The Case Files of Jeweler Richard
This is an extra Tsujimura-Sensei wrote for the Pride-month 2026 and posted it on bluesky. Mind you that she wants to revise the story when she has time. So I will correct the content once that happens.
(A short story that contains slight spoilers for the final volume of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard)
"No... I don't mean spiritually. I mean I want us to be legally married."
"I agree with that, but it won't be possible today or tomorrow. Has something happened?"
"There aren't many inconveniences to living with you. But still, when I suddenly get caught up in trouble again or something like that, I really hate the idea of you being pushed aside."
"Then will you truly obtain British citizenship?"
"I am thinking about it... I am thinking about it... I am... but ughhhhhhh..."
"That voice crawling along the ground is answer enough."
"But to be even more honest, I feel indebted to the gay people who march in Pride parades."
"...Because I don't march either... I can't really say I'm actively involved in rights issues, and to begin with, it's not as though I'm personally involved in the struggle over marriage rights."
"The vast majority of gay people do not participate in parades. They simply live their lives."
"But it's precisely because there are people who stand up and say, 'This isn't good enough!!' that it definitely becomes easier for the rest of us to breathe. And it feels really uncomfortable, benefiting from that without contributing anything..."
"And yet, I know that you make donations to various causes."
"Just staying alive is genuinely difficult for human beings, isn't it? All things considered, I think I was born in a good era."
"Of course not. After all, I got to meet you."
"I do think I was born in a good era. But by the time you reach my age, you realize there are things that won't change if all you do is sit in the bath and think, 'Ah, things turned out well.' People from younger generations start coming along too, like Minoru-kun. So if possible, I'd like kids younger than me to be able to think, 'I was born in an even better era than he was.'"
"Yeah, figured you would."
"...I'm really going to think about a lot of things from now on. Truly, a lot of things. I'll think about changing my nationality as well. But more than that, I'm going to try thinking a little more seriously about the country where I was born. When all is said and done, I am Japanese, after all. I put nori on white rice, make miso soup, cook rolled omelets, and eat them with green tea."
"The breakfasts you make are always excellent. And if possible, I would like you to live happily forever in the place where your smile comes most naturally."
"...If that wish can be granted, then I have no other wish."
"Thanks. But if I can spend the rest of my life with you, then I feel like wanting to aim a little higher."
"'Aim higher' is an interesting expression. I understand it as meaning to desire something beyond one's station. Yet in this age, when equality is supposed to be taken for granted, what exactly could you possibly be aiming higher for?"
"I want a happiness that isn't just enough for me alone."
"I don't like the idea of you not being happy too."
"Well, I guess that's actually a pretty ordinary wish after all! A-anyway, now I'm starting to feel embarrassed, so I'm going to take a bath."
"I'm beginning to feel embarrassed as well, so I think I'll go to bed first. Good night."
"...Can I say that I love you?"
