Chapter 107: Playful Day (2)

“Fwah…”

“Yes☆ Fortunately, your taste hasn’t changed, it seems? A relief, perhaps?”

The familiar scent and taste of black tea sweep through my mouth and nose, comforting my momentarily dazed mind and bringing me back to my senses.

Realizing my taste hadn’t changed in the process was an added bonus.

“That’s right. If it had changed, I might have had to spend time searching for decent restaurants again.”

“Ah, no? Probably wouldn’t have happened. Nagisa, umm… It’s kind of mixed up, so it’s hard for me to explain, but… My past self, although I had preferences, wasn’t particularly picky about food.”

Separate from that, the current me seems to try to follow my preferences if possible, but if this part had changed… well?

Perhaps while up until now, I led the three of them to decide on meals, then, conversely, I might have followed the three of them to restaurants or eaten packed lunches?

No, since it’s tea time, we’d end up buying from a bakery, wouldn’t we?

“Oh my, if that were the case, it might have been fun for us to prepare something separately then.”

“Yes! That sounds great! Let’s do it! Okay?”

“…Mika? Haven’t you never baked before?”

“Eh? Are you serious?”

Huh, at least the baking I remember was a tragedy depicting the struggle of a lowly human desperately trying to avoid the arbitrary whims of ingredients that die off with the slightest mistake, wasn’t it?

You’d need an oven and things like that too…

“Yes, Mika-san might not know, but Seia-san and I are quite knowledgeable about baking, you know?”

Ah… who was I worried about? Thinking about these people for a moment, I forgot the fact that they came from families ranked within the top five in all of Trinity.

“Boo… You’ll teach me too, right? Nagi-chan?”

“Fufu… Can someone as impatient as Mika-san follow along?”

“Hmm… Nagi-chan, are you prepared? Yes, that feeling of having a roll cake stuffed in, this time it’s Nagi-chan’s turn to feel it!”

Haha… They’re incorrigible people, then and now. As always, Mika and Nagisa’s bickering began… well, this time the form is a bit different.

Nagisa was the one who started it this time… so it was also a scene signifying that those people are changing little by little.

Well, still, this isn’t exactly unpleasant to watch, is it? Even if it’s chaotic… it’s not like the actions are done with real malice…

Using this chaos as background noise, I put dessert into my mouth as if nothing happened.

Honey butter bread… bread drizzled with honey, with cream on top… a snack of sweetness upon sweetness, which can also serve as a meal… Hmm… yes, it’s fortunate my taste hasn’t changed. Z

“…Hmm… This part… needs readjustment, Sora. You got some on you.”

“Ah, thanks. Nom.”

Did my minor actions certainly change? Usually, I didn’t eat things so carelessly and messily… Considering the usual appearance of the Tea Party, it’s better to fix this part…

Some people might not care, but if I, who walks around with the three of them, show a chill… no, careless appearance, good rumors probably won’t circulate.

Cream was slightly smeared around my mouth, and Seia brought her small hand to my mouth, wiping the cream away.

…

No, thinking about it now, why did I do that? Questions like that fill my head, but… I did it.

“…?!”

“Wa-oh…”

“So… ra…?”

As Seia retrieved her cream-covered hand, I swiftly snatched it… and brought it straight to my mouth. Yes… I must have lost my mind for a moment.

Even the return to sanity was delayed by a beat.

The taste of the cream I had been eating continuously was faintly renewed, swirling in my mouth, the sweetness brushing past my mind before the momentarily lost consciousness returned, and I began to realize what I had done.

“Ah, no?! Wait, this isn’t what it looks like!”

“Ahaha☆ Sora-chan, is your style now to casually drop bombs?”

“What are you doing…”

No, I didn’t even do this in my past life, did I?! No, why on earth did I do that there?! Why?! What’s the reason?!

“…Sora… at least wasn’t originally someone who did that kind of thing, so it must surely be the influence of her past life…”

“No… It’s not like that…? Even in my past life, I was never like that…?”

I expected a scene where they would question the huge mess I had made again this time, but the answer that came from them was slightly different.

“Since you say no, I will believe you. However… if you want to gain our trust, there will be much to explain, wouldn’t there? Sora?”

“Eh…?”

“Aha… Nagi-chan is a bit mean!”

“…No, wait, I was the one affected, so why are you guys… Mmph!”

“Ahaha☆ Seia-chan needs to get a clue, okay? Hmm? This is the chance, right?”

“Tell us about your past life, please?”

“Yes! Come to think of it, Sora-chan, what you explained to me was mostly about what happened, I still don’t know what kind of person you were, right? Yes! Explain!”

“…Haha… Yes, well, alright…”

It wasn’t particularly difficult… and if I could get past this easily… and well, it felt like I would have had to say it someday anyway… so I decide to just confess everything.

“…Phew…”

“Nagi-chan, Seia-chan…”

“What is it…?”

While listening to Sora-chan talk about what kind of person she was, what differences there were from her current self…

The three of us temporarily left our seats together.

We told Sora-chan it was an excuse, that we left because we drank an excessive amount of tea during tea time while working… but yes, actually, we didn’t even have the Tea Party that long today, so it was an excuse.

So, the real reason we left? Simple. We started feeling the limit of keeping the promise the three of us made together behind Sora-chan’s back…

“…Ah… What should we do? Nagi-chan… I’m finding it hard soon…”

“En-endure it… We must endure for at least three more years!”

‘The line’. We were trying hard to maintain the ‘line’ as students, at least trying not to cross that line until Sora-chan, until we became adults.

Once the line is crossed… it felt like after that, we would keep crossing the line carelessly as if it were nothing, along with the reason…

Unlike us who would soon become adults, Sora-chan is two years younger than us… Well… the gazes wouldn’t be good in various ways, would they?

“Haa… I understand… but…”

“Certainly, she has changed significantly, and it’s not entirely incomprehensible, but endure it…”

“But… putting Seia-chan aside, Nagi-chan… aren’t you reaching your limit soon?”

It’s a bit embarrassing, but being the revealing type, I’m at my limit now. If Nagi-chan or Seia-chan weren’t here, I probably would have done it today.

There are various things… but simply dropping formal speech can bring flutterings and changes in thought to a person.

“I think it’s worse because multiple things hit all at once… That… ha… Mika-san, you saw it too… that…”

Yes, like Nagi-chan said, if the current Sora-chan had given us these stimuli one by one, little by little, we might have been able to endure it, but…

She naturally dropped formal speech and casually threw a bomb. Without even knowing how much damage that dealt to our patience.

It didn’t end there; Sora-chan… cross-dressing. If it was just cross-dressing, it would have been a simple prank, but it created synergy with the preceding actions.

Actions she wouldn’t have done before, casually thrown informal speech, the extreme change in image through cross-dressing broke the brakes,

and above all, the fact that she is Sora-chan herself meant there was no reason to feel repulsion, making it even more so.

Sora-chan, who seemed like she had become a different person of the same age… made us think, separate from the knowledge we possessed, wouldn’t it be okay to cross the line?… Still… I have to try hard… to endure…

“Phew… Unfortunate… No, since there’s some confusion, let’s speak with utmost restraint… It’s not like we did anything bad, but…”

“Yes… A pity…”

After finishing various talks about Sora-chan, we headed back into the cafe.

The scene that unfolded as we stepped directly into the cafe was….

-Crash!, Clang!-

Chaos.

“Hmm… Somehow… strange…”

It’s strange. My past self didn’t particularly like sweets… but the current me quite likes sweets… So now, it feels like my taste changed overnight…

Anyway, pushing aside the slightly strange thought, I was putting black tea and the slightly remaining dessert into my mouth, waiting for them.

-Clang!-

“Hic?! What happened?! J-Justice Realization Committee?!”

“Ugh… Uugh… Sorry…”

The cafe’s glass wall shattered, and two figures were sent flying towards the counter.

Two members of the Justice Realization Committee were thrown, hit their heads straight on the counter;

one fainted, the other dragged their wounded body, apologized to the staff, then shouldered the Justice Realization Committee’s standard-issue EM-2 rifle again and took a stance.

“Oi oi! Justice Realization Committee! What happened? Huh? You said you’d kick us out, but you’re weak!”

Wondering why they took a stance, several Sukeban subsequently stepped into the cafe over the shattered glass wall.

This area… is on the outskirts of Trinity, a place where the Justice Realization Committee’s reach is relatively limited, so there would be Sukeban like that.

“…Absolutely not…!”

A face clearly showing fear, but driven by the thought that she must, she drags her trembling legs and prepares to face the Sukeban again. That Justice Realization Committee child comes into view.

I don’t dislike that. And at least, I don’t like having this moment, this moment with them, interrupted…

“…! Th-those guys are vicious Sukeban! Civilian student, please run away quickly…”

“It’s okay, just rest a bit? It’ll be over soon.”

In my past life… the faces of people helping others were smiling faces. It was surely to reassure the person involved, so I too smile to reassure her.

“Hah? What the hell are you… Huck?!”

“Tea Party Special Guard Department, Yumetsubasa Sora. Commencing cooperation with the Justice Realization Committee.”

Taking out the Special Guard Department armband I always carry from my pocket, I put it on… and approach the Sukeban.

Well, it didn’t take long.

“Wa-oh…”

“…”

Uncomfortable… Yes… Well… I intended to ask Nagi-chan and Sora-chan to exercise some restraint… but… yes, it seems I found the reason why I really must…

In a way, seeing ‘our thing’ being well-received by others gives a complicated feeling…

Yet this uncomfortable feeling is…

“Wow… Ah…”

Haa… High praise is good, but… yes, the increase in people aiming for Sora-chan is hard to accept. Besides, it’ll definitely become troublesome!

How much time passed like that? After handing over all the Sukeban to other Justice Realization Committee members who arrived late, when finally only we were left…

“Sora-yang… Sorry, but… M-Mika-san?!”

Nagi-chan stepped forward first to speak, as we had discussed beforehand, but… yes, I can’t hold back anymore.

I pass Nagi-chan… and stand in front of Sora-chan. The action I’m about to take is selfish if it’s selfish.

“Eh…? Mika… Ahmpf!?”

Wrapping my arms around Sora’s waist… I kiss her.

This time, it’s to release some of the emotions I’ve held back until now.

I indulge. This too is holding back a lot, but if my patience still remains now, I can probably endure it.

I indulge. On the prey I hunted long ago and saved, I leave a mark saying this is mine, get intoxicated by its lingering scent, and indulge in a part of it.

“Heuph… Nngh…”

Pushing the prey to its limit, but since it’s not prey to be eaten right now… I let go again.

As the distance increases, creating a small, transparent thread between our mouths, her face, flustered yet not entirely disliking it, blushing, comes into view.

Ah… I can’t hold back…

“Fwah… Eh… Tha… t… Sudden… ly… Tha…”

“Sora-chan… Yes? Are you perhaps thinking of being absent until tomorrow? Hmm? No, wait, I’ll go to Sora-chan’s hou… Mmph?!”

“Eh?!”

“Haa… I knew this would happen someday…”

While releasing all desire and confessing everything… something flew from behind Sora… having moved position at some point… and hit my mouth directly.

Only after the faint scent of vanilla spreads from within my mouth does my sanity return. Ah… well… yes… I messed up…

“Haa… I will overlook it this time, Mika-san…”

Certainly, I too had slightly mixed feelings about the increase in people liking Sora, but Mika-san, who clearly acted because she felt something similar, suddenly cut in front of me and kissed Sora…

Well… I expected it, but as soon as her kiss ended, as if she had sold off the promise we made somewhere, Mika-san, who was about to completely devour Sora, finally calmed down only after having a roll cake stuffed into her mouth.

The cause of this situation… Haa…

“Sora…?”

“Tha… Yes…?”

“Let’s refrain from cross-dressing a bit from now on…”

“…U-un…”

“If… possible… I would appreciate it if you called me ‘Unnie’ like before…”

“Th… Eh…?”

In the end… Haa… I apologize to Sora, but I can’t help but enforce this part…

Because only then can Mika-san, Seia-san, and I maintain our rationality…