The first day of my parallel world reincarnation passed with my head almost exploding.
The reason why I didn’t panic more than necessarily may be because I, who have originally an anime otaku tendency, somehow enjoyed my current situation. Or, I may be just thick-skinned.
After returning to Sazankatei and looking inside the room after dinner, I noticed a few things.
The first thing that surprised me was that Ed had electricity, and there were smartphones and computers just like today.
This further confirmed Kura’s statement that it is the year 2023 in the calendar of Ed.
That said, the hairstyle and clothes are from the Edo I know…
I still don’t really understand what’s in this world and what’s not.
I borrowed Yoshino-san’s computer and surfed the internet a little, but it was different from the modern one.
I was allowed to live in a room at Sazankatei for a while.
The room for one person was a six-mat room and smaller than the one in which I had slept before, but it was equipped with a clothes rack and writing desk.
“It’s not much different from the studio I lived in when I was a student…”
I mumbled unconsciously.
I laid out the futon and was about to go to sleep when someone called out to me from the corridor.
“Taro-san, sorry to bother you so late… are you still awake?”
Yoshino-san!!
……No, a young girl should not come to a man’s room at this late hour!!
Oh, you really mean that? But we just met today… time doesn’t matter to you?
Oh, no. It’s foolish of me to think like that. Yoshino-san is still a young girl…
Hmmm, what are you thinking, Taro!
I scratched my head, which was panicked because of this situation even more than because of my parallel world reincarnation, and answered in a calm voice towards the corridor.
“Yoshino-san? I haven’t slept yet, but what’s up with you this late at night?”
Then, the shoji between the corridor and the room opened.
“I’m sorry, I thought you might be already sleeping, but…I remembered I was keeping the baggage I found near you when you were lying on the ground, so I thought it would be better to hand it over to you as soon as possible…”
Saying that, Yoshino-san handed over my familiar commuting bag to me.
“Oh, yes. Thank you.”
While receiving my commuting bag, I apologized in my mind to Yoshino-san for my wicked thoughts.
“Yoshino-san… maybe it’s none of my business, but… at this late hour, no, I’m safe, so it’s OK… but…there are all sorts of people in the world, so I don’t recommend going to a man’s room alone….I mean, though I’m safe myself.”
“Oh, Taro-san, thank you for worrying about me. But I’m in charge here …… and I have a reliable bodyguard (laughs).”
Before Yoshino-san had finished speaking, Kura appeared from behind the shoji screen.
“Meow… Taro, don’t let evil thoughts come to you!”
“Oh… I see… I’m relieved if Kura is here. It was really unnecessary advice… Hahaha. Well then, we’ll have an inspection tour of the shopping mall tomorrow, so let’s both sleep early.”
“Yes. I did give that to you. Good night…”
I was overwhelmed by my foolishness and Kura’s expression that seemed to see through everything, and closed the shoji before I finished listening to Yoshino-san’s greeting.
“I won’t do or even think about unnecessary things anymore!!”
I vowed in my heart, threw away my worldly desires, and dived into the futon.
―― Too many things have happened to me… My head was swirling with various emotions, but sleepiness overwhelmed me as if it was mocking me.
Early in the morning, I woke up with the sensation of drool on my face.
“I haven’t slept this well in a long time….”
After rubbing my eyes, I saw the bag Yoshino-san had brought to me last night.
“Ah… I went to sleep without checking anything in that…”
When I checked the contents of my commuting bag, I found my computer and my smartphone.
“Oh, you followed me this far! That’s all I need to keep going.”
When I took out my smartphone, the home screen lit up and my favorite character was smiling as usual. As expected, the phone was disconnected, but I was excited just knowing that I could see the photos saved on my smartphone.
I leaned my smartphone against the cup so that I could see the photos on the edge of the writing desk. I really wanted to carry it all the time, but from today I’m supposed to go out in Japanese clothing so that I can fit in with Ed.
“If I should drop my phone by any chance… yeah, be a good girl and wait for me in my room.”
I was in a good mood when my favorite character looked at me with a smile on her face, so I decided to check my computer next. Like the phone, the communication function doesn’t work…
But strangely, the internet was connected. Just the same internet as the modern age I was in. As a test, I tried to shop at the Amazon store, but I couldn’t… apparently, I could only browse.
“Hmm… What does this mean? What’s the same and what’s different? I don’t understand how it works at all…”
As I was doing so, I heard footsteps in the corridor and the sound stopped in front of my room.
“Good morning, Taro-san. Are you awake? I’m Yoshino. I’ve come to tell you that breakfast is ready.”
“Good morning, Yoshino-san. Thank you. I’ll be right there.”
It’s already that time… I thought I woke up quite early, but…
“Grrr~~~”
My stomach rumbled just on time.
Looking at the smartphone on the desk, I was not sure if the time was right, but it seemed I’d been thinking for about an hour. Well, no wonder I got hungry.
Let’s put the mystery of the computer aside and eat breakfast first.
When I entered the living room, the table was already set, and Yoshino-san was sitting there waiting. Kura was sitting right next to her.
“Kura… good morning.”
I thought I was already used to it yesterday, but somehow it feels weird when I say hello to a cat…
“Kura, he said good morning to you. It’s good that he is so kind to you.”
Yoshino-san casually said so, stroking Kura, but it’s just because it feels bad not to say hello when I know he understands human language…
“Yoshino-san, that’s a gorgeous breakfast.… Somehow, even the dishes look better than the ones for dinner last night.”
“Ah, do you see the difference? You are going to rebuild the shopping mall together with me from now on… you are different from the other customers. That’s why I thought I’d use my grandfather’s tableware. ……”
“Oh, such an important thing.. .what if I should break it…”
I stared intently at the rice bowls elegantly filled with rice.
“Don’t worry about that! The bowls are Arita porcelain, which has excellent durability. And even if they should break, anything which has a shape will break someday…it’s a pity if you don’t use it and put it away somewhere.”
The look on Yoshino-san’s face when she said that was clear enough to make me realize that no matter what I said, she wouldn’t listen to me.
“Thank you, then let me use it carefully.”
I picked up my chopsticks.
When we started eating breakfast, Yoshino-san once again told me about the shopping mall we were going to visit.
“Its name is ‘Ninoma Shopping Mall’. It got its name from Tokugawa Ninoma, the shogun who keeps the town of Ed peaceful and always shows concern for us townspeople. My grandfather said he named it in the hope that it would be a second place for its users.”
“Second place… he was a good grandpa… And, Ed has a shogun…”
Tokugawa… What generation of shogun is he? But that doesn’t matter anyway. As I started to worry about anything, it became more and more confusing, so I gave up because probably I wouldn’t come up with an answer even if I thought about it.
I sipped miso soup to calm down.
“Well, today is the first day of our inspection!”
The warmth of the miso soup was surely real. Somehow, I got over it.
Act before you think. Once I’ve completed my mission, I’ll be able to return to the modern age.
I’ll act for that! Isn’t that enough for me, anyway? I’ll take anything for that!
I noticed Yoshino-san was looking at me with a puzzled look, as I was holding the bowl of miso soup and gripping my chopsticks with all my might.
“Yoshino-san, your miso soup is delicious. Can I have another bowl of rice?”
“Yes, gladly”
Yoshino-san smiled and served a refill of rice in my empty bowl.
(To be continued)
written by SASAKI HANAKO
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