6:30 p.m.
Shinji, carrying a fish basket, had not yet stepped off the pedestrian path of Miyou River Bridge when he spotted a small purple figure in the park below.
At the same time, Illya, who was sitting on a swing in the park, seemed to notice Shinji as well. With a little "Heave-ho!" she jumped down from the swing, landing steadily with her arms spread.
Watching this, Shinji, though firmly convinced that he was not a lolicon, still felt that Illya, smiling and waving at him below, was indeed very cute.
Picking up the hot drink that had just dropped into the slot beneath the vending machine, Shinji leisurely walked toward Illya, who was sitting on a park bench and staring curiously at the fish in his basket.
"Here."
"Thank you, big brother."
Illya happily accepted the hot drink from Shinji.
Sitting beside her and leaning back against the bench, Shinji opened his coffee and took a sip. At the same time, he discreetly watched Illya, who swung her legs as she held the hot drink in both hands, sipping it while blinking her large, curious eyes at the fish.
Though it was difficult to discern any unusual emotion from Illya's curiosity-filled eyes, Shinji still keenly caught a fleeting trace of gloom deep within them.
"What's wrong? You seem a little unhappy..." Shinji looked straight ahead, speaking as if casually. "Did a character you liked in an anime you liked die or something?"
"Pfft—hehehe..." Illya suddenly laughed. "You're such a strange person, big brother. You're obviously not that old, yet you're so perceptive..."
Shinji did not answer, but from Illya's reaction, he could more or less guess what had happened.
As clever as Illya was, she must have sorted it out yesterday—or at least connected the possibility that