CH 55

Satsuki-chan bought a set at the variety store. It was a set of two small glass things that looked like resin or something with lamé1 and a star inside. There were other things too in the store too like a goldfish bowl with a goldfish figure inside and a thing with a house inside where snow was falling.

Satsuki-chan and I had bought two of those sparkling lamé and star-shaped things encased in glass. That was so we could remember today. We didn’t buy anything else.

I had thought today would go like this, so I brought money. If Satsuki-chan had anything she wanted, then I thought of us buying it together. But, in the end, she just bought that set from the variety store.

I thought that Satsuki-chan was hesitating, but maybe I was pretty wrong? There were things she’d rarely seen at this commoner’s shopping mall but she didn’t seem to want them. The clothes and the accessories were cheap, so maybe they couldn’t be compared to the many things Satsuki-chan had in her room.

Today was unusually exciting for Satsuki-chan, but she hadn’t particularly wanted anything or bought anything. She just bought the set so we could remember today. I thought that she wanted this to commemorate and remember that we escaped together and went here more than she actually wanted it.

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We had a pretty good time and it was the end of our escape drama. We went to the toilet again and changed into our original clothes. We didn’t throw them when we ran away but instead put them in our bags, so we just changed.

When we got out of the toilet, we were clearly wearing nicer clothes than earlier. If we walked around wearing these clothes in a shopping mall, we’d experience many difficulties. Like kidnapping… well, I didn’t think it’d get that bad, but our clothes could tear and rip from the crowds.

After we changed in the shopping mall, we went outside and called our attendants. We of course had phones but had turned them off until now. Since we needed to be picked up, though, we had to call them.

El oldv cynj vs vbl aso sq alpvywaydvp ol olal saktkdyzzu yv yde oykvle vblal, yde Ysxkfk yde Fyvpwjk-nbyd’p vos yvvldeydvp yaakhle. Yyucl vblu olal zssjkdt qsa wp yaswde blal, sa xyucl vblu nyxl blal vbl xsxldv ol nyzzle.

“Nyeu Fyjwuy!”

“Fyvpwjk-pyxy!”

Mbl yvvldeydvp pyke vbyv, swv sq calyvb yde pvydekdt kd qasdv sq wp. Mblka alzklhle lmralppksdp pzsozu vwadle vs ydtla.

“Nyeu Fyjwuy! Ebyv sd lyavb olal usw vbkdjkdt!?”

“R yx psaau.”

Gp lmrlnvle, Ysxkfk eked’v bkv xl, cwv pbl zssjle ps xye vbyv R vbswtbv kv’e cl clvvla kq pbl bkv xl aktbv dso.

“Fyvpwjk-pyxy… obu oswze usw es pwnb vbkdtp…”

“I am sorry…”

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Oh, it looked like they were having a calmer reunion than we were. I didn’t know what position those two had, but it was a position similar to Momiji’s and mine… At times like these, I got scolded unhesitatingly. My parents didn’t stop Momiji from getting mad at me. Rather, they were almost encouraging her.

“Lady Sakuya! Are you listening to me!?”

“Yes! I am listening!”

Once I thought a little, she got even more mad. Let’s be a little obedient until Momiji’s anger calms.

～～～～～～～

Momiji harshly scolded me and Satsuki-chan’s two attendants talked about a lot of things, but it was finally resolved. It looked like they still hadn’t told our families. Our escape became a secret between the five of us here.

That was probably unforgivable. The attendants should’ve contacted our families as soon as we went missing. If the fact they were negligent and said nothing was revealed, they’d get reprimanded even more harshly than we would.

This time, we had just spontaneously escaped and we safely returned. But when you thought of Satsuki-chan and I’s position, there was a probability that we could’ve been kidnapped or been wrapped up in some event or accident. It’d be completely unforgivable if they didn’t tell our families and the attendants here just went searching.

But that saved us. If the attendants did inform our families, it wouldn’t end like this. There’d be a huge fuss and the police might even get involved. I was thankful for the three of them this time.

But it was incomprehensible why those three hadn’t contacted our families the moment we went missing. They’d get scolded for negligent supervision, so they probably wouldn’t have stayed quiet. They wouldn’t have done such things.

I didn’t know much about Satsuki-chan’s two attendants, but attendants chosen for an important daughter wouldn’t have been so careless. The loyal attendants who got picked would normally immediately contact the family and police even if they got scolded. Even so, those three stayed silent.

When I suddenly disappeared, Momiji should’ve put off the scolding from my parents and immediately contacted my family. I didn’t understand why she didn’t do that…

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Maybe… maybe Satsuki-chan had contacted our attendants along the way? We turned our phone off because they could contact us or check our locations through them. But maybe… Satsuki-chan contacted our attendants after we escaped.

Satsuki-chan’s attendants informed Momiji, so they knew our disappearance was planned and not a kidnapping. They then chose to look for us in the surrounding area rather than create unnecessary fuss.

When I thought of that, it explained why they weren’t getting mad at Satsuki-chan, and why the three attendants didn’t call our families or the police.

Maybe I was just imagining this, but Satsuki-chan saved me. That I was something I should’ve done. I should’ve secretly contacted Momiji and told her. I should’ve told her that we were just headed out for a while and not to worry… That was something I had to reflect on.

Well… I didn’t have to reflect on our escape. I’d probably do that again. But I needed to consider my methods and how not to make everyone worry. I was just being a little thoughtless this time. This time, or rather, every time? How fussy!

The event ended smoothly because of Momiji and Satsuki-chan. We kept today’s incident a secret and went our own ways home.

～～～～～～～

Once we got home, I took a look at my family’s situation; it was nothing special. Momiji really hadn’t contacted them. She was being overly angry, but that saved me. I hadn’t considered it from her perspective, but…

Well, if I were to think that, I’d just be going in circles. I was saved because of that. It hadn’t become anything big. Maybe I should just say that that was good enough.

“Then, how was your outing with the Saionji girl today?”

“Huh!? E-Even if you were to ask…”

My dad suddenly brought up the topic and I flinched. My dad probably meant the question normally. But I was obviously acting suspicious because I knew what secret things had happened behind the scenes. I thought that I had dug my own grave, so I looked around at everyone, but mom and brother just looked at me strangely. Was I safe…?

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“Are you certain you did not just waste your money?”

“Yes.”

I honestly nodded at my mom’s words. She probably found out that I had bought clothes and a hat, but not that I’d brought a T-shirt with a print on it that a commoner would wear. She wouldn’t know what clothes I bought as long as I didn’t show her the actual clothes. 

And since we paid with a card, she could check the final amount, but not what every single item was and how much it cost. If she didn’t see the receipt, then she wouldn’t notice. I bought countless items to camouflage those clothes because of that. You could say that it was pointless and you’d be right, but…

Rather, I didn’t buy clothes that I wouldn’t wear at all, but instead bought them even though I didn’t have an urgent need for them. It wasn’t like I wouldn’t wear them for my whole life, so it wasn’t pointless… right?

“What clothes have you bought?”

Agh! Asking about that!? If he said something like “Show me”, I was screwed… or maybe not. The clothes I’d bought for our escape were in my bag. There wasn’t anything that’d expose me in the bags that held the other clothes we bought.

“Brother, are you not acting slightly indelicate by wishing to know what clothes a girl has bought?”

“…huh? Hmm…”

But I didn’t have any reason not to show my brother, so I said that. My brother then looked seriously puzzled and hummed. Maybe he was shocked that I called him indelicate.

“Thank you for the meal.”

If I stayed any longer, it’d all fall to pieces, so I hurriedly exited the room. I looked at the small item I’d bought with Satsuki-chan that was resting on my desk.

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“Momiji, I am sorry about today.”

“Yes… I am very angry.”

Oh… it looked like she was still mad. She wasn’t as nagging as when I’d first got back, but it felt like she still wouldn’t forgive me.

“Oh… I feel quite sorry for provoking your anger… but it would be appreciated if you did something about this too…”

I carefully took out the clothes I’d used in today’s escape and gave them to Momiji. I couldn’t just leave them here. I’d be in trouble if my mom found them. Having said that, I couldn’t throw them away in a trash can… I had to ask Momiji, who was still quite mad, to do something.

“*sigh*… Understood…”

Saying that, Momiji dispassionately accepted the clothes. It looked like she was disposing of them. I didn’t know if she was going to throw or keep them, but I probably didn’t have any other opportunities to wear them. In the first place, there was no way she’d give me these clothes if I told her that I was using them to escape.

“If you leave these clothes here, you may be able to use them for the same purpose.”

“Uu…”

It appeared that she was still mad… but as she said that, Momiji was doing something about it. She’d probably check what clothes I’d be buying in future shopping trips. It was now harder to escape using the same method.

Was I worried that it’d become harder to escape because I was planning to escape later? Well, you didn’t know when times like that would come, right? I needed to think of a method that’d allow me to escape Momiji’s watchful eyes…

“Lady Sakuya? Are you plotting something wicked again?”

“No, far from it.”

I shook my head. I should stop thinking pointless things in front of Momiji. After that, she told me off a little and I went to sleep.

～～～～～～～

The next day, I energetially headed towards Touka Academy on a gloomy Monday morning. I greeted Satsuki-chan who arrived earlier than me as usual.

“Satsuki-chan, greetings.”

“Sakuya-chan, greetings.”

Huh? Her smile seemed to be kinder than usual today. Maybe she really did open up after we played yesterday. It didn’t feel like a stiff relationship between rich young ladies, but rather more like… a commoner relationship like in my past life, that kind of informal relationship…

“What happened afterwards yesterday?”

“Oh~… well… they both got angry at me. They may still be angry.”

“Oh… as expected…”

It looked like Satsuki-chan’s two attendants got mad at her. It also seemed like they didn’t forgive her yet. Momiji was like that too, so I could picture the exchange between Satsuki-chan and her attendants. Anyhow, I had the same experience…

“However, it was quite fun… I had never experienced something like that before…”

“Satsuki-chan…”

For some reason… Satsuki-chan looked a little lonely and sorrowful. What could that mean?

People like us who attended Touka Academy probably hadn’t been to shopping malls like this. We hadn’t dined at a food court or bought things from variety stores and hundred-yen shops2.

But… I thought that Satsuki-chan’s current expression wasn’t because of that. A thought suddenly struck me: if I didn’t know why she looked like that, I might not become true best friends with Satsuki-chan.