Chapter 8: The Angel is an Ecofriendly Plebian (1/2)

“Ah.”

A silvery bell-like voice rang behind him.

It was a sound Amane was recently familiar with. He was not at his apartment however; this was the snacks section of the nearby supermarket.

There were usually people there, but Amane never expected Mahiru to react to him, so he turned towards her awkwardly, seeing her standing there, wide-eyed.

She was holding a basket, which contained radish, tofu, chicken thigh and milk, ingredients for tonight’s dinner.

Looking at this situation, it appeared she happened to encounter him at the snacks section.

“Let me say this first. It’s a coincidence, I wasn’t stalking you.”

“I know that. This is the closest supermarket here. I do understand this”

He preemptively stated, “Why do you think that?” and Mahiru groaned. She then looked towards the notebook in her hands.

It truly was the impeccable Mahiru’s style to write all her needs down.

Once she checked the contents on the cute floral patterned notebook, she looked away from the snacks corner, towards the seasonings corner on the opposite side.

“Soy sauce and mirin,” she muttered with an adorable voice as she searched for home necessities. She was truly acting cute, but Amane found it incredulous.

“The mirin’s here. Hey.”

“Ah, that is not the mirin I want. Underaged people cannot buy that.”

“This is considered alcohol?”

“It is treated as sweet wine. The seasoning type cannot be drunk directly when salt is added, so underaged people can buy this.”

He wanted to pass the mirin to her, but she shook her head, and put the mirin seasoning into the basket instead.

It was the first time Amane, who hardly did any housework, heard of this. “Heh,” he answered as he saw her deft movements from behind.

Mahiru stared intently at the rack of soy sauces, paying close attention to the price labels, and muttered with a frown.

“… Special discount limited only to 1 bottle per person…”

It appeared she wanted to buy another one, for she sighed with pity and looked towards him..

“I’ll buy one, okay?”

“Thank you for understanding me.”

He picked up the meaning in her words, and gave a wry smile as she held a bottle of soy sauce. Mahiru curled her lips into a satisfied smile.

“… You’re unexpectedly frugal.”

“Frugal, or I should say, save as much as I can. We should not be spending excessively.”

“Sounds like a Japanese characteristic… but I guess that’s a given when we live off our parents’ money.”

Amane too lived alone and relied on his parents.

He was born to a well-off family, and was able to live in such a clean, safe apartment. He also had ample living expenses and did not need to scrimp. Thus, he was really grateful for his parents. He had to pay for school expenses, and had to spend quite a bit on living expenses, so he would try to avoid pointless spending.

“… I guess. We are still reliant after all, so it is very important to save.”

Mahiru responded tersely as she sorted the contents of her basket. Her cold voice was devoid of warmth.

It was scary hearing her tone shift to monotone, but when she lifted her head, her expression was as before.

The fleeting look of her dull eyes were no longer to be seen.

“…Anyway, are you buying this?”

Mahiru tried to change the topic, it seemed, as she stared at the vacuum-packed rice and potato salad in the basket.