Chapter 3

I pick up a little girl. Then I get fired.

In a narrow lane with no foot traffic, a girl was asleep in a cardboard box someone had thrown away.

Usually, it would be a kitten or a puppy, but this was a girl. She had long, coral-pink hair tied back in twin ponytails. When I pushed it out of the way with a fingertip, the face that appeared was young, breathing peacefully, and solidly in dreamland.

“…What do I do now?”

Frankly, the situation screamed “trouble.” First off, I’d only gone into this completely deserted alley because an apple from my bag had rolled this way. Maybe you’re thinking, What a total cliché, that’s ridiculous…, but that’s how it goes with me.

“Well, it’s not like I can get out of it anyway.”

Experience had taught me that once I’d stumbled into trouble, that trouble wouldn’t go away until I resolved it. That meant the best plan was to deal with it as quickly as possible.

Besides, since I’d spent a lot of time overseas (partly because I’d had this annoying issue for ages), I could get around passably well in the languages of several countries, so even at times like this, I was able to speak to strangers without hesitating.

“Hey. You alive?” I poked at the girl’s cheek with a fingertip.

It was soft, soft and supple and springy as mochi.

“…Nn…uhn…”

The girl squirmed, and the sheets of newspaper covering her rustled. I reached in from the side and poked her cheek again. Rustle. Poke. Rustle. Poke. After a few rounds of that…

“Nn, who is it…?”

Finally, the girl sat up, moving sluggishly and rubbing her eyes. Then she turned her head about ninety degrees to the side, and our eyes met.

Hers were large and strong-willed, with long eyelashes. She seemed to be about twelve or thirteen—a cute little girl now, but I had the feeling she was going to be really beautiful someday.

I was examining her closely, when—

“—Oh.”

Suddenly, as if she’d realized something, the girl squeezed her eyes shut.

“I’m going to get assaulted.”

For some reason, I had an extremely bad feeling about this, but I asked her anyway.

“By who?”

“You!”

The girl glared at me sharply. She’d teared up a little.

“Make no mistake—no matter what you do to my body, you’ll never control my heart!”

And now I was the target of a baseless suspicion… Not fair.

“You even dragged me into a back alley… You’re the worst! You beast!”

You were sleeping here all on your own. Argh, my head hurts.

“Sorry, but I don’t have a thing for little kids.”

“—! Wh-who are you calling a little kid?!”

“You.”

The girl tried to grab me by the shirtfront, but she was way too short for it to work as a threat.

“Ghk, take that! And that!”

She bounced up and down, attempting to shove her index fingers at my face. Was she trying to blind me or something? This was one dangerous little girl.

“I’m not little! I’m a regular girl!”

“Yeah, okay, okay. I get it, just calm down.”

I caught the girl’s wrists, lifting her off the ground so that her feet dangled in midair.

“When you meet someone new, you’re supposed to start with introductions. My name is Kimihiko Kimizuka. And you are…?”