[Hospital · Private Room]
Even though it was a hospital room, Mana and Uika had brought board games, game cartridges that could connect to the TV, and instruments that band girls could not live without.
The room already felt lived in.
It was kind of incredible.
Holding the sleeping Elysia Cat and looking at the Sumimi duo, Kiyono Inori felt a warm feeling she could not quite explain.
Since summoning Elysia Cat, it felt like more and more little suns were appearing around her. Or maybe it was just that spending time with Elysia Cat had subtly changed her.
She had met Sumita Mana back in second grade. Mana wanted to be friends, but Inori had gently cut off the flag and kept her as just someone she knew.
Misumi Uika.
The impression from her previous life had been too strong. Even though they were classmates, Inori had barely interacted with her and labeled her as potentially troublesome, keeping her distance.
As for her recent self.
She used to get headaches just hearing birds circle and chirp. Now she found it kind of cute.
Even roadside weeds and flowers, the most ordinary things, felt novel.
The pink pig-cat's goods were too pure. Just kidding.
If she really thought about it, Inori did have some idea why she was changing.
The change began the morning after summoning Elysia Cat, and there were two possible reasons.
First, Elysia's origin authority.
Though completely unaware, she had been unconsciously using that power. She had even used fairy magic that required Honkai energy in a world without it.
Maybe Elysia Cat had thought, Let this cold girl be a little happier, and so Inori gained eyes that could see beauty.
The second possibility also came from Elysia.
The fairy magic drawn when she summoned Elysia Cat. Even with a seventy percent durability reduction, mastering fairy magic still subtly improved her constitution.
She was still weak, but better than before.
Everyone knew this.
People who lacked exercise and had weak bodies were prone to vague emotional troubles.
Sudden lows. Lethargy.
No interest in anything. Terrible efficiency at school or work. Even lying in bed doing nothing felt exhausting, and guilt over doing nothing only made it worse.
Inori judged that she had long been in that state. Add the frustration of never improving despite exercise, plus the shock of arriving in Tokyo and finding superpowered freaks everywhere, and it formed her subtle personality back then.
It was still subtle now, but improving.
"Uika."
"Mm?" The blonde, who had been complaining about Mana's overly steady playstyle, turned around.
"I want to ask you something."
"Ah, sure. But after I answer, you have to answer one of my questions too, okay?" Uika said with a smile.
"Hey! Don't use items randomly, Uika-chan! That'll mess things up when we fight the final boss!"
"Hehe, don't worry. Just watch my plays."
In terms of playstyle.
Mana was the ordinary, steady type. Solid but a bit average. Uika chased extreme strategies and was loud while gaming. In an anime, she would be the reckless blue-type.
No matter how you looked at it, Uika was clearly the brighter one between the two. Mana was also cheerful, but not to the same degree.
Two little suns, but Uika shone brighter.
Was this right?
As a reincarnator, Inori was deeply curious. In a timeline without that customer service girl, would Uika really grow into such a golden retriever?
"Um… Mana and I have known each other since we were kids. You could say we're childhood friends. Do you have a childhood friend too, Uika?"
"Huh?"
"Hey, you call it childhood friends, but you never call me big sister. It's always Mana-sis!" Mana put on a pitiful look.
"Okay, okay. Sister, be quiet for a second."
"All right!" Mana replied energetically.
"Anyway, Uika, I'm just curious. There's an old saying that environment shapes personality. I was wondering what kind of environment would raise such an energetic idol girl like you."
Inori employed the art of language.
She was probing into privacy, but with the right approach, it usually did not provoke dislike.
"Wow, are you praising me, Inori?"
Uika exaggeratedly reacted. "Your Mana-sis is right here, you know. That's a little embarrassing."
"Answer the question."
Inori put on her usual poker face.
"Ah… if I have to say, then yeah. Everyone has close friends when they're young."
Uika laughed. "But you're asking about the closest one, right? Haha, that's hard to choose. I had so many friends back then."
Inori: (⊙_⊙)
Uika was not lying.
The hesitation alone showed she really had many friends as a child. Probably the type everyone liked.
So.
This really was a timeline where Uika never met that customer service girl?
Without that encounter, she grew into this kind of person?
Put a wig on her, flatten her chest a bit, and tell me she's actually Aino Chisaki. I'd believe it.
Inori did not understand, but she was deeply shaken.
She had not connected with the band girls, but she still followed things online. There really was a CRYCHIC account, with few followers and no updates for a long time.
The group disbanding was normal. But Sumimi's Uika had no trace of that feeling. Meanwhile, Sakiko had awakened a World-type Stand.
Saki-chan please stop time and carry people would not turn into that legendary kneel, right?
"Inori, my turn to ask!"
Uika paused the game and leaned in with her hands behind her back, smiling.
"Inori, all-knowing Inori, is there any way for me to rank top fifty in the whole school?"
"Don't treat me like a wish-granting lamp! If you want to study better, then study harder! Our teachers' exams are super easy!"
A vein popped on Inori's forehead.
In the end, worn down by Uika's persistence, she agreed to lend her notes after discharge. Not long after the Sumimi duo left, the cat in her arms started meowing in her sleep.
Mm. That meant Elysia Cat was about to wake up.
Sorry, my dear Elysia. I'm really sorry for not inviting you to the music party. But honestly, your schedule is way too nocturnal. Ours are respectable music parties. We don't hold them at night.
…
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Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.