Chapter 54 - A Date With a Pet in Tow
It would’ve been nice if I could say that Mogami-san and I were holding hands, but that would’ve been a lie.
Unfortunately, her soft hand was currently being held by Wannai-san. That small hand had been gripping hers tightly for a while now, refusing to let go.
She's really gotten attached, huh. ...Ah, well. I guess it's not a bad thing.
Since Mogami-san didn’t have any friends, getting closer to Wannai-san through this opportunity might be a good thing. It couldn't hurt for her to have another girl she could be casual and open with. In fact, there were probably a ton of things she couldn't talk about with me, since I'm a guy, so I just decided to watch over them.
There were a few things about Wannai-san’s behavior that bothered me a bit… but I chose to believe it was all in my head.
Anyway, we entered the station to take the train, but then...
“Fuko, it's a little far, but I wanna go to the theater in the next prefecture! You know, the one in that huge shopping mall? They have that amazing sweets shop there, too~”
“But… Sato-kun already planned everything out for us…”
This brat. Don't just change the plans when we're already at the station.
Good grief… fine, I guess I have no choice.
“That place in the next prefecture, huh? Right, they do have a theater there... Hold on a second, let me check right now… yep, looks good. Let's go.”
“Eh? Sato-kun, that fast!?”
“Yeah. I've already mapped out the route, so just follow me. Let's go.”
“…W-well, aren’t you dependable.”
Both Mogami-san and Wannai-san looked a little stunned at how fast I could pull up information. It was a leftover habit from my previous life working in sales. Going to unknown places was part of everyday life, so my phone was loaded with every navigation and transit app imaginable. I could instantly get information on movie showtimes too, so it wasn't a big deal.
“So, you're good with directions?”
“I'm not bad at it. I'm just used to it.”
“Used to it? You go out a lot? Because you seriously have the face of someone who doesn't.”
“My face has nothing to do with it… ah, here it is. This is the train.”
Perfect timing. I boarded the train that would take us to our destination, and the two of them followed behind.
Seats… were a bit limited since it was the weekend. But there were two open seats, so I offered them to Mogami-san and Wannai-san.
“Hmph. So you're at least nice enough to give up your seat. You get a passing grade, I guess.”
“Sato-kun, thank you... But if you get tired, just tell me, okay? You can take my seat and rest.”
In contrast to the cheeky comment from Wannai-san, Mogami-san was truly an angel. Her kindness alone was enough to make all my fatigue just melt away.
“I'm fine. I'm used to standing, anyway... One time, I couldn't get an unreserved seat on the bullet train and had to stand for four hours straight. Compared to that, this is nothing.”
“S-Sato-kun… where exactly did you go…?”
…Right, I should probably stop yapping. Have I been letting my guard down lately? I feel like I've been accidentally slipping up and talking about my past life a lot. I needed to be more careful.
After about an hour of light conversation during the ride, a seat next to Mogami-san opened up by chance, so I sat down and rode the rest of the way until we arrived.
“It’s been so long~ Nihihi! Fuko, hurry up!”
“Wah! W-Wait for me...!!”
The moment we stepped off the train, Wannai-san grabbed Mogami-san’s hand and started dragging her along. Like an energetic owner walking an excited puppy, Mogami-san was being pulled forward.
(Yep. It looks like we’re just going to be dragged around by her all day.)
I really would have preferred it if it were just the two of us. But, even with Wannai-san tagging along... well... I'm sure it'll be fun, one way or another.
She was energetic, after all. She could be bratty, sure, but she was generally nice toward Mogami-san, and I appreciated that.
Her attitude toward me was nothing but condescending, but I didn’t care. I had no intention of getting close to her or becoming friends, so whatever attitude she took toward me didn’t matter.
(Anyway, I just need to make sure Mogami-san has a good time.)
She could just rely on me for things like movie times, routes to different places, restaurants or anything she needed.
(...That aside, it really feels like Wannai-san’s original goal has completely changed.)
There were still a lot of mysterious things about her, and I couldn't get them out of my head. At first, she'd said she wanted us to go on a date so she could size me up. She'd said she was just going to stalk and observe me and Mogami-san from afar... but before I knew it, she was just tagging along with us.
If it was simply because she felt like having fun, then that was fine.
But I just couldn't shake the feeling she had some other motive. That was the one thing that still bothered me—.
