Chapter 107Action and Implementation
[Her dearest Big Bro has a girlfriend...]
[Oh, so what does this have to do with Airi having a boyfriend, huh...?]
[None of you have a big bro, right?]
'Oh, I see', said the two of them one by one, then they both went silent for a moment. I thought one of them would blame me, but maybe they were trying to understand how a 'girl who works part-time' feels on their terms. The way they casually put themselves in her position, I felt that Natsukawa had high potential because she was an educated student. But I was wrong.
[Wouldn't this be the same as if Sajocchi found out his Big Sis had brought her boyfriend home?]
[No, really?]
[Just tell us that it's the same thing...]
Someone, please take care of me soon, I'm going to go out for a while and read this atmosphere. Besides, I'm worried because Big Sis is surrounded by many handsome boys from the Student Council, but strangely she can't choose any of them to marry. I got 2nd place. And, 1st place went to... ...I won't say who, but it can't be the Disciplinary Committee President.
[Oh, I see, so Sajocchi couldn't understand it.]
[No, do you understand? Do you have delicacies or not?]
[I'm sorry.]
[I'm sulking, you know...]
In reality, I was being nice to Ichinose-san, even though I wanted to turn things around. I suddenly had a desire to protect her after hearing that story. Until then I felt like she was like, "What a disaster," but now I actively want to protect her. On the other hand, do I have any other choice than that? Is she psychologically like having an NTR? I have no choice but to side with her completely.
[But she's working part-time just because her Big Bro brought his girlfriend home... (Haha) That girl is so cute, huh?]
[Wait, this one isn't funny, you know?]
[Is that so? I think it would be good if she quit her part-time job and makeup with her Big Bro.]
[Even though she has seen the scene?]
[The scene... ...Eh? The scene? The scene... ...That kind of scene?]
[Th-The scene...]
I can imagine that they both blushed when they realized this... ...Fuhihi, I'm starting to realize that it's pointless. Don't worry, even though it's called "the scene", what Ichinose-san saw was indeed a very serious scene,—No, this one also has a very strong destructive power. I'm starting to hate Bear-san-senpai, even though he's not too guilty. If only I also had some kind of tolerance...! Weight!? Should I get fatter and bigger!?
[...Come to think of it, the reason she stayed until she was prostrate on the ground might have been because she was determined to break away from her Big Bro.]
[Yeah.]
[Aichi, if Ai-chan had such thoughts...]
[Stop it! Don't say that! I won't be able to live like this!]
[...I'm sorry, Sajocchi.]
[Why did you involve me in your words?]
The conscience of the siscon Natsukawa has started to be reaffirmed, so don't mention Airi-chan's name in vain. Please live in Natsukawa, because if not, I will die.
Anyway, what we can learn here is that it's hard to put ourselves in the same position as Ichinose-san even if we imagine it. I guess the point is that she loves her Big Bro, but I think the relationship between Natsukawa and Airi-chan will be different... ...I feel like Natsukawa is saying "I'll protect her!". Ichinose-san is more like she's saying... ..."
I want to be hugged by Big Bro and feel his warmth"? Hey, what are we talking about, a sibling pair that's been living together for a year and a half? They already live under the same roof. I feel like a fool because I can only be wrapped up in a futon.
I can say that... ...However, neither Natsukawa nor Ashida knows that Ichinose-san is the kouhai at my part-time job... ...so I think it'll be fine. Based on Ichinose-san's personality, it's unlikely that we'll all be in contact with each other even though we'll all gather in the same classroom at the beginning of the second term.
♦
I received friendly responses from Natsukawa and Ashida who told me, "Okay, be nice to her.". I guess I wasn't the only one who found this matter too complicated to handle. When I stated "Then, I've atoned for my sin against Natsukawa", Ashida said to me with a dissatisfied, "Eh?". She was just pretending to be angry when she was having fun, wasn't she...?
There wasn't much time left until summer vacation ended. The next day, I discussed the activity structure for the upcoming school days with Gramps and Ichinose-san. We agreed that Ichinose-san could continue with the work and it could be done after school and start during the after lunch shift.
"...Oh...!?"
"—Um."
"Th-... ...Thank you very much..."
"You don't have to lift those books as much as I do. I'm sure there's a difference in how much a man and a woman can do. It might take time, but we don't have many customers anyway. Take your time, take it easy."
"Oh..."
Books that had a best-seller stamp and received good reviews were placed in a special basket. This store didn't put three copies of the same book on the shelf, so they would be sent directly to the store run by Gramps' acquaintances. Surprisingly, there is a huge horizontal network of people in the same industry.
Ichinose-san packed the books exactly as I did, but they still seemed to be too heavy for her for the same amount as me. She swayed a few steps as she lifted the books. I had a premonition that it was going to happen and I immediately rushed to help her, but there was no need to overextend myself in an unnecessary situation.
"Here."
"O-Okay."
If the impression was reversed, she seemed to be getting prettier and cuter by the day. Maybe it was because she had a height difference from me and her appearance that made me want to protect her, but the way she followed what I was doing, and the way her mouth turned into a clear "Mmm." every time she lifted something heavy, really looked like an elementary schooler. I apologize for making it seem like I was doing my best.
However, this kind of girl, hmm...
I sigh every time I think about this. What are you doing, Big Bro? You can't make your cute little sis sad. You should do something good, Big Bro.
"Welcome...!"
"Oh, that's good."
I was getting used to raising my voice. When I expressed my impression next to her, she took a step back in embarrassment. Wow... ...what kind of feeling is this that makes me want to give her candy!? If this was Osaka, wouldn't we be bringing home a lot of candy just after traveling out of town? No, I'd rather give her a bigger piece of bread than candy and make her cheerful.
"U-Um..."
"Hmm?"
"H-Here is it,—"
"Oh, this is..."
Despite her ambition, she seems to have learned how to do things on her own. Even if Gramps or I teach her, there's still some negligence. Just ask me if you don't understand, and I'll answer you properly. Ichinose-san was even more motivated now that she was about to become the only part-time worker in this bookstore.
Even if it's something I don't understand in the classroom, at school, I can't ask about it. I can just proudly raise my hand and say, "Yeah, Sensei!" and if they ask, "What's wrong with you, Serious-chan?", and then I get laughed at, "That's funny (haha).", and I'm just a pathetic boy who only used to copy assignments. Thank you, Matsushita-kun, you helped me out back then.
Seriously though, that's what's fun about this part-time job. In the classroom, you can only do things that are as serious as usual and you think, "Eh? What are you doing seriously?" but it's a serious job, so it does require extra seriousness. For someone like me, I'd say, "I'm ready to go home" after half a day at a part-time job, but in this world, I think people who have seriousness in their hearts will value their time more at a part-time job than at school, right?
Yeah, maybe serious people wouldn't work part-time. They tend to look down on me and say things like "Why would a student whose main job is to study even try to make a living by working part-time?" I won't forgive you, Matsushita.
"Honestly, I was taught more about how to handle products and so on. Ichinose-san, you're very good, probably because you're an avid reader. I think it's good that you're so good at handling the products because I was a bit careless at first."
"I-Is that so...?"
"Yeah, I'm impressed."
Eh, I don't know why I naturally complimented her. That's it... ...The overwhelming vibe of Ichinose-san who looked like she was half an age younger than her generation overflowed from her. She's ten times worse than Sasaki-san. I'm sorry, you two. I don't think I should have met those two.
"...Fufu..."
"...!?"
Eh...!? What kind of amazing smile is that!? I guess this is the first time I've seen Ichinose-san looking more mature! Eh? What, does she feel happy because she's been praised by me? Is she smiling like that? She's really cute, you know!
"Ichinose-san, I think you should show your cute face more often... —Huh?"
"Eh?"
An awkwardness that I realized I had said out loud. It came out of my mouth, without me realizing it.
Eh, wait, what am I talking about? So, things that seem to have a dark background like that... ...are better left untouched. There must be a reason why her bangs are long enough to cover the entire area of her front face! And the other party here is a girl!
"Um...?"
"Oh! No! I mean, it's like this! Your face is really cute, so I was just wondering why you usually hide your face like that...!"
"...
It was indeed a desperate defense or rather a deception. I think her forehead is a bit wide, but when she grows up, she will have a nice anime-like face and it will be good material for cosplayers. I want to see it. I'm pretty sure I can't see it. But I think it's worth it...
Ichinose-san stroked the fringe of her bangs that she had pinned up and left open to the side with both hands as if she was a high school girl looking for a part-time job, then she plucked the bangs slowly and stroked them once more.
"I-Is that so...?"
"-...!"
Fugugu... ...she's so cute! What's with that gesture...? ...Her height difference from me is incredible... ...and she used to look at me when she talked to me normally, but now I'm the one looking at her. She was already posing while putting her hands on her head. The apron she wore for her part-time job has also turned into some kind of cosplay prop. But what kind of immoral feelings do I have just because I'm attracted to her, even though we're both classmates... ...Can I touch her forehead?
"Y-Yeah... ...That's right. Yeah."
"I see..."
Isn't this what I meant by her opening up? I already felt this even more when I was playing around with Ichinose-san. I'm sure we'll talk about a lot of deep things once the two of us get to know each other. I think it's indeed a big step forward that Ichinose-san's bangs could become a hot topic. Delicacies... ...Yeah, I do have delicacies. Maybe so, maybe so.
There might have been some initial discomfort, but I think we've gotten to the point where we can talk to each other during our part-time jobs. Every time I interact with her, I can feel that it's getting deeper every day, and little by little, I also feel that she's getting better at normal customer service. The fact that she feels embarrassed when female customers tell her she's pretty is proof that she's grown. A while ago, she would have been silent and I would have been speechless.
Sasaki-san, who came from time to time, was indeed very friendly to us. She gets along very well with Ichinose-san, probably because they have the same hobbies. I did still feel that there was a bit of one-sided friendliness from Sasaki-san, but Ichinose-san always responded appropriately. At first, their ages seemed to be reversed, but... ...for some reason, Ichinose-san seemed to start looking older than Sasaki-san.
As I sensed Ichinose-san's growth, I began to feel regret towards the old-fashioned interior of this second-hand bookstore, thinking that I would soon retire.
However, with summer vacation just days away, an incident occurred.
"Eh... ...Sajou-kun, are you here?"
"Eh, Ichinose-senpai...?"
There was a fan waiting for me in front of this second-hand bookstore as I was about to head home from my part-time job.
Author's Note: (Please sign this.)
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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