I don't need a Prince Charming! -For some reason, I have to find a husband real quick! - Chapter 1

I have to get married asap.

“Please marry me”

That night, I asked my senior who was rumored to be a womanizer to marry me.

In addition, I’ve never talked to him before.

* * * * *

It was still hot and humid in mid-september.

I was working at a company in *Nihonbashi, in a corner where many office buildings stand side by side.

It was around 7:00 p.m, and the hustle and bustle that had filled the office during the day had died down.

The floor was somewhat quiet after closing time, with only a few typing sounds.

“Ah-! It went down! Half of the data is gone! Ahh, this is horrible-!”

The tragic shriek of an female employee enters my ear.

“I have a date with my boyfriend after this for the first time in a while…”

At the silently weeping voice, another female employee says in a whisper, “How about you ask Robot senpai for help?”.

It was from a slightly far away seat, and though a little quiet, I could hear it well as I tapped away at the keyboard.

Robot senpai is unmistakably me.

I have a name, Ako Kobato, but it isn’t used much in the company. I’m not very friendly; I have little expression on my face, and I don’t get along well with others, so some senior employees in my department call me, “Roboko” or “Robo chan”.

After that, that female employee came to ask me a favor. I heard everything, but I replied, “Sure”.

I never refuse such requests. Instead, I say “No” to all invitations for drinks or lunch.

There are some jobs which aren’t difficult but take a lot of time. These jobs come around often, but they aren’t too annoying for my temperament. I like to find ways to do simple tasks more efficiently. I typed away at the keyboard again.

When I came to my senses, no one was around. I looked at the time display in the lower right corner of the monitor. It was pretty late.

I closed my computer and looked at my bag to find an incoming call on my phone. I immediately returned the call.

“I understand. I will be right there”

I hung up the phone and got into the elevator to go to the top floor of this building.

I felt a quiet vibration and watched the floor number display go up, and then the door opened.

I knocked and entered the room.

There isn’t much in the room compared to it’s size. The night view can be seen through the large glass window.

Against the window, an elegant old man was sitting in a luxurious leather chair.

“Grandpa, do you need me for something?”

He is Tachibana Zenjiro, the chairman of this general trading company.

*The reason I got summoned to his office when I’m just a mere employee is because I’m his granddaughter.

Even though I’m his relative, we usually keep it a secret and do our jobs without having much to do with each other.

Seeing his face for the first time in a while, I feel a slight smile on my cheeks. The room is quiet, with no secretary in sight.

Grandfather slowly opens his mouth.

“Ako, how is your life?”

“Nothing has changed”

“Have you found a lover?”

“I haven’t”

“I see…The same as ever”

“How is your life, grandpa?”

I felt a sense of discomfort when he let out a small sigh. Today, my grandfather did not have the gentle smile that he always had when he faced me, and his expression was somewhat dark.

He opened his mouth with a grave and mysterious look on his face.

“To tell you the truth, the other day, a medical examination showed that I have a disease”

My grandfather was 67 years old. It wasn’t surprising if he had a health problem, but it was something I had never imagined from the fact that he seemed younger and more vigorous than his actual age. My grandfather casually told me the name of the disease, that it was inoperable, and that he had only about a year left to live.

I was so shocked that I was at a loss for words.

My grandfather is the closest person to me in this world.

I was the most plain and least conspicuous out of my siblings, but he always took care of me.

So while my other siblings went on to glamorous careers, I chose to stay here to help my grandfather, even if only in a small way.

He continued in an unexpectedly calm tone.

“I’m already at a good old age. I’ve done everything I can think of in my life”

“…yes”

“But you see.. I have one regret, just one worry”

“What is it?”

I’ve always been a grandpa’s girl, so much so that my eyes water at the mere mention of his illness. I want to make my grandfather’s worry go away as much as possible.

“I’m worried about you”

“Eh…about me?”

“That’s right. The only thing I’m worried about is about you among everything I’m leaving behind. Please, I hope you’ll reassure me and find yourself a marriage partner from among the employees while I’m still alive”

“Eh…Ehh..”

A miserable shriek leaked from the bottom of my heart.

My grandfather looked at me with a troubled face and continued.

“I can understand you living in solitude because you want to. But if possible, I would like to see you meet the right person with whom you can spend the rest of your life”

“B-but..I…”

“You are as beautiful and capable as your mother, and you have a lot of potential, but you’re too unmotivated to do anything with it”

Apparently, my grandfather had long been worried about his granddaughter who didn’t get a lover, didn’t play with friends on holidays, and spent her days idly without getting involved with others.

My parents have been abroad since my college days, and as a result, he has become like a chaperone for me.

I’m certainly not good at socializing; I think crowds are a pain; I don’t like events; in addition, I’m not good at keeping in touch with people, so I’m not around many people outside of work. I don’t have any maids, though I had many in my parents’ house, and I live a simple life by myself.

Even so, I never intended to live a lonely life.

I have no friends, and there is no sign that I’ll ever be able to find a lover, but I’m not troubled by that at all.

I love being alone because it is easy. I am not lonely.

I go where I want, eat what I want. I love my life of listening to my favorite *gamelan music, reading my favorite science-fiction novels, and watching zombie movies.

This was a lifestyle that suited me, and I was simply ‘a loner’ by nature.

I was about to open my mouth to try to convince him when my grandfather suddenly coughed.

That was enough to make my mind go blank, and I rushed over to him.

“Grandpa, I will get married! I will definitely get married within a year! Please don’t die!”

My grandfather coughed for a while, but then wiped his mouth and smiled.

“Fufu…then I should live another 10 years…”

“Yes, please live longer! I’ll do my best!”

My grandfather then showed me the tea cup in his hand.

“Earlier…was just because some red beans of the red bean soup got stuck in my throat”

“That tea cup… was filled with red bean soup? …”

I knew you had a sweet tooth, but… you put something like that in it.

I glare at him with reproachful eyes.

My grandfather took another gulp of red bean soup in a nonchalant manner and laughed.

“Thank you, Ako. I’m looking forward to seeing my great-grandchildren too…!”

I feel like I had been set up, but it was too late.

When I left the chairman’s office, it was already late at night.

Translation Notes:

*Nihonbashi=an actual place in Japan
*Ako’s job position probably doesn’t include meeting the chairman alone.
*Gamelan music=apparently the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese people of Indonesia(?)

Translator Notes:

Edited: Well, life is hard.