Arthur halted his steps as his eyes landed on a particular person that he easily recognized out of the random people around him. That person was too eye-catching after all.
'What in the hell is she doing here?' He blinked curiously.
Standing thoughtfully as she gazed at something in front of her, the girl was completely oblivious to the numerous looks she was getting from passersby. Everyone who saw her would be completely captivated by her looks.
With long, flowing black hair that reached her hips and a perfectly sculpted body, Her body was graceful, with an elegant and slender figure. She carried herself with a natural poise that added to her overall charm and beauty.
Her face was small, oval-shaped with beautiful white skin, a small nose, and a pair of two big, adorable eyes.
That girl was Kaede Mitsuhara, a rich young lady from the Mitsuhara family who owned a massive international company that sold beauty products. Kaede was the face of that huge company as she worked as a model for their products. Her beauty gained her a huge following on social media and even in real life.
However, what made Arthur recognize her wasn't for that reason alone. Kaede was also Arthur's classmate for the past 10 years or so. Every year since primary school, they would end up in the same class for one reason or another. Call it a blessing or call it a curse, Arthur never understood what to think of that himself.
Granted, Arthur never talked to her before and frankly never wanted to talk to her. Both of them live in two different worlds that he never even wished to cross.
'Good luck to her.' He shrugged and continued walking to his destination without giving her a second glance. As he was about to pass her, he suddenly remembered something.
"Oh, right… I forgot to buy that…" Rubbing the back of his head, Arthur sighed. He still had one thing he needed to get urgently. Unfortunately for him, that thing he wanted was in the same aisle that Kaede was in.
'What kind of luck is this? Tsk.' Walking back in his tracks, he found Kaede still standing in her place thoughtfully examining some items in her hand.
Arthur didn't want to linger around her for too long so he simply walked to the milk section and picked up two milk cartons before he turned around to hurriedly walk away. However, at that moment, the girl curiously lifted her eyes and looked directly at Arthur.
Immediately, her curious gaze turned into a small smile.
"Good evening, Colbert-kun."
'Fuck me sideways and bury me alive.' Arthur cursed inwardly before he turned around slowly and tried to muster a small, professional smile.
"Ah, good evening to you too, Mitsuhara-san." He said before he turned around again. "Then, I will excuse myself."
'Good! Good job, Arthur! You're a genius! The smartest man alive! That was a perfect depiction of a professional retreat!' Giggling inwardly, Arthur was glad that he was able to speak normally and quickly end the conversation.
Kaede was a rather social person by nature even though she likes to spend most of her time alone, reading books. That was perhaps why she was the most popular person in their school and perhaps one of the most popular in the country. She wasn't a scumbag like most celebrities are, at least that's what many believe.
"Oh, please wait. Can you please help me with something?"
Arthur halted again and looked at her.
"I can't reach up to the butter. Would you mind picking it up for me?" She asked.
"Oh, b-butter… Yeah, butter, of course." Nodding his head, he approached Kaede before he looked up at the last row where butter was stacked.
'What kind of maniac would put butter that high?' Even though he was grumbling inwardly, his face remained fairly calm on the outside which was something that surprised Arthur.
Most people would either try to smile or blush when they talked to Kaede since she had an almost hypnotizing look in her beautiful eyes that would completely captivate anyone who looked at them.
However, since Arthur's conversations with women could be counted on one hand, his resistance toward such charming effects could be considered very high. Added to that, his mind was too occupied with what he needed to accomplish before he went to sleep tonight so Kaede was the least of his problems now.
"You're really tall, Colbert-kun. " Kaede smiled as she got handed the butter and looked up at Arthur. Looking up at him, she tiptoed on her feet to try and stand higher, however, even then, she could only reach his shoulders in height.
"Thanks?"
"Hahaha, my apologies, I'm not that good at praising people. Thank you for helping me, though. That was very kind of you." She giggled beautifully.
'If you're bad at complimenting people then I'm a lost cause.' He rolled his eyes before he spoke again.
"Anyway, please excuse me now. Good night." He said as he turned around and walked toward the cashier, paid for his purchase, and then stormed out of the convenience store before Kaede could even speak again.
"Uhuh, he ran away. Was I scary?" Tilting her head in confusion, Kaede wondered whether Arthur found her too pushy.
***
Outside, Arthur exhaled a long breath of relief that he was able to leave that place safely. This was the first time he talked to Kaede and it was a rather hard encounter.
"Well, I hopefully didn't sound like a creep." Shrugging the matter off, Arthur walked toward the alley next to the convenience store.
"Hey! Are you there, guys?" He called out audibly.
"Meow!"
Immediately a group of three cats came out running from some corner of the alley and rushed toward him. Their happy noises made the boy smile slightly before he crouched down to receive them.
"Hey, hey, relax, relax. I will pick you all up so don't push each other." Patting each one of the cats gently, Arthur picked them up and started teasing them. These three cats were the reason he bought those cartons of milk.
He found them in this alley a few weeks ago after their mother died perhaps in a car accident and so he decided to help them out as much as he could till they grew up.
"Come on, don't be too pushy, you little shits. Hey! Don't bite my finger! You, don't jump on my shoulder!" Arthur was easily getting overwhelmed by the playful cats that seemed to completely like him.
Eventually, Arthur was able to put them down and then opened the cartons of milk before he poured them into an old container he brought there a few weeks ago.
In reality, Arthur did think of adopting these cats. But, he knew that they wouldn't be able to live in his apartment since it was on the second floor. Cats were free by nature so they wouldn't simply stay inside. Leaving through the window could be dangerous to them.
After pouring the milk, the cats immediately jumped on it and started drinking happily.
Meanwhile, Arthur simply sat down and watched them with a peaceful expression.
"You three sure love milk…" He murmured to himself. "I wonder if you miss your mother. Or did you simply forget her?"
Arthur's expression slowly changed to a rather sad one. A few memories, pleasant and unpleasant came back to him that soured his mood.
'What am I getting all nostalgic about? geez.' Sighing, he simply focused on the three cats instead, to diverge his thoughts.
As he was like that, Arthur suddenly heard a small commotion coming from the end of the alley.
"Hm? Is there someone there?" Calling out, Arthur instead heard a few people speaking. Precisely, there were loud laughs of perhaps a few delinquents.
'Meh, it seems like it's none of my business.'
Suddenly, a holographic image appeared in his vision.
[Objectives have been updated!]
'Or I guess it is now.'