Chapter 52: Therapy (5)

“Oh? You came early~ Sora-chan!”

“Ah, Onee-chan. Yes, I came early.”

I handed the documents to Sensei appropriately and moved back to the office.

Even I thought the amount was enormous, so I was thinking of helping him a little…but he told Ichika-senpai about something he hadn’t even told me about? I couldn’t forgive that, so I just left the documents.

-Crunch crunch-

I pick up a chocolate that was on the table, put it in my mouth, and sit on the office sofa.

As soon as I sat down, I took out the remaining documents and a pen….

Honestly, lately, I’ve been wondering if I really came to the Tea Party as a bodyguard.

Come to think of it, the period I was supposed to be in the Tea Party was only until the Eden Treaty, and recently, it felt like I was naturally staying in the Tea Party.

That’s why I feel like there’s more paperwork than bodyguard work lately.

As I did it, I got used to it to some extent, and people around me didn’t seem to care, so these days, we tend to do paperwork together in the office.

Of course, on the days when it’s my turn to be a bodyguard, I also focus on bodyguard work.

“Hmm…I heard the story, but…you’ve become cute. You’re completely different from back then.”

“Hiiiieek…do they do human experiments in Trinity?! Are we doomed?! Are we in big trouble?!”

I hear Atsuko’s and Hiyori’s voices.

Judging from the armbands on their arms, today’s guard duty is Atsuko’s and Hiyori’s turn.

It wasn’t strange because the Squad came in as the Tea Party’s guard force after the Eden Treaty.

At first, there was talk about whether it was right to appoint former terrorists as bodyguards for important figures, even if they had a pitiful story…

Well? Certainly, it’s controversial and understandable…but public opinion was on Arius’ side.

The dominant opinion was that they should also be given a chance.

It was the work of me, Sensei, and Onee-chan, so I was very proud at that moment.

“Ehehe…you have good eyes~”

“Ugh…Onee-chan?”

“Fufu…human experiments have never been conducted in Trinity? You don’t have to worry too much.”

“Ahem…she hasn’t changed. Except for the external part.”

Onee-chan suddenly picked me up…and sat me on her lap.

Seeing that Seia and Nagisa also naturally took their seats next to her…no, this…a little….

“Eh?…Uh…eh?”

“Yeah, she’s broken. She’s relentless, but she’s weak in these situations…hmm…is it called gap moe?”

“Ahaha☆ Atsuko-chan, you’re quick to understand~”

I was momentarily stunned.

I was naturally picked up by Onee-chan and sat on her lap…and Seia was grooming my wings, which had become smaller along with my shrunken body.

“That…I can’t…work like this…”

“Oh my? I don’t want to hear that the upper echelons of the Tea Party are making a child work, you know?”

Nagisa, who said that, naturally took the documents I was holding and was processing them.

No, those are documents that should be processed at the level of a general administrator, so if Nagisa processes them, the work efficiency and system will become strange.

“That…that’s a document that a general attendant should handle…”

“Fufu…just rest a little at times like this.”

“No, I’ve been resting really well lately…ueeek!”

“So-ra-chan~ I’m-bored!”

Onee-chan stood up while holding me.

The sensation of being held by someone and floating in the air…hmm…it’s a different sensation from a princess carry…maybe I’ve felt it a few times when I was a child, but it’s a faint memory at least in my memory.

“Kuh…I haven’t finished grooming yet, Mika…”

“Ahaha☆ But Sora-chan usually takes care of it, so wouldn’t it be okay?”

“Yesterday, you slept overnight at Schale, so you couldn’t take care of it, right?”

“Hmmm…yeah! But she’s still small…and she’s cute even like this, so it’s okay!”

“Mika…Sora’s wings are much softer than yours. It’s amazing, if anything, that they have that firmness…so wouldn’t it be necessary to take care of them a little more?”

Onee-chan and Seia started a quarrel that wasn’t really a quarrel.

Normally, I would think that it’s the usual Tea Party, but today, the topic was me, so I felt a little complicated…

Naturally, stories like being cute were thrown around, and honestly…I was a little embarrassed, so my face was turning red in real time.

-Poke poke-

“…?”

“Hmmm…I see…so this is the scary person from back then? It’s soft?”

I felt a mysterious touch on my cheek, and when I looked to the side, Atsuko had come closer and was poking my cheek, which was being held by Onee-chan.

“That…that…stop…please…?”

“Yeah, sorry, but it’s addictive.”

Atsuko…was this kind of child…I don’t know if she’s already done it a few times, but she was playing pranks like pulling or grabbing my cheek to the point where it didn’t hurt, but her touch was delicate, so I didn’t feel particularly bad.

Hmm…I feel like I’m being tamed.

Is this how small animals feel when they’re being handled? No, I’m not a small animal, but…

“Oh my…are you cutting in line?”

“It’s first come, first served. I was just faster this time.”

Before I knew it, Nagisa had finished all those documents and approached me.

Does someone in a faction leader position have a considerable work speed?

She finished all the miscellaneous work that a general attendant should do in that short time and approached me.

“Fufu, I’ll forgive you. I’m also interested in that, you see?”

“Ueee…”

Nagisa gets ahold of the opposite cheek from the one Atsuko has. Ugh… Too much attention kills a former loner…

“Huh? What are you doing in such a short time…! And you’re still being held!”

“Oh my? You’ve been monopolizing her since earlier, aren’t you being too greedy?”

“But I’m the only one who’s officially her lover!”

It’s a fact that everyone knew in their heads, but I’m embarrassed that it came out of her mouth directly.

It’s a fact that I’ve already revealed before…but even so, every time it’s mentioned, I feel like I’m taking off a layer of clothes, so I get a little embarrassed.

-Embrace-

“Hah…destructive.”

I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I just buried my face in Onee-chan’s arms.

I guess I’m still not enough to overcome this embarrassment.

“000”

“Ahaha☆ You’re completely red~”

Onee-chan was sitting next to me this time, poking my cheek.

“Onee-chan…”

“Whaaat~”

“Stooop…”

“Ahaha☆ No way! Is it because you’re young? It’s much softer~”
I became a complete attachment doll.

Even while lamenting, I didn’t feel particularly bad, so I didn’t refuse any more.

Well…seeing that, I was held even more…but whatever…

“Hmm…I heard from Mika-san…it’s definitely a good cafe.”

“Right! I’m proud! It’s a shame that it’s always a cafe that only some regulars go to~”

When all of today’s work was over and it was time to go home, all of the Tea Party members and I naturally took a seat at Cafe Melina.

When I heard praise for the cafe I frequent, I got excited for no reason.

If we just wanted to have tea time and rest, it wouldn’t be a big problem to spend time in the Tea Party’s office, but it was the result of everyone agreeing with Onee-chan’s opinion that if we have tea time in the Tea Party’s office,

we’ll end up doing work.

As soon as the store manager recognized me, he was very surprised…but for some reason, he just accepted it and changed the drinks to something else.

“Sigh…Mika…how about refraining a little outside?”

“Huh? Seia-chan~ Jealous?”

Lately, the reason for Seia and Onee-chan’s minor quarrels has been fixed on me…I’m so full of thoughts that it’s a little difficult to ignore it now…it’s not self-conceit, but it’s clear that these three are showing affection to me now…

It’s quite burdensome to me, but…since I’ve already received Sensei’s okay sign…what can I do…I’ll accept it.

Maybe in my previous life, I would have been tied up with my limbs in a square, right? While thinking such thoughts, I put a little cake in my mouth.

-Munch munch…-

Sweetness spreads in my mouth.

The scent and taste of chocolate fill my mouth, so happiness spreads in my mouth.

I like this scenery.

Just everyone peacefully drinking a cup of coffee or black tea, chatting, and just having fun, that’s what I like.

My drawing had been losing its way for a while.

I didn’t know what to draw or how to draw.

That’s why, even though it was a hobby and I always carried a pen and a notebook, I couldn’t draw much lately.

But I think I’ve found my way today.

I take out my pen and notebook.

It feels much bigger than usual.

I also hold the pen tightly in my small hand and start to embroider the drawing on the notebook.

-Squeeze-

“Bueee”

“So-ra-chan! Are you just going to draw even when you’re here? We’re bored!”

“Fufu…leave her alone, isn’t it nice to see?”

“Hoo…I want to see the finished product…”

“Don’t…expect too much?”

“Eeeh~…that’s too bad…but…yeah! I want to see it!”

Lines that are slightly off compared to usual, a drawing whose quality is significantly lower than usual, and whose composition is arbitrary unlike usual….

“But you have to play with us~”

“Yes, Onee-chan.”

It was a drawing drawn in a noisy environment full of chatter, so the finished product was quite crooked.

But it was the drawing I liked the most.

“Heeh…so this is it…”

[Then…I’ll finish up a little and rest, so you can rest first. You know where the bathroom and shower room are.]

After finishing all the work in Trinity, I got a ride in Sensei’s car and arrived at Schale.

However, with the three of them.

Later, Sensei said that Onee-chan suggested that everyone spend a night together at Schale.

Due to unavoidable reasons, even while I was staying at Schale, I wanted to spend a night at Schale at least once.

It was an honest and selfish suggestion, but when Sensei heard that it was all three of them, he agreed, saying it would be okay.

Even if it’s true that there is a selfish desire, Onee-chan and everyone else wouldn’t think of touching me in this state.

“Hmmm…so it was like this…”

“It’s considerable, considering it’s only been a few months since it started.”

In addition to the office and cafe, Schale also had a kind of living quarters consisting of a duty room, and a kind of living room where many people could gather, included in that living quarters.

Yeah, we were gathered in the living room in groups, wasting time with small talk.

It was time for the outside to start getting dark, so everyone was still full of energy and there were many topics of conversation.

Small talk…yeah…small talk…it was a little embarrassing that the topic was my drawing.

“Right? I was also very surprised when I first saw it~”

“Augh…”

“You can see that your skills are increasing every time you turn the page from the first drawing…if it wasn’t Trinity, wouldn’t it have been okay to aim for Wild Hunt?”

Before coming to Schale, I stopped by the house and brought some luggage and all my notebooks, so from the first work to the recent work, I was very embarrassed that everything was revealed.

Even that became a compliment to them, but only those who have experienced it will know how embarrassing it is to be shown your work, not by showing it yourself, but by being pushed…

And…Wild Hunt is absolutely not.

When I was in middle school, I saw the drawings of aspiring Wild Hunt students…and I realized that art is truly a realm of talent.

Nagisa, Seia, and Onee-chan are people who have seen the works of Wild Hunt students a few times, but they must have thought that those were the works of high school students, so they evaluated my drawings highly.

The art museum of Wild Hunt consists of works by high school students or students with outstanding skills, so it’s true that those are works by high school students…but I also stopped this story.

Sadly, the form was not the form I liked, but…

-Growl-

“Eh…”

The sound with a clear reason echoes.

From My stomach

It resounds enough for all four members, including Sensei, can hear. This body of child is too honest… well physiological phenomenon can’t be helped.

“Wow…yeah, it’s definitely time to be hungry~ And children have to eat a lot, right?”

“…I’ll get revenge later…”

“Ahaha☆ That’s impossible unless I become young!”

[Hahaha, yeah, it’s definitely time to be hungry. I’m hungry too.]

After the sound echoed, a short silence was broken by Onee-chan.

She said it in a way that teased me…but like Onee-chan said, it was getting close to dinner time.

I didn’t make a sound yet, and I didn’t say it, but other people would be similar.

Sensei said he was actually hungry, maybe to comfort me.

Normally, I would have cooked something appropriately, but Sensei is here, so let’s ask Sensei.

“Sensei, how do you usually handle dinner?”

[Me?…I…usually eat delivery or convenience store lunch boxes…]

“…Is that the top of Kivotos…? I thought you would have a slightly luxurious meal, but you didn’t…”

“…”

“…Isn’t that proof that you’re living a frugal life? Nagisa?”

Come to think of it, when I visited before, there were disposable items from delivery food thrown around in the trash can…it’s similar to my previous life, so I don’t have anything to say…

but I don’t want Onee-chan, Nagisa, or Seia to eat delivery food.

Fortunately, before the memories of my previous life came to mind, this body maintained a fairly luxurious diet that was close to living alone, and also cared about health, so I could cook at a level that was just okay.

Ah, I take back the word luxurious diet.

Just peeling a smoked salmon pack and making a salmon salad isn’t luxurious…but I was confident because I made a lot of pasta.

And quite a few kinds.

“Sigh…Sensei…I’ll cook…where’s the kitchen?”

[Huh…I feel like I’ve experienced this somewhere before…that…follow me…]

The kitchen I arrived at following Sensei was a proper kitchen that I couldn’t imagine considering Sensei’s usual eating habits.

No, you have this kind of kitchen in Schale and you eat delivery food and convenience store lunch boxes?

Why…? I thought for a moment, but when I remembered the reality of a single office worker in my previous life, I had no choice but to accept it.

“Refrigerator…can I open it?”

[Ah, go ahead.]

When I opened the refrigerator…huh? It was full of proper ingredients than I thought.

The shelves were also properly equipped with spices and canned goods.

Was it a lie that you mainly eat delivery food?

When I looked at Sensei with a questioning expression, Sensei quickly made an excuse…no, an answer.

[Ah, a while ago, Fuuka came by…ah, Fuuka is the head of Gehenna’s supply department. Anyway, Fuuka came and…cooked a pretty proper meal…ah, the ingredients were still bought with my money?]

“Sensei…if you have this many ingredients, cook a little…okay?”

[Haha…sorry…]

“Isn’t it something to apologize for…”

A somewhat intimidated Sensei apologized.

No, this isn’t something to apologize for, but it means to take care of yourself a little…

Even if you’re busy, an office worker should still eat properly.

No, even if you’re not an office worker, you should eat properly.

Otherwise, there will be a moment when work efficiency decreases.

I almost started nagging, but at that moment, Onee-chan and the three of them entered the kitchen.

“Wow…it’s a very proper kitchen?”

“Hmm…it’s smaller than Trinity’s cafeteria kitchen, but the facilities themselves are full-scale.”

“Ah? Did you come? Just stay there…I was thinking of making pasta…”

“Sorry, but even if Sora isn’t originally a child, it would be a little burdensome to send a child to the kitchen alone, especially to cook, wouldn’t it?”

Wow…I was completely refuted with a completely logical argument to my words to just wait.

Certainly, this body is uncomfortable to cook…so that concern wasn’t completely useless.

Anyway…if it gets any later, dinner time will be very late…so I started cooking quickly.

I don’t know what kind of diet you eat, but it’s time, and my skills are my skills, so a luxurious diet is impossible.

That’s why it’s pasta.

I ate it often, so I had some recipes in my head, and I also had a one-pan pasta recipe, which I could make quickly with just one pan, and I often used it when I was in a hurry or when I was lazy, so it was properly in my head.

I decided on Toowoomba pasta because I thought something stimulating would be good for today.

It’s not a traditional menu, and it’s not a food with a very long history, but that’s why it’s stimulating and addictive.

That’s why I made it often and memorized the easy recipe…

In my previous life, it was developed at some Western-style franchise restaurant? …In Kivotos, it was similarly developed and sold at a steakhouse.

People think similarly, so the name is different and the taste is slightly different, but the form was almost similar.

The further difference is that it’s not that famous here?

Quickly grab the ingredients….

Grab…

“Pfft…Ahahahahahaha, Sora-chan! You’re short!”

“Ueeeek!!! Don’t tease me!!”

Damn it…I didn’t think about this…should I bring a chair…huh?

“Wow…”

“Can your hands reach?”

“Ah…that…yes…”

While I was looking up at the shelf and worried ( or troubled), Nagisa lifted my body closer to the shelf.

No, she is a child, an elementary school student.

It became…such a posture of holding a very young child high! High!…so…I felt strange…but…it was clear that she didn’t mean it that way…so when I chose all the ingredients, she naturally put me down.

Onee-chan already noticed what I felt, and was laughing with her mouth covered.

Damn it…

In addition, the table was high, so it was difficult to cut, so I received Onee-chan’s help while cutting.

Saying that it’s okay for a child to cut is meaningless in Kivotos, so they didn’t stop this.

Of course, Sensei did the fire handling, and I just told him what to do…in the end, I only did the cutting and measuring.

No, is this almost everything? I feel a little regretful.

I wanted to cook from beginning to end and serve it…but it can’t be helped.

I don’t want to get burned even in a child’s body…

“Hmm…huh? Wow! It’s delicious even though it was made so quickly and easily!”

“…It’s quite stimulating. It’s definitely different from the pasta we usually eat.”

“I think this one suits my taste better. You said you simplified the cooking? Can you tell me the official recipe?”

[Sora…you’re very versatile when you look at it like this…]

“I live alone, you know?”

So dinner time passed.

Like the reaction, the pasta was delicious, but…is it because of the child’s taste? It became more stimulating than usual.

Thanks to that, Seia ate it deliciously until the beginning, but in the end, she couldn’t finish it.

If I have to make it for her next time…it would be better to make it a little less salty…

After dinner, we each washed up and were supposed to gather in a particularly large room among the duty rooms where we would stay for a day, thanks to Sensei’s consideration.

Well…I prepared snacks lightly and went to the shower room, and the three of them were coming out, so I was the last to wash.

Did I say earlier that even if they had selfish desires, they wouldn’t touch me in this state?…I said they wouldn’t touch me, but I didn’t say they wouldn’t relieve their desires…

“…Child’s pajamas…isn’t it…?”

“Ahaha☆ Yes~ I got…eh, Sora-chan…could you not look at me with those eyes? It’s a little scary…”

Yesterday and today, I’ve been borrowing Seia’s clothes, and it’s true that I didn’t have any pajamas, so I needed clothes to wear at night…but Onee-chan got me child’s pajamas.

No, that…it’s true that this is the right situation…but it’s too overtly princess-like, so I feel resistance…

“Won’t you…wear it..?”

“…”

In the end, I wore it.

And I put them on myself.

In the end, I’m a body that can’t refuse Onee-chan’s request…damn it…it can’t be helped.

That’s why it’s come to this…

-Creak-

“Oh my?”

“Hoo…”

Nagisa and Seia entered, opening the door of the duty room.

The two of them glanced at me with meaningful expressions, and then quickly put down some snacks they were holding.

Even though I prepared snacks separately, the amount wasn’t very large, so it was a good choice.

When I asked later, I was told that the snacks came from Sensei.

I think he said that he always keeps snacks for the students on duty.

“…?”

As a result, it looked very different from usual desserts.

Well, ordinary snacks, I might have a fixed idea, but…no, I can’t help but have one.

She often ate desserts, but she mostly ate things that were close to confectionery.

“…? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no, I was wondering if you eat this kind of thing.”

“Ah, certainly, I refrain from it for health management and various reasons…but we are also students, no different from Sora? Besides…I’ve already put something stimulating in my mouth, so I’m a little short…”

Ah, it’s because of me.

I couldn’t make an excuse.

It’s true that once you eat stimulating food, you want more.

“By the way…what are we going to do?”

Unfortunately, I’ve gathered like this at night only a handful of times.

At best…when I was with the Supplementary Lessons Club? Even then, it wasn’t a normal situation, so shouldn’t it be an exception?

“That’s~”

“Onee-chan?”

Onee-chan appeared from behind Nagisa.

Her hands were empty, but she appeared with an expression that seemed to say that she had brought something, that she could do something.

“I got the FlixNet ID from Sensei. How about watching a movie today?”

“Ah! Seia-chan! You stole what I was going to say!!”

“Haha…that’s nice! What movie are we going to watch?”

A movie…certainly, in my previous life, I enjoyed watching movies.

I didn’t dislike movies in this life either, and there were a few movies that I watched impressively, so it was a good choice.

“Horror movie!”

“Eh…”

A horror movie…I didn’t dislike it…it was a good choice in the hot weather…but it was also an unexpected choice.

Well…I had no complaints, so I decided to watch it together.

However…Seia didn’t seem to welcome it…and I regretted not putting the brakes on Onee-chan choosing a horror movie on this day.

We set up snacks and blankets, turned off the lights to make it dark, and started watching the movie.

The calm beginning unique to horror movies, the comedy scenes that lightly take the atmosphere of the beginning and control the tempo, we laughed and chatted together.

Of course, that chatter couldn’t last long.

“Kyaaaaaaa!!!!”

“Hiiiieek?!”

“Ugh?!”

Yeah…damn it…did this body affect my mind too…my resistance to horror movies became completely zero…

and somehow, because my body shape was similar and I happened to be next to Seia, we spent a long time screaming, hugging each other whenever a jump scare appeared…

So when the movie ended…I was exhausted and…halfway to collapsing, and Seia was already fainted.

“…I’m tired…”

“Fufu…you were weak to this…Sora…”

“Ahaha☆ It was fun~!”

If I had to say, I’m not weak to this…but at least for now, it’s true that I’m weak, so I won’t deny it.

However…one more problem arose…yeah…we watched a movie, we had some snacks…and after leaving Seia, who had already fainted, we chatted and spent time…

and then…it was time to sleep, so I threw myself on the bed and went to sleep…yeah, the problem arose here.

“…”

“…I can’t sleep…”

The content of the movie was about darkness, an unknown entity appearing in the darkness…so it was a bit difficult to fall asleep peacefully now that all the lights were turned off for bedtime…

“Can’t you sleep..?”

“Yes…”

As if she knew this would happen, Onee-chan approaches me on the bed.

My heart pounds.

My heartbeat is fast and strong.

There are definitely two reasons for that, one is definitely the horror movie I watched before going to sleep…and the other is…

“Were you scared…?”

“Yes…that…yes…”

I silently burrow into Onee-chan’s arms.

Onee-chan hugs me tightly in her arms as if she likes it…and falls asleep again, making a soft sniffle sound.

The sound of Onee-chan’s heartbeat echoes in the quiet room, no, it whispers softly only to me.

My fast heartbeat slowly slows down, becoming more and more like Onee-chan’s heartbeat, throbbing.

It gets very slowly lower…and so I was able to fall asleep only after dozens of minutes had passed…after the throbbing of the two of us became…almost the same.

That night felt a little long to me.