The Game Development Department's request for a review of Myth·Legend·Chronicle was now complete.
Momoi enthusiastically invited me to play it again, but I quickly excused myself, saying that I had urgent work at Schale.
The girls looked a little disappointed, but my excuse did the trick. I made my escape and started wandering the paths of Millennium Science School. Everywhere I looked, students were huddled together, deep in debate, the whole place buzzing with that intense, academic vibe. Well, if you ignored the occasional explosion echoing in the distance.
As I was quietly admiring Millennium's reputation as the most research-intensive of the Three Great Academies, an oddly out-of-place figure caught my eye. I couldn't help but look twice.
There was this tiny girl strutting down the walkway, attitude dialed up to eleven. She had sharp eyes, a beauty mark under one, and a scowl that could probably sour milk. The second she noticed me staring, she stomped right up and snapped,
"Hey, what're you lookin' at?"
I froze for a second and answered honestly, "Nothing much. Just thought your jacket looked pretty cool."
She was wearing a small-sized maid outfit, complete with a frilly headband, though her collar was left wide open, and her tie hung loosely around her neck. Over all that, she wore a flashy embroidered jacket, decorated with a dragon and plum blossoms.
I considered myself fairly well-traveled in Kivotos by now, but this was the first time I'd ever seen such a peculiar fashion sense.
Hearing my words, the small maid immediately dropped her confrontational tone, eyes lighting up as she bounced on her toes and clapped me on the shoulder.
"Oh! You've got good taste! You want one too, huh?"
"Ah… yeah, sure. Just not sure where to buy it."
I wasn't actually interested, but to keep from offending someone who looked like she could bite, I played along.
"Easy!" she said, clearly excited. "I'll tell you the shop where I got it! Though it's kinda in a weird spot… Tell you what, let's add each other on MomoTalk. I'll send you the address later!"
She was so insistent that I just nodded and played along.
That's how I learned her name: Mikamo Neru.
After pocketing her phone, Neru looked at me curiously. "By the way, that thing around your neck, where'd you get it? Looks cool too."
"Uh… it's a medical neck brace."
"Oh." Neru immediately lost interest. "Anyway, I'll send you that shop's address later. If I forget, remind me, okay? Well, I've got stuff to do, see ya."
With that, the strange little maid turned around, waved lazily, and swaggered off.
After that odd encounter, I continued toward my destination: the Seminar Office.
I'd arranged to meet Yuuka through MomoTalk, but when I opened the door, there was only one person inside.
"Hehe, you're a little late, Sensei."
Noa's violet eyes sparkled as she stepped out from behind the desk. She came close, really close, and gently brushed her hand along my neck brace. "Honestly, Sensei, you should be more careful."
Even though her fingers didn't actually touch me, the closeness made my heart skip a beat. I didn't move away. After a moment, with her hand still hovering there, I finally asked,
"Noa, where's Yuuka?"
"You shouldn't pry into a girl's little secrets, you know? Hehe~ But she should be back soon."
I caught her drift and grinned, stepping just a bit closer. Noa blinked in surprise, then smiled even wider. We didn't need to say anything.
We didn't have long to enjoy the moment before the door swung open.
When it came to teasing Yuuka, we were totally in sync.
We didn't have long to enjoy the moment before the door swung open.
Yuuka walked in. "I'm back... Wait, huh?! S-Sensei? And Noa? What are you two doing?"
"What?"
Noa and I spoke in unison, perfectly confused, as if we had no idea what she was so worked up about.
Yuuka's voice shot up an octave. "You two! Don't stand so close! This is an office, a place of work!"
Perfect.
Exactly the reaction we were hoping for.
"Ah, Yuuka, you're misunderstanding," I said, quickly stepping back with Noa as if we had just realized the situation. "My neck brace was a bit loose, and I couldn't fix it myself, so I asked Noa to help."
"Oh… I see…"
Heh. She bought it.
She totally bought it. Noa tilted her head, tapping her cheek like she was genuinely puzzled. "That's strange, Yuuka. What exactly did you think Sensei and I were doing?"
"Ah! Um... N-nothing! Nothing at all!"
Yuuka stammered, unable to get the words out, and ended up denying everything in a flustered rush.
Noa and I shared a quick look. We both knew that teasing Yuuka was way too much fun to stop. Her reactions were always so over-the-top and honestly, she was just adorable.
Noa drew out her words with a sly grin. "Then I'll leave you and Sensei alone~"
She floated back to her desk, leaving Yuuka flustered and me standing there, trying not to laugh.
I could feel the heat in my chest and realized I was starting to understand what it meant for the credit card's "romance condition" to succeed.
Thinking back to how it was with Shiroko, perhaps the key was for the target to clearly recognize their own feelings toward me. Or was there another factor at play?
More data was needed.
The only reason I could keep my cool instead of getting swept up in the moment was that I'd already suspected Yuuka's feelings for a while. I was pretty sure I wasn't wrong. And if I was, well, maybe the card was busted.
Honestly, it'd be weird if Yuuka didn't like me, right?
Once Yuuka got herself together, she called me out into the hallway to talk business.
"Don't worry. They're all fired up now," she said.
"Thank you for handling things with the Game Development Department, Sensei."
Just as I thought, Yuuka still cared about them, she just couldn't admit it out loud. She had to ask me in private, of course.
"Don't worry," I told her. "Helping students chase their dreams is what makes this job worth it."
And hey, it wasn't like I didn't get something out of it, too.
Yuuka smiled, softer this time. "You really are kind, Sensei. Just as I calculated."
I had no idea what my kindness had to do with her calculations, but I let it slide.
"Yuuka, are you free tonight? Want to grab dinner together?"
Yuuka hesitated for a moment, clearly tempted, but then shook her head apologetically.
"Sorry, I have to work overtime tonight."
"Need me to stay and help?"
"I appreciate the offer, but I'll be fine~"
So, I had to say goodbye to Yuuka, wishing I could stick around and bother her just a little longer.