Waking up feeling more uncomfortable than this must have only happened on the day I got my period. Sigh…
Should I have just made a decision as soon as I heard the proposal?
But Mika’s Shinpi is so powerful in Kivotos that it would be a shame to rank it second. While not all Shinpi share the same background, it’s based on a source that is esteemed as the mightiest and most significant in a monotheistic religion, so its strength is beyond doubt.
I never expected this situation to arise when I casually handed a part of such an impressive Shinpi to the Maestro as a mere trade. Now that it’s actually happening, I’m on the verge of a slight panic.
I thought it would only be used in works where the Maestro appears as the boss of a full-on battle, and I figured it would be an area that could easily be handled once the Teacher arrived in Kivotos.
However, if Trinity offered an opportunity to research ancient doctrines they’ve protected for so long, the risk factor would likely skyrocket.
The impact my Shinpi could have on a boss born from an amuse stone in Slumpia versus one with a deeply religious background is something I couldn’t be certain of, but my gut screamed that accepting this proposal would open a path of hardship for the Teacher and me.
Yet, it was a trade I had no choice but to accept. Mika’s whereabouts held that much value for me.
Simply put, it was because Mika is my favorite character.
And because I have to inform Nagisa, the one I absolutely adore, about the whereabouts of her close childhood friend.
Just these two reasons alone make it a given that I accept this proposal.
But then the Black Suit issued an order to summon me without waiting for my response. This is probably due to how he usually operates.
He sets a trap I cannot avoid, slowly pressuring me so that I end up stepping into it voluntarily. That’s just how the Black Suit handles things.
Thud… Ignoring my throbbing head, I tried to sit up only to lay my head back on the pillow.
Why does it feel like the mood is shifting so negatively for the competition?
My tangled and entangled human relationships are squeezing my neck tighter.
And now there’s the pseudo-trolley dilemma thrown at me by the Black Suit.
Good grief, I’m just so tired. My head hurts. The fact that two of these predicaments were caused by my own actions is what stings the most.
Vroom—
In the midst of it all, my phone, set to vibrate mode, went off. Usually, I’d just leave it charging while I sleep, but since I had been chatting with Hina late last night, it was right beside me.
[Haruna-chan]
[See you at the festival today, Mika-chan♡]
…Ah.
After sending a cat emoji as a reply, I turned off my phone and shut my eyes.
Please… Haruna, why today of all days?
If there’s one thing I can be sure of now, it’s that my luck today is bound to be terrible.
After all, I’ll have to get up soon anyway, and I must message Nagisa about the ‘Kurodate’ that makes her shiver just thinking of it—I need to drop that line.
Still, I think I’ll just stay here like this for a while.
I want to be free from this endless worry and concern, like the clouds drifting about in the sky without a care.
*
Today’s competition events are water skiing and shooting. I’m counting on Ichika for the water skiing, but I’d genuinely appreciate it if our Sisterhood head nun could surprise me with a good performance.
Honestly, I don’t care who it is, just please score some points. I can’t imagine you all want to see me being treated like a slave by Makoto.
…Of course not, right?
On top of that, when will our Pater kids think about giving me a medal? Being all aggressive with Gehenna and not even winning a single gold medal is just too much.
Nagisa even postponed dealing with T-party duties to head to the festival site with me. And naturally, Seiya is handling my responsibilities, but that’s an agreed-upon punishment for making me take the host position.
Anyway, knowing that Nagisa is that conscious of Haruna implies… well, it makes sense.
To put it frankly, before Nagisa accepted my possession, Haruna was the only one I saw as a possible romantic partner. If Haruna had confessed to me at that moment and asked for a response, I wouldn’t have had the courage to refuse.
“So, where did you and Kurodate agree to meet?”
“Well, um… they said to meet at the seaside house at noon. After that, I plan to stroll around the stalls! Technically, we could grab lunch there, but if we do that, Haruna-chan and Nana probably won’t properly enjoy the street food. Yeah, we’re both kind of picky eaters.”
“Mika-chan, you wandered around the stalls just yesterday and the day before. They probably haven’t added any new stalls, so why…?”
“Ahaha. That’s because Haruna-chan loves delicious food so much. It’s not for nothing that she founded the Gourmet Research Club. Though, it inadvertently turned into a terrorist group instead of its original intent, still, it’s quite surprising that once you get to know her, she’s one of the easiest people to hang out with!”
“Why are you happily babbling about that in front of me? If I hadn’t come along today, you two would probably go off wherever you wanted, right?”
Wow. Nagisa is jealous… That’s simply unbearably cute.
Not that I deliberately said anything to provoke jealousy. It just happened to come out that way during our conversation.
“Ahaha, Nagisa-chan! I’d never do that☆ You’re always my priority. In fact, maybe even more than me?”
“You’re quite the silver-tongued one… Care to be honest for once? Are you expecting me to give you a simple green light like I did with Hina-chan?”
“Ahaha. Is this repertoire no longer effective…?”
“Of course not. You never had it work to begin with.”
Well, yeah, I’ve definitely used that line too many times. And more so, there’s not a single error in Nagisa’s words. It’s hard to deny that I was secretly hoping for some lucky break.
I’d like to blame it all on Haruna being excessively charming, but once a relationship is established, it’s entirely my fault for not cutting off all possibilities.
Nagisa probably didn’t want to accept Hina for this same reason. If I were to push through with the mindset of “the first one is difficult, but the second one is easy,” it would be painfully obvious how uncomfortable it would be.
So today, I was determined to refuse clearly. I won’t do something as cruel as offer Nagisa more leeway to make her uncomfortable.
“I’ll clearly draw the line, so don’t worry too much, Nagisa-chan. I don’t plan to wish for anything beyond what I permitted with my relationship with Hina. I won’t be that shameless… right…?”
“…Mika-chan? What’s with you all of a sudden?”
“Well, um… I just saw a face I didn’t expect. Yeah. I’m a little taken aback. I never imagined I’d see this person here today.”
There were still over 20 minutes until the meeting time, but I couldn’t help but doubt my eyes as I spotted two people sitting at the seaside house, sipping coffee.
One of them was obviously Haruna. With her hair tied in a cute style except for the strand on her left side, she was smiling softly while chatting with the other person.
From what I could hear, the person responding to her appeared quite similar to the one I remembered, clapping and smiling softly.
That person was Noah Ushio, the secretary of Millennium. I had thought she’d be with Yuuka if we ran into her at the festival, yet for some reason, she was sitting with Haruna.
As we approached, the two noticed us, and instead of waiting for a cue, they waved us over with smiles. While Noah waved her hand gently toward me, Haruna, with mischievous eyes, seemed indifferent to who I was with, resting her hand by her lips and blowing a kiss toward me.
“…Mika-chan, no way. That person is a no-go. I can’t allow it.”
Feeling a sense of urgency, Nagisa tightened her clasped hands and drew even closer to me. The way she behaved was oddly reminiscent of a frightened little creature, making her even cuter.
Finally, as we came face to face, Noah greeted us first. Having never met Nagisa, she merely nodded awkwardly.
“Hello, Mika-chan. And President Kirihouji.”
“Hi, Noah-chan. I didn’t expect to see you here…”
“Fufu. Nice to meet you, Mika-chan. And you, little thief cat.”
“Thief cat? Who’s the thief in this scenario…?”
“Well, obviously besides you, who else could it be? I mean, you did swoop in and snatch what I had my eyes on, so ‘thief cat’ suits you perfectly.”
…Is that so?
Now that I think about it, she’s not wrong.
However, it seemed that for Nagisa, this wasn’t really acceptable. The two of them began to banter.
“Snatching? That expression seems a bit off. I simply harvested the fruits of my labor before the little thief could take them.”
“Are you saying you were afraid of getting robbed? How cute. If I had asked you for an answer that day, Mika-chan, you would have been stuck, unable to move and would’ve given me your heart. You know that, right?”
“If you had confidence like that, why didn’t you act from the start? In the end, you ran away without even hearing my answer. You’re just a scaredy-cat.”
“Oh, did Kirihouji-san see it that way? I simply thought stepping back at that moment would leave the biggest impression. Food is best enjoyed slowly, savoring the taste rather than gobbling it up all at once.”
“Sounds like someone who let the chance slip away shouldn’t be saying anything.”
“…Ufu, Kirihouji-san, you’re still a bit clueless. I’ve never lost a chance in my life. Mika-chan has always been within reach whenever I reach out.”
Uh… Wow. Both of them are incredibly assertive. I could only chuckle awkwardly as they exchanged their verbal sparring without a hint of concession.
Amidst it all, Noah pointed to the empty seat beside me, gesturing for me to sit there.
Clearly, I’d either be sitting next to Haruna or Noah, and given that my sitting next to Haruna wouldn’t sit well with Nagisa, this was indeed the best option.
Honestly, it would’ve been great if they had sat together from the start, but since they both showed up simultaneously, this whole situation seemed premeditated.
“I heard our dear Student Council President was offered a seat as well. That’s quite disappointing, don’t you think, Kirihouji-san?”
“…You don’t understand Mika-chan at all. That wishy-washy female has captivated more than a few hearts——”
“No? That’s just an excuse, Kirihouji-san. If it were me, I wouldn’t have shared her with anyone and would have cherished her myself, unlike you. If I couldn’t do that, it simply meant I lacked the charisma to do so. That’s all there is to it.”
“…As expected, I dislike you, Kurodate.”
“Oh? Is that so? I don’t dislike you nearly as much, Kirihouji-san. If anything, I might find you a bit pitiful.”
Seated uncomfortably on a bed of thorns, I listened to their back-and-forth and reflected.
Clearly, my karma is more burdensome than I could’ve imagined.
