When I’m running in the training arena, it’s fine, but why do my legs cramp up when just shopping?
It could satisfy the categories of renewable potential, experienceability, and objectivity, but figuring out the cause turned out to be quite challenging.
We sat in the indoor plaza, where waterfalls and trees mingled, and ate ice cream.
During our shopping earlier, I was so grateful to the concept-savvy fan who discreetly avoided interrupting that I even took a photo with them.
It was around that time that I met the Narita siblings.
Feeling a familiar presence, I turned around to find Narita Hiroyuki there.
I raised my eyebrows momentarily at the skull graphic plastered right across the center of his t-shirt.
I wonder what’s so appealing about something that looks this gross in real life.
I called him over.
“Why are you radiating such an aura? You got a problem with me or something?”
Of course, it was impossible not to notice him; the boy was broadcasting his aura like he had no chill.
Perhaps Ban So-wool wouldn’t have noticed, but I questioned Hiroyuki about his behavior.
“It feels like there’s some misunderstanding. Just to clarify, I haven’t done anything like that.”
Look at him trying to play dumb.
“What do you mean you haven’t done anything? You might not be making it obvious, but you’re definitely doing just enough for someone to notice you scratching behind this person and that person looking for attention.”
“…!”
It seemed I hit the nail on the head as Hiroyuki narrowed his eyes.
The short-haired girl next to him promptly apologized and called him out.
“I’m sorry, Na-me. Even though our Narita-kun often entertains delusions of grandeur like ‘Oh, are you a strong one?’ in those middle school scenarios, it’s not meant maliciously, so please forgive him, gurgle gurgle!”
With a flushed face, Hiroyuki desperately covered Mei’s mouth.
“What on earth could possibly be good about creating situations like that?”
I shook my head in disbelief.
Mei, freed from Hiroyuki’s grip, reached out for a handshake.
“I’m so glad to meet you here, Na-me! I wanted to meet you ever since I was in Japan. I couldn’t say hi before because I was totally out of it at that party room. Oh, and I absolutely loved the last match!”
As she said this, Mei shot a fierce glare at Hiroyuki.
“Oh, right! It’s nice to meet you too. Mei, you put up quite a fight against Nathan Chen.”
“Waaaaah, did you see my match? I feel embarrassed because my performance wasn’t that great.”
Mei covered her face with both hands.
Still, Nathan Chen is pretty much the top contender for overwhelming victory, right?
She seemed to have very high standards for herself.
“Would you like to shop with us if that’s alright? But what about your companion…?”
Mei trailed off, looking at Saetbyeol.
“She’s my sister.”
“Wh-what? She’s really your sister?”
“Yep, I’m the one and only sister of Na-me-chan, Cheon Saetbyeol! Nice to meet you, nice to meet you!”
Saetbyeol came racing over to greet us from a short distance away.
“Oh wow, I’m looking forward to working with you… You seem beautiful, Saetbyeol! Are you a model?”
“Oh my, there’s no need for flattery. Hehe, I do hear that quite often, yes.”
“I’m not just saying this; it’s sincere! My real mom works at Shiseido, so I’m really into makeup and fashion. It’s amazing that you can pull off this look perfectly! Hiroyuki, hurry up and say hi.”
Mei jabbed Hiroyuki’s side with her elbow.
The boy, who had been crossing his arms and avoiding eye contact, finally turned to us.
He scanned Saetbyeol quickly with his eyes and then returned to his phone.
“Um, so… like Mei said… you do seem like a beautiful person…”
“Eh? Beautiful? That’s the first time I’m hearing you say something like that!”
“I’ve said it often; you just haven’t heard it. Don’t mind what this guy says, Saetbyeol.”
And so, our shopping party of four was formed.
Saetbyeol, Mei, and I moved in a straight line while Hiroyuki lagged a bit behind.
Narita Mei has quite a big spending habit, and every time we went into a store, she made sure to come out with at least one shopping bag.
Hiroyuki, who took on the role of a pack mule, began to struggle under the weight of all the bags.
“Na-me, do you not have any interest in makeup yet?”
“No, just sunscreen when I go outside.”
“Saetbyeol seems very interested, right?”
“I’d rather collect than actually put it on my face. There’s just something satisfying about filling up a makeup shelf.”
“Well then, just wait here for a minute!”
Suddenly, Mei dashed into the Dolce & Gabbana store.
Several staff members busily moved around, gathering items.
Beaming, Mei handed a shopping bag to Saetbyeol.
“Tada! This is a flattery gift for you, Saetbyeol! If you ever get a modeling gig, you have to contact me first, okay? Promise!”
She forced the cosmetics set into Saetbyeol’s hands despite her attempts to refuse.
“Cheon Saetbyeol, how lucky are you to get such a gift?”
“Hah, being this popular is exhausting. Even looking cute is tiring!”
We decided to grab a simple baguette sandwich for dinner at a table with an umbrella.
Finally, I can sit!
I came here to relieve my fatigue but ended up just with muscle soreness.
I sat next to Mei and decided to go over the matches from the National Exchange Tournament.
“There’s a significant output difference between you and your opponent. You’re accumulating serious damage by getting hit by magic throughout the approach.”
“Yes. My master told me not to engage directly and to use speed to quickly close the gap… but it’s easier said than done.”
“If it were me, hmm. You could use the barrier techniques I taught Hiroyuki. This one’s a bit trickier, but interfering with the magic circle using Roksynian Paranova-esque magic could be another option.”
“Oh, I should definitely mention this to my master. Thanks for the help, Na-me.”
Just then, a long tuna baguette sandwich arrived.
They really weren’t kidding about serving four portions in one.
Could we just cut it up and share?
Crunch crunch
Hiroyuki sliced his sandwich first and piled it onto his plate.
‘Well, he did go through some trouble today, so I suppose eating first is acceptable.’
But then, he casually stood up and swapped plates with Saetbyeol.
“Go ahead, eat.”
He sliced the baguette again and took his own portion.
Saetbyeol stunned at what was going on, her eyebrows rising as she shot a look at me.
‘What’s this now?’
‘I have no idea.’
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Mei asked first.
“What’s with that? Why did you only take care of Saetbyeol’s plate?”
“It’s not far. Want me to cut yours too?”
“No, it’s fine. Enjoy your meal!”
Mei couldn’t suppress her smile.
Hiroyuki, however, ignored her and continued focusing on his meal.
Hiroyuki’s antics didn’t stop there.
He asked Saetbyeol for her Instagram ID while she was taking a photo for SNS.
He handed her a napkin when she spilled mayonnaise sauce.
Now he laid his phone on the table and pretended to look at cat photos right next to her.
Wait a second.
Isn’t this a bit too obvious?
I promptly whispered to Mei.
“Is he always like this? Why is he all over my sister?”
Mei shook her head vigorously.
“I know right… It’s utterly shocking to see this idiot act like a real person. He’s usually such a loser around girls… What is going on here?”
For now, it seems like Saetbyeol, the main party in all this, is completely unbothered.
She was using the napkin Hiroyuki gave her to blow her nose and stuffing the leftover sandwich into her mouth.
“Ughhh, it hurts…! This baguette is scratching the inside of my mouth! Na-me, water, water!”
“Seriously, the drama just never ends.”
“Oh? Isn’t this a Turkish Angora? It’s my favorite kind of cat!”
“Yeah.”
“I heard this one’s supposed to be a handful; raising them must be tough.”
“The more trouble they are, the more love I have for them, so I enjoy it. Most cats are generally indifferent. But this one seems to beg for attention, so that part’s a little… I must’ve said something strange. Sorry.”
“Oh, no need to apologize. I get called a handful by my friends all the time. Look at Na-me’s sister. Is it not the same? Meow.”
Saetbyeol mimicked a cat sleeping, sticking out her tongue.
“Whoa… that’s not a sleeping cat; it looks like it’s choking to death.”
The way she twisted her neck and rolled her eyes back was quite terrifying.
Hiroyuki’s previously pale face began to gain some color.
Yeah, that’s a face that would scare even a man.
But the words he mustered behind his sleeve shocked everyone.
“It looks, so cute. Cheon Saetbyeol.”
“Me? Thank you…?”
In the bizarre atmosphere, Narita Mei took the initiative to intervene.
“Oh, we really must head back to base camp now, ha ha… Today was so much fun, and I hope you do well in the National Exchange Tournament, Na-me! Thank you for your help!”
“Yes. Let’s meet again at a higher place.”
Mei grabbed Hiroyuki’s wrist and dragged him off.
I caught whispers of, “Did I eat something wrong today?” or “Did he hit his head in the last match?” in passing.
Ultimately, all that remained for us today were a teddy bear t-shirt, a pink overall skirt, and a Dolce & Gabbana cosmetics set.
Oh right, I forgot to buy some underwear and pajamas.
