The Beautiful Kuudere Woman Who Always Reads Books While Standing Next to Me at the Laundromat Turns Out to Be the Vice President of One of Our Clients
I walked down the night street with Tsukishima san pulling my arm. The strength of her fingers wrapped around my arm was surprisingly strong.
If I had wanted to shake her off, I probably could have. But my brain had long since stopped functioning normally.
“…Is this the way? How about here? This looks good.”
Tsukishima san stopped in an alleyway off the main street, lined with old bars that looked like they had been left behind from the Showa era.
“Eh…is there something around here…?”
As I stood there confused, Tsukishima san simply said, “Hmm.” and stopped in front of one of the shops. The weathered wooden signboard had the name of the shop written in faded black ink: “Smoke.”
A blue curtain fluttered quietly in the night breeze. From inside the shop, the aroma of smoke and the cheerful laughter of customers could be heard. It seemed to be a yakitori shop.
“…Here? This is quite a rustic place.”
“Well, yeah. These days, trendy shops have too many features. The UI…I mean, the drinks are too complicated, and you end up wondering how to enjoy them. But this place is different. The interface is the grill, the chef, beer, and sake. The API is clear. You order, and delicious food comes out. In other words, it’s a stable, reliable legacy system.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her characteristic evaluation of the shop.
“Legacy system, huh. That’s true. That’s nice.”
Tsukishima san sniffed proudly and opened the sliding door with a clatter.
The interior had 10 counter seats and a few small tables. It was a cozy space. The counter was worn and amber-colored, with handwritten menus on the walls. The ceiling was slightly smoked from the smoke.
However, strangely enough, it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Instead, it felt like being wrapped in something warm, a sense of security.
“Welcome ! Please have a seat at the table !”
Despite the slight tingling in my ears from the owner’s loud voice, I sat across from Tsukishima san.
Tsukishima san and I looked up at the same time and glanced at the menu posted on the wall.
“ll have a beer…and maybe a skewered meat platter?”
“Hmm. I’ll have hot sake.”
Tsukishima san murmured, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the wall.
“You drink, don’t you…..”
“Well…the atmosphere at the previous establishment wasn’t really conducive to relaxing and enjoying a drink.”
“Ah…I suppose so.”
“Well, I did have a drink, though.”
Tsukishima san stuck out her tongue slightly as she said this.
We placed our orders and waited for our food to arrive.
Soon, a bottle of hot sake and my beer were brought to the table. We clinked our glasses lightly.
“Cheers, Minato san.”
“Cheers, Tsukishima san.”
It was an awkward toast. But the sound of it felt completely different from the noisy toast at the first gathering—it felt special.
Next, a platter of skewers arrived. Chicken breast, scallion, tsukune, and thigh meat. Tsukishima san reached for the scallion without hesitation.
“Why do they bother skewering meat?”
Tsukishima san stared intently at the skewer in front of her and muttered.
“Huh? Isn’t it because it’s easier to eat?”
“Is that all? I think it’s a kind of data structure. Meat, scallion, meat—it defines different elements as a single sequence. The skewer is a physical pointer that links each piece of data. By the way, tsukune is a compressed file. All the data is archived in the form of ground meat.”
“…A compressed file, huh?”
“Yeah. Tsukune.zip.”
“But tsukune…I mean, ground meat can’t be restored to its original form, right?”
“Oh no…it’s lossy compression…it’s an MP3 ! An MP3 ! Tsukune is an MP3 !”
It was amusing to see Tsukishima frantically trying to correct himself, and when I laughed out loud, Tsukishima san also took a sip of his hot sake with a satisfied look on his face.
“So, sometimes tsukune has cartilage in it, right? What do you think about that?”
“Huh? I think it’s delicious…”
“It’s delicious, isn’t it? But in my opinion, it’s an intentional bug. A mutation. By deliberately mixing in foreign objects into the smooth texture specification, it gives users a new experience that makes them go, ‘Hmm.’ …Well, it’s a kind of hacking, I guess, on the texture.”
“…..Tsukishima san, you’re exhausting my brain.”
“Fufu…..that’s the highest compliment.”
She said, laughing happily.
After finishing their discussion about the structure of skewer, she suddenly returned to a serious expression.
“…Still, today’s drinking party was really tiring…”
“Haha…well, it’s part of the job, I guess.”
“There are times when business is fun. Like the matchmaking event the other day. Today too…the common thread is Minato san.”
Those words were too direct. In this space filled with the boss’s loud voice and skewer smoke, her words alone resonated clearly in my ears. My heart pounded loudly, painfully.
“…T-that’s…”
I tried to come up with a clever response, but my thoughts were scattered. Driven solely by the impulse that I couldn’t leave it at that, I opened my mouth.
“I also feel more at ease when I’m with Tsukishima-san…or rather, an acquaintance…a friend !?”
Watching me fumble for words, Tsukishima san smiled contentedly and happily.
“…Yeah. Right.”
She said that and took another sip of hot sake. Her pace was clearly faster than that of an ordinary person.
“Tsukishima san, if you drink too much…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. My liver isn’t that weak.”
“It looks like it’s overclocked…”
Tsukishima san smiled slyly, and her body suddenly leaned forward.
I hurriedly supported her slender shoulders. Her face was right next to mine. The sweet scent of sake mixed with the scent of her shampoo shook my rationality.
“Hey, Minato san…”
She leaned her cheek on her hand and whispered with her face supported by my arm and her own.
“At work, people are talking about my ‘ex-boyfriend,’ which is funny…I have zero dating experience and have never had a boyfriend. What do you think, Minato san?”
That question seemed to touch a soft and fragile part of her heart that she never usually showed. Perhaps it was the alcohol talking, but Tsukishima san continued.
“…Someone like me, a bug-ridden OS with no manual or documentation—no one would want to install that, right?”
Those words, so vulnerable and tinged with a hint of loneliness, squeezed my heart tightly. A bug-ridden OS…? That’s no joke.
“I don’t think so.”
I tightened my grip on her shoulder slightly.
“That’s definitely not true.”
I could only come up with clumsy words.
“That’s not a bug. I think it’s the most interesting feature that only you have, something no one else has. Most users just don’t have the documentation to understand that attractive feature…but I want to read that specification document and understand it.”
At my straightforward words, Tsukishima san blinked in surprise.
“…I see. Interesting feature…huh?”
She smiled softly, truly happily. That smile was the most beautiful I had ever seen on her face.
“…Minato san….◎△＄♪×￥●＆％＃”
Tsukishima san closed her eyes as if she were completely at ease and made a soft, indistinct sound.
“…Eh, Tsukishima san…? Did you fall asleep…?”
Tsukishima san jerked awake for a moment, then raised her face again.
“Hmm. I was in sleep mode.”
“You won’t wake up unless you touch the mouse…”
“Is that a euphemism for a kiss?”
“No way !”
“Haha…I just couldn’t help saying it.”
Tsukishima san opened her eyes, but they were still droopy from drunkenness and sleepiness.
“But.. you do look tired. Let’s finish quickly and go home…”
“Hmm. …Hey, Minato san, do you ever wake up looking at a ceiling you don’t recognize in the morning?”
“I want to sleep under a familiar ceiling and wake up under a familiar ceiling…..”
“So, Minato san’s room?”
Tsukishima san pointed at me with a smile.
“There’s no room to put up someone who’s drunk and tired right before falling asleep…”
Considering our positions and relationship, I thought it might be inappropriate to easily accept the invitation, so I brushed it off.
Tsukishima san pouts her lips and asks, “Will you walk me to the entrance?”
“I’d rather walk you that far…”
“Wait, are you teasing me?”
“I’m just worried because you’re so drunk !”
Tsukishima san laughs and says, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Sacrifices are inevitable for the advancement of science.”
“That is more of a success rate—-what are you making me say this time !?”
“Haha…you fell for it. The success rate…haha…hic…my stomach hurts…fufu…”
Tsukishima san clapped her hands and laughed heartily. It seemed her sleepiness had faded.
Maigetsu