It's been a few days since I heard from the south that Katsura is in a good mood.
It's Christmas Eve, and today's streets are even more colorful as jingle bells and bells ring.
It was such a day, but I was walking the streets alone.
I never thought I'd be here again.
Ahead of my eyes is the store where I used to buy rolls as a gift for Suela.
I remember standing in line for quite a long time back then, and the store seems to be more crowded than before due to the Christmas season.
A clerk dressed as Santa Claus was standing in line with a sign that said he was last in line.
The length of the line seems to be longer than the front if I remember correctly.
Huh, you're standing in line for that one in the cold.
Feeling depressed, I slowly get in line at the end of the line because there is no option but to stay in line.
The reason why I came here is naturally to buy a cake for the Christmas party.
The two are good at cooking, and Himik, who is steadily improving his cooking skills, is not good at pastry, and although they can make it, they both want to eat a delicious cake.
When I asked the others if they could make a cake, they said, "I have a suicidal thought.
Are you suicidal, that you are, leader?
I remember how long it's been since I held a knife, South.
"I'm not as good as you, Kats.
It's a good idea to remember that Kitamiya can cook, but at an ordinary level.
I want you to remember, senpai. There is no way you can have such a noble hobby as cooking in our previous private lives, you know.
Kaido says that he was living a life inseparable from convenience stores from a distance.
I'm the same way. I can make yakisoba, but when it comes to cake, it's a different story.
And speaking of the otherworldly group.
I know what a cake is, but I don't know how to make it.
The first of which is Memoria, who says that few people have ever tasted the existence of a cake.
"I'm sorry Lord, stay tuned.
Himik is frustrated that he doesn't have enough training.
"I can cook, too, but I'm not familiar with our cuisine,
Suela, who said she was studying, was not familiar with western sweets as she was currently studying Japanese cuisine.
Well, I wasn't expecting it the most, but I did ask the twin angels.
What is a cake?
I had to start with an explanation of their existence.
In a situation like this, the cake would naturally go in the direction of buying and deciding on a store.
At that time, Suela
"Then I'd like to have that roll I had before.
As I told them what I had brought in, the ladies, Kitamiya and Minami checked the store.
"Leader, there's a line of one man in this store, that there is!
"Oh my God, this store is hard to find, it's famous.
I bought the store with the idea that I could easily get a good deal at a famous restaurant, which was quite amazing for the two ladies.
They expected me to come here again, so I came this time.
However, we did not come here with nothing to do this time.
With the combination of Christmas and cake, we knew it would be crowded.
So this time I made a reservation in advance.
Well, that reservation was not an ordinary effort: ......
It was quite difficult to get a reservation for it.
As it is a famous restaurant, there are many restrictions to make a reservation.
First of all, we were told that only customers with a minimum of one hall of purchase were allowed, that we had to make a reservation how many days in advance, and many other things were explained to us, and when I heard at the last minute that we would have to make a lottery in case of a flood of reservations, I thought of going to another restaurant.
Well, the fact that I'm doing this means that I got the reservation successfully.
I should have brought someone with me.
All the women in line are women, and even though they only came to pick up their reservations, it's a tight squeeze.
Even the few men in the queue are couples.
I'm the only man in this store all by myself.
Hindsight is never first, and that's exactly what they say.
Normally, I would cover up this air by smoking, but in Tokyo, you will be fined for smoking outside the designated area.
If you smoke in such a place, you're sure to get kicked out.
Our company is blessed.
I gave a small nod to myself to cover my lonely mouth, reaffirming that I'm usually blessed with the ability to smoke anywhere, and pulled the collar of my jacket up to ward off the cold.
A sign saying "last row" runs behind you, but you're still a long way from the front of the line.
If it takes a while longer, you pick up your phone while enduring the stares of the women around you.
I was about to proceed with my fingers to look at a random news site, but... "Oh, it's not Mr. Tanaka!
Oh, it's Mr. Tanaka!
"Ah?
That lowered gaze will soon be raised.
I don't mean to say it myself, but there are plenty of surnames called Tanaka if you look for them.
It's such a familiar surname that there's a pattern where the letters are different and the pronunciation is the same.
I don't know how many Tanaka's are in this line of customers, but I know somehow that this call is referring to me.
You are.
Long time no see! What are you doing here, or rather, what are you doing in line for a man alone?
I wouldn't be in line if I didn't have to. You've always been the same, Kawasaki.
I looked at the owner of the name that emerged from my memory, who saluted and greeted me.
I'm a genius! So that's it! If you take the energy out of me, only beautiful women will be left.
Noisy but not too loud.
The voice with an exquisite volume is familiar, and if you look in the direction of the voice, relying on your memory, you'll find a familiar face as expected.
Midori Kawasaki.
She's a guy I met at a previous company's sales office.
As you can see, she had plenty of energy to spare, and although it sounds nice to call her naive and innocent, at times she was known to be annoying.
She would have been five years younger than me, but her petite frame makes her look younger than her real age.
She's still smiling and smiling with her beige trench coat, her light brown hair cut at the shoulder, and her face is more childish than beautiful.
"You really haven't changed, I'm here to buy a cake, as you can see.
"A man alone?
"I don't know why you're emphasizing that part, but stop making that 'seriously' face. It's just annoying. d*mn it, I'm going shopping. We're having a family Christmas party.
"Huh? Tanaka-san, you've got time for that? I thought it was a death march by now. ...... To be honest, I even thought it was just a pseudo-imitation of someone else when I saw you in this line.
I thought he was as honest as ever, but I didn't think there was any need to hide it, so I answered honestly.
Oh, you didn't know that. I quit my old company. And now I'm working for another company.
"What? Tanaka-san changed jobs? I wondered why we haven't seen each other lately! Why did you change jobs? Don't tell me you finally beat up that bald dad? Then I'd say good job, in my opinion.
"Shut up, I didn't hit you. And mind your surroundings. You're not gonna make any noise.
"Oh, sorry.
A conversation while waiting in line.
Kawasaki receives glances from women in the same line back and forth complaining about the noise, and Kawasaki bows his head pell-mell.
And then? Did you bother to talk to me just to tell me an old story?
"Yes! I had a little meeting with my cousin and I was just hanging out until it was time to go! Then I saw someone I knew lined up in an interesting place, so I called out to him!
"Okay.
It's nice to be honest, but when someone calls me a passive person, it's so refreshing to hear them say that I'm just passing the time, or what they're talking about, it makes me feel delicate.
I've been thinking about this since we were discussing with him in his office, but I can't hate him.
Well, it's just to pass the time for me too.
If you can talk to someone else, that's fine too.
I was fed up with standing in this long line of men, it gets a little noisy, but under this cold weather, it's just as well.
With that in mind, I was going to talk to you.
"Kawasaki! Stay in line instead!
"What? Hey, Tanaka-san, a foot is a seat.
Behind Kawasaki, on the other side of the cake shop.
I saw him gleefully swinging a soccer ball, which he had gotten for me as a Christmas present, and then it slipped away from the boy's little hand.
I was moving quickly and reflexively before I could think, knowing what was going to happen after my usual training.
The ball goes into the driveway with momentum, and the child chases after it.
Trained eyes took in the scene with precision, forcing the boy to calculate his time with the approaching car.
With each step you accelerate, feeling as if you're the only one moving fast with your vision slowing down, and you leap out into the roadway and jump on the boy.
Takashi!
It's probably the boy's mother.
If you take your eyes off the roadway, you'll let out one of your screams if the child runs out into the driveway.
You're relieved to hear the horn blare behind you as you somehow make your way through the driveway, and you push back against the woman who comes running up to you.
If it weren't for me, you would have been in danger, kid, if you jumped out of the way.
Without saying a word to the mother, who handed the soccer to the boy, who didn't understand what had happened, and who was touching his body everywhere to see if he was injured, she said, "Be careful next time.
Next time, be more careful.
With a pat on the head and a pat on the dirty parts, you cross the crosswalk and return to the cake shop.
You hear a woman's voice behind you saying "thank you" and you turn around and nod your head once before returning.
I wondered if Kawasaki was waiting in line, but it was so spur of the moment that I thought it would be impossible.
Tanaka-san, that's great! What the hell is that! Were you actually an Olympian in the past, or were you previously an SP?
Relax, I just had a chance to work out recently.
She dutifully lined up for me and saved me a spot in line.
I was a little nervous because there was no magic element in the space, and there was no support for magic crests, but I'm glad I was able to make it.
I'm not going to tell you what's going on, but I can't tell you what's going on.
This is how I'm going to play along.
They still insist on asking me what kind of training I'm doing, but I can't talk about it.
While I ducked and ducked, the time passed.
Speaking of which, is this a good time to meet up?
"Ah! Oh no, it was about time.
I pointed out the time and it looked like it was time to meet him and he started to panic when he saw the clock in his left hand.
I thought this would finally calm him down.
"Hey, Leader, Midori. Why are you with me?
"Win?
"Oh, you're a winner!
Another person joined us in the space.
Seeing Katsura approaching us in his plain clothes, I called out his name, but I didn't know Kawasaki was also acquainted with him.
"Tanaka-san, you know Masaru?
Yeah, I'm at work now. You look like you know each other too.
"Mmm-hmm! I don't know you or anything, Katsura is my cousin! And what's more, I am Masaru's first love!
"Hey! Midori-san!
"I see.
I wondered about the way it was introduced, but it showed their relationship in a way that was easy to understand.
I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.
I'm sure that the introduction of Kawasaki is quite accurate.
And I somehow understand why Minami was in a good mood.
I've been in touch with her recently and we were talking about various things, but I invited her today because I wanted to have dinner with her!
He showed me his excessive skinship as if he cared for his real brother, and although I was smiling, I couldn't help but smile, and I secretly thought it was a relief that he was able to vent for Katsumi.
It's not a good idea to keep them around for too long.
Well, then it's bad enough to hold you back any longer. Enjoy your day off.
I'll let you do that! Let's go, let's win!
"Oh, excuse me, leader!
"Oh, have a good day.
It was refreshing to see Katsumi, who usually pulls, being pulled like that, remembering the long line of snakes, I reminded myself that I have to be patient for a while longer.
Word of the Day
Isn't it quite common for people you know to be connected to each other in odd ways?