It’s difficult to introduce Saotome-san
~Beep~
「Hello, Tsuchiya?」
『Long time no see! My phone was run over by a delivery truck and got drenched on top of it. I thought it was done for, but then a godly repairman managed to resuscitate my phone from the dead and restore the data. In order to commemorate its revival I wanted to call someone, and you were the first person that came to mind. So what were you doing?』
「Now… ah. I am working right now」
『Seriously? Your working conditions haven’t improved even after switching jobs? Did I interrupt your work?』
「No, not at all. On the contrary, you saved me」
『Re, Really? Then it should be fine I guess』
We both joined the company at the same time. Both of us were from Kyushu, I from Fukuoka prefecture and he from Nagasaki. We hit it off well with each other and used to hang around the neighbourhood all the time.
But that’s not important.
The need of the hour is thought, calculation, dialogue, negotiation and etiquette, including soft and hard tactics.
Above all, speed.
That’s right, speed.
「Tsuchiya, where are you right now?」
『Returning home from work…… Do you want to go drinking? Work finished at 9pm and I am bustling with energy!』
「That will be a bit difficult, let’s go some other time. Can you do me a favour and deliver something to my house, no questions asked!」
There is good reason for this negotiation to be aggressive. If I start entertaining questions then the situation will quickly become tedious.
『What’s wrong? It should be alright if I could buy it closeby』
「Thanks, you saved me!」
Phew! I have managed to deflect any troublesome questions that might be asked. Looks like I will be able to complete my objective very soon.
I am forced to resort to such measures since my situation is a bit special.
Normally a conversation between former colleagues goes like this.
A 「Where do you work now?」
B 「XXX Company. I work in the sales department, selling office chairs」
A 「That’s nice! How are the people over there? And the work culture?」
B 「It’s great! The clerk, Kaya-san’s child is very cute—」
A 「Ehhh–」
Whereas in my case it will be like this.
A 「Where do you work now?」
B 「At my neighbour’s place. Everyday I welcome her home by saying 『Okaeri』」
A 「That’s nice! How are the people over there? And the work culture?」
B 「It’s great! Everyday my employer’s mental age keeps changing and it is really fun」
A 「Ehhh–」
I assure you it won’t stop at「Ehhh–」.
I can feel the barrage of questions and the chaos that will ensue once I start answering them honestly.
This was exactly why I didn’t contact him these three weeks after changing jobs. Fortunately, he called me now, reminding me that I could ask for help.
I will definitely make full use of this opportunity.
『So, what do you want?』
「Ok, first…」
「Matsutomo-san, who are you talking to….?」
「Mio-san, what’re ya doing?」
I switched to dialect reflexively.
『Did I just hear a woman’s voice now?』
「Sorry, It’s the TV」
「Matsutomo-san, Matsutomo-san. Look here. Nee….」
『She’s calling out your name though. Don’t tell me, you got a girlfriend? Are you not working right now?』
「No, I didn’t lie when I said I was in the middle of work.」
「Matsutomo-san is ignoring me…..」
『Fumu』
It’s obvious that Tsuchiya has started to think about things on the other side. This is bad. If I handle this poorly and let the conversation drag, then it will take that much longer to get the medicine. But recklessly rushing things there is the worst case scenario that I end up offending him.
At this juncture, I must devote myself entirely to thinking of a stop gap measure. All for the sole purpose of making Mio-san ingest the bitter medicine.
「I didn’t mean to deceive you. The situation is quite complicated. I will clearly explain it later…. So please!」
『It’s okay. I got it』
「Really?」
Did he really deduce the situation from just this. It’s a scenario which might push Sherlock Holmes to throw the towel.
『In the middle of work. An Onee-san’s pampering voice. Stuff that you urgently need but can’t buy it by yourself. From these bits of information I can easily deduce your new job.』
「A, Aa」
After a moment, Tsuchiya declared, probably with a smug face.
『It’s either host or nurse, right?』
「You… What’re ya saying?」
Involuntarily changed my dialect again.
『Did I get it right?』
「Wrong. How in the world did you narrow it down to these two choices. Hello Work will not even introduce these jobs to you if you are not 13 years old.」
『Given the circumstances I could only think of this.』
「As if… it might be」
『Like I said』
「But if I had to choose from these two then…. Uun」
No wait, let’s stop contemplating whether my job is closer to a host or a nurse and save it for later.
I have a lot to say, but Mio-san comes first.
「Anyway let’s put this aside for now. It’s complicated, really hard to explain.」
『To each his own』
「I will explain later. Can you please buy a few things for me?」
『Fine, I will do it. What do you want?』
Two things are required immediately.
First, ingredients to make a dish that is palatable for Mio-san who can’t have egg porridge.
「A bottle of sake. Something mild and sweet should do.」
『Sake! So your new job is a host? Is this for you to drink with the Onee-san that ordered takeout?』
「That and “Okusuri No**tane”」[Note: Swallowing Aid Jelly for Children]
『Which one?』
「Peach flavoured」
『I am not asking about the flavour』
「But I like grapeeee…」1
「Make it grape flavoured!」
『Ah fine already. I got it. Sake and grape flavoured Oku**ri Nometane, right!』
Yosh! Finally done. I was able to procure the supplies in the most efficient manner. All that is left is to wait for Tsuchiya to reach….
How the hell am I going to explain all this!!
— Thanks for the chapter~ ^^.
Hmm.. it’s complicated to explain, indeed.. or is it really? hmm..
I couldn’t stop laughing when reading this chapter. Thanks, great work as always 😂
Explination?
This is one of those situations that the less said the better.
Lol
Thanks for the chapter~
Lol between host or nursery teacher
Ah, there’s a mistake there. It is “a host or a nurse” my bad. Edited already.
Many thanks for the chapterrrr