Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

Chapter 57 The Cat And Glasses

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The next day after Mashiro and I ate some snacks we bought at a convenience store, she and I were at a shopping mall.

“T-There are a lot of people here..”
“Even though it’s a weekend, there definitely is a lot of people…”

This was one of the largest shopping malls in the area where we live.
When it was the weekend, even in this sparsely populated town, a lot of people gathered.
Since I don’t usually come to this kind of place, I was surprised to see the crowds as far as the eye could see.
Since I had such an impression, Mashiro must have been incredibly shocked by the sight.

“I didn’t know there were so many people here…”
“Are you okay? Don’t overdo it.”

Today, I invited Mashiro to come to this shopping mall.
Of course, I didn’t force her to go, and she agreed, but I was worried about her physical condition as she wasn’t used to being in a crowd.

To be honest, I think it was still too early for Mashiro to come to such a crowded place.
However, after bringing her all the way here, it would be wasteful to turn back now.
Besides, even though she looked surprised, she didn’t show any sign of anxiety and seemed to be very interested in the new world.

“Satou-san, do you have any plans to buy anything today?”

Mashiro asked me as soon as we started walking around the mall.
I had already done the shopping for food and other necessities yesterday.
There was a reason why I came all the way to the mall today.

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I just told Mashiro, “it’ll be a while,” and led the way through the mall.
When Mashiro and I arrived in front of the store that had visited often, Mashiro tilted her head.

“This is…?”
“It’s a magical piece of equipment that makes anyone look somehow more intelligent.”

I picked up a random item from near the entrance, put it on, and turned to Mashiro.

“Glasses…?”
“Yeah, I came to buy these today.”

The closest optician in the neighborhood was at this shopping mall.
I don’t use this store often, but when I need them, I use this store.
But I don’t usually wear glasses, I use contacts.
The only time I use them was when I’m working.
In other words, I use blue light-cut glasses with no power when I work.

“I’ve never seen you in glasses before.”
“Do they look good on me?”
“Yes, they look really good on you.”
“Emm, T-Thank you.”

When Mashiro smiled at me, I stumbled over my response.
I had asked her just as a joke, but her straightforward reply surprised me more than I expected.
I know she was just flattering me, but I’m not used to having someone said that I looked good” and it makes me feel uncomfortable.
While I was alone and shocked, Mashiro went for a walk around the store.

“There are so many different types…”

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“Do you see any designs you like?”
“Hmm, well, how about…this one?”

She pondered for a while and then picked up a pair of glasses from the back of the shelf.
The color was black, and the frames are thin overall, not too prominent.
It was simple and from my point of view, I really like it, but I think it was a little plain for a girl to choose.

“Satou-san.”
“Hmm?”

When I came back to my senses when Mashiro called my name, she was looking up at me with a beckoning gesture.
The way she continued to gesture even when I was close by, it seemed that she wanted me to lower my body a little.
I obeyed her will and bent down, and Mashiro picked up her glasses and put them on my face.

“They look good on you.”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Don’t you like it?”
“That’s not true.
I’m glad you said that…that’s not it.”

As if to get back at the puzzled Mashiro, I put the glasses on her face next.
I didn’t think that something that looked good on me, an adult, would look good on a young girl, but to my surprise, it did.

She didn’t usually wear glasses, but the simple design of the glasses brought out a different charm while still retaining her cuteness.

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Even though I didn’t have a special fetish for glasses, I was surprised at how much I admired Mashiro’s appearance.

“Yes, Mashiro looks good in them.”
“T-Thank you very much…?”

Mashiro looked confused and stood in front of a nearby mirror to check her appearance, puzzled by her first pair of glasses.
I was about to say something detailed to her, but I held back just in time.
…I’m going to be branded a glasses fetishist.

Mashiro, who had been staring at the mirror for a while, turned to me with a somewhat troubled expression on her face, although she seemed to be not too happy about it.

“What’s wrong, you don’t like it after all?”
“No, no, that’s not true…B-But we came here today to buy glasses for Satou-san, right?”
“Hmm? No, I didn’t intend that…?”

When I replied without hesitation, Mashiro rolled her eyes as if to say, “What do you mean? It was the first time I had seen such an expression on her face, so I felt like I had gained a little something.
“T-Then, why are we here today?”
“I was going to buy some glasses for Mashiro today.”
“F-For me…?”

Recently, Mashiro has been staring at the screen a lot.
Whether it was the TV or her phone, she was spending a lot more time on it than before.
That in itself was something I gave her, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.
But if she had never been used to such things before, suddenly being in such an environment would have put some strain on her eyes.

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That was why we came to the optician in the shopping mall today.

“But I don’t have bad eyesight…”
“You know it could get worse from here.
So, here it is.”

Then I picked up a pamphlet that was nearby and showed her the page that explained the blue light cut.
The clever girl seemed to immediately understand my intentions…but she didn’t seem to be convinced or showed a troubled expression.

“But you don’t have to go to all that trouble…”
“It’s not a problem, it’s something I started.
And…”

I burned her image into my eyes once again.
Her beautiful, snowy hair and chic black frame harmonize well in balance, reflecting her pale, akane-colored eyes more clearly.
The sight of her was most attractive, and I realized I had an impure reason for it somewhere in my mind.

“I think it looks really good on you, and I think it’s cute.”
“—!”

Mashiro’s cheeks tinted faintly at my words.
I was also trying to get back at her for saying I was “good looking” earlier, but I was happy to see the expression I was expecting.
She puzzled over it for a while, then glanced at the mirror once more and sighed as if she had given up.

“I’ll take your word for it if that’s what you want…”
“Okay, then it’s decided.”

I smiled contentedly at Mashiro, then walked lightly to call the clerk.