Matchmaking Cheat Sengoku: A Romantic Battle Royale of Reincarnated Otherworlders - Skill: None, Status: Ordinary Person, and the Incident Where the Venue Froze Over

A cellophane tape quotation changed the world. Of course, at that moment, Tatsuki Takuma had no idea whatsoever. He couldn't have. All that filled his vision was the text "Cellophane Tape 10-Pack × 30 Cases" and a single-digit discrepancy lurking in the unit price column. Tobushima Stationery Co., Ltd., 3rd floor sales division. Daylight-colored fluorescent lights illuminated thin beige walls, and 32 desks lined up in perfect rows. Through the window, the thin surface of the Sumida River was visible, but no one had the leisure to gaze at it five minutes before quitting time. "Takuma, got a sec?" His supervisor Takiyama approached slowly from the management section at the back of the floor. The time: 17:55. (That walk. I've seen it before. I know it. That's the "resubmit by end of day" walk.) "This proposal's unit price is off by one digit," Takiyama said. "...Understood," Takuma replied. "By end of day, please," Takiyama said. As Takiyama's back receded, Takuma Tatsuki let out a sigh from the depths of his lungs. The kind that doesn't make a sound. The kind you wring out from the bottom of your chest. Slender and slightly delicate in build, he turned back to his computer in a slightly hunched posture. Deep brown eyes scanned the screen, and his unkempt black short hair had lost its luster under the fluorescent lights. His expression was nearly blank. But something seeping into the corners of his eyes—sincerity, perhaps, or exhaustion, or both. Cellophane tape. Unit price: 880 yen. (It should be 880.5 yen, not 880. How did this happen. Was it me. Wasn't it me. But I'm the one fixing it.) The moment he started typing, his phone vibrated. He checked the screen. "Yanagibashi (mysterious friend from university)" (Answer or not. Either way, it's probably nothing good. But if I don't answer, it'll be a pain later. That's the only truth I've learned in four years.) "Hello?" Takuma said. "TATSUKI!! WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW!! GET HERE IMMEDIATELY!! THIS IS TOTALLY YOUR THING!!" Yanagibashi's voice exploded through the phone rather than spoke. Several people on the floor looked up. Takuma quickly pulled the receiver away from his ear. "I'm at work," Takuma said. "COME AFTER YOU'RE DONE!! MINATO WARD, SHIRAKANETAI!! GRAND CRESTA!!!" Yanagibashi shouted. (Grand Cresta. That's the 42-story super-high-rise hotel along Gaien-Nishi Avenue in Shirakanetai, isn't it. The one that starts at 48,000 yen per night.) "Grand Cres... isn't that place like 48,000 yen a—" Takuma started. "JUST BRING A SUIT!! YOU HAVE TO COME!!" Yanagibashi cut him off. The call ended. Takuma stared at the screen for a while. "This is totally your thing." He corrected the unit price while turning that phrase over in his mind. No answer came. It couldn't have. 　　　★ Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line, departing Tsukishima. Takuma held his suit jacket on his lap as he grabbed the hanging strap and sent a message to Yanagibashi. "What kind of party?" The message was read. Five seconds later, a reply came. "Matchmaking." Takuma immediately called back. No answer. He tried again. Still no answer. (Matchmaking. Minato Ward, Shirakanetai. Grand Cresta. Me. What kind of shape do these four points make when connected?) He got off at Shirakanetai Station and walked south along Gaien-Nishi Avenue. A tree-lined street in an upscale residential area. The people passing by wore things fundamentally different from what he had on. The sheen of the fabric was different. The way they walked was different. Even the dogs seemed different. That dog had good posture. Then he saw it. Hotel Grand Cresta. Takuma's feet stopped. Forty-two stories. Glass and stone exterior rising into the night sky. Chandelier light spilling from the entrance created golden patterns on the stone pavement. Two doormen in uniform stood in perfect posture. He couldn't identify a single car in the parking lot. (What car is that. The one with the weird width. Does a car like that even exist? I didn't know it existed.) He remembered his suit was from "Aoyama Shoji sale, 17,800 yen." He closed his eyes for three seconds. Then a LINE message from Yanagibashi arrived. "I'm already here! Hurry up! You'll know me at the entrance!!" (Why is he already here when he told me to come.) He steeled himself and headed for the entrance. The doorman smoothly opened the door. "Welcome." The moment he stepped into the 1st floor lobby— His leather sole slid across the Italian Carrara marble floor. With full force. Two steps of penguin-walking ensued. Right, left, he barely held it together. The doorman silently looked away. (Thank you for pretending you didn't see that. That's what professionalism is.) Ceiling height: 10 meters. A 4-meter-tall Baccarat chandelier hung from the center, glittering with 462 light bulbs. The marble floor below reflected that light without hesitation. In other words: slippery and blinding. The worst combination. Yanagibashi was there. By the entrance, waving with a grin. "You made it! Great!" Yanagibashi said. "What do you mean by matchmaking," Takuma said. "Well, well! The details later! I'm telling you, this is perfect for you! Really!" Yanagibashi said. "No, that 'well, well' is exactly what makes this suspicious," Takuma said. "Ah, sorry, actually something urgent just came up," Yanagibashi said. "Huh?" Takuma said. Yanagibashi patted Takuma's shoulder repeatedly while shoving a business-card-sized invitation into his hands. "36th floor is the party venue! Have fun!" Yanagibashi said. "Wait, hold on—" Takuma started. His friend left without looking back. Takuma stood completely speechless, watching him go. Holding the invitation, he stood alone in front of the elevator hall, at a loss. (I'm completely abandoned. I'm a stray dog right now. One dog in a sale suit standing bewildered in the lobby of a five-star hotel in Shirakanetai.) The electronic display read "36F SALON LUMIÈRE." The elevator arrived. He got in. 　　　★ The moment the doors opened on the 36th floor, the air changed. A reception counter was set up in front of the double walnut doors. A white cloth covered it, and a small device sat on top. The receptionist stood with a smile. "Please present your invitation." Takuma handed over the invitation. The receptionist scanned it. —Beep. Then, after a beat. —Beep beep beep. (The sound is different. That's a different sound than before. Or am I imagining things.) The receptionist's expression froze for 0.5 seconds. Her eyebrows rose slightly, and her eyes darted to the screen. A motion of confirmation. Then immediately, a perfect smile returned. "Here is your name tag. Please." He took the tag. While pinning it to his chest pocket, he casually checked the text— His movement stopped. "Tatsuki Takuma Skill: None Status: Ordinary Person" He read it. He read it again. (Skill... none?) His gaze drifted sideways. He could see the name tag of the male participant next to him. "Absolute Sword Art Lv.MAX Foreign Consulting Sales Division Manager" (Absolute... Sword Art? Lv... MAX?) The name tag of the woman on the other side. "Sage Magic Lv.MAX Chef and Business Owner" A man talking in the distance. "Void Step Lv.MAX Individual Investor" Takuma looked at his own name tag three times. Skill: None. Status: Ordinary Person. ...Cellophane tape. (My entire life has been condensed into this name tag.) 　　　★ Salon Lumière. 280 square meters, 3.8-meter ceiling. Beyond the full-length glass on the east side, Tokyo Tower and Rainbow Bridge spread out as night scenery. Dishes lined the French oak buffet table, and glasses were being polished at the 8-meter marble-topped bar counter. About 30 participants. All of them were clearly not ordinary. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was different—aura, bearing, things that only vague words like that could describe—but everyone gave off the air of "belonging here." Well-worn suits, polished shoes, the angle at which they held their glasses. So natural it was almost eerie. Takuma alone was subtly "a different species." The absence of aura could sometimes make one stand out even more. An announcement played. "We will now begin the self-introduction time. Please go in order." The microphone was passed to the man in the front row. The foreign consulting sales division manager—the person whose name tag said so. The fit of his suit was perfect, and when he stood, the center of gravity of the entire floor seemed to shift toward him. "In my previous life—" the man with Absolute Sword Art began. (Previous life?) "—I served as a knight commander, leading 300 subordinates and directly participated in the continental unification war that unfolded in Orphana, the central continent of the otherworld Valdiira. Currently, I oversee a team with annual sales of 30 billion yen at a foreign consulting firm," he continued. Applause and cheers. Real applause. Genuine. (He just said "previous life" like it was nothing? Valdiira? Orphana? Continental unification war? ...Like, normally? Just like that?) The microphone passed to the next participant. The woman with Sage Magic, the chef, stood up. Her hair was pinned up, her gaze calm but sharp. "In my previous life, I served as the royal family's exclusive great mage in Glassheim, the frost continent of the north of Valdiira, where eternal permafrost spreads. Currently, I run a restaurant in Omotesando. For today's dessert, I will complete it in real-time using temperature manipulation, so please look forward to it," she said. Gasps of admiration. Several people nodded with enraptured expressions. (Temperature manipulation. Real-time. ...A restaurant in Omotesando. ...Why is this conversation even working.) The man with Void Step, the investor, continued. "My commute time is zero. I go directly from bed to my office chair. Last week, I made a same-day round trip to Tokyo, London, and Singapore," he said. Sighs of envy rippled through the venue. (Directly from bed to office chair. That's physically impossible... wait. Wait, wait. His name tag said "Void Step Lv.MAX." That means... he can tear through space... right? He's using his previous-world skill in this world right now.) The microphone made its rounds. The next person, the one after that. Talk of previous lives, skills in the current world, traces of the otherworld Valdiira—all spoken as casually as "how's the weather." Every participant treated it like the most natural thing in the world. The microphone reached Takuma. All eyes turned toward him. Warm gazes mixed with curiosity and expectation. He stood up. He took the microphone. (What do I say. About my previous life? I have no memory of a previous life. My skills? Skill: None. Continental unification war? All I have is cellophane tape, 10-pack × 30 cases, unit price 880.5 yen.) "Um... I work in the sales division at Tobushima Stationery Co., Ltd.... My name is Takuma..." he said. The room listened intently. Waiting for more, in quiet anticipation. "...My specialty product is... cellophane tape... Ah, we also handle masking tape... which has a good reputation for functionality..." he continued. Silence fell. A vacuum-like, complete, absolute-zero silence. Someone in the back set their glass on the table. The sound rang out unnaturally loud. A woman in the front row whispered. "...Cellophane... tape...?" she murmured. The whisper was picked up by the microphone. It spread across the entire salon through the PA system. "Cellophane... tape...?" Again, perfect silence. Takuma said "Ah, thank you very much" and handed back the microphone, then sat down. He wanted to disappear into the seat. Physically, right now, he wanted to be sucked into the cushion and transported somewhere else. If he had the Void Step skill, he would use it immediately. (Skill: None. That's right. Status: Ordinary Person. That's right. Cellophane tape. That's me.) 　　　★ The microphone f

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Episode 1

Name: Matchmaking Cheat Sengoku: A Romantic Battle Royale of Reincarnated Otherworlders
Author: Novelia

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