Chapter 57: Fuse (2)

“Nagi-chan…even after rethinking it, I really don’t think this is right…”

“Where did the usual Mika-san go? If we don’t do something now, we don’t know when Sora-chan will go far away…?”

Stalking, it’s not that I don’t understand the reason, but when Nagi-chan has something to worry about, her drive to act goes up dramatically.

It’s both a strength and a weakness…but I think it’s a weakness right now.

Sora-chan did have a personal appointment with the Sensei.

This information was even obtained through Nagi-chan’s intelligence network.

It seems even more so because it conveniently overlapped with the timing when Nagi-chan started to suspect the relationship between Sora-chan and the Sensei…but couldn’t it just be a simple appointment…?

It’s even systematic.

Starting with pulling Seia-chan, who is not in good health, for rear support and unmanned reconnaissance drone operation, and the relatively healthy Nagi-chan and I, who are reasonably confident in our physical abilities,

came out to the field, we even instantly changed surveillance points and outfits…

“Ah, can you see over there?

Mika-san?”

“…Yeah…sigh…I see…”

As I was getting tired of Nagi-chan’s twisted and systematic and rapid actions, Sora in plain clothes came into view from afar.

She was dressed up a bit, but it was more like she was dressed up because the other person was a high-ranking person like the Sensei.

How can I be so sure?…Um…well…the clothes Sora wears when she meets me…I’ll spare you the details.

Anyway, the clothes Sora is wearing now are clothes that are appropriate to say that she dressed up to look good, but they are neat.

…I’ll have to ask her to wear it when she meets me later…it’s girly and pretty…um, let’s put aside my personal feelings for a moment…anyway, it wasn’t a move with romantic feelings.

That’s what I thought.

“…Mika-san…what do you think now?”

“Ahaha…yeah…well…I should be a little suspicious of this too…”

Waiting, Sora-chan had been waiting for at least 50 minutes to almost an hour.

Originally, Sora-chan comes out a little early because she doesn’t want to keep me waiting.

But that’s within the bounds of common sense, and she’s not the type to come out so fast that she’d wait this long, she usually comes out about 10 to 20 minutes early and waits.

But…it’s already been an hour…this is not an occasional error, but a case where she came out early because she was looking forward to the appointment.

Just as suspicion began to sprout, the Sensei appeared.

Sora-chan also seemed to be welcoming the Sensei, so it was easy to infer that the two were on good terms.

…To be honest…this is a reasonable doubt…what’s with that pure smile!

She never showed me that pure smile!

From the moment I saw that, I had no choice but to agree with Nagi-chan.

Did I say that even though Sora-chan dressed up with her clothes, it wasn’t an outfit due to romantic feelings?

I take it back.

The Sensei, as a teacher and an adult, thoroughly thinks of other children as students.

In other words, Sora-chan has already finished calculating that such neat clothes would look better than the clothes she wears when she meets me.

“How is it, Mika-san?”

“Ahaha…yeah…but…should we watch a little more?

Yeah?”

Phew, it’s still too early, let’s calm down and watch a little more.

[So…what’s the reason you suddenly want me, a different gender, to choose a swimsuit for you?]

“That’s…I heard from Hibiki that the Sensei knows a lot about this.”

If you ask why I came with the Sensei to buy something like a swimsuit…to be honest, it was a big surprise that the Sensei…seemed to know a lot about design.

Hibiki, whom I met when I visited Millennium before, seemed to know a lot about this, so I asked if she wanted to come with me, but she refused because she had a lot of work…but then she introduced me to the Sensei.

It might be a little strange to say that I was introduced because we already know each other, but I was also a little surprised to hear that the Sensei also had some related knowledge.

[Hmm…Hibiki?

That’s a bit of an honor.

So, why do you suddenly want a swimsuit?]

“It’s a shame to spend this summer just looking at the Great Athletics Festival, isn’t it?

I’m going to go to the beach.”

Even though a big event like the Great Athletics Festival is waiting, it’s a shame to spend the summer just looking at that.

That’s why I’m planning to go see the beach with the funds I’ve gathered because I’ve never been very materialistic, even in the past.

A suitable pension…no, it was a pension that boasted a high cost to the point of being a bit of an excessive expenditure by my standards…

but since I’m going with the three members of the Tea Party, I have to accept this much expenditure.

In fact, even though I said it was an excessive expenditure, there’s no other time to spend it.

[Those three?]

“….Yes…””

And that thought was quickly seen through by the Sensei, who knows about my relationships.

Damn…he’s only quick-witted about this…

Anyway, I haven’t been to a department store in a long time, and that hasn’t changed in my past life or my current life, so to be honest, the scenery was even unfamiliar.

“Hmm…it’s been a while…”

[Which way are you thinking?]

“Ugh…I can’t help but worry when I get here…”

For someone like me, choice paralysis and deep thinking were inevitable.

That’s why I called the Sensei, but it’s inevitable that I’m still worried.

[Then let’s try on various things and decide.

I also need to see them to give you advice.]

“Yes, that’s fine.”

First of all, the Sensei also said that he needed samples, so he suggested trying on various types, and I thought it wasn’t a bad idea, so I started choosing various types of swimsuits.

The store had many types of swimsuits, from ordinary bikinis to rash guards, tube tops, and monokinis…there’s also a slingshot…this is a bit…

[Wow…this is a bit?]

“Let’s…pretend we didn’t see that…?”

Neither the Sensei nor I could hide our embarrassment at the sight of the slingshot.

No, really, that’s not made to be worn…?

That’s not a swimsuit, it’s more like…an outfit that’s suitable for indecent activities…?

Anyway, putting the slingshot aside, I started trying on various things.

The first one was…I didn’t think it would suit me, but it was a white bikini with frills that the Sensei recommended.

Generally, the ones with frills were closer to emphasizing cuteness, and I…I don’t know what others think, but I don’t think I’m particularly close to cuteness…if I were, Yumeka wouldn’t have avoided me back then, right?

[Oh…?

Uh…um…]

“This is…a little…”

Yeah…well…as expected, it didn’t match, so I rejected it.

It’s not that the swimsuit is bad or that the original is bad.

In fact, for a moment, I thought…was it okay…?

[…..]

“It’s okay…there are still many, right?”

That day felt quite long.

It was my own doing, but still, changing clothes for a long time, especially swimsuits, not ordinary clothes, wasn’t easy.

And…

“…Th…th…this is too blatant..?”

[It…is…]

There were some too blatantly blatant, too blatantly niche swimsuits mixed in, so I felt a slight sense of rejection as soon as I saw them…and naturally, it was the moment I was about to put them back on the store display.

[But wouldn’t those kids like it?]

“Eh…those kids?…Eh?

What?!

Se…Sensei…?

Surely…you don’t…have that kind of taste…do you..?”

[Absolutely not?

Don’t misunderstand?!]

I was embarrassed for a moment when the Sensei said that someone would like this.

Who would like this?

People who like this kind of thing either have some kind of filter on their eyes or are just perverts…eyes…filter…

I see…um…thinking about it, my face starts to burn.

[Haha, you’re cute when you think about your usual appearance?

Have you ever shown this side of you to those kids…?]

“I can’t forgive you…ugh…”

[If you haven’t, try it~ It’ll work well~]

I answer, covering my face with my hands, unable to overcome my embarrassment.

No, this guy…it’s only been a short time since he arrived, but I can feel that the pranks he plays on the students are gradually increasing, so on the one hand,

I’m glad that he’s adapting well, but the ominous rumors I hear are also difficult to ignore.

He licks the legs of a prefect team member in Gehenna…he puts a leash on a student…they’re all rotten people, aren’t they?

Well, it’s probably not true…the story seems to have gone sideways, so let’s get back to it…in the end, I chose a black one without any special decorations.

The reason was that it would be good to give a contrast since everything from my head to my wings is white.

It was the Sensei’s opinion, which was playful from the middle, so annoyingly…I liked it quite a bit.

“Fufu…Seia-san?”

“I’ve contacted the Sisterhood. It’s a good thing that the old cathedral that collapsed during the Eden Treaty is still intact underground.”

I hear Seia-chan’s voice from the walkie-talkie that Nagi-chan is holding.

But I was momentarily deafened by a certain emotion and couldn’t hear that voice.

That emotion was definitely….

Jealousy, I haven’t even chosen a swimsuit with Sora-chan yet.

To be proud of it, even though I, the one with the deepest relationship in the Tea Party, go out with her often, we haven’t given each other anything or left any special memories.

On top of that…the scene of choosing such and such a swimsuit was deeply engraved in my mind and didn’t leave easily.

From not long after the stakeout began, Sora-chan kept showing a very girly side…so my mind started to fill with jealousy.

So…my head gets more complicated.

Love makes people blind, doesn’t it?

Maybe we, including me…we were really blind.

The Sensei is a benefactor.

Even though he’s a heinous…rival who’s trying to take Sora-chan away from me right now, he’s a benefactor.

If you ask me about the people I cherish, excluding the degree of my affection, he’s at least in the top ten.

But…if my number one has unusual feelings for such a person…what should I do..?

Was it because I was constantly dominated by such thoughts, or was it because I saw that pure smile at the beginning, the pure smile she didn’t show me?

Even I, who came out with the purpose of calming Nagi-chan and Seia-chan, was agreeing with the stakeout at some point, and I couldn’t stop anything other than that stakeout, even though I thought I should.

However…I have to stop him from crossing the line…no, it seems like Nagi-chan is already trying to cross the line…but still, I have to watch carefully from the side and stop him…ah…is this what they call mirror therapy?

This kind of thing was Nagi-chan’s role, so I wasn’t used to it…and I thought that Nagi-chan must have felt this way about the things I’ve done a few times…no, quite a lot, under the pretext of a reasonable excuse.

“The target has started moving.

Judging by the direction, it seems to be Les Champs-Élysées…”

“That place is a bit far from the central district, but it’s a street with many artisans.

Mika-san?”

“Uh…yeah?!

Ah, okay…”

As soon as the Sensei and Sora-chan finished shopping at the department store, they started moving as if they had already decided on their next destination.

The means of transportation seemed to be the Sensei’s car, so we also had to follow by car.

Since the distance between the place where Sora-chan initially waited and the department store was close, we were monitoring on foot, so we didn’t have a suitable vehicle.

Thanks to that, the stakeout was delayed because we had to find a suitable vehicle…

and we didn’t think that that and the long stakeout distance we took to be wary of Sora-chan, who has a pretty sharp sense, would cause a huge misunderstanding.