Refusing to let go, Asuna accidentally snagged Madoka as she passed—and Setsuna, in her haste to escape, ended up dragging both of them away at high speed. Even for a middle schooler, dragging two people at that velocity was a testament to her being a resident of the "other side."
"Wow... Sakurazaki-san is surprisingly strong," I muttered, watching the trio disappear into the distance.
I turned back to Misa, who was standing there looking a bit sheepish.
"Anyway... care to tell me why you're so intent on keeping us away from Negi?"
"Whoa, Axel. Just gonna skip the small talk?"
"Just get to the point. We're going nowhere at this rate."
"Well, you see... it's just... y'know?" Misa glanced over at Asakura, who was currently occupied with Ayaka. Then it clicked.
"Wait. Where are Yue and Chachamaru? And I don't see Nodoka either."
"Geez, you're too sharp. Fine. The truth is, 'Bookworm-chan' is going to confess to Negi-kun. We're just providing the assist. As cheerleaders, we have to support a maiden in love! Though... if this were a confession to you, I might have hesitated for Madoka's sake."
She muttered that last part, but I heard it perfectly fine.
"W-What?! Miyazaki-san is confessing to Negi-sensei?! I cannot allow such a thing!" Ayaka shrieked, having overheard.
"See? This is why we had to distract you, Class Rep," Misa sighed. "Besides, didn't you say you were 'devoted' to Axel now?"
"That is a separate matter entirely! A student confessing to a teacher is unseemly! It is improper!"
...I could tell there was a hint of genuine jealousy in there, too. Even if she had pledged herself as my follower, you don't overwrite a girl's fundamental personality that easily. Personally, I was a little curious to see how Negi would handle a confession from Nodoka, but it felt like poor taste to go spying on them.
"In that case, let's go kill some time," I suggested, looking around until I spotted a cafe. "Why don't we rest over there? It's a bit early, but we can grab a light lunch."
"Good idea," Chizuru agreed. "It's close by, so we'll see the others when they head back."
Everyone seemed on board, so we headed inside. Given the size of our group, the staff pushed two large tables together for us. I scanned the menu and ordered a BLT sandwich and a strawberry parfait. A light lunch, indeed.
"Whoa, you call that 'light'?" Misa gawked as the massive sandwich arrived. "Your stomach really is a bottomless pit, Axel."
The parfait was set to come out after the meal. We spent the time chatting about the Nara deer, the Kiyomizu-dera incident, and Ayaka's lingering guilt over her drunken nap. Eventually, Asuna and Madoka walked into the cafe.
Setsuna was nowhere to be seen—it looked like she'd successfully made her escape. Camo was missing too.
Konoka looked a little lonely seeing them return without Setsuna, but Ayaka and the others quickly picked up on it, firing off new topics to keep her distracted.
"I take it she got away?" I asked.
"...Yeah," Asuna muttered.
"Madoka?"
Usually the most energetic of the bunch, Madoka was staring off into space, lost in thought.
"Asuna?"
"No, it's nothing. Really."
Asuna had the same look—deep in thought. However, the awkwardness she'd shown toward me this morning had vanished. Still, seeing both of them so uncharacteristically serious was strange. Had something happened with Setsuna? No, Asuna I could understand, but Madoka was a civilian. Setsuna wouldn't have shared anything too heavy with her.
I was at a total loss.
"Well, whatever. You two should order something and eat. We're heading to see the Great Buddha after this."
I decided to let it slide. We finished our lunch, visited the Great Buddha, bought some souvenirs, and brought the day's group activities to a peaceful close.
Character Sheet: Axel Almar
LV: 38 | PP: 625
Melee: 262 | Ranged: 282 | Skill: 272
Defense: 272 | Evade: 302 | Hit: 322
SP: 462
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consume SP to increase Slime performance)
Growth Type: Balanced/Special
Terrain: Air: S | Land: S | Sea: S | Space: S
Spirit Commands:
Accel (SP 4)
Effort (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 30)
Awaken (SP 32)
Love (SP 48)
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9, SP Regen, Concentration)
Telekinesis Lv. 10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv. 9
In-fight Lv. 9
Morale Limit Break
Geass (Gray)
Magic (Fire, Shadow, Summoning)
Dark Magic
???
Kills: 376
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