She was still standing at the bus stop, holding a suitcase, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, looking slightly annoyed. Before I could approach her, two unfamiliar young men came up.
"Hey there, just moved to this area?"
"Need directions?"
Their tone seemed friendly, but their eyes said otherwise. Lucy took a step back, her voice cold.
"No thanks."
Despite her tough exterior, I could clearly see her wariness in her body language. One of the men let out a mocking laugh.
"Don't be shy, we know this area well."
Without hesitation, I stepped forward.
"Excuse me, she's with me."
The two men glanced at me, one of them clicking his tongue.
"Oh, a friend? We were just trying to help..."
"No need," I repeated Lucy's words, firmly. "Let's go."
Lucy didn't say anything, silently pulling her suitcase along as she followed me a few steps. We stopped by a bench, a bit farther away from the two men.
She took off her sunglasses, revealing her amber-colored eyes that shone with strength.
"Thanks. It's not that I can't handle it, it's just… I'm not in the mood to fight today."
I let out a soft laugh. "I know. I just thought I'd step in before things got any more annoying."
A brief silence followed. I looked at her. "By the way, are you here for a visit? Or waiting for someone?"
Lucy glanced at me, blinking.
"I live here now. Moved back today."
"On your own?" I asked.
She nodded, clearly not wanting to say much.
I glanced at the suitcase next to her and gently asked, "Are you waiting for someone?"
"Yeah. But it's pretty clear they've forgotten about me."
"Who's that?" I asked casually, as if I were just curious.
She looked at me, hesitating for a moment.
"Ren."
I nodded slowly, pretending to be surprised. "Ren, huh… What a coincidence, I'm in the same class as him."
She widened her eyes slightly and then furrowed her brows.
"So you know why he hasn't shown up?"
"I'm guessing he either overslept or got distracted by something." I smiled lightly. "Ren's the type to get caught up in random things."
She crossed her arms and clicked her tongue.
"Hmph, he really hasn't changed."
---
A little while later, as Lucy and I were still standing by the bus stop, Ren finally showed up.
Actually… "showed up" might be a bit too generous.
He staggered toward us, looking like he had just escaped from a wreck. His shirt was wrinkled like it had been crumpled into a ball, his hair a mess as if it had been blown by the wind all morning, and his face had a few smudges, like he had just rolled through a construction site. He looked like someone who had just survived a mild collision between a stray cat and a pile of household goods.
Lucy squinted at him, her face showing a mix of surprise and some confusion.
Ren, out of breath, bowed his head apologetically.
"Sorry... I'm late. I was helping Kaori move some boxes from the warehouse, then I slipped and dropped a bunch of them... and then I fell asleep."
I looked at his state and wasn't sure whether to laugh or sigh.
"You really know how to make an impression."
Lucy crossed her arms, her face deadpan.
"I can't say I'll ever forget this."
Ren turned to look at me, as if just noticing my presence.
"Oh, Hiro, thanks for…"
I nodded slightly, then turned to Lucy.
"By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Hiro Sasaki, a classmate of this guy."
Lucy looked at me, a bit surprised.
"I'm Lucy Infernia. Ren's childhood friend… from when we were very young."
"How young?" I asked, half-joking.
Ren cut in.
"About five or six years old. Then her family moved overseas."
Lucy nodded slightly, her eyes still suspiciously fixed on Ren.
"And it seems like everything here is still... chaotic as usual."
I smirked.
"You'll get used to it."
After chatting for a while, I decided it was time to take my leave.
"Alright, I'm going ahead. You two catch up."
I waved them off and walked in the opposite direction. Despite trying to act casual, Ren's words kept swirling in my head, help Kaori? I don't recall any event like that in the game, or at least… not at this time.
I opened the system and scrolled through the character data. Kaori's name quickly popped up, along with her address. Oh, it's quite close by.
I decided to pretend I was just passing by the area. If I was lucky, I might run into her. And sure enough, Kaori was standing outside her house, apparently sorting books into a large cardboard box.
I walked over, trying my best to act natural as I saw Kaori fiddling with the boxes on her porch, surrounded by piles of books.
"Are you organizing books?" I greeted, giving a slight bow.
Kaori looked up, surprised at first, but then nodded gently.
"Yeah... I'm just putting some old books back on the shelf. I borrowed a cart to bring them from the warehouse, but now I finally have time to sort them."
I glanced at the pile of books for a moment and casually remarked.
"No wonder I saw Ren this morning looking like he just escaped from a battle. Did you ask him for help?"
Kaori bit her lip, looking a bit guilty before nodding slightly.
"Yeah, I asked Ren to help bring these upstairs. But… I probably overestimated his strength."
I laughed, the image of Ren struggling with the heavy boxes now vividly playing in my mind.
"It's alright, his face at that moment was truly priceless. But I get it now."
Kaori smiled softly. Under the midday sunlight, her smile seemed both quiet and warm.
After saying goodbye to Kaori, I felt a bit aimless, unsure of what to do next. Today felt uneventful, but I didn't want to waste it either.
So I decided to wander a bit, turning into a nearby bookstore to see if I could find something interesting. Sometimes, random books could give me new ideas for writing in the club. Who knows, maybe I'd find a source of unexpected inspiration.
This bookstore was small but had a cozy atmosphere. The smell of fresh paper and ink made me feel at ease. I wandered through the shelves, glancing through books absentmindedly until a book in a small corner shelf caught my attention.
It was a romance novel, but something about the cover and the title made me stop and take a closer look.