(This is a joint post between Cinia Pacifica and BlinkXPoke.)
Is there some bad blood between Shiraishi and Amahane? Shouta wondered as he walked out of the cafe with Shiraishi and heard her complain. He wasn’t sure if he should ask about it; bringing it up may simply anger her more. However, Shouta didn’t want this conflict to continue, so he wanted to try speaking to Shiraishi about her relationship with Amahane at a later time. For now, he decided to change the focus to their… d-date, right…? It’s what everyone else sees it as… He cleared his throat and told Shiraishi, “So, w-where do you want to go next? I’ll treat you to whatever else you want.”
“Mn, I have about 10 RTs to burn through right…?” Shiraishi asked, seemingly hopeful as she inquired. Her eyes were would gleam if not due to the bad mood derived from the earlier predicament.
“Uhh…” Shouta checked the contents of his wallet again, and found 30 RT remaining. “Yeah, then that’d be about half of my allowance, as promised.” He confirmed for Shiraishi. It’s a bit over, but that’s fine. Kouzuki-san only asked for a small portion per month for those shoes. I should still have a bit of leftover money, afterward. Shouta nodded to himself as he calculated his funds.
“Or was it 5 RTs more… oh, right, it was indeed 5 RTs,” nodding to herself, Shiraishi corrected herself. Walking off, she looked around the shops.
In around five minutes, it seemed that Shiraishi was hesitating to enter any of the shops, but longingly looked at them with sparkling eyes - filled with joyous excitement. One could only wonder how she was even known to be a big bully throughout the academy. She finally snapped, and strolled into a jewellery shop - of all things. With starry eyes, she looked at the array of stacks of golden accessories placed in panels for viewing.
“I-I won’t buy anything from here, I swear! I-I just… ” She said to particularly no one, but the man on the counter simply smiled while scratching the back of his head. Her eyes literally glued to the accessories meant for girls in the first place, Shiraishi wanted to stop herself from acting too girlish, but she couldn’t pull the brakes, either.
“Are you sure?” Shouta chuckled as he observed Shiraishi. “If you really want something, I’ll buy it for you.” He still had plenty of money to spare, so, as long as it wasn’t absurdly expensive, he was willing to go over the promised limit for Shiraishi.
“N-No! I-I don’t want anything, really!” Shiraishi said, then looked back to the enticing accessories. “Just a little longer…”
“Really?” Shouta wasn’t convinced by Shiraishi’s refusal. He smiled as she stared at the accessories, which intrigued Shouta enough to walk over and look at them, himself. I wonder if there’s something specific she wants, or if she just wants all of them. There were many different kinds of accessories in the cabinet, and Shouta wasn’t sure which one he should get for her. Some of these are really, really expensive, too! He thought while biting his lip.
The man on the counter ushered Shouta with his hand; calling him indirectly while Shiraishi was preoccupied with the golden accessories. “Would you like to buy anything for the fair lady here?” He whispered to his ears. “We do have some cheaper accessories on sale, if you’d prefer,” he suggested.
“Is that so? Like what?” Shouta asked straight out. He was clueless when it came down to girl’s fashion, and was unsure of whether Shiraishi would like these cheaper accessories. However, it was worth finding out. “Do you have any suggestions?”
“Hmm, how about that earring?” He pointed to his left; Shiraishi was in the other direction, so she was completely oblivious to Shouta and the salesman’s conversation - completely enveloped in her own world. “That would be around 15 RTs, it looks pretty fashionable, and was crafted with Alice, too. Neat, yes?” Making the suggestion, he seemed proud of pointing out products for some reason. “Unless you have budget issues?”
“Hmmmm…” Shouta scrunched his eyebrows as he looked at the accessory. It certainly looked nice, but… “It’s… kinda expensive… I don’t think I can give up that much money.”
“Hmm, how much do you have to spare? Our cheapest price is 5 RTs, one wouldn’t know it’s cheap but… I’d feel slightly bad for your girlfriend there,” the shopkeeper said with disdain, not expecting to yield much profit.
“Well, 5 RT is actually just what I was looking for. Mind if I take a look at what’s available at that price?”
“Let’s see now… a ring, a bracelet, and an earring,” the shopkeeper lazily answered. “They’re pretty well-crafted despite the prices, however.”
“I see… Hm…” Shouta examined them for a moment before calling Shiraishi over. “Hey, Shiraishi-san. What do you think of these ones?” He asked pointing to the case in front of him with the inexpensive accessories.”Sorry, they’re kinda cheap, but they still look nice.”