Episode 358: Kazunari’s Shopping

Tap, tap, tap…

Wrapped in the warmth of the futon, in the middle of a pleasant doze…

What I vaguely hear is the rhythmic sound of a knife and the melody of a goddess hummed by Sara-san.

Is this a dream, or reality…

But…

Right now, I just want to be enveloped in my favorite scent, just for a little while longer, this moment…

「…san?」

「Kazunari-san, please wake up?」

Enticed by a whispering voice overflowing with kindness, sweetness, and heartfelt love, my consciousness begins to surface.

It feels like I’m still seeing the continuation of a dream, yet also like I’m already awake… but…

「Nnh…?」

「Hehe… what is the mat… hyan!? K-Kazunari-san!? Being naughty is… a no-no… okay?」

The hand I idly stretched out touched something very soft… or so it felt at that moment.

Did I just hear Sara-san’s voice sounding very embarrassed and panicked?

「Um, Kazunari-san? By any chance, are you awake already?」

「Muu…」

「…Was it just my imagination? Kazunari-san, please wake up?」

Even though she told me to wake up, her voice has been nothing but whispers right in my ear for a while now, so I honestly doubt if she even has the intention of waking me up.

Besides, today is Sunday… a precious day where I can finally rest for the whole day, and thinking about that, I just can’t bring myself to get up… wait, huh?

This is a dream, right?

「Um… will you really not wake up no matter what?」

「Uu…」

「If you don’t wake up soon, something quite serious is going to happen, you know?」

「Nmh…?」

「…I see… hehe… understood. I suppose it can’t be helped then?」

At the moment I felt a sudden spike of sweetness and a mysterious atmosphere in Sara-san’s voice, someone’s presence drew close all at once, becoming strongest right by my ear…

「…Dear… wake. up?」

「Fuwah!?」

Thrills and chills, like something pink (it felt like) rushed through my entire body, and with that sweet and intense(?) shock, I sprang out of bed!!

T-This can’t be, that thing from a while ago!?

「Hehe… good morning, Kazunari-san♪」

「G-Good morning!? Um, S-Sara-san!?」

「Yes?」

「Just now, that was…」

「…Hehe」

She gently pressed a finger to her lips, showing a sexiness that made my heart skip a beat. Having my heart pound like this right after waking up is bad for my heart in so many ways!

「N-No, it’s nothing…」

「Yes♪ Now, let’s wash your face and get changed, shall we?」

「…Roger.」

And as a finishing move, being hit with such a dazzling smile…

There was no other path for me but to obey quietly.

Well…

As long as Sara-san looks happy, it doesn’t really matter to me…

「Are you sure you haven’t forgotten anything?」

I lightly fixed my hair and did a general check of my whole body. Checking the top and bottom focusing on the hems, and finally the collar… yeah, this should do.

After that, I put my smartphone in my pocket, and the handkerchief and tissues in my body bag… alright!

「I’m good!」

「Well then, shall we go?」

「Yes.」

After checking the locks one last time, I put on my shoes and step out of the entrance first.

Stepping outside, the first thing that caught my eye was a cloudy sky… there wasn’t supposed to be a forecast for rain, but this looks more like the kind of cloudy that’s leaning toward rain.

Clack

Behind me, I heard the sound of Sara-san locking the door, and with that, the final preparations were okay.

Well, let’s get going then.

「If we head there now, we should arrive right at the timing of the store opening, shouldn’t we?」

「I guess so. Though I wasn’t really aiming for the opening.」

「Hehe… since we’re going all that way, let’s take more time than usual today and look around thoroughly. After all, the main event today is Kazunari-san’s shopping.」

「Well, that’s true, but for me…」

「No♪ Besides, I’ve received a message from Mother to make absolutely sure that we buy something for your personal use, Kazunari-san.」

「I-I see… from Mayumi-san.」

Having such a clear message meant, in other words, what would happen if the goal wasn’t achieved.

If I just settled for something half-hearted, or if I tried to smooth things over(?) and buy something for Sara-san instead…

「Geez… I knew Sara-chan wouldn’t be able to do it. Well then, next time, let’s have a date with Mother… no, let’s go shopping just the two of us as a family! It’s okay, Mother will stick by you the whole time until Kazunari-kun finds something he wants… oh, I know! Since we’re at it, let’s buy clothes together too. From top to bottom, even underwear and socks, Mother will coordinate everything perfectly for you♪ Hehehe…」

H-How terrifying…

Even though it was just my imagination, I felt like I could hear Mayumi-san’s voice clearly!?

I absolutely have to find at least one thing I’m satisfied with!!

「Ah, that’s right. Before I forget… I received this from Grandmother for you yesterday, Kazunari-san.」

「From Sachie-san?」

Saying that, Sara-san took out a small, plain envelope from her pouch.

I took it for now and idly peeked inside, and what was in there was… eh?

Eh!?

Eeeeeeek!?

「Wait!? W-W-What is this!?」

「She said it’s an allowance for you, Kazunari-san.」

「A-Allowance… wait, h-hold on!! This is way too much!?」

Since it looked like a New Year’s gift envelope, I thought it might be money… but the problem was the contents.

The design on the bills, and this thickness. This was comparable to the earnings from that part-time job I received from Masaomi-san before, which means…

This is definitely not at the level of an allowance!!!

「N-No matter how you look at it, I can’t accept this…」

「Grandmother said she was entrusting it to me because she knew you would say that, Kazunari-san. By the way, she said returns are absolutely not allowed.」

「Eeeeeh…」

T-This is a problem… especially since I just received a significant amount of allowance from Masaomi-san the other day.

On top of that, I’ve already received plenty of funds for today’s shopping from Mayumi-san (the amount is unknown. I have nothing but a bad feeling), and now I’m receiving this from Sachie-san!!

「S-Sara-san!?」

「Hehe… to be honest, I received some as well, but this is indeed a bit of a problem, isn’t it?」

「Y… yes. This is a bit much, honestly…」

It’s only natural when you think about it, but I guess Sara-san received some too.

If that’s the case, she probably gave roughly the same amount to both of us… but giving such a sum so casually, just what… hmmm?

Wait a second?

「Um, Sara-san?」

「Yes?」

「This might be a bit sudden, but… up until now, your allowance has been…」

「Hehe… if it’s the allowance I usually receive, I think it doesn’t differ much from the general social average. At the very least, it’s different from Eri’s.」

「I-I see?」

「Yes. So please think of this as something strictly temporary.」

Setting aside the comparison with Nishikawa-san, it really would be impossible for this to be normal.

And when I think about it, Sara-san herself is the frugal type who only buys the bare minimum… and considering how good she is at managing living expenses, her sense of money is actually quite solid.

If that’s the case, then this really is…

「Please rest assured. As the one in charge of our home, I will continue to strive for thriftiness and saving in the future.」

「Um… I-I’ll leave it to you?」

「Yes, leave it to me!」

Sara-san gave a big nod at my words, showing a smile full of confidence.

That said, I wasn’t really worried about that… I just thought I’d be a bit panicked if things were like this every time.

「For now, can we stop by a nearby convenience store? Carrying this kind of amount without any use for it is a bit scary.」

「Understood. Since we’re at it, I’ll deposit mine as well.」

「Yes. And as for this…」

I carefully closed the envelope again and gently put it back into Sara-san’s hand.

This money is more than I can handle as personal money…

「…Understood. Then I will manage it properly on my end.」

「Please do.」

This money is fine as long as Sara-san uses it as needed. After that, we can just save it for a rainy day.

I’ll just consider that I received it in that sense, rather than it being strictly a personal allowance…

Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.

We draw attention at the station, we draw attention on the platform, and we even draw attention inside the train.

This isn’t particularly rare; it’s just what happens when you move around with Sara-san.

And since Sara-san is in her private clothes today… plus, she’s dressed a bit differently than usual for our formal date, it’s even more so.

A cute blouse with white frills, a single-point ribbon at the chest, and a black long skirt with a corset-like waist. Against that clearly defined contrast, Sara-san’s beautiful black hair stands out even more. On top of that, a beret she doesn’t usually wear is perched neatly on her head, which is also a perfect match…

This「I’m totally out to kill you」coordination is, of course, because she knows it will make me happy… but that also goes for the countless other guys out there.

「…Whoa, for real, that’s way too much of my type.」

「…Crap, she’s totally my style.」

「…That girl’s gotta be a model or an idol.」

「…No way, is that guy with her her boyfriend?」

「…Hey now, you gotta be kidding me.」

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been on a train, but I can see the same old predictable reactions, especially from groups of guys.

They’re staring right at us while whispering excitedly about something… but the contents of their talk are probably predictable too… anyway, those guys don’t matter.

「Sara-san, over here.」

「Thank you very much.」

The next station the train stops at is the busiest in this area for getting on and off, so I have Sara-san move to the corner… the spot next to the door.

If I don’t do this, things will get messy later.

「Hehe…」

「Sara-san?」

As I stood in a position to basically block her from view, Sara-san suddenly let out a small, quiet laugh.

「No, it’s nothing. It’s just…」

「Just?」

「…I was thinking… how happy I am.」

「Ah…」

As she whispered that, Sara-san showed a bashful smile… and leaned against me, entrusting her body to me just a little.

That gesture was so adorable that my heart started pounding all at once…

I mean…

The destructive power is too high, it’s actually painful!?

「…Kazunari-san.」

「Y-Yes.」

「Just a little longer… like this…」

「P-Please go ahead…」

Whether she knew my internal state or not…

Until we reached our destination station, Sara-san stayed leaned against my chest the whole time… just like a spoiled cat.

「「Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa」」

And I’d completely forgotten that there were people around us…

「Whoa… this is really something.」

Looking at the information board installed next to the escalator, I let out a comment.

But it couldn’t be helped; the scale was completely different from any shopping mall I’d ever been to.

「Hehe… I had a similar impression when I first came here as well.」

「No, I think that’s only natural…」

Even the exterior before going in was incredible, but there was another building of roughly the same size right next to it. Since it’s apparently split into east and west wings with a connecting walkway, no one would think a shopping mall this giant is normal.

「So, how shall we move?」

「Let’s see… our goal is decided for now, so I figure we’ll just drift around and enter shops that look relevant… or something like that.」

It felt about the same as usual, but this time I have to cut out even more waste, or it’s doubtful we’ll even make it to the end.

So, I’ll naturally ignore shops I have no reason to enter, and it’s probably safer to skip clothing shops as much as possible.

「Understood. Well then, let’s go.」

「If you get tired, please tell me, okay? And please don’t hesitate to tell me if there’s a shop you’re curious about, Sara-san.」

「Hehe… thank you.」

Alright, starting from this escalator, let’s do a loop of the first floor.

Mainly focusing on general goods and electronics… yeah.

The first floor we started with had mostly ladies’ shops.

Bags, cosmetics, accessories, and natural material items; it’s an area where shops for women are packed together side-by-side.

Among them were some specialty shops for things like soap and incense, which were a bit unusual, but since none of them were really for me… if this were a normal date, we might have ended up taking a peek.

「…There weren’t really any shops that stood out, were there?」

「True. Oh, if there’s a shop you want to peek into, Sara-san…」

「No, I’m not really interested in these kinds of shops.」

「If you keep saying that, I’m going to end up choosing something for you on my own again, you know?」

「Hehe… please save that for another time, okay?」

As always, Sara-san shows absolutely no interest in these kinds of shops. So unless I forcefully invite her, or she’s accompanying Natsumi-senpai, she doesn’t even try to go into these types of stores…

「There’s a large general store on the second floor, so let’s put our hopes on that.」

「You’re right. However…」

「Is something wrong?」

「…No, for now, let’s just go and see.」

「Yes.」

This was something I had a faint hunch about, but I wondered if I would really find something I wanted that had「meaning」for me, even if I searched blindly…

I’m confident I could think of things for Sara-san or things that would be useful for her almost immediately, but it’s a completely different story when it comes to my own things.

Perhaps because I’ve been away from that kind of material desire or interest for over a year, to be honest, I don’t feel like I can think of anything at all… which is a problem.