The Steep Road to Resignation | The Story of Quitting My Job to Work at a Scenic Countryside Cafe #7

Hello!
I'm Takami, a pixel art creator living a relocated life deep in the mountains of Chichibu.

Continuing from last time, I will share the next part of "The Story of Quitting My Job to Work at a Scenic Countryside Cafe."

This time, it's "The Steep Road to Resignation."
I'll be writing about the struggles from the moment I told my boss I was resigning until the end of March when I actually left.

Two days after finishing the big event of meeting people at Tenku no Gakko and facing Fan-baa, I told my boss,"I will be resigning at the end of March next year,"but I wondered, would I really be able to resign smoothly...?

It was the end of the year, and I was secretly preparing for the handover of my duties while thinking about that.
I planned to announce my resignation to my colleagues after the New Year, so I spent the time feeling unsettled.

Perhaps because of that unsettled situation (though it probably didn't have much to do with it), I caught a cold in mid-December, and then the flu during Christmas, leading to the unexpected happening where my last day of work for the year was moved up by a week.

While handling my regular duties, it was surprisingly exhausting to secretly prepare for the handover without letting those around me know. lol

And then...
After getting through a rough end of the year, I decided to visit Tenku no Gakko for an overnight trip during the three-day weekend at the start of the year.

Since the shop was closed for the winter from December to mid-March, I visited the house that was going to become the share house, which the owner had been cleaning up.

After having lunch at a family restaurant nearby (though not that close), I stopped by Tenku no Gakko again, and then headed to the share house.

The school was cold in the middle of winter, but I still remember how clear the air was and how refreshed I felt.

After arriving at the share house, I asked about the future business policy of the shop and the process leading up to when I would actually start living and working there.

And then...

That night, they threw a takoyaki and sukiyaki party for me, calling it a welcome party!!!!!!!!!!!

Since I was coming from Yokohama, they had prepared plenty of ingredients in advance...!

I wondered when the last time I had a takoyaki party was... as we chatted excitedly about the future, I enjoyed a happy moment 🐙

The next day, we decided to have lunch at a restaurant called "Big Island" near Oonohara Station.

Finally, thanks to the owner's kindness, I received a bell as a souvenir, and we took a commemorative photo together!

I left the shop and headed home, my heart racing with excitement for what was to come.

And then... the following Monday, it was finally announced to the department that I would be resigning.

Although I was nervous, I felt a little relieved when some people reacted positively, saying, "So you've found your next path!", while others said they were "shocked" but still cheered me on.

...But that relief was short-lived, as I then spent every day like a demon handing over a massive amount of my responsibilities.

Struggling daily with my head spinning, thinking, "Will I ever finish this?" and "I'm so worried about the burden on my successor...", I somehow managed to finish all the work that needed to be done by the end of March...

And then, March 31st, my final day of work.
I left the entrance, bowed deeply toward the company exit, said goodbye to my boss...
And left the company feeling refreshed.

And so...
I officially resigned from the company that had taken care of me for three and a half years, and my new life as a freelancer began.

However, what awaited me immediately after this was not... the beautiful nature of Chichibu, but... a hellish trial... (a bit of an exaggeration).

Thank you for reading this far.
See you in the next article!

(Next time, I'll introduce "Terror! The Hellish Moped License Exam"!)