On Saturday, Sawahara and Ichinose agreed to meet at Keyaki Mall.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Sawahara."
"I just got here too." Sawahara smiled at Ichinose, whose chest rose and fell slightly after jogging over.
"I'll be counting on you today, Ichinose."
He had asked Ichinose to come out with him because the seasons were about to change and the weather was getting colder. He planned to buy some clothes and wanted someone there to help him choose.
He had considered asking Ryuen or Shiina, but eventually thought better of it.
"Sure, leave it to me." Ichinose looked a little excited. Her outfit had clearly been carefully chosen. The white sweater did its best to conceal her impressive figure, and she seemed to wear a faint scent of jasmine.
The two of them headed to the second floor of Keyaki Mall. He didn't plan to spend too much, since he'd be wearing his school uniform most of the time and would only need these clothes during breaks. Spending too many points on them would be a waste.
Ichinose agreed with Sawahara's reasoning. They skipped the expensive brand-name stores and went straight to a discount shop that was clearly aimed at students on a tight budget.
"Your family isn't very well-off, right, Ichinose?" Sawahara asked as they browsed the clothes. It was obvious that this wasn't her first time here. Their class shouldn't have been short on points, so she'd probably learned to be frugal at home.
"Yeah." Ichinose nodded. She picked a black jacket off the rack, held it up against Sawahara, then handed it to him.
"This school doesn't charge tuition, and we even get points every month. It's like heaven to me. Though only Class A is guaranteed a job after graduation, and having so many classes competing