Most likely, it is nothing more than a phantom from days gone by.

“Hey, senpai.”

“…”

“Senpai~~”

Sitting in the corner, Tsukimi Jinguuji put down his book and glanced over at the girl behind the register. She was so petite that he could only see her forehead, shining as if it were made of brand-new glass.

“What is it?”

“I’m super bored.”

“What about the book I gave you earlier?”

“I read two pages and got sleepy.”

“You never fail to live up to my expectations.”

“Huh? Really? Hehehe… It’s a bit embarrassing to be praised by you, senpai.”

“…”

Restless from boredom, the girl stepped out from behind the register and inexplicably began doing calisthenics in the store. Only because of her small frame could she stretch her limbs without bumping into the bookshelves.

Suddenly, something occurred to Tsukimi, and he asked, “Why did you decide to take this part-time job, anyway?”

“Well… I didn’t have anything else to do, and besides, I get paid.”

“Don’t you also have student council duties?”

“I live with Kyo-chan, so after going home, helping out with the shop isn’t a big deal. Kyo-chan always looks after me, so I want to help her too.”

Tsukimi thought about it for a moment and said no more.

“What about you, senpai? It seems like you stopped taking shifts because of the student council and can’t work together with us?”

“I can’t stay out too late. If I finish with the student council and then come to work, I wouldn’t get home until after eight.”

“Well, for a high schooler, that is pretty late… but doing it occasionally should be fine, right?”

Tsukimi’s hand paused as he turned the page, memories surfacing, but he spoke calmly: “…My mother would worry.”

“Huh? Just because of that?”

“It’s an important reason for me.”

“Didn’t expect that. Are you a mama’s boy, senpai? Pffft—that’s hilarious.”

He shot her a sidelong glance, and You Yagami quickly covered her mouth, falling silent.

Tsukimi Jinguuji sighed helplessly to himself, wondering if there was any point in arguing with her.

“My mom is always worrying, and my dad’s away on business overseas. I just want to have dinner with her every night.”

You Yagami, still with her hand over her mouth, looked at him with wide eyes, nodding as if she understood.

“I guess I’m similar. Back home, the whole family was always together, lively and noisy. My younger siblings are a handful, but they’re adorable.”

“That’s surprising. You’re the eldest?”

“Yup! I have a younger brother and sister—they’re twins!—and also an older brother.”

“‘And also’?”

“My nerdy big brother prefers being ignored. For him, it’s more like a reward.”

“I’m afraid I can’t relate.”

In any case, Tsukimi had little interest in further details about the Yagami family.

“Are you an only child, senpai?”

He paused briefly and gave a soft “Mm.”

“Well… more or less.”

“It’s either yes or no. No wonder the student council president says you always use fancy words no one needs.”

Seeing Tsukimi fall silent, You Yagami scratched her head awkwardly and, after some thought, said,

“Um, if I ever say anything weird, please correct me immediately, senpai. Otherwise, I’ll just keep making the same mistakes.”

Tsukimi looked at her quizzically.

“When I was in junior high, people often told me I couldn’t read the room, that I’d unintentionally bring up things others didn’t want to talk about.

“It’s so hard to gauge the distance between people. I talk a lot by nature, and while I want to fix that, I don’t want to become fake, either.

“So if I say something wrong, please call me out right away, even if you have to scold me loudly.

“If I ever found out you were talking about me behind my back, I might just become a shut-in who refuses to go to school.”

The little creature before him, for once, wore a serious expression. Clearly, she truly cared about this, genuinely afraid her words might upset others, terrified of whispers from all sides.

Tsukimi thought, for someone who seems so carefree to reveal such a deep feeling, she must have a past she can’t bear to speak of.

Adolescents like them, more often than not, each carry their own burdens, large or small, and grow up little by little without even realizing it.

And those worries slowly become permanent weights, following them wherever they go.

Tsukimi shook his head. “I’m not so petty that I’d get hung up on your ‘episodes,’ you know.”

“Episodes? Are you saying I’m having an episode? I’m getting mad, you know!”

He ignored her. At that moment, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Kudo of the drama club.

After a moment’s thought, he said to the girl, “Yagami, bring me that copy of ‘Wanderer,’ the second volume, yes, it’s in the left drawer.”

“Oh, so senpai likes light novels after all. Typical high school boy.”

She seemed quite pleased with herself, skipping happily toward him.

However, her long, dark green tunic clearly wasn’t made for such energetic moves.

Just as she was about to reach him, her right foot inevitably caught on the hem of her work apron. Before she even hit the ground, she let out a yelp and crashed straight into his arms.

Tsukimi took the full brunt of Yagami’s headbutt to his chest—not that it hurt much, but it certainly wasn’t pleasant.

If he hadn’t been worried about her hitting her head on the floor, he could easily have dodged.

Looking down at Yagami sprawled across him, he rapped her lightly on the head and said irritably, “Can’t you be more careful?”

“Hehe, sorry, sorry. Senpai’s stomach is actually really comfortable.”

Yagami rubbed her head sheepishly and braced herself on his knee, preparing to get up.

Ding-a-ling—

Tsukimi thought, fate really does love to play tricks on people.

And by people, he meant himself.

Or perhaps, someone somewhere was arranging the course of his life.

If not, he couldn’t imagine why this girl—Sakura Sazakura, his childhood friend, his first love—always managed to appear at the most inopportune moments.

So, from Sakura Sazakura’s perspective, she arrived with homemade treats, delighted to visit the boy working his part-time shift.

But the moment she opened the door, what she saw was a petite girl kneeling between her childhood friend’s knees on the floor.

No matter how one looked at it, it didn’t seem like anything innocent was going on.