An aristocratic bachelor enjoys a different world ~ The elegant single life of a man who never got married ~
An aristocratic bachelor enjoys a different world ~ The elegant single life of a man who never got married ~
Year 20XX
Modern Japan was facing a major issue with rapidly declining birthrates.
According to the recent statistical reports of Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, about 26% of male population never gets married in their lifetime while the figures stay at a about 17% for the female population. And it is expected to rise up to 30% for men and about 23% for women after about a decade at the least.
One of the root causes of declining birthrates is the increased rates of unmarried population due to the current trend of avoiding marital status. Many socio-economical, psychological and environmental aspects contributed to this issue but one of major factor lies in the rise of single bachelors in upper class society.
―― Unmarried aristocracy
An unmarried, financially independent individuals who uses all the money and time they earn on and for themselves.
This story depicts the single life of one such bachelor, Toshinori Komaba (age 35).
T/N: I’m not sure how to pronounce this name, author didn’t leave any furigana so it could be either ‘Komaba’ or ‘Dokuraba’. ‘Doku’ means single so it would make much more sense but ‘Komaba’ just sounds better.
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I was grilling a steak in my kitchen at home.
I had bought some high-quality Wagyu beef from my favorite butcher shop.
It was quite expensive for a single meal but that’s hardly a problem as I had plenty of money to spare.
A large piece of fatty steak was sizzling on the skillet alongside of neatly cut garlic slices.
As for the seasonings, it was simply just salt and pepper. No other seasoning was needed for such high-quality piece of meat.
Once the steak is cooked enough, pour some wine over the steak to add a nice savor.
Since the stove is an induction stove, it cannot be lit with fire, so I’ve to use a rechargeable lighter to light it directly.
And then, flames rose up with a roar.
“…. Nicely heating up”
After eagerly grilling it for a while though the vigorous flames, I placed it on a plate that I retrieved from the cupboard. However, the steak by itself wasn’t colorful enough. So, I served it along with some left-over potato salad that I had made before, coupled with carrot and green beans sauteed in butter.
That ought to give an enough for a tinge. Today’s main course is steak. There’s no point in putting too much effort into coloring.
I carried the dishes from kitchen to the table in the living room.
Steak accompanied by a glass of white wine. I poured myself a glass full of wine.
Many people might be surprised to hear this but Wagyu beef is best suited with white wine.
The higher the quality of marbled Wagyu beef, the higher the percentage of fat it holds. And white wine is better than red wine when it comes to making fatty meat taste better. It’s the same for Foie Gras (Fatty liver), which is also a lump of fat, which goes so well with white wine. It’s also best cooked with simple seasonings, salt and pepper.
And the dinner is complete with a lightly toasted baguette.
“Bon appétit”
When the knife is put on the marbled Wagyu steak, it cuts in to the meat so easily, spilling delectable juice on its path.
The feel of the soft texture of the meat fills me with anticipation, as I finally put a bit-sized piece in to my mouth.
At the moment of the very first bite, juices and the flavor of the meat that spreads around every corner of the mouth. The tenderness of the meat that melts in my mouth as I bite in to it.
And then, white wine mingled with the meat, washing down remainders of that savor that is left on the tongue.
“… Delicious”
It tastes so good to eat. It tastes so good to drink. Chain of action goes on and on and my fork never stops.
Eat what you want and when you want. This is the best feeling ever.
I turned 35 this year. People seem to think that by this age, it’s natural to be married, but I don’t.
I’ve always liked being alone.
Even among my own relatives, there was no exception to it. I always loved spending my time alone.
Married people always talk about how good the life is, when living with the women they love and how fulfilling it is to raise their own children. But I can’t relate to them at all nor does it resonate with me in the least.
If you don’t get married, then you don’t have to pay for marriage. If you don’t have children, the you don’t need to pay for child support.
All the money that’s sure to disappear, can be spent just on yourself. Nothing could make me any happier.
If there’s someone else, this pace would be disrupted. As that someone needs to be considered when making a decision.
Making compromises and giving-in is inevitable when you’re living with someone else.
It’s unavoidable.
I hated entanglements of such relationships.
That’s why I spend feely spend my time alone without being tied down by anyone.
The world is bemoaning the declining birthrates due to late marriages and unmarried population, but that doesn’t matter to me.
Societies nowadays are open to many ideas. So those who want to get married should get married and those who doesn’t want, should not.
After finishing my dinner, I cleaned up after myself and turned on the screen in the living room. Starting up the projector to launch the current seasonal anime on the screen.
Light music resonates from the installed speakers and cute characters start to move.
“This is a home theater of dreams”
If I had someone living with me it would have been so annoying right now, but I’m the only one living in this house. I can watch anime as much as I want without worrying about anyone else’s prying eyes.
I can watch anime as I please, along with my consommé flavored potato chips and coke.
Consommé isn’t even salty; I can’t stop here.
Immersed in the story I was watching; I ate a potato chip and drank a sip of cola to wash it down.
It may be a cheap comparison to the dinner I ate a while ago but strangely so, this delicious taste of junk food never changes.
Coupled with the fact that it’s night time, I couldn’t help but feel like enjoying a guilty pleasure.
This kind of thing would definitely affect my body but this combo was so devilish that it manages to distract me from any consequence it may result with.
Well, it’ll be fine since I’ll be going to the gym tomorrow to burn all the calories from today.
Using such excuses to escape from reality, I once again immersed myself in the animation that was reelected on the screen.
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I took a break at the intermission of the animation, when I looked at my watch to see that it was exactly midnight.
“…. It’s already this late?”
Apparently, I had been binge watching anime for two hours.
The chips and coke have long since been emptied, but that’s a small price to pay for the fulfillment of past two hours.
“I should take a bath and go to bed soon… No, I should take out the trash before that”
Tomorrow is the burnable waste collection day. Our section is the first to be picked up, it’ll be too late if I try to take it out by the time I get to work.
If that were to happen, I’d have to spend another few days with this trash. It’d be much easier to throw out the trash during the night than go through such hell.
Moreover, I’m already busy in the morning. I don’t want to leave any unnecessary tasks to add that.
Having decided that, I collected the garbage and put them on designated bags separately, even though it was such a hassle.
As I was about to make my way to the front door, carrying the hefty garbage bag, I suddenly felt a pang of pain run through my chest.
“Ughhhhh!”
The chest pain wasn’t like anything I had ever experienced before.
It was so painful that I collapsed in the middle of the living room, letting out an agonizing cry.
Not only was I in so much pain, I couldn’t breathe. I opened my mouth wide gasping for air but oxygen didn’t seem to get through.
I couldn’t even raise my voice to ask for help.
Even if I did manage to get out, no one would be coming to my rescue as I lived alone. The high-class apartment has solid sound proofing, so a little voice wouldn’t even be heard by anyone.
As I was wondering such things, my thoughts started becoming muddled.
I didn’t feel that excruciating pain my chest was anymore. Or have I gone numb to the pain?
Gradually my vision started to darken, eventually all I could hear was my breath grazing against my skin.
…am I going to die here?
Those were the last words that came to my hazy mind before I completely lost consciousness.
◆
Suddenly I woke up to find myself in a black space.
“…What is this place?”
Just a few minutes ago, I was about to take out the trash, when I suddenly felt a pain in my chest… I should have collapsed in the living room right then.
For a second, I thought I was lucky to be taken to a hospital and regain back consciousness but, I was wrong.
There’s nothing here, just endless blank space.
It went on and on for so long that, if you walk for a while, you wouldn’t be able to figure out where you first started.
The pain in my chest and the difficulty in breathing that I had suffered so much from a while ago was, completely gone.
If I’m not in a hospital. Then where on earth am I?
Such a relief. Looks like I was able to safely summon a soul.
As I turned my head, I heard such a voice from behind me.
When I turned around, there stood a man with a gentle expression, blond hair and blue eyes.
He had a perfectly chiseled face clad with flawless skin without a trace of any blemish, smooth bridged nose and thin, well-shaped lips.
His face and body were so well sculpted that it was hard to believe that he was another human. He was a man who looked almost like a doll.
Not only the colors of his hair and eyes, but the clothes he wore also seemed uncommon.
He wore a robe like a wizard. It might be possible for him to be a cosplayer but he looked too natural for it.
“…. Who are you?”
“Ah yes, I suppose I’ll make it easier for you to understand. The God who manages the earth, I guess?”
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