Naruhito (73)
We’re going shopping.
Once the date was set, I couldn’t stop feeling restless. I kept opening my bag, even though I’d already checked it countless times since yesterday. Inside my wallet, I had 300 yen—two 100 coins and ten 10 coins. It was money I’d earned from working.
During study time, I even practiced shopping. Aoba would say, "Welcome," and I would hand over the candy I wanted, saying, "I’ll take this, please." Then, she’d say, "That’ll be 10 coins," and I’d hand over the 10 coin. After that, I could take the candy and go home.
Okay.
I went over the process in my head again and again.
"Calm down."
Hiiro, chuckling, tugged my arm and pulled me into his lap, sitting cross-legged. Being held so tightly made me happy, but I couldn’t sit still.
"You’ll wear yourself out before we even go."
A kiss landed softly on my lips, making me so happy that I calmed down a little.
There was a knock on the door, followed by Hitachimaru's voice saying, "We’re leaving." I had planned to go with Rikimaru, but at some point, Otoha and Shizuku had decided to join us as well. I was excited. Hiiro said,
"I’ll always go out with you."
That made me happy. If Otoha and Hiiro were going, of course Hitachimaru would come along too.
When we arrived at the candy shop, it wasn’t very big, but it was packed with snacks. Everything was unfamiliar. Just the variety of candies alone was overwhelming. If I tried to look at each one, I’d be here until sunset. There were small square candies, large round ones, and apparently, different colors meant different flavors. There were tiny candies on sticks, and even big ones that cost 100 coins each. It wasn’t just candy; there were also things like rice crackers in bags, and small white round snacks in bulk.
"Those are ramune (tablet candy). They’re a little sour, but tasty. At first, they’re hard, but they dissolve in your mouth, so you’ll be fine, Naruhito."
Rikimaru explained to me. I had planned to buy candy, but now I was curious about ramune. What does "sour" taste like? It’s 50 coins, which is a bit expensive, but I think I’ll try one. Plus, the container is cute. The ramune comes in a hard, adorable container, not a bag. Now, which candy should I get? I want to try the lollipop. It comes in a bag, and you eat it by dipping it in powder. It costs 30 coins. Is that expensive? I still have enough. I also want my usual round candy.
As I hummed and pondered, I thought too hard and got a little dizzy. Without picking any snacks, Hiiro, who was beside me, caught me.
"That’s why I told you to calm down."
Hiiro chuckled softly.
What do you think about this chapter?
