Chapter 122: A Calm Morning

"~How did he know my name? I-I shouldn’t have come alone... I think I’d better leave." (Shiro)

"Oh! If it isn’t miss Shiro! What a coincidence to see you here."

Yep, here I am, greeting Shiro as if nothing had happened earlier.

Although I ran away, I basically just walked around the fountain, and during that time I regained my original appearance and stowed the hood away.

Anyway, it didn’t matter anymore whether I had it or not, since I bought it to avoid trouble, but in this city it seems extremely difficult to get into trouble unless I go straight to the slums, like I did yesterday.

"Mr. Astan?... W-what a coincidence to see you." (Shiro)

She doesn’t seem to have noticed that the person from earlier was me, so I approached her naturally, but that seemed to make her a little nervous.

Her face flushed, and although it’s a little hard to see because of her long bangs, her golden eyes also reflect her nervousness.

She’s so cute—she really takes after her mother the most.

And not just in her personality, but physically too... In a few more years, Shiro will be a beautiful, voluptuous MILF, and I wouldn’t mind waiting that long.

’Yeah!, this is a future investment, heuheue~.’

"Huh? Miss Shiro, why does it sound like this wasn’t a coincidence? Were you waiting for me?"

She was so nervous it made me want to tease her a little.

"N-no, I-I, I meant that, I just... Hmm..." (Shiro)

Oh! That reaction was interesting—I only said it to tease her, but she made that same gesture I noticed last time.

I discovered she has a habit of biting her lower lip.

It’s as if she wants to say something, but something is holding her back—something real, beyond just shyness.

It’s the same as last time... Now I was wondering if this really was a coincidence.

Well, anyway, she probably can’t answer me if I ask her. Yeah, whatever—I’ll just have some fun teasing her a little.

"Haha!~ Why are you getting so flustered? Something like that isn’t possible unless you can see the future."

"Y-yes, I mean, hmm..." (Shiro)

"hue~! Anyway, I totally get it now—I know what’s going on here."

"D-do you?" (Shiro)

"Of course. I bet you’re waiting for your boyfriend, right? ...If I can see it, here are all the clues: you, a beautiful girl, standing nervously in front of the fountain first thing in the morning. I bet you’ll have a great time all day with your boyfriend."

"N-no, I—I don’t have a boyfriend!..." (Shiro)

"You don’t?"

"N-no... I wasn’t waiting for anyone; I was just walking around here. Mr. Astan, please don’t get the wrong idea." (Shiro)

Oh! The way she put it—somehow, it feels like she...

____________

Emotional: 17%

Carnal: 22%

Rational: 25%

________________

Nah!, looks like I was wrong.

It’s curious that her percentages went up a bit even though I had to put her on the back burner last time, since I was focusing on her sisters.

They’re still in the range where she sees me as a somewhat close acquaintance.

At best, she thinks of me as a good person and, hopefully, a friend. I’m a long way from being her love interest.

It means she doesn’t like me enough to worry that I might misinterpret the fact that she has a boyfriend, so it must really be her personality that makes me misinterpret her.

Hmm, even so... isn’t this the perfect opportunity to improve her favorability toward me?

Yeah, come to think of it, we’re not at the shop and there aren’t any quests, but nothing’s stopping me from raising her percentages.

"Haha! I was just joking around a little, Miss Shiro. Anyway, since you’re not waiting for anyone and I’m kind of new around here, could you give me a little tour—well, if you don’t mind?"

"Huh?... I mean, yeah, I... Hmm, sure, if you’re okay with me." (Shiro)

"(‾◡◝), of course."

It’s food for my soul to see how sweet she is.

Yeah, I’ve made up my mind.

I’m going to do everything I can so that one day I’ll have a cute Shiro and Amy standing in front of me, nervous and acting sweet, ready to have a nice family evening.

Someday I’ll make it happen. 🔥_🔥

Anyway, I’m glad she accepted my proposal so easily—I thought I’d have to convince her a little more.

We both started walking toward the tall buildings.

"Um... do you have any preferences, or is there somewhere you’d like to go?" (Shiro)

"Oh, right, I was about to grab something to eat. A market with food stalls or something like that would be great. Oh, right! Where are my manners?"

I said that as I offered her my arm for her to take.

"Um..." (Shiro)

"Oh, it’s a human custom. Just take my arm—I’ll escort you. It’ll also help make sure we don’t get separated in the crowd."

In fact, the square was getting more and more crowded, which gave me the perfect excuse.

As for whether it’s actually part of human culture in this world, I had no idea, but I didn’t care—what matters is that...

"Y-yes, okay." (Shiro)

Yeah, I knew she’d agree. She seems like the type who tends to follow protocols, etiquette, and things like that.

Maybe she thought that if she refused, it would be rude to me—and that’s something her personality wouldn’t allow.

She nervously took my arm, though gracefully enough not to cling too tightly to me.

Now walking side by side, we headed toward some buildings.

Meanwhile, I tried to make small talk with Shiro to help ease her nervousness a little.

"So, Miss Shiro, how long have you been studying at the academy in this city?"

"Well... my sisters and I came here three years ago." (Shiro)

"Oh! Three years. That’s quite a while now. I suppose you’ll make an excellent guide for me. There’s Argos, of course, but honestly, I still haven’t gotten used to him. Oh, by the way, I never found out how many years of study are required before you graduate."

"It’s five years." (Shiro)

"Oh, I see. So you’ll be here for another two years. That’s good. I didn’t want to have to say goodbye to you so soon, Miss Shiro. I don’t know why, but it’s nice and reassuring to talk and spend time with you."

"...Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Astan. I... I feel a little that way, too." (Shiro)

"Oh, I see! That’s good, haha! For a moment there, I was worried I was making you uncomfortable or something. I’m glad the feeling is mutual."

"(≧﹏≦), Mr. please don’t put it that way." (Shiro)

"Oh, are you embarrassed? Haha! I’m really sorry... but if being direct lets me see such a cute side of you more often, I might let things like that slip out every now and then, haha."

"Mr. you’re acting a little differently than before." (Shiro)

"Huh? Really? Well, I’m not working right now. Maybe that’s why I’m acting less professional and more relaxed. Does it bother you that I’m acting this way?"

"N-no, that’s not what I meant... it doesn’t bother me at all; if it’s you, it’s fine.（≧ _ ≦）" (Shiro)

"(◠‿◠) Oh, I see."

Damn it! If it weren’t for the fact that I can see her percentages, I’d really think she was sending me signals and hints.

Anyway, we both ended up in front of a building, which confirmed my suspicion that most things were inside these.

It was time to test just how effective those bracelets were.

Hmm, though there was something else strange. For a while now, shortly after I started talking to Shiro, I’d felt someone’s gaze on me.

I wonder what this is all about now?

..

.

"Hmm... it’s good that it works and all, but it feels a little disappointing."

Shiro and I walked into the building.

The entry check was as easy as swiping my wristband over what I assume was some kind of scanner, and that was it.

It gave the green light without any problems and let me in. It really resembles the quick-payment systems in my world, although no money was needed.

Anyway, the point is that it worked so well that it somehow felt disappointing to me.

I don’t know why, but I’d imagined something like "error" would pop up and there’d be a bit of a commotion that would send Shiro and me running off in a fun escape.

Well, that was one of the scenarios I’d imagined. The fact that it worked so well is also a good thing.

Anyway, we both went inside, and I couldn’t help but notice that there were lots of restaurants inside—it really was like a shopping mall.

Interestingly, Shiro didn’t lead me to any of them; instead, we headed toward what looked like a platform.

Even from a distance, I could see that it was rising and falling. It was a kind of magical elevator.

That’s really interesting.

Although I found all of this fascinating, I didn’t let it show and kept chatting calmly with Shiro.

"So, Miss Shiro, just out of curiosity, has Miss Scarleth managed to find another massage therapist these past few days? I mean, we didn’t set an exact appointment, but I thought she’d be back by now."

"N-no, it’s just that at academy, hmm... the end-of-semester exams are a little difficult, and Akane isn’t very good... at thinking?" (Shiro)

"At thinking? Haha! What a funny way to put it, Miss Shiro! And you don’t have to make excuses or anything. I don’t mind if she found another massage therapist; I just want to make sure she keeps up with her treatment, since if she doesn’t, it could ruin her future."

"No, it’s not an excuse. Hmm... since it’s the weekend today, I think she’d come today, hmm... but I’m not sure... my older sister..." (Shiro)

"Right, there was Momo’s overprotective older sister 눈_눈. Don’t tell me she’s stopping Scarleth from coming back just because she’s mad at me."

"No! She’s not like that! If it’s for Akane’s health, she wouldn’t object—it’s just that, hmm, lately she..." (Shiro)

Shiro didn’t seem to want to speak ill of his older sister, but I can easily imagine what’s going on, although I must say it reassures me that the reason they haven’t come back is the one I had assumed.

But now that Shiro mentioned today is a day off, maybe not just them, but it’s very likely that Lys will come back today, too.

.