Chapter 2.2 (2/2)

“Sure.”

In the next moment, Yos.h.i.+e-sensei actually poured the c.o.ke that she had been drinking on me. And then she left the family restaurant, leaving me behind, soaked.

I went out and called Kayama.

“I think Yos.h.i.+e-sensei is a kind person,” I said.

“That’s why I don’t want to be with her,” Kayama said, laughing. I thought it sounded like a psychopath’s laughter.

“I hate you,” I said, and hanged up without saying anything else.

I hadn’t gotten used to my part-time job at all, but fortunately, with Riko-chan-san’s help as well, I didn’t struggle when it came to interpersonal relations.h.i.+ps. I’d been a little worried that I’d feel out of place in a workplace filled with only women, but it seemed that Riko-chan-san was skillfully helping me out. That’s how the atmosphere was.

“Riko-chan-san, you’re always helping me out when I make a mistake, aren’t you? Sorry, and thank you,” I said to her in thanks one day as Riko-chan-san and I were walking home together.

“I don’t want you to quit on us, Okada-kun. I won’t be happy if you don’t become established in the kitchen,” Riko-chan-san said, giving a slightly embarra.s.sed laugh. “Do you have something to do after this, Okada-kun?” she asked in a casual tone.

“Ah… sorry. I’m actually going to dance now,” I said.

“Huh?” Riko-chan-san sounded surprised.

“Just at the nearby club,” I added.

“Wow, Okada-kun, you don’t look like the kind of person who would go to places like that.”

“Ah, yeah. I’m not the kind of person who would go to places like that,” I said, not knowing how to explain things.

“… Then I’ll come with you,” Riko-chan-san said.

It was my turn to be surprised. “Riko-chan-san, you don’t look like the type who dances, either.

“Despite my looks, I do dance,” she said with a bold laugh, leaving me wondering whether it was true or not.

> I’ve come to the club now, just like you wanted me to

I sent this message to Mamizu, and there was a quick reply.

> How do you feel?

> Scared

That was my honest impression. I saw muscular men with tattoos all over their bodies, and women who were laughing without restraint, under the effects of alcohol or maybe something else.

It was dim, there were questionable pink and green lights flickering, and it was filled with a kind of restless atmosphere. It was the kind of place that people younger than eighteen shouldn’t be allowed inside in the first place. I was honestly afraid, wondering when someone would get angry at me for being here.

> Take a photo without being noticed!

That’s what Mamizu said, but when I started up my camera, I noticed that my remaining battery was at 2%.

> Unfortunately, my battery is empty. This device will now cease communications

> I see. Well, I wish you the best of luck

While we were having this conversation that sounded like it was coming from a stranded s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, my battery really died.

“Okada-kun, are you having fun?” Riko-chan-san said, swaying as she appeared. It seemed that she was actually accustomed to places like this, and the way she was dancing was quite masterful.

“This is quite difficult, isn’t it?” I was imitating her, swaying my body like she was.

“Okada-kun, you’re terrible. Like this,” Riko-chan-san said, bending her body more intensely.

“Like this?” Learning from her, I tried to dance as well.

Suddenly, a group of gaudy-looking men came and called out to Riko-chan-san.

“Hey, hey, won’t you come and drink with us?”

Oh.

This is what’s known as picking a girl up.

It’s my first time seeing it.

“Unfortunately, I’m here with my boyfriend today,” Riko-chan-san said, wrapping her arm around my waist, surprising me quite a bit. “Sorry.”

“Who is this guy?”

The gaudy men glared at me intently. I sensed trouble.

For a few moments, I wondered what I should do.

And then…

“YAY!” I shouted, and I avoided the gaudy men by dancing.

The gaudy men were exasperated, and Riko-chan-san laughed.

“That’s how I heroically saved Riko-chan-san, my senior at my part-time job, from being hit on. What do you think?”

I’d exaggerated this episode quite a bit as I described it to Mamizu.

“Aren’t you kind of lying a bit, Takuya-kun?” Mamizu was sharp as usual.

I averted my gaze and pretended I hadn’t heard her. “Well, in any case, that place is full of danger. You never know when you’ll encounter a monster. It was the right decision for me to go there in your place, Mamizu.”

“… Well, I suppose it’s fine,” Mamizu said, looking like she wanted to say something more.

“What?”

“It’s nothing.” Mamizu went deep into thought for a moment, and then opened her mouth again. “Actually, there is something.”

“What?” I asked, exasperated.

“It’s hard to explain.”

Could it be…? I thought.

“Mamizu, are you jealous?”

“… I want to do this next. Do it,” Mamizu said, speaking in a stabbing tone again. And then she handed me her phone. There was a video on a video website on the screen. Fearfully, I pressed play.

There was a magician on the screen, spitting fire like a dragon

“No, that’s impossible!” I said, looking up at the ceiling.

While we were talking, the nurse that I regularly saw here came. She said that Mamizu had to go for an inspection, and Mamizu was taken away.

I usually went home at this hour as well, but this time, I suddenly became curious and went back to Mamizu’s hospital room instead. Before I arrived, oddly enough, she had been reading a fas.h.i.+on magazine. She normally only read paperback books, so this was an odd choice for her. I’d kind of wanted to check out what kind of magazine it was.

I flicked through the pages of the fas.h.i.+on magazine in the hospital room while Mamizu was absent.

It was a magazine with fas.h.i.+on that quite chic, with a mature taste. It was mainly introducing overseas collection brands. The models were mostly foreigners, too.

Now that I thought about it, I’d only ever seen Mamizu in pajamas. Maybe it couldn’t be helped because she was hospitalized, but she probably wanted to dress properly. But maybe she hadn’t told me because she was too embarra.s.sed. But… in what kind of world would a single one-piece dress cost 1,900,000 yen? What did these people normally eat? Caviar?

As I continued flicking through the magazine’s pages out of curiosity, I noticed that one of the pages had been folded. Wondering what it was, I looked closely to see that it was a full-page advertis.e.m.e.nt for a pair of red high-heels. On a whim, I used my phone to take a picture of that page.

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