The density of the crowd at the East Exit of Ikebukuro Station on a Saturday morning was even more exaggerated than Satsuki had imagined.
She stood at the entrance of the PARCO building and glanced inside.
The high-ceilinged atrium was already packed with people, and both the up and down directions of the escalators were a sea of dark heads.
"Wow..."
Ayako also poked her head out to look inside.
"It really is the weekend."
Reiko squeezed over from the side, still holding a crepe she had just bought from a street stall.
"Should we go upstairs first? There are too many people on the first floor."
"Sure."
Satsuki nodded and took the lead walking inside.
As soon as she stepped through the doors, a cool breeze from the air conditioning hit her face.
A currently very popular song was playing over the sound system.
The tempo was fast, and though she had heard the lyrics, she could not remember them clearly; she only knew that the female singer in the MTV wore flashy clothes and had her hair dyed pink.
The billboard next to the escalator displayed this season's featured styles.
The models were very young, and their makeup was completely different from what Satsuki usually saw.
She stood on the escalator as it slowly ascended, her gaze sweeping across the shops on both sides.
There were many young people.
Some people were carrying several shopping bags, while others were just standing in front of the display windows looking.
There were also couples standing close together, with the girl pulling on the boy's sleeve and pointing at a certain piece of clothing.
This atmosphere...
Satsuki took a deep breath.
Yes, exactly this—wait, why did she feel like she was here to suck the vitality out of young people?
When they reached the third floor, Ayako had already taken out those pages of the magazine.
"This way, this way."
She pointed to a shop at the end of the hallway.
"This shop just changed its window display last week. I read in the magazine that this style will be popular this autumn."
Satsuki followed.
Several mannequins stood at the entrance of the shop, and the clothes on them were all brightly coloured.
There was an orange short coat, a yellow hooded sweatshirt, and a green plaid shirt.
She stopped in front of the display window and looked for a moment.
"...Is it really okay to dress like this?"
"Of course it is."
Ayako had already walked into the shop and turned back to wave at her.
"You do not need to go see the bank directors anyway, why can not you dress a bit brighter?"
Reiko also followed inside.
"Come to think of it, the colours of Satsuki's clothes are indeed usually on the dark side, or else white."
As she spoke, she pulled out a beige trench coat from a nearby rack.
"Do you want to try this kind?"
"Hmm..."
Satsuki took the clothes and looked at them.
The fabric felt alright, and the tailoring was also good.
But beige?
She looked down at the white top and jeans she was wearing today.
It did not seem like there was anything wrong with it.
"Then let us try it?"
The clerk had already walked over and smiled as she guided her toward the fitting room.
When Satsuki came out after changing clothes, Ayako and Reiko were already waiting outside.
"Oh?"
Ayako blinked.
"It looks quite nice."
Reiko walked around behind her and helped her tie the trench coat's belt again.
"Yeah, better than before."
Satsuki turned around to look in the mirror.
The person in the mirror was wearing that beige trench coat, the waistline nipped in just right, and the hem falling just a little bit above her knees.
She tilted her head and looked for a moment.
"It is indeed not bad."
Ayako had already come over hugging another pile of clothes.
"Then try this one too! And this one!"
She shoved the clothes into Satsuki's arms.
"Hey, hey, hey, wait—"
Satsuki looked down at the pile of fabrics of various colours in her arms.
Orange, pink, light blue, and a printed top that she did not know how to describe.
"...So many?"
"Not many at all."
Ayako waved her hand.
"You have to try them anyway, just take them all in together."
"It is not easy to catch a chance when Satsuki is willing to wear whatever she wants."
Reiko handed over two pairs of pants from the side.
"Try these as well."
Satsuki looked at her.
Then looked at Ayako.
She suddenly felt that she might have made a mistake today.
She should not have told these two people to pick whatever they liked.
"...Fine."
Resigning herself to her fate, Satsuki hugged the things and returned to the fitting room.
As soon as the curtain was pulled shut, the uncontrollable laughter of the two people outside quickly came through.
Satsuki's motion of changing clothes paused for a moment.
"I can hear you!"
Outside, the laughter instantly became even more obvious.
Half an hour later.
Satsuki stood in front of the cash register, watching the clerk fold one piece of clothing after another and pack them into shopping bags.
Trench coats, jackets, tops, pants, skirts.
And several scarves and a hat.
Ayako leaned on the counter next to them, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at her, finding it somewhat amusing.
"Satsuki, are you planning to move the entire store home?"
"..."
Satsuki glanced at that row of shopping bags.
Earlier, she had actually only wanted to buy that beige trench coat.
But as she tried them on one by one, she found that every piece seemed alright when worn.
She liked this colour.
That one looked great on her too.
There were also two pieces that she initially thought were strange, but unexpectedly suited her very well after putting them on.
Since they were all alright...
Then she might as well buy them all.
Anyway, she had come out today specifically to spend money.
The clerk handed over the final shopping bag, smiling so widely her eyes curved.
"That comes to a total of 1.23 million yen."
Satsuki took out her card from her bag and tilted her head.
So buying this much only amounted to just over a million yen? It seemed her values had already been eroded by large-scale assets...
Over a million yen.
An ordinary family could already buy quite a lot of things with that.
Falling into her ears, her very first reaction was—
So cheap.
Satsuki pressed her lips together and handed over the card.
[Dangerous.]
[Going on like this, she really would lose all concept of money.]
After the transaction was processed, Ayako and Reiko each helped her carry a few bags.
"What is next?"
Reiko looked down the other end of the hallway.
"Go look at shoes?"
"Let us go."
Satsuki was now completely in high spirits.
Arriving at the shoe store, Satsuki spotted the row of colourful sneakers on the wall at a glance.
"Oh?"
She walked over to take a look.
Ayako was already sitting in the shoe-trying area, having asked the clerk to bring over several pairs.
"Satsuki, what size do you usually wear?"
"23.5."
"Then that is the same as me."
Ayako slipped her foot into a pair of white sneakers.
"Come, come, come, try this pair too."
Satsuki sat down next to her.
The clerk quickly brought over the same style.
She took off her loafers and slipped her feet in.
Before even tying the shoelaces, she stood up and took a couple of steps in front of the mirror.
"Hmm..."
Ayako also stood up.
The two of them stood side by side in front of the mirror.
"How is it?"
"Not bad."
Satsuki looked down at her feet.
The soles were much thicker than her loafers.
She looked back up at the mirror.
It seemed... she was a little taller?
Ayako suddenly leaned over and whispered with a mischievous smile, "Do you feel like you have grown taller?"
"...How did you know?"
"Because I have thought that too."
Ayako smiled and poked her arm.
"But sneakers really do make you look taller. If you care about that, just buy this kind with thick soles."
Satsuki spun around in front of the mirror again.
Good stuff...
"Then this pair."
She finished speaking and looked at the row of shoes next to them.
"Bring that black pair over to look at as well."
"And that pair."
"Hmm... that pink pair also seems nice?"
Ayako and Reiko exchanged glances.
Reiko gave a light cough.
"Satsuki."
"Hmm?"
"Are you stocking up inventory here?"
Satsuki was slightly stunned.
She looked down at the row of shoe boxes already lined up in front of her.
"...Not really, right?"
"Then what is it?"
"It is just... they all look quite nice."
Reiko sighed.
"An ordinary person would pick one pair from them at this point."
"But..."
Satsuki's sentence trailed off halfway.
She suddenly felt something was off about that sentence.
She thought about it.
And said it anyway.
"I am not an ordinary person."
The air fell silent for half a second.
Ayako burst out laughing.
Satsuki herself also realized that this sentence sounded entirely like some obnoxious zaibatsu Eldest Miss speech, and the tips of her ears could not help but heat up slightly.
"I did not mean it like that."
She reached out and gently patted Ayako.
"I mean we were supposed to spend money today anyway."
"I know, I know."
Ayako dodged while laughing.
"Miss Saionji, please continue your restock."
"Ayako!"
When they finally left, they still had several more shoe boxes.
As for the bags, accessories, and perfumes that followed, Satsuki gradually began to get used to this rhythm.
Not considering what others needed her to wear.
Nor thinking in advance about what occasions they could or could not be used for.
Stopping whenever she saw something she liked.
Picking it up.
Trying it on.
Buying it if it felt good.
At the very beginning, she would still occasionally subconsciously check the workmanship and judge whether the material matched the price.
Later on, even that action decreased.
Anyway, if she did not like it, she would put it back.
If she liked it, she kept it.
A small red bag made her stop for quite a while.
The colour was very bright.
Normally, she probably would not have chosen it.
But after holding it in her hands, the more Satsuki looked at it, the better it looked.
She held it up against herself in front of the mirror, then switched it to her other hand.
"This is nice."
Ayako leaned over.
"I think so too."
"Then I will take it."
Satsuki handed the bag in her hand to the clerk and glanced at herself in the mirror again.
Ordinarily, she would probably also casually think about whether this colour was suitable for formal occasions, or if there were any clothes in her wardrobe that could match it.
But today, those thoughts had barely popped up before she tossed them aside herself.
Whatever.
She just thought it looked good, and she liked it.
That was enough.
Thinking of this, Satsuki turned around in a great mood.
"Let us go look at other things."
The perfumes afterwards, however, made Satsuki take a long time to choose.
Following her stated preferences, the clerk brought out several options one after another, spraying the perfumes onto testing strips and handing them over.
At first, Satsuki smelled them very carefully, but later on, several scents mixed together until her nose could not distinguish them anymore. She could only hold the testing strips further away, waiting a moment before smelling them again.
She did not like overly sweet ones, and those with overly heavy scents were also quickly pushed aside.
When it came to one of them, the moment Satsuki brought the testing strip close, her brows slowly knitted together.
"This..."
She hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head to sniff it again.
"Why does this feel like Father's study?"
Ayako froze for a second, then laughed so hard her whole body leaned against Reiko.
"Is it that exaggerated?"
"It really is just like it."
Refusing to believe it, Satsuki took the paper back and sniffed it carefully again. But the second time still failed to change her judgment, instead making her even more certain.
"It really is just like it."
She disdainfully put the testing strip back on the table.
"I do not want this one. I do not want to smell like Father every day."
"If Uncle finds out you said that, he will be heartbroken."
"Then do not tell him."
Satsuki replied as a matter of course, picking up the remaining few strips to continue choosing.
It was also at this moment that she discovered she actually quite liked this process of slow comparison.
In the past, when these things were delivered to the main residence, someone usually had already screened them for her once.
The head maid, fashion consultant, or makeup artist would tell her what was suitable for daily wear, what was suitable for banquets, and which ones better matched her age and status. She only needed to use from the few that remained at the end.
But today, no one was making decisions for her.
Ayako would occasionally think a certain scent smelled very nice, and Reiko would also take away a testing strip she liked, but after saying their piece, the two of them would continue waiting for her to choose without anyone telling her "This style is most suitable for Miss Saionji."
Satsuki rearranged the last three remaining testing strips in front of her and sniffed them in turn once more. Originally wanting to eliminate one more, she hesitated for a long time but still could not bring herself to part with it.
Reiko had been standing by watching her all along, and seeing her finally put all three bottles together, she finally could not help laughing.
"So after deliberating for so long, you want all of them in the end?"
"..."
Satsuki looked down.
It really did not seem any different from when she bought shoes earlier.
She felt a little like laughing herself, but still offered a defence for herself.
"What can be done."
Satsuki put down the last testing strip, the corners of her mouth already curling up uncontrollably.
"I like them all, after all."
"I knew it."
Reiko was not surprised at all.
Satsuki did not refute this time, just smilingly handed the three bottles of perfume together to the clerk.
What truly made Satsuki realize she seemed to be starting to enjoy this activity was later when they passed by a small sundry shop.
The shop was packed with items, from notebooks and keychains to all kinds of small ornaments with no practical use, all crammed onto rows of shelves.
Satsuki had originally just followed Ayako inside to look around casually, but after walking deeper in, her attention was caught by a palm-sized ceramic cat in the corner.
That cat was not exquisitely made; its white body was matched with black ears and a tail, its two eyes were painted round, and squatting there, it even looked a bit dazed.
Does it not look a bit like Emi?
Satsuki stood in front of the shelf watching it for a while, and in the end, still reached out to pick it up.
"This..."
She lightly touched the ceramic cat's ear with her thumb, turned it over to check the bottom, and then set it straight again.
Ayako noticed her stopping there and also leaned over.
"Is not it cute?"
"It is quite cute."
Satsuki did not deny it, just looking at the thing in her hand, and could not help asking another question:
"But what can you do with it if you buy it back?"
"What else can you do, find a place to display it, duh."
Ayako answered as a matter of course. Seeing that Satsuki still had a puzzled look on her face, she instead looked at her somewhat strangely.
"Buy it if you like it; not everything has to be useful."
Satsuki did not speak immediately after hearing this.
She lowered her head; that ceramic cat was still dazed as it squatted in her palm.
The first thing that popped into her mind was the somewhat excessively large desk in her study.
That corner near the window seemed to have always been a bit empty?
Placing this cat there seemed just right.
As for whether it could appreciate in value, whether it had collection value, or even whether it counted as any decent handicraft at all, it did not seem to matter.
Satsuki suddenly felt that in the past when she bought things, she always seemed accustomed to finding a sufficiently reasonable excuse for every purchase.
But now she did not need to.
She just liked it.
"Then I will take this one."