It was evening, and the location was on the second floor of the Uesugi family's house. The two characters were Uesugi Yuki and Koga Mizuo, two young girls with small backpacks on their backs. They were standing by the window in a room on the second floor of the Uesugi family's house, taking turns climbing over the window sill onto the eaves.
This part was relatively easy and safe, as the eaves of the Uesugi house were not very steep, and the girls' light weight meant that simply standing there would not put much pressure on the structure.
The difficult part was coming up next. It was impossible to jump directly from the eaves to the ground in the courtyard below. The two and a half meter drop could be mitigated by adult professionals using techniques like rolling to reduce the impact on their joints, but the two protagonists, these two young girls, were weak and lacked strength. They couldn't even catch up to a chicken, let alone perform such professional movements.
So, for the two young girls, the plan to descend from the eaves to the ground in the courtyard was to slowly "climb" down from a tree. In the Uesugi family's courtyard, there was a thick and sturdy tree, and one of its branches extended to the edge of the eaves. At this moment, Yuki, the vanguard, was carefully trying to climb onto this branch.
The reason she was in the vanguard was because during her last medical check-up, she weighed 500 grams more than Mizuo. So if Yuki didn't have any problems, then Mizuo wouldn't have any either.
Yuki finally managed to climb onto the branch, using both her hands and feet to slowly crawl towards the trunk. Every time she moved, the branch would tremble, and Mizuo's heart would tremble along with it.
This process lasted for half an hour before it was over.
Oh, you thought half an hour meant that both girls had climbed down from the tree?
No, that happened an hour and ten minutes later.
Yes, it took these two young girls one hour and ten minutes just to sneak out of the Uesugi house!
"Yuki..."
Mizuo's voice was slightly out of breath. She had never expected that climbing a tree would be such a "vigorous" activity. The repeated friction between her body and the branches gave her a subtle sense of "peculiarity".
"How long will the special edition of that soap opera be aired today?"
"Um...two and a half hours...including the commercials, it won't be more than three hours."
While looking at her watch, Yuki answered. Deducting the time spent climbing the tree, they had less than two hours left, and within these two hours, they still had to go back and forth.
"We have to hurry."
"Okay!"
Under the glow of the setting sun, the two petite bodies dashed...no, walked with all their might. They didn't have the energy to run anymore.
After about twenty minutes of running, or rather walking while out of breath, the two little girls finally reached their destination.
It must be mentioned that Mizuo's sense of direction was truly impressive. Not only among her peers, but even adults might not be able to match her. Despite only having been to this place once before, she managed to find it without any other tools or aids.
If it were a three-sword style swordsman, a martial artist who turned into a black pig when doused with cold water, the guardian of the Sengamine Shrine at the age of fourteen, or a young lady with powerful spiritual energy but lacking common sense, it would be a question of whether they could even find the destination, let alone return home safely.
"Here it is."
"Yes."
Mizuo held Yuki's hand, and Yuki held her hand back. They walked together, shoulder to shoulder, until they reached the entrance of the coffee shop.
This place had an old-fashioned decor, with a bronze sign depicting a cat and a row of blue hydrangeas planted at the entrance.
