Our Sequence (1)

……

(…Yukikaze-san? Seems like something’s bothering him. He’s really glaring at his tablet.)

(*gasp* Wait, could this be what they talked about on the household troubles advice segment on the radio the other day? That worry that comes up just after noon…)

Chankonabe. It’s pretty cold today, so if you add some garlic to it, it’ll warm everyone up both inside and out.

Hm?

Oh. Wait, were you…not…worried about what to make for dinner?

Sorry. Now I look like the weird guy for bringing up chankonabe all of a sudden.

It’s alright, Nagi. I appreciate your suggestion. We can all have chankonabe together tonight.

I was just thinking about my mahorava birthday event…

Oh, your birthday area’s going to be a skating rink, right?

Yeah. I plan on making it open to the general public first before putting on an ice show there.

I’m grateful I’ll get to slip and slide around in a law-abiding way and on my own terms. I usually only slip up when I step on a banana peel or when my bad jokes don’t land.

I’m also glad I’ll have the chance to watch one of your ice shows without fighting for a ticket. I literally owe you my life.

So I’m guessing you’re worried about…what to do for your program?

No, not quite… There will be some decorative lights hung around the rink, and I was thinking about what I wanted them to look like.

There’s a certain “shine” I want to reproduce, but it’d be difficult to achieve it with today’s technology. So I was a bit lost…

That sounds aggressively challenging.

I’m rooting for you. When you have a large plot of land to de-weed, you must first start right at your feet. If you take it one weed at a time, you’ll get it all done eventually.

You can do anything you want in mahorava, so maybe you can draw out your own design for the lights?

Maybe I can. I’ll give it a try. What I have in mind is…

Something like this.

So it’s kind of in the shape of a Nebuta float…?¹ And it’s kind of… It’s unleashing a laser beam? I’m feeling the dynamic ebb and flow of life itself just looking at it…

Yukikaze-san, you have to turn this drawing into reality. It’d be a great loss to humanity if nobody got to see it.

You think so…? Hearing you say that gives me a lot of confidence.

I’ll ask Nayuki to put this in the middle of the rink. All that’s left is to make sure it shines brightly.

Make sure it shines… Oh, what if you gave all of the guests lightsticks made in the same shape?

Like the ones I see Toi use sometimes. They’re small, but they’re really bright when you have a bunch of them together. It might get close to recreating the shine you’re looking for.

That’s a great idea, Nagi. I was trying to find a way to incorporate the audience into the performance too. I’d love it if you’d let me use it.

It’ll bring me one step closer to replicating the chief’s shine.

Huh? The chief’s shine?

Yukikaze! How does that look anything like our chief?!

Oh, Kafka. And you’re here too, Liguang. Welcome home. How did the meeting go?

It went well. We came to an agreement with them.

But that’s besides the point. Were you talking about your birthday event just now…?

Are you being serious, Yukikaze? Do you really think that scruffy moss ball thing with legs looks like our chief?!

I think it’s nice… Looking at it makes me feel really happy. Just like when you look at the chief.

…Okay, I guess I kind of understand that part.

But still! If you put something that huge in the middle of the rink, the lights would be too bright for anyone to see.

That’s true.

You need a certain amount of lighting at a skating rink. It’d be dangerous to have people skate around if they couldn’t see. What was I thinking…?

Did you let your personal biases get in the way? I wouldn’t expect that from you.

If you want to use that thing…that “representation of the chief,” maybe it’s best to turn it into a statue and bring its brightness down to the lowest level.

It would limit the brilliance of the decorative lighting, but it’s more realistic. This way, we could still incorporate your idea.

Liguang…

…If I’m organizing an event, I want to do everything I can to make it the best experience possible.

(For both the guests and the chief. I want to make sure that everyone who comes to celebrate my birthday enjoys themselves to the fullest…)

My dear little brothers, I know I’m lacking in many ways, but would you please lend me your power?

Of course. Now I finally get to say it⁠—if you’re okay with it, I’ll be there to help, Yukikaze-san.

I suppose I don’t have any other plans today.

Kafka…?

…Well, I don’t want anything bad to happen to our chief. And I do want our company events to succeed.

I’ll be your advisor, but only because I’m the company president.

Thank you all. I’m glad I have so many kind little brothers around me.

I’m sure we can do this if we work together. I think tonight’s chankonabe will be extra delicious.