Volume 3 - CH 9

Horror games. Depending on the specific game, this subgenre makes you feel like no life is worth caring about. However, unlike other genres, it also helps you with a more ambient outlook on life, and holds popularity with it’s connection of real life to the surreal.

Basically, I’ve experienced a few of these myself. And, this genre is especially prominent during the summer.

‘I’m scared~’

‘Why’d you buy it then?’

It was 4am in the morning. At a time of the day that would make me feel killing intent if woken up, there was a certain idiot who felt the need to message me. His name was, of course, Yamazaki. He’s the type of guy who’d go to some scary location for a test of courage only to get killed by some evil spirit 10 times over. Just sit safe at home, you moron.

Since it’s summer break, he probably got ahead of himself to challenge it alone, went and played it a good bit, and now can’t sleep. What an idiot…

‘Yamazaki, do you have a basketball in your room?’

‘Yes! Yes I do! It’s next to my desk!’

‘I see. Don’t look it in the eyes, okay?’

‘Eh…?’

I turned off the screen, and threw it away. It landed on top of a floor cushion, and I covered myself with my blanket again. I can still sleep for at least six hours. Might end up late at work, but that’s the fault of someone else, not me. It’s funny, we talked about horror, and yet I can only laugh about it.

“…Shut up already.”

Despite putting the phone on mute, it constantly vibrated. The sound was slowly getting me really pissed off, like I could hear Yamazaki’s screams. I bet he’s sending so many emotes right now.

—Haha, you bastard. I picked up my phone and operated the message app screen. Half-asleep, I played around with my own profile, changing my name to ‘Noisy? Cold! Fight!?’, changing my profile icon and profile background to something red and black, looking as spooky as possible. Thanks to that, my chat with Yamazaki looked more gore-y than anything.

…Now, Yamazaki. Who were you chatting with, hm?

I once again threw my smartphone on the floor cushion, and covered myself with my blanket. Five seconds later, the endless storm of messages finally stopped. I hope you learned your lesson, Yamazaki…At least suffer on your own without ruining other people’s sleep schedules…

“…Yawn…”

I can finally sleep. It’s starting to become clear outside, but I can still sleep for another six hours…Maybe not as much, I’ll end up late to work. I imagined Yamazaki quivering in fear, and before I realized it, I already fell into my world of dreams.

*

‘So, do you have any excuse?’

‘I’m terribly sorry.’

Around the time my shift ended, I had received countless messages on my phone. Looking at my screen, I could only see an ominous row of KKKKKKKKKK—Oh yeah, it’s all coming together. Ashida’s an actual yandere now. Oh man, look at my account, seems to be bugging out—Wait no, it’s not a bug.

Ashida was fuming. It seems like Natsukawa saw my icon and name, and thought that her phone was broken, or worse that she caught a virus, which is why she frantically texted Ashida. Ashida-san did understand that it was a joke, but still blew a fuse. It reminded me of the Ashida I had seen before at the family restaurant. She was pretty quiet back then, but absolutely fuming with calm pressure. Panicking, and absolutely terrified, I quickly edited my profile back to how it originally was.

After doing so, I sent a few words to the siscon group that had been established a few days ago, only for Ashida to throw that question at me. From their point of view, it was a tasteless prank, so I could only apologize. But, no response came nonetheless…They just kept my message on read…I can see Ashida glare at the screen in contempt…and imagining a scared Natsukawa had my heart skip a bit.

“Now I messed up…”

I was burned to a crisp under the blazing sun. Maybe this is a bad habit of mine, but I tend to displease the people around me without meaning to. Not to mention that this one was pretty nasty.

‘I have no excuses.’

‘Then, you’ll do whatever we ask, right?’

‘Eh?’

You’re really going to say that? Isn’t that something I’m supposed to add to my apology? Also, there’s not much I can do, except begging for forgiveness…Huh? Did I already lose any right of saying no? No way…

‘Aichi, you’re lurking in here, so say something.’

‘Ehh!?’

Hey now, you’re dragging her into this mess, just making things more awkward. No wonder Natsukawa’s shocked. But, the ‘read’ function really is terrifying. I bet Natsukawa was trying to calmly watch the situation unfold. Then again, things were too awkward for me to talk to Natsukawa after scaring her like that.

‘Right now, Sajocchi will listen to whatever ridiculous request you might have, you know?’

No no, don’t just jump to—Wait, a ridiculous request from Natsukawa? So, she’ll ask something from me that she normally wouldn’t be able to? So…I’m being ordered? By who? Natsukawa? That Natsukawa? Weird…despite receiving the full force of the sun, my body feels so light. Ahh, I’m so scared. Whatever will Natsukawa ask of me, I wonder~? I got goosebumps just thinking about it…Fuhehehe.

‘That’s a bit……Please, tell me whatever you want me to do.’

‘Ehhh!?’

‘I can already see Sajocchi’s face…’

‘Hey, how long do I have to wait? Come on.’

‘Just wait a second!’

‘Sajocchi, you bastard.’

Alright, it’s time to calm down, me. How’s my wallet looking? With how the weather’s looking and global warming, I should maybe be able to treat her to like 40x tapioca milk. Didn’t I work part-time to get my own money? Idiot, who cares about that. It’s all just a buffer for emergency situations like these, like a resource I can trade in for one get out of hell ticket. It’s definitely not like I want validation and a reason for working my butt off (Maybe a bit).

‘Let me think about it for a bit!’

‘I will accept whatever punishment you have for me!’

‘Why are you so motivated!?’

‘It’s Sajocchi, remember.’

No, you’re wrong. I did something bad to Natsukawa-sama and Ashida-sama, so I have the duty to listen to their every request. Of course, a small part of me can’t help but be excited as to what request they might throw at me. I really am a pervert, huh.

“I’m back~”

Before I realized it, I had arrived at home, announcing this with a voice that sounded as cheerful as never before. Not to mention that the A/C’s cold breeze hit me even at the entrance. And even so, this certain burning passion inside of me did not cool down too quickly. Right with that timing, Big Sis came down the stairs. As always, she’s wearing defenseless clothing you wouldn’t normally see on a high school girl. She looked at me, and showed an expression like she stepped on a cockroach. Hey, you wench! Think about how I feel!

“Why are you drenched with sweat and still smiling like that? Gross.”

Well, I guess I would be.

**

‘That damn Sajocchi…He definitely isn’t reflecting on it.’

‘H-How can he be so positive about everything, I wonder…’

‘He’s a pervert! I’ll report him to the police!’

“Ahahaha…”

Seeing Kei throw some serious threats with a cute emoji had me let out a bitter snicker. It’s not like I wasn’t angry or anything, but Kei pretty much took care of my own anger for me, so I just watched their banter.

Not much time has passed since the school visit. Kei, Wataru, and I started messaging regularly in our new group chat, and I was constantly looking at my phone screen in wait for something new. I only got my own smartphone when I started attending high school, so texting with friends in a group felt fresh to me.

And then, this incident happened. When I opened up the group chat, Wataru’s account icon had changed into something really scary, and his name changed to something nonsensical. When I wrote in our group chat, neither Wataru nor Kei responded, and I didn’t even get a read notification…It’s like my phone was acting up. Realizing that something was off, I contacted Kei in a private chat and called her several times—Where she finally responded with a ‘This is just some awful prank!’, and was really angry.

After a while, Wataru seemed to have realized as well, as he added an ‘I have no excuses’ to his previous massage. He did apologize, but the formal tone of his response made it sound like he didn’t care at all, which had me a bit angry. Well, that’s the drawback of apologizing with messages only. Kei seemed to have felt the same way, as she talked about giving him a punishment, only to pass it to me. Wataru seemed pretty motivated for some reason, but since I wasn’t prepared for that, I just started to panic. So, I decided to put that punishment away for a later date, and that’s how we ended up here.

‘So, what are you gonna ask for, Aichi? Should we from the volleyball club attack his place?’

‘No no no! His older sister is there, remember!?’

‘Ah, that’s right.’

If Kei got everyone together, they’d probably listen, but that would just trouble their neighbours. Not to mention that Wataru’s family will be there, so being hated by the student council vice president wouldn’t benefit anybody.

‘Then, we’ll spread a rumour that he was peeking at the girls’ dressing room!’

‘C-Calm down!’ I frantically stopped Ashida, as she was going past the point of playing a simple prank.

I’m happy that she’s willing to be my ally in this, but what she’s planning is going too far. I don’t want Wataru to suffer once the second term starts. Also, is Kei really angry…? I feel like she’s simply enjoying this.

“I’m home, Aika.”

“Onee-chan!”

“Ah, Mom. Welcome back. You too, Airi.”

As I was talking with Kei, Mom and Airi came back from their trip, with Airi running towards me. She had her arms open, so I carried her high into the air, and put her down right away.

“Ehhh? More, more!”

“You have to wash your hands first.”

“Okaaaay…”

After watching Airi trott towards the bath, Mom showed a wry smile and followed after. No matter how cute she is, you have to wash your hands after having been outside. Especially so if it’s Airi we’re talking about. Wouldn’t want her to catch a cold, because that would force me to take the day off school.

“Onee-chan! I washed my hands!”

“Airi! You still have to dry them!”

Airi came running towards me once again, so I lifted her up. Shortly after, I heard Mom’s scolding voice from the bath. Looking at Airi in my arms, her hands were still wet.

“Airi, you need to properly dry your hands.”

“Mmmm~!”

“Mmming won’t help you.”

Despite it being summer, Airi was that much of a spoiled child she would always cling to me. Maybe I was spoiling her too much, but…she’s cute after all. I can’t continue this, but she’s cute. Her drenched hands were on my chest, and I couldn’t get enough of that.

“Onee-chan! Higher, higher!”

“E-Eh? Even more?”

“A really high one! Very high one!”

“Um…”

The ‘very high one’ she’s talking about is the one Wataru did with her before. Lifting her up high while carrying her, I think he called it ‘Dynamic Carry’ or something, but I don’t have the strength to lift a girl of Airi’s age that high. Mom can’t do it either, and…Dad probably would get pushed over by her. Ever since then, nobody could do it except Wataru. Iihoshi-san was just pushed to the ground after all.

“Sorry, but only that Onii-san from before can do that.”

“Ehhhhh…Onii-san?”

“That’s right, the Onii-san. You remember him, right?”

“Onii-san…”

H-Huh…? She doesn’t remember him? Seeing Airi looking up in the air while thinking, I grew worried. When I think about Airi having already forgotten about Wataru, I feel a sharp pain in my chest.

“…Onii-san?”

“That’s right, the person who raised you really high before.”

“…Sajo~?”

“That’s right! You remember!”

“…Onii-san?”

“Eh?”

I couldn’t hold my surprise. Airi’s reaction is so cute—Wait, that’s not it. I guess…Airi doesn’t think of Wataru as an Onii-san. That reminds me, she never even called him ‘Onii-chan’ either. I guess that makes sense, unlike Wataru, Sasaki-kun is an actual ‘Onii-san’…Wataru was acting more like a boy her age than an older person after all.

“I wanna play!”

“Eh…Huh!? Um…with W-Wataru…?”

“Wataru…?”

“Ah…do you want to play with Sajo~?”

“I wanna play!”

“I-I see…”

Having Wataru meet Airi—Thinking back on it, I sure did something crazy. I did bring some classmates with me before, but bringing a single boy to my home isn’t something to joke about. Realizing what kind of bold move that was, my head started to burn up.

“…Onee-chan?”

“Ah…! So, you want to play with Sajo~…”

“Come on! That’s what I’ve been saying!”

Back then, I felt like I was desperate because of something inside of me that I couldn’t accept. That’s why I forcefully dragged Wataru here…But, bringing him here yet again would add another meaning to it. Before, I wanted him to come, but now I’d just feel embarrassed.

“R-Right…Kei!”

—I looked at the calendar on the wall, which had our family’s arrangements and events written on it. Looking at the plans of Mom and Dad, in two days, they both had work after noon, so the house would be empty.

When I thought about inviting Wataru here alone, I felt an odd and uneasy feeling in my chest. But, things would be different if Kei were to be with us. That being said, if Mom and Dad were home, I’d still feel embarrassed to bring Wataru with me. The first time, I could play it down with saying he’s just a classmate, but that probably won’t work a second time.

“M-Mom.”

“Hm? What?”

“The day after tomorrow…will you be gone all day?”

“Oh right, I forgot to tell you, but I was invited to eat lunch with Kimaru-san and family, so could you take care of Airi?”

“I don’t mind, but…when will you be back?”

“Probably late at night. See, with us old ladies there, we’ll be talking a lot. Who’s an old lady?”

“Ah, s-sorry…Wait, you brought it up yourself, Mom!”

“Fufu.”

It seems like Mom won’t be at home that day. Since Dad was always out late, I didn’t have to worry about him either. If that’s the case, then—Kei talked about some ‘punishment’ for Wataru, but calling him over just like that has a bit of a selfish side to it…and if I use the punishment as a pretense, I won’t feel guilty towards inviting him…I guess? Maybe?

‘Kei, listen—’

‘Eh!? Really!?’

Shortly after this, Wataru’s punishment was decided.

**

Yamazaki said: ‘My dog is drenched.’

I asked: ‘What race?’

Yamazaki answered: ‘Butterfly.’

I was so close to cutting all connections with that bastard. What are you doing? Just sleep already. Don’t just play horror games until you lose your memories, alright. Are you training or something?

‘Go to bed, right now.’

‘Awoo…’

When I had enough of his nonsense, I gave Yamazaki a phone call, only to hear back a groan…or rather, it sounded like a dog. I feel like he already cast aside his humanity. Maybe he’s already dreaming of horror games on top of playing them. No seriously, horror games really can wear you down, so you shouldn’t be playing them for too long. They can be fun, but you better be splitting it instead.

Taking a shower to wash off the sweat that built on my body, I sent Yamazaki a message about Ceva’s Theorem to pull him back to reality, when suddenly I got another message…But, it’s not from Yamazaki?

‘So…about the…request? Punishment?’

Here it is. I’ve been waiting for this, Natsukawa-san. Subconsciously, I sat down on the floor, directly on my knees. Oh man, I really am gross. What kind of reaction is that…It happened almost subconsciously, are you kidding me? As long as I don’t have the person in front of me, my self-restraint isn’t even working…And why am I just calmly analyzing this situation…?

I waited for the continuation, and this came approximately 18.34 seconds later (I know I’m sick, okay).

‘Won’t you play with Airi again?’

What…did you say? Airi-chan…huh. When she says ‘play’, it should be fine if I did the same stuff as last time I visited, right? But, isn’t this actually pretty high of a hurdle? I’m going to visit Natsukawa’s place again, you know…No, calm down. There’s no way she’d just simply invite a boy to her place yet again. Last time was special after all, and entering that holy castle surely wouldn’t be permitted that easily.

‘Um…? Are you telling me to buy some Sylvanian Family figurines for Airi-chan?’

‘How did you even arrive at that?’

‘Huh.’

Weird, my deduction was wrong. Is it that? That bumping into each other practice, so she wants a bigger thrill…? Maybe her interests are closer to a boy’s after all?

‘So, a Rider Belt1 instead?’

‘I never said anything like that!’

…Huh? She’s angry. Not to mention that she’s sending some really cute and angry emojis. Maybe she’s telling me to not treat the cute Airi-chan like a boy too much? I mean, that’s what I’m thinking, there’s no way she’d have a boy’s hobby. I knew. I knew, okay?

‘So I guess it’s a test on how much I can satisfy Airi-chan by playing with her, huh…’

‘Again, that’s…kind of it! But, you’re raising the bar way too high!’

‘Is there nothing Airi-chan wants?’

‘Don’t try to buy her with money! I won’t let you!’

Eh, I don’t even have to pay? That’s pretty kind of a punishment, you know? I expected to become her man-servant or something like that…Well, that would have been a reward still. So, what? Basically everything related to Natsukawa would be a reward, huh.

‘Playing with Airi-chan isn’t a punishment, you know.’

‘I’m a failure as an older sister.’

‘Huh!? Where did that come from!?’

Eh? Huh? What happened? That message came back two seconds later…Did I say something wrong? I hope Natsukawa-san isn’t sad or anything.

‘I should be the one getting a punishment.’

Ehhh!? What kind of development is this!? Why are you suddenly so depressed…? I can see her as an older sister doting and loving her younger sister, reaching the level of a siscon, so why would she suddenly say that. I like you no matter what kind of Natsukawa-san you are!

‘Natsukawa, let’s leave that story aside. Take your time.’

‘…Okay.’

I feel like I stabbed right into a part of Natsukawa Aika that should never have been stimulated. And, I personally should go to hell for phrasing it that way. Anyway, I don’t know what’s going on, but Natsukawa had to calm down right now. If we kept talking like that, I would just suffer more damage than what I could bear with…Hehehe.

‘You really smashed it, Sajocchi.’

Evening arrived. Presumably after her club work, Ashida sent me a mysterious message.

*

During work the next day, I felt pretty good. After all, I was finally freed from getting calls at 4am. I feel so vitalized not being forced to give Yamazaki an earful.

“Sajou-kun, was the line on the third shelf empty?’

“I feel like…the A shelf was pretty much sold out, so we can fit at least 20 books in there. I guess that recent releases are popular after all, even in a second-hand bookstore.”

“Ahh, recent novels are one thing, but in this era…you can look up everything on the internet. Not to mention that the price is below what we have in stock.”

“Ahh…Eh? Is that okay?”

“Sajou-kun, in this world, there are people who can only be satisfied with physical books. It’s not a great majority though.”

“Sounds like a true book reader.”

Well, either way, this bookstore is more for the hardcore fans. Maybe this kind of thinking just comes from a one-person management, something I can’t hope to comprehend.

“Can’t complain with technical advancement though, it makes work much easier.”

“That’s right, and the more we have, the happier we young folks are.”

When the old man opened up this store, he bought this cash register solely for one-person management. You can check the history of the sales for about two weeks, putting it into a written list. However! When I was bored at work and checked it out, I realized that you could actually put that history on an USB stick! You can put it into a proper calculation software! Yay!

As a trigger of that, his wife started attending computer class, so things should be fine now.

“Once summer break ends, your wife should have the knack down, but what are you going to do after I’m gone?”

“Hire people. As long as I have someone your age around, I feel like the store will become a bit more popular.”

I see, I see—Hm? I subconsciously nodded along, but weren’t those biting words? Something’s wrong?

“The thing is, I’m already looking for them.”

“Ahh, you did hang up an employment notice at the entrance.”

“That’s right, the faster the better. I’d at least like them to start coming to work a week before summer ends.”

“Can’t say anything against that~”

“What kind of phrasing is that? Doesn’t sound like what the youth would say.” Gramps tapped me on the back.

He used more force than I would have imagined to come from him. Now that I get a good look at him, his arm is pretty muscular…Does he actually have more muscle than me? Same goes for the old folks outside, actually…They must have been bodybuilders when they were young.

“Then, please take care of the rest.”

“Aye aye, sir.”

“Heh, that answer takes me back.”

What are you talking about, gramps? I’m pretty sure you were born after the war. I won’t ask for your age, but…he’s not above 80 despite him talking like that…? Well, I hope he lives a long and happy life nonetheless.

I got back into the groove, and focussed on my work. Gramps gave me a plastic bag with all the registered new books we got. For the rest of my shift, I had to put these books into the shelves, and take care of the register.

“A lot today, huh.”

Maybe it’s because we actually sold a fair amount of books lately, but we had a lot of new incomers. On top of being pretty much new, some even had the paper wrapper on it. Did the previous owners even read them properly? Well, whatever.

“Kawashima Reiji…Odajima Seiji…Ah, here.”

I walked through the rows going along with standard gojūon syllabary order2, and pushed the books where there are openings. Since I’d get a lecture if I made a mistake, I had to be careful in this. Since there’s not many customers coming, I can really focus on it.

“—U-Um…”

“Hm…? Ah, yes, how can I help you?”

Right as I was thinking that, I practically jinxed myself, as someone called out to me. Oh yeah, when I looked to my right, I saw a young girl wearing a black one-piece, her face cast downwards. I could tell right away that she’s introverted. And, her voice was cute. That’s the most important.

“Um…the paper at the front—Eh?”

“Yes…Hm?”

Mmm…? I feel like I’ve seen this girl before…Is it just my imagination? She seems like the kind of girl that would only exist across the paper or screen. Crap, am I already a lost cause? Have I gotten this disillusioned that I would dream of getting a 2D girlfriend? …Ahh, I get it.

“…Yes, how can I help you?”

“Eh……”

Because of her hairstyle which hid half of her face, as well as her small stature, I realized. It’s my seat neighbour at school, Ichinose-san. If I had to guess, she probably hates me…Thinking of me as a noisy and annoying guy. Whenever Ashida is talking to me, especially loudly, I can always feel Ichinose-san’s gaze next to me. Her mouth always turned into a へ shape when that happened.

Leaving that aside however, I’d really love a round of applause for acting like this was our first meeting. If I had to guess, this kind of girl is really bad with the noisy guys, so if I went ‘Huuh? It’s Ichinose-san~ What a SSR event!’, she might just run away. If I just played the role of the clerk, she’d probably feel more comfortable. Awaken, my slumbering Cleverly Kraken! …I’m probably more of a squid.

*

The silence continued. Well, I can see that she’s not the best at talking, so I don’t particularly mind. If anything, me acting carelessly could just backfire, so I stayed silent.

“…Um…ehm…”

“Yes?”

“…I saw…the recruitment notice at the entrance…”

“Ah, is that so…Eh?”

Eh, the part-time recruitment? Seriously? Since she’s here for that, she wants to work part-time at this bookstore…right? That Ichinose-san? She would be dealing with customers, right?

“—Understood. I will call the manager, so please wait a moment.”

“…Yes.”

Will she really be okay…

*

“Ohh, it’s Mina-chan.”

“Eh, you know her?”

“You always go home during noon, but she’s pretty much a regular that stops by during snack time.”

“Snack time…”

Is he talking about like a mid-afternoon snack? I haven’t heard that term for a while…Also, that’s what Ichinose-san’s given name was? …Yeah, sounds good. Her voice is pretty cute after all, so a gentle name fits her much better. I guess that explains why she wanted to apply here as a part-time jobber.

“For real? Mina-chan? I’m such a lucky man.”

“Ah, yes.”

That old man sure sounds much younger when he’s excited. Especially that ‘For real’ part. I figure he must be really happy, but it doesn’t add much when his hips are cracking like that. I decided to follow him, simply because I was curious to see Ichinose-san actually talk a lot. Also, is she always talking with that old man here? She doesn’t seem like the type who opens up that easily.

“You’re hired!”

“Um, manager?”

Isn’t that a bit fast? Even Ichinose-san is all confused, going ‘Eh? Eh?’ as she looked between me and the store manager. Did you properly talk things through? What about the time I applied here? We talked a lot, right?

“Store manager, I’ll take care of the store, so you can take it to the back.”

“Ohhh! How considerate of you, youngling!”

“U-Um…”

Ichinose-san’s bangs were hiding her eyes, but I felt like I could perfectly see her expression there. She must be thinking something along the lines of ‘Really? That easy?’, but I’m sure that everybody would be left bewildered in this situation. Being employed just by handing in your papers, you’d definitely be applying for a black company.

“Now, let’s move to the back, Mina-chan!” Gramps shouted with excitement.

Ichinose-san seemed confused at first, but followed after him with a bit of a delay. She wasn’t speaking, but I could tell how baffled she was. And, I think our eyes met when she walked past me.

“I’m sorry, do you have ‘Monthly Mutant’ here?”

“What kind of book is that?”

Either way, having a new co-worker here is definitely a good thing. I’m a bit worried about Ichinose-san, but it’s not that hard of a job, and I can at least retire from work with a clear conscience. Gramps, you better take care of the daily accounting…Ah, dear customer, we don’t have such a magazine here.

*

Now then, thanks to Ichinose-san’s visit, I feel like Gramps grew at least 30 years younger, but he was just enjoying the conversation with her instead of actually progressing, so her wife had to take care of the rest. Even so, Gramps couldn’t hide his happiness despite being slightly dejected, and put labels on the books in the bookstore.

“Alright, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“Yes, thanks for the help today~!”

Yep, he definitely is in a good mood today. I can even hear some faint humming coming from him…A western pop song? Either way, I took off the apron that still had me question if I really needed it, and walked towards the shelf that had personal belongings, when I heard the voice of the wife.

“I’m happy that you came to work here, but…can’t we do anything about those bangs of yours? I doubt this will help when dealing with customers.”

Ohhh? That sure sounds quite strict. From what I heard, I imagined that the wife had taken a liking to Ichinose-san as well. Well, I do have to agree with her.

“Wouldn’t want the customers to have a bad impression, so should I give you a haircut?”

“Ah…”

“Wha, stop. Stop stop stop.” I couldn’t help but break between the two.

That wife was born in the same day and age as Gramps. She’s strict towards both genders, and has an impression of being quite caretaking but also meddlesome. But, pushing this onto girls nowadays is definitely a bad idea. If I had to guess, this is because girls back then had it at least 50 times harder than girls nowadays, even if you only looked at the Labor Standards Atc.

Um, dear Mrs? Why are you taking out a sewing set? There’s only scissors to cut threads in there, right.

“My, Sajou-san, good work today.”

“Ah, yes.”

“This is Ichinose Mina-san. I was about to explain the work to her.”

“Is that so…”

Going ‘Looking forward to working with you, Ichinose-san!’ would be bad, huh. It’d probably throw her off if I switched from clueless employee mode to sudden classmate mode. Um, so then…

“—Nice to meet you. I’m Sajou.”

“Um…”

In the end, I can only play along and act like this is our first meeting. If I acted like a classmate, she’d probably feel embarrassed at the fact that I knew how she was always alone in class. For her sake, and Gramps’ especially, I can’t scare Ichinose-san away.

“Ichinose-san, was it? I heard a lot about you from the store manager, but you like books a lot, right?”

“Y-Yes…”

“These bangs must get in the way when you read books, right? What do you usually do?”

“Ah…!”

Of course, I want her to work here for Gramps’ sake, but it’s not like I’ll force her either. The best would be to take a middle ground, which avoids her not being employed, as well as getting her bangs cut.

“N-Normally…” Ichinose-san ruffled through her shoulder bag.

She took out two hairpins, and put them on both sides of her head, slipping up her bangs to reveal her eyes. When she looked up at me, I could see Ichinose-san’s face for the first time.

“I-I do it like this…”

“Oh my, that is quite different indeed.”

She probably keeps her bangs this long because of a complex, but I don’t feel like anything is off. If you ask me, her eyes are pretty big, and cute. It’s almost like she’s one of those anime characters…She looks so young even…

“You must have seen it for female news casters before, but with people that have long bangs this is totally fine, and even in trend.”

“Oh my, is that so.”

Well, I was just giving a random excuse, but I have no idea of any of these circumstances. Just, it felt like she wouldn’t be satisfied with only that, so I needed to add something.

“Let’s go with that hairstyle, Ichinose-san. That way, there won’t be any problems.”

“Y-Yes.”

I probably shouldn’t say anything about her looks to her. I won’t know how sensitive she is towards that, but I can tell that she will at least work hard for her job…I think.

“It’ll depend on our shifts and all, but I look forward to working with you, Ichinose-san. Anyway, I’ll be taking my leave here.”

“Ah, Sajou-san. I have some grapes left over, so take them with you.”

“Eh, are you sure?”

Since she asked me to, I couldn’t say now. In the end, I was handed a plastic bag with a bunch of grapes. I didn’t even have time to say no, huh…

“Ah, that reminds me. That person, I can’t believe it. A while ago, you know.”

“Ah, yes?”

Hold on, she’s suddenly mid-conversation…Hm? I was about to head home though…and I want to eat some grapes…The inside of the plastic bag is already drenched. And Ichinose-san is being left alone.

“…Um…”

So, what? Gonna quit?

1 A belt from the Kamen Rider franchise

2 Aiueo basically