Volume 5 - CH 5

“I’m home～”

“I’m home.”

“Welcome home.”

When I returned home after a trip that consisted mostly of traveling, Hikari, who had been facing her computer, took off her glasses and greeted me. It seems that my house also became a photo studio, and not only Hikari, but someone else is there every day. Most of them are strangers that I only recognize, or people I saw through the screen in the original world, so it’s very heartbreaking.

“How did it go? Did you meet your parents?”

“I did. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to use a detective agency.”

“No, no, no. Did you take videos properly? The train, the countryside…”

“Ah……,sorry, I forgot.”

“Huh !? As a broadcaster ! You’re supposed to be making videos when you go somewhere, right !?”

“That’s absurd……or is this my fault……sorry”.

I’ve been a broadcaster for a few months in the past, but there’s a lot I’m not used to. In the past, I used to be envious of the broadcaster who got paid for their work, but now that I’ve become one, I feel like I’m more suited to being a salaryman who just does the job handed down to him from above. Well, the grass is always greener on the other side.

“Anyway, I bought souvenirs, so please forgive me.”

“…I hope it’s local.”

“Oh, yeah that’s it.”

“Nice ! I’ll take a sub-chan shot, sub-chan !”

Subchan……Oh, subchannel……daily routine. You’re really running the camera 24 hours a day all the time……

“Hey, Hikari.”

“Yes? Oh, Senpai, change the memory card ! Change the lighting position !　Also, you haven’t used SNS today, have you? Please update it while you’re at it !”

“That’s fine, but……you said you wanted to be a normal girl in the past. Did that dream…..come true?”

“What is it, all of sudden? Did something happen?”

“Well,……a little bit. I met Saki.”

“Huh !?”

This missing 10 years of memory definitely exists in me. But it’s only passive. I wasn’t able to ask the questions that I wanted to ask.

“It would be nice if you were able to fulfill your dreams…..but I know you had to take care of me, and I’m sorry if I made you give up your dreams for me……”

People are creatures that grow up. As we get older, we experience more and learn more. But Saki hadn’t changed. In a bad way, there was no change. But in a good way, there are things that are better not to change. That is dreams, goals, and desired future. If they had been lost because of me…….

“Of course I couldn’t lead a normal life, don’t make fun of me !”

And the answer was a stern one.

“I thought being a broadcaster was just for fun, that it would be easy to make money and gain popularity, that it would be easy to balance work and everyday life. But it turns out that I have to shoot, edit, and use SNS every single day ! If I say anything honest, I get flamed, I have to do everything by myself, and I have to take care of my personal life ! It’s not the future I thought it would be !”

Hikari is angry as he prepares for the shoot. However, her expression seemed somewhat satisfied with her work.

“But you know, everything in the world is like that. It’s not the future I had in mind. It won’t work out. Even if I start over, everything will never get better. In the midst of such a painful daily life, there are moments when I still feel happy. I’m happy that I have arrived in this future.”

Because of the lighting, Hikari’s expression was too bright to see. But it’s okay if I can’t see it.

“It’s the same for me.”

I’m sure I’ll always see that face.

“Oh, and you said you’re going to have a reunion, right? With the part-timers.”

“Hm? Is that right?”

As I was helping her prepare for the video shoot, Hikaru said, out of the blue, 

“Paa san said that he found Daiki kun.”