After killing time at the Library, Kazehara Tetsu decided to wander around.
He walked along the Pedestrian Street on the outskirts of the Shopping Mall.
When he reached the entrance of an Electronics Store, his steps came to an unintentional halt.
Ahead of him, someone stood motionless outside the store's automatic glass doors.
Sakura Airi.
She was wearing her school uniform and the glasses that covered nearly half her face.
Her long bangs nearly reached her eyes, shrouding her in a gloomy shadow.
She had a camera bag on her back, but the camera that should have been inside it was now cradled in both her hands.
She leaned forward slightly, as if she wanted to go inside.
But whenever the automatic doors sensed her approach and began to open, she would abruptly retreat a step.
She had repeated this back and forth several times already.
Her body language conveyed her hesitation, inner conflict, and fear to perfection.
Kazehara Tetsu leaned against a lamppost a short distance away, watching with interest.
Sakura Airi kept glancing through the shop's glass doors, then quickly looking away, the fear on her face growing more pronounced.
Kazehara Tetsu followed her gaze.
Through the spotless glass doors, he could see a slightly chubby man in his thirties wearing a store clerk's uniform.
The man wasn't busy helping other customers. Instead, he kept glancing up and casting an unsettling look toward the entrance.
A greasy smile played at the corners of his mouth, as if he were anticipating something.
The scene reminded Kazehara Tetsu of what had happened in the story he remembered.
The store clerk, who had ulterior motives, had discovered the identity of the idol Shizuku.
For Sakura Airi, whose social anxiety was so severe that she could barely communicate normally, stepping into the