Hearing Sato's voice, the shop owner's wife paused for a moment, as if trying to confirm it was really him. Then a spark of recognition lit her eyes, and she gave a respectful bow in his direction.
"You must be the one who ordered the delivery earlier, right? I'm sorry for the trouble we caused. We'll cover the cost of your meal this time."
"As for Nanami..."
She glanced at the girl beside her and hesitated for a moment.
The others in the room all looked at her expectantly. But after a short pause, the owner's wife shook her head.
"That's her personal matter. I won't go into it."
"In any case, thank you all very much for your help tonight!"
With that, she bowed again to the group in gratitude.
"Well, I didn't really do much," Kobayashi said, scratching her head a little awkwardly. "It was Sato who carried her all the way here."
"Quite a gentleman, this young man," Dr. Akiyama added with a warm smile.
Even Sato felt a little embarrassed being praised like that. He gave the girl one last glance before speaking. "Since she's fine now, I'll be heading back. She should probably take the day off tomorrow."
"I'll make sure of it!" the ramen shop owner quickly replied.
Seeing Sato about to leave, Kobayashi chimed in, "I'll get going too then."
…
On the way back to the apartment.
Sato and Kobayashi chatted casually. Although they lived in the same building and had seen each other a few times, they'd never really talked. This was a good chance to get acquainted.
"Huh? So you came here all on your own for school, Sato-san? Impressive!"
"It's not that big of a deal," Sato replied, slightly exasperated. Wasn't that sort of thing pretty normal?
Noticing his reaction, Kobayashi chuckled and looked up at the sky with a sigh.
"We're all different, I guess. For me, that's really impressive. I never even left my hometown before college, let alone moved out by myself right after middle school."
"When I first left for university, the idea of living alone made me anxious for weeks."
Sato looked at her in surprise and smiled. "I didn't really think much of it."
"Well, that makes sense. After all, you're a top student they recruited, right? I heard a lot of graduates from your private high school go on to Tokyo University. You might end up there yourself."
"Man, I'm so jealous. That's Tokyo University! Those grads are society's elite! Meanwhile, I'm just a lowly corporate drone!"
Kobayashi's tone turned mournful, almost to the point of fake sobbing.
Being a working woman in Japan, especially a young one, wasn't easy at all.
"I actually admire you, Kobayashi-san. It's still pretty rare here for women to work independently. Most people just become housewives after graduation."
Sato clearly had a different perspective.
"Really?" Kobayashi scratched her head, a little shyly. Then she sighed again. "But there's no real market for independent women."
Her face was full of despair.
…Yeah…
This topic was getting a bit touchy.
Come to think of it, that was a pretty weird cultural quirk in Japan… or maybe something most countries struggled with.
…
Back at the apartment.
Sato touched the ramen packaging, it still had some warmth left.
He quickly finished it off, checked his messages on LINE, then stood to throw away the trash.
"What a pain," he muttered as he looked at the sorted garbage.
Stretching, he stepped into the bathroom where he'd already prepared a bath, soaked himself comfortably, then changed into his pajamas and stepped out onto the balcony to enjoy the night breeze.
Instinctively, he glanced upward.
Seeing everything above looking calm and normal, he let out a quiet sigh of relief and leaned on the railing, gazing at the city lights in the distance.
Rustle rustle…
Suddenly, a sound that was familiar and slightly concerning, echoed from above.
Hmm?!
Sato's expression tensed. That sound… don't tell me…?!
Sure enough, a rope suddenly dropped from overhead and dangled in front of him. His expression became very complicated.
Creak… creak…
He stiffly tilted his head up, like a zombie.
The night sky sparkled with stars. Above, two small feet kicked and flailed, and then began to slip downward.
"Slow, Steady…"
Sato's face stiffened. Seriously…?
His expression quickly changed as his eyes moved downward.
"Hey, hey!"
He called out in alarm to the girl above. She blinked at him in confusion as he urgently pointed to the rope below her.
Hey hey! Why is the rope getting shorter?! This is the third floor...! if she falls, she's at least breaking a leg!
"Eh?!"
Realizing the situation, Takanashi Rikka let out a surprised cry. Her legs, wrapped in black over-the-knee socks, flailed wildly. She tried to climb back up, but in her panic, she only slipped lower.
Sato: "…"
He quickly reached out and caught her flailing feet. With a point of contact, Rikka began to calm down. He could even faintly hear her sigh of relief.
Looking up, the soft moonlight bathed her.
Behind her, the sky was clear, speckled with stars. A breeze rustled the cherry blossoms in the courtyard, making them fall like rain.
She wore a white eye patch over her right eye. Her left, an emerald green, was bright and clear.
She looked at Sato seriously and softly said:
"Let me ask you—"
"…Are you my Servant?"
Huh?
Hearing her ethereal voice, Sato's eye twitched. He couldn't help but say:
"Are you… chuunibyou or something?"
"Ah?" Rikka let out a dazed, adorable squeak. Sato felt the soft foot in his hand suddenly shift, then slip.
Whoosh!
Her body dropped. Startled, Sato reacted instinctively, catching her in his arms. Rikka clung tightly to the rope, body taut, face pale.
He held her under the arms. Her wide, shaken eyes locked with his, her chest rising and falling from fear.
"…As expected of my Servant."
Sato: "…"
"You idiot! Is this really the time to be acting all dramatic?!"
Her voice trembled, but he could only roll his eyes.
Suddenly, he shouted and pulled hard, lifting her whole body from over the balcony edge and dragging her inside.
"Get up here already!"