Chapter 11: I'm not, you've got the wrong person!
In his bedroom at home, besides a bookshelf, Kaede also had a cabinet filled with various physical games and merchandise like figures.
Although sometimes games on online stores had big discounts and he would buy digital versions, Kaede still preferred physical games more. When he accumulated a lot of them, it gave him a great sense of accomplishment.
In Tokyo, especially in Akihabara and a few game stores near Akihabara, he had basically become a regular. For some limited physical editions of games he liked, he would always pre-order them.
The store he came to today was also a place he frequented.
After entering and greeting the owner at the cash register, Kaede didn't go to the new games section but instead looked at the shelves for second-hand old games.
Occasionally, he could still unearth some good old games, like second-hand cartridges of Pokémon games with event-exclusive Pokémon. Although Kaede had a complete collection himself, no one would complain about having one or two extra event-exclusive mythical Pokémon, right?
However, his luck wasn't great today, or rather, such good fortune wasn't something one encountered all the time. After looking around, he didn't find anything of interest.
Finally, Kaede didn't go to other game shelves, as no new games had been released in the past half-month. He went directly to the cash register and said, "Boss, get me a 512GB SD card for the NS."
"Did you finish using the one you bought before?"
"Yeah, I don't like deleting games. Since I'm here today, I'll buy another one. Anyway, I have a storage case for them."
As he spoke, Kaede took out money from his wallet and handed it over, then put the small SD card box into his backpack.
Just as he was about to leave, a girl came running over, holding a box of games, and excitedly said, "Boss, check out!"
Hearing the voice, Kaede paused, turned his head, and saw the iconic golden twin tails.
"Sawamura?"
Although she was wearing a hat, her face was not obscured at all. Kaede couldn't possibly mistake the girl's delicate and lovely features.
"Eh?"
Eriri hadn't expected to run into Kaede here. Her cheeks instantly flushed crimson. She put the game cartridge she was holding behind her back, turned her head, and said, "I'm not! You've got the wrong person!!!"
"..."
Kaede silently looked at Eriri, then at the boss, who also smiled and said, "I don't know anything, don't look at me."
Kaede knew this was the case, so he looked at Eriri, who was still pretending to be clueless, and said, "Alright, I've recognized you, so stop playing ostrich. It's just buying a game, no one says girls can't play games."
Hearing Kaede say that, Eriri slowly turned her head and quietly asked, "You won't tell anyone, will you?"
"I'm not that bored."
Kaede looked up and down, and combining that with Eriri's observations of Kaede over the past few days, she believed him.
So, she finally placed the game she was holding on the counter.
"Boss, check out."
And upon seeing the game in her hand, Kaede finally understood why Eriri didn't want him to know.
The NS version of memories of autumn, so that's it.
Kaede had played a few installments of memories of autumn. Although the game was very good, he wasn't particularly fond of this type of game, so he hadn't bought this one.
After the NS console was released, there were many games suitable for girls, but once a game like memories of autumn was in hand, an expert would immediately know that the girl in front of them was definitely not a casual player.
Watching Eriri pay and happily put the game into her bag, Kaede said, "If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."
"Wait a minute!"
Eriri immediately called out to Kaede and came in front of him, saying, "Do you have anything to do this afternoon?"
Although he wanted to say he did, seeing Eriri's expression, it seemed she had something to tell him. Kaede shook his head, then pointed to the cafe across the street.
"I've just finished up, so if you have something to say, let's go sit there."
After looking at the cafe, Eriri didn't refuse: "Okay, let's go over there."
It just so happened that it wasn't at school today, and there were no other people. Eriri was planning to subtly get information from Kaede, and the quiet environment of the cafe was perfect.
Watching the young boy and girl leave, the game store owner sighed and said, "Youth, how wonderful."
A few minutes later, Kaede and Eriri arrived at the cafe. They chose a booth seat further inside, sat down, and each ordered drinks and pastries.
Taking a sip of his iced coffee, Kaede ignored Eriri across from him, leaned back into the soft, comfortable cushion of the booth, and let out a sigh: "Now that I've sat down, I really don't want to move..."
Sipping her juice, and secretly taking out her game to happily look at it, Eriri looked at Kaede with some confusion and asked: "You look exhausted."
"I couldn't help it. I was supposed to rest properly this weekend, but I was dragged out to be free labor and was busy for most of the day."
Waving his hand, Kaede finally took the time to observe Eriri's outfit today.
Over her white shirt was a light yellow vest, paired with jeans, giving her a completely different style than when she usually wore her uniform.
Her signature twin tails swung back and forth, still very cute.
Shaking his head and erasing the strange thought that had suddenly popped into his mind, he said: "So, Sawamura, did you stop me because you wanted to ask something?"
"Uh..."
Although she had originally planned to try and trick him into talking, Eriri hesitated when Kaede brought it up. She wasn't good at doing things like this, especially when facing a classmate she had only known for a week.
"No... it's nothing, ahaha~~~~."
"Hmm?"
Looking at Eriri's evasive manner, Kaede was very confused and didn't know what was going on.
Moreover, Kaede wasn't so narcissistic as to think that Eriri would have feelings for him after only knowing him for a short week, especially since the two of them only had a chance to meet during afternoon club activities.
Shifting his gaze and seeing the game in Eriri's hand, he guessed: "Could it be about you being an otaku?"
"I am not one, don't talk nonsense!"
Eriri denied it, her face flushed.
"Is that so?"
Kaede said noncommittally, taking a sip of his coffee: "An ordinary girl wouldn't excitedly run to a game store to buy memories of autumn like you did. If you say you aren't a hardcore otaku, I absolutely won't believe it. Don't worry, I already promised you I wouldn't casually tell anyone, and I don't have a habit of leaking secrets."
Although she hadn't found a chance to ask her question, Eriri felt she could change her approach, chat more with him first, and try to steer the conversation.
"So... you know a lot about ACG?"