For some reason, the saint of our school drops her façade when she's with me (GL) - Chapter 15

After spending some time at the café, the stores finally opened. We paid our bill, bid farewell to the ever-unfriendly café owner, and stepped out onto the street.

Our first destination was a large building just a short walk away.

It stood along a main street near the station, drawing a decent flow of people. With eight floors filled with various tenant shops, it was the kind of place you could easily spend hours browsing.

But our first stop was the anime specialty shop on the sixth floor.

“I see. It certainly lives up to its name as a specialty store.”

“Well, compared to the ones in big cities, it’s nothing special.”

I was familiar with the place, but it was tiny compared to the massive stores in metropolitan areas.

Still, in the countryside, this was one of the rare specialty shops, and I’d visited often enough that my feet naturally led me here.

If I just wanted merchandise, I could order online, but there was something satisfying about seeing everything in person.

“Are you finding anything interesting?”

“Yes. I’ve never been to a store like this before.”

The Saint gazed at the rows of merchandise with clear fascination.

“This is from that series you lent me, Suzuki-san. I heard it got an anime adaptation, but there aren’t many goods available.”

“Ah, yeah. The anime didn’t do too well, so there’s not much left.”

Even accounting for our location, it was a little disappointing that all that remained were a few button badges and an alpaca-like mascot pen.

“Are you getting anything, Suzuki-san?”

“Eh, just if something catches my eye.”

Buying too much merchandise was a surefire way to drain my wallet, but sometimes, I’d stumble upon something I just had to have. Even just browsing was fun.

In the end, I settled for three random-pack acrylic cards from one of my favorite series.

The Saint picked up one of the alpaca pens and a few small trinkets, along with the same acrylic cards I bought.

That pen alone cost nearly 1,200 yen. I had to admit, I envied her spending power.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. What are you looking at?”

“A gacha machine.”

While waiting for her to finish paying, I had been idly inspecting the capsule toy machines near the entrance. The Saint, now done with her purchase, joined me and looked on with interest.

“Oh, this one is cute.”

She pointed at a machine featuring collectible monster figures—the same one I had been eyeing.

It must have been a new release since I didn’t see it last time I was here.

“Paying money for a random chance… what a clever business model.”

“Yeah, but when you don’t get the one you want, it gets really frustrating.”

Few things in life were as rage-inducing as pulling three of the same character in a row when there were only four in the set.

“Shall we give it a try?”

“Sounds good.”

I had enough spare change, so I went first, inserting 400 yen and twisting the handle. A capsule dropped out with a soft clunk.

“Hmm. Not the one I wanted.”

“Then it’s my turn.”

The Saint seemed oddly excited as she inserted her coins and spun the handle.

The capsule that came out contained exactly the character I wanted.

“Oh, this one should go to you, Suzuki-san.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. I’ll just try again for the one I want.”

Since she insisted, I accepted it gratefully and returned the favor by doing another round to increase our chances.

…And got a duplicate.

I knew it.

“Oh, I got it!”

On her next try, the Saint effortlessly pulled the one she was after.

“I see… This is quite fun.”

“Right?”

I begrudgingly handed her my duplicate in exchange for the one I had given her earlier.

“Thank you.”

The Saint accepted it with a smile—somehow, she looked even happier than when she pulled it herself.

I wasn’t dense enough to miss the reason behind that.

But I wasn’t about to say it aloud.

If I was wrong, it’d be so embarrassing.

And maybe I was just imagining things.

“Oh, wait a second.”

“Is something wrong?”

“There’s something I want to check out real quick.”

I had just spotted a promotional campaign at the anime store that I hadn’t noticed earlier.

If you spent 1,500 yen on select items, you got a random sticker from the series.

Ugh, pricey…

But honestly, no matter which one I got, I’d be happy.

“Sorry, can I run back in for a second?”

“Of course. I’ll wait here and look around a bit more.”

“Thanks, I’ll be quick.”

I let the Saint know and hurried back inside the store, heading straight for the promotional section.

But just as I was about to grab something, I froze.

Right beside it—something I hadn’t noticed before.

A diorama-style figure featuring both her favorite character and my favorite character together.

Damn… It was 1,200 yen.

If I bought it, I’d have to give up on the sticker campaign.

I hesitated for a moment, but recalling how the Saint had been earlier, I found myself picking it up instinctively.

Oh well.

Now that I’d seen it, there was no way I wasn’t getting it.

I paid at the register, placed the item in my bag, and returned to the Saint.

She was still at the gacha section, watching the machines with an amused expression. A few people nearby were eyeing her, as if debating whether to approach her.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Aizome-san.”

Before anyone else could make a move, I called out to her.

She turned to me with a gentle smile.

“Were you able to buy what you wanted?”

“Yeah, more or less.”

“That’s good to hear.”

In reality, I had abandoned my original plan and gotten something entirely different.

But I wanted to surprise her later, so I kept it to myself.

“Just looking around is already fun.”

“Yeah. But if you’re not careful, your money will vanish like water.”

As a broke high school girl, I should probably be more careful, but it also wouldn’t do to completely deny my otaku instincts.

“Do you want to check out the other areas?”

“I’ll leave it to my escort, Suzuki-san.”

“Alright, let’s go take a look around.”

It seemed like there were still some stores she was interested in, and we had a bit of time before lunch.

With that in mind, we headed down to the lower floors, casually browsing shops selling small trinkets.

We checked out a power stone shop—something that seemed popular with middle schoolers—and a small clothing store.

“The atmosphere changed completely.”

“Well, that floor was the exception.”

There were also esthetic salons and nail salons, but those would take too much time, so we skipped them. Instead, we stopped by the adjacent 100-yen store.

“Everything really is just 100 yen, huh?”

“Well, they’ve been adding more expensive items lately, too.”

Also, for some reason, there seemed to be more anime merchandise than before.

“This card pack looks just like the ones from that other store.”

“Ah, yeah, but these don’t come with gum.”

“Oh, so that’s the difference.”

She laughed at the discovery, and as we walked through the seasonal goods section, I suddenly stopped.

“Oh, right, Tanabata is coming up soon.”

With finals over, July was right around the corner.

Summer break would be starting in the second half of the month, but before that, there was Tanabata.

“Do you write wishes on tanzaku, Suzuki-san?”

“I used to, with my uncle.”

I still vividly remember Mizuki proudly writing ‘I want to meet a cute girl!’ in big, bold letters.

“What about you, Aizome-san?”

“Kondo used to bring a bamboo branch home, and we’d write our wishes on it. But he’s been having back pain lately, so I told him to stop.”

“Wait, so he was collecting them on-site?”

“Yes. Apparently, he owns land where bamboo grows naturally.”

…The scale of her life is just so different.

“Do you have a wish, Suzuki-san?”

“Of course. There are tons of things I’d love to come true.”

I want money. I want a secure future. I want my uncle to stay healthy and be rewarded for all his hard work.

If I started listing them, I’d never stop—just normal, everyday wishes.

“What about you, Aizome-san?”

“I have two wishes right now.”

“Oh? Let’s hear them.”

“The first is that I want to enjoy this time a little longer. The second…”

She trailed off, smiling mischievously.

“…is a secret.”

“Now I’m curious.”

“You’ll find out eventually.”

“Will I?”

“Yes.”

Well, if she says so, I’ll let it go for now.

“Does this suit me?”

With a dramatic snap, the Saint put on a pair of oversized, star-shaped sunglasses.

“That’s the kind of thing almost no one can pull off, but… surprisingly, it doesn’t look bad on you.”

I wasn’t sure if this belonged in the Tanabata section, but somehow, she could turn even a joke item into something charming. It was practically a cheat code.

“Then, let’s try it on you, Suzuki-san.”

With that, she slid a pair of star-shaped sunglasses onto my face as well.

“How do I look?”

“It’s… charming, in a way. Would be even better with a collar to match.”

So, a perfect balance of ridiculousness.

I guess the Saint found it acceptable.

Checking the time, I realized it was about time for lunch.

“Shall we head to lunch?”

“Yes. Where are we eating?”

“At that place you praised so highly before.”

Hearing that, she nodded in satisfaction and—almost expectantly—held out her hand for me to take.

It suited her so naturally that I hesitated for a moment before taking it, leading her towards our destination.

A fast food restaurant.

…Yeah, definitely not the kind of place where one would normally escort someone like this.

But since she had never visited one before, she looked genuinely excited.

Seeing that expression, I couldn’t even be annoyed at my own simple-mindedness.

I didn’t mind being this way.

In fact, in this moment, I kind of liked myself.

It only confirmed what I already suspected.

And what was that, you ask?

That I’m weak against the Saint’s real smile.

That’s all there is to it.

So, I let it be, and together, we joined the line at the counter, browsing the menu as we waited for our turn.

“Hmm… so many choices.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

No matter how many times you’ve looked at the menu beforehand, when you finally reach the counter, there’s always that last-minute Maybe I should get this instead? moment.

Fast food places thrive on being cheap and tasty, and every now and then, you just get the craving for something greasy. The real question is whether to go with the usual or try something new.

“The shakes look good, too.”

“Oh, shakes? I like the strawberry one.”

“Is that so? I’m torn between that and a soda.”

Drinking both might be a bad idea for her stomach, so I understood the dilemma.

“Why not get both in small sizes?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

I had meant it as a joke, but she actually seemed to be considering it seriously.

The classic rule of fast food was that carbonated drinks paired best, but shakes had their own appeal too.

Some great thinker probably said that once.

In the end, the Saint decided we would split a shake.

I had no say in the matter.

Not that I minded.

Honestly, I’d rather share one than struggle to finish a whole shake on my own.

Still, I’d already had coffee at the café, plus corn soup and coffee this morning… Maybe I should be a little concerned about my stomach.

It probably wouldn’t be a problem, but I really didn’t want to be in a situation where I had to run to the bathroom in front of the Saint.

If it were Mizuki, I wouldn’t care. Even with my uncle, it wouldn’t bother me much.

But with the Saint?

Something about that just felt like it would be a violation of my dignity as a girl.

I may not be the most feminine person out there, but I am still a girl.

And in front of someone I might have feelings for…

I wanted to maintain some level of composure.

Even if she’s already seen me in plenty of embarrassing situations.

Still.

These days, I feel like I’ve finally started developing some awareness as a girl.

…Even if it’s ridiculously late.