I don't need a Prince Charming! -For some reason, I have to find a husband real quick! - Chapter 4

Fiery! Prince of Curry First Part

Three days later at the end of work hours. A senior with a boyfriend asked me to work overtime.

“I have an appointment today”

“Eh, Robot chan, appointment? How unusual”

As we were talking, my appointment partner, Kimori san, appeared at the end of the floor. He was smiling and waving his hand.

“Kobato san. Are you ready to leave?”

When I looked at my senior, she said, “Ah, it’s okay. See you later”, and waved her hands with a somewhat panicked face, so I grabbed my bag, did my greetings and stood up from my seat. I felt that everyone around me was stunned.

“Workaholic Robot senpai have a date with a human male…?”

“Roboko, you didn’t seem to be interested in humans…What’s going on? What is it? Love?”

“Eeh, there is no such thing as love for Robo chan, right? …Ah, it could also be that she’s in love. That’s why she’s moving so strangely”

I can hear them whispering behind my back.

“But Kimori san, huh…”

“Since Robot chan probably isn’t immune…”

“Is she being deceived…?”

I don’t usually talk about myself nor anything outside of work, so perhaps this is a curious thing for them.

The unexpected combination even caused some unnecessary concerns. 

When we got on the elevator, Kimori san opened his mouth.

“Somehow, whenever I see you from time to time, you always return home late, but could it be that you are always forced to take over other people’s work like that?”

“You were watching? …I just take over for people who have errands to run. Even if I say that, these are jobs that anyone can do anyways”

“Do you complain about it sometimes?”

“I have no particular complaint. I look at how the half-way done job is done …For example, the way how others use the functions of Excel is quite different, so it can become a reference”

I make a lot of mistakes in interpersonal work, so I’m mostly assigned to time-consuming paperwork since I can complete them without any mistakes. However, I’m sure I’m a difficult person to use for general stuff. I have a feeling that I was atoning for this by taking over someone else’s work without refusing. 

This was also kind of a distorted interpersonal communication technique in Clunky Robot’s own way.

However, it was somewhat disgraceful and embarrassing to say it out loud.

Then, the elevator arrived at the first floor, and Kimori san silently walked out, perhaps having no further objection.

The wind was getting colder as I left the entrance of the office.

It’s mid-october, and although the weather is still mostly warm throughout the daytime, it rapidly turns cold at night. 

“Cold”, Kimori san mumbled quietly, then adjusted the front of his suit jacket lightly and asked.

“Kobato san, do you like curry?”

“Yes, I do. Ah, but not too spicy…”

“You can adjust the spiciness”

“Then I rather like it”

“Okay, then, let’s have curry for dinner”

Today’s meeting to find my prince is to be held at a curry speciality restaurant near the station closest to the office. The last restaurant recommended by Kimori san was delicious, so I have high expectations for this one. I’m looking forward to it.

This time, I’m going to listen about my potential prince, which Kimori san has researched beforehand.

As soon as we sat down and ordered, Kimori san opened his mouth.

“We’re not in the same department, but there is this classmate of mine”

“Is he single? Please introduce me”

“I’m planning to, but…you know, don’t be like anything is fine as long as they’re single”

“In fact, anything is fine”

“Ha—…. I’m sure you’ve never been in love, Kobato san…”

“I think I can get married even without having an experience with love”

It is obvious that not all couples in the world marry for love. Of course, even if you have no desire to fall in love, you should at least respect your partner as a human being and live a proper married life.

“You don’t understand at all, Kobato san. Marriage is the final form of a relationship”

“Even Kimori san doesn’t have any marriage experience…”

“Listen, since I’m going to introduce your potential marriage partner, why don’t you first ask what kind of person he is…”

“What kind of person is he?”

At that time, the meal I had ordered came. A plate of European-style curry is placed in front of me. I looked at the small steamy dish and admired it. First off, the colors are nice. I especially like deep dark brown curry. It looks rich and delicious, and the smell of spices also increases my appetite.

“If I had to describe him in one word, I would say…”

Kimori san said, holding the spoon ready in his hand.

“He’s the hot-blooded Prince of Curry!”

“Prince of…”

It was a rather apt description, and I was at a loss for a response.

While scooping up the curry with the spoon, I listened to Kimori san’s explanation.

“His name is Misawa Atsushi. A good looking sportsman-type man. He has a good face, but above all, he has a good personality. He’s a very passionate man who has no hidden motives, which is rare for a man of his age. He’s the type of guy who would take good care of the person he decides to marry”

“So, will he marry me?”

He looked at me with a look of utter astonishment.

“The chairman isn’t only looking for the result of a contract on a piece of paper… Get to know each other first”

“But if I start by getting to know each other, …there are too many barriers to overcome: the barrier of becoming friends, the barrier of becoming lovers, and the barrier of marriage. I don’t think I can overcome any of them, and even if I could, it would take another ten years”

“Well, you have a point. …That’s why the serious, hot-blooded curry guy is good”

“Is that so?”

“Misawa is a serious, sincere, and earnest guy. If you get to the point of going out with him, it’s only natural that he would assume marriage, and if he hears about the chairman’s illness at that timing, he’ll definitely marry you straight away”

“…That is an amazing person”

“Also, Misawa’s family seems to be quite wealthy, and in a sense, he is a young master so he isn’t too greedy. I think that is also one of his good points”

The more I listen to him, the more I realize that he is a wonderful person. But I’m filled with worries whether such a person would marry a clunky…marriage-hunting robot like me who recklessly seeks for marriage.

“And I already let him know beforehand that Kobato san is serious about finding a marriage partner. I made sure not to come off too heavily on him. He likes serious girls so he even has a favorable impression of you rather than dislike”

“In other words, …you mean I can meet him on the premise of marriage?”

“I’ve already sold you as a cute and serious girl. Don’t underestimate my sales talk”

Waving a small spoon that hasn’t touched the curry yet, Kimori san smiles wryly.

He had already laid the groundwork and arranged everything. He’s too great.

“Kimori san…Kimori sama… Thank you so much”

I bowed and looked up to see the smiling Kimori san calling out to me.

“Alright! Do you want to marry—!”

“Y-yes. I want to”

“Alright! You’re going to get married—!”

Kimori san shouted, “Ei, ei, ohh”, and a little bewildered by the enthusiasm, I clenched my fist together in a reserved manner.

The customers around us, mistaking it as an athletic proposal, clapped their hands with warm eyes.

“Congratulations!”

Kimori san replied in a cheerful manner naturally, “Thank you very much”.

Another person said, “Congrats!”.

“Kobato san, come on, reply to them”

“Eh.., ah, thank you very much…”

I replied as I was told to, but this is definitely odd. I ask Kimori san in a whisper.

“Kimori san, somehow, aren’t we being misunderstood by others…?”

“Congratulations is a good omen, so you should take it. This is a gift of congratulations to Kobato san who is about to get married”

He replied casually, and I was given another congratulations from the waiter.

“Thank you very much”

Maybe I’m the kind of person who can unexpectedly go along with the flow easily. Then, I became strangely in a good mood thinking about the good signs.

I pictured my grandfather’s happy face and thought that I might be able to report back sooner than I had expected.

At this time, I was still quite optimistic.

~~~~~

The next day, Kimori san introduced us, and we exchanged contact information.

During the lunch break, Kimori san called me to the common break area in my company, and there I found a handsome man with refreshing, short hair.

“I’m Misawa Atsushi”

I had imagined a dark-skinned, indian-looking macho man with a deep sculpted face, but he had a healthy skin tone. He had a muscular body, but his legs were long and slender, so he didn’t look like a muscular daruma.

As I was told, he was tall, even taller than Kimori san who was of moderate height. He looked to be at least 190. His broad smile, which seemed to have a sound effect, was refreshing even more so with a glance of his white teeth.

“I’m Kobato Ako. I look forward to working with you”

“Nice to meet you, Ako san”

As we shook hands firmly, I was determined to do my best to get him to marry me.

After work, Misawa san showed up at my floor.

“Ako san, I can go home early today, but can we go out for a cup of tea or something?”

Smiling at me, Misawa san went out of his way to spend a little time talking with me. He is a very nice person. I can only be grateful to him as a clumsy robot who doesn’t know who’s right or wrong.

It was a little early, but I had already finished all my work so “I’ll excuse myself out”, I did my greetings and was about to leave the room.

I heard a buzz of excitement from the remaining seniors and juniors behind me.

“Robo senpai, …although it was Kimori san the other day”

“What happened to you all of a sudden?”

“When I invited you to a blind date, you said ‘I’m just a priest who hasn’t yet entered priesthood’…!“ 

It was a misunderstanding, but it was too much trouble to untangle it, so I left the floor as it was.

After leaving the office, we had tea near the train station.

The Prince of Curry was a cheerful person who tried to enjoy everything, whose sincerity came through just by talking to him a little. His expressions were sincere and his laugh was passionate. Perhaps a good person from the core. I felt sorry for him thinking that he was too good for me.

“Did Mikawa san have a girlfriend or something?”

“You see, I’m too serious and gets dumped easily”

Misawa san laughed a little shyly.

“Is it too much to ask for marriage nowadays?”

“No, I think it’s a wonderful thing”

I was so giddy with the prospect of marriage that I felt I had to do something to make him like me.

“Does Mikawa san have something like… a type of girl you like?”

I asked him a question without any kind of twist, hoping to gather as much information as possible, to which he responded with a slight smile and a little scratch on his nose.

“I guess someone who I can enjoy my hobbies with”

“Is that so?”

I had input an important piece of information.

The conversation stopped there and there was an awkward silence.

I was trying to find a topic in my head, but kept dismissing myself.

After a while, Misawa san opened his mouth albeit a little cautiously.

“Ako san, do you have a favorite soccer team?”

“Eh, soccer, that… ball game in which a large number of people kick a ball and score points when it’s put in the goal?”

“T-that’s right. That’s the one”

“……Ummm. They are good with their feet, aren’t they?”

After giving a completely unrelated impression, I remembered the question I had been asked.

I was asked about my favorite team.

Indeed, each of them must have had a name. I’m sure they have names, with katakana and even have names of the places attached. I must’ve heard about them, but I was too uninterested to memorize any of them in my brain. I don’t even know what to like or dislike.

“……Ummm”

My robot brain made an intense error sound.

“I-I’ll learn about it”

“N-no, take it easy. I was just um…asking a little”

“No…umm…I’ll do my best”

 Misawa san replied with a slightly troubled smile, “Thank you”.