After spending so much time at the zoo and shopping, it was already around five when Natsume Chikage set off to meet Saionji Nanase.
He arrived beneath a streetlamp in Shibuya.
As soon as he got there, he spotted Nanase standing alone.
She looked especially cute today. She wore a cream-colored short-sleeved top with a Peter Pan collar and ties, a pale green long skirt, and a khaki canvas bag over her shoulder. The whole outfit looked fresh and sweet. Chikage found himself seeing her in a new light; somehow, she seemed cuter than ever before.
"Nanase." Chikage walked up and greeted her.
Nanase had been worried he might stand her up. The moment she saw him, her amethyst-bright eyes lit up. "Chikage, you're here!"
Chikage checked the time. "Am I late? When did you get here?"
"No, you're not late. I was just really looking forward to today... I might have come a little early." Nanase blushed.
"Looking forward to today?"
"Mm. I found a nice shop near Miura Coast recently, but it's a little far... It'll take about an hour and a half to get there, so the round trip will take three hours. We'll definitely get back late. Maybe we could just take a look at the shop and come straight back? What do you think?" Nanase sounded nervous. "If you think it's too far... we don't have to go today."
"Do you want to go?" Chikage asked.
"I do. I've wanted to go for ages... I just haven't dared to go that far by myself." Nanase gazed at him expectantly. She even rose onto her tiptoes and leaned closer. "What do you think, Chikage?"
He didn't know why, but whenever she looked at him like that, he felt as if he couldn't refuse her.
Sure enough,