"Um... can I ask something? Are you sure there's really a First Prize ball in this Lucky Draw? What if it's just a gimmick? Wouldn't we be drawing for nothing?"
"Of course there is!"
The cashier quickly waved her hands, her smile a little awkward. "We're a legitimate store. We'd never cheat our customers. The First Prize ball is definitely in there!"
"Words aren't proof."
Kazehara Tetsu shrugged. "Unless you let me see it for myself."
"Well..." The cashier looked troubled. That wasn't allowed.
But she couldn't exactly refuse a customer's reasonable concern, especially when she wasn't sure herself whether there really was a grand prize. After all, no one had won the First Prize during the promotion these past few days.
She hesitated, then said, "Um... I can ask the manager over the walkie-talkie. Please wait a moment."
She took a walkie-talkie from beneath the counter and quietly explained the situation to someone on the other end.
After a while, she set it down, looking relieved.
"Hello, sir. Our manager agreed. You can check the box, but please put everything back right away once you're done."
As she spoke, she lifted the lid off the Lottery Box, revealing the brightly colored balls inside.
"See? That golden one is the First Prize!" she said, pointing to a gold ball.
Kazehara Tetsu leaned closer, pretending to inspect it carefully.
As he looked at the golden ball, his other hand moved in the cashier's blind spot.
His little finger lightly scraped an inconspicuous spot along the underside of the counter.
There was a roll of Transparent Tape there, used for attaching labels.
He neatly pried off a small piece of the slightly sticky tape and hid it in the gap beneath his fingernail.
"Oh, so there really is one." He nodded, then reached out, picked up the golden ball, and examined it in his palm.
"Look, it even has 'First Prize' engraved on it." He held the ball up to the cashier to make sure.
"See? I told you I wasn't lying." The cashier let out a sigh of relief.
Then, at the very moment he put the golden ball back in the box, he pressed the small piece of Transparent Tape firmly onto its surface with his thumb and forefinger.
After finishing, he wore the same harmless smile as before.
"All right, I believe you. Can I start now?"
"Of course!"
The cashier put the lid back on the box and shook it vigorously several times, mixing the balls thoroughly.
She handed the box back to Kazehara Tetsu.
He reached inside.
Sakayanagi Arisu quietly watched his every move.
The cashier couldn't see what Kazehara Tetsu was doing, but Sakayanagi Arisu, standing beside him, saw it clearly.
The hand he'd put inside the box wasn't moving around at random like hers had. His fingers moved gently, as if he were... searching for something.
Kazehara Tetsu's fingers glided lightly and quickly over the surfaces of the many smooth balls.
He felt each ball with his fingertips.
Smooth... smooth... still smooth...
His movements looked hesitant, as if he were choosing carefully.
Until his fingertips touched something sticky and out of place.
This was it.
He gripped the marked ball in his palm, peeled off the Transparent Tape, and left it inside the box.
It was anyone's guess whether they'd notice the tape later. Even if they did, they'd probably think it had fallen in by accident.
He slowly pulled his hand out of the black box.
A golden ball lay in his palm.
"Wow... It's the First Prize! Congratulations!" she exclaimed.
Her voice drew the attention of several cashiers and customers from the neighboring aisles. They all turned to look, their faces full of envy.
"Guess I got lucky."
Kazehara Tetsu smiled with a hint of pleasant surprise.
He handed the golden ball to the cashier, who was now so flustered she could barely get a word out.
"Here's your prize!" The cashier hurriedly took a wrapped envelope from deep inside the counter and offered it to Kazehara Tetsu with both hands. "I hope you and your girlfriend have a wonderful time!"
Kazehara Tetsu carried a shopping bag full of ingredients in one hand and the envelope marked "First Prize" in the other.
Sakayanagi Arisu followed beside him at an unhurried pace, leaning on her cane. They kept half a step apart.
The evening breeze swept across the Campus, carrying away the day's noise and heat bit by bit.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the ground, where they overlapped.
When they reached the Dormitory Building, they entered the elevator, and Kazehara Tetsu pressed the button for the third floor.
The elevator stopped on the third floor, and the doors slid open.
Kazehara Tetsu stepped out first, with Sakayanagi Arisu following behind him.
She didn't hesitate.
Since she'd already accepted the identity of his "girlfriend," entering her "boyfriend's" room was only natural—a given part of the arrangement.
The corridor was empty. Kazehara Tetsu unlocked the door with his key card and stepped aside to let Sakayanagi Arisu go in first.
"Come in."
Sakayanagi Arisu's gaze lingered on his face for a moment before she calmly stepped inside.
Kazehara Tetsu closed the door. The click of the lock cut the room off from the outside world.
He set the shopping bag of ingredients on the kitchen counter, then turned to Sakayanagi Arisu, who was standing in the Entrance Hall with her cane.
"Make yourself at home. It'll be ready soon."
Sakayanagi Arisu didn't stand on ceremony. She walked farther into the room.
She took in the space.
It was simple.
Almost plain.
Aside from the bed, desk, chair, and wardrobe provided by the school, there were hardly any decorations.
The walls were clean white, and there was no rug on the floor.
Everything was neatly arranged. The books on the desk were stacked in tidy piles, and the chair was pushed in under the desk.
It didn't look like the room of a teenage boy. It was more like a standard hotel room—a temporary place with little sign of life.
She walked over to the bed, her gaze passing over the white sheets and pillow.
Then her eyes came to a halt.
A few fine strands of long purple hair, clearly out of place, lay on the pure white pillow.
Sakayanagi Arisu showed no reaction. She simply made a note of it and looked away, as though she hadn't seen a thing.
She walked over to the desk, her gaze falling on the book lying there.
There were plenty of books, and they covered all sorts of subjects.
The sound of running water from the kitchen interrupted her inspection.
Kazehara Tetsu had already started preparing the ingredients.
Sakayanagi Arisu walked over to the only chair and sat quietly, resting her cane beside the desk like a very patient diner waiting for the meal to begin.
She watched the figure working in the cramped kitchen.
Half an hour later, three dishes and a soup were neatly laid out on the small desk.
Mapo Tofu, stir-fried vegetables, sweet-and-sour pork, and a bowl of miso soup.
"It's a little simple, but I hope it'll do." Kazehara Tetsu set a bowl of rice and a pair of Chopsticks in front of her.
Sakayanagi Arisu picked up the Chopsticks. With elegant movements, she picked up a piece of pork coated in sauce and put it in her mouth.
The sweet and sour flavors burst across her palate. The pork was crisp on the outside and tender within.
She tried the Mapo Tofu next. Savory, numbing, spicy—the layers of complex flavors unfolded one after another, stimulating her taste buds.
"It really does taste good."
She slowed her chewing and gave an objective, sincere assessment.
It wasn't mere politeness. She meant it.
"Looks like I'm not bad in the kitchen." Kazehara Tetsu served himself a bowl of rice and sat across from her.