff now.”

“I’m extremely sorry about that.”

“Do you think about it when we’re alone together on the job?”

“Look, we’re colleagues, and I’d like to maintain a healthy distance.”

“Oh, I see…”

Still, I did wonder what Miss Hoshizaki’s family life was like. I found myself imagining things based on what she’d talked about in the past. Judging by her obsession with getting every possible minute of overtime pay, I figured her family wasn’t that well-off, for example.

We discussed the possibility of English study sessions for a little while longer until Ms. Futarishizuka’s car arrived at our colleague’s school. She parked at the front gate. I couldn’t see any students going in or out, but considering the time, classes were probably just about over. The sun was already setting, and since Miss Hoshizaki was so focused on her job, she probably wasn’t in any after-school clubs.

“It looks like classes are about to let out,” Ms. Futarishizuka remarked. “Should I drop you off here anyway?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Futarishizuka.”

“I could drive you home if you wanted.”

“Actually, I’d rather get out here. I wanted to ask my English teacher about something. I’d also like to borrow a book on English conversation from the library before going home. I remember seeing a section like that the last time I was there.”

“I see.”

“Sasaki, make sure you think about the study group, okay?”

Wow, she’s really gung ho about learning English, I thought.

After climbing out of the car, she strode toward the school building with a spring in her step and disappeared inside.

Immediately, the driver started teasing me. “You were just invited to a high school girl’s house. Will you go—or just fantasize about it, hmm?”

“I will not, under any circumstances.”

“Oh, you’re terrible. She’s depending on you, you know. And you’re going to let her down.”

“We could just as easily do a video call.”

“Well, you’re as dull and uninteresting as ever.”

With Miss Hoshizaki returned to school, we got back on the road. The car was noticeably quieter, and soon we had reached the hotel where I was staying. After meeting up with Peeps in our room, we had him warp us to the Karuizawa villa, leaving both Ms. Futarishizuka’s car and our bureau phones at the hotel.

Looking out the villa’s living room windows, I saw that it was still light outside. Normally, I’d be headed back to my desk at this time of day. Seeing the setting sun filtering through the garden trees brought cheer to my heart. As I settled down onto a sofa and sipped my tea, I began to want to spend the rest of the afternoon like this.

But we’d made plans to head to the otherworld that day, and we couldn’t bother Ms. Futarishizuka forever. Peeps had recorded Lady Elsa’s video letter for her father while I was out, so we were all set.

“We shall arrive somewhat early today,” Peeps pointed out. “Is that all right?”

“Nothing else to do,” I answered. “Why not?”

“I see. Then let’s head out at once.”

With the Kraken situation out of the way, it seemed like the busy days were behind us.

I hope we can keep relaxing like this, I thought earnestly.