Business Guidance Counselor of the Chamber of Commerce ⑨ The Final Obstruction, and the Fateful Day [#CreativeAward2025 #WorkNovelCategory]

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The pre-event was—a huge success.
The shopping street, which had been busy with preparations since the morning, finally had its big moment. With the signal to open, a wave of people poured in.

The laughter of children that hadn't been heard in a long time, the conversations of housewives comparing goods, the sight of an elderly couple walking slowly as if reminiscing—.

The entire shopping street had come back to life, as if time had been wound back.

“Hey, look at this...!”
“How many years has it been since this shopping street was this lively...?”
“Maybe the shopping street really will be revived...!”

Voices laughing with tears in their eyes, shop owners patting each other on the shoulder in joy.
One of them, Shigeru from Tanaka Greengrocers, looked down at his empty vegetable crates and relaxed his mouth.

“Hmph... we’ve still got it, don't we?”
The pride of being active despite his age seeped into his voice.

At the storefront of Matsudaya, the owner, Kazuo, was surprised by the line of people that kept him from taking his eyes off the sales floor.

Just then, his son Kota came running out from the back.
“It’s amazing! Our manju are already all sold out!”
Kota’s smile had completely wiped away the shadow of anxiety he had shown in the morning.
Kazuo ruffled his son’s hair, his eyes growing warm, and muttered softly.
“...I’m really glad we did this.”

The shopping street that had once been silent.
Now, it was truly “pulsing”.
As if its heart had started beating again.

Yuto and Akiyama stood in a corner of the sidewalk, with the bustle of the crowd behind them.
They looked at each other, and smiles naturally spilled out.

“...We did it.”
“Yeah, we did.”

With few words, yet a shared sense of accomplishment.
It was the moment when the days they had walked together were rewarded.

—However, a shadow had cast itself into that warm afterglow.
“But... the main event, the Sakuragawa Marche, is next, right?”
“...I can’t imagine Mr. Miura will just stay silent.”

Akiyama’s voice trembled slightly in the spring breeze.
Yuto nodded quietly.

A sense of foreboding slowly spread deep in his chest.
And a few days later—that intuition became reality.

It was one afternoon, with only a little time left until the Sakuragawa Marche and preparations in full swing.

The moment the city hall’s number appeared on his smartphone screen, a chill ran down Yuto’s spine.

A bad feeling was approaching with clear contours.

“...Yes, this is Morita.”

“Um... it’s very difficult to say, but regarding the permit for the Sakuragawa Marche—”

“...What?”

For a moment, the sounds around him faded away.

“What does that... mean?”

“The fact that you held a pre-event without a permit the other day has become an issue, and the permit for the event has been officially revoked.”

He was struck by the feeling that the ground was crumbling beneath his feet.
On the other end of the line, an apologetic silence continued.

Yuto’s face was as pale as paper after he hung up the phone.

Seeing the change in him, Akiyama immediately rushed over.
“What’s wrong!? Did something happen?”

“...The permit for the Sakuragawa Marche has been... revoked.”

“What!? Why... how could that be!?”
Akiyama’s voice cracked.

“The reason is ‘inadequate safety management’... and that the ‘unauthorized pre-event’ the other day constitutes a formal violation of regulations...”

“But that was just a preparatory activity... why would that be an issue?”

“...Someone reported it as an ‘official deviation’.”
Yuto muttered in a low voice.

“Mr. Miura...”
Akiyama’s expression stiffened. Yuto nodded slowly.

The two of them went straight to the Commerce and Tourism Division at the city hall.
Minagawa, a young staff member, came out to assist them.

On the desk lay a few organized reports and an internal administrative memo with corrections in red ink. Minagawa hesitantly handed one of them over.

"Proceeding with an event before approval without the involvement of the Chamber of Commerce. As an administrative body, we cannot allow such a precedent. While we understand the intent to support the local economy, the disregard for proper procedure cannot be overlooked. ——Seiji Miura (Sakuragawa Chamber of Commerce, Business Support Division)"

"This... did Mr. Miura write this?"

"...Yes, he did."
Minagawa lowered his voice.

"...Honestly, I wanted to stop it personally. But the content itself is legally sound... and my superiors couldn't overturn the decision."

At those words, Akiyama pressed his lips together as if swallowing his frustration.

Minagawa muttered quietly, keeping his eyes downcast.
"Mr. Miura is a sharp man. His reports are calm and present only the facts. But... because there is no emotion in them, there is no room for excuses either."

An emotion that was neither pain nor anger welled up in Yuto's chest.

——Meanwhile, in a room at the Chamber of Commerce.

While taking a file from the shelf, Miura was quietly taking notes by himself.

Outside the window, the wind was indifferently swaying the branches and leaves of the Sakuragawa cherry trees.

"...If you do as you please, this is what happens."
He muttered low, not to anyone in particular.

To him, it was the "natural order."
One cannot make exceptions for those who act without obtaining permission.
Even if it were well-intentioned, acknowledging it would only create further chaos.
In his mind, it was not an emotion, but merely the "logic" required to protect the organization.
It was neither justice nor malice.
He had simply judged that this was how things "should be."
That was the man known as Seiji Miura.

On the other hand, Yuto felt that quiet coldness on his own skin.

"...Are you going to crush us until the very end?"
In his fist, clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palm, there was no resignation, but a new determination.

This time, he would move the town with his own hands, not through logic, but through "passion."
And at that moment, the real "battle" had begun.

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