「Do you enjoy reading?」

     「Mhm. You see, it takes me to all sorts of interesting worlds that could never be possible in reality.」

     I thought that being out together after school with Sorahashi-san like this was thoroughly impossible. The idea of being my classmate’s owner hadn’t even crossed my mind until now. In the first place, it would have been scary to think of such a thing.

     「I do enjoy myself each and every day, but once in a while, life ends up feeling rather dull. It’s no fun without any sort of incentives or hardship.」

     「I… see?」

     I supposed that when you were someone as as extraordinary as her, things could end up that way. It wasn’t anything that I had experience with, though.

     「…Hm, this looks interesting. I’m gonna buy it.」

     「You’re quick to decide.」

     「These sorts of encounters are once-in-a-lifetime. If a book strikes your fancy, it’s best to buy it immediately.」

     A fitting statement.

     As to what exactly it fit, I wasn’t exactly sure myself.

     「You should buy something too, Kurumi. I want to know what genres you like.」

     「Hmm… I don’t read much.」

     「I see. Then I’ll consider this a wonderful opportunity!」

     She grinned. How positive, I thought to myself.

     Encouraged by her cheerfulness, I walked through the store. However, I couldn’t quite find something I liked. Even as I gazed at all the covers and read through the synopses, nothing caught my eye. Not even a single magazine turned my head.

     It pained me to see her expectant gaze, so curious about what I would buy.

     Because she had brought me somewhere she loved, I wanted to share with her something that I liked. Come to think of it, though, I didn’t really have anything I liked enough to want to share with others. I enjoyed cooking, but rather than the act of making food itself, I liked to watch people eat the food that I had cooked.

     It would be nice to, like Sorahashi-san, have something I could proudly declare my love for.

     Just as I let out a sigh, my gaze fell onto the picture books section.

     I found a work that stirred my nostalgia and picked it up without a thought.

     「Ah, a picture book. Do you like these?」

     「Yeah, I do.」

     Her eyes widened upon hearing my words.

     I was astonished as well.

     I didn’t think picture books were that special to me, but surprisingly, I was able to immediately assert that.

     「…I see. Kurumi, your expression looks so gentle. Might you be thinking of Mizuki-chan?」

     I gave a small nod.

     「She used to cry whenever she got lonely. Reading picture books to her would get her to stop, and that would make me really happy. We might even still have this book laying around somewhere.」

     Where’d we store all our old picture books, again?

     As I thought that, a hand reached over from the side and snatched the picture book from my grasp.

     「We’re already here, so you might as well buy it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll discover something new about it.」

     My eyes widened a little, and then I laughed.

     「Yeah. If I read it now, I might notice things I’d never noticed before. I’ll get it.」

     I laughed, and in response, so did she.

     That alone made me happy.

     After, we made one more trip around the store, but we didn’t find anything particularly of interest. While we were waiting in line to pay, I looked at the book she chose. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be one of those romance novels that were popular these days.

     Seeming to notice my gaze, she began to stare at me.

     「Is something the matter?」

     「Nope. Just saw that that was a romance novel.」

     「I seldom read these. Just grabbed it on a whim. I’ve never fallen in love, you see, so the genre isn’t very moving to me, but… perhaps now, I might be able to enjoy it.」

     「Does that mean…」

     She gave me a meaningful smile and then brought her book up to the register.

     I didn’t think she had any reason to like me like that. I’m sure that’s what she wanted to convey with that smile.

     And I wasn’t the type to be simple enough to have my heart race over such a thing.

     She was certainly a strange one. I’d known that from the moment that she had asked me to become her owner.

     …But, well, you know.

     I tried to give her money for the picture book as she returned from the register, but she refused it. I felt that it would be a bad idea to push the issue so I let it be, but it got a little awkward.

     The cold bit into my body when I left the bookstore. I was wearing a coat, but I was unprotected from the neck up. The cold wind made my nose sting a little. It had stopped bleeding by now, but it still kinda hurt. I felt a little weak because it had been a while since I’d gotten hurt badly enough to bleed.

     Even through the cold, Sorahashi-san continued to stride with her usual confidence.

     It was already quite late, but she seemed to have no intentions of leaving yet. It seemed as if she was telling me to follow her.

     The city shimmered at this time of the year.

     Brightened by both the illuminations and the expressions on peoples’ faces, Christmas was truly a special, exciting time for everyone. I personally had no interest in it, perhaps because it overlapped with my birthday. I sometimes received birthday presents, but I’d rarely ever gotten any for Christmas.

     I’d been so busy picking out Christmas presents for Mizuki these past few years that I’d forgotten even my own birthday.

     「Hey, Kurumi.」

     She suddenly turned around.

     The illuminations were so bright that it hurt. The countless electric lights strung up on the tree-lined streets turned the night into day.

     All sorts of people that came to see these illuminations passed by us.

     「I’m glad that I was able to learn about something you like today!」

     She said, putting up an innocent smile.

     That smile captivated my gaze. There was still so much I didn’t understand. She was the strange sort of person that could ask a classmate she was barely acquainted with to become her owner.  Even so, that smile was so beautiful — so cute — that I couldn’t help but smile as well.

     「Yeah, me too… I was happy to learn more about your interests.」

     「In that case, I’ll tell you even more!」

     「Huh? Ah…!」

     I felt a touch.

     Her hand was in mine. It was cool and smooth, and it made me nervous. I didn’t usually hold hands with others. Regardless, when she pulled me along, I had no choice but to advance.

     Her body moved forward with a naturalness to it. With a lightness in her step, she weaved her way between the gaps in the crowd. Her loafers loudly resounded against the ground, filling my ears with the sound of the extraordinary. I somehow felt that the day would never come when her figure — her sound — would become part of the ordinary everyday. After all, she was much too beautiful to be a part of everyday life. I’m sure that was true of her no matter who was concerned.

     Her golden hair was dazzling.

     Whether this relationship would continue on or gradually become just a normal friendship, the current me had no way of telling.

     「Hey, look! It’s a Christmas market! It says it’s open even on weekdays. Let’s go check it out!」

     「…Haha, of course. But it’s dangerous to move so fast, so let’s take it slow.」

     I’d never thought that the worlds she and I lived in would intersect, but they had now begun to slightly overlap. Before I knew it, I had begun to talk with her naturally.

     There were many different shops among the illuminations.

     I’m sure there were many places like this at home, where people gathered each year. I just didn’t know about them. Looking at her made me realize that the world I lived in was quite small. To live in ignorance wasn’t all that bad, though.

     「When I’m of age, I want to drink mulled wine somewhere just like this.」

     「Wine, huh. That might suit you, Sorahashi-san.」

     「As for you, Kurumi… I think a Cassis Orange would be quite fitting!」

     「What sort of image are you thinking up, exactly?」

     「Well, rather than an image, it’s just because you’re cute!」

     The word “cute” had a mysterious feeling to it. It plunged directly from my ears into my soul, making my heart pound. I had no clue if the heart was where the soul was, though.

     「Wait, they have hot chocolate here! Let’s drink some!」

     「Sure thing.」

     We got into line together and bought ourselves some hot chocolate. This time, I had to stop her from paying for me. I wasn’t very good with paying for or being paid for by others — especially when the other in question was Sorahashi-san.

     We drank our hot chocolate in the square just beyond the market.

     「Ah, just a moment. Let’s take a picture together to remember today.」

     「Sure, I guess…」

     She put her arm around my shoulder and took a bunch of pictures.

     There really was a sort of cultural difference between us.

     My group of friends didn’t usually do things like take pictures of our food or group photos together. It’s not like I was camera shy. It just wasn’t a routine occurrence for us.

     Yume always wants to take pictures of us together, though.

     I gently put the cup up to my mouth.

     It was a little hot but it tasted good, with a sweet taste and nice aroma. It was my first time drinking hot chocolate, but I could taste the spirit of Christmas in it. If you asked me to more specifically describe the flavor, though, I wouldn’t be able to answer.

     「Ack—」

     An unfamiliar tone resounded.

     I instinctively looked over to it and saw Sorahashi-san with her tongue sticking out.

     It was as vibrantly red as usual.

     「You okay?」

     「It’s so hot. My tongue is quite sensitive, so I need to let this cool down a little.」

     I was surprised at this unexpected information.

     It was kind of amusing, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Sorahashi-san began frowning in disapproval — a rare expression for her.

     「…Don’t you think it’s improper to laugh at someone’s physical shortcomings?」

     「Sorry. But for someone who wants to be a dog to have a tongue like a cat’s^[1]… Ahaha!」

     「Kurumi, might it be that your sense of humor is quite shallow?」

     「No clue, but… Hehe. That’s so cute.」

     「…Ugh.」

     I blew on the drink a bit and then took a sip. It was still pretty hot, but more manageable compared to before.

     「Here you go. I’ve already drank from it, but it’s cooled down a bit. You should be able to have it now.」

     「Ah- Uh- Of course. …Thank you.」

     I wasn’t unfamiliar with letting my friends try my drinks. Yume was a “grass is greener” type of person, so she always wanted a bit of what I was eating and drinking. I’d also always shared with Mizuki. Because of them, I had no problem with sharing food and drinks with others.

     「…Delicious.」

     「Right? It’s my first time having hot chocolate, but I didn’t think it would be this good.」

     Now that I thought about it, the reason the tea she served me the other day was lukewarm was probably because of her sensitive tongue. Learning about this surprising weakness of hers made me feel a bit closer to her. Did I have any weak points like that? I didn’t think so.

     「No, that’s not…」

     She began to say something and then stopped in the middle. It was rare for her to be this direct with her words. My eyes widened.

     「Yeah, this is great. …It’s nice and warm.」

     「Yeah.」

     The conversation paused. Accompanied by my warm drink, though, I didn’t particularly mind the silence. I idly gazed at the illuminations and let my ears fill with the joyous voices of all the people around us. Just hearing them brought their happiness over to me.

     「I quite enjoy these sorts of illuminations. They’re pretty, fun to observe, and set the atmosphere nicely.」

     「I see. It’s my first time seeing them, but I think I might like them too.」

     「I’m glad that you’re able to enjoy what I like.」

     She laughed softly.

     It felt almost as if the sugary scent of chocolate was emanating from her. She had such a cute and sweet smile.

     「Hey, Kurumi. I’m sure I’ll come to enjoy picture books as well.」

     「Why?」

     「Because you like them.」

     For a moment, my breath halted. How was it possible for her to be this beautiful? We were in the same class, but despite that, I could hardly believe we both were human. And yet here we were, shoulder to shoulder and drinking the same drink.

     I put the cup I had exchanged with her up to my mouth. It was still a little hot.

     「…I see.」

     「Hey, hey. Can I hold your hand again?」

     「Sure, but… make sure not to spill your drink, okay?」

     「I’m not that childish.」

     She was grinning like a child who was enjoying herself too much. I couldn’t help but giggle in response.

     Just from today’s events, I thought I’d gotten quite a bit closer with Sorahashi-san.

     There was still plenty I didn’t understand, though. Like how she knew Mizuki’s name, or why exactly she chose me.

     I thought she’d been strangely nice to me from the beginning, but maybe she was just like that with everyone.

     Sipping on hot drinks with our chilly hands entwined with each other.

     It was my first time doing something like that, so I was a bit restless and excited. Even so, I just couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

---

^[1] A common Japanese idiom that describes someone who is sensitive to foods and drinks that are high in temperature.

---

< Previous Part | Next Part >