First impression? - 34

The night before the bank in the black market was robbed.

"You seem to be in trouble."

"...No, I'm not in trouble. It's just that there was a slight error in the calculations. The Abydos kids were just much stronger than the data."

"...There's nothing wrong with the data."

Two people are conversing in the darkness.

"That said, I recently discovered a rather interesting trace, so I'll be going now."

"..."

One person left, and the remaining person watched their back.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

I'm not sleepy today.

I slept really well last night, so I'm happy.

When I woke up in the morning, I even felt like the coziness of the bedding had increased.

The cat doll is still soft and fluffy.

I kind of don't want to get out of bed.

Do I really need to go outside?

Yeah... If I just stay like this... I can live here forever...

Ring-!

-Nito, we have something to do together at Abydos High School today, so when are you coming?

8:45 AM

Ah...

I don't want to get up...

-I want to rest today...

8:51 AM

An unimaginable level of laziness is tying me to the bed.

-Okay... I understand.

8:52 AM

I finally got to enjoy my freedom alone.

I couldn't be happier that I didn't have to go outside.

But that thought eventually disappeared.

At first, it was so cozy and nice.

The cat doll next to me was so cute that I couldn't help but smile just looking at it.

The pillow and blanket provided optimal comfort.

The pajamas delivered a happy comfort to me.

But... I can't sleep, so... I'm bored.

So I got up.

With the mindset of doing something, I finally got out of bed.

Freed from the bed's restraint, I headed to the kitchen.

I should eat something.

With that thought, I opened the refrigerator,

Thunk-

and immediately closed it because there were only cucumbers.

I still haven't gone grocery shopping.

I don't want to go outside...

Hmm...

Yeah, the weather's nice, so why not go out?

I can't avoid using the refrigerator forever, right?

So I went outside to go grocery shopping, but I forgot one thing.

Where do I buy groceries?

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

Hello!

I'm Sora, and I work part-time at a convenience store in Schale.

We have a lot of different customers at our convenience store.

First is Sensei!

He always comes in with a tired-looking face and buys an energy supplement.

Sometimes he comes in with a smile, and when I ask him what's up, he says he's feeling lucky today.

And there are other customers, various students!

There's a student who likes mint an awful lot, a student who always buys caffeinated drinks, and a student who occasionally comes in to buy cat treats!

The one who buys cat treats looked scary at first, so I was really nervous, but later she told me that's just how her face is, so I shouldn't worry about it.

Ah!

There's one more person!

"Welcome, Nito!"

"Hi..."

It's a student named Nito!

When I first met her, she would always run away whenever I tried to talk to her, so I always failed to have a conversation with her...

Back then, she always came in with her body hunched as low as possible, so sometimes when I was spacing out, I didn't even realize she had come in.

I felt bad that she always looked so withdrawn, so I tried to help her, but she always ran away when I talked to her...

Then one day, when Nito came in with Sensei,

unlike usual, she walked in normally, like other students, confidently, and for the first time, she answered me.

I still can't forget the happiness I felt at that moment.

"Are you looking for something?"

"Yeah, it's-"

I hope I can become closer to Nito in the future!

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

I ended up buying from the convenience store.

The option to use my phone to find a map?

It's ridiculous, but my phone only has Momotalk and calls, no other apps, so I have to access the internet separately.

So I gave up because it was too much trouble.

This... is a phone?

Well, whatever.

Now I need to think about what to do when I get home.

Then something caught my eye.

It was an electronics store.

I went right in and bought the latest game console.

I should have one of these...!

I'm already excited just thinking about playing games at home.

When I got home, I turned on the game console.

The genre of the game I bought to play is... RPG!

I'll spend today healing by playing RPG games!

Beep-

But just as I was about to start the game,

Ding-dong-

Someone rang my doorbell.

Who is it...?

No one should be coming.

Sensei is with the Abydos Countermeasure Committee, and my Millennium friends are still at school.

Ding-dong-

I should see who it is.

"Yes~ I'm coming~."

Thunk-

When I opened the door, I saw,

"Ah, hello."

"Eek?!"

Slam-!

It was Black Suit.

Why is that guy here!

I put the door chain on and opened the door again.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Hmm, isn't this the first time we've met? Why are you talking as if you know me?"

"..."

I made a mistake.

"Well, that doesn't matter. I didn't come here with a specific purpose today."

"Th-then why..."

Black Suit paused and remained silent.

The cracks on what was too bizarre to be called a face gleamed.

...Seeing it in person is incredibly terrifying.

"If you are indeed the owner of that trace, then we are one step closer to discovering what we have been searching for all this time."

What does that mean...

"You look like you don't understand. Well, you will find out soon enough. Then, good luck."

Black Suit left.

I closed the door again and went back inside.

The expression of Nito in the mirror looks anxious.

...I'm done with healing.