Hardcore Japanese Speaker

“…That PowerPoint you made me put together?”

I answered in a low groan, and Kagari flashed me a toothy grin. Why did she look so happy when I was clearly reacting like I hated the idea?

“Yep. The one I had you make for me, Roku-kun.”

“What do you mean, ‘that one’?”

Yūha poked me around the elbow as she asked.

“You know, from when I stayed up all night working on it. It was basically a summary of what Kagari and the others want to do this year, what they’ve prepared for it, their vision, and stuff like that.

“In short, it was material for persuading the adults.”

“When it comes to negotiations and stuff, you’re the best at it, Roku-kun. I’ll pay you properly, so you’ve got nothing to complain about, right?”

“I’m counting on you, seriously. My food situation from autumn onward is riding on you.”

“Leave it to me.”

Taking actual cash from Kagari felt a little too real, so instead, we had arranged for her to send me rice and vegetables. Farming was thriving in Onahebi Village, so getting produce that hadn’t sold would help our household budget quite a bit. That was the idea.

Yūha seemed satisfied now that she understood what the PowerPoint had been about. Kagari took over from me and continued explaining.

“The year before last, the students put on a play about this village’s legends. We performed it at the community center in town. Back then, the only audience was local grandpas and grandmas, but after we posted it on social media too, a local TV station came to cover it.

“Last year, we promoted the festival to attract more visitors and got permission to perform the play on the shrine grounds. Besides that, we helped with the festival stalls and took part in setting up the lanterns too. Little by little, we’ve been working our way into the organizing side.”

She paused there, then slowly drew in a breath. Clenching her fist tightly, Kagari declared with determination.

“And this year, I’m going to be the leader and run one of the stalls myself!”

“Ooh…”

Yūha leaned forward as though she had been pulled in.

“So I was hoping I could borrow both of your help! It could be a nice summer memory too. What do you think?”

“I want to do it!”

“That’s what I like to hear!”

Kagari nodded firmly, then turned her attention toward me, since I still hadn’t reacted.

“What about you, Roku-kun?”

“I’m sitting this one out. I’ve got a little exam in autumn, so I want to study after work. Besides, the guesthouse is probably going to get busy on the day of the festival anyway.”

The idea of doing something like a school festival did appeal to me, but my desire to prioritize what I needed to do was stronger.

I could probably help out with little consultations here and there, so I’d do that whenever they came up. For now, my ideal arrangement was to stay officially uninvolved.

“Then I guess it can’t be helped. Yūha-chi, let’s do our best together.”

“Yes.”

Kagari looked delighted to have gained one more person.

Yūha had found something to do this summer too, and I felt like there was more energy in her expression now. With no school and no worries about daily life, maybe things had felt a little too uneventful lately. Feeling fulfilled was surprisingly hard.

“Then I’m heading back. Good night, you two.”

“Good night!”

“Good night.”

I waved my left hand lazily as I left the living room.

Well then, I should get back to my own stuff.

The next day, I threw myself into work with more determination than usual from the morning onward. I finished dealing with checkouts and cleaning, then from noon, I mentally prepared myself for the foreign guest who was due to arrive.

Just waiting around made me restless, so I fixed a calendar that looked like it was about to fall, organized the bookshelf, and took care of various little maintenance tasks.

The guest I had heard about arrived a little after three in the afternoon.

He rolled along a large suitcase, and even from a distance, it was obvious he wasn’t Japanese. He had fair skin, blond hair, and a sturdy build, and the moment he noticed me, he suddenly waved.

S-So this was American communication… I thought, flustered, as I hurried over to take his luggage.

As he approached, the man moved his mouth with a friendly smile. His intonation was slightly uneven, but his pronunciation was clear, making him easy to understand.

“Thank you for having me. My name is Chris.”

“…Whoa, your Japanese is really good.”

I completely froze, forgetting even the greeting I was supposed to give him.

The man who had introduced himself as Chris held his thumb and index finger a short distance apart, using body language along with his Japanese effortlessly.

“No, no. Just a little. I study a lot.”

“I see… Um, I’ll take your luggage for you.”

“Thank you very much.”

Still half stunned, I took his suitcase. It was seriously heavy. Since he had come from overseas, it seemed the amount of luggage he had was on a completely different level.

I invited him inside and handled the check-in procedure.

I thought I might not get a chance to use English at all, but apparently the written explanation about using the facilities was too difficult for him. Still, if I mixed in some simple English, Chris-san understood.

Hmm… This foreigner knew an awful lot about Japan.

After receiving the payment from him by hand, I asked something I had been curious about.

“Chris-san, what did you come here to do?”

“I came to film videos of Japan’s country… countryside.”

He used the word “countryside” somewhat uncertainly. I nodded to show him he had gotten it right, then continued the conversation. Fortunately, he looked happy that I was talking to him too.

“Is that for work? Or is it a hobby?”

“It’s work. It used to be a hobby, but now it became my job.”

“So something you loved became your work.”

“Yes.”

I had him sit in a chair in the shared living room, while I headed toward the kitchen.

“Do you like coffee? We have tea too.”

“Coffee is good. I like bitter.”

“Got it. Please wait a moment.”

I poured hot water from the kettle and dissolved some instant coffee powder. It wasn’t anything special, but for a guesthouse, this was probably about right. Being cheap was part of what gave travel its flavor.

I brought over two cups and placed one in front of each of us. Chris-san dipped his head politely and said, “Thank you very much.”

“So, what kind of work do you do?”

“I’m a video creator.”

“That’s become popular lately, hasn’t it? I watch a lot of videos myself.”

“Yes. I want to spread Japanese culture more throughout the world. That’s why I came here.”

Chris-san smiled, showing his teeth.

Come to think of it, how old was he? His facial features were completely different from a Japanese person’s, so I couldn’t estimate it from appearance. There were no wrinkles on his skin, and he had such a cheerful expression that he looked quite young.

He made a living as a video creator and spoke Japanese this well, so there was no way he could be around my age… I thought as I checked the guest register.

My eyes widened involuntarily when I saw the number thirty-four. He didn’t look it at all.

Making sure he didn’t realize I had been checking his age, I kept the conversation going.

“You requested a sightseeing guide, right?”

“Yes, please.”

“Of course. But you must be tired today, so shall we start tomorrow?”

“Understood.”

Because he always gave clear, direct replies, he was overwhelmingly easier to talk to than your average Japanese person. Chris-san was the best. I would’ve preferred speaking English, but of course, if he loved Japan, he probably wanted to speak Japanese.

“I’ll show you a few places where you can eat. Is there anything you like?”

“I want to go to an izakaya—a Japanese-style pub. I heard many local people go there.”

“In that case, there’s one about a five-minute walk from here.”

I spread out a map and placed my pen on our current location and then the destination. The route was simple. Leave here, go left, then turn right at the end of the road and it would come into view.

“Thank you very much.”

Chris-san replied simply, and in the end, he never used English once.

“What’s wrong, Rokurō? You look all gloomy.”

“No, it’s just… I was thinking reality never goes the way you expect.”

That night, Yūha spoke to me during some free time, as usual.

Talking about each other’s work has become part of our daily routine. Ever since we came to Onahebi Village, the amount of time we spent casually chatting had clearly increased. Probably because there weren’t many other ways to kill time.

“Did something bad happen? I’ll listen.”

“It wasn’t anything bad… I’m just shocked because the foreign guest speaks crazy-good Japanese.”

“He speaks that well?”

“Yeah. Crazy-good.”

Since my brain had been studying English until just a moment ago, my own Japanese ability had drastically declined. Right now, I was confident Chris-san could beat me.

“What did he come here for?”

“He said he’s filming videos to spread Japan’s appeal. That guy is definitely doing work that’s basically his hobby.”

Even after I moved on to other duties, Chris-san had stayed in the living room reading Japanese books. Before he went out, he had brought out his equipment and even done maintenance on a drone. And during every one of those moments, his eyes had been shining.

I thought he must be happy, being able to work like that.

Not merely working to stay alive, but being able to satisfy your heart through the act of working itself.

“Then maybe he’d get along well with Misuzu-san.”

“Now that you mention it, yeah. I see. If I call Kagari over, things might go a lot more smoothly.”

“Was that maybe… a really good idea?”

“Yeah.”

She looked up at me from beneath her lashes as though she wanted praise, so I obediently nodded. If I got stubborn over something stupid here, it would only cause trouble later. I had learned to give Yūha her way in moderation. Then everything would be fine.

That was how I had dealt with her since long ago.

For some reason, though, simple agreement apparently wasn’t enough today. She kept staring at me without moving.

“What?”

“You can praise me more.”

“Meaning?”

When I tilted my head, the girl pouted her lips in apparent annoyance. Under the fluorescent light, they somehow looked strangely alluring.

But… no, she didn’t mean a kiss or anything, right…? Yeah. Definitely not that.

Crap, I seriously had no idea. Women’s feelings were difficult.

After I spent a while pressing a hand to my brow, Yūha apparently lost patience and spoke. Her cheeks were rather red for such a cool night.

“I’ll let you pat my head.”

“‘I’ll let you pat my head.’”

“You don’t have to repeat it!”

“No—I just couldn’t process that for a second. Wait, are you seriously saying that?”

“Ahh, I hate this! Forget it! I can’t take this anymore!”

Her face turned even redder as she stormed out of my room. The sliding door slammed shut, hurried footsteps thudded away, and then the light in the other room went out.

Left behind alone, all I could do was blink repeatedly.

So… I was allowed to pat her head.

With my brain barely functioning, that was the only thing I managed to process.