Chapter 13: Threads Beneath the Surface

“Kaoru! Are you okay? I was looking everywhere for you…!”

To cut to the chase, I got an earful from Sensei, who was worried sick.

She even suspected Nagisa might have pulled something on me and was ready to storm the Tea Party.

“Huff… huff… you, where were you…?!”

“Oh my…”

Seeing Koharu, who’d been wary of me all along, drenched in sweat from searching for me so frantically, I genuinely felt bad.

“…I’ll explain, Sensei.”

“And… who are you?”

“Aomori Mine, leader of Trinity’s Sisterhood. The truth is…”

Surprisingly, Mine stepped up to defend me, offering a plausible excuse that spared me a full day of scolding.

“…Alright, I understand. But this isn’t something we can just brush off.”

With that, Sensei declared she’d take special measures, and the very next day—today—she delivered the results.

Namely…

“Here you go, Kaoru-san! It’s all set up with MomoTalk, and I’ve added our numbers and Sensei’s. You can use it right away! If you have any questions, just ask!”

“Fufu, thanks for the help, Hifumi.”

A brand-new phone.

Judging by how Sensei was glued to her tablet late last night, she probably ordered it through Arona.

Even though the Tea Party covered the cost, getting it delivered in less than half a day showed Arona’s impressive efficiency.

Sure, she’s got a reputation for being a bit incompetent in memes, but as a super AI with unfathomable capabilities, this was probably nothing for her.

Thinking of the AI girl likely sipping strawberry milk inside Sensei’s tablet right now, I took the phone Hifumi had just set up—a standard model.

But… why is the screen so colorful?

“…What are these little guys?”

“Oh, that’s the MomoFriends Original Retro Theme Pack!”

Noticing the characters prancing across the screen, I asked, puzzled. Hifumi’s eyes sparkled brighter than ever as she answered enthusiastically.

“With Peroro-sama as the centerpiece, it’s one of the longest-running top-ranked MomoFriends themes! It’s my gift to celebrate you passing today’s mock exam, Kaoru-san!”

…Your Peroro fans have some seriously warped aesthetic tastes, don’t you?

I nearly blurted that out at the sight of the garish, polarizing character sprawled across my screen, but with my body’s help, I managed to keep my composure.

“…I see, fufu. I’ll use it gratefully.”

“So cute…! I’m jealous. I need to step up and pass to earn a reward too!”

Azusa, meanwhile, stared at my phone screen with starry eyes, clearly seeing it differently.

“Fufufu, you were pretty close this time, Azusa-chan. Oh, and Koharu-chan’s score went up a lot too, didn’t it?”

“Uuu… yeah, but…”

Hanako, watching the scene with amusement, teased Koharu, who mumbled shyly while glancing at her mock exam paper.

On our desks lay the results of the second mock exam, held tonight since Sensei was too busy last night to grade sooner.

Hanako – 8 points, fail.

Azusa – 58 points, fail.

Koharu – 49 points, fail.

Hifumi – 64 points, pass.

And me… 62 points, pass.

…Up by 3 points.

Having barely failed the first exam, I squeaked into the passing range this time, but honestly, just scraping by a high school remedial test felt humiliating.

Firearms tactics were way harder than I expected… Though, since the upcoming second special exam probably won’t even happen as planned, this result doesn’t mean much.

Recalling the petty tricks Nagisa would pull during the next exam, I pushed aside pointless worries and turned to praise the petite girl beside me.

“Koharu, your score improved the most. Keep this up, and you’ll pass in no time!”

It was my way of thanking her for worrying about me last night.

“W-What…? I mean… h-huh? What are you doing…?”

When I smiled and gently patted her head, Koharu flushed bright red, flustered.

Pat, pat.

Wow, Koharu, your hair is so soft.

The sensation, like touching a plush microfiber blanket, was so pleasant that I unintentionally kept my hand on her pink hair a bit too long.

“…Haa…”

“Impressive… subduing an opponent like this? I’ll remember that.”

“Umm…”

“What a lovely sight~”

By the time Koharu’s face was redder than her hair and the other Supplementary Lessons Department girls were giving us odd looks, Hanako clapped her hands as if recalling something, snapping me out of my trance.

“Oh, Kaoru-san, I have a favor to ask. Could you spare some time after dinner?”

“A favor?”

“Fufufu, yes. I’d love to talk more about the poem you recommended last time.”

She brought up the obscure literary work from Kaoru’s poetry book I’d casually picked out yesterday morning.

…What, out of nowhere? That poem was so dense even I couldn’t make sense of it, and she actually read it?

I was inwardly flustered by the sudden request, but Hanako continued casually, as if it were no big deal.

“Since the weather’s nice tonight, maybe you could join me for a night stroll, fufu.”

For some reason, her faint smile sparked a twinge of unease.

Late at night,

Meeting Hanako at the bench in front of the annex as planned after personal study time, I couldn’t help but let my smile falter slightly.

“Fufu, what’s wrong~?”

I’d had my suspicions, but sure enough, she showed up in her school swimsuit.

“If my outfit’s a bit awkward, you could change into a swimsuit too, Kaoru-san~ Fufufu.”

Hanako, whose impressive figure was on full display in the form-fitting attire, said shamelessly.

…Now that I’m on the receiving end, I can’t tell if she’s deliberately acting eccentric or if this is just her nature.

Recalling that she was one of the game’s few notorious flirtatious characters, I barely maintained my composure and declined her suggestion.

“…Fufu, I’ll pass.”

It wasn’t just common sense—wearing something like that in Kaoru’s body, which I wasn’t fully used to, would be mortifying.

So, under the moonlight, we began our stroll around the annex.

One in a swimsuit, the other with a long sword strapped to her back.

In Kivotos, where eccentricities abound, this would still look bizarre, but thankfully, in this remote annex far from Trinity’s center, there were no other signs of life.

“So, did you finish reading the poem?”

Breaking the awkward silence, I spoke first. Hanako, with an equally enigmatic smile, nodded promptly.

“Yes, in my own way. But there were parts I didn’t quite understand, so I wanted to discuss the interpretation with you, Kaoru-san.”

…If you couldn’t understand it, I doubt anyone in Trinity could. Maybe Ui from the library would stand a chance.

Knowing Hanako, despite her delinquent act, was one of Kivotos’s sharpest minds, I figured hiding my literary ignorance was futile and answered honestly.

“Sorry, I don’t think I’ll be much help. I devoured those poetry books before losing my memories, and since arriving in Kivotos, I haven’t had time to reread them properly.”

“Fufufu, is that so? That’s how you’re playing it~”

Hm? Playing it…?

Her subtle tone made me glance at her, puzzled, but Hanako just smiled faintly, looking ahead without adding more.

Instead, she shifted to a more casual topic.

“By the way, Kaoru-san, your grades are pretty good except for firearms. Were you a top student back in your world?”

“Who knows? I don’t really remember.”

“Jealous~ It makes me want to score higher too~”

Her comment, laced with humor given what I knew about her, came with a teasing smile.

As we chatted lightly, circling the annex, I gradually forgot the unease I’d felt when dragged into this walk.

…Until I realized, too late, that was exactly this cunning pink-haired girl’s aim.

“…Oh, are you the type to hide your skills on purpose, Kaoru-san?”

“Fufu, no way. I don’t have any reason to.”

“Right, you’re not like that.”

Of course not. Why would I pretend to be incompetent like you…

…Wait.

Midway through responding to Hanako’s probing, I realized her questions assumed I knew something about her, and I whipped my head to look at her.

“Right?”

“…”

Meeting her playful, deeper-than-ever smile, I knew I’d fallen into a trap.

“Fufu, as expected, you seem to know quite a bit about me, Kaoru-san.”

Hanako, did you plan this from the start…?

No, how did she even guess I knew…?

“Mind if I ask a bit more? We’ve got plenty of time left for our stroll.”

As I struggled to keep up with the sudden shift, Hanako added with a meaningful smile.

“…I’m quite curious about you too, Kaoru-san.”

Her words, backed by the sharp intellect she displayed as one of the game’s brainiest characters, felt impossible to brush off lightly.