Kazuo spent the entire morning by Aoi's side, getting a rough understanding of the purpose and price of items in the store such as maintenance tools, special horseshoes, and cleaning devices.
According to Aoi, at least the academies in Tokyo and the Fuchu Racecourse have commercial partnerships with this place, and things like equipment maintenance are basically sent here.
Manager Kiryu was currently doing this work, while sales were largely managed by other store employees.
Due to the Golden Week holiday, the store originally only planned to have Aoi help out, but Kazuo was introduced by Toujou Hana. Out of trust for his old classmate, Kiryu hired him without a second thought and also agreed to let Kazuo stay here temporarily.
Knowing this, he couldn't help but feel motivated and work hard.
In the morning, aside from a few individuals who came to discuss orders and deliver parts, Aoi would go to communicate or call Kiryu from his room to handle the handover.
For the rest of the time, Aoi introduced Kazuo to all the detailed information about the store's products.
Although this knowledge was all about equipment directly related to the Horse Racing athletes themselves, mastering these things gave Kazuo a new understanding of race types and how to respond to them.
The gains from this morning could be said to be immense.
As break time approached, Kazuo proactively offered to run errands.
After all, as a newcomer, Aoi, who had been guiding him, hadn't rested at all that morning. Kiryu also seemed to have been tinkering with something in his room, rarely coming out except for important matters.
Instead of having himself guard the store, it would be better for Aoi to stay on standby in the store, as she could better handle any new tasks. And buying lunch boxes from the supermarket, such errand-running was something he could do.
Arriving at a nearby convenience store, Kazuo searched for suitable lunch boxes in the dazzling array of refrigerated cabinets.
Manager Kiryu said he wanted soba noodles, Aoi wanted tomato meat sauce pasta, and for himself at noon... he would just make do.
Kazuo didn't have anything in particular he wanted to eat, as long as it could fill him up.
However, when a person is indecisive and happens to discover a new, untried flavor on the shelf, they often feel an urge to buy it.
Spicy and sour tendon, egg yolk sauce, cheese bento… The name of the bento, seen inadvertently, made him fall into contemplation.
The ingredients in this name were too mixed, to the point where it made one wonder what this extremely complex flavor would actually be like.
Although it was suspicious, it only cost 500 yen, which made him a little tempted.
Just as he finally made up his mind to reach for the bento on the shelf, another small hand reached out and touched his.
Kazuo and the other person had both set their sights on the same bento.
"Excuse me, I'll let you have this one."
Kazuo instinctively pulled his hand back, feeling that the soft, delicate hand was characteristic of a girl, and fighting with a child for something was not what an adult should—
It was Daijin.
Uh, how should he describe the scene at this moment?
The two of them stared at each other, Daijin on her tiptoes trying to reach the bento, while Kazuo turned to look at her, stunned.
Both seemed to have frozen, completely not expecting to meet each other here.
After 0.5 seconds to react, Kazuo finally noticed Daijin's outfit.
Unlike what he usually saw at school, she was wearing a high-necked white short t-shirt, light blue jeans, and a red apron with white trim, with a flower shop logo embroidered in the center.
Although it might be a bit unkind to say so, Daijin at this moment looked more like a little adult. Although she was small, she had a forced sense of maturity.
And after another 0.5 seconds, Kazuo suddenly remembered what Daijin had told him earlier, that she would be helping out at her mother's flower shop during this time—
However, meeting her in this place was truly too much of a coincidence.
Kazuo couldn't help but shift his gaze downwards, and just happened to see her tiptoes, which had been raised the entire time… "Well"
Noticing Kazuo's gaze, Daijin also instantly snapped back to reality.
Her delicate eyebrows furrowed immediately, and without a word, she gave Kazuo's calf another kick.
Kazuo — unable to get up again.
"Why are you here?"
"Be-because… I'm also working part-time nearby… so—"
Mentioning this, Daijin immediately remembered everything that had happened earlier, thinking of her clumsy performance, and the situation where she would inexplicably be scolded by her mother because of her final failure.
For a moment, she felt an inexplicable, unnamed anger.
Although she couldn't say why herself, she just felt inexplicably furious.
If she had known she was coming here, why didn't she choose their side?
In this situation, Daijin was a bit sulky.
However, she had indeed misunderstood Kazuo, because Kazuo only found out today that his workplace was so close to Daijin's flower shop.
Moreover, although he had indeed asked Daijin for help, as a teacher asking a student for help, not to mention the issue of pride, Kazuo himself felt that doing so was a bit like exploiting kindness for personal gain.
"…"
Daijin glanced at the bento in her hand, then fell silent for a moment. She then looked at Kazuo, who was gently moaning while clutching his calf. She immediately turned her head, huffed, and put the item back on the shelf, instead choosing a different curry chicken bento next to it.
She then walked directly to the cashier, asked the stunned cashier to heat the bento, and grabbed a bottle of fresh milk from a nearby shelf. Without a moment's hesitation, she took the bag and the change, and walked straight out without looking back.
It was only after Daijin left that Kazuo slowly stood up from the ground.
Previously, he looked like he was in agonizing pain, but as soon as Daijin left, he became as if nothing had happened.
On one hand, it was indeed because he had endured it so many times that he had developed a certain resistance to blows; on the other hand, it was also because, although she didn't say it, Daijin had actually controlled her strength.
He had been squatting and not getting up purely because if he were to go to the cashier at that moment, he would again fall into the awkward situation of standing side-by-side with her while waiting for the bento to be heated.
Kazuo wasn't so dense; although he wasn't particularly clear about the reason for Daijin's anger, he could somewhat sense that the cause was himself.
Therefore, maintaining a proper distance now actually provided space for both of them to mediate.
As for apologizing or anything, he should wait until Daijin's anger subsided before going to find her.
Thinking this, Kazuo accepted Daijin's extremely unforthcoming "kindness."
"Um, excuse me, could you please heat these three bentos for me?"
Meanwhile—
"Ugh... This curry is so bad..."
Daijin held her spoon, finding it difficult to take a bite.
Curry reheated after cooling down was truly not commendable in terms of taste.
Yuriko, who was beside her, also looked very puzzled:
"Daijin, don't you particularly like that strange-flavored bento? The limited bento you always choose when you come here, why did you buy this today? Did you not get it?"
Facing her mother's inquiry, Daijin said not a word, acting as if she hadn't heard anything, sitting there alone, slowly eating her curry with a very depressed expression.
"From now on... I will definitely never buy this kind of curry again."
[Today's Match]
[Draw]
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/TripleCrown07
If you guys wanna check it out.