“Oh, Mika. Good morning.”
I woke up in the dormitory provided by Aigis. After rescuing the stranded crew from the sea, I checked the time and decided it was better to sleep here than to take a helicopter back to the shore.
They mentioned something about clearing the guest room, but I didn’t need that; I just requested any place where I could wash up and lie down right away, which led me to this six-person room.
To prepare for any unexpected situations, we agreed that we would manage Wakamo’s safety, but once we entered the dorm, I didn’t bother to cuff her. If I had to give a reason, it was probably because everyone united in front of our enemy, Kaiser.
But, waking up to Nico’s smiling face—how cozy that feels! I could really use a bit more sleep right now.
“…Mmm. Good morning, Nico-chan.”
I yawned with my hand covering my mouth and pulled out my phone from under the pillow. I had set the alarm for 6 AM, but when I checked the time, it was 6:50.
…Did I turn it off in my sleep and go back to bed? I usually wake up right on time when the alarm goes off, but I could feel something off about my mental state lately. The fatigue was no joke. Surprisingly, spending time in the cathedral helps me find peace, so I thought I should stop by there once the festival is over.
“Ugh…”
After briefly explaining the situation to Nagisa, I skipped a late dinner and jumped into bed right after washing up. Now, I woke up to a mountain of Momotalk notifications.
How on earth am I supposed to reply to all these? I’ll just pretend I haven’t woken up yet and won’t open them.
I turned off the screen and tried to close my eyes again, but I couldn’t help but gaze back at Nico, who was still watching me.
“Hey, why are you staring so intensely?”
“I have something I want to ask you.”
“Ugh… Sure, what are you curious about?”
It was tough to hold back another yawn. I thought about going back to sleep for a moment, but then I remembered the mountain of things I needed to take care of, so there was no way I could lay back down.
“What do you think about the Student Council President?”
“…?”
That question caught me off guard. It was a bit hard to figure out why Nico was asking me this.
“Oh! No need to look so serious. I’m just genuinely curious. It’s quite an interesting topic, seeing how a superhuman like you views another, right?”
“…What? A superhuman? That person and I?”
Nico nodded with her eyes sparkling. Wow, Nico sure knows how to joke around.
If you compare my abilities to the Student Council President’s, I’d say I’m about 0.3 of a Student Council President. And that’s being generous, considering what I’ve learned from being a host all this time. Right after being possessed or before that, I’d be embarrassed to say even 0.1.
Excluding raw power, there’s no comparison between us; even including it, the Student Council President’s ability to sustain Kivotos alone is beyond common sense.
If you include raw power, Hina, who holds up Gehenna by herself, is probably closer to what you’d call a superhuman. If the Student Council President is a fully packed hexagon, Hina might be a slightly less complete hexagon.
In terms of mere competency, Rion comes to mind. She might have a reputation that drags her image down, but in terms of ability, she has no flaws. Committing large-scale embezzlement without getting caught and building a fortress city? That’s on a whole other level.
Anyway.
“Just to be clear, I’m definitely not a superhuman like the Student Council President. When it comes to politics, managing duties, or internal affairs, I fall short in every aspect compared to her. Calling me a superhuman is overdoing it.”
“Ah, I see. So, Mika, you’re the type to overestimate others’ strengths while underestimating your own, huh? Got it!”
What? Wait, am I being fooled right now? Is that what’s happening…?
“Thanks for the answer. As a reward, here, I’ll give you the yuba sushi I made.”
“Oh, uh, thanks. I’ll eat well.”
Still in a daze, I sat up and took the plate from Nico. It looked quite different from the yuba sushi I knew; it had various toppings piled on top, far different in both appearance and ingredients from what I used to eat as a child.
“Sadly, the yuba isn’t my original recipe, but the variety of toppings is nice. Everyone except you has already gone out to the festival, so feel free to take your time eating.”
“…Huh? Everyone’s already gone? What about Wakamo-chan?”
“Oh, um, surprisingly she voluntarily put on handcuffs…? The key is right over there on the desk.”
…Did I hear that wrong? Wakamo, of all people, voluntarily put on handcuffs?
Ah, it’s gotta be a lucid dream.
“Well, of course, this can’t be real. Right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Hahaha! Naturally, I’m talking about the situation. A student hijacking an academy ship to conduct a terror attack, and that ship sinking in the ocean? There’s no way that’s real, is there? Right, Nico-chan?”
“…I can see you’re troubled about cleaning up the aftermath. Please enjoy the yuba sushi I made, and let’s cheer for a good day ahead, alright?”
Nico looked at me with pity as she reached out and gently patted my head. It felt almost like a rare experience for someone to stroke my head, and somehow, her warm aura made this situation feel strangely accepted.
At the very least, I felt like some of my fatigue decreased. Maybe around 3%?
After Nico pulled her hand back and went off to do her own thing, I picked up the chopsticks. I’d hardly ever eaten anything like this while sitting on my bed, so it felt a bit awkward, but I was really hungry since I skipped dinner last night.
Is this topping crab…? That’s salmon roe… and that looks like it could be some kind of shellfish.
I picked up the yuba sushi with salmon roe, which seemed the most ordinary, and popped one into my mouth. Before I knew it, I had polished off every last piece of sushi on the plate.
What? Is yuba sushi allowed to taste this good?
And she mentioned she has her own original recipe for yuba?
Maybe I should ask Nagisa to teach me sometime. If she learns well, I could probably impress Haruna with that kind of dish.
Afterwards, I hastily tidied up the bedding and checked on Wakamo’s condition. She was sleeping with her arms cuffed to the bedposts like some kind of criminal.
…Well, if the issue was that she truly was a criminal, then that would be a problem. For now, I looked for the key on the desk, as Nico had mentioned, and freed her from the cuffs. I figured she wouldn’t run away while I was washing up, given she voluntarily put them on.
Next, I grabbed Yukino’s school uniform that I wore yesterday and headed to the bathroom. The uniform, freshly washed while I slept, was fine but had a hole in the top from making room for my wings, making it difficult for Yukino to use it again.
The rest was a non-issue to return, but since I didn’t need to, I quickly packed it away. Honestly, it was quite a well-designed outfit, so I thought it’d be okay to wear it occasionally if I just removed the SRT mark. Or I could cover it with the Trinity mark.
First, I needed to wash quickly, wake Wakamo, and reorganize our schedule. Stepping into the bathroom, I unwrapped a new toothbrush lying next to the sink.
Hahaha!
And once again, I faced her. The reflection of Misono Mika in the mirror.
Unlike before, when she appeared fleetingly, Mika was now seated on the sink, directly looking at me. I turned my head toward where I knew she wouldn’t be, but there was, of course, no sign of Mika.
When I redirected my gaze back to the mirror, I noticed a change that had just occurred. The Mika in the mirror was poking my cheek as if teasing me.
In stark contrast to her actions, however, her eyes—so bright and beautiful—had lost all light, much like dead eyes that had given up on life.
“Why did you only show up now?”
Mika raised her eyebrows as if pondering something, then brought her finger to her own cheek and tilted her head. But no response came.
Instead, she stuck her tongue out at me. Yet, even while Mika was playing around, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her darkened eyes.
“Say something… If there’s anything I can help you with—”
Mika raised her hand to her lips and made a shushing motion.
Then, she moved behind me after stepping off the sink.
I could see her hands covering my eyes reflected in the sink. Just knowing that I could see this was disturbing, making me feel like this situation was all just a figment of my imagination.
“…Ugh.”
When Mika removed her hands from my eyes, my iridescent gaze, which had been full of color, morphed into one that mirrored hers.
Startled, I involuntarily squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, relieved that my original beautiful eye color returned.
Hahahaha! This is fun!
Mika, who kept messing with my head, poked at the halo above my head. That was when I realized—she had no halo above her own head.
There’s no need to think too deeply. There will be a time when we can meet again… Yes, there’s still a long road ahead. What I just did was merely a prank. Watching you get all confused is the only thing left for me to enjoy right now.
“Why me?”
I blurted it out without thinking.
Now that I had finally come to terms with the situation and adjusted, this thought still lingered. Why had I, who was living my life faithfully without any real complaints, been dragged here to Kivotos in someone else’s body? That remained an unanswered question.
Ahahaha, are you perhaps an idiot? Why would you ask me that?
Mika teased back, turning her back to me. I realized it wasn’t just the halo that was absent, but her wings too were nowhere to be seen. I felt like Mika wanted me to see only what she wanted me to see at any given moment.
I have a lot to say, but let’s save that for later. Instead, remember this one thing for sure.
Mika vanished. It was as if she had never been there, causing me to doubt that this entire situation had just been a construct of my imagination from the start.
Don’t trust Gematria. Don’t trust the Student Council President. Doubt everything.
Then, see you next time? Fake.
Left alone… no, I was alone from the start, leaning against the sink, all I could do was hold my throbbing head. That was all I could manage.
