Chapter 55: True Heartfelt Friends

In the small accessory shop in the shopping center, Ishikawa Yuka and Anmiya Marina bought a pair of matching small charms.

Inside the transparent glass spheres were glitter and star-shaped resin decorations, looking like miniature goldfish bowl ornaments, except a brilliant galaxy was swimming inside.

The two of them finally selected this starry sky-themed charm as a memento of the day.

Yuka had specifically brought cash, thinking she could buy whatever Marina took a fancy to, but she didn’t expect that after wandering through the entire mall, they would only come away with this pair of small items.

It wasn’t that Marina was being polite; it was just that the products in these commoner shopping centers were novel to her but didn’t quite make her heart skip a beat.

Whether it was the clothing or the accessories, the texture was worlds apart from the treasures in her private room.

To Marina, this adventure was more of a fresh experience, and her desire to shop was not strong.

Only this pair of charms was different; they carried the shared memory of the two sneaking out, making them souvenirs more precious than the items themselves.

Seeing the sky grow late, the rebellious journey reached its end.

They returned to the restroom to change back into their original clothing, which had merely been tucked into their bags earlier rather than discarded.

When they reappeared, the two were once again young ladies draped in fine silks; had they wandered through the mall dressed like this, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t snag their clothes or get them stained.

Yuka turned on her phone to contact the attendants.

Unsurprisingly, just as they returned to the original business district, Emi and Marina’s two attendants arrived in a flash.

There was sweat on their brows, and their expressions shifted from relief to an impending storm.

“Miss Yuka! Just what on earth were you thinking!”

“I’m sorry…”

Although Emi certainly couldn’t lay a hand on her, that thunderous rage made Yuka wish she’d just taken a beating instead.

In contrast, while Marina was also being lectured on her side, the atmosphere was much milder; after all, Emi and Yuka were as close as sisters, so Emi naturally scolded her without any reservations.

“Miss Yuka! Are you listening to me!”

“I am! I’m really listening!”

Yuka hurriedly regained her composure and lowered her head to admit her mistake.

Once Emi’s anger had subsided a bit, she stole a glance at Marina; those two attendants didn’t seem to have reported the matter to their masters yet.

The five insiders reached a tacit understanding and decided to guard this secret together.

This was actually against the rules.

Normally, the attendants should have reported it immediately upon discovering they were missing; keeping it hidden now was a dereliction of duty.

Yuka knew full well: if the attendants had followed the rules back then, the police would likely have been alerted, causing a massive uproar.

But what puzzled her was that Emi also participated in the cover-up.

With Emi’s loyalty, she should have contacted the family immediately, regardless of any punishment.

Unless…

Yuka looked at Marina; had she contacted the attendants midway?

Although both of them had turned off their phones, Marina might have used other methods to send a message.

That would explain why the attendants chose to search in secret rather than report it.

Thinking of this, Yuka felt both ashamed and grateful.

Something she should have considered thoroughly had been quietly arranged by Marina.

****

After returning home, Yuka observed in secret and found that her parents were completely unaware; as expected, Emi had kept her lips sealed.

Although she had been scolded to the bone, escaping a heavy punishment was a stroke of luck.

At dinner, her father casually asked about today’s itinerary, and Yuka, feeling like a thief, gave a vague response.

Fortunately, her mother only gave her customary reminders and didn’t pry into the details of the shopping.

The cheap clothes bought for the disguise were still hidden in her bag, and as long as she didn’t produce the physical items, she wouldn’t be caught.

“What kind of clothes did you buy?” Brother Yota suddenly asked.

“Brother, it’s quite ungentlemanly to pry into a girl’s shopping details.”

Yuka deflected him lightly, secretly amused by the sight of Yota sinking into deep thought.

Hurriedly finishing her meal, she solemnly placed the galaxy charm on her desk.

“Emi, I’m sorry about today.”

“…I’m still angry.”

Yuka smiled sheepishly as she pulled out the escape gear.

These could absolutely not be discovered by her mother, but discarding them randomly was even more dangerous, so she could only entrust Emi to handle them.

“If you keep these, you’ll probably sneak out again, won’t you?”

“Ugh…”

Despite her complaints, Emi still took the clothes.

Yuka understood that her shopping trips would be strictly scrutinized from now on, but that little flame of rebellion in her heart had not yet been extinguished.

She had to keep a backup plan, didn’t she?

“You wouldn’t happen to be plotting something bad again, would you?”

“How could I~”

Yuka blinked her innocent eyes, her heart already beginning to plan the next operation.

****

Monday at Ōka Academy was shrouded in a melancholic morning light.

Yuka greeted Marina, who was already seated in the classroom as usual.

“Marina, good day.”

“Yuka, good day.”

Today, Marina’s smile was exceptionally soft.

Yuka couldn’t help but think of her commoner friends from her past life; was their relationship also shifting toward that kind of relaxed and comfortable direction?

“Was everything okay afterward yesterday?”

“Mm… I was lectured; she probably hasn’t calmed down yet.”

As expected, Marina had suffered the same fate.

But when she said softly, “But it was really fun… I’ve never had an experience like that before,” the loneliness flickering in her eyes left Yuka stunned.

Truly, none of the children in this Academy had ever been to a commoner’s shopping mall, but the melancholy Marina revealed seemed to hold a deeper meaning.

Yuka suddenly realized that if she couldn’t read this emotion, they would never be able to become true friends who shared their hearts.