Chapter 9

"I'm grateful for your help coming in on your day off. I always feel like I stand out when there are couples and girls around."

"No, no."

She firmly states that it is indeed a day off. It seems she is showing her intention not to overwork her employees, and thanks to that, the 'date-like' atmosphere is being washed away by the wind, crumbling bit by bit. I wish the date-like atmosphere could survive.

"Stuffed animals are nice to have at home, but buying them can be quite a hassle. They take up a lot of space."

"Have you never bought them online? There were so many boxes at your place."

There are specialty stores for stuffed animals. I learned this today by coming to a fancy store in a certain part of the city.

Thinking about it, it makes sense that they exist. But I hope you can understand the feeling of being overwhelmed by an unexpected world that I've never imagined.

In a sense, I feel like I'm being pummeled by a horde of cuteness.

"It's not that I can't buy them, but the texture is often different from what I expect, making it difficult."

While I'm being pummeled by cuteness, Mio is seriously rubbing a red octopus stuffed animal. From an outsider's perspective, she looks more like a professional doing market research than a shopper.

But what's with the octopus stuffed animal? Is there a demand for it?

When I touched it, the texture was indeed good. But I doubt I would go out of my way to buy one.

"Then what did you buy so much of online... Ah, I remember."

A large number of boxes. And plastic bottles.

Thinking back, they were mostly the same.

"Water."

"Yes, water. The current trend is Tokyo Water."

"Tokyo Water. You mean like the water that makes a sound like 'water'?"

"Just delicious water. Bottled tap water from Tokyo. The water department sells it."

In my hometown of Fukuoka, they sell desalinated seawater with the name 'drinking seawater,' but this is just tap water. I wonder if it's something that residents of Tokyo buy.

Even though they live in Tokyo. Even though it comes out of the tap.

"You must be thinking, 'Even though they live in Tokyo.'"

My thoughts were read.

Actually, they were read faster than my thoughts. It must be something she's asked about every time.

"You must get asked that a lot."

"It's become a common topic. I use it as an icebreaker when talking to new customers. I also give it to people from other regions as a casual gift."

I wonder why someone who is so good at communication ends up like that at night. Why she comes to her neighbor on Saturday morning with ten thousand yen.

Humans are mysterious creatures.

My interest in this never wanes, but now I want to talk about Tokyo Water, so I'll let this lady, who is looking at me expectantly, ask her questions.

"So, Mio, what's special about Tokyo Water?"

"Tokyo's water treatment facilities are world-class, but when the water is distributed as tap water, chlorine must be added. The law requires a certain amount of chlorine in the water that comes out of the tap."

She spoke quite quickly.

Mio, who is rubbing a bamboo shoot stuffed animal, looks even more serious than before. I didn't know she liked Tokyo Water so much.

But what's with the bamboo shoot stuffed animal? Is there a demand for it?

When I touched it, it had a unique and interesting feel. But the texture was better on the octopus.

"Does Tokyo Water not contain chlorine? But isn't chlorine added for disinfection?"

"Yes."

"Isn't disinfection necessary? Do they boil the water instead?"

"Ozone."

"Ozone."

"Ozone, a triplet of oxygen atoms, eliminates the source of odors and impurities, such as mold and trihalomethanes. The freshness of water that has passed through an ozone treatment pool is incomparable to tap water."

"Wow, it sounds delicious. I'll try a bottle next time—'I found it.'"

My well-intentioned line was cut off.

"This. This is good. I'll take this."

"It's close, Mio. What is this? A dog?"

Mio thrust a chocolate-colored dog stuffed animal wearing a yellow jacket at me. It was so close that my sense of smell was working more than my vision. It smelled like bread, and I wondered how it was made.

But indeed, when I touched it, the long, fluffy fur felt nice, unlike the octopus. It felt like a real puppy.

"The texture, design, material, and stitching are all perfect."

"The tag says it's a stuffed animal inspired by a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel."

A small dog with drooping ears and a brown and white coat. It's similar to a type that looks like a teddy bear, like Fubuki.

"It's the perfect size to place next to Fubuki, isn't it?"

"Yes. Are you buying just this one? You were looking at others too. Like the octopus."

Fubuki is the official name of the white fox stuffed animal 'Fuchan.' The name you call Fuchan determines whether it's morning mode or night mode.

"Right. We'll go to one more place, so let's just get this one here."

You're going to one more place.

"…Do you want to go back?"

Asking that directly is unfair, Mio.

Normally, the best response would be, "No, not at all," or "I'm having fun too," but with this person, I would end up in a mental swamp of poison, taking continuous damage with every two steps.

Since Mio is from the Super Famicom generation, she probably takes that much damage.

"No, I'll stay with you until the end. It's work, after all."

"Right, it's work. Work is the best."

Mio's relieved expression told me that this strange answer was correct.

"Then let's go. We should be efficient in our work."

"The wave of work reform has reached even here..."

After paying, we stepped outside, and the warm, gentle air of a sunny June day enveloped us. After the unusually hot or cold weather in May, the temperature of this season felt comfortable.

Mio, who had come out behind me, was holding a cream-colored paper bag that was bulging with the dog stuffed animal.

"It's quite big, but can I carry it for you?"

"No, I'm fine with this. You have your own luggage, Mr. Matsutomo."

When she hugged the bag to her chest, it seemed like I shouldn't have asked. Even if it's heavy, she probably won't let go until she gets home.

"Okay."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I thought it might be boring for a man, but what did you like so much?"

"...The texture."

"It's important, isn't it?"

On my side, a paper bag containing an octopus stuffed animal was hanging. I felt a strange sense of defeat as Mio looked at me with a face that seemed to say, "I understand, I understand."

With this mysterious feeling of defeat, I followed Mio, who was pointing in the direction indicated by the map on her smartphone.

As we walked, I suddenly found myself on a street that felt familiar.

As of June 15, I ranked first in the daily overall rankings.

I wouldn't have come this far without the bookmarks, evaluations, and comments from everyone. Thank you very much.

By the way.

A dear friend who is a big fan of 'Tokyo Water' asked me,

"Everyone doesn't understand how great Tokyo Water is. If you could, please tell many people about it."

I thought this might be a rare opportunity to reach so many people, so I fulfilled my promise.

Tokyo Water is delicious. I don't think it has any health benefits, but it has a great refreshing taste.

If you found it boring, I apologize.