The fifth day after Ms. Futarishizuka officially declared the start of the view-count contest was a weekday.
During the week, I spent my mornings at the house in the UFO, taking part in pretend family time. My early-to-bed, early-to-rise lifestyle from my life as a teacher was already a distant memory, and my sleep cycle was back to normal. For now, even on the clock I was able to pass my time as I wished.
Despite all my free time, however, my videos weren’t going the way I’d hoped.
I’d given up on music-related content. I’d uploaded several more, but they never got more than two-digit view counts. Most of them stayed in the single digits. Almost nobody was watching them. It was clear this wasn’t going anywhere, and I needed to come up with a new idea.
That Monday, I’d tried streaming video games. Unfortunately, that had failed as well. There was no demand for a middle-aged man muttering to himself alongside a mediocre gameplay performance. That got even less response than my music videos. In fact, it got no views at all, and I’d deleted it that morning.
I decided to leave the villa in search of a better idea. Smartphone in hand, I walked through Futarishizuka’s Karuizawa neighborhood, past one vacation home after another. The air was brisk and refreshing.
Despite its altitude, this area didn’t get much snowfall. Even at this time of year, it wasn’t too cold to walk around outside. If it did snow, it would cap out at around ten centimeters and melt after only a few days. There were plenty of weeks with no snow at all, and sometimes the temperature got up to almost ten degrees Celsius.
I walked along a woodland path in the early afternoon sun. There wasn’t much wind, and I basked in the rays streaming down through the trees. It was cold if I stood still, but the patches of sun felt nice and warm on my skin.
This was a true luxury. I would never have experienced this at my old job.
“I feel as though we spend less time together these days,” said Peeps from atop my shoulder. He’d warped us back from the UFO earlier.
“That’s because we haven’t been going to the otherworld as much.”
“It has been quite busy here, too, as of late. Do you think we will finally have some time to relax?”
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to kick back until Ms. Futarishizuka’s event is out of the way. Still, the boss gave his approval. I doubt he’ll assign me any other tasks, as long as no sudden problems arise.”
“I see. That sets me at ease.”
“Were you worried about something?”
“In this world, I am the only one relaxing. I have, unfortunately, saddled you with all the responsibilities, and I feel guilty about that. Then again, I am limited in how much I can help while we are here.”
“Aw, Peeps…” What a considerate pet! Why, it made my heart skip a beat to hear him talk like that. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve actually been helping an awful lot, even here.”
“I savor the slow life while you toil away.”
“Why don’t you think of it as a reward for all your hard work so far?”
“But that does not excuse leaving all the labor on your shoulders.”
“I’m relaxing right now, aren’t I?”
Strolling along and sharing easygoing conversation with Peeps was supremely therapeutic, to put it lightly. I could almost forget my progress in the contest, or rather my complete lack of progress. I felt so relaxed, I was starting to think it wouldn’t be that bad to get last place.
I walked for almost an hour but didn’t come up with any good ideas. Nevertheless, getting to chat with Peeps cheered me up.
Once again, I prevailed upon him to warp us back to the UFO. Back in my room at the house, I took a seat at the low table and stared at my closed laptop, trying to pump myself up. I had a feeling I wouldn’t manage to crawl out of last place, but I had to put in the bare minimum of effort, at least. Participating in this contest was essentially my job right now.
But not long after I sat down, I heard someone at the door. They knocked lightly, then a moment later, said, “Are you there, mister?”
“Oh, yes. Come on in.”
My neighbor slid open the door, and I could see Abaddon bobbing in the air behind her.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you,” she said. “I know you must be busy.”
“It’s fine; I wasn’t doing much. Did you need something?” I stood up and went over to the doorway. The two of them were still standing just outside.
“I don’t have anything to offer in return, but I wanted to ask you for a favor,” said my neighbor, her tone a bit formal.
“What kind of favor? I’ll do whatever I can.”
“Really? All right. In that case…”
What came out of her mouth next was a request I never would have expected in a million years.