Yurizono Seia.
If I'm being honest about the impressions I've kept buried deep in my heart… she was a character I was never particularly fond of.
That's not to say I hated her for no reason.
First off, from her very first appearance, Seia came off as a typical exposition-dump character, spewing annoying rhetoric that tanked her favorability. It even got to the point where, as this was repeated throughout the story, the fun was halved whenever Seia appeared.
To be fair, Mika, who became my favorite character, also gave off a 'she's pretty, but this is a bit much…' impression until the midpoint of the story. So, separate from the fact that her favorability had already taken a huge hit, Seia still had plenty of room for a redemption arc.
But somehow, even after that, all she ever did was turn on her spectator mode, get scared and shut her eyes after seeing a bad future, and then turn around and scare Sensei by telling him everything was doomed no matter what he did, or make situations worse by stopping her explanations midway through.
I know she was a victim who suffered from unfair circumstances—her precognitive ability wasn't all-powerful, causing her to get trapped in a daydream, and her frail body would just shut itself down at the most critical moments. Still, I was left with the wish that she would have had a more active role, which would have made me like her a little more. And that was precisely why I didn't like Seia that much. In the end, it was because she failed to recover the favorability she had lost at the start.
"Mmm… a little slower…"
But now that I'm in this situation, I wonder why I ever felt that way.
In order to pat her head more comfortably, one of my hands had come to rest around Seia's waist, and she, in turn, pressed herself even closer. When Seia sat on my lap, her eye level was a little higher than mine, so our position had shifted slightly to her sitting between my legs.
Every time I gently stroked her head, her fox ears would twitch as if to say she was pleased. On the rare occasions my hand brushed against her ear, she would let out a little 'Heek!' and freeze, which was unbelievably cute.
It was a position that would have been a little embarrassing if I were a man, but since I'm not, my only thought was that my uniform skirt felt a little uncomfortable in this posture.
"Hngh…"
…Forget all that. The one who was being unfair was me, for deciding I disliked such an adorable creature. I must have closed my eyes and covered my ears, stubbornly denying the simple proposition that 'Seia is cute.' This level of cuteness is simply inexplicable otherwise…!
But I do have a question. Setting aside the content of Seia's precognitive dream, why has she suddenly become so clingy? This is basically megadere-level.
If I were a man, it would be a situation where it would be natural to think, 'What's with this lewd vixen? Is she asking to be devoured?'
Originally, Seia often looked down on Mika for her childish behavior, and Mika, in turn, had thought that she wanted to bully Seia for her annoying, convoluted way of speaking.
And yet, Seia has suddenly transformed into this clingy, affectionate girl. It's a change that's hard for my mind to keep up with.
Did she see a vision of me dying or something? I feel like it would take something of at least that magnitude to cause such a change, but if not that, then what was it?
If we're talking preferences, this is overwhelmingly positive. How could I possibly dislike a cute, fox-eared girl pushing her head against me, asking to be petted? Her halo gets in the way a little, but since it's not corporeal, it doesn't bother me that much.
"Mika, you'll be coming to show your face more often from now on."
"Ahaha, I'd love it if you came to visit more often, Seia-chan☆"
"Then I shall take you at your word."
"Yup, but… why the sudden change in attitude? Is this also because of that premonition?"
"Hmm… if I had to say, I suppose you could say that. Haah…"
Wow, but Seia… what in the world is with this outfit? It's always been on my mind, but seeing it this close up, it's just unbelievable.
Her back is completely exposed, so half of what you see is skin, and her arms are practically sleeveless with the arm warmers.
This… is the fashion of a student council president…?
Honestly, it's more surprising that Nagisa hasn't said anything about it being undignified. Or has she tried several times and just given up because she wasn't being heard? The latter seems more plausible.
In that case, just how lewd is this Sei—
"Mika, your hand has stopped… You're not having any strange thoughts, are you? I shall trust that you are not."
"Uh, y-yup?! No, not at all! I wasn't thinking anything strange. I was just wondering if having two pairs of ears is a little difficult sometimes!"
"Hmm… you're curious about that? I've answered that question for you before… Hearing the same question again, it makes me realize that no matter how much you've changed, your essence is still the same as it ever was."
"Hey, was that an insult? It didn't sound like a compliment at all. That's rude, Seia-chan."
Phew, that startled me. How did she know? Is this that so-called 'woman's intuition'?
…Wait a minute. What the heck, why don't I get one of those? My body is a girl's too! Hey, this is discrimination!
"What can I do if it is the truth? And whether it is an insult or a compliment is all up to how you think of it, Mika. Thanks to you, I have been able to see things I could not see before, so I have come to realize that the you of the past was not just a problem child."
"Waaah-oh… so it was an insult after all, huh. Seia-chan, have you perhaps forgotten whose hands you've entrusted your body to?"
"Wait. What in the world are you planning to do? I'll apologize, so please stop…"
"Gotcha!"
"…Hiyak?!"
It's not like I did anything indecent. I just rested my head on top of Seia's and hugged her tightly like a doll.
To be honest, it might be a bit much even for close friends, but Seia was the one who started it. A girl this cute—
"…What are you two doing right now?"
"Ah, Nagi-chan! Welcome!"
"…"
"…"
No. What is this, all of a sudden? This uncomfortable atmosphere that won't dissipate even after I gave her a bright greeting.
Ignoring my greeting completely, Nagisa just stared in my direction.
To be precise, it seemed she was looking at Seia, who was cradled in my arms. Her face was so expressionless that I wondered if she was debating whether to glare at her or not.
"You've come, Nagisa? Welcome."
"Yes… I've come at a very good time, it seems, Seia-san. But didn't I just ask? What, exactly, are you two doing right now?"
"Hmm, isn't it obvious even without me saying it? We are simply fostering our friendship, Nagisa. It seemed we have rarely spent time together, just the two of us."
"Is that so? No matter how I look at it, it does not seem like a 'simple' level of friendship-fostering, but if you say so, Seia-san, I will trust you. So perhaps you would like to get down now."
"Is there a need to get down? If Mika found it uncomfortable, I would, of course, do so, but if not, there is no problem with me being like this, is there? Mika, if you felt uncomfortable, please tell me without reservation."
"Uh, huh? Yes… it's not particularly uncomfortable or anything."
"There you have it, Nagisa."
"…"
No, what is with these two all of a sudden? What is this uncomfortable, suffocating atmosphere? You two just standing there silently is more uncomfortable than Seia clinging to me…
"Haaah… Fine, there's no point in talking. I apologize for bothering you, Mika-san."
Thankfully, it seemed Nagisa had noticed how stifled I was feeling. After offering an apology, Nagisa sat down at the tea table and began to brew tea in silence. The lonely look about her was probably not just my imagination.
"Hmm, it seems it would be best if we got up now. It seems my prank went a little too far. It was frustrating that she just wouldn't get it, so I meddled a bit."
"…Huh? A prank?"
"If you don't know, then it's fine. As I said before, ignorance is also a blessing."
Seia tapped my hand, as if to ask me to release her. As I let go of the arm that was holding her, Seia stood up from her spot, seemed to consider something for a moment, and then…
"Hey, Seia-chan…?"
She raised her arm and patted my head. Because she was wearing arm warmers, it was a strange, hard-to-describe sensation.
After patting my head a few times, Seia approached the tea table and sat in the seat opposite Nagisa. I followed suit and took the seat between them.
By the way, what is this sense of déjà vu? I feel like this has happened once before…
"My apologies, Nagisa. My prank went a little too far. I had no intention of hurting your feelings."
As Seia suddenly apologized to Nagisa, I tried to figure out what in the world I was missing. A prank? What part was a prank? I don't get it.
If the slightly-too-intimate-for-friends skinship was the prank, wouldn't it make more sense to apologize to me?
"I'm not sure what part was a prank, but I am the one who should be sorry. I had no intention of snapping at you like that, Seia-san, but I ended up acting in a very undignified manner. And I would like to apologize to Mika-san once again as well…"
"Ahaha, I don't really know what's going on, but it's fine! I don't mind."
"If that's the case, then I'm relieved. How are you feeling?"
"Yup, perfectly fine! Thanks to your care, Nagi-chan, I'm all better now."
"Come to think of it… just from Nagisa's words, it sounded like you were in a bad state, but you've recovered in just a day. It is simply amazing to me that your body is that healthy."
Hmm, it's true that this body is unbelievably sturdy and healthy… and it's not like I work out as hard as a Millennium meathead. In that sense, it's ridiculously unfair.
It was strange that I even caught a cold in the first place, but since large temperature swings can lower one's immunity, it's not entirely incomprehensible. It wasn't just evening; I was out late at night.
And the design of my Tea Party uniform itself is sleeveless under the cape.
"Yes, but more importantly, you worked hard coming all the way here, Nagi-chan!"
"It was hardly any trouble. I only stopped by the Justice Task Force for a moment. Though if you were to describe the act of conversing with Tsurugi-san as 'hard work,' then I suppose I have nothing to say…"
Hmm, talking with Tsurugi is, in many ways, not an easy task.
Honestly, if the girl would just relax her expression, she'd be a normally pretty high school girl, but that's the problem. Frankly, isn't it a talent to be able to scare people with just a single expression?
No, wait, it's not just her expression; that shriek of hers has a pretty big stake in it too. If you add that bizarre expression to a 'Kieeeeeek!!!!', it's just a horror movie. It's a good thing she's relatively normal when she's talking to us; if she wasn't, the position of Captain might have been given to Hasumi.
"Ahaha, if you say it like that, it's a little mean to Tsurugi-chan. I'll take back the 'hard work' expression, okay."
"And you, Mika, why were you so late? I came early because I remembered you usually study here around this time, but I didn't expect you to arrive after lunchtime."
"Ah, I got held up by Sakurako-chan and Hinata-chan… Still, thanks to them, I was able to hear the Sisters' views on the scriptures, so if you think of it that way, it's an extension of my studies☆"
"Hmm… Come to think of it, I'm a little excited for your next exam results, Mika-san. You said you would study just enough to avoid failing, but lately, you've been rather…"
Nagisa, who was about to say something, suddenly closed her mouth. When she cuts herself off like that, it just makes me more curious about what she was going to say.
"Oh, come on, Nagi-chan. That's going too far! If I raise my grades to the point where I don't have to worry about failing at all, then I don't have to worry at all. That's why I'm just trying a little bit harder."
"Is that so…?"
From the way her voice trailed off, it seemed Nagisa didn't believe me at all. Did she really see me as the type of person who would study harder just because I was bothered by slightly low grades? That's not who I am.
Pour—
"Ah, right☆ Seia-chan, so when are you going to tell me the rest of that dream story you were talking about earlier?"
I asked as Nagisa brought the tea she had poured over to me. I even patted her head as she asked, so surely she's not going to refuse to tell me again, right?
"Hmm…"
Seia silently looked back and forth between Nagisa and me. What, is the story she was going to tell related to Nagisa? Or is it something Nagisa isn't supposed to hear?
"Seeing the two of you, I see there is no need to say it. It is best to let things flow according to their natural course. Ignorance is a poison, but—"
…Hey, you damn fox! Why won't you give me the spoilers when I'm asking for them? Can you even call yourself the spoiler fox after this?!