By the time Uesugi Hara finally snapped out of his trance, the time in the upper-right corner of his Terminal had already jumped to eight.
He jolted, staring at Shizuku-chan's photo shoot still on the screen. What had just gotten into him?
He'd actually spent hours watching a pretty girl's videos without even noticing, just like the old pervs in the comments!
He'd never been all that into this kind of thing before, had he?
Uesugi Hara tightened his grip on his Terminal, turned the screen off, then turned it back on, checking the time again and again.
Thinking of the comment he'd just posted, he suddenly couldn't sit still. When had he gotten so blunt? Could he be some kind of pervert, too? Did he really like looking at legs that much?
Once the thought crossed his mind, he couldn't shake it. He hurriedly opened his browser and typed, "Is it normal for guys to like looking at legs?"
As the page loaded, he even felt a little nervous, as if he were investigating some shameful secret.
The search results covered all sorts of angles. Some called it a "normal physiological response," others analyzed it as an "aesthetic instinct," and a few articles even brought up "evolutionary psychology."
Uesugi Hara skimmed through them one by one. His brow gradually relaxed, and at last he let out a sigh of relief at the screen. "So it's normal after all..."
So that awkward feeling he'd had just now was nothing but him scaring himself.
He closed the page, and the weight on his mind finally lifted.
Uesugi Hara rose from his chair and stretched both arms over his head. A string of faint cracks came from his bones, and the stiffness from sitting for so long finally eased a little. His throat felt dry. Rubbing his chin, he decided to head downstairs to the convenience store for a bottle of chilled oolong tea.
The convenience store's automatic doors slid open with a ding, and warm yellow light mingled with the aroma of food as it washed over him. Uesugi Hara was just about to step inside when a familiar figure in the shadows by the shelves caught the corner of his eye. He stopped in his tracks.
It was his good buddy, Kamuro Masumi.
She was looking around with an unusually serious expression, a hint of nervousness in her eyes.
Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. He instantly abandoned the idea of calling out to her, instead moving behind the nearby oden counter, folding his arms and settling in to watch.
Kamuro Masumi was keeping an eye on her surroundings. It wasn't her first time doing this, but it was still thrilling.
She quickly surveyed the store. The clerk was looking down at an order sheet, no one at the register was watching, and the other customers were focused on picking out their own items. Then, as swift as a cat, she reached out, snatched a can of beer from the shelf, and slipped it into the pocket of her uniform skirt with a neat flick of her wrist.
The whole thing happened in a flash. Once she was done, she calmly smoothed her clothes and walked toward the door with steady steps, as if nothing had happened.
Watching from the side, Uesugi Hara couldn't help clicking his tongue. The corner of his mouth twitched.
Kamuro, who would've thought? You look so honest, but you've got the nerve to casually shoplift from a convenience store.
Uesugi Hara didn't waste any time. He hurried after her.
As soon as he stepped out of the convenience store, the evening breeze cleared his head a little.
He quickly caught up with Kamuro Masumi, whose steps seemed unsteady, reached out, and gave her shoulder a light slap. His voice drawled lazily, with a rather deliberate air of "what a coincidence." "Kamuro, fancy running into you here?"
Kamuro Masumi jolted at the slap and stumbled a step.
She swatted Uesugi Hara's hand off her shoulder and replied stiffly, "It sure is. What do you want? Is something wrong?"
"Nothing major." Uesugi Hara sauntered along, his eyes flicking toward her with an amused smile. "I just saw some suspicious-looking person in the convenience store and thought they looked interesting, so I watched for a bit."
Kamuro Masumi's eyes flickered. She stiffened her neck and shot back, "Oh? So what? What's that got to do with me?"
"Huh?" Uesugi Hara drew the sound out, speaking in an almost innocent tone. "But I'm pretty sure I saw that person do something less than honorable... Do you think I should report them to the clerk?"
The impatience on Kamuro Masumi's face instantly froze. Seeing that Uesugi Hara knew what had happened, she decided to brazen it out and lifted her chin. "I took it. So what?"
Uesugi Hara suddenly changed the subject and asked seriously, "Kamuro, would you say we're good buddies?"
Before Kamuro could answer, he quickly added, "Good buddies are supposed to help each other out, right?"
Kamuro Masumi had almost laughed at his "good buddy" line, but when she heard the rest, the smile on her lips vanished. Looking uncomfortable, she mumbled, "I guess... yeah."
"What do you mean, 'I guess'?" Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. "Either we are or we aren't."
"...We are." Kamuro Masumi gritted her teeth and answered quietly.
"Since we're good buddies," Uesugi Hara said, stepping a little closer and lowering his voice, "I'll definitely keep a little thing like this a secret for you. Right?"
Kamuro Masumi pressed her lips together. After a long pause, she managed to squeeze out a single syllable. "...Right."
"So, if that's the case," Uesugi Hara said, as if he'd just thought of something, his tone growing more casual, "if I ever run into trouble, you, my good buddy, ought to give me a hand too, shouldn't you?"
Kamuro Masumi looked up at him. For some reason, she felt a little uneasy, but she still forced herself to answer, "...Right."
As soon as she finished speaking, Uesugi Hara's face broke into a bright smile. He patted her shoulder. "That's more like it."
"Now, your good buddy here wants to check something. You'll help me, right?" Uesugi Hara sounded quite casual.
Kamuro Masumi immediately furrowed her brow and eyed him suspiciously from head to toe. Her shoulders, which had just relaxed, tensed up again. "Isn't this a little too fast? You just said that, and you already need something?" She glanced around and instinctively touched the can of beer in her pocket, afraid he'd ask for something outrageous.
"Just tell me whether you'll agree."
Kamuro Masumi was stumped by the question. Her brow furrowed even more, and suspicion practically spilled from her eyes. She shifted her feet hesitantly, then finally managed to say, "Let me make this clear first: I won't do anything too ridiculous... But fine, I'll help you."
As soon as she finished, Uesugi Hara's eyes lit up, as if he'd been waiting a long time to hear those words.
"You really are my good buddy. I knew I could count on you!" Uesugi Hara patted her arm, smiling openly. "It's actually nothing major. I just noticed something today, and I might need your help confirming it."
Kamuro Masumi narrowed her eyes warily. "What do you need me to do?"
"It's just... well..." Uesugi Hara suddenly stumbled over his words. His cheeks flushed slightly, and his gaze drifted toward the streetlight. His fingers fidgeted against his face. He looked so awkward, you'd think he had some earth-shattering secret he couldn't bring himself to share.
Kamuro Masumi frowned at him and impatiently urged, "What is it? Just spit it out."
Uesugi Hara took a deep breath, then abruptly turned to face her. He spoke quickly and quietly, with the desperate courage of someone burning his bridges. "It's just... buddy, can I take a look at your legs?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the air froze.
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