Chapitre 216: Megumi Kato, Actually Angry?!
"Your order number is 102. Please wait by the side for a bit," the cashier said, handing over the receipt and order number after payment.
One orange yogurt drink, one thick taro milk tea. Can you guess how long they waited?
Twenty minutes. Yes, a full twenty minutes.
Even though the shop wasn't crowded, with only a few orders, plenty of staff were available. Kotomi even subtly asked if they were low on ingredients.
The cashier replied, "We have enough ingredients, please wait patiently."
And so, they waited—twenty whole minutes. Kotomi, unable to stand anymore, crouched to the side, watching the staff stroll about inside, occasionally pausing to listen to music on their phones.
Walking back and forth. And again. And again.
Kotomi and Megumi couldn't help but wonder if they were out of sync with the current era.
Why did these staff members, like "artists in search of inspiration," have everything they needed but still refused to make their drinks? It wouldn't have been surprising if they had burst into a dance routine right there.
To make matters worse, despite the large shop space, there wasn't a single chair for customers.
Kotomi's legs were completely numb!
Finally, twenty minutes later, the staff began to make their drinks. From start to finish, it took barely five minutes.
"Order number 102?"
"Yes, yes, here!" Kotomi shot up, almost losing her balance as she got to her feet.
Luckily, Megumi reached out to steady her, softly saying, "Slow down; I'll get it for you."
She walked over to the counter and picked up their drinks. The staff member, eyes fixed on a video on her phone, gave a half-hearted "Thanks for waiting" without looking up.
"Oh, it's no problem," Megumi responded icily. "There are many people who, due to a slight mishap with the train door this morning, seem to have forgotten how to make drinks that only take a few minutes and instead make them in twenty. It happens."
Without paying any attention to the staff's now stony expressions, Megumi took Kotomi's hand, and they headed toward the aquarium.
"Ha, I clearly picked the wrong place," Megumi muttered once outside, unable to hide her frustration. "I'd heard so much about this popular 'influencer café' in Shinagawa from classmates, but, of course, if it's labeled as 'trendy,' there's a ninety percent chance it's trash.
"Look at those baristas, acting like they're in some luxury brand boutique," she continued. "And here I thought I'd give it a try. Even in a designer store, they wouldn't dare act so high and mighty with me."
Kotomi, surprised, stared at Megumi. Though she had been frustrated with the wait and the staff's attitude, she had never seen Megumi get this angry.
Could it really be that Megumi also ran out of patience with the wait? That didn't seem likely. Normally, Megumi was extremely patient and not the type to be this furious over a bit of waiting.
Gently, Kotomi held Megumi's hand, asking with concern, "Megumi, are you really mad?"
"Yes, I am! I'm furious! They made you wait so long that your legs went numb, and you almost fell! What if you had hurt yourself?" Megumi's frustration was evident. Her anger wasn't about the wait but about Kotomi being made to wait, ending up with numb legs and nearly falling.
Is she… angry on my behalf?
Kotomi felt a rush of surprise and warmth, her face blooming into a delighted smile.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Oh, no reason~"
Kotomi beamed, squeezing Megumi's hand a little tighter as they walked toward the aquarium together.
"Megumi, can I try a sip of your taro milk tea?"
"Based on that sweet little voice, I'm guessing your orange yogurt drink isn't all that great, is it?"
"Ugh… you're right. It's weird; I've had orange yogurt drinks from bubble tea places all over Chiba, and they were fine. But this one… tastes bitter, almost like the orange isn't ripe."
"See that trash can over there? Just toss it and drink mine."
Handing Kotomi her half-full taro milk tea, Megumi didn't hesitate after hearing Kotomi's complaint.
"But isn't that wasteful? It wasn't cheap," Kotomi said, shaking her head and refusing to throw it away. She had glimpsed the prices earlier in the shop and had found them a bit steep.
"Ha, I was the one who paid, remember? What's there to feel bad about?"
"Your money is still money! Wasting your money would hurt me just the same!" Kotomi replied instinctively, her tone dead serious.
Megumi stared at her for a second, then burst out laughing. "Kotomi, do you realize what that reminded me of?"
"Wh-what?"
"It sounded like a wife who cares about her 'husband' working hard for his paycheck, trying to budget down to the last hundred yen," Megumi teased.
"I-I'm not that great…" Kotomi replied, her face going pink. "I just like planning my spending, that's all…"
Her experiences in her previous life had made Kotomi careful about money. She had the habit of saving up for future needs. Even with over a million yen in her account, she was cautious and reluctant to spend too much.
Thinking about it, her biggest expenses each month were probably on games and books.
If she lived on her own in college, her main expenses would likely be food, games, and books.
"That's a great habit! It makes me want to hand over all my money to you and let you manage it for me. What do you say?" Megumi asked with a meaningful look.
"Wait, me? I couldn't take your money! If you really wanted to save, maybe just put part of your monthly allowance into a bank account. Your dad works at Tokyo Central Bank, so I'm sure he'd make it easy for you."
"True, that would work…"
Megumi left her sentence unfinished. Once they finished their drinks, they joined the line at the aquarium entrance.
Kotomi, standing beside her, bounced on her toes in excitement, eagerly anticipating the sights inside the aquarium. Megumi's gaze softened as she looked at her, an expression of fondness appearing in her eyes that was reserved solely for Kotomi.
—If you had agreed to my suggestion just now, I'd have taken that as your silent promise to marry me.
This was the part Megumi had chosen not to say aloud.
Aqua Park Aquarium.
In the Shinagawa District, this aquarium is widely known—even among those who have never been to Shinagawa, who might hope to visit it someday.
This is why Aqua Park Aquarium never needs to worry about attracting visitors. Every six months, it invests in promotional campaigns to sustain its popularity.
The consistent promotion naturally boosts its reputation, which then attracts even more visitors. Even those not particularly interested in aquariums might find themselves curious about the place after hearing or seeing Aqua Park Aquarium's advertisements.
Moreover, Aqua Park Aquarium truly knows how to capture people's interest.
Without aiming for visitors to be utterly captivated, it succeeds in making them feel their money is well spent—a feat in itself, given the lackluster state of many aquariums.
As for repeat visitors...
Most who come to the aquarium are driven by curiosity. Except for die-hard marine life enthusiasts, there are few regulars. Typically, visitors return home to share their experiences with others, or post about it on social media.
For the aquarium, this is more than enough. It's not like a restaurant that relies on repeat customers. As long as word spreads, the aquarium's success will continue.
After passing through the entrance, Kotomi and Megumi walked into the aquarium. The first thing they did was grab an informational pamphlet from the entry area, which included a map of the aquarium.
The moment she opened to the map, Kotomi scanned for one thing—the seafood restaurant.
Like a radar on the lookout, Kotomi quickly pinpointed the restaurant's location.
"Found it! The seafood restaurant is on the second floor, near the center. But it only opens at 10:30 a.m., and it's only 9:53 right now."
Kotomi checked the opening time, then glanced at her phone to see that they had some time to kill.
"That's perfect, isn't it? We can look around a bit before it opens. Besides, are you even hungry yet?"
"Not that hungry," Kotomi replied, shaking her head.
"Great, then let's wander around for a bit and plan on eating around noon. And even though the seafood restaurant is all-you-can-eat, don't overdo it—we're still planning to go to Togoshi Ginza Shopping Street this afternoon, remember?"
"Togoshi Ginza? Awesome!"
Kotomi's eyes sparkled at the mention of Togoshi Ginza Shopping Street, and she shouted in excitement.
She had always wanted to explore Togoshi Ginza, but never found the chance. She knew that properly exploring Tokyo's largest shopping street—Togoshi Ginza—would require a substantial amount of time.
Even an entire day might not be enough to see everything.
Stretching 1.3 kilometers with around 400 shops on both sides, Togoshi Ginza holds the title of Tokyo's longest shopping street.
"I'll definitely have to eat less at lunch. We'll need room for the street food at Togoshi Ginza later," Kotomi said, patting her stomach.
"Oh? I thought we'd stay until dinner at Togoshi Ginza. Were you thinking of going somewhere else for dinner?"
Realizing her oversight, Kotomi suddenly responded, "Ah, I hadn't thought about that. I assumed we'd just grab a snack while shopping and then go somewhere else for dinner."
Megumi sighed. "You really are something else! But what do you want for dinner? Just snacking on Togoshi Ginza treats probably won't fill you up."
"True. I was thinking of Burger King for dinner. I heard Shinagawa has a lot of locations, and apparently, there's an event going on where you can get a free meal if you finish a set number of Whoppers. I heard you can even pick how many you want to try to eat, but you can't choose fewer, only more."
Kotomi poured out her thoughts, clearly keeping tabs on Burger King promotions. But as she finished explaining, she suddenly realized how much she'd said and felt a pang of embarrassment. Did she sound like a food-crazy glutton in front of Megumi?
Her face flushed as she stammered out, "Th-This was something...a friend told me about. A friend! Really!"
As if worried Megumi wouldn't believe her, Kotomi emphasized it a second time.
"Oh? A friend, huh? Sure, sure, I get it," Megumi teased. "Seems like your friend must love Burger King as much as you do."
"Y-Yes! Exactly, she loves Burger King, especially the ones in Chiba!" But then Kotomi paused, suddenly suspicious. "Wait... why did you say 'as much as you do'?"
In an effort to sound more convincing, Kotomi threw in the detail about her "friend" loving the Chiba location, confident it sounded perfectly believable.
I, Kotomi, am a genius.
"Oh, it was just something I said without thinking. Don't mind it."
With Megumi's casual brush-off, Kotomi let it go and was soon distracted by the sights as they entered the main exhibit of Aqua Park Aquarium.
"Wow! A starfish!"
"Whoa! A squid!"
"Whoa! The octopus and squid are fighting... they look delicious…"
Kotomi's eyes sparkled with wonder as she took in the sights, mesmerized by all the marine life around her.
Meanwhile, Megumi's gaze was fixed on Kotomi.
As the saying goes, while Kotomi watched the fish, Megumi watched Kotomi.
At some point, the two wandered into an underwater exhibit hall that, because of its secluded location and recent opening, was devoid of other visitors.
The exhibit's quiet contrasted sharply with the lively atmosphere outside.
It felt like another world.
"This exhibit is called...'Under the Tide,'" Kotomi read aloud from the description, looking up at the ceiling, her gaze unable to turn away.
The upper layer of the Under the Tide exhibit hall was like a transparent film, forming a dome that encapsulated the whole space.
Outside, the deep blue seawater flowed, and sounds of marine life swimming past could be clearly heard. The distant call of a whale was low and ethereal, resonating like a song. Underfoot was glass, specially constructed to show the vibrant corals and colorful fish swimming below.
Standing there in the exhibit hall, it was as if they were truly deep under the ocean.
While Kotomi was captivated by the sights, Megumi looked around, noticing that they were alone.
"Maybe... maybe this is the opportunity I've been waiting for," Megumi murmured, as if making up her mind. "If I let this chance slip, who knows how long I'll have to wait... No, I won't wait anymore!"
With a determined expression, she walked toward Kotomi.
Hearing footsteps, Kotomi turned and saw Megumi approaching her. She waved for her to come over. "Megumi, hurry up! There are so many wh—"
Before she could finish, Kotomi felt the softness of Megumi pressing against her from behind.
In the next instant, she found herself enveloped in Megumi's warm embrace.
"Me-Megumi...?"
Meanwhile, outside in the Aqua Park parking lot...
After finding a spot, Atsuki quickly got out of the car to open the door for Arisu Sakayanagi.
After stepping out, Arisu smoothed out her dress before saying to Atsuki, "I'm going into the aquarium first. I'll see you in a bit."
"Alright. But, miss, why do you only ever go to the Under the Tide exhibit at Aqua Park? There are so many other exhibits worth seeing."
Arisu just smiled. "True, there's plenty to see, but I still prefer Under the Tide. Bye for now, see you soon."
"Understood, miss. Have fun," Atsuki replied with a bow before watching Arisu make her way toward the Aqua Park Aquarium.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone