"I'm back!"
Sato pushed open the door and called inside before looking toward the shoe cabinet.
Hm?
Two pairs of shoes?
Just as he was wondering about it, Kanna walked out from the inner room, followed by a small girl who looked extremely nervous.
Chestnut-colored hair, emerald-green eyes, and a fair forehead as prominent as Ritsu's.
"H-Hello! I'm Saikawa Riko! Please take care of me!"
"Ah, hello."
Sato looked at the nervous little girl in confusion before quickly reacting.
Saikawa...
Oh, this was the friend Kanna mentioned!
"Welcome."
"Th-Thank you!"
Sato smiled as he changed into his slippers, then suddenly asked Kanna, "By the way, do we still have snacks at home?"
Kanna shook her head.
Hearing that, Sato paused briefly before turning around.
"Then I'll head to the convenience store and buy some things."
Saikawa Riko hurriedly said, "Onii-chan! You don't have to!"
Ah... hearing that "Onii-chan" really felt nice.
Sato felt instantly refreshed inside. Waving his hand, he said, "It's fine. The convenience store is close. I'll be right back."
...
After putting down his commuter bag, Sato headed to the neighborhood convenience store.
"Welcome!"
Sato turned to glance at the clerk behind the register and said with some surprise, "Aoyama-san? Is it your shift today?"
"Mm!"
Aoyama Nanami was also somewhat surprised to see Sato. It had already been quite a while since they last met.
Hearing his question, she quickly nodded before looking at him gratefully.
"Thank you for the recommendation last time!"
"How did it go?"
Sato asked another question.
After making the recommendation before, he had not paid much attention afterward, so he did not know how things turned out for Aoyama Nanami.
Aoyama Nanami revealed a mixture of regret and admiration.
"The senpai were just too amazing. All the main character voice roles were taken by the senior voice actors, but I still managed to get a supporting role."
"Looks like you're gradually getting on the right track. Then please keep working hard."
Sato smiled and waved before walking deeper into the convenience store.
Watching Sato's back, Aoyama Nanami's expression carried both gratitude and confusion.
Back when Sato gave her that recommendation, she had not understood much about it. Only after arriving there did she realize it was an anime adaptation of an extremely popular IP, with all kinds of major names in the voice acting industry gathered there.
That made it very strange.
Nohara was clearly just a high school student, so what kind of connections did he have to be able to introduce her into something like that?
Sato never explained, and she naturally chose not to ask either.
But she genuinely felt grateful toward Sato for giving her this opportunity, because it was her first time entering anime voice acting. Even if it was only a supporting role, she had finally gotten one foot through the door.
Naturally, Sato had no idea about Aoyama Nanami's complicated thoughts at the moment. He was currently wandering through the snack aisle, wondering what elementary school kids liked to eat.
Sweets? But wouldn't that be bad for their teeth?
Then maybe chips and stuff like that?
Sato could not help pondering. Why didn't we have latiao? That stuff was the king of snacks!
He still had some spare money on hand. Should he import an advanced latiao production line from overseas or something? The market was practically empty in that regard, so there seemed to be plenty of untapped potential.
Tap!
Tap!
While Sato was thinking, he suddenly heard bouncing sounds nearby.
He looked around before determining the sound was coming from the other side of a shelf. Turning around, he walked to the end of the aisle and saw the other side.
On the opposite side of the shelf, a somewhat familiar girl was jumping repeatedly, trying to grab snacks from the top shelf. Because she was too short, she could not reach them no matter how much she jumped.
Izumi Sagiri pursed her lips stubbornly as she stared at the snacks on the highest shelf.
Just then, she suddenly heard approaching footsteps. Before she could even turn around, she saw a hand enter her field of vision, taking down the snack from the top shelf and handing it to her.
"Th... thank you."
Izumi Sagiri subconsciously thanked him in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, then raised her head and saw Sato.
Her expression froze slightly.
The next second...
"Ah!!!"
Izumi Sagiri let out a startled cry. Her face suddenly turned bright red as she clutched her shopping basket and immediately spun around and fled in a flurry.
Sato stood there blankly, completely baffled.
What did I do wrong?
After standing there stunned for quite a while, Sato finally regained his senses. Muttering a few words under his breath, he picked out some snacks and headed toward the register.
Izumi Sagiri had just finished paying. When she saw Sato approaching, her expression clearly became even more flustered. She hurriedly grabbed the change Aoyama Nanami handed her, then disappeared in a flash carrying a huge bag of snacks.
When Sato arrived at the register, he discovered Aoyama Nanami staring at him warily.
"What did you do just now?"
She held her phone tightly as she asked nervously.
Sato's expression suddenly became subtle.
That posture... were you preparing to call the police if I made any suspicious moves?
"I didn't do anything!"
His tone was full of helplessness. Heaven and earth could testify to his innocence! It could not possibly be because he helped her grab a bag of snacks, right?
"Really?"
Aoyama Nanami looked suspicious.
"Why don't you look into my sincere eyes?"
Sato stared directly into Aoyama Nanami's eyes. After meeting his gaze for a few moments, a faint blush suddenly flashed across the girl's face. She looked away and said in a somewhat strange tone, "Forget it. I believe you."
Sato also let out a sigh of relief. There were no surveillance cameras in this convenience store. If he really got suspected of something, wouldn't his lifelong reputation be ruined?!
But speaking of which, why did that little girl run away the moment she saw him?
Confusion filled Sato's eyes.
"Is there something on my face?"
He suddenly asked Aoyama Nanami.
"Huh?"
Holding the scanner, Aoyama Nanami looked at him blankly.
"Then do I have demon horns or something growing on my head?"
This time Aoyama Nanami understood and could not help laughing.
"No. Though maybe I just can't see them."
Sato laughed as well.
At that moment, Izumi Sagiri had already reached the apartment entrance. Hugging a huge bag of snacks in her arms, she glanced behind herself. After confirming nobody was there, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
But in her mind, she could not help recalling the first time she met Sato.
She bit her lip lightly, her face faintly red.
Back then, she had walked out of her room while yawning and happened to run into Sato, who was visiting. Her loose pajamas had slipped slightly to one side, exposing a small stretch of fair, delicate shoulder and part of her collarbone.
He had probably seen all of it...