As I opened my eyes in the morning, I saw beautiful gemstone-like blue eyes staring right at me.
“Ah… Good morning.”
The girl, Noah, who seemed a bit dazed, averted her gaze shyly as she spoke. It felt odd that she was even more awkward around me than she had been last night.
More than that, I casually glanced around to see that, well… the bedding was only half a mess. I wondered what happened, and as I retraced my memories, I recalled spending quite a bit of time on one of the blankets that we laid out, holding onto our rationality.
I can’t quite remember the exact time, but the first one to fall asleep was Noah. I distinctly remember picking her up and moving her to her spot.
After Noah fell asleep, I shared a honey-dripping atmosphere with Haruna for a while. Then, when she ultimately fainted as well, I laid her on a perfectly fine blanket before attempting to catch some sleep myself, which brings me to the last clear memory I have.
However, when I laid the two of them down, they weren’t in this position. Now I see Haruna hugging my waist and breathing steadily while lying beneath me.
As for Noah… I can’t really tell. From the looks of it, she seems to have slept well, but since she had woken up earlier, it’s hard to be certain.
“Good morning, Noah-chan. How was your sleep?”
“It was comfortable. But I can’t compare to Haruna-chan, of course.”
In reality, she’s sleeping quite deeply without even using a pillow. Of course, since I fell asleep much later than Noah, it isn’t exactly surprising.
“If you’re jealous, how about coming over here, Noah-chan? I wouldn’t mind at all.”
Both of them are taller than me, so if they lay their heads on my arm, their bodies are going to dip quite a bit…
“No matter how much Mika-chan tempts me, it’s a bit tough right now…”
“…Huh?”
“So please, just bear with this for now…”
Noah, returning my confused response, grabbed my hand and pulled it between our faces. That’s when I realized she thought I was signaling something from over there.
“Noah-chan, did you turn into a lecher overnight? Not like that, so can you come just a bit closer?”
“Ah… um, is this close enough?”
“Yep, that’s just right. This kind of thing is possible too.”
I leaned in a little and planted a peck on her cheek. I took a moment to enjoy the sight of the shyly smiling Noah.
I always feel this way, but a morning kiss is best kept to this level. When you wake up, the taste in your mouth isn’t exactly pleasant, so unless there’s a wildfire raging, a light peck is best.
“…By the way, how late did you enjoy yourself with Haruna-chan? She doesn’t seem to show any signs of waking up.”
“Well, a little laziness on a trip is acceptable. More than that, how has Yuuka-chan been lately? I hope she’s doing well.”
“Yuuka-chan?”
At my question, Noah naturally glanced at her bracelet with a smile.
“Aside from visiting that place called Shalle recently, I’d say she’s the same Yuuka-chan as always. Passionate and diligent as ever.”
“Heueng… Shalle, huh. Got it.”
Yuuka visiting Shalle probably means she’s heard a thing or two about unnecessary spending by now, right?
Well… even if we did our best to provide support in Abydos and were protected by the box from Shiddim, the Nameless Priests’ military factory was still a pretty dangerous place for a teacher, so I felt relieved knowing she could take a good break for a while.
After all, it won’t be long until the teacher assumes an irreplaceable role in Millennium, and I’m completely out of the loop regarding Aris’s matters, so I just need to let her handle her business.
“Is Yuuka-chan feeling down or anything? Since she’s been going on gourmet excursions with Haruna-chan and now this trip.”
“Oh my, are you worried about my friendships now that we’re close? How kind of you. But really, you don’t have to worry too much. Yes, Yuuka-chan and I are best friends♪”
“Well, that’s a relief then.”
If my presence was making Noah and Yuuka’s friendship fade, my conscience would be feeling pretty guilty. So, I’m glad that isn’t the case.
“Hmm, if Yuuka-chan hears about how I’ve grown close to both of you… she might come rushing to Trinity without hesitation?”
“…Um, I thought you said you were best friends. Don’t you two discuss relationship advice?”
“But… Yuuka-chan hasn’t had any relationship experience yet, right? Meanwhile, I’ve already scored a home run, so I don’t think I needed any relationship advice at this point. Fufu.”
…Hearing that made it hard to argue back.
Suddenly, while Noah started writing something on my palm, I gently patted Haruna’s head with the hand that wasn’t occupied. It was quite a new experience for me.
Haruna, who was rubbing her face against my side like a purring cat, really seemed tired and showed no signs of waking up. Well, when breakfast served by the ryokan comes out, she’d probably wake up right away. For now, it’s best to just leave her as is.
“Mika-chan, do you have any idea what I just wrote?”
“Hmm… It wasn’t that brief. I wonder what our Noah-chan could possibly have written.”
“Need a hint?”
“Wait a second. The first part is ‘You are.’ Hmm, no? I love you?”
“Wrong♪ But you got the first part right. Fufu.”
“You are… umm. Could you repeat that once?”
“Okay, just this once.”
Noah said that as she slowly wrote down the letters. I concentrated hard, trying my best not to miss a single character.
“…You are the night starry sky?”
“Oh? You got it right away. The night starry sky doesn’t shine alone like the sun; it scatters its light and blends in. It’s something I thought about when comparing Haruna-chan back then and now when we first met. You are always dazzlingly shining, doing your best to lead those around you to a better direction, yet you don’t shine so brightly as to overshadow everyone around you. Even in our idol activities, you decided to hand over the center position to Neru-senpai, didn’t you?”
Hearing that I can shine brightly enough to overshadow those around me made me somehow think of the real Mika. In the past, she lived for her own glory, yet kids still gathered around her.
“Haruna-chan has put in so much effort just for you. People don’t easily change without a catalyst. It’s tiring to say that the reason for Haruna-chan’s change is you. Watching the change taking place in her as she spent time with you stirred my interest, and that’s why I couldn’t help but harbor feelings for both the changed Haruna-chan and you, who caused that change.”
“…Haruna-chan wasn’t originally a bad person. If she were, I wouldn’t even be close to her. It was just that she walked the line she shouldn’t cross, using her beliefs as an excuse.”
“Fufu. From what I heard, it’s that very thing that happened back in Millennium when you tried to avoid getting close to Haruna-chan, wasn’t it?”
“…Ahaha. If you put it that way… yeah, I have no arguments there. But looking back now, the process and the situation right after that event were the worst, yet the ending we received was not so bad, right?”
“Yes. Not bad at all, rather, I’m really pleased. It feels like it’s too early to find a happy ending like this, doesn’t it? According to Nagisa-san, it seems this isn’t the end for you, though…”
“…Ahaha.”
“Still, I’m relieved that Nagisa-san is a wise person who can see reality.”
“Huh? Nagisa-chan?”
“Nagisa-san told Haruna-chan that if she had realized the reality sooner, she wouldn’t have clashed with you like that last year. Sorry it took until the year-end for her to realize it was all pointless…”
“…Ah.”
“Fufu, Nagisa-san is quite adorable. She subtly hints that we should work together after graduation, yet it’s obvious that she doesn’t fully want to do that. I think she’s a really nice person♪”
“Um, Noah-chan. I hope this isn’t part of what Nagisa-chan said, a condition that nothing must reach my ears?”
“Hmm… as long as we don’t get caught, isn’t it fine?”
“Wow—…”
By the way, so Nagisa had those kinds of discussions with these two when they spoke. No wonder she so abruptly brought up Noah and gave the okay sign.
Thinking about it, the weakest among my lovers is Nagisa. It’s just that I rarely take the lead, but if I do, she ends up going to sleep much earlier than usual.
We really need to exercise a bit, Nagisa…
“Anyway… thank you for allowing me to feel this way. Both of you.”
Hearing Noah’s words, I turned to Haruna, and surprisingly saw a glowing halo floating above her. When on earth did she wake up?
“Hehe. You’re welcome, secretary of the Gourmet Research Club.”
“Honestly, I consider it an honor to accept Noah-chan’s feelings like this.”
Now that Haruna is awake, it’s about time to request breakfast. Afterward, it’ll be sightseeing time again.
Isn’t this swirling movie set really famous? Since we’re here in Hakgwiyaeng, we can’t miss out on Baekyadang either.
…But what could it be? I have this feeling that I’m forgetting something important.
