A refreshing morning!
I, Doremi, am heading to school energetically again todaaay!
Carrying my backpack, I dash towards the school gate.
Ding-dong, ding-dong…
Huh!? The starting chime??
“Cr-Crap, I’m laaaate!!”
Ah, from the classroom window, Ai-chan, Hazuki-chan, Onpu-chan, Momo-chan, and even Hana-chan are desperately waving at me.
“Doremi-chaaaan!”
That’s right, if I can slip into the classroom before the chime finishes ringing…!!
Run! Run!
But for some reason, my legs feel really heavy.
Something is tangled around my feet!
“Eh~~~~~~~~~~~!”
The scenery around me starts tilting in slow motion…?
Inside that scenery…
Seki-sensei with a devilish grin!!
As I struggled on the ground, Seki-sensei’s harsh voice echoed mercilessly.
“Ouuttt!!”
Thud!
Doremi, who had fallen to the floor with the futon, was struggling to get out, her hands and feet sticking out of the tangled futon like she was under a soft giant mochi.
“Please forgive me, Seki-sensei~~.”
While sleep talking, Doremi, at the age of twenty-three, popped her face out from the futon and opened her eyes wide.
“Oh wait… I’m not in elementary school anymore!”
She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
However, in the next moment, she sat up abruptly, grabbing the alarm clock placed on the bedside.
“Crap! I am really laaaate!!!”
In a panic, she grabbed the white shirt and dark navy suit hung on a hanger.
“Why, why didn’t the alarm go off~~~?”
Doremi changed her clothes in a hurry, muttering with teary eyes.
...Geez! Even though you were the one who turned off the alarm yourself. And you don't even remember that!!
Majorika, who was watching the scene through the crystal ball, grumbled with annoyance.
Even after returning from being a witch frog to a witch, Majorika continued to run MAHO-do with Doremi and the others, but since April, she had been living in the witch world with Lala.
Why did that happen?
It all started because Majorika harbored the ambition to “Make MAHO-do more profitable!”
On a hazy moonlit night, Majorika suddenly made bold renovations to MAHO-do.
Well, what a thing!
The building, which had been Western-style, was transformed into a trendy Showa-era traditional house, maintaining the warmth of Showa retro inside while incorporating stylish wallpaper, furniture and flooring for a touch of modern flair.
The garden also featured a Japanese-style garden with lanterns and dry landscape gardens, and a terrace equipped with a popular biotope where you can enjoy the atmosphere of the waterside with a small pond filled with water lilies and medaka. It became a stylish space where the Western taste of things like rose arches was exquisitely combined.
“Wow~~!? Is this MAHO-do?? It feels so fresh!”
Doremi, who had taken a gap year for university entrance exams and failed to become a teacher after graduation, leaving her with more free than anyone else, was the first to arrive and cry out.
“Fufufu… Isn’t it? Even I did a good job.”
“Majorika, you’ve been in high spirits since last night.”
“So what’s the new MAHO-do going to do?”
Majorika grinned slyly.
“It’s…!”
“It’s?”
“A ‘Sharehouse MAHO-do’! This way I’m guaranteed to make money. Uhoho…”
“A sharehouse!?”
Doremi shouted and clung to Majorika.
“Please hire me as the property manager!! “
“Whaa!?”
“I’ll probably be unemployed for a while, and if I keep this up, I won’t be able to pay back my student loans! So please! Take pity on poor Doremi and make me the manager! I’ll definitely work hard!! Okay? Please, Majorika!!”
“Hrmmm…”
Even though she said she would work hard, Doremi was still Doremi after all.
Majorika knew Doremi would do her best in the role, but still, she couldn’t help worrying about it… In fact, she was worrying a lot.
Then Lala said,
“But Doremi already has her teaching license now, she’s a proper adult. Why not give her a chance?”
Offering unexpected support.
“Th-That’s right! Being a teacher requires a sense of responsibility, doesn’t it? Ever since deciding to become a teacher, I’ve been studying the importance of responsibility. It’s different from the clumsy Doremi in my childhood! I’ll work hard, I promise! Please, Majorika-samaaaa!!”
“Hmmmm…”
Majorika gazed at Doremi for a while before speaking.
“Well, let’s give it a try for starters!”
“Yippeeee! Majorika, I love you so much!!”
As Doremi clung to her with all her might,
“But you’ll be fired immediately if you screw up.”
“I get it! Trust me like you’re on a big ship!!”
“As long as there aren’t any big holes at the bottom.”
“Oh Majorika! It’ll be fine, right Doremi?”
“Of course! So, who else will be living here besides me? Will Hana-chan commute to university from MAHO-do?”
“Yeah. Momoko’s working at ‘Eugene’ too.”
“I wonder if Onpu will come?”
“With Onpu-chan’s father being in Hokkaido, if we invite her, she’ll definitely come. Even before, when she didn’t have work, she helped out at MAHO-do, right?”
“Yeah, yeah…”
“Aiko’s family and company are still in the city.”
“And it’d be a waste when she’s finally living with her parents again.”
“True… But if everyone moved here, we could have slumber parties every day!”
“That will not do!”
“Huh?”
“Even if I let just you girls live here, it wouldn’t make any money. I intend to find three proper tenants too.”
“Really?”
“Plus, Majorika intends to open a cafe in the MAHO-do open space on weekends.”
“What? Does that mean I have to work in the cafe too?”
“Work hard, manager.”
“Y-Yes ma’am…”
She thought being a property manager just meant living here comfortably, but running a cafe added a significant responsibility!
Just as anxiety was welling up inside her… Doremi realized something.
“What will you and Lala do if other people start living here?”
“Hmm?”
“Until now, we just had to be careful during the hours when MAHO-do was open, but if people are living here all the time, they might notice that you’re witches, right? Even though the curse of the previous Queen is lifted, so there’s no worry about turning into witch frogs again, but still, wouldn’t that be bad?”
“Oh no, you’re right!”
“Yeah… A few days would be one thing, but if this keeps up long-term… Hrmmm! How long can we keep it a secret… What will you do, Lala?”
“Well, if we can’t stay here… The witch world?”
It was a difficult choice, but the landlady Majorika and Lala decided to live in the witch world while keeping an eye on Doremi and the others… no, keeping them safe.
“No matter where we are, we’ll be watching through the crystal ball. So you better work hard!”
“Y-Yes ma’am!”
Around the time Majorika was screening potential tenants, Doremi received happy news.
Starting in May, she would be working as a temporary teacher at a private elementary school in the next town over. It was a short-term position, but still a job.
She also got permission to work at MAHO-do under the pretext of “helping out in a relative’s family business.”
“Whether as a manager or teacher, I’ll give it my all~~~!”
For all your carefree talk, you're still the same old Doremi.
──And that brings us back to the flustered Doremi from earlier.
“Why, why didn’t the alarm go off~~~?”
Doremi, who had changed clothes while half-crying, ran out of the room.
Thump thump thump…
Doremi, holding a jacket and a backpack bulging with teaching materials, descended the stairs as if rolling.
The first floor served as a shared space with a kitchen and living room, freely accessible to residents at any time.
Hana, happily munching on a hot sandwich at the big table, called out to Doremi, who was in a rush to leave.
“Doremi, San-chan’s hot sandwiches are delicious~~.”
Doremi, swallowing a gulp in frustration, responded glumly,
“But I’m gonna be late.”
“Oh my, no breakfast again this morning huh?”
Kanbayashi Otojiro, who was grinding coffee beans next to Hana - an elderly man with bushy grey hair and a mustache, wearing suspenders over his pants and a striped shirt that suits him well, stylish and somewhat detached - said with a sad face.
Just then, Yeon Sang-yoo, who had been making Korean-style hot sandwiches on the hot plate in the kitchen - a tall and slim-looking Korean exchange student with quite sturdy arms extending from his T-shirt sleeves and a friendly smile that leaves a strong impression - held out a sandwich cut in half towards Doremi’s mouth.
“Ahhh.”
“Ahhh.”
Doremi reflexively opened her mouth and Sang-yoo stuffed the sandwich inside.
“Zanjyan, angyu! (Thank you, San-chan!)”
Happily munching away, she dashed out of the front entrance.
“Utteke te~~! (I’m off~!)”
“Have a nice daay!”
“Take care~!”
Before they could finish speaking, the door had already closed.
Doremi ran to the bus stop.
Just then, she spotted the bus approaching.
“Wahh!!”
Desperately swallowing the bread still in her mouth, she barely made it onto the bus.
“Safe!”
When push comes to shove, she exhibits strength beyond her actual ability, unchanged since childhood.
As Doremi ran towards the elementary school, the moment she entered the gate, her students came running towards her.
“Good morning, Harukaze-sensei!”
“Good morning, sensei!”
“Good morning~~~, everyone!”
I must say, I made quite a good choice.
Majorika grinned smugly while peeking into the crystal ball.
Displayed there were the new residents of MAHO-do.
Sang-yoo peeled and sliced apples quickly and skillfully on a large table, and arranged them on a large plate.
Ah, that's San-chan.
Lala peeked in from the side as well.
Sang-yoo's so skilled and considerate! I heard his Korean hot sandwiches are really popular at the cafe. He's a second-year university student right? It'd be nice if he stays until graduation.
Otojiro brewed a cup of coffee and placed it in front of Hana, who had been watching him excitedly from earlier.
After taking a sip of coffee, Hana exclaimed,
“Ahhhh! Otoji’s coffee is the best~~~!!”
“Fufufu, is that so?”
Even this retired gentleman is quite a find.
I heard he moved here on the recommendation of his nephew who was worried that he might die of loneliness after his wife passed away.
Ah, but the coffee this old man brews is superb. It seems like many customers come to the cafe just for his coffee.
His way of speaking is kinda polite, so I wonder if he was maybe a butler at some big mansion?
...though he seems quite carefree.
That too, huh.
“Oh dear~~! I did it again!!”
A woman’s voice suddenly echoed from the living room area.
“Ah, Ryo-chan woke up!”
When Hana looked towards the sofa, she saw a woman - Ryo, whose face was covered by her long bangs from her bob cut as she jumped up - yelled as if groaning while stretching herself out.
“I meant to finish it all by staying up all night~~. This is bad~~!!”
This woman in her forties is quite mysterious.
What!? In her forties? She looks a bit younger.
Isn't the Aitee-related job quite profitable?
It's IT! Not "Aitee". Well... it depends on the person, doesn't it?
Is that so!? I thought I had to secure someone with a high income who wouldn't fail to pay the rent...
Ryo, who was tidying up the notebook that had been placed on the table, tucked the hem of her unwashed shirt into her jeans while casually lifting her bangs.
“You seemed to be sleeping so comfortably that I couldn’t bear to wake you…”
Otojiro said and placed a steaming mug in front of Ryo.
In a historical drama-like tone, Ryo replied,
“You’re always too kind, Oto-san.”
Holding the mug with both hands, she smiled blissfully at its aroma.
Just then Sang-yoo came over with a hot sandwich and said,
“Make sure you eat breakfast properly too.”
“San-chan, kamsahamnida~~.”
Saying “thank you” in Korean, she went up the stairs with the sandwich in her mouth, coffee and notebook in her hand.
“…She’s definitely suspicious…”
Hana muttered as she followed Ryo with her eyes, staring at her intently.
“Ryo-chan has to be a hacker!”
“Oh ho! Is that so?” Otojiro asked.
“And not just any hacker, a genius hacker who can manipulate information worldwide.”
Sang-yoo, who overheard that, seemed amused and added, then Otojiro asked,
“A genius hacker!? …Why do you think that?”
“Because I heard it the other day…”
The memory of that day resurfaced in Hana’s mind.
When she was passing by Ryo’s room, she heard Ryo’s tense voice from inside.
“Understood! I’ll immediately infiltrate and analyze the data!”
The sound of keys clicking on the keyboard followed.
“Oops, it’s quite an advanced security system, but this is a piece of cake for me~~♪.”
“The interior of her room is amazing. There are so many computer displays, and they’re all showing lots of suspicious numbers and characters. It’s just like the drama I always watch! Whether it’s an angel or a devil of the Internet world… I’ll definitely uncover her true identity soon!”
“Well, that’s quite intriguing!”
“I think Hana-chan’s wild imagination is way more suspicious.”
Hana’s mouth pouted at Otojiro’s and Sang-yoo’s words, and she added,
“Geez! You don’t believe me… I’m off to school!”
And she ran up the stairs in a huff.
I can't believe she's a sixth-year medical student...
But Hana-chan has excellent grades, right?
Yes. I heard she plans on getting her medical license and becoming a doctor, but for how long can she remain in the human world I wonder...
She is a candidate for the next Queen after all...
Well, might as well let her do as she pleases until then comes...
The crystal ball showed Momoko working in the kitchen at the patisserie “Eugene”.
Busy at work, she peeked into the oven to take out the freshly baked cookies and squeezed out the cream to decorate the cakes.
As expected of the future sous-chef. Such skill.
But she probably hasn't given up on reviving Majomonroe's store, right?
That's right. I heard she's diligently researching sweets too.
On a small theater stage, Onpu sang and danced energetically.
Her lively interaction with the audience charmed them instantly.
Onpu's been in Japan since returning home after the earthquake, but will she go back to New York?
Well... She's been volunteering in Fukushima all this time too... But she has started to appear in various stages more than before, right?
Yes. She said she's auditioning for what she wants to do, rather than the size of the stage.
That's why she has many jobs in the countryside and isn't at MAHO-do much.
Aiko dashed around the track in the practice area.
Dashing past the athletes in front of her, she crossed the finish line in first place!
Aiko finally has the Rio Olympics coming up.
After that painful experience in London, I'm sure it'll be fine this time!
Of course!
Hazuki was playing the violin by the window of her apartment in Paris.
She suddenly stopped playing, looked out over the city slowly being enveloped by dusk, and let out a small sigh.
Among the Ojamajos, Hazuki was the quietest and timidest. It's surprising to see her working hard alone in a distant foreign country.
I know. That just shows how much she loves the violin.
That's true... When you think about it, all those girls worked harder than anyone else to pursue their favorite paths. It was the right choice for them not to become witches.
You're right.
...But still, each and every one of them is still quite clumsy and unreliable! Ah, I'll be staring at this crystal ball for a while!
Majorika was eagerly anticipating the night of the smiling moon.