A vanilla latte in cold weather was nice.

Beside me sat Yukino, and in front of me was Ichika.

They just looked at each other, but I could feel such an intense and cold aura from the two of them for some reason. It was like a blizzard came down to this table. I always thought this kind of scene was amusing when you watch it from afar, but experience it by yourself. It was such an awkward situation.

I knew that I only watched them for now, but I started to feel nervous. My heart was beginning to race.

"Un… are the two of you on a date?" Ichika asked us.

"...n."

"Of course not," Yukino answered before I could do it. She looked at me with a cold smile and continued.

"We are just going to the bookstore together, and absurdly someone messaged me that he didn't find any. So he went to another bookstore without telling me anything or replied to any of my messages, right?"

That cold-eyed look combined with her gentle voice was giving me goosebumps. Please stop smiling at me like that.

Ichika also gave staring daggers at me.

"Saku-kun, you must treat a girl with the care. You know." Ichika gave me advice with a smile, but I could feel a little sarcastic in her tone.

"Right!? I am sorry." I noticed that I didn't really have any power in these situations. I enjoyed my vanilla latte, but my drink was up.

"Can I get another cup?" I asked Ichika with an innocent expression.

 "Ha… Of course, you can." Ichika replied with an astonishing look on her face.

"Thanks…" So I ordered another drink. I resigned myself and just enjoyed my drink.

"I never thought you two were this close?" Ichika started to ask her question.

"Well, maybe we are." Yukino gave her an ambiguous answer.

"Hm… You are pretty lax with him since you let him sleep in class."

"He was tired doing a part-time job after all, and even he looked like this, he pretty smart."

"Yeah, I was surprised how smart he is. He was sleeping, but every teacher who challenged him with questions was always defeated since he answered correctly." Ichika said with a cheerful voice. She giggled a little.

I may have looked like I was sleeping, but I wasn't. Rather than sleeping, I just rested. Since I lived in rash conditions in the past. I may have looked perfectly asleep, but my body was still on standby and alert, so when the enemy came, I would be ready. My mana significantly helped me a lot.

"But, you two awfully close? Have you known each other before?"

"No, My first meeting with him on the first day of school."

Ichika, with an incredulous face, glanced at me. At the same time, Yukino's eyes looked cold and glared at me as if saying, 'Don't tell anyone.'

"We are new acquaintances, but it looks like my father and Yukino-san's father know each other."

"I knew it."

Things seem pretty tense between them. The tension was so strong that I felt shudder from seeing them talk to each other. Until they spoke changed to me.

"So what book are you looking for, Saku-kun."

"Yeah, I also want to know. Saku."

"Oh, I just want to find an old manga or novel."

I told them what I was trying to find. Precisely, I wanted to go to the bookstore with many old manga or novels.

"I know that. Miku told me about a particular bookstore that sold old books. Sometimes she has an old book after all." Ichika said to me.

After that, the three of us leave the coffee store, Yukino and I obediently follow Ichika lead to the bookstore she knew. We went to the food alley, a kinda deserted place since there weren't many people in the alley.

Entered the store was a world of books. The books are tightly packed on the shelves, reaching up to the ceiling. The books were organized by theme. Also, there were desks, chairs, and even a small stand. Some of the books that don't fit on the shelves were stacked on the floor.

It was like an antique book store. I didn't think the manga or novel I was searching for fit with this kind of store. But, it was a nice store with a mysterious feeling on. No, I think there were more in this book store. Especially after I saw a woman behind the desk.

"Hm… what a strange customer we had today?" She said while her eyes locked on me.

This woman had a featured face with thick glasses and long braided black hair. She didn't look beautiful or ugly either. Just a normal one, but at the same time feel outplaced. Her tone was flat, and a little emotion on her face.

Like someone put a mask on her face.

No, it was like her entire being was a fake. 

"Ah, do you have a collection of old manga and novels?"

"Oh, you are an ordinary customer. That's kinda surprising."

She said like that, but her face didn't surprise me at all. She stood slowly, and her way of walking was slow and weird.

"Ah, of course, we have… our owners like every book and genre. She collected everything. This way…"

She took us to a deeper bookstore. I felt really amazed by the number of collections in this bookstore. Even Though the book was stacked, I could see that the book was still in good condition. All of this could happen because the book was shield by something like mana.

So the owner of this bookstore had the power to maintain all of the books within the bookstore. Just thinking of that makes me feel how strong the owner of this bookstore is. This woman said that I was an ordinary customer, which meant that some other customer came to this store.

"Is there any specific book you want?"

"I want a dragon ball."

Yeah, this masterpiece and Jojo have been a reference in many manga or anime work, so it isn't weird that they were available in this world.

"Yes, you can find it on those shelves." The woman showed me the way to the book. There were several mangas that I wanted to buy.

"I can really buy this?" I asked the woman.

"Of course, our owner is happy to let any book be bought. Our owner has a way to find the replacement. Also, this store was more likely just a spare for her collections."

"Is that so."

I paid for all of the books I bought. Since I worked for TSSD, I have spare money. They paid me a lot after all. Well, the work was dangerous after all. There was no way they didn't pay their members with such dangerous work.

"Hm… You buy that much." Ichika was impressed with how many books I bought.

"Yeah, I had a lot of money from my part-time job."

"We also have delivery service to your place. Is this your address?"

The woman talked to me before I gave her my address so fast, so Ichika didn't see the address.

"Yes, can you deliver to that place?"

"Yes, of course. We can."

Ichika and I had just left the bookstore after the transaction was done. We went to the bookstore with just the two of us while Yukino stayed at that store. She said she liked to take time in that bookstore. Another reason may be to make sure Ichika didn't suspect our relationship.

Once again, we were just together alone, but there was a feeling that Ichika didn't have any spirit.

"Did something happen?"

"Well, I just feel that how difficult it is to become an actress and if you don't help me. I don't know what will happen to me. It makes me feel scared."

Ichika responded to my question with a discouraged voice. Her face also turned white, and her body trembled a little bit.

If I was not wrong, she was already an actress in the story. So I feel a little responsible about what happened to her. I meant she would most likely succeed if god or I didn't exist. Or maybe this was her fate in this world.

"I think you will be a great actress," I told her with a determined voice.

"Eh, but you never saw me doing an act."

"That's true, but I think it was a shame for you to just give up for just one audition failure."

"But…"

After what happened, it took her own confidence in her skill at acting. Even though I didn't remember all of the scenes, I could remember she became a successful actress in the manga. Her confidence was low, but her talent was there. She just needed her confidence back.

"I will help you!"

"Eh…"

Ichika was surprised by my eagerness.

"I will help you with anything to make sure you achieve your dream."

"Saku-kun."

"You have a wonderful dream. Something that I never had… even in the past or right now. I want you to chase your dream."

I hoped my passion would get to her. Her face started to redden, and she had an expression different than before on her face, mixed happiness with a shyness.

"Really, you will help me anything?"

"Well, of course. I can't help you all, but I will help you as the best I can."

Ichika looked down and was in deep thought before...

"If that's the case, please take care of me."

Ichika had a big smile across her face. Once again, I was captivated by her again. Ichika no longer had expressions of worry. Instead, she had the face of a maiden who was shy, and her cheeks blushed like a cherry blossom. She was a really cute girl.

 

Ichika Nakano felt infatuated with your speech.

Affection + 50

 

Relationship has changed to Crush

+10 P

 

You Unlock Quest Feature

+100P

You opened Hidden Quest

Ichika the Famous Actress.

Make Ichika became a famous actress.

 

I got multiple messages and had a headache.

When I saw her smile, I felt some guilt. Sometimes, guilt was like a stabbed knife in my heart. It feels I was doing something wrong. Very wrong. I knew that. I felt like playing someone heart, but this was a consequence of my wish,

That's why the only thing I could do was to make sure they were happy. I will do anything within my power to make them safe and happy.