Chapter 80 – Chinami Almost Scammed
“Did you rest well? Are you okay?”
A question full of Tetsuya’s worries.
Miyuki shook her head awkwardly.
“Yes. It’s much better.”
“Thank god.”
“What did the kendo club say?”
“The kendo club? Isn’t it the student council?”
“No… Because Matsuda-kun couldn’t do club activities because of me… I’m curious.”
“I didn’t say anything. I just knew…”
Sitting between the two of them, listening to their conversation, I rested my elbow on the desk.
Having interrupted Miyuki and Tetsuya, I asked Tetsuya.
“How’s the fortress kendo?”
“Uh? What?”
“Are you doing well? Last time I saw it, it seems that I was receiving tutoring from the director and Inoo-senpai.”
“Ah… It’s just going well.”
“Work hard dude.”
While giving encouragement without sincerity, I lowered my elbow when I felt a light sensation behind me.
Then he looked at Miyuki.
“What are you doing?”
“I took it off because it was covered in dust.”
“Are you nice?”
“Open a book. Class time is over.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I pulled out a textbook from my desk drawer.
Glancing at Tetsuya from the side, he was a bit perplexed.
He seemed surprised to see Miyuki’s skinship just now.
Was it the first time Miyuki touched my body in front of Tetsuya, other than pinching and hitting me when admonishing me?
I will show you a lot in the future.
**
Lunch hour.
After a quick meal, I went to the kendo club alone and stopped by the storage room to look at Hogu.
All cleaning is well done.
It was the same with the bamboo, and it was glossy because it was well-fed with bamboo oil.
After I came out, I let out a blank laugh when I saw that all of my clothes, including my uniform, were left hanging out in the laundry.
Chinami has finished everything. It would have been difficult to do it alone, but it’s great.
I’m running out of things to do, so I’m trying to go back kicking a pebble,
“Heh heh.”
An elated laugh came from behind.
Turning her head, I saw Chinami standing with her arms crossed, and her eyes widened.
“When did you come?”
“Just now. I was going to call my juniors to say they didn’t have to come, but they didn’t answer, so I came.”
“Did you call? When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
When I checked my phone, there was a missed call, as Chinami said.
It was in the middle of eating, and I had set it to silent, so I didn’t know.
I said after nodding her head a couple of times.
“I told you to do half of it. It would have been difficult alone.”
“Something like hogu has to be cleaned in a timely manner. And is that what you normally do alone?”
“Did it take long? Aren’t you home late?”
“I was only 10 minutes late. Originally, you can concentrate better if you do it alone.”
“It sounds like I’m a hindrance. I’m sorry.”
“Uh huh…! You have to listen to the end. I was bored without my juniors.”
Chinami comes up to me and pats me on the back.
Tension seems high. Is there anything good
I asked with a grin, cheered up by Chinami’s encouragement.
“Are you in a great mood today?”
“It has to be. A limited edition Momo’s doll appeared on the site at a decent price, so I decided to buy it. I happened to find it as soon as I entered the site, contacted me right away, and made an appointment. I was very lucky.”
“Okay? That’s good…”
I was about to congratulate Chinami, but I bit her mouth.
Because it felt like something.
That mother-in-law’s doll was hard to find, even if Chinami tried her best to get it.
There were very few items for sale on the site, and even those very few items were priced so high that it was burdensome for a student to buy.
Isn’t that the original limited edition?
But is it a good price?
“Master.”
“Yes?”
“Could it be a scam? It’s kind of suspicious that a rare item comes at a decent price.”
“Whoa… I understand why you’re worried about that. However, I looked up my phone number on the anti-fraud application and confirmed that it was safe, and I decided to make a direct transaction, so it’s okay.”
The risk of being scammed is significantly reduced if you trade directly, but…
“Are you new to second-hand trading?”
“No. I used it often when I bought my mother’s goods.”
“Has there been any scams so far?”
“No. Everyone was kind.”
Credit is built up in direct transactions through many transactions…
Something strikes me… I get the feeling that innocent Chinami is about to taste the bitterness of life.
“When is the deal?”
“Today.”
I open my eyes brightly and put my hands together as if praying, but I can see that I like it.
I said, fed up.
“Are you going to trade right after club activities are over?”
“No. After eating a slice of cake with a friend and parting ways, we’ll go make a deal.”
“Isn’t Inoo going with you?”
“Yes. I heard you have something to buy today… I don’t know what to buy because I didn’t ask.”
It’s an anime-related product.
The anime she was watching recently came to an end, and she’s going to buy some goods that were released in commemoration of her.
I’ll probably head to Akihabara or Nakano.
If I do well, I think we can meet… I want to go after helping Chinami.
“So you’re saying you’re alone? Shall we go with you?”
Chinami’s eyes widened.
“Yes? With your junior?”
“Finally, I also became interested in Momo’s goods. I always look at goods only on the Internet, so I want to see what they look like in real life.”
“Oh oh…? Is it really?”
Chinami claps seals.
I feel very happy that I have a colleague to talk to about my mother.
“Yes. When and where were we supposed to meet?”
“It’s at Ikebukuro Station at seven o’clock.”
Seven o’clock is quite a bit of time.
I’ll take Miyuki, drop by her house, change her clothes, and come out.
“All right. Shall we meet at the station at half past six then?”
“I like it! I wish you well today.”
Chinami crossed her hands on her chest and bowed her upper body.
She bursts out laughing at the uncharacteristically modest appearance of Chinami.
Suppressing her urge to touch her gently flowing pink hair, I mingled with her, bowing her head in front of her.
**
“I’ll go. Thanks for the ride.”
Those were Miyuki’s words as she unfastened her seat belt and placed her bag on his lap.
As she remains silent without replying, she asks with a puzzled expression.
“What’s the matter?”
Without saying a word, I raised my index finger and patted my cheek.
Then Miyuki gave a languid smile, and she shyly came over and kissed him on the cheek.
She opened her passenger side door halfway, delighting my ears by making noise on her side.
“I’m really going now. See you tomorrow.”
“Again. I don’t like it.”
“What… I hate it.”
Miyuki quickly got out of the car, sticking out her tongue.
Carefully closing her passenger door, she shook her hand brightly and headed for her front door with her galloping steps.
After parting with Miyuki, I immediately went home and changed my clothes. After a short break, I came out again.
After that, I quietly drove and parked the car in a public parking lot near Ikebukuro Station.
Perhaps because it is a special place in the evening, the streets are full of people even on weekdays.
I went to the appointed place, breaking through her crowd, observing Chinami’s mother-in-law’s doll on my cell phone.
And there I found Chinami who was watching people come and go.
It stands out because of her pink hair.
Her outfit today… It’s a normal sweatshirt and jeans.
White shoes that have not even been burned stand out.
The foot size is small, so it’s kind of cute.
I went behind Chinami and poked her delicate shoulder.
OK,
“Mhud!”
As usual, Chinami let out her eccentric exclamation and stood her shoulders upright, turning her head away.
“Brother…! Are you here?”
“Yes.”
“Then you say… Why are you pressing her on the shoulder?”
“Can’t you?”
“It’s not like that… Hmmm… Anyway, nice to see you again.”
I’m not telling you to be careful.
Relationship development is smooth.
Of course, the speed is slow, but it’s good if you can see that you’re going up the stairs step by step.
“Did the cake taste good?”
“Sure. I ate it with a peach smoothie.”
“Couldn’t the cake have tasted like peaches too?”
“No. It was the first cafe I went to, but unfortunately they didn’t sell it. So I ate it with chocolate.”
Peach-flavored cake… There is, but it’s not a common thing.
I’ve never tried it, so I’m curious, but I’m afraid it’ll permanently damage my taste buds.
Don’t go out of your way to open Pandora’s box.
While chatting with Chinami, I went to the meeting place with the seller and saw a man sitting on a bench wearing a hat.
The man was tapping his phone as if waiting for someone, and whenever he paused his finger, Chinami’s phone vibrated.
“That’s him.”
Chinami’s expression twitched as she checked the text.
She seems to have high expectations for finally being able to get her mother’s doll.
I said, looking at the man carefully.
“Let’s go.”
“Four!”
Chinami, who answered vigorously, took the lead.
Approaching her seller, she greeted her politely.
“Hello? Are you the one who sells dolls?”
“Ah, yes. You’re right. Hello.”
“Thank you so much for selling at a good price…! It’s unopened, right?”
“As I said, only the packaging has been opened, and the contents are unopened. Check it out.”
“Yes! Excuse me!”
Chinami opens the box the seller gave her.
Her eyes melted when she saw Momo-nim standing there, well wrapped in vinyl and non-woven fabric.
“Wow…! That’s right…!”
Seeing Chinami’s innocent reaction, I said I would take a look and brought the box.
It looks exactly like the photo Chinami sent me, but…
It just doesn’t make sense to add a little to the original price.
It’s a time when the value is high because it hasn’t been long since it’s been released.
I wrote it and sucked in my breath and asked the seller.
“Why are you selling this at this price?”
“Ah… It was difficult to find, but my daughter didn’t like it very much. My wife told me to sell it quickly…”
“Okay. Can I take a closer look?”
“It’s possible, but I’m in a hurry…”
“Didn’t you ask to meet at seven?”
“Why is that…?”
“It’s six forty-five? Fifteen minutes left. I originally assumed that it would be seven o’clock, so it’s still a good time.”
“…. It looks like the person in question has finished checking… If you’re feeling uneasy, take a look again.”
“Thank you. Two minutes is all it takes. I will finish soon.”
So I’m going to check the label on the back of the doll,
“The money is here…! Thank you for selling at a good price!”
Chinami, who seemed not to have heard my conversation with the seller, took out an envelope of her money from her crossbody bag and tried to hand it to the seller.
“For a moment…”
I hurriedly tried to dissuade Chinami, but in vain.
The envelope had already left Chinami’s hand.
“Write it nicely. Good job then.”
The seller who received the money from Chinami turned around before he knew it.
She said she would check, and she said yes, but that she was going to go as soon as she got the money… I think the scammer is right.
The courage to cheat in a direct transaction is virtual. Don’t praise
Here, if it were a common protagonist in a love comedy, I would have missed it and started a chase or reported it.
But I’m not that stupid.
Snap.
A man who hurriedly tried to get out of his seat and was grabbed by the hem of his clothes.
His center of gravity shifted backwards, causing my body to stumble.
“What are you doing…!”
The man burst into anger at me as I tried to keep my balance and put strength in my hand holding the hem of my clothes.
However, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut at my low chanting.
“I don’t have a wedding ring.”
“Yes…?”
“There is no wedding ring on the ring finger. My wife told me to sell it.”
“What is that…”
It could be that he couldn’t afford the ring because he couldn’t afford it.
It could be that something really urgent happened and you want to go quickly.
Even so, this guy is a scammer.
Because? Because the evidence was clear.
It was not a heart attack, but a physical symptom.
I sighed and looked at Chinami and the swindler, who were puzzled, and pointed at the box that had just fallen to the floor while arguing with the swindler.
“…..”
“…..”
There, Momo was thrown out of the box and rolled on the cold floor.
And the poor mother’s head was playing separately in the vinyl, completely separated from the body.
