kscans

Chapter 221 - A Certain Night for Some Middle-Aged Men

"Hmm, I can’t see the end of this at all."

On the day following the shocking revelations from Sarna-chan and Saku-chan, my day began just as any other. The only difference from before the villainess's defeat was the addition of a new task. Upon waking, I now had to check the flow of time that governed the world. Today, too, there was not the slightest sign of the perfect loop known as the daily life timeline being broken.

"A decent person would have broken by now."

In that sense, I'm truly grateful that I’m such a frivolous person. I’m trying my best in my own way, but at my core, I’m still the same goofy kid. I can now look at that optimistically as just the way I am. The ones who must be having a hard time are the gods who are aware of the current situation. The chief gods are all, in their own ways, strongly responsible, so they must be at their wits' end.

"I’m glad I’m human."

After getting ready, I went to the living room to find breakfast already prepared. …It must be because of the coming out. For some reason, I felt like a terribly sinful person.

"H, hey, Saku-chan. I’m not going to get arrested for indecency with a minor or anything, am I?"

"What is a person who can blow up the universe afraid of…"

Saku-chan might be munching on her toast with an exasperated look, but she just doesn’t get it.

"Social standing. Your public face is really important. That’s why I so often and so persistently attack that very thing in others."

If I were my enemy, and I found out that the detestable Satou was sitting on an indecency time bomb, I’d gleefully target that spot. Of course, if I were attacked, I’d retaliate without a moment’s hesitation and make them experience a hell a million times worse.

"What a rotten scoundrel… Anyway, you should be fine. If simply living with a relative who’s a child is against the law, then the law is the problem."

"Yeah, but people can make up whatever accusations they want. I mean, look how many unbelievable accusations I’ve made myself."

"Could you stop assuming everyone is a personification of a prank, just like you, Hero Uncle?"

"H, how rude."

Still, living under the same roof with a current high school girl gives a guy a certain sense of superiority, you know. When I boasted as much, Saku-chan gave a wry smile.

"You let your lecherous side show quite a bit, Hero Uncle."

"Ah, right, that’s probably not good either, is it."

"It’s a little late for that. It might be different with others, but with you, Hero Uncle. And the other relatives."

That one stings. The relatives on my mother’s side all tend to get stupid in the lewd direction when they get together and start drinking. Not in a sleeping-with-anyone kind of way, but more in the idiotic direction, like stripping down and dancing or firing off a machine gun of dirty jokes. Saku-chan, who’s been taking care of things, has naturally had to listen to that sort of talk whether she liked it or not…

"Wait a second. Are we pretty terrible adults?"

"Hahaha."

Say something!

"To be serious, they may have their bad points, but they all have far more good points, so I don’t think it’s a bad influence on my education."

"Saku-chan…"

She's so mature it's almost scary. I know there's a difference between boys and girls, but still. Compared to me when I was a kid, it’s like night and day.

As we were eating and chatting amiably, Saku-chan mentioned, as if just remembering.

"By the way, are you okay on time?"

"Oops, I’ve been taking it a bit too easy. Oh, right. I’m going out with the prez today, so I won’t need dinner."

"Roger."

After that, I went to the office for the first time in a while, handed out souvenirs from my business trip (which was actually entertaining aliens) to everyone, and devoted myself to a day of work. Things had been so hectic, it felt like I could finally relax and take a breather. I finished my rooftop routine, left the company, and headed to the station to meet up with the president, as well as the directors, Higashi-san and Saijou-san.

"Been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here."

When I threw out the little joke, the president responded with a coy pose. The East-West duo were giving us exasperated looks, but I paid them no mind.

"Alright, now that Satou-kun is here, let’s get going."

"Yessir."

"Y, yes."

We got on a train for a few stops. We got off at a station that was unfamiliar to all of us and headed to a nearby multi-tenant building. Oh, and by multi-tenant building, I don’t mean a shady place. In fact, it was perfectly wholesome. It was just a karaoke place. The East-West idol-otaku duo kept glancing at me, saying something about how listening wasn’t enough and they wanted to sing, so… The reason we went a few stops away was out of consideration for the directors, who didn’t want to be seen by their subordinates.

"Prez, what do you want to drink?"

I asked as we arrived at our designated room. The drink bar was included in the room fee, but alcohol was extra.

"Today is mainly for singing, so let’s skip the alcohol. The drink bar is fine for everyone, right?"

"Sounds good. In that case, I’ll go get them. Any requests?"

"I’ll leave it to you, Satou-kun. Higashi-kun, Saijou-kun?"

"Eh, ah. I’ll leave it to Satou-kun as well."

"Same here."

"Alright, I’ll grab a random assortment then."

I took off my suit jacket, left the room, and headed to the drink bar. I thought about making them some mixed concoctions… no, that’s better for the middle of the session when things start to lag a bit. I randomly poured some coke into cups, placed them on a tray, and returned to the room.

"I’m a little hungry, so let’s order some fries, but what else should we get?"

"Let’s order a few more shareable dishes, and then everyone can get what they want depending on how hungry they are. Is that okay with you two?"

"...We’ll leave it to you."

Since that was the case, the president and I picked out some light snacks and placed the order. We had plenty of time, so there was no need to rush. If we ran out, we could just extend it. I leaned back on the sofa and downed my coke.

""That hits the spoooot.""

""…""

"What is it?"

"Oh, you guys don't like coke?"

"No, it’s not that."

"...It’s just that places like this are still a little embarrassing."

I knew it from the way they were glancing at me, but these two had the wrong idea.

"Karaoke isn’t a culture just for young people, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. If anything, old folks love it more."

"Well, President, karaoke at a snack bar might be one thing, but isn’t a place like this different somehow?"

"Not at all. Besides, you two were on sports teams in school, weren't you? I would think this is pretty standard."

The president seemed to think their fidgeting was because it had been a while, but that probably wasn't it.

"From what I hear, you two were in the more serious kind of sports clubs, the ones that were really dedicated to their sport."

Even within sports clubs, there’s a difference between the upbeat, party-loving types and the serious, competitive types. For the record, my high school was super lax, and while I had a fair number of friends in sports clubs, they were top-class partiers but mostly scrubs as athletes.

"Yes. It’s just as Satou-kun says."

"Our generation coincided with the boom, but it was a world completely foreign to both me and Saijou."

"You missed out."

"Well, I wonder. On the contrary, now that we’re older, we get to discover new pleasures, so isn’t that a good thing?"

The student days of the East-West duo probably weren't all bleak. They should have been enjoying their youth, just in a different way from me and the president. In the sense that they could now enjoy entertainment they hadn't explored in their student days, I wouldn't say they had missed out.

"Haha, you really are an optimist, Satou-kun. But you’re right. My view was too narrow. I retract my earlier statement."

""Oh, no.""

"More importantly, let’s us two go first to help them relax."

"Indeed. Shall we show them what two old men singing and dancing with all their might looks like?"

"What are you putting in? I’ll leave the first song to you."

"Let’s see. Then let’s match their taste and go with an idol song."

The president quickly entered a song, and the intro began to play. Ah, this one… it’s nostalgic.

"I think this was popular when I was in upper elementary school."

"Eh, was it that long ago?"

The president seemed a little shocked, but he quickly composed himself and began to sing. And once this man starts singing, he's a powerhouse. He revs his gears to maximum in a split second. Ballads are his strongest suit, but he’s good at everything else too. Seriously, if he had gone into that field and gotten proper lessons, I think he has enough talent to have built an era.

(I can’t lose to that…!!)

Not to be outdone, I also sang my heart out. I was inferior in vocal talent, so I added dancing! But if I dance, the president dances too. That’s the kind of relationship we have. We are partners who perform together, and rivals who push each other, thinking "I won’t lose."

""Phew.""

Five minutes and about twenty seconds. In terms of time, that’s all it was, but a feeling of satisfaction that seemed far greater than a mere five minutes filled our chests as we finished singing. We bumped our fists together and turned to face the East-West duo in unison.

""How was that! This is the sight of old men who, forgetting their age, dance and sing until they sweat!!""

The East-West duo looked at each other, nodded, and replied.

""It makes us feel stupid for being so stiff.""

Right?

"Alright, looks like we’re pulling an all-nighter today!"

"Yes, we have work tomorrow, but let’s sing and dance until morning!!"

Acting your age. Those are important words, but sometimes, forgetting them is a necessary part of life.