"I'll take these study guides."
"Two sets of this manga series."
"Huh? Oh, yes, of course. I'll ring those up for you."
The bald shop manager looked at Blondie, who had walked up to him with the study guides, and the busty hottie holding the manga. He gathered together the items in their hands.
"The total for all of these is..."
"Wait, ring them up separately," Blondie said.
"Huh?" The bald shop manager looked at Blondie, then at the hottie. Only then did he notice the two people standing beside this "couple."
One was a graceful-looking girl with braided hair, and the other was an ordinary, rather introverted otaku student.
"What are you looking at? I said ring them up separately. Don't you understand?" Blondie glared at him irritably.
"Sumimasen! Sumimasen! Hontou ni sumimasen!"
The bald shop manager jumped, then hurried to pack everything up.
Soon, the four of them had paid and left the store.
Even after leaving the bookstore, Akimoto Yoichi still wore a frown.
"What's wrong, Akimoto-kun? Are you that angry because someone looked at you strangely?" Ise Yuri asked, turning to him with her hands behind her back.
When the four of them had just paid, Ise Yuri had clearly noticed the bald shop manager's gaze, too.
He had looked back and forth between Akimoto Yoichi and Nagase Kumari behind him, then oddly scrutinized Akimoto Yoichi and Ise Yuri standing together.
Ise Yuri was clever and mature enough to read other people's expressions and thoughts.
Akimoto Yoichi's behavior had been rude, but he had been sticking up for her.
"I'm not angry about how people look at me. I'm pissed that people are looking at you strangely, Ise-senpai, just because you're with me."
Looking at Ise Yuri beside him, Akimoto Yoichi's frown eased.
He wasn't only