Dagashi Kashi (だがしかし)

Say, Coconuts...

You may not have noticed since you're so dense,

so I'm just gonna be bold and spit it out.

Why...

"Ice"

...is your shop...

...so...

"Shikada Dagashi"

...run down like this?

It's been...

...three months since then.

You think so?

Yeah! It's totally run down!

B-But we're somehow doing okay, so don't worry! See ya!

Ah, hey! Somehow? Seriously?

Are they really doing okay?

I'm home!

This shop is done for.

Oh, welcome back.

"Done for"...?

What?

Ah, well...

It's just like I said.

Are you okay?

Your eyes are even more dead than usual...

To put it bluntly, it's like our shop is in financial trouble.

Since we don't have any customers, our sales keep falling.

That makes it hard to keep up with repairs around the shop.

And Kokonotsu isn't listening...

Yeah... The truth is, I already knew...

"Shikada Dagashi"

...what Dad was telling me.

But for some reason,

I thought that things would eventually work out if I stayed here.

Kokonotsu?

Hello?

I was waiting for it...

I was just... waiting...

You hold onto this...

Y-You can't!

You can't go out of business, Dad!

I-It's not like I want to.

I have a winning bar!

A winner can only be exchanged at the dagashi shop you bought it!

Kokonotsu... I like that look of determination on your face.

Oh, I see! This is about Hotaru, huh?

You sometimes take the winning Homerun Bar stick out of the drawer and stare at it.

"Meito Homerun! (Won 1 free bar)"

So it's Hotaru's, huh?

Wha...?!

You're lucky it's just me who saw that.

If someone else sees that, they'd likely get pretty creeped out, so be careful.

I told you not to peek in my room, didn't I?!

Shall we do it, Kokonotsu?

Huh?

We'll revive... our dagashi shop!

Dad...! Yeah!

Well then, first... we'll clean the shop!

Yeah!

Then let's see who gets outside first!

-Come on, Dad!

--Hey! --Come on, Dad!

Don't run inside the shop!

Whaaaat?!

And thus, Dad ended up in the hospital.

Estimated recovery time... one month.

"Shikada Dagashi"

You can handle this!

In any case, hang in there while I'm gone.

Yeah...

Manager Kokonotsu... for now.

"Shikada Dagashi"

How shabby...

Right, it's not that I wasn't aware of it.

That's how much I was weighed down... by Hotaru's disappearance.

Why...?

I'm definitely worried about Coconuts.

He's always had those scary dead eyes,

but they're even more like a deep-sea fish's lately.

What a terrible thing to say...

But well, you may be right.

Right? We should do something to cheer him up.

Ah, but don't talk about Hotaru, okay?

As soon as he hears her name, he may roll his eyes back.

What? That sounds funn-- Hm?

Oh?

I'm cleaning right now, so it's messy inside, but you're welcome to come in.

Hey, he seems fine.

I'm sorry. Sounds like I worried you, huh?

You did, seriously...

On top of that, I'm having you help me clean...

Don't worry about it. Ever since Hotaru disappeared, you were like a dea--