Side Story 1, Earth: Tooru – Christmas Eve at the Demonic 6 Tatami House
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Gumihou
Proofread by Zzonkedd
I am Tooru Saiga, formerly a man called the Black Demon King in my previous life.
[Tooru-kun, if you’re going to spend a lonely Christmas all alone, please take care of Maki-chan ( ́∀`)]
What the heck is this…
On the eve of Christmas, just after my part-time job at a convenience store, I received an extremely irritating message from Yuri.
That fellow is enjoying a very luxurious family cruise for Christmas… he even sends a picture of himself and his sister, complete with a glittering background filled with fairy lights and [1] the round windows of said ship.
It was probably sent on purpose to provoke me somehow… I really don’t want to receive such a thing…
“Tooru-kun~~ here are your cake and fried chicken [2], I set it aside just for you~”
“Ah, yes, thank you for your hard work.”
The young, overly cheery manager had left the box of Christmas Cake and a container of fried chicken on the breakroom table. As part-timers, we are allowed to ask to be paid for in goods rather than money at my store.
I change out of my uniform and bought two bottles of non-alcoholic champagne. Might as well go all out.
Naturally, the store manager, who is manning the cash register, grins at me, “Goodness me~ Tooru-kun. A girlfriend~? Are you spending Christmas with your girlfriend~? Well, it’s impossible for someone like Tooru-kun to not have a girlfriend~ ……handsome guys should just drop dead…”
[1a] I could hear you, you know? Also…
“…no, I’m not spending it with a girlfriend.”
I don’t really mind hearing the store manager’s true feelings. [1a] It’s natural to feel frustrated about working during festive seasons. Therefore, with a ‘Thank you for your hard work’, I collected my stuff and left the convenience store.
Winter has come to the city.
One could tell by the whiteness of each exhaled breath. Even with my coat and muffler on, I still feel a little cold each time the wind blows.
Well, I’m pretty used to the cold.
Since it’s Christmas Eve, the number of couples passing by has increased…
“No, since I’m carrying this many Christmas goods with me, outsiders will perceive that I am having a real and fulfilling Christmas…”
As I muttered nonsense to myself, I made my way towards a place where things such as real or fake did not matter.
That place… is a certain demonic 6-tatami mat room…
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“Uwaahh… It’s a Christmas Eve chachanko! [3]”
“What are you talking about?”
On this night, Maki-chan appeared to be desperately doing her best to ward off the cold.
That is, aside from hiding under the kotatsu, she did not appear to be doing anything else. When I pressed the bell just now, it took her a long time to answer me.
She looks kind of withered…
“Hey you, to enter one’s house, you must properly pay the door tax.”
“What door tax? I bought you something good, so don’t be too bossy.”
“… ah, a cake! And fried chicken! Yay~ yay~ yay~”
“… …”
Makia’s lack of motivation evaporated at the sight of the things in my arms. She bursts out of the kotatsu and saying ‘come in, come in’ with shining eyes.
Just a little earlier, she is demanding door tax like a disgruntled queen.
“It’s rather cold, isn’t it? Go on, get under the kotatsu.”
“You’re a true slave to Capitalism,” I said as I take off my coat and enter the room.
Maki quickly set the fried chicken in the microwave to warm. While the machine whirred, she rushed about, setting out two sets of glasses and plates that looked like they came from a 100-yen store on the worn-out kotatsu.
“Chicken~ cake and chicken~ cake and… champagne!”
“Are you a child?”
Maki happily crawls back under the kotatsu, her mind clearly filled with nicely reheated fried chicken and the whole cake.
“Tooru, Tooru, it’s Christmas Eve you know? So, Merry Christmas.”
“Well, Merry Christmas, even though it’s a little dull.”
After exchanging our greetings, we clink our glasses and toast each other.
Maki downs the glass of champagne quickly and, in a very dad-like manner, went ‘pah!’
Next, she bites into her beloved fried chicken, chewing happily… she really does look happy.
I’m hungry too, so I help myself to a fried chicken wing.
“Speaking of which, what were you planning to eat today anyway?”
“… chicken ramen…”
“… …”
Both are chicken, but the other one sounds kind of… sad…?
Wait, are you really that poor?
“Well, it’s like this, it’s been really noisy and bothersome outside lately. Also, all those lights, don’t you think they are a waste of electricity? What ‘Illumination Street’? It’s a street of wastefulness! Going out in that kind of atmosphere could drive a person crazy. It’s impossible for me to go shopping, you know? What the heck, it’s so annoying to see those flirty people doing flirty things…”
“What the… do you have a grudge against couples? How twisted…”
“I hate looking at happy people.”
“… how pitiful…”
Her eyebrows draw together in a ‘八’ shape.
There, there, I can’t help but stroke that ‘八’ shape until it levels out again.
Maki made a final ‘humph’ before going back to devouring her fried chicken.
“And you? It’s not like you’re in the same hole as a racoon dog. You still work part-time on Christmas Eve, and even brought fried chicken and cake from your place of work.”
“That’s right, how sad it is to eat these alone in my house when there’s no one else there?”
“… you’re kind of sad, aren’t you? There, there.”
This time, Maki is the one doing the comforting, patting me on the back.
“It’s fine, come over to my palace whenever you’re lonely. Also, be sure to bring proper offerings.”
“Don’t I always bring something for you? Speaking of which, I also collected all the lunch boxes that are just past their expiration date and passed on the stuff I received from the convenience store to you…”
“Tooru, you’re a really good guy. …ah, let’s eat the cake!”
“… …”
Maki had eaten all the fried chicken. Even as she licks her lips with satisfaction, her eyes lock in on the cake.
The pure white cake on the table is topped with bright red, juicy-looking strawberries. It was a beautiful, picturesque cake.
A very typical Christmas cake.
“I’m just a convenience store servant, so don’t expect too much.”
“Oh my, I don’t expect a fancy and schmancy cake from you. It’s not like you’re Yuri after all…”
“Tch, that fellow will bring a fancy, super expensive cake from some Ginza or something. Unfortunately for you, he had left us behind to go on a luxury cruise.”
“Oh my, well, I sometimes find myself wanting to eat convenience store cakes. There’s just something about them, you know?”
“Anyway, I must say you have a way of eating that makes everything looks delicious…”
“Not just cakes, convenience store bread too. There are times when I just have a craving for melon bread you know? That’s when I make my midnight snack run.”
“Please don’t do that.”
It’s the same as always, Maki still thinks of herself as the most powerful witch around. That no one could best her and that she could do everything.
The combination of her aggressive optimism and too real vulnerability is kind of chilling.
“Tooru, this is your piece, as for the rest…”
“…go ahead and eat it.”
“Yay~! Yay~!”
I had already given up. One piece of cake is more than enough for me.
It’s not like I hate cakes, but I can’t eat too many sweet things in one sitting. It has nothing to do with Maki.
“Aaahhh~~~ uuu~~~ ca~ke~~ fresh cream cake with strawberries~~ this convenience store cake is a lot more than what I expect~”
“Good?”
“Yep!”
“… …”
Maki is nodding happily. I guess she is considered pretty in the general sense of the word. Especially when she smiles. There is an unexpectedly cute side to her.
If you give her food, she will become even more docile and cheerful, allowing outsiders a glimpse of her cuteness. If she could enhance this side of herself and nurture her feminity a little more, she would not look this withered or tragic.
Maki scrapes at the whole cake (with one slice missing) with her fork and is literally writhing over the sweet dessert.
“Even so, isn’t Christmas a strange event? I mean, compared to actual Christmas Day, there are more people out celebrating Christmas Eve. Japan is strange that way, isn’t it? Even New Year’s Eve is flashier than New Year’s Day.”
“It’s a culture that celebrates the eve of an important day, right? Interestingly, cakes and other Christmas related things will become half-priced on actual Christmas Day.”
“Valentine’s Day is also pretty strange. Why do girls like to give chocolates to boys they like… by the way, Tooru, you’re probably going to get buried under chocolates like an idiot again next year, so make sure to come to my house after school.”
“… …”
This is pretty much an annual event by now. Maki will seize all the chocolates that I can’t finish [1] at the end of Valentine’s Day. I have to say, this girl’s thoughts are pretty bold. Everything flows towards her belly.
Even though I think it’s a pity to centre all her thoughts around her stomach, so long as Maki is happy, I think it should be fine.
On last Valentine’s Day, Maki gave me a small piece of chocolate worth 30 yen…
“Haahh… but I’m really glad that Tooru is working part-time at the convenience store~ You can bring back all kinds of stuff~”
“What are you talking about? The one who complains a lot about my part-time job is you.”
“Anyway, anyway, I don’t think it’s a really fun thing to do. Yuri’s not working either, he’s busy messing around with his various traditional lessons.”
“You’re poor, aren’t you? So you should work.”
“I’d like to work, I wonder if there’s any that fits me.”
“… I wonder…”
The two of us exchange a look. Then, a nod.
We finish off the champagne.
After a while, Maki picks at my sleeve.
“Hey, Tooru, what about New Year’s Eve? What are you doing on New Year’s Eve?”
“New Year? I’m scheduled to work on that day.”
“Eh.”
In a flash, her cheeks puff up angrily.
Oh my, oh my, feeling lonely, are we? Even so, since it’s New Year’s Eve, the pay would be higher…
“I’ve ordered an Osechi set [4] from the convenience store catalogue. I’ll bring it back in the evening.”
“Really!?”
“Ahh… it cost about 10,000 yen.”
“… you’re really… a really, really super reliable guy~” even as she looks at me with pity in her eyes, her lips were beaming brightly, laughing that little ‘fufu~’ laugh as she tug at the white sleeves of my shirt, which was just sticking out of my chachanko jacket. “I’ll be looking forward to New Year,”
“… I guess you’re really lonely, Maki-san.”
“Oh my~ even with all your complaints, you’ll come here, right? Ah, that’s right, let’s have soba on New Year’s Eve too~”
“… …”
“Hey, hey, hey~~ Tooru~~”
“Stop pulling at my sleeves, you’ll stretch it.”
“I want to eat mochi~”
“Stop poking my knee, it’s annoying.”
Maki’s childish voice was actually really easy to understand, unfortunately, the part of me that registers this as a flirty action is beginning to react. I am already calculating how much money I can stand to see disappear from my wallet.
The thought went by in a flash.
That’s because… I’m still a high school freshman in real life. Although you could say that I’m responsible for feeding this fellow.
“Ah, that’s right. Let’s get out the playing cards. Let’s do something Christmassy.”
“If playing cards is something ‘Christmassy’ to you, you’ve led a really lonely life.”
“Well, well, aren’t you stuck on unnecessary details? I guess we could play Othello instead.”
“… you really want to play Othello? Even though you can never beat me?”
“Ugh, how annoying, well, let’s go with cards. Card games don’t require too much thinking, so I won’t necessarily lose to you.”
“… …”
Well, that is kind of true.
Thus, I reluctantly got Maki’s cards out and began to shuffle them.
Maki is beaming at me, going ‘I won’t lose~’.
The kotatsu feels warm, suddenly, the narrow 6-tatami mat room seems brighter than my own living room.
It is a strange Christmas Eve. However, I don’t think it’s a bad way to spend it.
I have to somehow spend it in some ways anyway.
Even as I complain about many things, I think… I’ll come here again.
[Gumihou: And that’s the last part of Side Story – Earth]
[1] Add Details
[1a] The implication of the flirty manager’s dialogue is probably him going ne~ ne~ before dropping his voice to a whisper. Make it clear with Tooru’s POV.
[2] Fried Chicken or just chikin (チキン) for short, is a must have for a Christmas dinner. That’s why people go to KFC during Christmas in Japan. Of course, a whole cake, especially a strawberry shortcake (red berries and white cream to represent the season) is a must too.
[3] Chachanko – is a Japanese style jacket (short sleeve or sleeveless) stuffed with cotton and commonly worn as warm house-wear. It is sometimes referred to as a short sleeve hanten
https://japanoscope.com/hanten-jacket-chanchanko-japanese-jacket/
[4] Osechi Set – ‘Osechi’ is the typical Japanese New Year’s Eve food. It’s a pain to make with different food to represent certain things.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/osechi-ryori-japanese-new-year-food/
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