Chapter 52: Let’s run away together!

With summer approaching, the weather was growing hotter day by day, reaching the point where people didn’t want to go outside at all.

And today was the day Ishikawa Yuka had promised to go out with Anmiya Marina.

Unlike the last time she went out with Matsuyama Shoko and her group, where it was difficult to coordinate due to the large number of people, resulting in a date after school on a weekday, it was much easier to arrange this time since it was just Yuka and Marina.

They had agreed to meet on Sunday and spend the entire day together, starting in the morning.

Today’s plan was to go window shopping, so they agreed to meet directly at the shopping mall.

It would have been possible to gather at one of their houses first before heading out, but going to either residence would take them further from the destination, so they decided to meet on site.

Yuka arrived at the agreed-upon location early, waiting for Marina.

The area was lined with high-end boutiques, completely different from the shopping centers that commoners usually frequented.

Yuka rarely came to places like this, so if there were any special rules here, she likely wouldn’t know them.

Today she was wearing a dress, and she felt a bit uneasy about her lower body.

Although she was mindful of the skirt, she could tolerate the school uniform skirt, and its hem was long enough that she generally wouldn’t expose anything unless someone deliberately tried to look up from below.

She rarely wore skirts privately.

Even if she did, she would definitely choose a style where it was impossible to see her underwear, and she would always pair it with safety shorts.

There was no way she would just wear a skirt with only panties underneath.

Because if she dressed too casually, her mother would nag incessantly, so she often wore a kimono in her mother’s presence.

After getting used to it at Sensei’s place, her aversion to the kimono had lessened.

And with a kimono, she basically didn’t have to worry about her underwear being seen.

Now that she had mastered the way to wear it, she actually wore kimonos more often.

But wearing a kimono wasn’t suitable for going out today, so she had chosen a dress instead.

Even though she was wearing safety shorts underneath, she was still worried about showing too much and felt uneasy.

Come to think of it, was there a problem with the design of this dress?

As clothing, it was fundamentally flawed, wasn’t it?

Wouldn’t everything be laid bare if someone looked up from below?

Some might think a first-grade kid talking about this was ridiculous.

It was true that their chests hadn’t developed yet, so there was nothing big about seeing their underwear or chest.

But personally, she just hated her underwear being seen, and she also hated men seeing her chest.

It had nothing to do with not being fully developed.

But she could only endure it… she had to be patient today.

It was good that she wasn’t directly exposing her panties; she was wearing safety shorts, so it was fine.

Calm down; it’s okay.
She wasn’t directly exposing her panties…

She really didn’t understand how other girls could wear these kinds of clothes without a care…

If it were her, she would always worry about the skirt flying up and would never be able to relax.

“I apologize for making you wait, Yuka.”

“Ah, Marina, good day. It’s not yet time for our appointment, don’t worry about it. I just came too early.”

Just as Yuka was lost in thought, Marina arrived.

Seeing that Yuka was there first, Marina seemed a bit apologetic.

Actually, it wasn’t yet time for their appointment; Marina hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Good day. Well then… do you have any plans for today?”

Marina glanced at Hana, who was accompanying Yuka, and then asked.

Yuka had only told her they would be shopping around here; although she had her own purposes and plans, she couldn’t state them clearly yet, so she gave a vague reply.

“Why don’t we browse the shops first?”

“Eh? Okay… alright.”

Looking at the slightly confused Marina, Yuka decided to take her shopping first.

They each had an attendant accompanying them—this was only natural; no family would let their children roam around the streets alone without a follower.

This was both for personal safety reasons.

If it was known which family’s child they were, they could be kidnapped.

Furthermore, they couldn’t rule out the possibility of becoming involved in an incident or accident.

In addition, they couldn’t let them carry large amounts of cash or credit cards, so there had to be an adult to pay the bills.

Hana followed Yuka, and Marina had two adults with her.

Thus, the five of them set out to browse the shops together.

“Ah… Marina, what do you think of this one?”

“Eh!? Th-This?”

In the clothing store they entered, Marina was surprised by the clothing Yuka recommended.

This was only natural; it was definitely not the style of clothes children like them from the upper classes usually wore.

Actually, there was nothing strange about it; it was just ordinary children’s clothing, which most people would consider normal.

It wasn’t a designer brand, nor was it a custom piece.

Although this area was a high-end commercial district, regular customers also came.

It wasn’t as if the clientele was absolutely limited to the upper class, nor were all the goods designer brands.

There were also some slightly more expensive goods that ordinary customers could afford on display.

As everyday wear for ordinary children, it might be considered a bit pricey in general society’s perception.

But it could be said to be the level of clothing bought for children for occasional dressing up.

She could also see ordinary parents and children as customers from time to time.

Rather, the five of them with their attendants stood out particularly in this setting.

Yuka certainly had her reasons for choosing this area.

Inviting the young lady of the Anmiya family out shopping—this was already the lowest acceptable limit.

Going to a place any more low-class would make it hard to even get her to agree to come, while a place that was too high-class wouldn’t achieve her purpose.

“What about something like this then?”

“Um… do you usually wear clothes like this, Yuka?”

Hearing Yuka recommend these rather cheap, roughly made clothes for them, Marina couldn’t help but ask.

If Yuka really wore these kinds of clothes, who knew what her mother would say to her.

“No, I’ve never worn clothes like this before.”

“If I wore them, I have no idea what Mother would say.”

“Haa…”
Marina wore an expression that said, ‘Then why are you recommending them?’

Was it time to tell Marina the truth?

This plan wouldn’t succeed without her cooperation.

If Marina didn’t participate, she would just have to activate Plan B.

“(Marina… we’re going to buy some clothes that ordinary people wear at this store and then change and slip away, okay?)”

“Eh!?”
Yuka whispered in her ear, and Marina cried out in surprise.

The attendants were standing a short distance away watching.

Since they were enjoying shopping, the attendants wouldn’t specifically come closer to listen to every word or interject.

As long as they didn’t do anything too outrageous, they would just keep their distance and observe.

But with these attendants present, they couldn’t act freely.

If they tried to do strange things or go to strange places, they would be stopped.

Then Yuka’s plan wouldn’t be able to be carried out.

“(I invited you here first to buy clothes for a change and then slip away.”

“If you don’t want to, I won’t force you, but how about we shake off the attendants and go out just the two of us?)”

“……”

Marina remained silent for a moment, looking troubled.

She must be weighing the pros and cons right now.

Being scolded afterward was certain, at the very least.

Although they didn’t intend to do anything bad, she had a high possibility of being scolded for shaking off the attendants and acting on her own.

But even so, Yuka wanted to try.

Everything was for the sake of becoming true friends with Marina…

“(I understand… so that’s why you recommended these strange clothes?)”

‘Strange clothes… they’re just ordinary, aren’t they?’

‘Isn’t there something wrong with my taste?’

‘They might seem strange to the young lady of the Anmiya family, but this is what ordinary people in society wear, right?’

“(We’ll buy a few changes of clothes… then change into disguises that won’t be easily recognized and slip away.)”

“(I understand.)”
It seemed Marina had agreed.

Now that she had made her decision, the rest was simple.

They bought some clothes that were both suitable for their status so they wouldn’t arouse suspicion and clothes they would never normally wear—though they weren’t strange, just what ordinary people wore.

After buying the clothes, they didn’t run away immediately but continued browsing several stores, buying things from time to time as preparation while they waited for an opportunity.

“Let’s take a short break.”

“Alright.”

After communicating with Marina, Yuka suggested they take a break.
They entered a coffee shop, set down their luggage, and ordered drinks.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Ah… then I’ll also…”

According to their plan, they would hand their luggage to the attendants and head toward the restroom after ordering drinks.

Yuka and Marina entered the restroom together, secretly changing into the clothes they had bought today.

They had also calculated the timing of entering the restroom.

The restrooms here were quite spacious.

While families with children were coming and going, they mixed into the group of similarly sized children and entered the restroom.

After quickly changing, they left the restroom mixed in with those children.

Emi and one of the attendants brought by Marina were still waiting at the table.
Of the two attendants brought by Marina, one male one remained at the table, while the other waited near the restroom.

But he hadn’t actually followed them inside, which was his mistake.

Mixed in with the group of children, Yuka and Marina successfully avoided the gaze of the other attendant waiting near the restroom and came outside.

Suppressing the urge to run away immediately, they carefully left the store.

“Haaa… we did it, Yuka!”

“Yes. More smoothly than I expected.”

The slightly excited Marina said to Yuka.

The famous brand custom clothing she had been wearing initially had been exchanged for a cheap printed T-shirt.

Yuka herself had changed into pants, hid her hair, and wore a hat; she might even be mistaken for a boy.

The attendants would definitely never think they would be wandering outside in these outfits.

“Well then, Yuka… what should we do next?”

“Hmm, let’s walk for a while. I’ve already decided on our destination.”

Hearing Yuka’s words, Marina nodded and silently followed.

The reason for choosing the area where they bought the change of clothes was also because of its excellent location.

Yuka intended to take Marina to an ordinary shopping center.

To the Yuka of her past life, a shopping center was a familiar place.

Ordinary commoners would have visited those kinds of malls.

But given their circumstances in this life, it was impossible for them to enter a normal shopping center.

They always went to famous brand stores or custom shops.

Yuka felt that in order to be sincere with Marina, she had to narrow the distance between them.

If they always went to those pretentious high-end shops, it would be difficult to truly open their hearts.

So, she wanted to experience the life of an ordinary commoner like she had in her past life without having to put on a facade.

Doing this would certainly lead to a scolding later.

And there was no guarantee that it would allow her to be truly sincere with Marina.

But if she continued to wear a mask at school, or always acted like a prim and proper lady while shopping in high-end stores, she felt that she would never be able to truly get close.

She had to show a more real… undisguised self and treat each other with sincerity.

In that sense, she thought of experiencing the life of a commoner, which didn’t require pretense, like she had in her past life.

“Ah, I can see it.”

“Waaa… it feels like I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

After walking for a while, they arrived at a fairly large shopping center nearby.

Of course, Yuka had never been inside, and Marina likely hadn’t either.

Although she had visited similar facilities in her past life, she had never been to this one.

Because it was a large-scale complex that had been reported on TV, she had seen it.

As a prominent building in the vicinity, she had seen it as well.

Yuka had investigated it beforehand and believed she had a certain level of familiarity with it.

“What should we do once we get there?”

“Hmm… it’s almost noon; why don’t we have lunch first? We didn’t really rest properly earlier.”

“Ahaha. That’s true.”

For the first time, Marina offered a smile to Yuka.

Although it was still a bit early for noon, it would get crowded around lunchtime.

Having been walking and browsing stores since the morning, their throats were parched, so they decided to have lunch first as soon as they got there.