3.1

Mii-chan and I reached the convenience store almost immediately.

I was about to enter the store first, but Mii-chan pulled on my sleeve.

"Could you wait a bit…? It seems there are other students around as well."

"You want to wait until no one is around?"

"It's unlikely, but the person who helped me might be here."

"I see."

Those were delicate words, typical of Mii-chan. It would only be right to consider them.

Even though a lot of students visited the convenience store on weekends, they usually stayed for a short period of time.

After waiting for a while, the store was empty in a flash.

"Shall we go in?"

"Y-Yes!"

If we idle around, the next customer will arrive.

We quickly walked into the store.

"Welcome—Ah."

The employee was a woman in her 20's, someone I had seen often lately.

Seeing Mii-chan, she stopped mid-sentence but continued with a smile.

"Welcome."

"Hello. Um, I'm sorry for running away the other day!"

As she quickly bowed, the lady staff smiled kindly.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm not bothered at all. It must have been scary, right?"

It seemed like she understood her inner turmoil, and Mii-chan nodded several times.

"Did your boyfriend encourage you to come here?"

"Eh?"

Mii-chan, looking up, was puzzled.

"What a cool boyfriend, I'm jealous."

"Eh, eh, eh? M-my boyfriend?"

"That's Ayanokōji-kun… right?"

"Why do you know my name?"

"Well, we use student cards for store transactions, so I ended up remembering the names of some students."

Indeed, we used a student card, containing a name and photo, for checkout.

Since I shopped here several times, it wouldn't be surprising that they remembered me.

"Also—you were shopping arm in arm with a different student, weren't you? The other day… Ah!?"

"Your reaction seems to indicate that you've noticed something, but your assumption is wrong. She's my friend."

When I pointed at Mii-chan and answered, Mii-chan also nodded affirmatively.

"Oh, so that's it. But there might be a chan—"

"There isn't!!"

For the first time, Mii-chan strongly denied it.

I didn't have any romantic feelings for her, but why did I feel a bit dejected?

Mii-chan, who likes Yōsuke, definitely wouldn't want her to misunderstand.

"So, um, the person I was looking for..."

"Ah, yeah. Should I tell you? Is that okay?"

The store clerk confirmed kindly out of consideration for Mii-chan's feelings.

"Yes. I came for that reason."

"I see. I'll tell you then."

After taking a breath, the clerk revealed the person Mii-chan had been searching for.

"The previous shift leader didn't remember his name, but he was very distinctive, so when I heard about him, it rang a bell. Someone from your class, Kōenji... um, Rokusuke-kun, I guess. He seemed to be the one that bought the items that matched what you brought in."

"Huh...?"

The name of the person who gave the gift—a fact she longed to discover.

It was Kōenji, of all people?

Why Kōenji?

Mii-chan next to me was undoubtedly surprised, or rather, flabbergasted.

An unexpected name. Too unexpected.

...Or maybe it wasn't as surprising as I first thought?

Kōenji and Mii-chan had little contact together.

But there were times when I saw Kōenji taking a relatively warm attitude towards Mii-chan.

That on its own wouldn't seem significant, however, the person in question was Kōenji.

"He… Was it really Kōenji-kun?"

The clerk nodded without a doubt to her drained question.

"The shift leader remembered him as a long-haired, blond boy. He was always acting high and mighty, even losing himself in the reflection of the convenience store glass, or setting his hair with a hand mirror. And… The list goes on and on, but this is Kōenji-kun, right? I've seen him act that way too."

That was definitely Kōenji.

No one else like him exists at our school, not at this moment.

And probably never will.

"There seems to be no mistake."

"Yeah, even the contents of the gift are like Kōenji. It makes sense now."

"Yes..."

She couldn't fully take in the situation, but she had no choice but to accept it.

She thanked the clerk and left the convenience store.

Mii-chan was still in a daze after leaving. She seemed stuck in her thoughts.

"Kōenji-kun...? Why?"

"I have no idea. In a way, it was the person whose motives would be the least clear."

"What should I do…?"

 Is she wondering about how to thank him, or is she at a loss because it's Kōenji?

"But maybe with Kōenji, you can ignore him and not thank him?"

"Eh, what!? No, I can't!"

"But why?"

"Well... He's our classmate, and he also spent a considerable amount of money on the gifts."

Kōenji might've held a huge amount of Private Points, but money was still money.

Mii-chan, being so dutiful, couldn't ignore that.

"I'm thinking of buying a thank-you gift. Should it be roughly equivalent to what was spent on the gifts?"

"That's too much. I think half would do."

It was a gift of goodwill after all, as long as the sentiment of gratitude was conveyed, that should be enough.

"O-Okay, got it. I'll do that."

"Then all that's left is to do your best in thanking him properly."

I was about to say goodbye and start walking alone when—

"Would you come with me?"

"Pardon?"

"To… Kōenji-kun's place."

"Asking why would be a bit too much. But it would be strange for me to be there, wouldn't it?"

While I wanted to support the timid Mii-chan, it did feel a bit out of place.

Moreover, I didn't know why Kōenji decided to help in the first place.

"What if your assumption is correct? No matter how much you say that you're dating Kei, he might have thoughts if he sees a guy accompanying the girl he likes."

"But the person in question is Kōenji-kun, right?"

"Even Kōenji is a normal high school boy... No, he's not exactly normal, is he…"

If my presence would disturb him, that would be something I'd like to see.

"Well then, let's go together for now. Depending on the situation, I might leave after seeing Kōenji. I hope you understand."

The possibility of him being uncomfortable because of my presence was very real.

"I understand. Thank you."

Seemingly unable to ask for more, Mii-chan readily agreed.

"When should we go?"

After I asked her, Mii-chan pulled out her mobile phone and opened the calendar.

Perhaps she was feeling uneasy, occasionally lightly touching the hair tie in her left hand.

"It's sudden, but would it be alright if we go early tomorrow? If we wait too long, I might have trouble sleeping..."

It would be cruel to let her stay up all night with her mind filled with thoughts of Kōenji.

I have a date with Kei tomorrow morning, but it should work out if we adjust our schedule.

"Thank you for today. We'll be meeting again tomorrow, but for now, please have my most heartfelt thanks."

With that, she bowed her head deeply.

She wanted to express her gratitude again once everything was resolved, but I had already refused.