Chapter 25
A woman starts living in a house where 3 men live.
And not just any house, it’s practically a bachelor’s pad with 3 handsome men.
I can’t really call Dr. Tengo young since he’s supposedly around 45 years old already.
But I couldn’t exactly lump him in with my image of perverted old men his age.
Dr. Tengo doesn’t go around sneaking into people’s rooms while panting, does he?
Wait, he’s an amanojaku so it might be the opposite.
Rather, aren’t I the one who’s having impure thoughts here!?
“Very carefree indeed.”
“Y-you’re wrong! That’s not what I meant!”
“We’re here.”
My distressed thoughts were immediately blown away when I was guided into the room.
“So big!”
“It seems this is about 10 tatami wide.” [1]
A spotless floor and a huge, sliding window.
Beyond that, there is also a small veranda.
With a room this big, I could definitely fit my fridge.
Also, I have to buy a huge rug too.
Oh, and some Ike* furniture would be nice!
It’s a good thing I didn’t throw that thick catalogue away.
“It was Takeru who had these renovations done… Oh, and this is the light switch.”
He handed me a remote.
Aside from the on and off switches, there were other buttons too.
“Could it be… Is this a ceiling light!?”
“Is that what it’s called?”
“This is so luxurious!”
I bit my tongue in excitement.
“Takeru had those installed too.”
“Amazing, amazing! I’ve always wanted something like this!”
Stepless dimming eliminates the need for indirect lighting! [2]
I can’t wait to try this tonight!
“You’re really excited.”
“Why of course! I guess you could say my blood pressure is shooting up too!”
Ah, I talked too loudly.
“Don’t worry, the room is sound-proof.”
“Eah!?”
There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.
Should I try singing?
Or maybe I could do some room DIYs.
“The air conditioning is over here.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
But as I looked up, I couldn’t find the aircon unit.
“It’s a ceiling-type.”
“It’s a built-in aircon!”
“It was Takeru’s idea.”
Looks like that flashy host chairman is very thorough.
Even though he’s the god of poverty, I wonder how he can afford all this.
“Are you into electric appliances?”
“I definitely don’t hate them!”
I actually love them and would like to make some bread and dough with them.
I couldn’t drink espresso because it’s too bitter for me, but I would also like to have an espresso machine either way.
My previous room was narrow and I didn’t have enough money either, so I couldn’t buy them.
“The toilet is over there.”
“No way! This room has a toilet too!?”
“If it’s too cramped for you, then you can use the one down the hall.”
It might not have a bath, but having a toilet inside your room is the best!
Is this a business hotel?
“Also, this is the closet.”
“… Where?”
“Here, let me open it.”
He guided me to what looked like a 3D wall painting with only a door panel attached to it.
If you compare the door position from the hallway to the space inside, the position of certain areas in the room look impossible.
“I see…”
I don’t really feel like it’s there even if I grip the door handle. It only feels like there is a gap between the wall and the door panel.
When it’s opened, the space inside is about 2 tatami wide including the shelves. But when it’s closed, it only looks like there’s a door panel and a wall. It doesn’t feel like anything’s there when it’s closed.
“Is it hard to use?”
“No, rather… It feels uncomfortable in terms of spatial awareness, or rather, it feels like there’s only a space there.”
Space?
Ayakashi?
Is it something like the urban legend Sukima-onna?[3]
“That’s discriminatory. She’s actually working as an interior designer.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know enough…”
“Right. Have this.”
Dr. Tengo pulled out a handbook out of nowhere and handed it to me.
[An illustrated guide to ayakashi by region]
“… I’ll study hard.”
“Then, see you later.”
After giving an explanation of the questionable but charming room, Dr. Tengo quickly turned away.
But what did he mean by later?
Translator’s Notes:
[1] 10 Tatami
Tatami (畳) is a type of straw mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. In Japan, the size of a room is often measured by the number of tatami mats (-畳, -jō), about 1.653 m2 (17.79 sq ft) for a standard Nagoya-size tatami.
A 10 Tatami-mat room is approx. 15.47 m² / 166.5 ft². Source
[2] Stepless dimming
Is an advanced dimming technology in the field of lighting, which aims to achieve smooth and continuous changes in the brightness of the light source to meet different lighting needs. Source
[3] Sukima-onna –
Also known as The Gap Woman, is a yokai which gained popularity in urban legends. Its origin dates back to the latter years of the Edo Period, when a samurai who worked in a senior administrative position collected anecdotes and strange stories from various people, including his colleagues and the elderly, over a period of 30 years and compiled these stories into 10 different volumes of 100 stories each which he called Mimibukuro.
Although stories about this yokai have changed over time, at its core, the sukima-onna is a rare yokai that finds herself able to comfortably fit into any time period without major revisions. Source
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