Episode 19: Miyuki-san’s Proposal
“S-sorry about earlier. My, um, my childhood friend caused you all so much trouble…”
After that, Maria walked out of the shop with the stiff, mechanical gait of a broken robot. Saijou-san was driving her home, so it’s probably fine, but I’m still worried.
Maria only acted that way because she was thinking of me. I probably ended up hurting her, didn’t I…
Even so, going home with her was never an option.
And honestly, I’m even a little proud of myself for that.
“There’s nothing for Ruri to apologize for. That girl showed up on her own, didn’t she?”
“W-well, that’s true, but…”
Sora-san doesn’t seem to like Maria very much. Well, Maria was being pretty aggressive toward her too, so I guess that’s understandable.
“Sora’s right. Though as far as the shop goes, having someone storm in like that is a problem.”
“S-sorry, Möbius-san. I don’t think she’ll come in like that again. She might still say all kinds of things to me, though…”
Maria can be pretty stubborn. There’s no way today’s one incident actually convinced her to accept me working at Sweet Stella.
But at her core, Maria’s a sensible person. I don’t think she’ll cause any more trouble for the shop.
It’s not like I need her approval to keep working here, but…
Still, I couldn’t help feeling weighed down. Maria and I have never once had a fight before.
I’m not even sure if what happened today counts as a “fight,” but there’s no denying that something between us didn’t line up right.
What if Maria ends up hating me? What if she’s just fed up with me now?
The anxiety kept swelling until just standing there started to hurt. Right as I was about to tear up and hang my head, Miyuki-san clapped her hands together sharply — pop!
“Hey, if you’re up for it, want to have a sleepover, all of us together? At Möbius-chan’s place!”
“My place, huh.”
“Well, it’s the closest! …Hey, Riri-chan. When you’re feeling sad, isn’t spending time together with everyone, keeping things lively, a nice way to get through it? We can talk as much as you want, and as your onee-san, maybe I can give you a little advice too.”
“Miyuki-san…”
The shift had ended, and then there’d been that whole conversation with Maria after.
There was still closing to finish up, and if we all took our time, Miyuki-san and Sora-san would definitely miss the last train.
That’s probably exactly why she suggested a “sleepover” — so she’d have the time to properly listen to everything I had to say.
“Oh, but you two have school starting tomorrow morning, so don’t push yourselves, okay?”
Miyuki-san added quickly, looking at me and Sora-san with a flustered expression.
It’s true tomorrow’s a Monday, and probably not the ideal schedule for a sleepover.
But I found myself answering before I could even think it through.
“I—I want to! A sleepover, all of us together!”
Whether we had the sleepover or not, I was clearly going to lie awake stewing over everything anyway.
So if that’s how it was going to be, I wanted to spend the time being lively together with everyone, just like Miyuki-san said.
An opportunity like a “sleepover” — that kind of real-life-enjoying, extroverted event — might never come around again if I let today slip by…!
“Yay, glad to hear it! Sora-chan, does the timing work for you?”
Miyuki-san tilted her head. Her hair swayed softly, and even after a full shift, it still smelled sweet.
“I’m fine with it too.”
“Really!? Yay. And Möbius-chan?”
“…You’d already decided I was in from the start, hadn’t you.”
“Fufu, well, yeah. Okay, Möbius-chan and I will finish closing up, so could you two go pick up some pizza?”
Miyuki-san looked up a nearby pizza place on her phone and even handed us the money for it.
“P-pizza, at a sleepover…!”
“Huh? Riri-chan, don’t tell me you don’t like pizza?”
“That’s not it at all. She’s just excited because it’s such a classic sleepover thing. Right, Ruri?”
“Y-yeah… m-maybe, without even realizing it, I’ve actually become a real-life-enjoying person…!”
A grin slipped out despite myself. Sora-san, looking exasperated, gave me a light smack on the back.
“Let’s get moving, Ruri. The shop’s closing up too.”
“Y-yes!”
I waved to Möbius-san and Miyuki-san, and Sora-san and I headed out together.
The streets of Akihabara were as familiar as ever, but somehow, tonight, they looked just a little more sparkling than usual.