For the next three days, Hanadasaki Ame remained busy with the villa renovations.
To achieve the result he wanted, he personally involved himself in the process and provided guidance during the early stages.
The research wing would occupy a little more than half of the villa. It would be separated off with fireproof safety doors, the upper and lower floors opened up and connected by an elevator, and several smaller rooms would have their non-load-bearing walls removed to form larger laboratories.
The labs themselves needed to be redone as well, with better fireproofing and soundproofing, while the villa's electrical wiring and fire-safety systems all had to be comprehensively upgraded, complete with an independent backup power source.
In addition, considering that Nagasaki Soyo would be living there too, and might practice bass or double bass in daily life, the residential area also needed to be specially altered to include a music practice room. The study there would need a modest upgrade to its soundproofing as well.
The entire set of renovations was rather complicated. Hanadasaki Ame estimated that finishing before the start of school would already count as fast.
And before all that could be completed, his simulation ability had already recovered to a usable state!
Hanadasaki Ame temporarily pulled himself away from the renovation work and gave it a brief test. Since no one with particularly strong ties to him was nearby, the simulation failed to activate smoothly.
The ability required a target.
He had already used it on Nibutani Shinka before, so it would be best to choose someone else this time.
The person Hanadasaki Ame most wanted to use it on was Nagasaki Soyo, because compared to everyone else he knew, his connection to her had grown much deeper.
However, ever since her last visit to his house, she had not come over again. They still chatted often on Line, but she was waiting for the villa renovations to be finished so she could move in with him.
Shinjou Akane was also staying shut up at home, not very willing to go out.
When he chatted with her, she had even sent over several photos of half-finished kaiju models she was making by hand with a craft knife, clearly enjoying herself immensely.
After scrolling through his contact list once, Hanadasaki Ame found quite a few people he could easily ask out, but he somehow felt that using the ability on them would be a waste.
What his simulation ability observed was a future in which he and the target became entangled. If he simulated some unimportant person, then any information he obtained would probably be squandered.
After weighing it carefully, Hanadasaki Ame decided to wander around near the school first and try his luck.
If he still had not used it within two days, then he would actively ask Nagasaki Soyo out.
The area around Inaba High was Kaihin-Makuhari, lively and bustling, and even during vacation there was no shortage of people coming by to sightsee or kill time.
Hanadasaki Ame bought a canned cola from a vending machine and walked along the street drinking it while observing the pedestrians.
Before long, he noticed something!
That twin-tailed girl who liked cats—the one he had met before at Saizeriya—had appeared again!
This time, her hair was not tied into twin tails. Her glossy black hair fell naturally, adorned only with a red ribbon woven between the strands. She wore a white beret on her head, a pale pink top, and a white skirt that fell past the knees—cute, homey clothes, though her aura was as chilly and untouchable as ever.
She was carrying a black shopping bag and heading toward a shopping center building.
Hanadasaki Ame narrowed his eyes slightly and swept his gaze from top to bottom across the entire building.
The shopping center had many floors, each filled with different types of stores. The second basement floor was parking, the first basement floor housed food sections and restaurants…
Reading the signs and ads on the outer glass facade, his eyes quickly settled on the ninth floor.
The ninth floor was where the sporting goods, children's items, school supplies, toys, and the like were located.
That girl would most likely go to the first basement floor first to buy food ingredients, then stroll around according to her own tastes and kill some time.
All he had to do was wait on the ninth floor, and a chance encounter would naturally present itself.
Hanadasaki Ame estimated her walking speed. Only after she had fully entered the shopping center and disappeared from view did he finish his canned cola, casually toss it into a trash bin, and stroll toward the building.
Though his purpose was clear, he was not in the least impatient. He moved with the calm composure of someone simply out for a leisurely wander.
After entering the shopping center, he took the escalator up floor by floor at an easy pace. The elevator would have been faster, but he was in no hurry over such a trivial amount of time.
Soon enough, he arrived at the ninth floor. After a brief glance at the directory sign beside the escalator, he quickly understood how the stores on that floor were arranged.
Among them were two shops selling plush toys and souvenir items.
Those could tentatively be treated as places that girl might visit!
Thinking it over, Hanadasaki Ame first stepped into a stationery store instead.
After making a few simple selections, he bought some paper, pens, and memo slips. Then, carrying the bag, he wandered casually through the nearby shops.
When he judged the timing to be about right, he headed to one of the plush toy souvenir shops closer to the elevator.
The shop was not large. Plush toys of all sizes were packed tightly onto the shelves, with others piled in cardboard boxes, and under the soft lighting they looked rather cute.
Hanadasaki Ame immediately noticed several plush toys modeled after cats, but…
they did not really feel all that cute to him.
While chatting with the clerk, he picked things out here and there, preparing to buy a few for Nagasaki Soyo and Nibutani Shinka.
Now that he had come all this way, he could hardly leave empty-handed.
Shinjou Akane preferred kaiju, but there was nothing of the sort here—only cute plushies. Nothing for her, then.
After he had spent a few minutes choosing and was already holding a whole pile of plush toys in his arms, the person he had been waiting for finally appeared.
The girl with long black hair came to the entrance of the plush toy souvenir shop carrying a shopping bag that already held several fresh ingredients. She had been about to look for the sort of plush toys she liked, but the moment she looked inside, she immediately saw the pink-haired figure in the store. That adorable face and the equally adorable stuffed toys in his arms looked completely natural together.
At just the right moment, Hanadasaki Ame turned his head, saw her, and raised his brows in slight surprise.
"It's you? What a coincidence. Do you live nearby?"
It had to be said—when it came to this kind of approach, his cute appearance was an enormous advantage. At the very least, no one would reject him outright.
After a brief hesitation, the black-haired girl nodded.
"Yes. I came out to restock some ingredients."
Hanadasaki Ame walked up to her with the plush toys in his arms and said with a smile,
"No wonder. I'm planning to move nearby myself, though my house is still being renovated, so I probably won't be able to move in until around the start of school. Oh, right—my name is Hanadasaki Ame. After vacation, I'll be a first-year at Inaba High as well. Let's get acquainted."
"Hello. My name is Yukinoshita Yukino. I'll also be entering the first year at Inaba High."
Yukinoshita Yukino replied politely, though with a certain distance.
So stiff and proper. Even if she was a refined young lady, she was definitely the type with very few friends!
"I see… then if your grades are good, Yukinoshita-san, there's a chance we might even end up in the same class."
Hanadasaki Ame continued chatting with her. His tone was not especially warm, but he could still sense that Yukinoshita Yukino was already beginning to feel somewhat at a loss. She seemed to want to end the conversation, yet also felt it would be awkward to do so.
Still quite shy and inexperienced, then!
He directly held out the biggest plush toy in his arms to her and said earnestly,
"This may not count as our first meeting, exactly, but I'm still very glad to make your acquaintance. Here—this is for you."
Yukinoshita Yukino took it almost reflexively, lowered her head to look at the panda-shaped plush toy with the star over its left eye, then cast Hanadasaki Ame a quiet, searching glance.
This guy…
Could it be that he had gone out of his way to ask someone about her preferences?
That should not have been possible.
She had never told anyone about them.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 119)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter79)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter125)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 73
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 55
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 66
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 63
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 55
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 31
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 31
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 31
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin