kscans

Chapter 23 -

A Rendezvous

Bringing Yanagi back to the public stage.
When I brought up this idea, both the chairman of the Mutual Aid Society and the government official naturally showed reluctance.

"Well then, that's fine. I'll lick the ambassador's shoes."

I immediately licked the shoes of the U.S. Ambassador to Japan who was present at the meeting.
You might ask if I have any pride? Of course I do. But things have priorities, don't they? Pride never comes first.
Perhaps realizing my seriousness, the chairman and the government official immediately changed their tune. The ambassador was visibly taken aback.
He had agreed to attend thinking he might be able to do me a favor, but he clearly hadn't expected to have his shoes licked.

"Mr. Sato, please spare me... I mean, seriously?"

His tone was dead serious. I compensated him for the shoes.
As expected of a country's ambassador, he paid great attention to his appearance, so they were quite expensive.
I do regret it, but at the same time, licking an ambassador's shoes is not an experience you get in everyday life, so I'm secretly proud of it.
Like, "I've licked the shoes of the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, how about you?" That kind of thing.
Anyway, this is as far as I can go with Yanagi's matter.
There's still work to be done with behind-the-scenes negotiations and such, but that's not my job.
By the way, Yanagi seems to be reluctant to part with the homeless people he's been living with, even if it's temporary.

"...I'll miss them," he said.

Apparently, he'll stay under that bridge until the very last moment.
Even though he could start living a normal life now, even without the arrangements for his return being complete, he flatly refused.
I gave him an emergency contact method just in case, so there shouldn't be any problems if something comes up.
Anyway, I've done what I can, so I'm enjoying my daily life without worry.
Today is no exception. Today is a date.

"Sato-kuuuun! Sorry to keep you waitiiiiing!!"
"No, no! I just got here myseeeelf!!"

Well, my date is with a middle-aged man, though.
After our initial excitement, the president and I suddenly calmed down and nodded to each other.

"Shall we go then?"
"Yeah."

The "date" was just a joke. We had actually arranged to meet after work to buy things for tomorrow's business trip.
By the way, that earlier exchange wasn't planned or anything.
I just went along with it because I figured he'd try to pull off some kind of joke like that.

"But you know, I get excited every time!"
"Me too!"

We're not exactly thrilled about the big business negotiation that requires the president to go in person.
The president and I share several common interests, and one of them is business trips.
Of course, a business trip isn't a vacation. In fact, if it were a vacation, neither the president nor I would be this excited.
We'd probably just say, "Looking forward to tomorrow's trip, huh?" "Yeah." But a business trip is different.
Even on a business trip, we're not working all the time. There's some free time.
But can we fully enjoy sightseeing with that time? Well... probably not. Even if we have quite a bit of time, we can't go to all the places we'd like to as we could on a tourism-focused trip.
We like that constraint.
It's good to find little pleasures within the constraints of work.
The feeling is close to playing games secretly during class.
In our case, there's the added thrill of knowing we'd face a scolding and confiscation if caught, which makes it supremely enjoyable.

"First things first, it's gotta be underwear, right?"
"Exactly."

And part of the fun of business trips is in the preparation. This is easy to imagine.
It's the same excitement you feel when preparing for a school trip.
The president and I went to the men's clothing section of a large shopping center and started browsing underwear.
Usually, you replace underwear when the elastic loosens or when they get worn out and start to tear.
But the president and I also buy new ones for business trips.
It feels so good to take a bath at your destination and change into brand new underwear.
How should I describe that feeling... It's like the invincible feeling a robot anime protagonist gets when switching to a new model in a pinch, ready to turn the tables!

"By the way, Sato-kun. As always, won't you switch?"
"If you're going to say that, then as always, why don't you switch to mine, Mr. President?"

The president and I get along well, but we don't agree on everything.
We both buy new underwear for each business trip, but we prefer different types.
We're both in the boxer shorts camp, but I prefer knit boxers while the president prefers regular boxers.

"You see, I think this fluttering sense of freedom is the selling point of boxers."
"I understand, you know? I was the same until I graduated high school. But listen, knit boxers have their merits too."

They have a gentle touch. The soft, not cool, sensation is just so comfortable.
In that sense, briefs and boxer briefs are similar, but they're too tight.
Combine the roominess of boxers with the gentleness of knit fabric... isn't that the ultimate?

"No, no."
"No, no."

As the president and I were engrossed in our underwear discussion,

"What on earth are you two doing?"
"Oh, Mama."

Mama was standing there with an exasperated look.

"Mama, listen. Sato-kun is..."
"Mama, listen. The president is..."
"First of all, learn to read the room, you grown men."

An irrefutable point. We had no comeback.
In the end, our boxer debate once again ended in a no-game, so we quickly proceeded to checkout.
But given the chance, the president and I will surely engage in another underwear battle.

"By the way, Mama, are you shopping? Shall Sato-kun and I carry your bags?"
"Thank you, but I'm fine. It's personal shopping and not too much."

Apparently, she's going on a trip for a few days starting tomorrow.

"Where are you going?"
"Fukuoka. A girl I used to look after runs a shop in Hakata, but she's planning to hand it over to one of her favorite employees soon."

So there's going to be a kind of farewell party, and Mama was invited.

"Oh... What a coincidence. We're also heading to Hakata tomorrow."
"My, my, that is a coincidence indeed. If your schedule allows, why don't you come to the party?"
"No, no, we'd be complete outsiders."
"You two would be fine. Besides, Ran-chan... oh, that's the girl I looked after. She's not the type to mind."
"Hmm... What do you think, Sato-kun?"
"Well, if it's a place Mama looked after, it must be good. I'd like to go if we can."
"As expected, Sato-kun gets it~ Mama, could you tell us the date and time?"

Based on the time Mama told us, it shouldn't be a problem.
Well, if there's trouble on our end, things might change... but that can't be helped.

"Alright, it's decided then. I'll let them know I'm bringing guests."
"Thank you very much!"
"...You two are well past your teens, but you still act like it."

Well, we've got one more thing to look forward to on this business trip. Score!