Chapter 83: The cancer of the earth
Regarding the morning's plan, Eriri had originally intended to go to stores that ordinary girls liked, such as accessory shops and the like.
However, after discussing it with her mother, Sawamura Sayuri immediately vetoed her idea.
"Kaede-kun knows you well enough. Just follow your own preferences."
And so, they ended up going to the game store this morning.
The scale of this game store was quite large even for Tokyo, and it had many customers on weekends.
After entering, the two headed straight for the PS4 game section.
"Ah! Assassin's Creed 3 Remastered. When was the last time I played this game? I forgot."
She picked up one of the games, the newly released Assassin's Creed 3 Remastered.
Kaede saw the game in Eriri's hand and said with a smile, "I think this game came out in '02, right? The new remastered version seems to have an NS version too."
"Let's forget about that one. Although the NS has many good games, playing this kind of game on it, you can imagine the graphics won't be great."
After ruthlessly complaining about the NS's capabilities, Eriri kept the game in her hand, not planning to put it back. "I'll buy this one. I've forgotten what AC3 was like, and this is a high-definition remake. I haven't kept up with game news lately, so I don't know what new games are out."
"There aren't many completely new games, but as for old game remasters, there's also Ys."
While speaking, Kaede found the newly released high-definition version of Ys: Memories of Celceta Kai. "Want to take a look?"
"Ys, huh? I'll pass on that. I enjoyed playing it before, but if it's just an HD version, one Assassin's Creed is enough."
Hearing Eriri say that, Kaede nodded and put the game back.
After browsing the PS4 games, the two looked at the games for the NS, but since they basically owned all the popular titles, they only looked around.
Hmm? Xbox games?
Don't be ridiculous. How many people in Japan use the Box? It's rare enough to see stores that even sell the console; don't even think about the games.
Besides video games, this store also sold other interesting games.
But not those kinds of games, but normal board games.
Although board games don't have a large audience within the gaming community, they are one of the fun options for offline gatherings of three to five people.
Of course, games like Ludo were out of the question; they were talking about tabletop games with various settings.
Looking at the different types of board games on the shelves, Kaede said in surprise, "I don't play board games much, so I've never come over here to look. Now that I see it, there really are quite a few types."
Eriri nodded. "Exactly, there are so many types. But... hehehe, I haven't really played them much either. Asakura, should we pick one out? When we have time, everyone in the club can play it together."
"What, you don't want to hide your otaku hobbies anymore?"
"Of course not!" Eriri pouted and glanced at Kaede, explaining, "It's just a board game, there's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
"Then let's look around. I don't know much about them, so let's look while checking online."
"Mhm, mhm!"
Trying board games for the first time, Eriri was very excited, checking information online while looking at the shelves with Kaede.
Although both were novices, both Kaede and Eriri enjoyed the atmosphere of picking things out together and were having fun.
Just as the two were happily engrossed in choosing games, a gust of wind swept past.
The two couldn't help but turn their heads and saw a pink-haired girl rush up to the board game shelf, quickly grabbing three boxes of games.
"Ah! Is there this little new stock? Well, I'll take these then, onto the next store!" After scanning the shelves and finding no other games she wanted, she immediately turned and ran toward the checkout counter.
"...That speed is a bit terrifying."
After speaking, Kaede looked at Eriri and noticed she was patting her chest with a look of lingering fear.
"What's wrong? Do you know her?"
Nodding, Eriri whispered, "That person is Fujiwara Chika. Her family is a political dynasty; she's the great-granddaughter of a former Prime Minister, and her mother is a diplomat. Because of my dad, I've met her a few times before. Luckily, you helped shield me a bit, and her attention wasn't on us just now, so she didn't recognize me."
That person was Fujiwara Chika? The cancer of the earth?
He turned to look, only catching the sight of the girl's retreating back as she held the board games.
Thinking about it, he had previously met the real man Ishigami, and now he had met the cancer of the earth. Who knows, maybe he would meet the other members of the Shuchiin Student Council someday?
Turning back, Kaede looked at Eriri and asked, "She doesn't know about your otaku hobbies?"
"No," Eriri shook her head. "When I met her before, it was at a party. She hasn't been to my house. But this is the first time I've learned that the second daughter of the Fujiwara Family likes board games. If I remember correctly, she should be one year older than me and attends Shuchiin."
Seeing Eriri's relieved expression, Kaede smiled, raised his hand, and patted her head. "Alright, let's hurry up and choose a game. Time is running out. After we finish here, we should go find a place for lunch."
"Okay!"
After saying that, Eriri realized what Kaede had just done to her, and a cute blush spread across her cheeks.
But when she looked at Kaede, she found his attention had already shifted back to the board games; he wasn't looking at her at all. The previously shy Eriri immediately gave him an annoyed glare before moving closer to join in selecting a board game.
Finally, after choosing two board games and paying, it was time for lunch.
"Eriri, is there anything you want to eat?"
"Hmm~~~ Can I really choose?" Eriri looked at Kaede expectantly. "At home, there are lots of things I'm not allowed to eat!"
Kaede readily nodded. Since he had asked Eriri out to play, anything was fine to eat; the main thing was what Eriri liked.
"Yes, just tell me what you want to eat."
"Then... pizza! And preferably some fried chicken wings and french fries too!"
"OK, let's look it up then."
Kaede took out his phone and searched for highly-rated pizza places nearby. He quickly found one, and the pictures posted in the reviews looked quite good, so he immediately confirmed the direction and started walking toward the destination.