Chapter 49: The World Converges

《Reicia-chaaaan~》

《...My deepest apologies…》

—And then.

Reicia-chan and I held a little reflection meeting—internally, that is.

I mean, yeah? This whole development was going according to plan, okay???

After my welcome-back party, Reicia-chan’s engagement situation came to light.

Honestly, for us, that was something we wanted to pass on. So, we decided to annul it. That part was fine.

The problem was… Past Reicia-chan had accepted it without resistance.

Reicia-chan, in that area—especially when it comes to relationships—is actually pretty emotionally detached. She doesn’t fuss about political marriages, and I’m pretty sure she could still accept a loveless marriage without much thought. I mean, I couldn’t do it, but.

So, to break off an engagement she had accepted in the past, we figured we’d need a solid reason.

Otherwise, the other party would feel snubbed by a sudden rejection, and we didn’t want to cause any trouble for Reicia-chan’s mom and dad.

Well, an annulment is going to leave a bad impression no matter what... which is exactly why we had to make sure we kept the damage to a minimum.

That said, we hadn’t expected things to escalate like they did. Honestly, any halfway decent excuse would probably have done the trick.

I mean, it was just a verbal agreement, you know? Even if the two companies had some friendly relations or whatever, the guy switched to a new wife right after his divorce without skipping a beat. I doubt he had any real emotional investment in me personally.

—And so, the plan was: 《After living in Academy City and learning what love is, I realized something felt off about my situation.》 That sort of vibe.

Then we’d get Kamijou-san to act as my boyfriend and take that angle when asking the parents to call off the engagement.

Well, the idea was Reicia-chan’s in the first place.

For a teenage girl, falling in love with someone at school is totally natural. And it’s also natural that once you fall in love, things you previously didn’t care about become intolerable.

Considering that, her parents were bound to side with their precious daughter’s feelings.

And when it comes to the perfect person to play the boyfriend? Kamijou-san really needs no introduction. So yeah, it was kind of a flawless plan.

Except… the negotiation part didn’t go quite the way I imagined.

《Well, I’ll admit I was at fault for forgetting about the whole “Mikoto-san” incident too.》

Yeah, that’s where things started going sideways.

Now that I think about it, on the last day of summer vacation, those two were pretending to be a couple, weren’t they~…?

Even back then, I remember he wasn’t too happy about it. So if similar things keep happening in a row, of course he’s gonna get fed up.

《…………This is beside the point, but I still can’t get used to calling her “Mikoto-san.”》

《Yeah, I get that.》

I already slipped once and switched from calling her “Misaka” to “Mikoto-san.”

Maybe because her identity’s now recognized as a distinct personality... I feel like Reicia-chan’s speech emulation is starting to get a bit loose. So I figured I’d match her outward way of speaking with how I call people in my head too—just in case my mouth slips in the moment.

Calling him “Kamijou-san” is part of that effort too.

Honestly, it’s not strictly necessary—

But still, I guess it’s part of my resolve. Since I’m living on as a part of Reicia-chan, in her body, I figured I should start adapting—start blending in. I won’t say that out loud, though. Too embarrassing.

…It still feels a little awkward, maybe even gross, but I’ll get used to it eventually. Reicia-chan better work on getting used to it too.

《That aside! Even if the negotiation was stalling, that was not okay! It was only because Kamijou-san is dense-as-a-rock that it didn’t go horribly wrong...》

The conversation was drifting, so I raised my voice to steer it back on track.

《That made it look like I’m in love with Kamijou-san or something!》

《But you do like him, don’t you?》

《No no no, there you go again, stirring things up, Reicia-chan~...》

Yeah, I mean, I do like him, but... I’ve told you again and again, not like that. Keep pushing me and I might actually get mad.

《Even if I did like him, saying something like that in that moment was totally the wrong move. No mood, no setup... nothing!》

《Yes, and for that, I truly am sorry…》

—And thus, we return to where the conversation started.

《But it’s just—Shiren, your way of putting things was so frustrating. You don’t hate Kamijou, right? You even kind of like him, enough that being misunderstood wouldn’t bother you. So why give such a vague, noncommittal excuse instead of just saying it plainly?》

《…………W-Well, that’s because…》

Yeah, okay, fair.

Like Reicia-chan said, saying it outright would’ve been way faster, but if I did say it clearly… it would’ve sounded like I do like Kamijou-san. Like that. And if it came off that way—…well, okay, maybe it didn’t.

But still...

《...It’s embarrassing, saying stuff like that.》

《S-So maidenlike…》

《Don’t call it maidenlike!!》

Hey, hey, that’s a totally normal feeling, okay!?

I mean, come on. When you don’t even know how the other person feels about you—when you’ve got no idea whether you even have a chance—you can’t just go and drop a 《I like you》 bomb, right? It’s embarrassing.

Also, I still think of myself as a guy. So saying something like 《I like Kamijou》 in a way that could easily be taken the wrong way is just... no thanks. I’m pretty sure I’ve said this multiple times already.

《Anyway! It was fine this time because it was just Kamijou-san, but don’t go saying stuff that could cause those kinds of misunderstandings in front of anyone else! Got it?》

《Ughh… …Mmmm, fine, I got it…》

…Hmm. I think she gets it? Not sure.

“Shireicia!”

And then—

While we were still in the middle of our internal debriefing, a voice burst from behind me, brimming with boundless anticipation.

Wearing my apron, I paused what I was doing in the kitchen and turned toward the voice. And there stood—

“Is dinner ready yet!? What are you making!?”

—A silver-haired sister.

By the way, I was cooking at the Kamijou residence.

Prologue: Status Check Matters – Lost_Remnant.
Chapter 41: The World Converges – World_Repairer.

No no no, it’s not like I’m acting like some kind of live-in wife, okay?

It’s true that, after that whole conversation, I managed to get Kamijou-san to agree to play the role of my boyfriend. However, annulling the engagement isn’t something we can settle from inside Academy City.

The guy on the other side is the president of a company, after all, which obviously means he lives "outside." So to visit him, Kamijou-san also needs to leave the city.

By the way, I of course already got permission to stay overnight in advance, but Kamijou-san still needs to get his overnight pass. Considering his credits, we’d rather get all this done over the weekend, but the city offices don’t operate on weekends, obviously.

Still, suddenly getting approval for an overnight trip is a pretty high hurdle for a student like Kamijou-san. So I agreed to go with him and help talk it through.

Which is why, while Kamijou-san is gathering the necessary documents and stuff, I’m hanging out at his place—oh, and Index said she was hungry, so I figured I’d whip something up for her.

I haven’t told Index about the whole situation yet, of course. She’ll be coming along with us for the trip, but I should probably get on her good side beforehand.

《Shiren, you’re doing something pointless again…》

《It’s not pointless. We’re imposing on Index too, so this is like an apology.》

《But you’re just going to take it anyway, right? What’s the point in appeasing her?》

《Villain!! That’s such a villainous noble lady way of thinking, Reicia-chan!!!》

This girl really doesn’t hold back, huh…

…Actually, wait. I’ve been trying not to think about it, but if we’re going down the “get together with Kamijou-san” route… doesn’t that basically mean we’re trampling on the feelings of girls like Index and Misaka…?

《……Reicia-chan》

《I’m going to get seriously mad, you know》

《Yes ma’am…》

Just as I was about to say, “Isn’t Kamijou-san kind of a hopeless case anyway?” Reicia-chan hit me with some deadly seriousness, and I shut right up.

Yeah, I get it. I know Reicia-chan is genuinely thinking about our future.

That, while considering not just her own feelings, but Kamijou-san’s accomplishments and emotions too, she’s weighing everything and choosing how to move forward.

This isn’t some selfish rampage. And because I do understand that, I can’t bring myself to just reject everything she says outright.

But still… I haven’t really made up my mind about any of this…

《…Well, it’s not like I expect you to be ready right away. It’s okay. I’ll carry the hard parts. I’m good at that kind of thing, after all》

《That’s exactly why I can’t leave it to you! If you go full villainous noble mode against Mikoto-san in your current position, there’ll be no coming back from it!》

Especially Mikoto-san’s mental state!

《No, I wasn’t planning any evil schemes or anything…》

“Muu. Shireicia, are you talking in astral mode again? I’d really like you to answer my question, you know.”

Ah—crap, crap.

"I'm sorry, Index. Umm, so… what were we talking about again?"

"Geez! I was asking what you're making for dinner!"

"Oh... I must’ve spaced out for a second. I’m making nikujaga right now."

"Nikujaga!"

Index’s eyes sparkled visibly with delight.

Back when she trained in cooking to improve her relationship with Reicia-chan... well, in hindsight, it was kind of a mess, but it wasn’t a total waste.

Thanks to that, she got used to cooking in Reicia-chan’s body, and even now, she can whip up simple dishes without much trouble.

《Shiren, you’re occasionally more ladylike than I am…》

《Come on, Reicia-chan, saying that cooking makes you ladylike is kinda outdated.》

《I don’t just mean the cooking part...》

Then what did she mean...? Oh well, never mind.

"If I just keep simmering it like this, it’ll be done soon. And it looks like Kamijou-san’s document prep is almost finished... Index, can you watch the stove for me? All you need to do is turn this knob once it starts boiling..."

"I think I can handle that. …But, documents? Oh yeah, now that you mention it, after coming home with Reicia, Touma was rummaging through something."

"Ah, about that..."

Just as I was about to explain the situation to Index—

The intercom rang. No one had a chance to react before the unlocked door to the Kamijou residence was suddenly flung open. An uninvited guest burst in and, without hesitation, spoke her plea loud and clear.

"Please save me and my sisters, says Misaka, as Misaka begs with all her heart."