It was a day off, and the sky was clear with soft clouds drifting lazily.
Nohara Sato arrived at the agreed meeting spot with the Light Music Club members, glancing down at the message on his phone.
"We're coming out now!"
Within minutes, four familiar figures appeared at the station exit. They scanned the area and quickly spotted him.
"Hey! Sato!"
"You guys came together?"
"Haha! We got lucky! We didn't expect to end up on the same train."
Tainaka Ritsu chuckled, then waved to Akiyama Mio and the others to hurry over.
It was Golden Week, and the streets were noticeably more crowded with both pedestrians and vehicles compared to an ordinary workday.
Sato greeted Akiyama Mio and the others, then looked toward Hirasawa Yui at the back of the group with her hair messy, eyes half-shut.
"Yui, didn't sleep well last night?"
"Yeah, I practiced guitar too late."
Yui rubbed her eyes, smiling sheepishly.
"You should be careful, Yui. Staying up late can cause breakouts."
"Huh? Really?"
Yui looked surprised at Mio.
Mio nodded earnestly.
Since her mother was a doctor, she knew quite a bit about this stuff.
Staying up late disrupts metabolism, making it easy to get acne, though some lucky people never seem affected. Jealousy, really…
"I didn't know that. I've stayed up late before and never had that happen," Yui said, first realizing it, then seeming a bit nervous.
Swish!
Unaware of the implications, Yui didn't notice several subtle glances cast her way.
Among them was even the ever-gentle heiress herself.
"Ahem, Ritsu, maybe you should tell us what we're doing today," Sato said, steering the conversation quickly to prevent Yui from being dissected under curious gazes.
"Oh, right!"
"Our task today is to count traffic flow. To avoid errors, we work in pairs. It's a six-hour job, but since it's outdoors, the hourly rate is great! We'll take turns."
"Huh?"
Sato paused for a moment, his tone slightly odd. "There's still work like that nowadays?"
"Hey! What do you mean 'still'?!" Ritsu glared at him, annoyed. This was a job she worked hard to find.
Then Sato remembered.
Right… In this world, they were still in the age of flip phones. Smartphones weren't even a thing yet. No wonder. A few years later, with 4G or 5G, jobs like this would probably just need a camera to handle.
"You all wait here. I'll go get the equipment!"
Ritsu could be flighty, but she still took her role as club president seriously.
"I'll go too."
As the only guy in the club, Sato naturally couldn't let her go alone.
…
Soon, they returned with the tools.
Two timers, two chairs, and sunhats.
Since there were only two sets of equipment, not everyone could stay on-site. The rest would wait elsewhere while two people worked at a time.
Working in pairs also kept things from getting boring.
"Yui and I will start. After half an hour, Mio will take over for Yui. An hour later, Sato will switch with me. Then Mugi will take over for Yui. Everyone works for thirty minutes. Sound good?"
"No problem!"
"Great. It's almost nine, so let's start. The rest of you can rest at the mall over there, it's shaded."
"We'll head over then," Sato said.
"Alright!"
…
Not far from them, the mall.
Outside were tables and chairs for resting, with umbrellas providing shade.
Sato, Mio, and Kotobuki Tsumugi sat together.
"Want to get some snacks?" Mugi asked, blinking her big eyes as she glanced at the brightly lit shops nearby.
Hearing that, Sato and Mio instinctively looked toward the mall. On the first floor were cafés and cake shops, and even from here, you could smell the rich aroma of coffee and sweetness of pastries.
"Ahem… That's probably not a good idea," Sato said, coughing lightly. They were here on a club activity meant to earn money, and the food here didn't look cheap. It felt a bit off…
Even if none of them were really short on money, they were here mainly for Yui's sake, Ritsu and Yui were still working. It felt… kind of wrong.
"Yeah…" Mio mumbled, looking down, clearly feeling guilty.
Seeing the two decline, Mugi seemed to give up.
But she still looked around curiously, her eyes sparkling as if everything interested her.
Sato watched quietly.
Now that he thought about it, aside from those thick eyebrows, Mugi's chubby cheeks were quite attention-grabbing too. Was it from loving food too much?
"I've been wondering, what's in that box you brought?" Mio suddenly asked, pointing to the container Mugi had been carrying all along.
"This?" Mugi tilted her head and smiled, lifting the box in her arms. "It's snacks and lunch."
"Huh? Then earlier..."
"Oh, I just wanted to eat something," Mugi replied cheerfully.
Sato: "…"
Mio: "…"
So she really was a foodie heiress.
Sato couldn't help but think so, glancing around absentmindedly.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, his eyes locked onto a figure in the distance, his expression turning to surprise.
No way… not again?