Tsushima Kagami snickered off to the side.
Nothing delighted him more than watching Yukinoshita Shizuku, seething with anger yet not daring to talk back in front of her mother!
Yukinoshita Shizuku shot a glance at the smirking Tsushima Kagami beside her and reached out to pinch his arm.
Only then did Tsushima Kagami say with a laugh,
"Not at all—Shizuku's been a great help to me here."
"Please don't worry, Mother."
"By the way, was there something you needed when you called today?"
On the other end of the line, Mrs. Yukinoshita gave a small hum before continuing.
"That Specified Nonprofit Corporation you had me set up earlier—I had our agent in Tokyo handle it, and it's been approved without a hitch."
"The startup capital has all been injected and paid in as well."
"The staff have all been recruited and assembled."
"It's ready to begin official operations."
Tsushima Kagami was momentarily stunned—he hadn't expected it to be this fast.
Normally a process like this would take at least several months.
But ever since his identity as an author had become public, the relevant approval agencies learned that the application came from a venture run by Tsushima Kagami's household.
At the same time, the Kosaka Akane family had been troubled to pull some strings and smooth things over up and down the line.
And so the layers of approvals shot off like a bullet train, sailing through without a single obstacle.
As for the funding—although "No Longer Human" had already been published, the settlement date hadn't yet arrived, but at the end of the month another batch of earlier royalties was settled.
That included the physical publication of "Hear the Wind Sing" over at Kodansha.
So as initial startup capital, it was more than enough.
Tsushima Kagami also gave a slight bow toward his phone with a smile.
"Thank you for going to all that trouble."
"If there's nothing else, I'll take a little nap."
Through the phone, the voice of Shizuku's mother turned slightly weary.
"Please take care of yourself."
Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku said in unison,
"Mm, I'll hang up now, then."
Hearing the busy tone come through the phone,
Yukinoshita's upright posture finally slackened, and she slumped down limply.
Then, after a moment's thought, she added,
"Today happens to be the day Nayotake swaps shifts with me."
"You've got the forms ready, right?"
"Let's head to the convenience store together in a bit."
Tsushima Kagami nodded, then dug two public-aid eligibility application forms out of the storage box beneath the dining table.
These were something he'd prepared well in advance.
He'd simply been waiting for the agency's approval and the start of official operations to hand them over for Nayotake and the others to fill out.
By now Hayase Kinue and the other two were kneeling quietly to the side, watching the pair.
"Oh my, since you two have things to attend to later, we'll be heading back as well."
With that, Hayase Kinue rose, pulling Tsukuyomi Komoe and Douraku Utage up with her, getting ready to leave.
Tsushima Kagami bid the three farewell, then changed clothes together with Yukinoshita Shizuku and the two of them went out.
When the pair arrived at the convenience store,
because the weather had turned colder today, there were noticeably fewer customers.
Tsushima Kagami saw Shimizu Nayotake at the register in her convenience store uniform, spacing out.
Hearing the chime that announced a customer entering at the door,
Shimizu Nayotake glanced toward the entrance.
Seeing that it was Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku, she gave the two of them a faint smile.
At this point Yukinoshita Rei headed to the staff changing room, put on the convenience store uniform, and came to the register.
"Nayotake, you can clock off now."
Shimizu Nayotake nodded.
"There wasn't anyone here earlier, so I've already done the merchandise count before you came."
Shimizu Nayotake handed a notebook to Yukinoshita Shizuku.
Yukinoshita Shizuku took it, looked it over, and thanked her with a smile.
"Thank you, Nayotake."
"By the way, do you have another part-time job to get to later?"
Shimizu Nayotake thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"No other part-time work today."
Hearing Shimizu Nayotake say that, Yukinoshita Shizuku looked over at Tsushima Kagami beside her.
Only then did Tsushima Kagami say with a smile,
"Standing around here is just idling anyway."
"I'll go ahead and see you home."
Shimizu Nayotake had already grown used to it—sometimes Tsushima Kagami walked her home, and sometimes the two of them walked her home together.
So she simply nodded.
Without saying anything more, she went into the changing room.
And once again, after changing back into that same school uniform, she walked back out.
"I'll go ahead and walk Nayotake home, then."
Tsushima Kagami said to Yukinoshita Shizuku.
Yukinoshita Shizuku nodded.
"Be careful on the way."
After Tsushima Kagami and Shimizu Nayotake nodded, they left the convenience store together.
The two of them walked in step just like always.
Only this time it was Tsushima Kagami who walked in front, with Shimizu Nayotake following closely behind.
As always, they walked the whole way in silence.
It was as though they'd long grown accustomed to this way of being together.
Not only did it not feel awkward—if anything, it gave them a slight sense of ease.
On the rare occasion their eyes accidentally met, they would each exchange a faint smile.
And so, in their unspoken harmony, the two of them walked into Shinjuku Station.
They boarded a train headed in the direction of Kita-Senju.
Just like before, when it got crowded he shielded out a small pocket of space for Shimizu Nayotake.
Once they arrived, they transferred to the Tobu Isesaki Line.
As the train made its way toward Nishiarai in Adachi Ward, gradually leaving the bustling commercial center behind,
empty seats slowly began to appear inside the car.
The two of them sat side by side, watching through the window across from them—sometimes a billboard flashing past, sometimes the warning lights of a tunnel.
He felt he'd already lost count of how many times the two of them had spaced out together like this.
At first Tsushima Kagami had found it a little uncomfortable.
When Yukinoshita Shizuku was around, Shimizu Nayotake would still say a few things.
But when it was just the two of them, she would always space out like this.
It was a bit awkward, but there was nothing in particular to talk about either.
Later on, Tsushima Kagami gradually learned from Nayotake to just gaze out the window like this and let his mind drift.
Then he made a curious discovery: when he spaced out like that, he couldn't even remember what he'd been thinking about.
But it felt as if the long journey had suddenly sped up.
By the time he came back to himself, they were almost at the station.
"Now arriving at Nishiarai. Please disembark."
Along with the announcement inside the train, and the train slowly pulling up to the platform,
the two of them came back to their senses in unison.
Shimizu Nayotake turned her head toward Tsushima Kagami and gave a faint smile.
Then she stood and walked toward the train doors, and Tsushima Kagami rose to follow.
After the two of them exited the station, there was actually still a fair bit of walking left before they would reach Shimizu Nayotake's home.
The two of them remained wordless the whole way.
Just then Tsushima Kagami suddenly remembered the autumn underwear that had been delivered today.
So he looked over at Shimizu Nayotake.
"By the way, Nayotake."
"Did you receive the thermal underwear I mentioned earlier would be sent?"
Shimizu Nayotake, who was now walking in front, came to a stop at this.
She looked at Tsushima Kagami and nodded.
"How is it?"
"Very warm."
Shimizu Nayotake said.
"?"
"You've already tried it on?"
Shimizu Nayotake nodded again.
"It arrived yesterday."
After saying that, she glanced around and saw no one nearby.
Only then did she step up in front of Tsushima Kagami.
She gently lifted one corner of her long school skirt.
Revealed beneath the skirt were exactly the thermal bottoms he'd had custom-made for everyone.
Then Shimizu Nayotake undid the collar of her top a little.
Beneath her snow-white neck, the thermal top was revealed.
Tsushima Kagami was taken aback.
He hadn't expected Shimizu Nayotake to have simply put them on right away.
"I didn't realize you got cold easily too."
Hearing Tsushima Kagami say that, Shimizu Nayotake blinked, then nodded.
But on second thought, Tsushima Kagami realized that even on her days off, Shimizu Nayotake wore her school uniform.
She didn't have many clothes to begin with, and in winter she probably didn't have the warm down jackets and sweaters one might imagine.
To avoid getting sick, putting on the thermal underwear right away was perfectly natural.
After all, Shimizu Nayotake wasn't like Shizuku, who'd complain that wearing them this way looked weird.
She was, instead, a thoroughgoing pragmatist.
Seeing this, Tsushima Kagami also smiled and pulled up his own pant leg.
Revealed were the thermal bottoms he hadn't had time to wash first, having just put them straight on as he left the house.
"We really are fellow thermal-underwear enthusiasts."
Shimizu Nayotake still nodded at Tsushima Kagami with that faint smile.
But this time the curve of her lips was clearly bent five degrees more than usual.
____
👻🔥Here: Walnut-chan (P4treon)🔥👻
🔥 New history: Zenless Zone Zero: Rewriting Fate in New Eridu — new on The_Mikudayo
📚 Walnut-chan gets you 40 chapters ahead and helps cover the translation costs of every story I post
We have set new community milestones:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for all readers