After we finished lunch, we were each free to do as we please.

"Akarin, me and Oshii are going to go shopping a little, okay?"

"Ah, you don't need me to come along? Let me know if you're short on cash."

"Nah, I'm good~. It's just a little surprise shopping for Akarin that you're not allowed to know about, nya~" "It's secret, nya~"

Akari and the others chuckled before turning away from me.

It did catch my attention, but I suppose adults have secrets they don't want kids to know about.

I decided to leave those children alone.

"Okaya-kun, would it be all right if I went out for a bit by myself? Please take care of the Young Lady in my absence." "W-Itsuha!"

Lysia blushed and stepped close to Ninigawa.

"Young Lady, I have some business to attend to, so please let Okaya-kun be your escort."

"B-but... t-to be alone together like that..."

"Once in a while, it's good to deepen our bond outside of work matters, don't you think? Yes, Okaya-kun?"

"Fair enough. I'll keep an eye on Lusia, so go on."

"Yes, I will. Goodbye, young lady. Do your best."

She winked—pachi!—and Nichigawa walked away.

Along the way, she bumped into a large man in a black suit and the receptionist.

"...Hey, sis. What's wrong?"

"...Saburo. A date, is it? Damn bastard."

"Ow! It hurts! But seriously, sis, are you really going to leave the girls alone together?"

"It's fine. They'd look pitiful, wouldn't they? She must have worked up all her courage to invite them on a trip. I want to give them some privacy."

"Hmm, I see. But what if he steals him away?"

"Gnn... It's fine, it's okay... Besides, why don't you tell me how you guys met?"

So that was why she had rushed over when she spotted a colleague.
"Lusia"
"Oh—uh, what is it...?"

Lusia turned crimson and her eyes darted around nervously.

"Shall we go. Is there somewhere specific you'd like to visit?" Lushia smiled and shook her head.

"Not particularly, so let's just wander around the neighborhood for a bit." "Is that all right with you?"

"Oh yes. Simply being by Okaya's side makes me happy, after all."

Come to think of it, in our professional capacity—author and editor—we had shared meals or visited coffee shops together.

But this was the first time we were meeting like this, on a personal basis. "Shall we go?" "Yes."

Lushia followed beside me.

She kept her spine straight, walking susu, with almost no sound of her footsteps. "Hm? What's wrong, Okaya?"

"No... I was just thinking your way of walking is elegant."

"I have been subjected to various training exercises since childhood. It became natural for me." "Training, huh. For example?"

Lushia said, Hmm, and began counting on her fingers.

"Ikebana, Nihon buyō, the koto... there are many things."

"Those are quite traditional hobbies, aren't they?"

Rushia's home is still shrouded in mystery.

But it’s certain that she comes from a wealthy background.

Her words and actions up to now suggest as much, and the sheer number of extracurricular activities she takes part in is proof enough of her affluence.

"O-Okay! Look at that!"

In a corner of the shopping mall stood a row of gacha capsules.

It seemed to be a shop selling toys for children.

"So this is the famed 'gachagacha machine' I’ve heard so much about!"

Standing before the machine, Rushia spoke with evident excitement. "Have you never tried one?"

"Ah. I knew of them by reputation, but so that is what it's called... Shall we give it a shot?" "Yes!"

She took her wallet out of the pouch slung across her shoulder.

Drawing out a gold credit card.

"Hmm? This... no, wait? Where do I even put the card..."

Rushia was seriously searching for the coin slot.

Right, she was a young lady.

She probably had never used one of these before.

I took my wallet out of my pocket and dropped in a 100-yen coin. "Now you can play."

Rushia’s eyes went wide... in a daze.

Kaa... Just like her gaze, Rushia's face turned beet red.

"I-I see... I mean, do we not use cards here...?"
"Yeah, it takes coins only."

"O-Oh I see... th-that was an experience. I think I'll incorporate it into my novel."

Rushia tapped lightly on the machine's casing.

"Master, how do you 'turn' it? Do we spin this whole machine around?"

"No, you turn that handle like this."
"Hmm? I don't really get it..."

Rushia placed her hand on the crank but seemed unsure of what to do.
"Excuse me, I'm going to stand behind you for a moment."
"Eh...? Hyaah♡"

I reach from behind Rushia and place my hand over her right hand on the steering wheel. "O-oh, o-oh, o-okay?" "It's fine. Just relax." "……Yes."

Startled at first, Rushia suddenly becomes all coquettish.

Her skin was flushed crimson even down to her wrists.

I cover her hand as I grip the steering wheel. "Ah……♡"

Without breaking form, I turn the wheel twice to the right with a clack-clack sound.

"Ah……♡ Ah……♡ Mm-hn……♡" Thud… "It's out."

"Haa… haa… Is, is it… over already…?"

She looks at me with hungry eyes. "Do you want to do it one more time?"

"N-no, I don’t………… No, wait, yes. Y-yes, just one more time…" Chaling ♪ "Ah!" Clack. "Ah, ah, ah" Thud… "See, it’s out."

"Haa… haa… Oh, so much… all of it…" Rushia murmurs with a sultry voice.

Sweat dampened her hair, making it cling to her, and the sweet scent of flowers drifted into my nostrils. "Behold, this is the capsule."

"Oh! Inside are the straps for [Ryo] and [Rei]'s [Digi-mas]!"

Digimas… that super-popular title by the god-tier author, Mr. Kamimatsu.

Mr. Kamimatsu's merchandise is now sold everywhere these days.

"You just twist the capsule like this to open it."

I take one capsule from her and give it a snap, popping it open with a satisfying paco.

"Hmm-hmm," Rysia says, nodding as she tries to open a capsule.

"Kunu……! Kununnu! Kenuu!"

But there’s no sign of the capsule opening at all.

I take the capsule from her and give it a snap, popping it open with a paco.

"Phee……! Pee……! Pee……! T-thank you so much…"

It seems even opening such a small capsule is quite strenuous labor for Rysia. I'll be more careful from now on.

"Ah… okay, here’s one for you."

Rysia hands me the 【Lyao】 strap.

"No, it’s yours."

"No, actually, let’s wear them together. I like matching things," she said with a carefree smile.

Did she really want to have matching straps?

She had such a childish side to her. "Well then, don't mention it."

I attached Ryo’s strap to my smartphone.

"What about Lucia? I seem to recall you didn’t have a phone?"

"Mm-hmm. But... I do have a flip phone!"

What she pulled from her handbag was a classic-looking, old-style mobile phone. Or rather, this thing was……

"Wasn’t that one of those senior-friendly Rakuraku Phone models..."

It was the type designed for the tech-illiterate: no push buttons and a limit of only three saved contacts.

That’s the kind of phone that used to be sold back when I was in middle or high school, though...

"Let’s attach it here... threading the cord through the hole... damn! It won’t fit..."

I try to help Rushia thread the cord through, but she can't seem to get it in no matter how long she keeps trying.

"W-wait! You insolent piece of string! Trying to put up such a fight against me, huh!"

Left to fend for herself while trying to attach the strap, Rushia struggles away with her back turned... It was so amusing that I couldn't help but watch. "That's quite something..."

Eventually giving up, she turns to me holding out the strap. "Give it here."

I take it and swiftly thread the strap through in one smooth motion.

"Thank you. I suppose your hands are truly deft after all."

"Nah, Rushia. It's just that you're clumsy." "Grrr... I can't deny that."

Rushia lets out a heavy sigh and slumps her shoulders in defeat.

The gesture was incredibly endearing. Watching her felt like watching a little white kitten.

"Look at them, they're matching straps!" "Indeed."

"Hehe. I'm going to cherish these. Please do the same." "Of course."

Rushia nodded with a look of pure delight.

"When it comes to the Digital Mascot…… Okaya. About the title for our next work, but—"

Torushia and I are scheduled to release a new work under the SR Bunko imprint.

But we can't seem to decide on a title.

"Could you pick the title, Okaya?" "……Me?"

"Yes. I want you to choose it, since you understand the work best." It was a request from her. Not something that should be refused.

Considering a title is part of an editor's job too. ……I know that. Even knowing that…… —What is this? This is a light novel, right? —The painfully stiff title~. —No sense at all lol

…I had recalled some unpleasant memories.

"I'm sorry, but you should come up with it." "Okaya……?"

"It seems I simply don't have…… the knack for it."

Since becoming an editor, I had acquired numerous techniques.

But I lack confidence when it comes to things that require taste.

The three times my contracts were terminated serve as proof that I possess no sense for naming a work myself.

That me... to put my name on the title of a much-anticipated debut work by a promising newcomer... I couldn't do that.

Because I don't want to defile her masterpiece with my hands.

"Of course, I'm willing to discuss it. Just give me some proposals." "……" "Lushia?" She looked up at me. Her expression was serious as she gazed at me.

"Okay. Even so, I want to entrust this to you. Please name my child." "No... but..."

"I'm begging you. As an editor, I trust you, Okaya, more than anyone in the world. If it's a title you decide on, I'll be satisfied with whatever it turns out to be. So please... beg you."

Could there be an editor who would refuse when trusted so deeply by a novelist? Frankly... I was pleased. But... at the same time, doubt crept in.

The past failure I had experienced stripped me of confidence, and anxiety filled my mind.

But showing that anxiety outwardly would only make her anxious too.

Since she had the grace to ask, I should live up to it. "Understood."

"Great! I'm counting on you, Okaya!"

She smiled, looking truly delighted and beautiful.