A Case in Which My House Is a Gathering Place for Girls - Chapter 21: Why Doesn’t the Automatic Door Respond

“What are you doing without going in?”

There’s no way the automatic door isn’t responding and preventing me from entering the store. Even though we talked a little bit during the physical education class, I felt like it would be troublesome if I was approached here. So, I decided to pretend I didn’t notice and walk past.

“Ah, Itsuki…!”

Just as I thought about it, our eyes met. She approached me with a face as if she had found the owner she had been waiting for many years. It was almost the same time that Sasazuki grabbed me by the sleeve as I turned around thinking about running away. It was strange. We were still quite far apart a moment ago, so how did she close the distance in an instant? Did she just teleport?

“You can see me, don’t you? Please… help me, Itsuki?”

Sasazuki was holding my sleeve tightly with a desperate expression. I sighed and decided to listen to her after seeing how serious she was.

“All right. If I can help you, I’ll help. So it would be helpful if you let go of my sleeve.”

“…You  won’t run away?”

Sasazuki asks as her eyes glistening with tears. I take back what I thought earlier. She’s not a pet waiting for its owner’s return—she’s more like a puppy that always wants to be with someone.

“I won’t run away. So stop making that face.”

As I spoke, I patted Sasazuki on the head. The sensation reminded me of when I used to comfort Kanna as a child when she would whine about wanting to keep playing or not wanting to be alone. She never threw full tantrums, but it was still exhausting every day.

“You asked me to help you, but what should I do?”

“It’s so easy. I want you to help me get groceries.”

“In short, shopping. Are you planning to buy so much that you can’t carry it all yourself?”

She wouldn’t be asking for help if that weren’t the case. But when I asked her a question, she looked at me as if to say that she didn’t know what I was talking about.

“? I’m not a glutton. Even if I buy it for a few days, I can still carry it all by myself.”

“Then why did you ask me for help?”

“There is a deeper reason for this than the sea.”

Sasazuki began explaining her peculiar situation with an exaggerated preamble.

“As I’m sure Itsuki knows, I entered the show business when I was three years old and started working. People call me a genius child actor or the nation’s beloved daughter, and adore me.”

Sasazuki struck a smug pose while puffing out her chest proudly. I understood her pride, but it’s not something to do at the entrance of a shop where people come and go when shopping.

“Because of that, my parents have told me that scandals are not allowed.”

As a celebrity, even as a curious and impressionable child, she had to be careful. In this age of SNS, even the smallest misstep could quickly escalate into a major scandal. I could understand why her parents were so strict.

“Because of that, I became extremely skilled at erasing my presence and blending into the background like air.”

“I see… Is that why Sasazuki’s presence feels so faint?”

“Thanks to that, I’ve never been noticed by my fans even when I was walking around the city like this. Now I’ve practically turned into an invisible person.”

Maybe that’s why she was able to drink juice before physical education class started and do whatever she pleased. Thinking back, during the self-introductions in the classroom after the entrance ceremony, she had to actively make her presence known to Misuta-sensei.

“Because of this special ability, I can’t shop properly in my daily life, and I’ve never made any friends at school. Even if I want to enter the store, the automatic door won’t respond to me.”

I never imagined that she actually couldn’t enter a store because the doors wouldn’t open for her. I was holding my head in disbelief as I forced out a response.

“…Can’t you switch on and off with that special ability?”

“If I could, I wouldn’t have had such a hard time.”

Sasazuki muttered in a sad voice, shrugging her shoulders.

Sasazuki wasn’t treated as creepy or bullied unlike Kanna. But seeing her looking so down, I couldn’t help but see an image of the old Kanna. The lonely and unable to fit into any group. Maybe that’s why these words naturally slipped out of my mouth.

“Not to mention shopping, I can be your friend if it’s alright with you.”

Sasazuki’s eyes widened in shock at my words, and then turned down in a flustered manner. Did I say something wrong? Just as I started feeling a bit dejected, she grabbed my sleeve again.

“…I’ll think about whether we can be friends or not.”

Sasazuki flashed a radiant smile as she looked up. Her eyes glistened as if tears were about to drop.

“I see… So it’s a no?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll continue thinking about it. Shopping is more important now than that. Be prepared because you’re going to help me with everything.”

Sasazuki pulls my sleeve to shop while talking, and walks into the supermarket briskly. The automatic door, which I was concerned about, opened and closed properly. I figured my role here was probably done.

“This is still the beginning. Stay on guard.”

Sasazuki muttered a line that sounded like something a certain bespectacled tennis club captain would say as she placed a basket onto a shopping cart and immediately started picking out groceries.