Chapter 1 – Single Aristocrat Dies Alone

tl: new SoL series, a bit of a breather from the other heavier fantasy series i’m doing. i’m not at the currently translated manga chapter. however, the manga skips quite a fair bit, especially chapter 4 of the WN, so far seems to be omitted in the manga. release schedule will firm up by next week, depending on reception.

–

　The year 20XX.

　Modern Japan is faced with the problem of declining birthrates.

　According to a White Paper published by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, the lifetime unmarried rate has risen to about 26% for men and about 17% for women.

　Ten years later, they are expected to further increase to about 30% for men and 23% for women. 

　One of the causes for declining birthrates is this increase in the amount of people who are staying unmarried. 

　The factors include economic, psychological, and environmental factors, but the rise of ‘single aristocracy’ has also been a major factor.

　–Single aristocrats

　A single person who is not married, financially independent, and able to spend all the money and time they earn on themselves.

　This story describes the single life of one such bachelor, Toshinori Dokuraba (35 years old).

　◆

　In my kitchen at home, I was grilling steak.

　I had bought some high-grade wagyu beef from my favourite butcher.

　For a single meal, it’s quite expensive, but I have enough money to spare, so it’s not a problem. On the pan was a large, fatty steak and sliced garlic, sizzling away.

　The seasoning is only salt, pepper, simple seasonings. With such fine meat, no other seasonings are needed.

　After making sure the steak is properly cooked, the final touch is a splash of wine to add fragrance. 

　Since my stove is an induction stove, there are no flames, so I use a lighter to directly flambe.

　Then, a flame rises up with a booming sound.

“……Nice sear.”

　After cooking the steak, I put it on a plate that I take from the cupboard. Although, the steak by itself lacks presentation, so I add some potato salad, carrots and green beans sauted in butter that I had left over. 

　This was more than enough to add color. Today’s main dish is steak. There’s no use in putting too much effort into dressing up. 

　I carry the plates and utensils from the kitchen to the table in the living room.

　Accompanying the steak will be white wine. Preparing a glass, I fill it to the brim. 

　Many people may be surprised, but I definitely recommend pairing wagyu beef with white wine. 

　The higher the quality of marbling in the wagyu, the higher the percentage of fat. 

　To enhance the taste of this fat even more, white wine, rather than red wine, is the best. For foie gras, which is a mass of fat, the same logic applies for why it goes well with white wine. It’s enough to cook it simply with salt and pepper. 

　Adding a lightly baked baguette, dinner is complete.

“Thanks for the food.” 

　Slicing the grilled, marbled wagyu beef with a knife, it cuts easily and the juices spill out. 

　The feeling of the tender meat fills me with anticipation, and finally, a bite-sized piece enters my mouth.

　As soon as I bite into it, the juices and the flavour spread. 

　The meat is so soft that it feels like it melts in my mouth as I chew.

　Then, while the fat stayed on my tongue, I washed it down with the white wine.

　The remaining fat and white wine mingle together.

“……Delicious.”

　Delicious to eat. delicious to drink. This chain of deliciousness endlessly repeats, and my fork can’t stop.

　I eat what I want, when I want, alone. It’s the best.

　This year I turned thirty-five. People seem to think that at my age, it’s natural that I’m married, but I am not.

　I’ve always preferred to be alone.

　Even my relatives are no exception to this, and I love my alone time.

　Those guys who are married talk about the joys of living with the woman you love and the fulfilment of raising children, but I can’t relate to that at all, and it doesn’t resonate with me.

　If you don’t get married, you don’t have to pay for wedding expenses. If you don’t have children, you don’t need to pay for child-related expenses. 

　All of the money that is sure to disappear can be spent on yourself. Surely nothing could be more blissful than this. 

　With someone else, your own pace gets thrown into disarray.

　You’ll need to consider another person before making any decisions.

　When you are with someone, you inevitably have to compromise and make concessions.

　You can’t avoid those things.

　Such restrictions from human relationships are what I intolerably hate. 

　That’s why I spend my time alone free without being tied down by anyone.

　The world bemoans the declining birthrates due to late marriages and those who opt not to marry, but it doesn’t matter.

　Nowadays, society is open to a wide variety of ideas. It’s fine for those who want to get married can get married and those who don’t want to can not.

　After finishing the steak, I cleaned up and lowered a screen in the living room.

　I turn on the projector and operate the equipment to project this season’s anime on the screen.

　Lighthearted music plays from the speakers installed, and the cute characters start to move.

“This is what I call a dream home theatre.”

　If I had a roommate, this would be a nuisance, but I am the only one living in this house.

　Without having to care about gazes from anyone else, I can watch the anime I like.

　Not salt, but consommé flavoured. This is non-negotiable.

　I eat potato chips while absorbed in the show and then wash it down with a Coke.

　Compared to dinner, it may be a cheap combination, but strangely enough, although it’s junk food, it’s still delicious.

　Combined with the fact that it is already nighttime, I can’t stop feeling like I’m sinning.

　Doing this will probably affect my body, but this combination is so devilish that I avert my eyes from the demerits.

　Well, I’m going to the gym tomorrow, so it should be fine. As long as I can lose the calories I’ve eaten today there. 

　While escaping from such reality, I immersed myself in the anime on the screen.

　◆

　At a good time in the anime where there was a break, I exhaled and looked at my watch, the time was exactly midnight. 

“……It’s already this late?’

　Apparently, I had been watching in a trance for about two hours.

　The potato chips and coke were already empty, but it was a small price to pay for the two hours of fulfilment they had given me.

“I should take a bath and go to bed soon…… No, before that I should take out the trash.”

　Tomorrow is burnable trash day. My area is the first to be collected, and sometimes I don’t make it in time if I throw it out as I head to work.

　If that happens, I’ll have to spend another few days with the garbage. If I have to taste such hell, I’d much rather throw out the garbage the night before.

　Normally, mornings are already busy enough. I don’t want to leave any unnecessary tasks remaining.

　Making my decision, even though I thought it was a hassle, I collected the trash and put it into the designated garbage bags.

　As I lifted the heavy garbage bag and headed for the front door, a sudden pain shot through my chest. 

“Gu, uuugh!?”

　A pain in my chest that I’d never experienced before. 

　It hurt so much that I collapsed in the living room while groaning in agony.

　Not only is there pain, I can’t breathe. My mouth is wide open, but oxygen can’t come in. 

　Even if I want to shout for help, I can no longer speak. 

　Assuming I could, I live alone, so no one would come running. This is a high-class apartment building, it’s soundproofed well, so a soft voice probably wouldn’t be heard by anyone.  

　I was thinking about these things, but my thoughts became muddled.

　The pain in my chest that was so distressing also can’t be felt anymore. I wondered if I’d lost my sense of pain entirely. 

　Gradually, my vision darkens and all I can hear is my own hoarse breathing.

　……Am I going to die here?

　With those last words that came to my foggy mind, I lost consciousness completely.

　◆

　When I suddenly woke up, I was in a blank space.

“……Where is this?”

　Just a moment ago, I was about to throw out the trash when I felt a pain running through my chest and…… I must have collapsed in the living room because I was in so much pain.

　I thought I’d been fortunately taken to a hospital where I regained consciousness, but that was wrong.

　There was no end to this infinite flat whiteness.

　It was so long that if I walked a little further, I would lose track of where I’d started from.

　The chest pain and difficulty in breathing that had attacked me just a few minutes before were both gone.

　If I wasn’t in a hospital, where exactly was I?

“Thank goodness. I was able to call your soul safely.” 

　As I was about to tilt my head in confusion, I heard such a voice from behind me.

　When I turned around, I saw a man with a kind face, blond hair and blue eyes standing there.

　He had flawless white skin without a single speck of dirt, a perfectly contoured face, a straight nose bridge and thin, well-shaped lips.

　His face and body were so perfectly proportioned that it was hard to believe he was the same as a human. A man who looked somewhat like a doll.

　Not only the colour of his hair and eyes, but also the clothes he wore were out of the ordinary.

　He was wearing a robe like a magician. It’s possible that he was a cosplayer, but it looked very natural on him.

‘……Who?’

“That’s how it’d go huh. I guess to put it in a way that’s easier for you to understand, the God who manages the earth.”