Danjohi ga Bukkowareta Sekai no Hito to Jinsei wo Koukanshimashita

38.
Hashigami’s wish

What Hashigami-san pointed at was…

“Action camera?”

It was a section with many small cameras, with a shape that was familiar to the general public.

Those called ‘Action Cameras’, which were also called ‘Wearable Cameras’ or ‘Sports Cameras’, were cameras that didn’t take much space and so could be brought or put almost everywhere.

“Did you know… these things just came out recently?”

Hashigami-san said so with a sparkling eye.

Sure it might be the case here, but action cameras were released quite some time ago in the original world.

It was common knowledge in the sports industry because it was good for moving objects.

Not only it was popular among people who were doing water sports, mountain climbing, and hang gliding, but also marathon athlete, and even cyclists, since it was possible to tie the camera onto their bicycles.

“This is, a camera for shooting outside, right? Why you wanted to show it to me?”

“Isn’t it common for all human beings to want to preserve beautiful things forever?”

Is it…?

Well, depends on the things, I guess?

But more than that, the beautiful thing you mean here, is me, right?…right?

It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand Hashigami-san’s feelings.

When I came across any beautiful scenery on a trip, I took a picture of it as a memory.

Some people would even try to leave their best selves behind, naming the album ’17-year-old portraits’ or such.

People would call that narcissism, but humans weren’t immortal beings.
It was natural that many would hope to leave a trace of themselves when they considered themselves to be in the most beautiful state of their life.

“Hmm… you mean, you want to use this to take a picture of me, right?”

I tried to confirm my guess.

“Yes.
If you give me permission to do so, I will purchase it immediately and make the picture as a memorial.”

And it was correct.

For some reason, Hashigami-san was emitting a strange aura.
It was the same kind as fans of idols, when they saw their favorite idols and wanted to take raw photos of them.

Well, Hashigami-san’s house was outside the Special Ward.
Surely, she never had the chance to take a picture of a man in person.

Even if she managed to come inside the Special Ward, taking a picture of a man was a difficult task.
And even if she managed to get into a co-ed high school, male students would have girls guarding them, and getting permission would be almost impossible.

Sure, she could choose the path of voyeurism, but well, it wouldn’t be good for her safety.

Hashigami-san seemed to have considered those all, so that was why she had not yet purchased the action camera.

If I give permission, she will buy this right now and take pictures of me…

Well, giving my permission may make her go out of control, and do more than I expected, but if it’s her wish, I want to make it come true if I could.

“Hashigami-san, will it be just a picture? Or including a video?”

“Of course, if possible, both.”

“Do you plan to upload it somewhere?”

“No, it’ll be just for my personal enjoyment.”

Hashigami-san said so with a straight face.

“Let me ask, can you shoot, in the way that I want?”

“…In the way that you want? That’s without saying, I would do my best to meet your request as much as possible.”

“If that’s the case… alright.
In return, I may ask for your cooperation next time.”

“Understood, I would always remember that word.”

Saying so, Hashigami-san started to look around the action cameras.

I thought that she already had an idea of which one, but she looked at each very carefully.

Seems like, it’ll be a while…

“Souya-kun… it’ll be a picture of you, you know, are you sure?”

With a worried face, Kikuie-san asked so.

“Well, I have some ideas on my mind.
And with Hashigami-san, I feel like I can do it.”

“……?”

There were video upload sites in this world as well, but they hadn’t been spread well with the general public.

Overall, the number of views was much lower than I expected.

Probably, the habit of watching videos in one’s free time hadn’t taken root yet.

There were people who regularly upload videos of animals, natural scenery, and their own daily lives, and each of them had their own fans.

But, the industry itself hadn’t yet matured.

I couldn’t even find the word “viral” being used.
This was probably also due to the small population.

With less than half the population of that in the original world, the speed of information and technology diffusion was slower than in the original world.

When Toono-san said, “I wanna be an influencer”, a thought suddenly came to my mind.

I wondered if I could be one too.
That it would be nice if I could send out a message or something like that to many women.

Such a vague idea crossed my mind at that time.

But, after Hashigami-san brought me to this place, that vague idea started to take shape.

How about making a video to connect with women around the world?

That idea, came to me when I saw the things displayed on the third floor.

…there might be some skepticism about it and it may not be popular right from the start.
But if you persevere, the number of people watching may increase.

One problem is, I’ve never been good with machines so if the process became too complicated, then I, who isn’t tech-savvy at all, would surely stumble here and there.

But… if Hashigami-san agrees to help me, I don’t need to worry about that anymore!

◇

Hashigami-san, who just bought an action camera, had a happy face.

Since the business here was done, I then said,

“Then, let’s go back to the station first.”

The places that Toono-san, Aono-san, and Hashigami-san took me around were all niche places.

Therefore, although there were those with curious eyes looking in my direction, it couldn’t be said that I had attracted the attention of many people.

The next destination should be the south side of the station.
That side was the most developed, and because of that, the number of women who wandered that side was the largest.
Sure enough, the chance of me attracting attention would be high there.

The south side is the most crowded area, so… is it as crowded as the Takeshita Street of Harajuku in the original world?

If that’s the case, although there might be many shops, it’ll be hard to move around as you want.

Well, I can’t stay long in such a place, so, let’s just feel the atmosphere and go home.

“I know some secret shops, and must-visit shops, also I’ve my personal recommended shops too, but I’m scared to take Souya-kun to any of them.”

Kikuie-san said so with a slightly troubled face.

“I don’t have to enter the shops.
I don’t mind seeing just from the outside, and you giving me some info, or even just looking from a distance.”

I mean, I can’t trouble any of you more than necessary…

Also, I don’t think I can get into a shop where only females are inside and enjoy myself as much as you girls do.
I’m fine with just sightseeing.

“Is that so? Then, let’s go to a slightly more high-class shop.”

And so, it was decided.

” ――Hey, you there! Stop!”

However, suddenly, we were stopped by a shout.

When I turned around, I saw four women in suits walking toward us at a fast pace.

Kikuie-san and the other three stood in front of me immediately to protect me, but, unexpectedly, their purpose was the girls and not me.

“Show me your ID.
All of you.”

While saying so, the woman didn’t even look at me.

“Are you deaf or something? Hurry up.”

Another woman said so.

All of the women were in their late forties.

Looking from the side, the difference in appearance was like parent and child.

Also, they all had the character “党” carved large on their chest badges.
[TN: “党”, this means “faction” or “party”, mostly used in the political scene.]

Are they… people of the rumored General Associate Party?

Kikuie-san and the other three were hesitant, but decided to show their student ID cards.

“Hmmmm… you’re all a student from outside the special ward huh.
What’s your purpose in bringing a man here? Depending on your answer, we may have to take permanent deportation measures.”

Kikuie-san and the others were current students of Itsuki High School, so as long as they had their student ID cards, they could come inside the Special Ward.

They got that right after all.

To suddenly threatened with permanent deportation from the start… clearly, the women didn’t come with peace.

“To ask our ID and say so, what’s this all about? Mind to explain?”

On behalf of everyone, Kikuie-san retorted.