ACT II - Price to Pay

The following days at school were quite pleasant… Or at least, they were supposed to be that way. Seeing my friends around, enjoying conversation and sharing meals with them… Sure, it was very fun, and all that I ever wanted but… Ever since that day, it was as if I was stuck with a curse that made me compare myself with my bright, amazing friends at all times. I had grown self conscious and doubts were eating the back of my mind.

Not only that, I didn't know what to do about my glasses once again. Were I to use them to see more Reveals about people? Or were I to simply confess its effects and hand them back to 99-san…?

I decided to be courageous for a change and directly visit the Antique Shop. I'd just decide on my next course of action accordingly…

Thursday evening, I asked Seiten-senpai if I could leave club activities a bit earlier that day. He gave me the permission, commenting that my face looked more tired lately, wishing me a good resting time. I bowed down my head politely and left the school.

Seiten-senpai trusted me a lot so he didn't think twice in letting me go but… Sorry senpai, I wasn't heading back home for a rest.

Perhaps unexpectedly from me, I had no particular thoughts on the way. I just felt a bitter and sort of… Empty feeling. Whatever would happen would just happen and then… I'd be back home. Yeah, that was it.

Despite my apathetic mood, when I entered the Antique Shop, I was in for a big surprise: Rena was inside, mouth open wide to greet the customer but no sound managing to find their way out, seeing me in front of her… She was working here!

Like the way she was unable to say anything, things weren't all that different on my side either. The heavy silence continued, until it was interrupted by the lively, loud voice of Tsukumo-san, the antique shop owner.

"Oya oya, if it isn't my dear boy Seira-kun again! Do come in, what are you waiting for? Come on Rena-chan, put some tea for him! He's a most important customer, isn't he?"

Rena grumbled a low "Yes, sir", shot me a glare and went to put on some hot water. I stepped inside, trying to fake a laugh to clear the awkwardness of the situation. "Ahaha, hello 99-san! Am I still a 'customer' if I received the glasses for free, though?"

99-san appeared from the depths of the shop, his outfit as fancy as ever. "Hahaha, didn't I say there was a price to pay for them? I am yet to hear some stories from you." He held on his dragon-headed walking stick as he gestured to me to sit inside. There was now a wooden table and a beautiful set of chairs inside the shop, set to have conversations with the customers.

"Very nice, aren't they? I ordered them specially from Nara. Do take a seat please, your tea will be ready in no time."

Nara…? That was where Reo's parents lived, and since his family also worked with wood, perhaps it was…? No, that was too absurd. There were many, many more people working with wood after all. Plus, his parents were specializing in toy making, so…

"Woah, they're very comfortable too. Thank you for your hospitality, 99-san. And I apologize for taking so long to visit again."

He sat in front of me, and waved his hand, dismissing my apology. "No, no, Seira-kun. You're a busy student after all. Sometimes even Rena-chan slacks off and doesn't come, despite working here…"

She was back with our tea. Hearing her boss’ comment, she frowned. "Tsukumo-san, you know I always tell you beforehand when I need to be at home. Please don't make me have a bad image in front of him."

99-san laughed, his laugh as loud and hearty as last time. "Hahaha, even if I tried to change your image, I couldn't do it at this point. After all, don’t you two see each other almost everyday, as seatmates?"

I got a rush of questions. Woah, did Rena tell him about me before? When and how? What kind of things had she said so far? Just when did she start working here, anyway? Was it before or after I had obtained the glasses…?

I scanned back my memory to remember the first day. Suddenly, I remembered the gasp of a female voice, and how the owner of the voice had left the shop before I could even get a glimpse of her. Was that Rena, hiding from her classmate she didn't know all that well yet…?!

Well, there was no use in questioning that now.

"To think Kogarashi-san was working here…! She never told me."

99-san seemed very surprised at that fact. When he turned towards his part time worker for an explanation, he found that she had already gone away.

"Oh, that girl… She really acts so mysteriously sometimes…" He shook his head, and then clapped his hands, indicating that he was about to change the topic.

"Well then! Let's talk about you for a bit. Your glasses—how are you doing with them? They must have helped you see things much more clearly, no?"

He leaned forward on his seat and looked right inside my eyes. His look was as magnetic as ever, I couldn't escape from those black holes even if I tried. I wished I remembered this fact before it was too late, as I would have preferred to avoid eye contact…!

Plus, his words had gotten me anxious. Did he know of the effects of the glasses? His words were quite normal but I couldn't help but wonder if a hidden meaning was seated inside…

I decided to answer in an equally encrypted manner.

"Absolutely! These guys are so amazing that I feel like I see many things I couldn't otherwise see…!"

He rested his hand on his chin, humming deeply. He seemed satisfied with my answer, and changed the topic once more; this time about whether I had adjusted to my life back in Japan.

I was glad that he was concerned about me, but in the end I didn't know if he was aware of the glasses' effect or not…!

With Rena's curious head taking a peek behind rows of items, I got in a deep, long conversation with Tsukumo-san. We had talked about many topics, ranging from my life in Canada, my current life, my favorite tv shows to my healthy lifestyle—but the topic of glasses was never mentioned again! And I certainly didn't know how to mention them again without sounding suspicious about them.

Time passed and passed, and soon it was time for my dinner at home, so I had to excuse myself. There were also some customers coming inside the shop, with people's work of the day ending, so it gave me plenty of reasons to leave. Rena was busy handling the customers, so she simply nodded her head towards me, sufficing as a goodbye. I mouthed a silent "Good luck, bye bye" towards her, and waited for 99-san to join my side, as he wanted to see me off.

"Now, young gentleman. If you think this amount of conversation was enough to pay off those glasses, you're very wrong! I shall be anticipating you again, Seira-kun!"

He winked at me and patted my back. So now he was mentioning the glasses again…

I took one final look inside the shop. The truth was that, all this time I had been receiving information about the past owners of the items. They were just small bits of information, like how a small girl had played with that chess set with her dad, or how that umbrella was custom painted by a free-spirited artist. I didn't know about how they had found their way to the shop, but one thing was for certain: These glasses were powerful! And it was me who was wielding that power…

I forced a smile. "Haha, for glasses this amazing, the price must be heavy for sure…!" I stepped outside, the chime of the shopkeeper's bell indicating my arrival to the streets once more. Bowing deeply at Tsukumo-san, I bid my goodbye.

While I walked away from the shop, I heard him mumble something. I couldn't figure out what exactly it was from this distance, but what I heard was something along the lines of "Oh, you are most right, Seira-kun"...