nhp | (Sutamai) Short Story, DGS May 2018

A Bright and Clear Spring; a Dream or a Reality...

Summary: The six men who graced the front page illustration make an appearance in this issue’s original short story! Their feelings towards the protagonist can only be read in Girl’s Style… By all means, let your heart pound from the contents of it ♡

Characters: Seki Daisuke, Hattori You, Hiyama Takaomi, Tsuduki Makoto, Kujo Soma, & Seo Narumi.

Spring—tis an inviting season of warm weather and sunshine, and a season of when beautiful flowers begin to bloom. But it appears as if the flowers of this world bear a mysterious fruit to them...

Seki: (From what I can make out of the surroundings, this looks like a flower bed, but…… Why am I here? Did I fall asleep? Or perhaps—)

Seo: All of you are…… What a coincidence it is to meet people that I know in a place that I do not recognize.

Kujo: Where exactly is this……? It’s almost like a theme park.

Hiyama: What a mysterious place.

Makoto: Petals that easily enfold grown men…… At the very least, they’d have to be just over two meters tall. I’ve never seen an enormous flower like this before……

Hattori: Yaaawn…… And why on earth are grown men in such a strange place?

Kujo: If we were to think about this realistically, then it’s probably a dream.

Seki: Ah, yes, I see now.

Hattori: I believe those words alone are odd, but I guess Mr. Section Chief is just going to accept it.

Seki: Haha, who knows, I may have seen an image of a flower garden before falling asleep.

Hiyama: Hmph…… Even large flowers are adorable.

Kujo: Our bodies being enveloped by the petals is also quite the tasteful sight.

Makoto: Why are you speaking so carefreely? Is there not something else that we ought to be considering more?

Seo: Did our bodies shrink or did our surroundings increase in size…… It makes one exceedingly curious.

Hattori: None of that really matters either way. Seeing as it turned out to be a nice bed for me.

Makoto: Generally speaking, there is a trend of plants growing to large scales in warmer climates.

Seo: Hmmm. In reality, there does exist a seed native to Indonesia that is made to bloom into a flower just under three meters tall. However, to breed a common species into a gigantic size of this manner would require the additional aid of another.

Seki: So essentially, what you’re saying is that we’ve been abducted and brought to this artificially created upscaled flower bed? Is that correct?

Seo: I believe that possibility is not out of the question.

Hattori: Goodness, well now, if it’s an abduction then that falls into our jurisdiction.

Seki: In the first place, are we even within the metropolis?

Hiyama: If all of Tokyo has become a flower garden, then I’m doubtful as to whether or not the Police will be able to mobilize as a whole.

Makoto: There’s one thing that I’d like to ask though. Suppose that we did shrink, then…… Kujo Soma, Hiyama Takaomi—do you have an inkling of any drug that possesses that effect?

Kujo: If I did, then it’d be the greatest invention of the century. There’s simply no way that I’d be taking it easy in a place like this.

Hiyama: Likewise.

Hattori: Come now, he couldn’t help but want to earnestly discuss things. Of course there’d be speculation around something such as this being a part of a dream sequence.

Makoto: In that case, the bearer of this dream isn’t me.

Seki: Why do you think that?

Makoto: Because my conscience as a novelist won’t allow for it……!

Hattori: Yaaawn…… Well then, I’m going back to sleep. Wake me up as you see fit to do so when it’s all over and done with.

Seo: …… The end of the dream. Could I take that to mean waking up then?

Hattori: ……

Makoto: Oi, don’t go falling asleep, Hattori You. We should contemplate things more seriously. No matter how you look at it, this is an unusual situation that we’re in.

Hiyama: Really? I think that this world is nice and peaceful.

Kujo: I agree. The sun is shining down on us and the flowers are wild in bloom…… It is very beautiful.

Seo: Looking at it from a general perspective, it may even be a place close to being called an “oasis”.

Seki: However…… I feel as if it is lacking something.

Hiyama: Now that you mention it, that is true.

Kujo: Something that is missing from this place……

Hattori: …… Wouldn’t that be “her”?

Makoto: (Here I was thinking that he had suddenly fallen asleep and now he’s suddenly awake. He’s a fellow that does unpredictable things.)

Hiyama: I see. Despite being in a world as perfect as this, it’s for that reason that it feels lacking.

Kujo: This scenery is one that I wish to show her as well.

Makoto: Indeed. Further, she’d be in high spirits going around without a care in the world to where this place is.

Seki: I can certainly picture that. Even now, it’s almost like I can hear that cheery voice.

Hiyama: I’m beginning to feel lonely now that it has hit me that she’s not here.

Kujo: Is there really no way to call her over……?

Makoto: It is unwise to increase the number of victims any more than this.

Seo: (Excluding me, it appears as if all five of them have someone in mind when it comes to “her”.)

Hattori: (It certainly is boring if “that girl” isn’t here. I’m starting to want to return to my world already.)

* * *

Hattori: Hngh……

What greeted his eyes upon waking up was the sight of a familiar office and the figure of his subordinates working as per usual.

Hattori: (Goodness, so it really was a dream. Oh well, it was rather interesting in its own way…… Though I had wanted “that girl” to also appear.)

“Perhaps she’s someone whom you wish to have beside you not just in reality, but within your dreams as well.”

Hattori: (It’s almost time for the real thing to come by. Maybe I should surprise her today by pouring her some tea even.)

Thus, after letting out a yawn, he pulled himself up from his desk and set foot in order to run into “you” at all costs…...