On a weekend afternoon, Tetsu Kobayashi sipped a drink with ice, stirring the ice cubes absentmindedly with a straw.
The shade under the trees was pleasantly cool, especially with the view of people outside handing out flyers.
Yōsuke Shimayori, clearly extremely enthusiastic about the tournament, had hired a batch of regular customers as volunteers to hand out flyers, paying them 2,000 yen per day—thanks to Sega's sponsorship.
The tournament entry fee was only 500 yen, handled directly in the store. Probably due to the TV coverage, many people had been enthusiastically signing up recently.
But Tetsu had no intention of participating—or helping.
He had already done enough by getting Tanaka to arrange the TV crew!
"Slurp slurp slurp… ah~ ugh—bleh!"
Tetsu spat out a leaf that had fallen into his cup; it had been left uncovered for too long.
A shadow fell across him. He looked up and saw Kobayakawa holding a stack of flyers.
"You… you're not helping. Why are you even here?"
"Why not? If I don't help, why can't I lie here? Don't you think the view is nice? It's spacious and pleasant. Tokyo is big; if I want to lie down, everywhere is like Hawaii."
Kobayakawa glanced behind her. There was no scenic view—only a street with half-dug-up roads and the constant noise of construction.
"Seeing you all sweating away is my scenery," Tetsu yawned. "Boring. Got anything for me to do?"
Kobayakawa looked down at the lazy boy, her slender body trembling with frustration.
Annoying! He refuses 2,000 yen, doesn't help, still comes to watch, and even makes snide comments.
Truly infuriating!
She suddenly said, "Elementary workbook."
Seeing Tetsu confused, she clarified, "I'll give you an elementary workbook to do."
"Nope." Tetsu shrugged. "Bring one next time, and maybe I'll do it."
Spotting someone else arriving, Tetsu lazily pointed, "Oh look, someone else came. Aren't you going to hand out flyers?"
Kobayakawa ran off, frustrated. Tetsu yawned and leaned back even more comfortably.
After a while, she looked back, but Tetsu was gone from the shade.
For some reason, Kobayakawa felt a bit down.
...
Tetsu wandered into a family restaurant.
"DIXIES… what's this? Dicos?"
He quickly spelled the name aloud.
Ah, so it's the old Dixie.
Inside, the restaurant was fairly quiet—not mealtime yet.
Tetsu lazily leaned on the table, propping his face with his arm.
"Excuse me, could someone help me?" he gestured casually until a waitress approached.
Her brown hair and pale yellow apron gave her a nurturing, motherly air.
"Hello," she said, squatting slightly to meet Tetsu at eye level. "What can I get for you?"
Tetsu smiled innocently.
"Can I get a few glasses of ice water? My friends and I are handing out flyers over there. I'll return the cups quickly. Will this money be enough?"
He handed over four coins—400 yen.
Coincidentally, one on top, three below, stacked neatly, catching the light of the restaurant.
"You've been working hard," the waitress said, bowing and carrying the tray away.
Tetsu yawned, watching the regulars outside distributing flyers through the glass.
"They're bribed with 2,000 yen—if you want to bribe me, it'll take 20,000!"
Soon the waitress returned with four glasses of ice water, each half-filled with ice.
"The manager said 200 yen for the drinks, 200 yen as a deposit. Return the cups, and the deposit's refunded."
Tetsu smiled even more innocently. "Thanks, sis."
...
On such a hot afternoon, having ice water while handing out flyers was a real treat.
The regulars, previously working hard, now each grabbed a drink and sat in the shade.
"Long live Tetsu-kun!"
Someone said, holding their ice water, leaning against a tree, unwilling to move.
Tetsu propped his chin on his hand and casually asked:
"Working all afternoon for 2,000 yen—don't you feel shortchanged?"
The regulars shrugged.
"What's shortchanged? Doing something you love is very enjoyable. Besides, a day off and 2,000 yen isn't bad. Shimayori's rare dedication, plus TV coverage, makes it all worthwhile."
Tetsu reflected.
So in this era, emotional value outweighed material value.
He still didn't understand the devotion of old-school gamers.
An era without maps, where players hand-drew complete guides to beat a game.
Without the internet, all strategies were passed by word of mouth, and players could spend months experimenting on a single game, creating legendary myths—most of which weren't real.
Like the underwater stage 8 in Contra, the Super Mario murder rumor, Pokémon time-travel—false, yet solemnly passed down.
In modern times, if a game lacks a map or precise guidance, Tetsu could angrily scold the developer down the street.
"What you love is your life."
Tetsu said this seriously, surprising the regulars.
"Sounds philosophical. Who said that?"
"Me." Tetsu pointed at himself. "I'm the celebrity who said it."
Everyone laughed.
A celebrity, huh?
Tetsu nodded confidently.
I think I am!
Kobayakawa leaned closer, shy, as if wanting to say something.
Tetsu stood, dusted off his clothes, and started walking toward the station.
"I'm leaving. Keep handing out flyers. Return the cups to the family restaurant after you're done."
"Hey!!!"
Kobayakawa tried to call him back, but he walked faster.
"No use, I'm leaving."
"Th… thanks for the ice water."
She said it, but Tetsu had already gone.
Kobayakawa looked back. The other regulars laughed kindly.
"We'll talk tomorrow. He's gone."
"I've finished mine."
"Me too."
"Then Kobayakawa, please return the cups."
She felt slightly defeated.
For some reason, she had the sense of being toyed with.
Carrying the four empty cups, she trudged into the family restaurant.
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