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Kanata put the clothing he had chosen with Sakura on the counter.

“We’d like these, please.”
“Yes. This will be 15’000… huh?”

The female employee of the clothing store took a closer look at the two kids’ faces. Then, she gasped in surprise, as if she had just met some genuine celebrities.

“U-Uhm, dear customers! Would you mind waiting for a moment?”

Right after saying that, she left the two of them standing there and disappeared behind the counter. Not long after, she came back with the female manager of the store.

“Hello and thank you so much for visiting our store.”
“Of course.”

The somewhat excited woman started to pester Kanata without any hesitation.

“I’ve read the article about you. Your bravery is so very encouraging.”
“I-I see. Thank you for saying that…”
“U-Uhm. I was pondering whether there was anything I could do for you,” the manager spoke rather excitedly, right after meeting their eyes, “and exactly then you come to our store, so I’d like to give you something… erm, would you accept these?”

She pulled 10 coupons from a pocket and handed them to Kanata. “20% OFF” was written on them.

“Are you sure, Ma’am?”
“Yes, these are discount vouchers for our store! You can use one of them right away!”
“I-I see.”

While he was taken aback by the manager’s forceful manner, he took her up on her offer and handed the clerk one of the vouchers. What would have cost 15’000 yen to buy, was now reduced to 12’000.

“If you can, please visit us again!”

As the two kids were about to leave the store, the manager saw them off with a deeply bowed head.

“…It happened again.”
“It did.”

As a matter of fact, this had been the fifth of such incidents.

The first was in the donut store before going to the aquarium. The second in a clothing store right after going to the department store. The third happened in an accessory shop on the same floor of the previous store. The fourth took place when they stopped at a café on the way. And the fifth happened just now, at a women’s store in the metro station.

All of them followed the same principle: random people who had been deeply moved gifted something to Kanata and Sakura.

“Was it this crazy back when we were on TV?”
“Not sure…”

They both shrugged in unison. They themselves didn’t realize that, but their story resembling a miracle moved people to tears and tugged at their heartstrings.

“…So, was that it for our shopping trip?”
“Yep. We’re done… We bought quite a lot, didn’t we? Shall we go home?” Kanata, who was carrying several shopping bags, asked.

He was carrying all their purchases, as if to say, “I won’t make you carry anything, Sakura.”

His wristwatch showed that it was already 5 pm. Their curfew was 6 pm, so they had to be home at that time.

“Yeah… you really spent a lot of money. Will you be alright?”
“Yup, I would pay any amount of money, as long as it is for you, Sakura.”
“…Idiot.” For the umpteenth time today, Sakura’s cheeks were tinged in red. “G-Geez. I’ll make it up to you someday!”

When she brought her index finger close to his face, he showed a happy smile.

“Yep, I’ll be waiting.”
“Alright. Thank you.”

After resolving to repay his kindness to her fullest abilities, she strongly hugged his arm. Then, while whispering sweet nothings to each other, they made their way to the metro platform. From there, they boarded their usual train, got off at the familiar station, and walked towards their homes.

________
_____
__

“Thank you for today.”

It was in front of their homes. They still had some time, so they were talking there.

“You’re welcome. If it was fun for you, Sakura, then that’s a success in my book,” Kanata told her somewhat bashfully.
“…It was a great success, then. Everything was fun.”
“So, does that mean you no longer need me as an escort?”
“Do you still want to do it?”

Kanata replied to the question with a light nod.

“Well, it’s not like I’m averse to you playing my guard! Let’s go on another date soon, alright?”
“Yep, sometime soon!”

The two of them smiled at each other. Both of them were filled with happiness.

“…Hey, Kanata.”
“What is it?”

With a slightly more adult atmosphere, very different from usual, Sakura fixed her gaze even more intently on Kanata. The boy felt the same.

“Sorry about that.”

Right after saying that, she draped her hands around his neck and stood on her tiptoes to bring her own mouth level with his. Finally, she was at exactly the right distance… to kiss him.

They didn’t separate for quite some time. For the two of them, if felt like an hour… though in reality, it was only about a minute. After a time that felt both long and short, their lips separated. It hadn’t been a French kiss, just a normal one, but from their perspective, it had been truly intense.

“Kanata… I love you!” Sakura exclaimed, mustering all her courage, likely intoxicated by the intensity of the experience. “B-Bye. Thanks for today.”

Then, she hurriedly entered her home, taking the shopping bags with her.

“…”

Kanata, who’d been left by himself, brushed his hand over his lips. Then, the soft feeling of her lips still fresh, he mentally repeated her “I love you.”

“I’m… one lucky guy, huh…” he muttered, sporting a rather joyful look.

TL notes:
That does it for Kanata and Sakura’s date, only Shuu and Rir are left.

This didn’t feel as saccharine as Alim and Mika’s part, but I do have to wonder just how much money Kanata made with his investments to splurge the equivalent of several hundred dollars on a random shopping trip.

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