The Secret Exchange Diary

Markets are always so packed in the morning!

It seems like a lot of local chefs come here to buy ingredients. That’s a sign of a great market.

We should buy gifts for Danny and Toi while we’re here.

Well, Manager Daniel just overslept, but I really wanna buy something to help Toi feel better.

*sniff sniff* I smell something that’s making me hungry.

Look! They are selling white rice and something called “fish-shed soup”¹ over there!

……

Fish head soup. You can, of course, order squid since it’s a Hakodate speciality, but you can also get portions of sashimi and salmon roe to mix it all together.

It sounds like a very simple way to get fresh, local seafood. I imagine it must be popular with tourists.

Yeah, we should check it later!

(But now that I look around…)

Ugh, it’s so crowded in here…

It makes sense, considering how much stuff they sell here.

What’s this line for? I wanna knoooow!

Kazuo! Watch where you’re going, or you’ll trip over the boxes!

(The paths are filled to the brim with shoppers and supply boxes! Alright, it’s our time to shine…!)

Alright, we provided some services to the shoppers and helped clear the paths a bit! This should make it easier for everyone to get around!

Hm? We’ve lost Netaro.

Ah, he ran off to the squid-fishing area.

Haha… He has a strange whimsy to him. It’s almost childlike.

When I start to wonder if my own childhood was like that, I feel quite nostalgi⁠—

(Hm? Yodaka-san’s pressing his finger between his brows…)

What happened? Are you okay?

…My apologies. It’s just a headache.

Huh? Should we take a break?

It’s alright. I’m quite used to them. But that aside, I wonder if 10 would be enough.

10 of what?

10 crabs. It looks like they offer a refrigerated delivery service, so I wanted to buy some for our friends back in HAMA.

Huh? But those are king crabs…

Even one of those would cost half of my monthly food budget…

Oh, they have scallops as well. Excuse me, miss, I’ll take 30 of these. I’ll also buy some squid and salmon and ask Yukikaze to cook a seafood hot pot for us.

A-Are you sure?

Hm? We have five mayors who are still growing young boys, so we need as much food as we can buy.

(He’s so gentlemanly…!)

I-I can help! What about you, Nagi-kun?

Ah… I want to help, but there’s somewhere I wanted to go…

That’s okay. We’ll see you later!

Excuse me, I’ll take these roses, the lavenders, the wisterias, and these azalea branches.

Yes, can I have them sent to this hotel, please? Thank you very much.

(Okay… Now my flower supply is restocked. I should be able to make it through this trip.)

Hm?

*munch, munch* Ahhh, the elasticity of this salmon roe is excellent!

(Netaro’s eating at the food court. All alone…)

……

I truly feel like I’m feasting on a life form. Next, this crab fish-shed soup!

……

Fiss-head soup? Hm, what was it again? Fiss-shead? Hmm… I don’t quite recall…

Fish head.

Hm? Gii!

…Sorry, it was just bugging me.

I thought you were avoiding me out of fear.

Urgghh…

Are you no longer afraid?

…No, I’m still scared.

…I thought about ignoring you, but…

I thought that you might be sad about being isolated, so I changed my mind.

Hm…?

I don’t know if you came here alone, but…you came to a planet you have no connections with. Like, you’re sitting here alone eating salmon roe.

So I thought that you might be lonely.

“Lonely”.

Yeah. Don’t you feel lonely thinking about your family or your friends?

Friends…

Ahh! The squid I saw at the squid-fishing area looked exactly like my superior, so I exploded into laughter! I was unable to eat it, so I refrained.

Huh…? Oh, um, okay.

Why do humans feel “lonely” when they think of their family and friends?

I guess it’s an emotion that aliens don’t understand. Like, maybe your bodies aren’t made that way…

……

Maybe you just never feel lonely, Netaro. That’s why you can’t understand it…

Hm…

Netaro?

Humans feel lonely when they are by themselves, correct? A human I used to know taught me that.

Yeah. It’s lonely to be on your own. It makes you sad.

The salmon roe here is really good, but if you don’t have anyone to enjoy it with, it makes you sad.

If you have someone who’ll always stay by your side, everything makes you happie⁠—

It makes you happier?! What is the logic behind that?!

Being together cuts sadness levels in half…!

On what grounds?!

When you have someone to share your life with, your life feels happier. I think. Probably. No, definitely. Without a doubt.

So very mysterious!

You only just came to Earth recently, so I should teach you all of these things as your representative for humanity.

How reliable! Thank you!

(Huh? I don’t feel scared anymore. That’s weird…)

(Netaro kinda feels like a harmless little kid.)

You two look like you’re having fun.

Ah, Chief.

Gii has taught me that being on your own causes you to feel lonely and sad.

S-Sounds like you were talking about something deep.

Ah, uh, not really…

Well, hmm… People live their lives in lots of different ways these days, but that’s generally the case for most people.

Mmm, I would like know more!

Ah, Yodaka-san’s here. Okay, if you’re done eating, we can head out now.

Okay.

That being said, Gii…

You said precisely the same things that he did.

*sob…* *sniff*

(We’re both still writing in our exchange diary, but…)

(Why do I always cry when Aa-chama responds to me…?)

*sob*

……

If I borrow Aa-chama’s power…will brother Dearest finally come back to me? Will he stay with me forever…?

……

PT! Over here! Look over here!

<⁠Meooow.⁠>

Ohh, good girl! I’ll be home soon, okay? Just sit tight and wait for me.

What are you doing, Daniel-sa⁠— Oh! It’s PT!

You’re watching her on your pet camera! You asked Nayuki-kun to take care of her, right?

Yeah. But seein’ her makes me just wanna drop everything and run back home!

So this is the cat I’ve seen wandering around the HAMA House.

You have a cat?! I’d like to pet it.

Me too. I won’t mind if she bites me.

Why’re you already expectin’ her to bite you?

PT’s the cutest cat in the whole damn world! I’ll introduce her to you guys when we get back.

Shumai’s gonna get jealous if everyone gives PT more attention than him.

That green pea creature never wants to be around me…

(Yeah, he did bark at him a lot when they first met…)

On an unrelated note, what are we having for dinner tonight?

Ah, right, I forgot about that. We haven’t really decided on anything yet.

You need a reservation for the buffet here, so…I guess we have to eat at a restaurant. Either the one in this building or one outside…

Daimon Yokocho.

Woah! Oh, Toi-kun… You really scared me there.

We will go to Daimon Yokocho.

Huh?

Toyyy, you’re finally awake.

…Silence.

Stand. We shall meet outside.

(He left…)

……

W-What just happened? He was actin’ kinda weird.

I’m not sure. Maybe he’s still sad about Ryui-kun…

Is that how he acts when he’s upset?

Y’never know with kids these days.

Hm… He’s speaking differently…and acting cold…

*gasp*

Maybe he’s at the age where he’s in that phase…

…Are you talking about that?²

Ahh, like when kids look up at the sky during a hurricane and go “It’s coming…”

And they start wrapping bandages around their arms…

Huhh? Nagi-kun, Toi-kun’s a whole year older than you.

Happens to everyone at a different age.

I have positively no clue what you are all going on about.

Netaro, we’re just agreeing to let Toi be without judging him too harshly.

I see!

Let’s just pretend nothing happened when he goes back to normal.

It’s what good adults should do.

Okay, sounds like a plan.

(I’m worried about Toi-kun… We need to find Ryui-kun fast so he can go back to normal…!)