episode_0187

Shine and I returned to the office with boxes in our arms.

The box I was holding was so big that I couldn’t see in front of me.

Luckily, thanks to Shine guiding me instead of my eyes, I was able to get back safely without falling.

“Why did you buy so much?”

Amy showed interest in the box I brought.

I held out the box to her as if I was bragging, and took out the contents to show her.

“These are gifts for my friends!”

I held the paw of a large, vacuum-packed owl bear in my hand.

It was quite heavy, being larger than my head.

“Ugh…”

Amy stepped back with a sour look on her face, apparently dissatisfied with the contents.

But it didn’t end there.

I took out all the contents inside and showed them to Amy.

“This is the sole of an owl bear… This is red worm tail juice… And this is the liver of a giant boar…”

“… What has Shine prepared?”

“I have this.”

Shine took a vial out of a smaller box and showed it to Amy.

Only then did she nod with a small smile on her face.

“Is that friend feeling very unwell?”

“Yeah. I kept passing out so I couldn’t even talk properly.”

“You’re going to school with such a weak body?”

“I guess so.”

“Hmm… Did you say your name was Appleton?”

“Yeah.”

Amy nodded to Shine’s answer and took out her cell phone.

It seemed likely that he was ordering his subordinates to investigate Appleton.

Rain also showed interest in the box we brought.

I took the slippers out of the box, hid them behind my back, and handed the box to Lane.

“Wow… They still sell things like this these days.”

Rain looked over the items I had ordered and admired them.

I left Lane rummaging through the boxes and exchanged glances with Shine.

She too had a well-wrapped chick hoodie hidden behind her back.

“Rain~”

“Huh?”

When Shine and I called out to Rain, Rain, who had been burying his head in the box, turned around.

“Okay. It’s a gift.”

“A gift?”

I handed the gift to Lane along with Shine.

Chick slippers and chick hoodie.

I really wanted her to wear it.

Rain looked at me and Shine with trembling eyes.

I smiled slightly at her reaction, which seemed incredibly touching.

At the bright smile, Rain’s face blushes slightly.

Rain’s cheeks turned a light pink, and her lips slowly rose, and she answered with a smile as well.

“Thank you!”

Although she still didn’t know what the gift was, she was simply delighted that Shine and I had prepared a gift for her.

“Can I open it now?”

“Yeah.”

After receiving a gift from Shine and me, Rain immediately started unwrapping it.

Victor and Amy were also paying attention to this place, perhaps curious about the contents of the gift given to Lane.

“Wow…”

Rain opened the package and hugged the hoodie and slippers.

“Thank you!”

Lane was as happy as a child, holding the gift in her arms.

Like a child receiving a present from Santa on Christmas Day, Lane circled around us, jumping for joy.

I opened my mouth as I watched the golden hair fluttering in the wind.

“Want to try it on?”

“Is that so?”

Lane nodded immediately and put his head into his hoodie.

The head that goes in with a jerk comes out with a pop.

Rain put his hand into the fluttering sleeve again, then pulled it out again.

“Ta-da!”

Because it was a little big, the hoodie was covering Lane’s thighs.

Still, it suited me.

Is that the original way to wear clothes?

Judging by the appropriate arm length, it seemed like it was a unique design that the clothes originally had.

“Do you like it?”

“Yeah!”

Lane was spinning around in his new hoodie, clearly liking it.

“Comfortable. Soft. Very nice.”

Rain answered with a bright smile.

I rub the sleeve of my shirt against my cheek, feeling the smooth texture.

Are you that happy?

Shine let out a small laugh as she looked at Rain like that.

“That’s my choice.”

“Shine… Thank you so much!”

Rain came over to Shine, bouncing around in response to her words, grabbed her hand tightly and shook it up and down.

Shine, with a bewildered expression, tried to pull her hand away, but Rain did not let go.

“Hey, Rain. Put on your slippers too.”

“Did Jeff give you this?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay!”

At my words, Rain immediately took off the slippers he was wearing.

The direction it flew to was under Victor’s desk.

Victor frowned, but as if it was something that happened often, he didn’t say anything and just pushed the slippers aside.

Rain’s small feet fit perfectly into the slippers.

Although it looked a little big, it didn’t seem to cause any inconvenience in moving around.

Beep-!

“Ugh.”

Rain, wearing slippers, looked puzzled at the sound coming from below.

Beep- beep-!

Step by step, as she moved her feet, a squeaking sound echoed throughout the office.

“How is it?”

Beep- beep- beep- beep-

“This, this is…”

“Isn’t it cute?”

“Uh…”

Rain continued to move his feet, grumbling.

Every time that happened, a squeaking sound came out.

Are you so happy that you can’t even speak?

I looked at Rain, my eyes shining with anticipation.

Rain, who had been opening his mouth without saying anything, looked at me and smiled again.

“Thank you!”

Beep-!

Rain circled around me like he had done before.

Beep beep beep beep – the sound of Rain’s shoes continued.

“Ugh…”

At that, Victor burst out laughing.

As if he had held back so much that he had burst out laughing, he began to laugh out loud without making a sound.

Why are you laughing?

As I looked at Victor with a puzzled expression, Lane stopped moving.

She stood there, trembling, her face bright red.

“Rain?”

“Yeah…”

“That suits you so well!”

I praised Rain.

The chick decoration covering the small instep sparkled very cutely.

After hearing my compliment, Rain blushed and walked to his seat and sat down on his chair.

As I headed to my seat, there was also a creaking sound.

***

Time passed quickly.

Shine, Rain, and I, who had finished getting ready to go to school, stared straight ahead with solemn expressions, our bags on our backs.

The bag was more stuffed than usual.

The reason the dinosaur’s belly was swollen to the point of bursting was because of Appleton’s gift.

“Can you have a nice day today too?”

“Yes!”

“Rain, can you watch the kids closely so they don’t do anything weird?”

“Yeah!”

Amy was checking things out to see if we were still anxious about leaving for school.

“Did you bring a handkerchief?”

“Yes.”

I took out the handkerchief and showed it to Amy.

It was the very same handkerchief I had received at the Little Witch Theme Park.

“I hope you make lots of friends.”

“Too many will only be a nuisance.”

Shine started walking forward as she answered Amy’s question.

Right in front of the large, rippling warp, Shine reached out to me.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay. I’ll be back!”

“I’ll be back!”

I held Rain’s hand and reached out to Shine.

Shine, who took my hand, flew into the warp portal.

Arriving at the same place as last time, we were able to find Shandroy waiting for us right in front.

“Welcome.”

“Hello!”

“That’s…?”

Shandroy’s gaze turned to the bag behind me.

Because I didn’t have enough space to hold all the gifts for myself, Shine and Rain’s bags were also full to the brim.

“I brought a gift for my friend.”

“Is this a gift?”

“Yes!”

“Oh, um. I see.”

Shandroy didn’t ask any further questions.

She nodded and handed us a piece of paper with our schedule printed on it.

“Here is today’s schedule. If there is anything you don’t like, please let me know right away. I can fix it right away.”

I walked down the hallway and checked the schedule.

1st period is math.

2nd period is Korean.

3rd period is science.

The fourth period was physical education.

“There was physical education too?”

“Do you not like it?”

“No. It’s better to move your body than to be bored.”

After checking the schedule, I handed the paper back to Shandroy.

We stopped in front of the teachers’ office, said goodbye and said we’d see each other later.

Maybe it was because I came at a different time than last time. Maybe it was because class hadn’t started yet, but there were a lot of students walking around the hallway.

The cold morning air brushed my cheek.

I stopped in the hallway and looked out the window.

“What are you looking at?”

“That one.”

Outside the window was a large tennis court.

Because it was morning, there weren’t many people using it, but even during this time, there were people practicing alone wherever you went.

I looked at the student practicing alone without saying a word.

It feels somehow familiar. How many times have I seen it while passing through the hallway?

Paang- Bang!- Bang!-

The child who had been bouncing a tennis ball against the wall suddenly sat down in his seat, looking in vain as the ball went astray.

The tennis ball bounced on the floor and rolled away.

“Tennis?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to play tennis?”

“No.”

I shook my head at Shine’s words.

I just caught your eye.

“It’s just cool.”

“What? That guy?”

“No, it’s just because the sport of tennis itself is cool.”

He shook his head in response to Shine’s urgent question.

I liked tennis.

I didn’t know the rules, but I held a racket in my hand and used the ball to compete with my opponent.

A true showdown using pure physical ability and kinetic vision.

There was something heart-pounding about watching the ball bounce off the pitch and hit the end zone.

“Is tennis cool?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded to Shine’s question and started walking again.

But Shine didn’t move.

She stared at the tennis court in silence.

“Shine?”

“Okay. I’ll go.”

As soon as we entered the classroom, we started looking for Appleton.

There were still a lot of empty seats, but since I knew what Appleton’s bag looked like, I was able to spot her right away.

I walked over there.

The seats next to Appleton were occupied by many students, who froze as if they were ice as we approached.

“Guys.”

I opened my mouth and looked at the children.

But I didn’t get the answer I wanted.

I frowned and continued.

“Is this Appleton’s seat?”

This time, no one answered.

Everyone just gulped and looked around.

I had no choice but to point out a girl sitting right next to Appleton and ask her a question.

“You there.”

“Net!”

“Yeah, don’t be so surprised. Is that Appleton’s seat next to you? ”

“Yes!”

The girl nodded with a pale face.

“Then can you step aside? We want to sit next to Appleton.”

The girl nodded at my words and jumped up from her seat.

I put a small chocolate in her hand as she walked away.

“Thank you~”

The girl who received the chocolate from me staggered away as if her legs had given out.

“Are all the kids here weak?”

I muttered as I set my bag down on the seat next to Appleton.