Tide Boundary 'Asking for Tea 25'
"So, what am I supposed to do?"
Chizuru asked.
No one could answer.
In Sosuke's world, there is a seventy-three-year-old Chizuru Ogata.
At least, she was there until yesterday morning.
And right in front of him, there is a twenty-five-year-old Chizuru.
"Does this mean there are two of me?"
Mizuno said.
"Is it really that simple?"
Sakaki operated his terminal.
"Family register inquiry... Chizuru Ogata, seventy-three years old. There is an address as well."
Sosuke peered at the screen.
"I'll try calling her."
"Wait."
The young Chizuru stopped him.
"Why?"
"Just a feeling."
Her face looked anxious.
When he thought about it, it was only natural.
Calling the person she would become in forty-eight years.
It was far beyond just knowing the future.
Sosuke put away his terminal.
"Then let's go home."
"Where?"
"My place."
"Yours?"
"It's also Grandma's house."
"Again with that way of calling her."
They left Takasaki at nine in the morning.
The train ride back was strangely normal.
Students were sleeping.
Office workers were working.
An elderly couple was eating a station bento.
No one knew that the world had split into twenty-four billion.
On the train news, it said:
《US-Japan Emergency Tea Party, starting at 3:00 PM》
《Qing Emperor to attend online as mediator》
《Nanhai Market, trading resumes》
It was the usual world.
Sosuke was a little happy about that.
He opened his terminal.
"Are you there?"
《Yes.》
"So you returned too."
《It appears so.》
"What about your memory?"
《I have retained it.》
"Even from the other world?"
《Yes.》
Sosuke thought for a moment.
"Will you tell anyone?"
《Unless you wish it, I will not share this conversation with anyone externally on my own.》
"I can trust you on that."
《Thank you.》
The sea came into view beyond the window.
Ise Bay.
Countless merchant ships.
A white sail in the distance.
For some reason, Sosuke felt relieved.
Before noon, they arrived home.
He opened the gate.
There was the sound of a broom from the garden.
Sosuke stopped in his tracks.
The seventy-three-year-old Chizuru was there.
Wearing her usual apron.
"You're late."
That was all she said.
Sosuke couldn't say anything.
The young Chizuru didn't move either.
The two Chizurus faced each other.
A long silence.
Only the cicadas were chirping.
The elderly Chizuru spoke first.
"You're thin."
The young Chizuru's eyebrows twitched.
"That's your first word?"
"You need to eat more."
"I don't want to hear that from you."
Sosuke burst out laughing.
Both of them looked at him at the same time.
"What's so funny?"
Their voices overlapped.
"No, it's just, you really are the same."
The elderly Chizuru stepped onto the veranda.
"Let's have some tea."
No one was surprised.
Sakaki, Fuyutsugu, and Mizuno all took off their shoes.
Only the man with the deer antlers stood outside the gate.
"Aren't you coming in?"
Sosuke asked.
The man shook his head.
"I have no place to return to."
2031.
His world had vanished.
Sosuke thought for a moment.
"Then you can just stay here."
"Don't say that so easily."
"We can probably figure out a family register or something."
He looked at Sakaki.
"Don't look at me."
Mizuno laughed.
The elderly Chizuru called from inside.
"The tea is getting cold."
The man stood in front of the gate for a while.
Eventually, he took off his shoes.
Everyone sat down.
The young Chizuru whisked the tea.
Sosuke watched her hands.
"Watch properly."
The elderly Chizuru said.
"You're going to learn, aren't you?"
"Yes, yes."
"Only answer once."
"Yes."
The sound of the tea whisk.
Swish.
Swish.
At that moment, Sosuke's terminal vibrated.
It was from the company.
《Personnel Transfer Notice》
He had a bad feeling.
He opened it.
《Sosuke Ogata: Ordered to transfer from the South Seas Route Management Department to the Maritime Bureau International Negotiation Office》
"Huh?"
Sakaki peered over from the side.
"Ah."
"Don't 'ah' me."
"I recommended you."
"When!"
"Around 663."
Mizuno almost spat out his tea.
One more line.
《Position: Special Tea Envoy》
Sosuke held his head in his hands.
The elderly Chizuru looked happy.
"Isn't that good?"
"What is?"
"They told you you were suited for it, didn't they?"
Akira's face came to mind.
Sosuke accepted the tea bowl.
He took a sip.
It was bitter.
But it was delicious.
Beyond the garden, a breeze blew in from the sea.
August 17, 2026.
Sosuke Ogata, twenty-five years old.
The first day of the world's perhaps first Special Tea Envoy who couldn't even whisk tea properly had begun.
Part 1: Haruna Chapter, End