Challenge

Chris-san said he would spend the day filming the village.

In the morning, he walked around inside and around the guesthouse, happily filming videos in English, while I finished the cleaning.

In the afternoon, Fuzuki-san told me,

“It’ll help promote our place too, so it’s proper work. Go help him out.”

So I ended up accompanying him.

After one day, Chris-san had already started speaking more casually than yesterday. I was still using polite speech because of my position, but I had grown fond of him.

It felt good watching someone become absorbed in something they genuinely loved.

“I’ll show you around the village.”

“That helps a lot. Thank you.”

“Not at all. Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?”

“Is there somewhere that really shows this is the Japanese countryside?”

“The rice fields, the farms, and the shrine probably fit that image pretty well. We’ve also got a river and mountains, so honestly, almost anywhere.”

Once you got to this level of countryside, no matter where you pointed a camera, people would probably think, “Wow, that’s rural!” The problem was that Onahebi Village didn’t have many distinctive features unique to itself.

Well, we could solve that starting tomorrow by bringing Kagari along. Things had gotten hectic that morning, so I hadn’t managed to ask her anything in the end.

“How are you going to film it?”

“I’ll fly the drone.”

“In that case, it might be good to launch it from here. We’re fairly close to the center of the village.”

If he was filming from above, it would be better to start somewhere that gave him a good view of the whole area. And the guesthouse, White Snake, fit that condition relatively well.

The parking lot here should also be fine for taking off and landing the drone.

“Understood. I’ll try flying it from here.”

After bringing his equipment out of his room, Chris-san began preparing everything with a serious expression. I must have been staring too intently, because he noticed.

With his high nose giving him a distinctly foreign appearance, he grinned broadly enough to show his teeth.

“Do you like drones?”

“I’m interested in them, but they’re too expensive for me to buy. And there aren’t many places where you’re allowed to fly them.”

“Yes. Drones cost money. Practice is difficult too.”

“Exactly.”

There had actually been a time when I seriously considered whether I could make money with one. But after thinking about the cost of buying a drone, regularly traveling somewhere I could practice flying it, and the income I would lose during that time, I eventually gave up on the idea.

In the end, there were plenty of things in this world where you needed an initial investment just to start earning money.

“But it’s fun.”

Chris-san said that with the same smile as always.

I figured he genuinely meant it.

The drone’s propellers began spinning. It slowly gained altitude, becoming smaller and smaller. Before I knew it, it had reached a height where it could overlook the entire village and was moving gently forward, backward, left, and right.

I wondered what kind of footage he was getting.

“This is the opening.”

“I see.”

He would probably add background music and a title to what he was filming now and use it to begin the video.

I liked watching stylish videos like that. Slow-living videos were probably the best example. His videos would likely be right up my alley too. Maybe I should ask for his channel later.

“Chris-san, why did you come to Japan?”

“My wife… My wife is Japanese.”

“Oh, I see.”

I had assumed all that luggage was because he had traveled here from overseas. But now that I thought about it, of course it was just his work equipment. Even for domestic travel, it made sense that he would end up carrying that much.

“The first time I came to Japan, my heart was stolen immediately.”

“So it was love at first sight.”

It was an unusual way of putting it, but I understood what he meant perfectly well. It made me realize that being able to make yourself understood with the words you knew was also an important skill when speaking a foreign language.

I wanted to become able to use English at about this level too.

“Rokurō-san, do you have a wife?”

“No.”

“Do you want a wife?”

Since he was operating the drone at the same time, he probably wasn’t thinking too deeply about the conversation. Chris-san’s question felt like casual small talk to pass the time.

Since it was casual, that saved me the trouble of coming up with a lie. We were only a guest and an employee anyway. Whatever I said here wasn’t going to leak anywhere.

“I don’t like being alone, but… marriage seems difficult.”

“Why?”

“I’m not good at it. Um… physical affection? Does that make sense?”

Chris-san nodded. I continued.

“I worry that if I touch someone, maybe it’ll make them uncomfortable.”

What was I doing, asking someone I barely knew for advice?

This was something I had struggled with for quite a long time. Maybe that was why, now that I had let my guard down, it had slipped out.

Even when I was dating Komaki, I had never been the one to reach out and hold her hand. She had basically taken the lead in everything.

I was scared. I worried that I would do something wrong and make her hate me, and then I would end up unable to do anything at all.

I regretted saying it the moment the words left my mouth, but a few seconds later, even that feeling faded. He was a man from another country where physical affection was more normal. Maybe I could get some kind of clue from him.

“I don’t touch people who dislike it. I show affection to people who don’t mind.”

“You can tell?”

“Yes, you can.”

Chris-san nodded with complete confidence as the drone, having finished its job, descended.

“When you touch someone important to you, it makes you happy. I like it.”

“I see…”

Part of me thought, What do you mean, “I see”? But that was simply the reaction that came out, so there was nothing I could do about it.

It wasn’t exactly some earth-shattering revelation, but his words did give me something to think about.

Not refusing to touch someone because you were afraid they might hate you.

Not touching someone because you wanted to close the distance between you.

But at an even more basic level, touching someone because it made you happy.

I realized that was another way of looking at it.

And honestly, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t imagine a future where Yūha would hate me for patting her head.

I stayed with Chris-san for the rest of his filming and returned home in the evening.

Apparently Yūha had just gotten back too, because we ran into each other in the washroom.

“Just got back?”

“Yeah.”

I asked something I could tell just by looking and tried to approach her as naturally as possible. I raised my right hand and reached toward her black hair.

I was supposed to say, “Good work today,” gently pat her head, and then walk past her.

That was the plan.

But Yūha instinctively braced herself, and my movement stopped too.

I froze with my hand stretched diagonally in front of me, while Yūha held both hands over her head as if protecting it.

The two of us stood motionless in the silent washroom, posed like we were playing at being monsters.

“W-What… were you maybe…?”

“N-No… nothing. It was nothing.”

“R-Right. Yeah. Nothing at all.”

“Exactly. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

With my right hand still raised and Yūha keeping both hands over her head, neither of us moved any closer. We rotated clockwise around each other until I ended up standing in front of the sink.

Someone please save me…

The moment I wished for that, loud footsteps came running down the hall.

“Ta-da! Great job today, everyone!”

For that moment alone, Kagari looked like a goddess.

Well, the problem was that things seemed to have gotten even more complicated afterward.