CH 95

Chapter 95: Summer Shopping

TL: Akabane

***

How to free Suo from Hagiri? That was what Ayashiro and I were trying to figure out. All we knew was that she was in financial trouble, but as far as I could tell, neither Suo nor her family had any kind of debt in Japan. It's possible that she owes money to Hagiri, or that she has debts in Brazil. It could be either one of them.

"The problem is that I don't know what Suo is doing."

Seriously, I don't understand this. I tried to sneak a detective on Suo, but that seems to have been rolled up in an instant in both cases. It's not just a good old fashioned crime movie. I guess in a good old fashioned crime movie, Suo could be an accountant for an organization and important, but she doesn't have any academic background, so there's no line there either.

"She's just a receptionist, but in the future, she's Hagiri's close associate. There's got to be something to it...I could still understand if she was his mistress, but the unicorn Ayashiro X just killed that line. I don't even know what to think about it. Pass pass pass!"

I step away from the desk. Then I go up the stairs in the corner of the room and go out onto the roof. I am now not in my house in Shimokita, but in a small six-floor building I bought in Shibuya. This place is completely my hobby. I converted the fifth floor and above into my own private room. I have prepared various facilities such as a drafting room full of architectural models and a studio where I can devote myself to art as much as I like. I put a convenience store and a café as tenants on the first floor, but left the second through fourth floors empty. However, the second through fourth floors are left empty, but will be used when needed.

"My castle is the best...phew..."

The trend of owning one's own home and being on one's own never seems to wane, but I still longed for a building of my own. For various reasons, I got this building at a discount with a lump-sum cash payment. It's my own private playground, rather close to the station. So far, only Kekai-senpai and Tsukasa have come to visit.

"I wonder if I can find out what's going on if I pay tribute to them anyway. I think I'll go there today."

For what it's worth, the Suo I meet at that restaurant has an unusual beauty, and I can get very pleasantly drunk on that as a thrill. Ayashiro doesn't like Suo to do the hostess work, but I also like to see her at night.

"But first, let's go have some fun."

I leave the building and head for Dogenzaka in Shibuya. There is a large general store building around here that sells materials for architectural models. I was on my way there.

"Eh, Tokiwa?"

"Igarashi?"

It just so happened that Igarashi, Mashiba, and another girl were at Dogenzaka. I knew this girl. I have met her several times in the previous world.

"Oh dear? Are you the rumored Kanahisa Tokiwa? Nice to meet you, I am Takinose Mio of the Department of Business Administration in the Faculty of Economics."

Takinose introduced herself with a polite bow. She is an elegant beauty with light brown hair and steeple eyes. I return the bail too. I try to pass by her.

"Yes. All right. Well, I'll leave you to it then. Geez!"

Igarashi grabbed me by the collar.

"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you leaving?"

"Oh, I'm in the middle of shopping."

I didn't want to be with Mashiba and Takinose, let alone Igarashi. Takinose was one of the annoying guys in my previous world, though not as annoying as Mashiba.

"Really? We're shopping too! Come on! It's almost summer! Clothes, sandals, swimsuits!"

"Oh, really? I guess it's not a good idea to have a guy around for that kind of thing. Well then, here you go!"

He grabbed me by the neck again. Igarashi was smiling.

"We're shopping too! It's almost officially summer! Clothes, sandals, swimsuits, and so on!"

"Don't loop me! You're scaring me! Oh, God. You two don't want to go that way, do you?"

"Of course not! Why would a guy be with me to pick out a bathing suit?"

Mashiba is talking straight.

"Oh, my. I don't mind. I'm not ashamed to show you my body. I'm not like Mashiba."

"Oh? Eh? Even I have a good style! I'm not trying to show it off to anyone! Unlike that girl, I'm not self-conscious."

You're self-conscious too. I'm not going to say that because it might burn you up. These two are kind of prickly. So I guessed it. Takinose seems to be having a physical relationship with Hagiri, too. And they both know it. The only one who doesn't know is Igarashi.

"Hey, Tokiwa. Now you know how awkward I am, don't you? It seems something happened a while ago, and we haven't been getting along well lately. Hey, help me out!"

"Ah. I understand. But you have to go shopping with me, too."

"Yeah, okay! Okay, okay! Let's go, let's go!"

Igarashi pulls my sleeve. And the other two followed behind. Mashiba turned her eyes away from me, looking unhappy, but strangely enough, Takinose was staring at me, or rather at Igarashi's fingers tugging at my sleeve.

Women's shopping is long. Shopping for women is a long process, and I am sure it has a different meaning for men. Igarashi has been asking me for a while now, "Isn't this one cute? Isn't it prettier than that one? I like that one too!" and that's all she talked about with Mashiba and me. The girls seem to be having a lot of fun with that, but I don't really understand the difference. I was annoyed at the futility of their behavior, but I was strangely amused by Igarashi's ever-changing facial expressions. Finally, she picked out some clothes, sandals, and let me carry them all, and came to the swimsuit section.

"Hey, don't guys usually run away from a place like this, saying it's not a good idea for me to be there? Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"

Mashiba gives me a glare. I guess from her point of view, it would be better if I just go away.

"I'm an adult, so I'm not bothered if I go into the girls' swimwear section."

I don't really care if I'm in the underwear department with a girl. I like to see girls wearing underwear, and when I look at the underwear itself, all I can think is, "Isn't a full-back pant surprisingly big?"

"Hey, hey, Tokiwa, what kind of things do you like?"

Igarashi was smiling in a way that seemed to be making fun of me.

"Erotic ones."

"Yeah...isn't that too direct?"

"But isn't that better than being told that anything that looks good on you is fine?"

"I can understand why you would say that. I don't like it because it seems unmanly."

"Right? That's why I prefer erotic. But when I say erotic, I don't mean something with a small area of fabric, I mean something that stimulates me in terms of design, not a thong or a full back, just the right amount. Also. I think that a large bra strap on the back emphasizes the curvature of the back and gives it a nice look. Also, the pareo is nice. It's nice to see a glimpse of the swimsuit underneath through that pareo. I like the eloquence of it like that."

"The orders are backwards! Tokiwa's ero man!"

"I'm an ero man! Come on, come on! Come on, choose one!"

I lightly push Igarashi's back. She charged into the swimsuit section with the same momentum.

"You're so different from Hagiri, you're so good at controlling Riri. Do you have any tricks?"

Tips? Try living a married life once? Or rather.

"I really don't like being compared to Hagiri."

"Is that so? I think it's great just to be the object of comparison with Hagiri-sama, don't you?"

Takinose said it like it was perfectly natural. There seemed to be no doubt about it.

"Don't you see that he don't like being compared to him? Boys' hearts are so fragile."

"Is that what the male heart is like? This is a good lesson for me. I usually only talk with Hagiri-sama and other gentlemen of the same generation, so this kind of opinion is new to me."

"Indeed. I also only talk to boys my own age like Hagiri."

You can't even talk to other girls, can you? I wonder if she would cry if I told her that.

"But Igarashi, don't you miss Tokiwa too much?"

It was a little cold voice. Takinose is looking at me coldly, as if peering at me from below. The smile on her face made that very creepy.

"You've done that before. Yes, was that at the party in Roppongi? Riri was chasing after Tokiwa, wasn't she? There was another woman at the end of it, though."

"Stop it. Don't dig up the black history. I'm sorry about that. I mean, were you at that party too?"

"Yes, I gave that room to Hagiri-sama. I have a duplicate key. I'm always next to Hagiri-sama."

Ah, so the young lady Igarashi was talking about who gave the room to Hagiri is this girl?

"Were you with her at the circle camp after that?"

"We happened to be together."

"Really? Coincidence?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm just trying to warn you."

"A warning?"

"It means that Hagiri-sama isn't the only one who thinks you're a nuisance."

Takinose's eyes were indeed full of murderous intent when she said that.

"Don't you think there is only one man who is suitable for Riri?"

"I don't think that's something for others to decide, do you?"

Me and Takinose glared at each other. Mashiba was somewhat flustered by the unusual atmosphere.

"There can only be one prince who goes to pick up the princess. And that's not you."

"Heh. A prince, huh? That man is too dirty to be a prince, don't you think?"

"He's a prince, isn't he? That's proof of strength. You don't have that kind of thing."

Takinose seems to be seriously fascinated by Hagiri. Even vice is just another status of attraction for her.

"Hey! Look at this! Which one is better!"

A relaxed voice echoed from behind us as we stared at each other. Igarashi comes up to me, holding a swimuit in each hand. But the way she was dressed was a bit odd.

"You're asking which one is better, but there are practically three choices that you're already tried on?"

Igarashi had already tried on a swimsuit. A green bikini and a translucent pareo around her waist.

"I love this swimsuit! It's a great color, and the pareo is adorable! See, it looks like this."

Igarashi spun around on the spot. The pareo was lifted by centrifugal force, revealing a plump, well-shaped ass. Not a fullback, not a thong, but a moderate cut that was supremely ethereal.

"Yeah. That's so cute."

I could feel my cheeks blushing even in person. Igarashi noticed the blush on my cheeks and smiled at me.

"Thanks. But what's wrong? Are you shy for the first time? Fufu."

Igarashi poked my tummy. The tickle felt good to me.

***Author's musings***

Kanata's secret base is, in my opinion, the best part of a time-lapse story.

The interior has been remodeled to Kanata's liking.

I hope that you will watch the future development to see how the vacant tenants will be used.

Next time, Suo will appear.

Also, in the feedback column, I feel a sense of freedom, like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders after the opening.

I think it was very good.

I've received so many comments that I can't respond to them, but I'm happy to answer any comments you have.

If you would like, I would be happy if you could tweet something about your favorite chapter from the past.

I have read all of them.

I also put a commentary of each season in the Activity Report, so if you are interested, please feel free to read it.