Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Oh, Kid Customers

Hegh... weekend again.

I sighed, resting my chin on the counter as I lazily scrolled through my phone.

The street outside the bookstore was starting to buzz. It was always like this on weekends—more people going out, more families walking around, more kids dragging their parents into random shops.

Not that it mattered to me.

It's not like any of those people ever cared about this little bookstore tucked between a closed-down stationery shop and that weird flower store run by the old lady who always glares at me for no reason.

Customers?

Hah. On weekends?

Unlikely.

So here I was... quietly playing games on my phone, minding my own peaceful business.

Until—ding-ding!

The soft chime of the doorbell snapped me out of my concentration.

I slowly looked up, expecting to see... nobody. Or maybe someone lost.

But no.

Two little girls had walked in.

Oh.

Kids.

They were probably elementary schoolers. Both of them small, wearing matching backpacks with colorful animal keychains dangling off them.

I sighed again, setting my phone down on the counter.

Figures. Must be doing some school project or something.

They started walking between the shelves, whispering to each other and looking left and right like they were hunting for treasure.

Probably some homework. A book report? A history project? Who knows. As long as they didn't knock over any shelves or climb on the furniture, I didn't care.

I glanced at them for a moment... and then went straight back to my phone.

Back to my peaceful game world.

Minutes passed.

Click... click... tap-tap-tap...

Until the two of them suddenly appeared in front of the counter.

"U-Um... excuse me, onee-san!" one of them said brightly.

Onee-san... huh. Of course.

I lowered my phone slowly and looked at them.

"Do you have any books about history?" the other girl asked, tilting her head with big curious eyes.

History, huh?

Yup. School project guess—confirmed.

I sighed softly and pointed to the far right shelf.

"History's over there."

"Thank you!" they both chirped and scampered off.

So predictable... kids are so easy to read.

I grabbed my phone again, ready to dive back into my game when I heard soft footsteps running back to the counter.

I looked up.

One of the girls stood there, hands nervously clasped in front of her skirt.

"U-Um... we can't reach the book we want... could you help us get it down?"

Hegh...

As expected from elementary kids. The shelf is pretty high for them.

"Okay, okay..." I said, pushing myself up with a small sigh.

As a good storekeeper—and a good human being—I walked over to the history section.

Sure enough, the book they wanted was on the top shelf. Even I had to tiptoe a little to reach it.

"Here," I said, handing the thick history book down to them.

"Thank you, onee-san!" they beamed, hugging the book like it was some rare treasure.

I smiled faintly and headed back to the counter, my quiet duty as fake onee-san storekeeper complete.

A few minutes later, they came to the register with their books clutched tightly in their arms.

"How much is it, onee-san?" they asked politely.

I scanned the price tags. "One thousand two hundred yen for both."

They pulled out some neatly folded bills and handed them over with both hands. Cute.

I gave them their change and then said, "You know... you can borrow these books too, if you want to save your money. This is a bookstore, but also a library. Membership is free for students."

They shook their heads quickly.

"No, no! We want to buy them! We want to learn about history more! Like... about wars and samurai and kings and castles!" the taller girl said excitedly.

Huh.

Well... that proved me wrong.

I thought they just needed something for homework, but they actually wanted to read for fun.

A rare thing in this day and age.

"Alright, then. That's good," I said with a soft smile, putting the books into a paper bag. "Here you go."

"Thank you, pretty onee-san!" they said in chorus, bowing politely before running to the door.

I blinked, the smile frozen on my face.

Pretty... onee-san... again, huh...

Not like I didn't expect it.

But... still...

It'd been a long time since I talked to little kids like that. Since anyone that small called me something so sweet without teasing or weird looks.

I watched them leave, their small backs disappearing into the sunlight outside.

And then... silence again.

I let out a breath and slumped back into my chair behind the counter, grabbing my phone.

Back to normal.

Back to routine.

Back to no customers for the rest of the day.

Well... at least they were polite. And kind of cute. Even if they totally thought I was a big sister.

I sighed and opened my game app again.

Guess being called "onee-san" isn't the worst thing in the world...

I smirked faintly, tapping on the screen as the quiet bookstore returned to its usual peaceful boredom.