Chapter 104 – Encounter with ‘God’

August 29, 1929.
In my previous life, this day was exactly two months before “X-Day.” But for me, in a sense, this day is even more important than “X-Day.”

I’m going to meet, in the flesh, one of the “gods” from my previous life. And it won’t just be important for the me of my past life—this will surely be a precious day for the current me as well.

I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep a single wink last night.
And before I knew it, I had returned to my hotel room, changed into something comfortable, and was sleeping on the luxurious bed.

(Huh? Wait a second? I went to meet Walt Disney-sama, didn’t I? There’s a blank in my memory? Why? What happened?!)

I raise my body while my head is still in a confused state.

(For now, my body seems fine. My head… probably okay. Shizu and the others must have changed my clothes for me. This is the suite room we’ve been staying in for about three days. It’s dark outside, so it must be night… which means it’s still not tomorrow yet?)

Thinking that, I glance at the built-in clock in the room—7:30 p.m., naturally Los Angeles time.

(The time difference with Japan is 16 hours… no, the real question is what day it is!)

For this, there’s simply no information to give me certainty.
I sometimes feel inconvenienced without a smartphone, but I never thought I’d feel it for a reason like this.

(Anyway, I’ll just ask someone.)

Thinking that, I put on my slippers and padded across the bedroom, and just as I reached the door—three knocks.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me—oh, is something wrong, Ojou-sama?”

“What day is it today, and how long have I been asleep? No—was I actually unconscious?”

“Today is August 29. You were not sleeping, but had lost consciousness. As for the time—”

“If the clock is correct, that’s enough. Anyway, I have no memory of it at all—what happened to me? Did something happen? Or did I do something?”

“…You don’t remember, I see. It’s understandable.”

Her brow furrows slightly, but it’s the expression of someone worried.
Shizu may be the cool-type maid, but after so many years together, I can easily read even small changes in her expression.

“Is the story going to be long?”

“Most likely. Would you like to change clothes first?”

“Hmm, I guess I should. Also, something to eat.”

“Understood. I’ll have it ready right away.”

With that, Shizu and the other maids change my clothes, while someone else contacts the hotel lobby to arrange food.
I’d probably been asleep for close to half a day, so I could have eaten a full dinner, but since I had just woken up and wasn’t all that hungry, the lighter meal they prepared was the right choice.

Even so, since it was “American-style light,” if Shizu and the others hadn’t adjusted the portion, it would have been more than I could finish.
Once I had eaten and taken a short break, I was finally in a state—both physically and mentally—where I could talk.

In the room were only Shizu and a few maids. With just a glance, I signaled that this was an important matter, and everyone except Shizu left.
The only others who had gone with me to Disney’s place were two macho men and a chauffeur-bodyguard, but unless summoned, they would never enter a lady’s room.

Right now, as long as I could hear the story from Shizu, there was no problem.

“So, I went to see Disney-sama, right? Or is this a dream?”

“As far as I am aware, this is not a dream. However, the one to decide that is you, Ojou-sama.”

“Yeah. I don’t think it’s a dream. Probably, I got so excited that I temporarily lost part of my memory and consciousness—something like that. What do you think?”

“It is certain that you lost consciousness. As for your memory, I can only say it is probably as you describe.”

“Well, of course. There’s also the chance I could just be acting. So, what did I do?”

As I asked, I took a sip from my teacup—both to create a pause and to calm myself.

“Which part of your memory is missing?”

“Ah, right. The last thing I remember is going to bed last night. After that, I was unconscious until just before you called out to me.”

At those words, Shizu gave a small nod.
Then she calmly laid out the facts.

I woke up early in the morning on the 29th, already in high spirits from the start.
At 10 a.m., we headed to Hyperion Street in the Silver Lake district, just north of downtown Los Angeles.

Of course, it was one of Disney’s holy sites—the place where Walt Disney-sama first set up his studio, and the location of his studio in that era.
Walt Disney-sama himself had been waiting for me outside that studio.

Naturally, I knew it wasn’t simply because a fan had come to visit. One of the conditions in Ootori’s proposal—whether for investment or, in some cases, even free support—was that I would visit.

But for me, with the memories of my previous life, money and all those other matters didn’t matter at all.
Just being able to meet that Disney was enough.

And after meeting him, I apparently spent every moment I could pouring out my love for Disney works and for that Mouse-san—talking and talking without end.

On top of that, I showed him the many pictures I had drawn back in Japan of that Mouse-san and his friends—of course, only the friends who existed in this era.

Yeah. I knew full well that doing something so presumptuous was wrong.
But my hands wouldn’t stop; I just kept drawing without thinking. Even so, the fact that I limited myself to just a few drawings was, I think, a remarkable act of patience and restraint on my part.

However, it seems I made a huge blunder.
I had gathered plenty of information on Disney films, but the way I drew that Mouse-san and his friends was different.

Different how? Instead of their 1929 designs, I had drawn them as they appeared several years later—the versions my generation in my previous life was familiar with.
In other words, that Mouse-san with white sclera, eyebrows, and skin-colored skin.

Don’t say “Well, of course he looks like that.” That form wouldn’t appear until ten years from now—in 1939.

It had completely slipped my mind. No, it had fallen right out of my head entirely.
Apparently, at the time I stammered and claimed it was my own original design from a fanciful idea I had, apologizing profusely.

But Walt Disney-sama praised me greatly and seemed genuinely interested. Then, he apparently asked if he could keep one of the drawings as a memento, and I ended up giving it to him.

“No!! What an insolent fool I am!! I deserve to die a thousand deaths!!”

“Yes, yes, calm down. It’s still too early for you to die.”

“Ugh… Did I mess up even more after that?”

“Yes. We’re still only in the prologue.”

“Prologue!? N-no, stop! No, don’t stop—tell me! Tell me everything!! Spill it all!!”

After that, the conversation continued to liven up, and Walt Disney-sama cheerfully listened to my love for Disney films.

Then I said I wanted to give him financial support with no strings attached.
Well, that was something I had planned to propose, but without reading the room at all, I blurted out that I would give him one million dollars.

Yeah, I was an idiot. One million dollars is sixty billion yen in Heisei currency. That’s not the budget for making a film in this era—it’s enough to buy out a studio or an entire company and still have change left over.

Naturally, Walt Disney-sama panicked, but those around us brushed it off as a child’s silly talk, and it was settled that we would send proper adults later to formally discuss the matter of the no-strings financial support and investment.

However, of course, my blunders didn’t end there.
Even though Ootori didn’t own a film distribution company, she tried to arrange for Disney films to be distributed in Japan. She apparently thought it would be possible by using Ootori Trading, but such high-handedness wasn’t acceptable.

Then, as another request, I earnestly begged them to build a Disney amusement park as soon as possible. Naturally, I also asked for one to be built in Japan right away.
On top of that, I said I would invest as much as needed, and it nearly resulted in Tokyo Disneyland being built half a century early.

Furthermore, I apparently said I wanted to make animation in Japan, and that I wanted them to make works in America that would promote Japan.

“Hmm? Is that it? I haven’t collapsed yet, right? When did I pass out?”

“Yes. Right after you got into the car to go back, your body gave out and you lost consciousness. I covered for you, so we caused no trouble for Disney-sama. If you had collapsed on the spot there, things would not have been this quiet, would they?”

“You’re absolutely right. Even my body managed to read the mood, at least a little.”

“Mood aside, you were likely just too excited. And perhaps it’s better for your own peace of mind if some of those memories don’t come back—not just temporarily, but permanently.”

“Ugh… was it really that bad?”

“Yes. Wan-sama aside, even Yagami-sama was utterly exasperated.”

“Ah… Give those two a little something as compensation for the trouble. Ugh, still… to think I got so excited I blacked out…”

Thinking that, I just went to bed that night in a heartbroken state, but the next morning—just as Shizu had said—I ended up regretting it bitterly.
Yes, because when I woke up, all my memories had come flooding back.

“Waaah! I’m such an idiot! An absolute, total moron! Shizu! Make another appointment with Walt Disney-sama! I’m going to grovel on the floor and apologize!!”

“Good morning, Ojou-sama. We are departing for the East today, so there is no time for that. How about writing him a letter instead?”

“Nooo! …Haa, fine, I’ll do that.”

The highlight of my time in Los Angeles had ended up completely wasted.

―――――――――――――――――
Walt Disney:
At this point, it is 1929, but it’s around here that Disney’s rapid rise begins.
Disneyland in Anaheim opened in 1955.