Chapter 20: Weekend department store date (3)

We left the clothing store and naturally headed to a cafe.

Whether it was because we were tired from wandering around the department store, or because of what happened at the clothing store, all three of us looked a little tired.

And above all, Mizuki’s change was dramatic.

“Ah… I don’t really like skirts after all.”

“Didn’t you pick it because you liked it, Mizuki?”

“Rina, it’s ‘I want to see it’, not ‘I want to wear it’.”

Mizuki, her face slightly flushed, fiddled with the end of her skirt and pouted.

Her usual cheerful and free-spirited appearance was nowhere to be seen, and her modest posture was somehow awkward and funny.

“You wear a skirt at school too.”

“That’s different from this. Fluttering… I don’t like it…”

Seeing Mizuki fiddling with the hem of her skirt, I chuckled.

It was surprisingly cute, a slightly shy look that was different from her usual confident appearance.

As we entered the cafe, busy clerks were checking orders here and there, and customers were sitting at tables and chatting. It was definitely noisy, yet it felt strangely cozy.

The three of us sat down at a table by the window.

Aya and I sat together, and Mizuki sat across from us.

All three of us were wearing matching blouses and black flare skirts, and even had the same black brooch on our chests… it looked like we were wearing a uniform.

‘We… look like a real group like this.’

But my gaze went straight to the wallet in my bag. The 50,000 yen my mom gave me when I left was still in my wallet.

‘Aya bought this outfit for me..?’

As I was worried about it looking at my wallet in front of the display, Aya paid for mine as well.

If that was all, I would just be grateful…

I suddenly felt my face flush and fiddled with my bag, lowering my head.

Aya’s smile and her words wouldn’t leave my head.

‘I’ll buy this.’

‘What?! Ah, no! It’s okay! I can buy it!’

I waved my hands frantically, but Aya looked at me with a quiet smile and shook her head.

There was no wavering in Aya’s smile.

‘…It looks good on Rina too.’

‘Uwaaaaat, just thinking about it makes my face hot…!’

Does this outfit suit me? Then did I dress up wrong?

The clothes I came in were still in my bag, and I didn’t think they were unsuitable at all…

Aya’s words kept echoing in my head. I felt dizzy and my head was spinning.

“……So, what do you want to drink, Rina?”

“Uh, huh…?”

The one who pulled me out of my delusion was, ironically, Aya’s voice.

It’s a cafe, so shouldn’t we all go and order together? I thought, but seeing Mizuki take out a memo pad, I guess Mizuki is going to order.

“What do you want to drink, Rina?”

“Ah, what are you two having? I, I, I didn’t hear you just now!”

“I’m having an espresso con panna~ And Ayarin is having iced tea.”

I nodded and glanced at the menu board behind the counter. Even though it was a bit far away, I could see the various menus written in Japanese at a glance.

But since my past life, my choice has always been fixed.

The price is reasonable, and if you come to a cafe, of course…

“Strawberry yogurt smoothie.”

“Oh~ As expected of Rina! Got it.”

Mizuki smiled contentedly and walked away to order.

The ones left behind were Aya and me.

A brief silence fell on the table.

It just so happened that Mizuki sat alone in front, and Aya and I sat side by side…

I fiddled with my bag strap and said.

“……Aya, um… thank you for buying the clothes earlier.”

“It’s okay. It looks good on Rina. I don’t want you to feel burdened.”

That word again…!

‘Ugh, that word again! Why do you say it so casually…!’

Being alone with Aya was awkward.

I was restless, feeling like I had to fill the flowing silence with something.

‘I’m embarrassed… How did the protagonist in the novel keep talking to Aya?’

In the novel, the protagonist always threw jokes at the right timing or continued the conversation naturally…

There’s no way a timid person like me can do that naturally.

While staring blankly at the object on the table and worried, Aya’s soft voice was heard.

“Rina, you’re cute,”

“…Huh? Uh, yeah! Huh? Ah, no!”

I hurriedly waved my hands and answered.

But Aya quietly looked at me and smiled contentedly.

‘Ah, Aya is so pretty… that’s not it, I have to say something!’

I decided to bring up a topic naturally to hide my embarrassment.

‘So, naturally… naturally… Ah!’

What suddenly came to mind was the book Aya had lent me last time.

The book Aya lent me when I ran away to the classroom after receiving my first confession.

A novel about a heroine written by a Japanese author, with a calm atmosphere of a growth story.

Honestly, I didn’t read it all the way through, but I somehow thought it suited Aya well.

“Um… Aya, the book you lent me last time?”

Aya blinked and tilted her head slightly.

“Yes, did you like it?”

“I haven’t finished reading it yet… but the beginning was really good. I thought the author’s writing style was calm, yet the characters’ emotions were delicately portrayed.”

“Right?”

Aya’s eyes lit up slightly when I brought up the novel.

Aya lightly rested her hand on her chin and smiled softly.

“I was particularly impressed by the process of the protagonist realizing her own feelings.”

“Ah, right! That part! The protagonist didn’t even know herself at first… but gradually…”

We naturally talked about the book like that.

My tongue loosened, and I was unconsciously excited by the fact that I was talking better than I thought.

Aya quietly looked at me and smiled.

That gaze was so sweet that… my heart fluttered for no reason.

…Aya, is looking at me in a pleasant way……!

Conscious of that, my face heated up again, so I looked away.

“Tha, that aside… Mizuki… why is she so late?”

I deliberately mentioned Mizuki and tried to change the atmosphere.

But Aya followed my gaze and looked out the window, quietly saying.

“That’s right.”

It was a short answer, but I felt Aya’s gaze turn to my hand in that small gap.

When Aya’s gaze touched me, I unconsciously twitched my fingertips.

“You know, in the novel, there was something like this.”

“Huh?”

“If you hold hands, your thoughts connect.”

“Uh, what?!”

I was startled and reflexively pulled my hand back.

But Aya smiled quietly and gently reached out her hand.

Aya’s gaze was still on me, and I had no choice but to carefully reach out my hand.

‘Wh, what, was there a scene like this in the novel Aya lent me? Is it a part I haven’t read?!’

The moment Aya’s fingertips brushed the back of my hand, I felt a tingling sensation all over my body.

My fingertips tingled, and I screamed internally.

At that moment.

“It’s a nice atmosphere.”

An elegant yet firm voice suddenly intervened.

I was startled, quickly withdrew my hand, and turned my head.

A woman with beautiful rolled-up hair was looking at us next to the table.

A graceful atmosphere that would suit a red dress, but now she was dressed in a stylish white blouse and beige skirt.

Shiraizuka Yurika.

A second-year senpai from the student council.

“Shiraizuka-senpai, what brings you here?”

“My mother asked me to buy perfume. I was just going to take a break at a nearby cafe, but I didn’t expect to run into you like this.”

Then she narrowed her eyes slightly and continued.

“Would you mind if I joined you?”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

Aya answered quietly and rearranged her seat.

But I noticed that Aya showed a sign of discomfort.

‘If Aya makes this kind of expression… Is it not that she’s embarrassed to be caught in that moment, but that she just doesn’t like Shiraizuka-senpai?

Was it like this in the novel too…? Ah, why am I suddenly thinking…’

I looked around awkwardly and smiled, and Shiraizuka-senpai gracefully sat down.

She looked around us with a calm young lady’s smile.

“I often come here because the atmosphere is nice. It’s nice to see you.”

Shiraizuka-senpai’s gaze was relaxed and warm, but it was still a ‘heavenly young lady’ feeling.

The atmosphere that naturally dominated the surrounding air yet blended in without any sense of incongruity was perfection itself.

But… I know what kind of person Shiraizuka-senpai is in the novel.

She probably came to this department store… probably… not for perfume, but for the game center…

“Guys, ours is out!”

Mizuki came with a lively voice, holding a tray with drinks.

The tense atmosphere was momentarily released.

I called Mizuki a ‘savior’ in my heart and was relieved.

Mizuki put down the tray, and when she saw Shiraizuka-senpai, her eyes lit up and she smiled brightly.

“Hello~ Rika-tan~ What brings you here?”

…042?

Shiraizuka-senpai narrowed her eyes and sighed quietly.

“Mizuki… if you call me by that name outside…”

“Why, we’re not even in school.”

“Still, I’m a year older than you. I’m your older sister.”

“Hehe~ What’s wrong?”

At Mizuki’s playful tone, Shiraizuka-senpai frowned slightly as if she couldn’t do anything about it.

But a not-so-bad look appeared on senpai’s face.

As senpai’s gaze turned to Mizuki’s clothes, the corners of her mouth slightly curled up.

“But… what’s with this outfit? You finally decided to dress formally.”

“Ah…”

Mizuki, who was criticized for her outfit, shrank back urgently, but her embarrassment couldn’t be hidden.

I chuckled at Mizuki’s appearance.

In fact, the two were very close.

In the novel, the Asakura family and the Shiraizuka family had maintained a cooperative relationship for hundreds of years, and thanks to that, the two had known each other since childhood.

They teased and joked with each other, but there was a subtle sense of old trust.

That kind of relationship was nice to see.

Aya quietly drank her iced tea and watched their conversation, and I watched the three of them from a little distance.