Chapter 12: The Second Girl

Four years later, we were now fifth graders—around the time English started popping up in our classes.

"...Ugh."

I clutched my head in despair.

"A game cartridge costs about ¥5,000. My allowance is ¥500 a week. I earn ¥50 per chore, and right now I’m doing one a day, so that’s ¥350 a week... which means ¥2,000 a month..."

That’s right—there was a game I desperately wanted. And it was expensive. Why were games aimed at kids so ridiculously priced?

"Hrmmm... Maybe I can negotiate a raise. But that’d require scoring at least 95% on a 50-question kanji test... Ugh..."

I could just whine to Towa about it—but...

"I can’t keep relying on her forever."

Towa would probably brainstorm the perfect study plan for me and cheer me on. But that’d just mean burdening her again.

"...Wait."

A new idea flickered in my mind. For all my fretting over games, I’d never properly repaid Towa for everything.

"Yeah... but, uh..."

I wandered aimlessly, mulling over what would make Towa happiest—when something suddenly collided with me.

"Eep!?"

"Whoa!?"

Crash! Whatever the other person had been holding was scattered across the sidewalk.

"S-S-S-Sorry~!!"

"N-No, my bad! Here, let me help."

The girl I’d bumped into looked about my age—your stereotypical "ordinary" type, with braided hair and glasses. She’d set down her backpack and was frantically gathering the spilled books into what I assumed was their original paper bag.

...Huh? These books...

"U-U-Um! P-Please don’t look at them~!!"

"O-Oh! Right, sorry!"

I averted my eyes from the covers and shoved them into the bag. This, plus the one she’d just picked up, should be the last of them.

"T-Thank you so much~!"

"Nah, I wasn’t watching where I was going."

"Ahaha... Well then!"

"Yeah."

Man, helping someone out really lifts your mood.

"—Wait, no! That’s not the point!"

Not that it wasn’t nice, but first—I needed to focus on repaying Towa. With that, I sprinted home.

"……Huh?"

A strange sensation—like a whisper in the back of my mind.

"What was that?"

This feeling... I've felt it before.

Almost as if something was moving behind the scenes, in places I couldn't see.

Suddenly, the phone in the hallway rang—brrrring!

"Hello, Edogawa residence."

"Ah, Towa-chan?"

"Yui? What's up?"

"Well, it’s not like anything’s wrong, but... I just had this weird sense of déjà vu."

"...So you felt it too."

"Eh?! You too?!"

"Yeah. This sensation... I’m sure I’ve experienced it before."

When, though? Sometime in the past two or three years...

"...Ah."

"What is it?"

"No, it’s just—thinking about you made me remember."

"Me?!"

"Yeah. This feeling—"

—was the moment the second heroine, Aizono Manami, entered Yūki's life.

"Aizono Manami... Why did I forget about her? No, I do remember. It's just that the possibility never came up—like onions melted into curry."

"Yeah, probably part of the memory tampering. Also, I’m starving. Here, have a salt candy."

"Wow! The kind that tastes like mitarashi dango! And Manami was in Class 3 with us, right? rustle rustle."

"Either way, lunch break’s our best shot. Though she might come to us first."

"flip flip Next class is... flip flip social studies? Perfect for a nap. flip flip."

"At least pretend to listen..."

"Don’t underestimate me just because I spent middle school binging historical manga, hunting for romance subplots between warlords and princesses... flip flip."

"Wait, that’s new info—"

Then, at the edge of my vision—Manami walking down the hall. Her eyes locked onto Yui, not me.

"Hah~ Alright! Um, Shizue Yui-san, right? I need to talk. Lunch break?"

"Crunch crunch... Gulp. Sure. We actually wanted to talk to you too."

"Huh? No, I only need you—"

"Bingo."

"Eh?"

That confirmed it—Aizono Manami was a reincarnator.

"It’s fine. She’s from the same ‘hometown’ as us."Yui tugged at my hoodie as I waved with a grin.

"Nice to meet ya~."

Manami’s reaction was still stiff, like she hadn’t fully processed things.

"Relax. I just wanna chat about normal romance stuff with you."

"...!"

There—she gets it now. The lunch bell’s about to ring anyway, so we wrapped up the secret meetup plans.