Caught off guard by Miyama’s sudden burst of energy, Yuria and I scrambled to keep up.
Miyama trotted ahead of us, her massive chest jiggling violently with every step. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t get a clear look from the front, but regardless... what was this "something good" she’d thought of?
(Did she find a lead on where to find cardboard...?)
I felt like I was constantly being jerked around by Miyama’s "brainwaves." To be honest, I didn't have many fond memories of her sudden ideas.
In the past, because I’d been ogling Yuria’s body—staring at her chest and thighs from right next to her—Miyama had somehow gotten the idea that I liked Yuria. That misunderstanding was exactly what led to that whole incident at the arcade.
Then there was the time she mistakenly thought I liked Kuroki. She’d told me to talk to her directly on LIME to move our relationship forward. Since I was already engaged in some pretty risky exchanges with Kuroki on LIME back then, her "help" had driven me right into a corner. I’d managed to gloss over it at the time, but I’d come dangerously close to accidentally exposing Kuroki’s secret.
Both of those incidents were the result of Miyama’s spontaneous whims, so I had nothing but a bad feeling about this one.
(No way... She isn't thinking about asking for cardboard at her job, is she?!)
It was true that Tatsuya, the bookstore where she worked, was located toward the station—the same direction we were currently heading. They likely had mountains of cardboard there, but if we relied on them, the fact that we were working there would definitely be exposed while talking to the Store Manager.
As Tatsuya drew closer, I prepared to call out to Miyama, but she walked right past it without a second glance and continued down the street.
(Huh? It’s not Tatsuya...?)
Miyama turned down a familiar side street and finally came to a halt in front of a certain shop.
"Haah... haah... H-Here! I figured probably no one had checked here yet."
Out of breath, Miyama pointed at the shop’s sign. It was the candy store she frequented—the same one we’d visited just yesterday.
"A-A candy store? Airi, do you come here often?"
"Yeah! I actually... came here just yesterday, too."
Airi gave me a knowing wink. I felt a strange sense of pride in the fact that she went out of her way not to mention she’d been with me. (That was a close one.)
"Since it’s a bit of a distance from the school and usually only elementary schoolers come here, I thought it would be a total hidden gem!"
"Elementary schoolers... I see. Well, Airi’s basically an elementary schooler herself, isn’t she?"
"Hey, Yuria! Airi is a proper high school student! Right, Ryouta?"
"............"
"Hmph! Don't you go silent on me! Ryouta, you dummy!"
Setting aside whether Miyama’s thought process was on par with a grade-schooler, her idea to check the candy store was a solid move. For better or worse, the shop was usually deserted, and since it was tucked away from the main road to the station, it was easy to overlook.
As we stepped inside, a wind chime tinkled. An old man came shuffling out from the back of the store.
"Welcome. Oh? If it isn't Airi-chan. Have you come for another Umyaa Stick?"
"Grandpa, I have a favor to ask today."
"A favor?"
Airi explained that we needed cardboard for the Cultural Festival. As expected of a regular, she seemed to be on excellent terms with the elderly shop owner.
"And so, we really need some cardboard~."
"Ah. I have some. I have plenty of cardboard."
"Really!?"
"At my age, you see, it’s quite a chore to go and throw away large boxes... Come to the back, children."
The owner stood up while rubbing his lower back and led us to the veranda at the rear of the shop. There was a fairly large yard, and in it sat a reasonably big Metal Jet storage shed. The owner pulled a single key from his pocket and unlocked the shed door... and then.
(H-Hey, you’ve got to be kidding...)
"Whoa, wait! There’s a mountain of cardboard in here!"
Even Yuria, who usually kept a sharp, cool gaze, let her eyes go wide. The shed was packed with stacks upon stacks of cardboard.
Looking at the disorganized piles—to the point where it felt foolish that we’d been scouring supermarkets and convenience stores until now—Yuria, Airi, and I were all overwhelmed. With this much, we wouldn't have to worry about cardboard for the rest of the project.
"Occasionally, when my grandkids come by, they bundle it up and throw it away for me... but they haven't shown their faces lately. I’ve just been folding the boxes on the veranda and tucking them away in the shed."
Despite the owner’s lonely story, Airi and Yuria rushed toward the mountain of cardboard with the excitement of treasure hunters who had just found a gold mine.
"G-Grandpa! Can we really have all of this?"
"Airi-chan is such a loyal customer, so of course you can. Take as much as you can carry."
"Yay!"
In the end, we were completely saved by Airi’s "brainwave."
Because there was simply too much cardboard to carry together, we headed back toward the school with each of us clutching as many boxes as possible under both arms.
"Even with us carrying this much, there’s still plenty left. Well done, Airi!"
"Ehehe~, I get shy when Yuria praises me."
Both girls were wearing satisfied smiles.
"Ryouta, you’re going to praise Airi too, right?"
"Eh, ah, well... Thanks, Miyama."
"Hehe! I got praised by Ryouta, too. Does this mean you’ll treat me to Snoto again?"
"Hey, Airi! Don't go bothering Ryouta like that!"
"Ehh? I’m not bothering him!"
Yuria interjected before I could reflexively offer to buy her the entire shop. I wanted to head to Snoto and treat her right this second...
"But I’m just really glad I could be useful to everyone. Since I’m playing a Dwarf, I don’t have as much pressure as the leads, but I want to be helpful to Ryouta, Yuria, and Rui-chan. I want to do my best at whatever I can."
"Airi... Honestly, you really are..."
When we reached a red light, Yuria set the cardboard she was holding down at her feet and spent the duration of the wait stroking Airi’s head. Beyond being a troublemaker, Airi really was just a kind, sweet girl at heart.
"Also, since I’m Ryouta’s Exclusive Dwarf, if there’s anything I can do, just say the word, okay? Ryouta?"
"Wh-Anything!?"
Sensing the perverted thoughts that had flooded my brain in an instant, Yuria used the same hand she had been stroking Airi with to pinch my cheek.
"Ow, ow, ow! H-Hey! I wasn't thinking about anything weird this time!"
"Liar. You definitely were. And Airi, you shouldn't tell Ryouta you’ll do 'anything' either."
"Ehh? But Airi really will work hard at anything!"
"I said no, so no!"
"I-It hurts, Yuri... I-Ichinose-san!"
Under the glow of the sunset, I had my cheek pinched by Yuria until the light finally turned green.