08 – the angel’s common eco bag
Translator: newton
“Ah.”
A voice, much like a chiming bell, could be heard from behind Amane.
The person to whom that voice belonged to was not at the apartment, unlike usually. Rather, they were in the sweets aisle at the supermarket.
Anyway, from the look of the person’s eyes, she didn’t expect Amane to react to her. Embarrassed, Amane turned around to see Mahiru, with slightly wide eyes.
In her hands was a supermarket basket, filled with the ingredients for dinner that night: daikon, tofu, chicken thigh, and milk. (tl note: daikon is a kind of japanese radish)
Amane wondered why he encountered her in the sweets aisle, if that was the case.
“Let’s get this straight – that was a coincidence. I wasn’t following you or anything.”
“I know. The nearest supermarket has more or less the same stuff as this one, though.”
Mahiru scrolled through some handwritten notes for “what to do in case he says something like that”.
Seems like Mahiru thought it’d be wise to prepare for this scenario.
Mahiru finished reading from the cute-looking floral notepad, and averted her gaze from the candy shelf, looking instead at the shelf opposite it.
“Soy sauce and mirin,” she murmured to herself, much like a housewife looking for ingredients. It was cute, but also gave off a mysterious vibe.
“The mirin is here. Hey.”
“Ah, that’s the alcoholic kind. You can’t buy it if you’re underage.”
“Is it made with sake?”
“Yeah, it’s made with sweet sake. That’s different cooking sake, which is salty and undrinkable, and buyable as a minor.”
:”If you’re gonna get mirin, at least know the difference first,” Mahiru said, shaking her head.
Since it was the first time Amane had heard this, he replied “Huh.” on instinct while moving his eyes around energetically.
Looking at the shelf on which the soy sauce was displayed, Mahiru noticed something on the price label and furrowed her eyebrows.
“…promo available to each person only once…”
Mahiru, who wanted to buy spare stock, was visibly upset at this.
“…Is buying this fine too?”
“I get it. I’ll help.”
Amane knew what she was intending to do, so with a wry smile, he grabbed a bottle of soy sauce, satisfied.
“Seems like I’ll be saving money today.”
“It is saving, but it’d be cheaper to just buy only what you can finish. Just don’t bother with what you aren’t going to use.”
“Seems like a classic Japanese mindset. …well, I guess your parents provide you with most of your stuff.”
Though Amane lived alone, he was basically fed by his parents.
He lived in such a nice and safe apartment just because he was born into a wealthy family. He really appreciated his parents for that. Because they also covered his tuition and allowance, he wanted to waste as little money as possible.
“…I see. I guess when you depend on someone else, saving is important.”
Mahiru returned the bottle and arranged the rest of the basket accordingly. Her statement felt emphatic yet cold.
Mahiru’s normally monotone voice bent a bit, yet her face remained unchanged.
For a moment, you could see her glance sourly.
“…by the way, are you going to buy that?”
In order to change the topic, Mahiru asked about the rice and potato salad that Amane was holding.
The food from Mahiru was delicious, of course, but it usually wasn’t enough, so normally Amane prepared something extra for himself.
“It’s dinner. ”
“That isn’t healthy.”
“That’s BS. I bought a salad.”
“But it’s potato salad. …I’m surprised you haven’t destroyed your body.”
“You’re caring a lot.”
Amane had to eat more vegetables, and under Mahiru’s pressuring gaze, despite her silence, he moved over to the side.
After some idle conversation, the register finished ringing up everything they bought. They offered plastic bags, but Mahiru brought out her own eco bag to use.
She was really an environmentally conscious, average angel.
However, though the bag was fine for putting things in, there was the concern that the weight of the combined items would be too much.
There were three liters of milk. soy sauce, and mirin, which would weigh around three kilograms taking into account water and density. On top of that, there were also the ingredients for dinner, driving in the fact that the combined goods were heavy.
The goods were packed neatly, but it’d be hard work carrying all this to the apartment with just one bag.
(it’s because i eat way too much, isn’t it)
Perhaps there are now more portions than usual. Although normally there would be close to only one portion per meal, Amane still said that there was too much. Recently Mahiru had to have been making more food on purpose.
As a result, since so much care was already taken, it’d be likely that if Mahiru did nothing, Amane wouldn’t be able to live.
When lifting the eco bag, Amane didn’t seem to have a hard time. However, Mahiru seemed to have a hard time when carrying it for long.
While Mahiru could do exercise, that was different from having raw strength. Her arms were slender, a fact that was apparent even through her clothes, which means they were ill-suited to exerting power.
While moving, Amane’s brown eyes abruptly blinked.
He looked surprised, yet impressed.
“…let’s split the load.”
“Don’t worry. …by the way, would you be fine carrying around this much?”
“You’re pretty cute at a time like this.”
“As if you’d say something about not being cute.”
“You’re just comparing what I say at school about you to what I say to you.”
Mahiru winced a little when she realized the implications.
Amane didn’t look anything like the kind, humble person that he was at school at that time.
In truth, Amane was a kind person, but was it fine for him to be this frank? It seemed that whenever talking about Mahiru, Amane didn’t sugarcoat. He always gave honest opinions.
Amane didn’t care much about that because he thought that honesty, however brutal, was better than lying.
Amane, seeing Mahiru’s mouth about to open, grabbed the eco bag and his belongings, and faced the exit.
Mahiru seemed upset, but Amane didn’t mind. As if the space between them was empty, Amane moved on without caring.
Amane didn’t wait for her to catch up.
Though at the supermarket, they were side-by-side, it’d be inconvenient for both of them to be seen that close.
This distance was the best for both of them.
From behind Amane, who was carrying a large package of unrelated things, he noticed a small “thank you.”
