After a week of searching for Trinity, the first thing I surprisingly didn’t do was go find Nagisa.
You might wonder if I was scared of Nagisa’s wrath and chose to avoid her, but that wasn’t it either.
“…What have you been doing to get your wings in this condition?”
“‘This condition’? Come on, that’s a bit harsh. Anyway! Besides my wings, there’s nothing else wrong with my body, right?”
“There will be some time for the scars to fade away, but for now, that’s correct. So, the reason you want a medical certificate is to calm the anger of your beloved, is it?”
“Haha, that might sound a bit pathetic, but… yeah, that’s it for now.”
When I arrived at the Trinity grounds, the first place I looked for was the Rescue Knights’ ward. I could have simply gone to the T-party’s ward, but I also wanted to see familiar faces after a long time.
Perhaps because I had heard from Hina that I was injured, even Nagisa, who had been waiting with a sharpened blade, seemed genuinely surprised at this point.
When I said I was going to visit the ward first, the response of “Why are you acting so rationally for once?” made me feel a bit uneasy. Honestly, it was a little strange that my previous reckless actions had led to such a response.
“Do you really have to come all the way to the Rescue Knights for such a trivial matter, and even pick me out like this?”
“Heueng. Misaki-chan, you’re so not honest. We’re not that bad of friends, are we?”
“Regardless of our relationship, dealing with you is exhausting. I don’t mean that in a bad way. I just want to say that we don’t get along.”
After untangling the bandages wrapped around my wings and carefully checking their condition, Misaki applied something mysterious before rewrapping them. Serena, who had been watching from a step back, nodded in satisfaction.
…By the way, isn’t Hina missing? I figured I’d eventually run into her if I kept moving around, but I still felt a bit disappointed.
“You can take off the bandages before bed tonight. It’ll take a bit for new feathers to grow, so if you want to hide them, just drape some decorative cloth over your wings or something.”
“I don’t think they’re that ugly to hide away—”
“They’re ugly.”
“If you’re going to be that blunt, I might just try to find one…”
“Misaki-chan, you really don’t have to say that… Mika-sama’s wings are beautiful just as they are.”
“Serina-chan…!”
“…After all, only those who find beauty in their thoughts can see beauty in the world.”
Despite grumbling, Misaki seemed to pay attention to Serina’s words and immediately put those pretty words into action. During that exchange, I couldn’t help but feel that the sentiment oddly referenced both Serina and Atsuko.
“Mika-sama, I’ll give you the medical certificate once you change into your clothes. Please put on this patient gown first.”
“Okay. Thanks, Serina-chan. You’re really working hard to make Misaki-chan feel better.”
“…Huh?”
“Yeah? I just can’t forget how I felt when I looked straight into Misaki-chan’s eyes!”
Within those eyes, which could not be understood through mere text, lay the very essence of all the suffering the Arius Squad had endured. The fact that those eyes of Misaki, which once held pain, were now shining brightly made it impossible not to feel satisfied.
Misaki could be considered a gem meticulously crafted by the artisan known as Serina.
After changing in the prepared area, I finally donned the Abydos uniform that Nonomi had handed over to me.
I couldn’t just keep wearing Shiroko’s ill-fitting cycling jersey, so I thought about buying clothes in the city, only to receive this Abydos uniform, which I had forgotten I prepared as a Christmas gift.
These guys must have some kind of scanning vision because the uniform fit me perfectly—it was incredible.
Honestly, since this design was familiar to me, wearing it felt uncomfortable. It resembled the uniforms worn by the girls in my class during my school days, which only heightened that discomfort.
“Please visit again, Mika-sama! Just don’t come back injured!”
“Honestly, it’d be easier for you if you just went to those kids you’re so fond of… But well, I won’t stop you from saying you’ll come. Since Serena likes it.”
I waved goodbye to Serena, who was bidding me farewell with a smile, and Misaki, who was trying to hide her true feelings, and walked towards the exit.
Unfortunately, I didn’t run into Hina, but luckily, I managed to bypass meeting Mine.
The moment Mine saw the state of my wings, she’d probably rush at me shouting “I’ll rescue you!” and that scared me.
*
The moment I stepped into T-party HQ, which felt like I hadn’t visited in months, my body instinctively trembled. It was just the first floor, but the palpable tension was evident.
Today, I would meet my end here.
“Oh. Welcome, Mika-sama. I hope your business trip went well… But what’s with the bandages on your wings?”
“It’s not that serious of an injury, so you don’t need to worry. More importantly, where’s Nagisa-chan right now?”
“Nagisa-sama is waiting on the terrace.”
“…Okay, thanks for letting me know.”
When I casually asked a nearby executive, I could gauge the level of Nagisa’s anger. Had she been waiting in my office, it might not have been very high; unfortunately, her current location was…
Well, what do I expect? It’s all my fault, so I’ll just have to face it.
…Except, I really don’t want to.
The moment I stepped onto the terrace, Nagisa glanced at me for a moment with her expressionless face, sipping tea while playing chess alone, before returning her attention to the game.
Yet there was a mountain of rolled cakes piled up on the table. I’m not joking; it looked like a ten-tier pyramid…
“Come, sit down.”
“Aha, you see, Nagisa-chan, the thing is…”
“Sit down, Misono Mika.”
“Yes…”
As I sat opposite Nagisa, the mountain of rolled cakes obscured my view, so I carefully pulled out a chair next to her and took a seat.
At that, Nagisa silently reset the chessboard to its initial state.
After gazing at the chessboard that seemed to be indicating for me to make the first move, I carefully moved my hand. After four months of being stuck playing White against Nagisa for a million rounds, I had reached a point where I could win about one in three games with White.
As I pushed my pawn to e4, Nagisa responded without hesitation with e5. Her emotional response was quite the departure from her usual habit of contemplating her moves.
…Today’s game might be easier than I expected.
After a moment’s thought, I played f4. This was the Kings Gambit opening, a strategic sacrifice of a pawn right at the start. Typically, my win rate against Nagisa when choosing this opening would barely reach 20%, but given her current mood, I felt she might just fall into the trap.
Should I really be trying to play against an upset Nagisa? No need to consider that; this is just her way of venting her anger in a healthy manner, and if I fumble and lose, her mood could worsen.
Well, it’s possible that all of this is just an act, and she has a cold plan brewing several moves ahead…
“Wow—”
As Nagisa chose d5 with precision, she was clearly quite upset.
It’s rare for Nagisa, who usually prefers careful and strategic play, to respond so aggressively. I hadn’t seen this kind of game from her in a while, as she usually opts to decline gambits.
After exchanging pawns, both of our kings’ rows were entirely opened up.
As I calculated possible moves for her afterward, I moved my knight up with the simple Nf3, and she shot back with Nf6 decisively. It seemed she was planning to take out my pawn on d5.
It was a standard development, but still a bit hasty for Nagisa.
“…Check.”
I placed my bishop on b5, putting her in check and simultaneously protecting my pawn. With no choice but to move her pawn to c6 to block the attack, I could finally take her pawn on d5.
“…You’re always like this, Mika-kun.”
After exchanging pawns with Nxc6, Nagisa let out a small sigh and said that.
“On the surface, it looks like you’re being cautious, yet you casually pull off reckless moves. This isn’t about our Autonomous District. But then you return like this after getting injured? While I support your silly ideal of everyone’s happiness, from my personal standpoint… the happiness of just the two of us is a hundred or a thousand times more precious. I can give you some leeway for those two you adore, but that’s it.”
At a loss for words, I briefly fell silent as Nagisa tapped the chessboard with her fingers and brought the teacup to her lips.
She’d be laying into me for a while, so I shouldn’t try to argue back; I should just sit and listen.
It’s remarkable how she could convey such complicated feelings in such simple words.
Indeed, Nagisa suits this demeanor the best. Truly.
“…Even if you gaze at me with such intense eyes, some things are not allowed. Today, I’m going to say everything I want, regardless of whether it’s appropriate or not.”
Hmm… I just thought Nagisa looked like a scene from a painting.
I don’t know. If I can help Nagisa release her frustration with just a game of chess and some more scolding, I see no reason to refuse.
…She wouldn’t actually think about stuffing all that rolled cake into my mouth, would she? Right?
