NOVEL WEB On a sweltering day in June, when it feels like the sunlight is getting pretty strong…
[Honestly, it’s not that I dislike the energetic underclassman, you know… ]
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I totally understand that feeling.”
A girl on the other end of the phone started complaining to me.
Well, it’s more accurate to say she was venting.
[…Is that really true, Mika-chan? Despite being the underclassman who mindlessly issues bonds using the name of the Millennium Seminar?]
“Ahaha… well, that’s a bit… it feels like she’s operating on a different dimension or something.”
I awkwardly laughed and scratched my cheek with my finger.
It seems like our Seminar’s secretary is pretty stressed out.
I was merely trying to empathize with the “energetic underclassman” segment, yet somehow I’ve ended up dealing with a hefty troublemaker who might ruin the entire academy.
[She’s so notorious for causing incidents that she’s currently being held at the Student Council, but honestly, she’s one of the most capable members in the seminar… It’s just unfortunate that her talents have been perfected in such a poor direction.]
“Having a talented person is good in many ways, but from what you describe, she sounds more like a human disaster than talent… Yeah. You’ve had a tough time.”
[It’s not that I “had” a tough time; I’m still in the middle of it… And it looks like I’ll have to keep enduring it. After all, I’m still a sophomore.]
Ugh, just imagining it is horrifying. Really.
It became clear to me from the moment the topic of the Student Council came up that the protagonist of Noah’s complaints was the new member of the Millennium Student Council, Kurosaki Koyuki.
The reason I know of her is that she was one of the main stars of the event that propelled the popularity of the game Blue Archive.
She’s the Bunny Chaser on the front lines. An event that massively increased user engagement and recognition for the game.
Once I figured out that Koyuki and the bonds were intertwined, I realized that this event was just around the corner.
To be frank, it wasn’t an incident I needed to worry about.
From my experience, once there’s any connection, it’s inevitable to be drawn into the incident, so ideally, it’d be best for my mental health not to glance over at their affairs.
Yet, sadly, I was somewhat interested in this whole deal.
More precisely, I was interested in the background where this incident was unfolding. In other words, I was curious about the Golden Fleece.
And if you ask me why I’m interested in that, I’d simply say…
There’s a Bunny Girl over there…!
Of course, that’s a joke. My real interest lies in the fact that the Golden Fleece is a cruise ship. The core of it is a casino, but that doesn’t mean it loses its identity as a cruise ship.
Just by looking, this ship seems perfect for enjoying a vacation, and I was planning on bringing Nagisa along. She’s been working hard without a break, after all; when else could I spoil her like this?
[But Mika-chan.]
“Hm?”
[Why didn’t you call me yesterday?]
“…Didn’t I?”
That’s strange. There’s no way I, a slave to daily quests trained by mobile gaming, could forget a daily quest…
I have two people I call a lot, and one is Hina, while the other is Noah.
Especially with Noah, I don’t know exactly when it started, but unless there’s a special occasion, it’s become routine to call each other once a day.
So yesterday, when there wasn’t anything particularly special, I naturally should’ve been the one to call—
[The last time you called me was 46 hours and 38 minutes ago. Isn’t this… different from our agreement?]
“…”
Noah’s voice descended with icy frigidity, pricking my conscience like an arrow.
Let’s face it; I did mess up.
With more love than others, I have an obligation to equally return that affection to everyone. Failing to fulfill that obligation in this situation is clearly my fault.
…Oh right. Why did I forget to call yesterday?
“Ah, I remember now.”
[Oh? Then, shall we hear the reason? fufu ♪]
She sounded like she’d slice me up with her words if I didn’t give a proper answer. But I had a reason that I just couldn’t overlook.
“Ahaha… I just forgot. Sorry, Noah-chan.”
[…]
“Um, I promise I won’t forget again from now on. Can you trust me just this once? ☆”
[That’s not a reason, is it…?]
That’s totally a reasonable explanation. The reality is simply that I “forgot.” What great reasoning could there be beyond that?
With my honesty hitting a bullseye, Noah muttered in a tired voice.
Well, at least it’s better than forgetting important days like anniversaries or birthdays. Even I have to struggle with a fair number of special days throughout the year.
After a bit of cuteness on my part, I managed to cheer Noah up and kept the conversation going as long as possible.
“Sorry, but I need to borrow Mika for a bit now.”
[Ah. Nagisa-chan. Um, well… Actually, I have a small request. Could you trouble Mika and make her suffer a bit for me?]
“I’ll take that into consideration. Good night, Noah.”
Until Nagisa, who’d lost her patience, intervened to wrap things up before ending the call.
As I was being dragged off for my obligatory defense, I quietly shoved down the words that were rising to the tip of my tongue.
Honestly, saying I’d be “tormenting her” just means that she’d still remain Nagisa at the end of the day.
Yep, even on the bed, as long as I put my mind to it, I can win.
*
“Umm…”
Looking at the two tickets in my hand, Nagisa wore a mysterious expression. In parallel, my disappointment gradually grew.
Is it that a cruise trip just the two of us isn’t enough?
If that’s the case, it’d sting a little.
Getting the boarding ticket for the Golden Fleece wasn’t too difficult. Due to the craziness of this ship, there’s more to spend after boarding than before.
For that reason, the cost of the ticket is pretty normal. It’s not sky-high, for sure, but not dirt cheap either.
“Mika-chan, this is all nice…”
Well, if everything’s nice, then it’s nice, right? Why add unnecessary commentary?
Please don’t do this, Nagisa. My pure heart is being trampled in real time!
“If we both leave at the same time, wouldn’t that put too much work on Seiya-chan?”
Ah, that was about Seiya.
First things first, let’s clarify that I wasn’t particularly forgetting about Seiya.
After all, there’s no way I could avoid seeing her face despite my cute fluffy fox keeping her distance from me.
“Of course, I’ve talked to Seiya-chan about it! After we return, we’re going to give her two weeks off. Yeah. On top of that, Hanako-chan will be helping with her tasks.”
“…Ah. If Hanako is helping her, then we don’t have to worry too much. However… isn’t two weeks a bit long?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Hmm. I don’t exactly think Nagisa’s point is wrong.
Whether we’re absent is one thing, but taking two weeks of vacation for a mere four days at most is obviously an excessive trade-off.
However, I personally think that if we’re going to place this kind of burden on the weak-bodied Seiya, we need to make sure to provide proper aftercare.
During that period, I could shoulder all of Seiya’s responsibilities, but Nagisa wouldn’t sit still and watch. Processing things together would hardly add extra burden, allowing them to split the job easily.
Honestly, it’s generally not a good idea to have members of the T-party leave their posts in this way. However, thanks to the basically dictatorial present situation of the T-party, it’s safe to say there won’t be a serious problem at all.
“We’ll fly out tomorrow morning to the place where the Golden Fleece docks and board. Then we’ll spend about three days on the ship before returning. Yeah, that’s about it. Considering the travel time, we’ll probably only have a little over three days to relax.”
After hearing my story, Nagisa nodded agreeably. Then, quite naturally, she leaned her head on my shoulder.
“Now that I think about it, Mika-chan, I have two questions…”
“Hm? What are they?”
“First, I understand that Hanako will assist Seiya, but did anything happen during that process?”
“…Hmm, maybe?”
Must be good ol’ Nagisa. Her senses are sharp!
To create an environment where Hanako, affectionately called “Mika’s love fox,” would work for someone else, a price must be paid.
But I should put aside the fact that this “Mika” is a fake for now. After all, the version of me that the current Trinity kids love the most is a fake after all, so it shouldn’t be too special.
In any case, the cost of having Hanako assist me varies according to perspective.
If measured purely from my loss, it’s almost like zero…
“Mika-senpai, let’s go on a date. Just the two of us, a very special date… ♡”
My chastity, which surely must have left no trace behind, was facing a severe emergency. I knew all too well what that special date entailed.
But, since I somewhat resolved myself to it thinking it might happen someday, I’m sure somehow… Umm.
It’ll be fine, right? It should be!
“I don’t think you want to talk about it, so I’ll move on to my next question. What I’m really curious about, Mika-chan, is whether there’s a specific reason for planning this random cruise trip?”
“…I’ll just say it’s to make some memories together.”
Well then, where on earth could there be a better memory than a date at a casino… no, a play lounge, dressed as a Bunny Girl?
Of course, once Nagisa realizes that the main attraction of this cruise ship is gambling, she’s bound to be shocked…
But it’s fine, I have plenty of money!