Hospitality Beginnings - SIDE B

Lobby

1

Kaede

Phew… We did it.

Liguang

Dragging me into your mess and making me clean it up… Unbelievable.

Renga

I didn’t ask for your help!

Kaede

(I convinced Liguang-san to help us out somehow… I’m lucky that there were two ward mayors around to handle things.)

Um, thank you so much for the help…!

Liguang

Hmph… This was a waste of my time.

Renga

Who cares about your time when it was a waste of mine!

Dammit, slow down, Liguang! I told you not to walk in front⁠—

Kaede

Hold on!

Renga

Huh?! What else do you want?!

Kaede

No, my suitcase…!

Renga

What do you want with my… Huh? Why do you have the same one…?

Kaede

The one you have is mine.

Renga

Ah…! It doesn’t have my Pup Pup Paradise charm on it…!

D-Dammit! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?! I can’t be caught owning the same things as a commoner!

Kaede

(He keeps calling me that…)

*sigh…* He’s gone. At least I got my luggage back.

(I don’t care that much about what’s inside it, but I just don’t wanna lose the suitcase since it was a gift.)

<⁠The final bus bound for HAMA is about to depart. All passengers please make your way to bus stop 11.⁠>

Kaede

Oh no… I need to run!

Bus
Kaede

Phew… I made it.

<⁠The bus will now depart. All passengers, please fasten your seatbelts.⁠>

Kaede

(But wow…)

(This bus is so empty. I guess it is the last one of the day…but it used to be filled with people.)

???

Oh? Hamasaki, is that you?

Kaede

Huh… Daniel-san?!

2

Daniel

Yo, nice to see ya.

Kaede

Same here. Are you heading the same way?

Daniel

Yeah. Crazy that buses to HAMA only run once every four hours. Waiting for this one tired me out more than the flight.

Kaede

Ah, yeah… It would really suck if you missed it. The Tokyo one runs about as often as Yamanote line trains, lucky them.

Daniel

Yeah, I’m not surprised, honestly. We both know what’s going on with the HAMA recession from first-hand experience.

Want some beer? The unemployed gotta stick together, you get me?

Kaede

You know… We’re not technically unemployed for another week.

(Daniel-san and I both worked as tour guides at the same travel agency, but…unfortunately, our company declared bankruptcy.)

Daniel

Well, at least we can toast to our final day on the clock.

Kaede

(Our final day… Yeah, both of us flew in today after giving our final tours.)

Daniel-san…what are you thinking of doing after the company goes down?

Daniel

Man, don’t get my mood down right at the end like that…

Kaede

Come on, the company won’t even be gone for another week.

Daniel

Hahaha! Well, y’know, I’ll figure it out.

What about you? Got anything lined up?

Kaede

I…

(Being a tour guide was fun, and I really like traveling too. Plus…)

(Back in the airport… Well, it was a different kind of situation than what I would be in at my job, but…it made me happy to help out HAMA a bit.)

(I know I want to stay in the tourism industry. But doing work overseas always leaves me with a lasting regret in the back of my mind.)

(…So what is it that I really want to do?)

Daniel

Hey, what’s up? Something on your mind?

Kaede

No, I’m good… I’ll try and figure things out too.

Daniel

Haha! That’s the spirit. We’ll just go wherever the wind takes us, right?

Kaede

Uh, no. Unlike you, I would prefer to think things through.

Daniel

That so? Well… Then I guess this just marks the end of one journey and the start of another.

Kaede

Yeah… You’re right. That’s a good way of putting it.

Daniel

But, hey, keep your head in the game up until next week, and it’ll make things easier on me.

Kaede

…I have tomorrow off, you know.

Daniel

Whaaat? Naaaah, come on, let’s do this together.

Kaede

Good luck at work.

(I get to see Kafka again tomorrow.)

(After that, I need to look for my next job… I know I’ll find something. I’ll find something that lets me do what I’ve always wanted to do. Just thinking about it makes me excited.)

(I can’t wait to see who I’ll meet on my journey!)