When I Brought The Lost Little Girl To Her House, The One Who Came Out Of The Front Door Was The Most Beautiful Girl In The Grade. - Chapter 73

“Don’t be so jittery, Assistant-kun!”

Whenever I started glancing around, appearing nervous due to the attention of others, Souta would promptly warn me. At some point, we ended up adopting the roles of detective and assistant.

“I’m the assistant?”

“Never mind that, let’s keep tailing.”

“Tailing, also known as stalking.”

“Wrong! It’s tailing!”

Souta was way too into it. His manner of speaking was completely different from his usual tone, which made it quite amusing.

“Still, it’s just a regular job.”

“No, you’re being too naive, Assistant-kun.”

“Huh? Too naive… about what?”

“Your thinking, Assistant-kun.”

Dangerous, dangerous. I was starting to get a bit irritated. If Mimura had said something like that, I might have lost my cool.

“Well then, what’s your theory, Souta?”

“He might be meeting up with a woman. After leaving the shop, he noticed he was being tailed by someone, so he chose a meeting spot a bit away from the place and within walking distance.”

“Ah, he went into the shop.”

“I thought that might be the case, but it seems I was wrong.”

Could I just punch him once?

To avoid hitting Souta, I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

“Shall we go in?”

“Um, well, sure.”

Saying so, I entered the shop that seemed to be Mimura’s workplace along with Souta.

“Welcome~ Table for two, is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Would you prefer seating at the counter?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

With that, we were led to our seats at the counter.

From what I could tell by looking at the menu, it seemed like a café inside.

“Ryoko-san, sorry for being late.”

Saying that, the person who came in front of us was none other than Mimura, who had been playing with us just a moment ago.

“Welcome… What can I… Oh, wow, what a handsome double-take.”

“Why? Why are you here?”

“What? What’s wrong with that? We’re customers here!”

As I said that, Mimura gave me a strongly displeased look.

Somehow, an odd sense of guilt started to well up within me.

“Oh? Shin-chan’s friends?”

“W-Well, yes…”

“Well then, we should introduce ourselves.”

“Huh? Oh, you don’t have to, really. They’re just…”

“Mimura, that’s a bit harsh.”

“Exactly!”

As Souta and I voiced our disapproval of Mimura’s treatment, one of Mimura’s senior coworkers laughed.

“Hahaha~! These kids are interesting.”

“Well, they’re good guys, but…”

“I’m Isami Ryoko, nice to meet you.”

To sum up Ryoko Isami in one word: beautiful. She also seemed competent at her job. Overall, she gave off a very positive impression as a senior colleague.

“So, what about you guys?”

“I’m Kuroda. This is Souta.”

“Ah! You’re the ones Shin-chan always talks about with such excitement, so I already remembered your names.”

With a cheeky smile, she looked at us.

“Don’t say embarrassing things!”

“Oh come on, it’s fine.”

“It’s not okay!”

“Geez, what’s the fuss about?”

“Alright! Work, work! I’ll take care of these two!”

Her expression when she interacted with us and when she faced Isami-san were completely different.

The instant she turned around, her face turned stern and almost demon-like.

“How much longer until we’re done here?”

“We just got here.”

“About 15 minutes? More than that is not allowed.”

“Seems like quite a while.”

“You’re welcome to leave right now.”

I thought about how they must view an important customer like Mimura. If I were in Mimura’s shoes and Souta and I showed up at his workplace, I would feel a bit embarrassed.

But getting used to this was just a matter of time, I guess. I’m scared of that version of myself.

“Mimura-kun, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure!”

Mimura said “I’m the manager” to us and walked toward the voice calling him.

“Hey, hey.”

Suddenly, Isami-san, who had been taking orders earlier, came up right beside us.

“W-What is it? Is it okay to slack off on the job?”

“It’s fine! I just want to chat a bit.”

“Well, if Isami-san says so…”

Souta and I exchanged glances and chuckled awkwardly.

“You’re on good terms with Shin-chan?”

“Well, yes, we hang out a lot.”

“But working a job means less time for hanging out, right? Isn’t it a bit lonely to be friends like that?”

“Of course, there’s less time, but when we can hang out, we make the most of it. Isn’t that how friendship works?”

Upon hearing this, Isami-san seemed slightly surprised.

“So, even though Shin-chan’s working, you still treat him as your friend?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“Hehe, just as I heard.”

“Huh?”

“That’s about the answer I expected.”

“Oh?”

“This conversation’s about him,” she said, chuckling, as she brewed coffee.

I began to think that Isami-san was a bit mysterious.