Chapter 37: The Suspicious Girl Tends to Run Wild

W-What am I supposed to do…? Kurokawa Kisa has been holding onto my wrist this whole time.

I—Nishizono Mahiro—am a pitiful reincarnator who ended up in this world.

Just a girl who got a little carried away, paid the price for it, and ended up becoming afraid of interacting with people.

One day, I ended up on the same team as Iijima Kanon—a character from the game—and got so excited that I made a terrible mistake.

After that, everything became a blur. I spotted Akegami Sora, got carried away, and since then I’ve just kept doing strange things.

Because of that, I couldn’t even bring myself to explain what I did wrong. I just awkwardly ran away—and now… here I am, being held by Kurokawa Kisa.

What do you mean you were bored…? That’s way too forceful.

I try not to get dragged along, so I keep walking. When I glance to the side, I catch a glimpse of her face. She’s a little taller than me, so it’s hard to see clearly.

But still… she’s cute. Well, of course she is—she’s a Ranheli character.

Must be nice, being that cute… I mean, maybe I’m kind of cute too, but not like this. Sora-chan is on a completely different level.

Sora-chan has that kind of cuteness that makes you want to catch her… and that fragile aura that makes you want to protect her. It’s unfair.

No, no, this is bad. This is how I spiral. Um… I need to think about something else.

"What’s wrong?"

"Fwah! N-Nothing at all…!"

"Really?"

Don’t just talk to me out of nowhere… I swear my heart just ran three and a half laps around the Earth.

Even the way she tilts her head is cute… seriously.

…More importantly, what do I do? Where is she taking me?

"Hey, you’ve got something on your mind, don’t you?"

She makes me sit down on a chair in what looks like a lobby.

Right in front of me is a character I only ever saw in the game. This feels… strange.

"Um, well, it’s just…"

I have to say something. My thoughts won’t come together. Meanwhile, Kurokawa Kisa just keeps watching me intently.

There’s still a trace of innocence on her face, like she hasn’t fully grown out of it yet—but somehow, she feels more mature than me.

She’s waiting for me to speak.

That alone is… a little scary.

If this were Ranheli, I could just tap and be done with it.

Ranheli was just a game I played casually. Even in my past life, I was a bit twisted—I think I was even jealous of how cute everyone in the game was.

…Honestly, that’s weird. I didn’t want to face reality, so I escaped into fantasies like this.

In that sense, coming to this world might have been just a tiny bit of a good thing.

Even if my previous life was male, now that I’m a girl, it wouldn’t be strange to pursue cuteness to the fullest.

Though… that didn’t last long either.

"Heeey."

"Eek!"

I was lost in thought when she poked the tip of my nose, making me jump.

"Don’t ignore the person right in front of you and disappear into your own world."

"I-I mean, if you’re saying that, then dragging me here without asking—"

"Huh? Was that not okay?"

"N-No… it’s fine…"

"Haha, why are you using polite speech?"

"I-It’s just a habit…"

This is bad. She’s too overwhelming. I can’t talk like this. I’m scared of talking to people.

"Mahhi, are you acquainted with Sora-chan?"

"Um, well… we just became acquaintances, I guess…"

"Hmm, I see. Then why did you run away?"

"Ugh… I-I’m bad at talking to people…"

"Yeah, you do seem bad at it."

That’s all she says before staring straight at my face.

Ugh… what is it?

I need to go talk to Sora-chan… but… my stomach hurts so much.

Because I… hurt someone who was supposed to be important.

"You really are worried about something, aren’t you?"

Her voice is colder than before. I swallow hard.

"Since we’re here, why not try talking about it?"

She smiles softly—and seeing that expression, my lips loosen just a little.

"Um… well… there’s someone named Iijima Kanon on my team…"

"Yeah?"

"She has a really strong skill… strong enough that we might be able to clear the Fourth Calamity…"

"Oh? That’s impressive. Then she’d be reassuring to have around."

"B-But… during the last one… the Fifth… she got badly injured protecting me…"

"Oh dear. So she won’t be able to participate this time?"

"S-So… it’s my fault… the next battle is going to be harder because of me…"

"Wait, seriously?"

…Huh?

A familiar voice reaches my ears.

Silvery hair sways at the edge of my vision.

When I turn, I meet a pair of blue eyes.

"Ah—Akegami Sora…?"

"Sora-chan, you’re awake."

"Morning. Anyway, Mahiro—"

"I’M SO SORRYYY!!!"

"Whoa!?"

My emotions tangle together, and before I realize it, I’ve thrown myself straight into Sora-chan.

Because I had to apologize. No—that’s not it. I had to tell her.

Wait… she heard what I said earlier, so maybe that’s enough?

I don’t know.

A soft, pleasant scent tickles my nose.

"Hey, you’re not a dog, you know."

I hear Sora-chan’s exasperated voice. …Her tone feels a little different?

Ah, right. She’s the type where her past life mixes in. Maybe I’m the weird one.

"Are you listening?"

"Ah, um… I’m sorry…"

"Just move already, okay?"

"Haha, I get it though. Sora-chan feels so nice to hug, it makes you want to cling to her."

"Kisa, don’t say weird things!"

I’m forcibly pulled away.

Ugh… Sora-chan is kind of strong. Oh right—she used Abaddon.

"So, mind if I join in on that conversation?"

Sora-chan sits down smoothly. Wait… did she not hear what I said earlier?

"Iijima Kanon got injured and can’t deploy—is that true?"

S-She did hear it!? She definitely heard it!

I-I’m going to get yelled at…!

"Hey, Sora-chan. Mahhi’s frozen."

"Mahhi…? Oh, you mean Mahiro. Heeey, Mahiro?"

"Eek!"

Sora-chan’s face comes close as she peeks in.

She really is cute.

Makes me want to take her home.

…Calm down.

I need to talk properly. I’ll talk properly… deep breath, deep breath.

Inhale… exhale… okay, let’s do this.

"S-So… um… Iijima-san got hurt protecting me."

"…Seriously? Well, I guess that can’t be helped."

Huh? She’s not mad. Why?

"It’s not like that’s the only way to clear it or anything."

"Yeah. We don’t even know which team will deploy in the first place."

But… you do know that from the game, right?

…I know this isn’t a game anymore. But still—the winning strategy we had is gone.

Maybe… I’m the strange one for worrying this much.

"If it were us deploying, do you think we could handle it?"

"That might be tough. The Fourth is pretty big, right? You’d need a skill strong enough to take it down."

"What about that one you used before, Sora-chan?"

"Oh, you mean ‘Wrath of God’? That requires a Connect Link, and if I overuse it, Nagisa-kun starts to lose it."

…And just like that, they start discussing things.

Ugh… am I the idiot for worrying so much? Even when Iijima-san told me not to worry, I still thought—of course I’d worry…

I don’t get it.

—A shiver suddenly runs down my spine.

A Calamity.

"This is bad. Kisa, call the others."

"Okay, got it!"

Looks like Sora-chan and the others are going.

I see… it’s an event story, after all. It makes sense for the main team to fight.

"Hey, since you’re here, Mahiro, you should come too."

"Huh?"

"You’re a Curse Seeker, right?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Then show me your skills while you’re at it."

She grabs my hand.

It’s a bit forceful—but different from Kurokawa Kisa.

It’s the kind of friendliness that’s hard to refuse, like a class mood-maker.

The small smile curling at her lips… yeah, it’s still cute.