The wind chime at the door rang, and Aoi habitually turned around to greet:
"Welcome… Oh, Kazuo, did you buy breakfast back?"
"Yes, this is for the manager."
Kazuo replied while handing over the bread and milk he was carrying.
"Thank you so much! Honestly, my brother is sleeping in again!"
Aoi was clearly very displeased with her brother's lax attitude, pouting and looking somewhat annoyed. Seeing her like this, Kazuo couldn't help but think of his own sister.
What was interesting, in fact, was that his own relationship with Xiao Bei, compared to Kiryuin Aoi and her store manager brother, was a complete reversal of their positions.
If Kiryuin Aoi was constantly worrying and nagging her easygoing and casual Kiryuuin, then Kazuo was the one who had nurtured Xiao Bei, a clingy snot-nosed kid, since she was little.
They were siblings, but their positions were so different.
However, Kiryuin Aoi, who had been complaining earlier, quickly put on a professional smile when she saw other customers following Kazuo.
"Welcome, honored guest, how may I help you?"
Mihono Bourbon stood at the entrance, continuously observing everything in the store. With her expressionless face, she seemed uninterested in anything she saw.
Of course, that was just how it looked.
"Um, Kiryuin Aoi, let me introduce you. This is Mihono Bourbon, a student from our academy. When I met her outside earlier, she seemed to be looking for this place, so I brought her over."
"Is that so? Hello, Mihono Bourbon. I am Kiryuin Aoi, a staff member of this store. Please feel free to ask me if you have any questions."
In terms of dealing with people, Kiryuin Aoi could be said to be impeccable, a perfect representative of a store employee.
Upon hearing the name "Kiryuuin," Mihono Bourbon clearly reacted. She, who had been observing the shop, suddenly turned her head and said, "Kiryuuin… According to Mihono Bourbon's memory hub storage information, it matches the brother-sister pair Master mentioned earlier… Information verified, confirmed to be the competitive goods store she was looking for."
After confirming Kiryuin Aoi's identity, she unhesitatingly turned around and bowed to Kazuo.
"Mihono Bourbon is deeply grateful for Asama-sensei's help."
Her solemn demeanor left Kazuo a bit bewildered.
He quickly waved his hands, a little exasperated, and replied, "No, no, no, I just happen to work here. There's no need to be so formal. It was just a small favor."
"No… Given the previous situation, if it weren't for Asama-sensei's help, Mihono Bourbon might not have been able to complete the task assigned by Master. Therefore, please accept this gratitude."
"Alright, I understand! I accept! Please raise your head quickly!"
Fortunately, there weren't many people in the store so early in the morning, otherwise, this scene would have been too much for Kazuo to handle.
Upon learning that she was actually entrusted to find the store manager, Kiryuin Aoi quickly ran upstairs to call Kiryuuin. As for Kazuo and Mihono Bourbon, they were once again staring at each other blankly.
Even though Kazuo was a few years older than her, he simply couldn't withstand Mihono Bourbon's unreserved, direct gaze.
Normally, no girl would sit still and stare at someone's face like that, would she?
Kazuo was almost self-hypnotizing himself not to look that way, but this gaze was like an itch, making it hard for him to feel at ease.
"Um… Mihono Bourbon, why are you staring at me like that?"
Finally unable to bear the awkwardness, Kazuo broke the strange silence.
"…Mihono Bourbon is just curious why Asama-sensei did that."
"…Huh? Did what?"
The sudden question was surprising.
Kazuo didn't quite understand what she meant. Their conversation seemed disjointed, completely on different wavelengths?
However, she didn't seem to intend to explain anything further, only turning her head to observe the surrounding merchandise.
Why did she know his name, and what did the words she spoke mean?
Mihono Bourbon's every move was so baffling.
When not in close contact, she seemed like a cold beauty who disliked talking and didn't show emotions on her face.
But upon actual contact, she was an extremely eccentric and whimsical girl.
Kazuo also found himself unconsciously lost in thought. What kind of existence was this girl, Mihono Bourbon, who seemed so unique in every way?
Fortunately, this awkward atmosphere did not continue.
Heavy footsteps came from the stairs. Kiryuin Aoi was still scolding him as she walked, mentioning things like "the quilt wasn't folded" and "stayed up late again," while Kiryuuin yawned indifferently, walking down with sleepy eyes.
He picked up breakfast from the table, skillfully inserted a straw, tore open the packaging, and haphazardly stuffed the bread into his mouth. Rubbing his eyes, he asked:
"What's wrong? Is there something you need?"
Kiryuin Aoi seemed defeated by her brother's incorrigible appearance, clutching her forehead, feeling a throbbing pain in her temples.
Mihono Bourbon, however, didn't care about his relaxed demeanor and directly stood up to greet him:
"Based on logical analysis, it can be deduced that you are Kiryuuin Kiryu. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Mihono Bourbon, a team member of Master Kuronuma-sensei."
"This time, I was also entrusted by Master to come and find you."
Kuronuma-sensei…?
Kazuo immediately recalled the senior Trainer he had seen at the self-selection race, the one who clearly wasn't to be trifled with, the leader of Group B.
A small black hat, a pair of sunglasses; just looking at him, one could feel an indescribable pressure from his gaze.
"Ah… it's because of Kuronuma-sensei…"
He still looked unmotivated, but after swallowing his bread and drinking some banana milk, Kiryuuin finally opened his eyes.
"He already told me in an email that you came specifically today to choose your racing shoes, right?"
"Yes."
Mihono Bourbon nodded, but then added another sentence.
"Correction, what Mihono Bourbon desires are her exclusive racing shoes."
Kazuo was instantly stunned.
For no other reason, as a student in the Elementary School Division who had not yet had her debut race, Mihono Bourbon was actually asking to choose her own specialized racing shoes now??
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