School Story of Wandering Witches : Arche's Daily Life

Today, I was going to buy a new phone, and now I was walking to my appointment with destiny… or, well, at least a shiny new piece of technology.

As I approached the meeting spot, I spotted her. Elaina, with her ash-colored hair and piercing blue eyes, was standing there looking as effortlessly cool as always.

"Elaina! Have you been waiting long?"

She glanced up from her phone and gave me a smirk. "Hey, Arche. Not long. I just got here a couple of minutes ago. Looks like you took your sweet time."

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "Well, I couldn't sleep last night."

Elaina raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Oh? And why couldn't you sleep? What's the big deal with today?"

I shuffled my feet awkwardly. "Well... I stay up late pretty often, actually."

She gave me a deadpan look. "Right... And you dragged me here because…?"

"Well, I need help," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper, almost too embarrassed to say it out loud.

Elaina's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Help? With what?"

I hesitated, then finally mumbled, "Help me buy a new phone..."

Her eyes widened for a moment, then a smile crept across her face. "You asked me all the way here… just to help you buy a new phone?"

I nodded, my face turning a little red. "Yeah... I figured, who better than you?"

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Why not just invite Arthur? Seems like he'd be the obvious choice."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Arthur's out today... That guy…" I muttered, resisting the urge to grumble more.

Elaina tilted her head, clearly not impressed. "And you couldn't handle it yourself because...?"

I froze, realizing how pathetic this sounded. "I-I'm bad with phones!" I admitted, feeling completely exposed.

I was walking nervously beside Elaina, my mind swirling with anxiety. "I'm afraid of being fooled when buying a new phone..."

"I mean, what if they give me a calculator instead of a phone!"

Elaina looked at me, clearly trying to hold back her laughter.

"A calculator? You do realize they don't look alike or have the same size, right?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Who knows? Maybe now there are calculators that are shaped and sized like phones!" I said, my voice full of exaggerated seriousness.

Elaina finally let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "Alright, alright," she said, patting my back. "I'll help you, but only because I pity your poor phone knowledge."

"Thanks... I guess," I mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed but also relieved.

We made our way to the station, heading toward our destination: Akihabara.

"Why do we have to go to Akihabara?" Elaina asked, her brow furrowed.

I grinned. "Come on, think of it as a trip!"

Elaina rolled her eyes in playful annoyance. "A trip? You're just using me as a personal shopping assistant, right?"

I leaned closer to her and whispered, "Elaina, I told you, right? I'll buy you bread... no, whatever food you want."

Her eyes sparkled with interest as she raised an eyebrow. "Whatever food I want, huh? You're really trying to bribe me, aren't you?"

I grinned even wider.

"You want to, right?"

Elaina feigned deep contemplation for a moment before nodding with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Alright, I'll help you. But I expect good food."

"Why did you just agree after we were already on the train...?" I muttered under my breath, scratching my head in confusion.

After a long, quiet ride, we finally arrived at our destination. Akihabara—land of endless gadgets and overwhelming choices.

"Akihabara, huh...? I haven't been here for a long time," I mumbled, glancing around as the train slowed down.

Elaina leaned against the window, her arms folded. "You come to Akihabara often?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued.

"Yeah, I used to, but now I rarely do," I replied, standing up as the train arrived at the station.

I walked toward the door, ready to get off. "What did you do here before?" she asked, her voice dripping with intrigue.

As the train came to a stop and we stepped off, I started walking toward the electronics district.

"Just walked around, sometimes skipped school," I said, not really thinking about it.

Elaina's eyes widened in surprise.

"You skipped school and came here...? Did you skip school or run away?" she asked with a sarcastic smirk.

"Well... it's quite a long story," I said, my voice trailing off, trying to brush it off.

We walked side by side, Elaina pulling out her phone to look for a big electronics store.

After a moment of tapping and scrolling, she nodded and pointed toward a direction. "Found it! Let's head that way."

As we made our way to the massive store, I glanced up at the towering building. "This is the otaku place, right?"

"Yeah, Akihabara's like the epicenter for all things otaku-related," she said, explaining casually.

"They have countless stores selling anime merchandise, manga, and all kinds of related stuff."

We continued walking until we arrived in front of a massive electronics store.

"Oh... so this is the shop, huh? It's pretty big," I said, taking in the sight of the impressive building.

Elaina glanced up at the massive structure with a smirk. "Looks like it," she said, giving me a side-eye. "Come on, let's go inside."

Inside, we were immediately greeted by rows upon rows of electronic gadgets, each more dazzling than the last.

The sheer variety made my head spin.

"Hmm... okay, so where do I buy the phone?" I asked, feeling a little overwhelmed. "And how do I buy it?"

Elaina casually pointed to an area of the store where phones were displayed. "Over there," she said.

"We can buy phones there. The process is pretty straightforward."

I raised an eyebrow. "Straightforward? You sure about that?"

"Yeah," she replied, nodding. "You just need to find the phone you want and tell them the size, color, and storage capacity."

I blinked at her, feeling a little out of my depth. "Size? Color? Storage capacity? Are we talking about a phone or ordering lunch?"

Elaina sighed, a small smile playing on her lips. "It's not that complicated, Arche. Don't overthink it."

"As expected of Elaina!" I followed her to the phone display area, already feeling like I was in over my head.

"Uh... do you have any recommendations, Elaina?" I asked, clutching my wallet like it was about to jump out of my pocket.

Elaina paused, eyeing the phones on display thoughtfully.

She looked like a professional... or at least someone who had seen one too many ads about tech stuff.

"Well, it depends on your needs and budget. What do you want to use your phone for?" she asked, picking up a phone and inspecting it like she was about to dissect it.

"Chatting, playing games, social media... and, uh... that's it." I shrugged, trying to sound casual. I mean, who needs a phone for anything else, right?

Elaina nodded, clearly processing this information like a tech expert.

"Right, so you need a phone with good performance, a decent camera, and lots of storage," she said like she was reading a shopping list for the perfect phone.

"How much are you willing to spend? I'll show you the options in your price range."

I blinked at her. "Wait, you can just... tell all that?" I looked around at the displays like they were alien technology.

"Of course," she replied, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I've had plenty of experience."

"You know, social media, watching videos, surviving in the modern world... It's all part of the package."

"Right," I mumbled, a little stunned. "Let's just see the options first..."

Elaina nodded, already swiping through the phones like she was auditioning for a role in a commercial.

"Don't worry," she said, completely unfazed. "We'll find something within your budget. No need for a bank robbery."

I gave her a suspicious glance. "Are you sure? Because I was thinking of taking out a loan for a phone..."

She rolled her eyes. "Please, I'm not letting you get scammed today."

We spent a while going through phone models. Elaina kept rattling off specs like a walking tech catalog, and I kept nodding along like I understood half of it.

At one point, I even tried picking up a phone and pretending I knew what I was doing, but it was like holding a block of alien technology.

After what felt like an eternity of looking at phones, I finally looked at her.

"Elaina... I'm seriously surprised you know all this. You're like a phone expert!"

Elaina smiled slightly, brushing it off like it was no big deal.

"It's not much. It's common knowledge, really," she said, waving her hand as if I were complimenting her for knowing how to breathe.

"Right..." I mumbled, now questioning everything I thought I knew about phones. "So, which one's the one that makes coffee? Or at least orders me pizza?"

She shot me a look, deadpan. "If only, Arche. If only."

I spotted a phone that caught my attention. "Hmm, I'm interested in this one..."

Elaina followed my gaze. "This one?" she asked, peering at the phone. "Alright, let's take a closer look."

We walked over to the display and picked up the phone I had pointed at.

I started reading the specifications like I was trying to decipher ancient runes.

"Snapdragon 8 Gen 3...?" I muttered, trying to make sense of it. "What the heck is that... is there a dragon in this phone?"

Elaina gave me a confused look, as if I'd just asked her to explain quantum physics. "Uhh… I don't really know either," she admitted, before quickly switching into "tech expert mode."

"But, from what I've heard, it's supposed to be really powerful."

"So... what, the phone comes with a pet dragon?" I asked, still not convinced. "Does it breathe fire or just make calls?"

Elaina sighed, clearly humoring me. "It's a high-performance processor. Good for gaming, heavy apps, you know, all that stuff."

"Ah, right, right..." I nodded as if I understood anything she just said.

"Does it make good toast too?"

Elaina gave me a look, rolling her eyes before continuing. "Anyway, the phone has a good camera, large storage, decent battery life, and a bunch of fancy features," she said, sounding much more confident.

I nodded like I was totally following along. "Okay, okay, sounds like a phone that could save the world."

Then, Elaina flipped the phone over to check the price tag. Her eyes widened. "The price is...?!"

I leaned over to see the damage. ¥127,000.

"What's wrong, Elaina?" I asked, confused by her reaction.

She just stared at the price tag, facepalming. "The price is... a lot more than I expected," she sighed. "This is the most expensive one we've looked at."

"Excuse me! I'll buy this one!" I called out to the clerk, pointing at the phone with a dramatic flourish, as if I were making the purchase of a lifetime.

The clerk immediately approached, looking at me like I was either a bargain hunter or a confused tourist.

"You want to buy this one?" she asked, eyeing the phone I was pointing to.

"Yes, and for the color... I want the color..." I turned to Elaina. "Marble grey"

The clerk nodded, clearly used to this whole ordeal.

"Good choice. It's a pretty popular color," she said, tapping away on her computer like she was preparing to launch a spaceship.

"Do you want any additional accessories with the phone?" she asked as she continued her typing marathon.

"Uh...?" I blinked, feeling like I was suddenly in a whole new world. "What do you have?"

The clerk didn't miss a beat. "We have phone cases, screen protectors, earphones, chargers, and other accessories."

"Would you like any of that?" she asked, as if she were offering me a menu at a fancy restaurant.

I turned to Elaina for guidance, like a lost puppy. "I'll just take the charger, screen protector, and phone case," I said, trying to sound like I knew what I was doing.

The clerk scribbled it all down on her notepad, probably adding "confused guy" to her list of clients.

"Alright, just the charger, screen protector, and phone case," she repeated, as if I might forget what I asked for in the next two seconds.

She quickly typed on the computer again, confirming stock levels with the intensity of someone managing a heist.

"Is that all you'll be purchasing?" she asked, like I had the chance to buy the entire store.

"Yes," I nodded, relieved this was almost over.

"Alright," she said, clicking the final button on her computer. "With the items and phone you've chosen, the total comes to ¥133,000."

"Will you be paying by cash or card?" the clerk asked, already knowing the answer.

Elaina leaned in and whispered to me, her voice barely audible. "Are you sure you can afford it all?"

I grinned, fully aware of her concern, and pulled out my card from my wallet. "Elaina, my mother gave me extra money, you know."

Elaina's eyes widened in surprise.

"Your mother gave you extra money?" she repeated, as if I'd just revealed I had a secret stash of treasure.

"How much extra did she give you?"

"One hundred thousand yen," I said, flashing the card with a smug smile.

Elaina's jaw practically hit the floor.

"One hundred thousand yen... that's a lot!" She sounded genuinely shocked.

"Your mother is really generous."

"Yeah, because all this time I always refused when she offered me money." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"But when I finally asked for it, she gives me too much."

Elaina shook her head, trying to hold back a laugh. "You refused her money, but when you finally ask, she gives you a small fortune? Typical mother behavior," she said, clearly amused by my absurdity.

"She just spoils me too much," I sighed dramatically, as though I were carrying the burden of this overwhelming generosity.

As the payment was completed, I strutted out of the store with a tote bag containing my shiny new phone.

Elaina walked beside me, shaking her head. "Now you have a flashy new phone," she commented dryly.

"Yeah, it's only fitting for someone as flashy as me," I teased, winking at her.

"I mean, can you really blame me for wanting the best? My mother knows I deserve it."

"Anyway... how do I use it?" I asked, staring at my new phone like it was a complicated puzzle.

Elaina shot me a look that was half amused, half exasperated. "Seriously?" She sighed dramatically.

"We bought you a brand new smartphone and you don't even know how to use it?"

I scratched the back of my head, feeling a little embarrassed. "Well, I can barely tell the difference between a selfie and a contact list, alright?"

She raised an eyebrow, but then her face softened as she remembered the deal.

"Alright, fine. As promised, I'll treat you to whatever food you want. So where do you want to go?" I asked, eager to redeem myself.

"Oh yeah, you promised me food," Elaina said, her smirk widening.

She looked at me with a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Let's go somewhere with really good food, and you're paying!"

I blinked. "Of course... anywhere you want!" I said, trying to keep my composure.

As we walked, I realized something—a very important realization. This wasn't just hanging out... this was a date!

Wait. Why did it take me this long to figure it out?! This was the perfect opportunity!

I immediately fumbled for my phone to capture this monumental moment.

But then Elaina turned around and called, "Arche! What are you waiting for?"

I sighed in defeat, my dream of getting the perfect shot momentarily crushed.

"I'll just borrow hee phone to take a picture..." I muttered, feeling defeated but determined.

I followed her, my mind racing. Could this finally be my chance to impress her, or would I end up as the guy who couldn't even take a decent selfie?

As the day went on, this "date" continued!