Chapter 98: A Stroll with Suzu

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Translator: Soafp

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It was just before 10 a.m., and Suzu was fiddling with her wavy brown hair while tapping on her smartphone in front of the fountain near the station. She was dressed rather revealingly in a sleeveless top and a denim skirt, but she wore it with confidence.

“Ah, Suzu! Sorry to keep you waiting!”

At the sound of Sora's voice from the side, Suzu looked up.

“Nah, not at a——ll…”

“What’s wrong? Oh no, is my outfit weird?”

Sora was wearing a sheer, light blue shirt over a tank top and bright yellow tapered pants. On her head was a gray summer casquette.

Lately, Sora had been able to dress more femininely. She bought this outfit online, but the problem for Suzu was that the inner tank top showed clearly through the sheer shirt, highlighting the well-defined lines of her body—especially her prominently full chest.

“…You’ve got a C-cup, right? Back in middle school, I had the bigger ones… Pride… environment differences…”

“Ah, yeah. You're really good at guessing sizes. They suddenly grew after we started high school. It was so uncomfortable binding them down when I was dressing like a guy. But now I can wear loose bras, and it's so much more comfortable.”

“Sora-chi, let me touch them later.”

“No way! Your eyes are scary, Suzu!”

Suzu wiggled her fingers threateningly, and Sora shielded her chest defensively.

“Well, anyway, let's go! There's a bunch of shops I wanna stop by with you, Sora-chi. We'll hit a few and do some good old-fashioned girl talk.”

“Sounds fun! But if there's a big crowd, I get kind of tired…”

“No worries, I've got that covered. But let me know if you start feeling off, okay?”

“Thanks, Suzu.”

“Ugh… Sora-chi, you're too cute. Hug time!”

“Suzu, it's hot!”

Suzu grabbed Sora's hand and led her cheerfully toward a juice stand near the station.

Inside were only counter seats. Sora struggled a bit to get onto the tall stool, and a staff member handed them menus.

“The wood-grain counter looks so nice.”

“Great vibes, right? Actually, it's my first time here too. I think it'd make a great date spot.”

“Wow, nice call, master Suzu. I'll keep that in mind. Hmm, what juice should I get?”

“It's hot, so I'll go with the cold-pressed peach juice.”

“That sounds good too… I'll have the banana milk.”

“A smoothie person, I see. Excellent choice. Okay, I'll call the staff. Excuse me—”

They ordered small-sized juices, and within ten minutes, two cups were placed in front of them.

“Ahh, I feel alive again… This hits the spot.”

“Haha, you sound like an old man. But I get it—it's super hot today. Mmm, sweet and tasty…”

After quickly finishing their drinks, they left the shop while exchanging thoughts about the flavors. They bought ice cream, casually stopped by a roadside shrine, and eventually headed into Suzu's recommended select shop. Despite facing a bright street, the protruding ceiling and dim lighting gave the store a cozy atmosphere.

“Hehe, I've been here a few times. They have cute knickknacks besides clothes. And best of all, it's super cheap—good for the wallet!”

“Oooh, it feels like a hidden gem. Hehe, it's always been a dream of mine to come to a shop like this with a friend. Thanks, Suzu.”

Sora gave a beaming smile, and for some reason, Suzu made a throaty sound in response.

“S-So cute… Sora-chi, can I hug you?”

“It's hot, so no. Come on, let's go inside.”

The store mainly carried fashion items and miscellaneous goods. The clothing was quite pricey—out of reach for Suzu, at least—so the two stuck to browsing the accessories.

Sora stopped at a choker display.

“A choker, huh…”

“You interested?”

“Yeah… I kind of want Ginji to put one on me.”

Sora's gaze was fixed on some faux leather belt-style chokers.

“…That's kinda kinky.”

“It's not! This is more like a symbolic thing to show that I belong to Ginji!”

“…So, kinda k*nky then?”

“It's not k*nky!”

Their whispering drew attention, and a red-faced Sora hurried away, still clutching a choker in her hand.

“You're actually buying it!? You think Ginji's gonna put it on you?”

“If I get first place on the finals, I'll make him agree to it… fufufu.”

Sora, holding the choker, had a silly grin on her face. Watching her, Suzu silently offered prayers for Ginji. Apparently, Sora's feelings were heavier than Suzu had imagined.

“Maybe I'll get a choker too.”

“A belt-style one like mine?”

“Nah, that'd be too much. Just a normal cute one around a thousand yen.”

So, both of them bought chokers and headed out to the main street.

“It's about lunchtime. Let's head to that restaurant. This is today's main event!”

“We did hang out quite a bit. I hope it's not crowded.”

“It’s okay. It’s a hidden gem, so I checked online and it looked like I’d be able to get a seat. It’s a restaurant that specializes in omelet rice, and it looks really impressive!”

“Po〇noki?”

“No, it’s not! Well, Po〇noki is delicious too. It’s a privately run restaurant, so I saw it in a magazine and wanted to go.”

Since it was a bit far, they took a bus and arrived at the place. It looked like a typical Western-style eatery, or even a cozy café. Inside, Bossa Nova music played softly, and the peaceful hum of quiet conversations filled the room.

“Nice. Looks like we can talk comfortably here.”

“Hehe, Suzu-chi's intel network is spot on!”

Suzu puffed up with pride as a staff member approached.

“How many in your party?”

“Two, please.”

“Please feel free to sit anywhere you like.”

As they looked around for a table, Sora suddenly let out a surprised noise.

“Fwah!?”

“What is it, Sora?”

“Ginji's here.”

“Wait, seriously?”

Suzu squinted, but couldn't spot him.

“Over there, at the window seat in the back.”

“I can only see the top of someone's head…”

“It's definitely Ginji. No way I'd mistake him. I know him better than anyone.”

Seeing Sora so confident, Suzu started to believe it too.

“Well, if you say so… Wanna go say hi?”

“Yeah… Wait, but didn't Ginji say today he was…”

“Huh? Is he with someone? That's a woman, isn't it?”

“Eh!?”

As they approached, they realized a woman was seated across from Ginji. They stopped and quickly grabbed a seat behind him.

“This kind of thing happened before, didn't it?”

“Yeah, but that time it was you talking to Ginji. I feel like hiding now…”

“Well yeah, the woman sitting with him is pretty gorgeous. That's definitely an older woman…”

The woman sitting across from Ginji looked to be in her early thirties. She had neatly done makeup, wore a suit, and had short hair—clearly a beautiful, lively woman.

“Awawawawawa…”

Sora, pale and trembling, was grabbed firmly by the shoulder by Suzu.

“Calm down, Sora-chin. She's obviously older—it doesn't look like a date.”

“R-Right. Ginji said he had to help out with the family business today, so it must be related to that.”

“Huh, so he does that kind of thing too? Impressive.”

“Ginji is amazing.”

“Nice, you're back.”

For now, they placed their orders using the tablet on the table while keeping an ear out for the conversation behind them.

“Aww, Gin-chan, eat as much as you want~. Wanna have dinner together too?”

Ginji placed a laptop on the table and sighed. Meanwhile, Sora was being consoled by Suzu.

“Ababababa… (whispering)”

“Sora-chi, this is a deep wound… (whispering)”

Unaware of their whispered drama, Ginji set his laptop aside and let out a heavy sigh.

“Please stop joking around… Misa-san.”