“I'm telling the truth right now. If you don't believe me, that's fine.”
“I believe you.” Meruru moved her hand away from her mouth and stopped smiling. “You must have your reasons for wanting to stay there, even if you have to lie to do it. I'm just a little envious. Being able to leisurely feed the fish after a battle sounds much better than risking your life against an Erosion Body.”
“It's time to go back.”
Without waiting for Meruru's response, she turned and headed down the mountain.
Meruru watched her walk down the mountain. She didn't follow, but stood in place and called out, “Next time there's a fish-type Erosion Body, remember to call me!”
“Why?”
“I can use soundwaves to blast the fish out for you,” Meruru said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “It'll be much more efficient.”
Tsk, she's still teasing me!
With her hands clasped behind her back, Meruru took one last look at Lightweaver. A trace of her earlier mischievousness remained in her smile, but it was now softened by warmth.
...
The chime of the convenience store rang.
“Welcome—” Store Owner Murai looked up reflexively, but swallowed the rest of his greeting when he saw who it was.
It was a familiar face in a business suit. His tie was half-loosened, and dark circles from working overtime hung heavily under his eyes.
“Store Owner, is Miss Tian Gong not here tonight either?” He stood before the cash register, the disappointment in his voice even more tangible than the rice ball in his hand.
The Store Owner's hand scanning the barcode paused. He shook his head with a bitter smile. “Yes, Miss Tian Gong is still recovering.”
“Aw...” An older man waiting in line behind him poked his head out, cradling two cans of beer. “I knew buying late-night snacks today felt a bit off. When that girl is around, even the lights in the convenience store seem brighter.”
The atmosphere in front of the register suddenly livened up.
An office lady wearing glasses turned around from the magazine rack, holding a fashion magazine she had no intention of buying. “Are you talking about that girl with the crescent-moon eyes when she smiles, who always sneaks discounts on near-expired bento boxes for the late-night customers?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” The salaryman in the suit suddenly got excited, nearly dropping his rice ball. “That's her! Miss Tian Gong is practically—”
“She's practically Miss Yamada from anime!”
“Huh?” The older man didn't catch on.
“It's like—even when you're exhausted to death, just seeing her makes you feel like you can hold on to life a bit longer.”
The office lady nodded thoughtfully. “That's true. Last time I came to buy a late-night snack after working overtime, she even slipped me an extra pack of candy and told me, ‘Thank you for your hard work, tomorrow will be better.’”
Listening to their conversation, the Store Owner looked down at his phone screen.
He hesitated for a moment, and the message he finally sent was a bit more sheepishly formal than usual.
“Um...” The salaryman placed his rice ball on the counter and asked tentatively, “Will Miss Tian Gong be coming back?”
Murai looked down at his phone, his expression shifting slightly.
“Well...” He set down the scanner and cleared his throat. “Everyone.”
The chatter in front of the register died down, everyone's eyes filled with the same cautious anticipation.
“I just received this,” the Store Owner said. “Miss Tian Gong says she'll be back to work next Monday.”
There was only a single line of text on the messaging screen, but everyone leaned forward at the same time, as if reading some grand announcement.
“Store Owner, the doctor said I've recovered really well, so I can return to work next week!”
“Next Monday!” The salaryman was the first to react. Realizing he was being too loud for a convenience store in the middle of the night, he quickly lowered his voice. “That's great, that's great... I'll work overtime on Monday then.”
Store Owner Murai taped the last shift schedule onto the breakroom wall, taking two steps back to make sure it was perfectly straight.
The automatic door slid open. The soft friction of wheelchair wheels rolling over the anti-slip mat at the entrance made Murai look up from between the shelves.
Misa Tachibana was wearing her slightly faded convenience store uniform jacket, with a deep red blanket draped over her lap.
She rolled her wheelchair forward with her hands, slowly moving over from the other side of the shelves, a manila envelope resting on her lap.
“Long time no see.” She stopped her wheelchair next to the register and bowed slightly.
“Store Owner Tachibana? What brings you here—” Murai stepped out from behind the register, stopping a few paces away from her.
“Oh, don't worry about it. I was just passing by and decided to drop in.” Misa Tachibana shook her head and placed the envelope on the counter.
“So, you're the new store owner.” He wiped the dust off his hands and took the envelope.
“I'll leave this store in your hands. The regular customers are very easy to get along with, and the college student working the night shift is a bit quiet but works efficiently. And Miss Tian Gong—”
“Qiluo Tian Gong is a part-time clerk on the evening shift. There was a little incident at the convenience store before, and she was a bit shaken up, so she's been resting lately. She won't be back to work until next week.”
Having said that, he looked up at Misa Tachibana, as if hesitating whether to continue.
Misa Tachibana listened quietly.
“Miss Tian Gong is a good kid, but she always pushes through everything on her own. When the Erosion Body attacked before, she was in the store all by herself. Even when I had her go to the hospital for a checkup later, she went alone. She never complains about anything, nor does she ever talk about her struggles with anyone.”
“I understand.”
Murai figured Store Owner Tachibana had probably heard about the Erosion Body attack from the regional manager. He nodded and pointed to the shift schedule posted on the side of the register.
He added, “I've already posted her shift schedule. She's on the evening shift next Monday and Tuesday. If you think she needs a few more days of rest, you can adjust it. No need to ask me, just arrange it yourself.”
Murai continued talking, probably about which drawer the spare key to the warehouse was kept in, or how the temperature controller for the refrigerator had been acting up lately. Misa Tachibana nodded along, but her mind was elsewhere.
In her mind, the image of Night Sakura rolling around on the sofa at headquarters that day played on repeat.
The masked idiot had been rolling back and forth while clutching a cushion, repeating the exact same sentence over and over.
“Store Owner, if you transfer to that store, you might get a surprise! A super—huge surprise!”
At the time, she had just brushed it off as Night Sakura's usual antics. That girl always loved speaking in a mysterious, dramatic tone. With Kohinata chiming in from the side, and Amamiya silently nodding along for once instead of arguing, the three of them had buzzed around her like three cats trying to bewilder a human with noise.
But looking back now, Misa Tachibana knew Night Sakura all too well.
She wouldn't become interested in a convenience store for no reason.
What ultimately swayed Misa Tachibana was that Night Sakura had solemnly told her at the end that this was her prophecy.
Night Sakura's prophecies...
...were almost always right.
...
On the second day of the school festival, Qiluo finally didn't have to wear that Lightweaver cosplay costume. Instead, she changed into a loose, light-colored short-sleeved shirt and dark trousers. Her long hair was casually tied into a low ponytail hanging behind her back as she strolled leisurely through the afternoon sun and the bustling crowd.
Yesterday, she had treated the school festival like a mission, but today she could finally enjoy it to the fullest.
“Tian Gong-san—!” Rei's voice cut through the crowd ahead. She squeezed her way out from beside a yakisoba stall, holding two freshly toasted marshmallows, and ran up to Qiluo, stuffing one of them into her hand.
“You look so casual today, completely different from yesterday, but both styles look great on you! Here, the marshmallows from this stall are freshly roasted over charcoal. They're crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I stood in line for ages!”
Qiluo took the bamboo skewer and took a bite. The slightly charred sugar shell cracked between her teeth, and the soft marshmallow core stretched into sweet threads.
“It's delicious. Don't you have to help out in class today?”
“My shift ended yesterday, so today is free time!” Rei finished her own marshmallow in two or three bites, then pulled out a heavily folded schedule from her bag and unfolded it.
“I heard there's a performance by a mysterious idol in the gymnasium this afternoon, and tonight there's an after-festival party and a bonfire. Let's go together! It was canceled last year because of the rain, so we definitely can't miss it since the weather is so nice today.”
Rate on N.U.
