Isekai Office Worker: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter

Episode 13

I don't know about you, but I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of this thirteenth episode. I admit that I'd hoped it would cover the novels' actual ending, but I also can't complain about what it does instead: give us a little more time with Seiichirou and Aresh while emphasizing how special it is that they get to be together.

It's perhaps something easy to lose track of in a series that has a heavy romance component. Although the official genre of The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter is isekai, the romance between Aresh and Seiichirou is its actual raison d'être, enough to make the main conflict be the question of whether or not Seiichirou will figure out a way to send he and Yua back to Japan…and if they'll both decide to leave. But rather than focusing on that, this episode (technically an OVA) instead is set shortly after the two men move in together and serves to reassure everyone (Seiichirou included) that things are going to be okay for them.

The main mechanism for this is mysterious object Seiichirou is given at a magic item shop. He and Aresh were out shopping for things for the new house, an activity that makes Seiichirou profoundly uncomfortable – not because of the whole “my boyfriend bought us a house without asking” but because Aresh has so much money and is willing to just…spend it. When Aresh figures this out, he decides that maybe they can instead shop in the commoners' district, which is where they get the kaleidoscope-looking thing. Seiichiro is drawn to it because it reminds him of a kaleidoscope, while Aresh is interested in the apparently nonsense magic words inscribed upon it.

Seiichirou is the more invested of the two in figuring out the device's purpose, probably because Aresh has seen his fair share of strange magical mysteries growing up in Romany. But towards the end of the episode, it begins to seem less like he's simply not interested and more that he's stepping back because he thinks the device is giving Seiichirou a little piece of home. It's plainly not actually a kaleidoscope, but Aresh still wants to let his boyfriend have it because of its similarities to one. Simply put, Aresh just wants Seiichirou to be happy and comfortable in Romany, as his early change of shopping venue shows. He's not an outwardly demonstrative person, but he really does care, and this is part of his way of showing that. If Seiichirou needs this weird tube thing to feel familiar, then by god, Aresh is going to make sure he can spend time playing with it.

The not-kaleidoscope's symbolic value is mighty, because not only is it familiar looking, but it turns out to be all that's left of a love that never got a chance to bloom. It was made by a magical engineer from another country who fell in mutual love with a young noblewoman during his sojourn in Romany. Ultimately they weren't able to be together: he was working class, she was noble, and never the twain shall meet. That, you'll notice, has a remarkable similarity to Aresh and Seiichiro's situation – a noble and a working-class man, from two different countries. Aresh's major fear is that Seiichiro will leave him and go back to his country, even if he doesn't really believe that it's possible. That things have worked out for them is nothing short of a miracle, as the now-old woman's failed romance shows. Not everyone gets the chance Seiichiro and Aresh have. This is a reminder (not that they need it) not to squander that.

I wouldn't say that this extra episode adds a lot to the series overall. It's not set post-series, after all, and is really nothing more than an interlude. But it's still nice to return to this story, and I hope that some of the other side stories or skipped/condensed chapters pop up in anime form, too.

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