A Single Rose
Um… This is the address on the card he gave me…
…! There it is! Flower Laundry…
(That person who gave me a ride a few days ago… Uh, Hachinoya Nagi? Is he here today?)
Good morning. Nice weather today.
…H-Huh?! There’s a motorcycle on the ground… Wait, Nagi-san?!
She doesn’t want to let me go…
Your whole body’s stuck under there! H-Hold on, let me get you out…!
Thanks for the help.
Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, right?
I’m okay. I got to see the cat.
What cat…?
There was a black cat that jumped out, and I lost my balance staring at it. But it was a really cute cat, so it’s all okay.
(He’s…quite the character… At least he’s optimistic? But he would have broken a bone if things went differently.)
I wanted to thank you for the other day by coming over and buying some flowers, but… Wow, you weren’t kidding about the laundry thing.
(It doesn’t seem like he gets much business… Is it because HAMA hasn’t been doing well as a tourism region? If the city brings in more visitors, Nagi-san’s shop might get more customers too…)
I can get you the flowers. Do you have any laundry? You can get it done while you’re here. If you’d like, I can try and make some conversation too.
We usually have someone else here who’s better at that than me though.
Ahaha… I’ll just take the flowers, thank you.
Okay.
(What is going on inside this guy’s head…?)
What are they for? Personal use? A present?
They’re for a celebration. The company I’m going to be working at is starting operations soon, so I wanted to send flowers…
…You’re sending flowers to your own employer? Do you want to sign off on it using a fake name?
Huh? No, that’s okay! The company’s president is an old friend…!
I’m sending it to the company, but…I really wanted to buy them to congratulate him on starting something new…
I see. In that case, instead of going for the usual moth orchids, I think it would be better to get an arrangement.
If you know the company’s brand colors or any colors that your friend likes, I can make one based off of that. I can also make an arrangement based on flower language.
Blue roses symbolize “dreams come true,” and grape hyacinths symbolize “a bright future.” Since you’re celebrating the company’s founding, something extravagant would be best, but something long-lasting would be good too…
(…Wow. He’s really putting a ton of thought into this. He seems to know a lot about flowers.)
(I thought that it was kind of weird that this shop was half-laundromat, but…Nagi-san looks like he really cares about it.)
Um, can I ask for a few different ideas? I’d like to pick the best ones out of your suggestions…!
Of course. We can come up with the perfect one together.
What do you think about this arrangement?
It’s beautiful! Thank you so much!
Glad you like it. We’ll deliver them to the office early Monday morning.
Thank you in advance! I’ll be there.
Ah… One more thing. I have a freebie.
Hrmmmm…
(Wh— What, is he…gathering his energy into something?)
For you. I imbue my flowers with the power to make people happy.
(…A bonus. That’s so nice of him. That makes sense, people are always happy to get flowers.)
Also… Watch out for the rain on your way home.
Hm? They didn’t say it was going to rain in the forecast.
I can tell from the clouds and the atmospheric pressure. They just shifted.
Haha. I can’t wait for Monday. I hope Kafka likes them.
Oh, I was heading to the station, but the office building’s right here…
(This is the building that Kafka and I looked out over HAMA from. I still can’t believe he bought it out to turn it into an office.)
Kafka’s really such a daredevil. For better and for worse…
(When he hired me, I couldn’t have imagined that the building we were standing on would be our office. But… This place kind of feels like our company’s starting point in that sense, so I love the idea.)
(Apparently some other people have already been hired to work with us. I can’t wait to meet them…)
A PeChat message… Oh, it’s from Yuki-nii.
We just landed. I can’t wait to see you again
(…He’s home. I finally get to see him again.)
Alright! I’m glad I got to see the office, now I can lea—
Ack! Wha— It’s raining?!
Is there anywhere I can hide under…? A roof or something!
It was so sunny and clear earlier today… My rose got wet too.
(But it’s still so pretty. Maybe he was right about it bringing happiness. Roses are HAMA’s city flower, so just looking at it brightens my mood.)
(There’s someone there… He’s completely drenched. He’s gonna get sick…)
E-Excuse me! There’s still space under here, so you can join me if you want!
……
It’s over there. I can take you…
*gasp*
Leave me alone! I’m in the rain because I wanna be!
*gasp* A-Are you…
(It’s Nishizono Renga… I met him at the airport the other day!)
…You’re that annoying commoner with the suitcase…
(Hey, I was pretty annoyed myself, you know?!)
(Maybe I should’ve just ignored him… But I’m already talking to him, so…)
……
…A rose.
Huh…? Ah, yeah. Someone gave this to me. Isn’t it…pretty…?
……
(…He looks like he’s about to cry.)
(And why is he walking around without an umbrella…? Is he wearing…mourning clothes?)
Um… Do you want it? You can have it.
…Wh— No, I don’t!
But it’s imbued with the power to make people happy. So, uh, please, take it!
*gasp*
…Are you tryna make me feel better? I’ll take it if you want it gone so bad.
He left… At least he took the rose.
(Nishizono Renga… He’s one of HAMA’s ward mayors. If he’s gonna work for HAMA Tours, I guess I’ll be seeing more of him from now on.)
(I can’t seem to hold a good conversation with him. I wonder if we’ll be okay working together…)