Leaving behind Hanako, who volunteered to support Saori’s work and disappeared, I set out to find Aco, who had suddenly declared a strike and also vanished.
In a way, it was understandable that Aco would be dissatisfied with the situation. Being called up as the “person in charge” for Trinity, a group she not only disliked but was nearly hostile towards, would naturally build up some frustration.
As if that wasn’t enough, she found herself stuck managing Gehenna students who either seemed completely out of control or had joined forces with the Onsen Development Department’s absolute weirdos to pull off a mass runaway… It was only natural for her complaints to blow up.
There was probably a looping thought in her head about how the world was against her, that it was a plot by problem students who envied her. I could imagine her puffing up with indignation over that.
I certainly knew that dealing with Aco in this situation would be annoying in various ways. But I couldn’t just sit back and watch a capable middle manager wander off.
She was always a bothersome girl, but she became even more troublesome now. The only person who might calm her down was the Teacher. However, since I owed the Teacher a debt, I figured I’d take care of this myself.
What the heck, I could play the emotional dumpster for a while.
Surprisingly, finding Aco turned out to be much easier than I thought. After making a few dozen calls asking, “Where are you now?”, she sighed deeply and finally told me her location.
Once I arrived at a walkway boasting a lovely lake view—one that could definitely be marked as a signature spot of Trinity—and walked for a few more minutes, I spotted Aco sulking on a bench.
When I approached her, trying to forcibly get her up, she began to throw a tantrum, insisting she wasn’t going to work anymore. I warned her I’d carry her off if she didn’t get up, and finally, she pretended to get up.
When I asked why she was being so stubborn, she claimed she thought I had come all this way to make her do some work…
Well, I have no words for that. To be precise, what she was being asked to do was a bit different…
Still, Aco wasn’t someone who lacked a sense of responsibility altogether, so I figured if I sweet-talked her a bit, listened to her complaints, she’d quickly feel better. It might be a bit rough around the edges, but still.
“…I didn’t know.”
“Ah ha ha! What a lie.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Puhehe… Aco-chan, come on! You need to speak logically! Your birthday is right there in plain sight on Momotalk, how could you not know?”
“Ugh, I’m telling you I had no idea?!”
Regardless, I was taking Aco to the auditorium where a party was scheduled. I thought maybe seeing students busily preparing might spark some responsibility in her.
…But if I ended up venting frustration about how our Gehenna students don’t do their tasks right after seeing that, it would be hard for me to talk back.
Anyway, Aco insisted she didn’t know today was Mika’s birthday, which was laughable considering she had just shared a Momotalk with me a couple of days ago.
After all, Momotalk notifies you about friends’ birthdays nearly a week in advance.
“Well, to be precise, today isn’t my actual birthday… So, it’s not like I’d be mad if nobody celebrates it?”
“W-who said they wouldn’t celebrate it! Seriously, this is absurd. I’ve already got a present prepared——”
“Ah ha?”
“…Agh, you’re so annoying! My mood is already crummy, why do you keep poking at me like that?”
I could have almost said, ‘Because your reactions are amusing…’
While it’s true I’m doing this on purpose, it’s all for Aco’s sake.
Anyone listening might think this is some roundabout excuse for my behavior, but…
First and foremost, Aco is the type to bottle up her stress tightly. The way she behaves irritably isn’t a method to relieve stress; rather, her stress makes her behave that way…
Or is it just that her personality is simply prickly?
…I get confused just trying to articulate it, but anyway. This is a trivial detail I should probably just gloss over.
Aco, in a bizarre way, becomes quite docile after a certain point while she’s fuming like this. Though her newfound docility is quite different from what someone else would think of as docile, it’s true that she becomes less aggressive overall.
“So, you’re intentionally trying to rile me up?”
“But to be honest… It does make you feel better to vent your frustration at me. You know, it’s obvious.”
“…Hmph.”
“Ah ha ha! What a cute response! But anyway, your strike is actually a good thing.”
“What?”
“Starting tomorrow, Aco-chan has some special tasks to do.”
“…Me? This is news to me!”
“A wager.”
“…”
“Hey, Aco-chan? You’re still there, right?”
I waved my hand gently in front of Aco, who had turned into a statue, but I got no response.
She seemed to want to deny whatever she just heard, even if it meant being a total corpse.
“Aco-chan, to be honest, don’t you think two days is quite enough?”
“…D-Don’t joke around. That wasn’t being generous, it was just you forgetting!”
“Oh really? How did you know? To be honest, forgetting was indeed the case. Yeah, when I woke up, I was so out of it that it totally slipped my mind. I think remembering it now counts for something, right?☆”
“This—this should be taken into account considering I contacted Hina-senpai just the other day.”
Does Aco’s struggle to resolve this situation seem cute only to me? Destiny isn’t something that can be easily derailed, you know.
This is why I dislike wagers.
But since she issued this wager to me and poked and prodded until I accepted it, she’ll have to bear the consequences. Right, Aco?
“Whoa—oh… That’s definitely true, huh? Alright, then let’s make it riding a pony and running around the playground!”
“You heartless pigeon!”
“Ah ha ha! How wonderful, Aco-chan! Now I can brag about seeing such a beautiful pigeon wherever I go, right? Pretty decent conversation topic if you ask me!”
“Eeeek…! Mika-chan, please just let me be for a moment. It’s your birthday! It’s a good day!”
“It’s not my birthday? Of course, it’s a good day, though… But it doesn’t particularly give you a reason to be generous to Aco-chan.”
“Aaaaaaak…!!! President, why have you forsaken me…”
…Hmm. Is it really that simple? Having lost the wager, I should have been prepared for this from the start.
No, that’s not right. The fact that I pointed out I forgot about the wager means that if I hadn’t, she likely would have played dumb about it. Suddenly, I feel twice as irritated.
“Well, today you’re free. Go enjoy the party a bit, meet our lovely president, who’ll be thrilled to see you, and I’ll be counting on you from tomorrow!”
“…Asking me to enjoy a party in this situation? That’s just impossible.”
Watching Aco walk away with a face that looked completely drained of energy was honestly a bit pitiful. Is this what a loser’s lament looks like?
“Heueng… Aco-chan. What sort of relationship do we have?”
“What’s with the question out of nowhere?”
“Just say whatever comes to mind.”
“Well… If I had to put a label on it, um…”
Wow, she’s really thinking hard about this. Like, really hard.
The way she keeps glancing at me means she knows the right answer but doesn’t want to admit it. How cruel, really.
“Ugh, fine. The saying ‘friends’ isn’t just for show…”
“W-who’s saying we’re friends? You and I?!”
“I was going to reduce it from five days to three, but now my mood has soured dramatically…”
“…So, wait, we are friends, aren’t we?”
Seeing her desperately clinging to my arm, I… what should I say?
Yeah, we are friends, especially when she’s this annoying.
“Ah, ah? M-Mika seems to have arrived earlier than expected?”
Just as I was about to say it, someone spoke to me.
“…Chiyo-chan?”
It turned out to be Chiyo, my beloved junior from the Pater Faction.
“The person next to you is… Ah, so they’re your partner for the party today! Truly a person of irresistible charm from Gehenna!”
“Uh, uhmm?”
“What, what, what did you just say? I’m… this person’s——”
It seemed Chiyo had made quite the outlandish assumption… I mean, sure, she was taller than me now, but she was definitely still a girl. Chiyo was calling over someone wearing a mix of emblems from Arius and Pater.
“Alright, today’s guest of honor, Mika, this way!”
“Wait, let me clear up this misunderstanding——”
“Hee hee… The guest of honor must shine brighter than anyone else! We all prepared just to make you look your best, Mika!”
“Uh, umm…”
…I really needed to clear things up, but I was completely overwhelmed by their enthusiasm. While I was being whisked away by my faction mates, I could hear Chiyo’s voice from behind.
“Isn’t the outfit of Mika’s partner a bit… um, inappropriate? Since they’re kind of similar in shape to Mika…!”
“W-what? That’s not true! I’m much taller!”
“Right, let’s make sure you’re wearing something suitable for the guest of honor’s partner immediately! We’ll do a quick makeup and just trim your hair a bit…”
“Wait, I’m not her partner!”
“Then you two are partnered up from now on! This is your first date!”
“Whoa, completely insane…!”
It looks like clearing up this misunderstanding will have to wait until I meet Nagisa later.
