聖女二人の異世界ぶらり旅

Author: カヤ (Kaya)

The Day We Fell

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It was 7 PM on a Friday night, and the May holidays were over. Chiharu quickly cleaned up her desk and prepared to leave.

“Oh, Asou. That’s unusual, you leaving on time.”

“I’m meeting a friend for drinks tonight.”

“Oh, but you’re really going to meet a boyfriend aren’t you?”

“Ahahaha. If only that were true. See you later then.”

“Bye.”

Chiharu lightly brushed of her superiors words and quickly made her way out of the office building. She would then catch a bus to the nearest train station. And there she would meet her friend, Maki Aida.

It had been three years since Chiharu started to work at this distribution company. She worked in sales. Even if there was some overtime, it wasn’t one of those black companies. However, the building where she worked was in an industrial park with lots of warehouses, which was far from any train stations. As Maki had been transferred to a different office in the spring, this was the first time they would be drinking together in over a month.

Chiharu arrived at the closest station. It was the beginning of summer, but the night air was still cold on her skin as she tightly wrapped her pink cardigan around herself. The sweet, flower-print skirt moved in the wind, as did her loose, wavy hair as she ran to the spot where her friend would be waiting. Many men turned their heads when she ran by, however, Chiharu had never been hit on by a man in her life. Chiharu was under the impression that this meant she was not very popular, but the few men that ever asked her on a date, were always the serious type who only thought of marriage. In other words, she was too delicate looking, that it was hard for people to casually approach her.

She arrived at the lion statue. Her friend was waiting there in a black pantsuit with beautiful black hair that just missed her shoulders. As always, Chiharu was taken by how cool she looked. It warmed her heart.

“Maki-chan!”

“Chiharu!”

She couldn’t help but smile. Chiharu Asou. Maki Aida. Close friends called them by their first names. They had joined the company at the same time and had immediately formed a friendship. And that friendship became stronger once they found out that the other could really hold their liquor. Maki was cheerful, tidy and mindful of others, but also had a carefree side as well. While Chiharu seemed soft and kind but could be rather dark-sided. But that made them a good team. Ever since then, they had gone out to drink like this. They were such good friends that they would even go on trips together.

They entered a nearby bar and were led to a private table. It was a good thing too, considering their purpose today.

“What will you get, Chiharu?”

“Hmm… I’ll start off with some potato shochu. On the rocks.”

“Hah, as cool as ever, you are. Starting with shochu. And on the rocks. Well, I think I’ll have pure ginjo sake. In a wooden cup.”

“Ah, Maki, you’re starting with sake…and ginjo sake… This bar has a great lineup.”

There was something that looked off-putting about the way the waiter looked at them, but they didn’t mind. Not today.

“Well, let’s make a toast.”

“Oh, uh, let’s do a classic one.”

“Okay.”

“Cheers to being dumped!” “Cheers to being dumped!”

“Damn it. I won’t deny that we saw less of each other once we started working, okay? But, it’s been five years! And this is a really important time in our lives as adults. What’s wrong with me working hard at my job!”

“Exactly! Exactly!”

“I wear out the bottom of my shoes every day at work. Then I get home all tired. It’s me that wants to have dinner made and feel some relief!”

“Exactly! Exactly! Oh, waiter, I’ll have a lemon highball now.”

PAGE 2

Two Saints wander off into a Different World