Arius, leisure, hobbies, fun—these were words that did not belong together.
Harsh training, corporal punishment, a poor living environment, and an education that was barely present. The simple joys of a normal student were a concept that was difficult for them to grasp.
And so, with the heart of a mother bird, I led my squad on a tour of the festival's food stalls.
Saori was of little help in this endeavor. As the one who had lived the most intensely in the squad, even after transferring to Trinity, she spent most of her time outside of class immersed in training, honing her skills. Her daily routine usually involved being dragged out by me or the other squad members.
If it weren't for Azusa, who had started to hang out with Hifumi, and Atsuko, who had become much more vibrant after making some unknown friends, I would have been twice as exhausted.
"Ehehe… This 'kakigori' stuff, it doesn't look like anything special, but it tastes heavenly… But I don't think mine was grape-flavored? As I eat it, it's starting to taste like strawberry. Could this be a cruel prank to teach me the bitter taste of life…?"
"Pfft. Hiyori, they probably just added a little strawberry syrup on purpose. To, uh, make the grape flavor stand out more."
"I-I see. But Mika, what if I hated the taste of strawberry? Wouldn't that be the same as being scammed…?"
"Uh?"
We were each eating a kakigori—basically, Japanese shaved ice—when Hiyori's piercingly logical question left me at a complete loss for words.
"Ehehe… I suppose you could say that the stall owner cheated us… If it had just been me, it would be the usual, so I'd have no choice but to accept it. But this, I simply cannot let this go."
Now that she mentioned it, she had a point. I couldn't refute it. Is this… a "time to blow it up" moment?
…No, what am I thinking? Get out of my head, Kurodate!!!
And Hiyori, no. Don't you start walking down that path.
"I'm sure they didn't mean any harm, so it's fine."
"Yeah, I like it."
Thankfully, my two little princesses, now well-assimilated into Trinity life, stepped in to de-escalate. At this rate, Azusa might join the ranks of the sane sooner than I thought.
"Still, if Hiyori wants to, I'll help."
"Ahaha… Azusa, please sit back down. And Hiyori, please, I'm begging you, refrain from firing that monstrous gun of yours at that poor food stall."
Perhaps my judgment was a little premature. It seems our Azusa still needs a bit more time to become fully socialized.
Sitting on a spread of beach towels under a large parasol, eating this slushie-like shaved ice, felt like heaven. Watching the squad girls chatter away beside me was a pleasant sight.
But there was one person who was unusually quiet: Saori, who sat with her legs neatly tucked, focused solely on her shaved ice. She looked like something was on her mind.
"Saori, what are you thinking about? Are you still bothered by what happened earlier… or is there something else on your mind?"
"...It's nothing like that. It's just, I never even imagined this kind of leisure or luxury back in Arius, so I'm not used to it. Everything outside our little well is so different from the common sense I knew, it feels strange."
"That was the promise, wasn't it? I wanted you all to be happy, unbound by the grudges of your predecessors. So, with that in mind, are you happy right now, Saori?"
"...I'm not sure yet. If this ticklish feeling can be called happiness… then maybe I am."
"Well, happiness is something you define for yourself. I'm sure a day will come when you feel certain of it, Saori. Just like it did for me."
"...I see. I think I understand what you mean. The hatred that was our everything subsided so easily once we left the well, and for us, who thought we could never be happy…"
Saori paused, looking at each of the squad members who had stopped their chattering to look at her. Perhaps she was comparing their current appearances—dressed in pretty, flashy, or surprisingly bold swimsuits—to how they looked in their full combat gear.
"Even for me, who had resigned myself to never praying for happiness again, to never holding onto hope… it seems something that can be called happiness has finally found me. Thank you, Mika. This is all thanks to y—"
"No, not all of it. I gave you an opportunity, and you were the ones who took it, right? If you had refused my offer to the end, or if you had resisted… things might have turned out very differently. In fact, it might not have been just a little different, but a full 180."
If I had crushed Arius by force and annexed them, would the children of Arius have been able to adapt to Trinity as well as they have now? If the squad hadn't been cooperative, the current standing of the Arius faction would be completely different. From a political standpoint, there is a world of difference between "compatriots who were raised as emotionless weapons while suffering at the hands of 'outsiders'" and "enemies who willingly turned their guns on us." In that sense, it's a stretch to say that the current situation in Arius is entirely my doing.
"Mika… excessive modesty is unbecoming."
"Oh? That's where you're wrong, Saori. Someone like me looks good no matter what they say ☆."
"Pfft. Puh. Puhahahaha…!"
…Hey, I know it was a cringey thing to say, but you don't have to laugh that hard, Saori.
Honestly, with a face like this, even if I said something completely nonsensical with a straight face, it would sound plausible…
Oh, wait. Come to think of it, there was someone who said something completely nonsensical with a straight face and this exact face and was treated like a child who didn't know how the world worked. To be fair, she was.
Among the events scheduled for today was the eating contest. Since Akari was competing in it, I had expected her to sign up for the open-participation version as well to fill her stomach.
But then,
"Mika, the dish for today's eating contest is yakitori."
"Aha, I see. And?"
"And the Kivotos record for most yakitori eaten in one sitting is 800 skewers."
"...Okay, and?"
"I want to participate. I'm going to break 1,000 for sure."
Of all the things, Azusa had to throw down the gauntlet in a battle she could not win. It was a bout of madness at the worst possible time.
In the end, for Azusa's sake, we moved to the eating contest venue, where we saw Akari and Izumi already competing in the preliminaries. The structure of the competition was a bit strange; the more you ate in the prelims to prove you were a big eater, the more of a disadvantage you'd have in the main event. But this was a den of demons, a gathering of Kivotos's top competitive eaters who wouldn't even be fazed by eating a few servings in the preliminaries.
Azusa, who barely managed to finish the five plates of yakisoba served in the prelims, looked like she wouldn't last long in the main event. It was a stark contrast to Akari, who, after finishing her five plates, even asked for more.
"...It's good to dream big, but I think Azusa might have dreamed a little too big."
"Ehehe… Mika, watching that made me crave some yakisoba too. Could you buy me one plate… no, two…?"
"...Here. Atsuko, Saori, if there's anything else you want, you can go get it too."
I rummaged through my pouch, took out a card from my wallet, and handed it to Hiyori. I had been trying to give the squad girls an allowance, but they stubbornly refused to use it unless it was absolutely necessary. Maybe that's why, when Hiyori asked for something like this, I felt genuinely happy.
"Is there anything you want, Mika? I can get it on the way back."
"I'm not particularly hungry, but… let's see. Takoyaki sounds good."
After sending the three of them off, I was left alone, and a question popped into my head. If Izumi and Akari are here, why isn't Haruna? She said she'd let me know when she was coming, but I haven't heard anything from her today. Haruna is a light eater like me, so she wouldn't be in the eating contest, but it's still strange to see the Gourmet Research Society separated like this.
It's bothering me, so I'll have to ask Akari after the contest. No matter how you look at it, Haruna should have shown her face at least once, whether for the eating contest or the jet ski race. Or did she come without telling me, watch for a bit, and then leave, and I just missed her?
Just as the preliminaries were ending, I sensed a presence behind me. Figuring it was my girls coming back, I was about to speak when I realized there was one less set of footsteps than there should have been.
The moment I tried to turn around, a gun barrel was pressed against the back of my head.
"Uheh~ Found you, Mika-chan."
"...Eh?"
"We had a chance yesterday, too~. But senpai was sleeping so soundly under the sand that we're a day late ☆."
No, I did not expect this at all.
The two people I had been secretly supporting from Abydos, Takanashi Hoshino and Izayoi Nonomi. I never thought they would come looking for me in person…
Of course, since the festival is open to outside visitors, it's not entirely strange for them to be here. But honestly, I thought the Hoshino of this time period would be more on edge and wouldn't be in the mood for something like this. With my support, Abydos's situation must have improved enough for them to have a surplus equal to their supply costs, at the very least. So it's not impossible for them to take a few days off, provided they'd cleaned up their district beforehand.
But for them to pinpoint and find me specifically… I just don't get it. How did they even know?
"You know what this is against the back of your head, right? If you move, I'll shoot… so just stay still until this old lady is done giving you some advice."
"I still think pointing a gun at someone is a bit much, though."
"Nonomi-chan, shh. Mika-chan is super strong… if I don't assert dominance like this, my words won't get through to her~."
"Ahaha… Hey, don't you think we should start with introductions? And then a little icebreaker~? You know what I mean, right?"
To be honest, this situation is a little scary. Am I not pretty impressive for not stuttering while Hoshino has me at gunpoint, completely defenseless?
Of course, Hoshino probably has no intention of shooting. If she knows who I am, she must know my position in Trinity. And a girl like Hoshino must know that the moment she shoots, Abydos will be wiped off the map of Kivotos.
"Oh… Mika-chan, you and this old lady might get along surprisingly well~. Do you happen to like naps?"
"I don't dislike them, but I usually don't have the time."
"Uheh what a shame. Any thoughts on transferring to Abydos… You can nap all you want there. If you transfer now, I'll even throw in a lap pillow from our Nonomi-chan?"
Gasp. What, you're telling me I can go to Abydos… No, that's not what's important right now. It is important, but it can't be. Otherwise, I might meet my end at Nagisa's hands.
I naturally turned to face the pink-haired girl who had a shotgun pointed at me. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. I met her mismatched eyes—one the blue of the sky, the other the orange of the sun.
I reached out and pushed her finger, which was resting on the trigger, all the way in. The blonde girl, Nonomi, who had been smiling pleasantly beside her, jumped in surprise.
The trigger was pulled.
"...Uheh How did you know? Even this old lady was a little surprised by that."
"I just had a feeling."
Yep, just as I thought. The chamber wasn't loaded. I knew it. And for the record, I wasn't scared at all.
"This is the first time we're meeting face-to-face, isn't it? Hoshino."
It was a completely unexpected meeting, but a very welcome one.
"...Hey. Who do you think you're pointing that gun at?"
But the first meeting between Saori, who had returned at this perfect moment, and Hoshino was, in a word, the worst.
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