When all the classes ended and I came out through the school gate, I saw that quite a few people had gathered there.
From students to teachers, it was a noisy crowd made up of all kinds of people. At first I wondered what was going on, but after a quick look, I decided it made sense.
"Why are there so many people there?"
"...Because Miku is here."
The popular idol of Japan, the girl I had eaten breakfast with that morning before we split up for our different schools, was standing at the gate as if she were waiting for someone.
"You going to say hi?"
"No. Let's just go."
I did wonder if Miku was waiting for someone, but I also didn't particularly want to acknowledge her in front of this many people, so I started to ignore her and move on.
Then—
"Darling!!!"
Miku noticed me coming out and ran over with both arms spread wide.
Anyone could tell she was aiming for a full-body hug, so I stepped aside.
"Ah!"
She passed right by me and flailed at empty air.
It looked like she might tumble forward, so I let out a long sigh and caught her.
Without missing the chance, Miku immediately hugged me, and a ton of eyes instantly turned our way.
"Ssssssip! I need to replenish my darling supply fast..."
"W-what are you doing!"
She even tried to sniff me, so Mayuri, who was standing beside me, pulled Miku off.
"Aah~ Mayuri's rough touch is so bold!"
"Haah...."
Was that really Japan's idol?
I couldn't help worrying about the future of idols in this country.
"Miku, why are you here?"
"Well, I was waiting for my darling to come out! And once you did, I was going to top off my darling supply, just like that."
"What kind of ingredient is darling supply...? And don't just jump people out of nowhere. Even if we know each other, that's not okay."
At my words, Miku nodded as if she understood.
"I know that. If you don't like something being done to you, you shouldn't do it to other people."
"Then what was that just now?"
So she knew perfectly well and still did it?
"That's why I decided to do things I like when it's done to me. Darling, or any of you spirits, are always welcome, you know?"
"...Hah."
The fact that Miku was exactly the kind of pervert who would think being hugged and sniffed was a good thing somehow made me even more annoyed that I could understand her.
With Miku, I could totally believe she'd be thrilled if someone really hugged her and sniffed her scent.
"I feel like I can understand that because it's you."
"Fufu. Darling can always come get a refill if you're ever low on my supply, too."
"I'll pass. More importantly, there are way too many people around, so let's move somewhere else. At this rate, you might get caught in a scandal and never be able to stay an idol."
The good part was that Miku had used her brainwashing on the people around us right before hugging me, so they had all looked away, but I still couldn't shake the unease.
"Darling really worries too much."
"Aren't you the one who's too carefree?"
"Mayuri is a tsundere, too!"
"Get off!"
Watching Miku latch onto Mayuri before I could stop her, I felt a little relieved, though I did feel bad for Mayuri.
Still, wasn't a scandal with a girl better than a scandal with a guy?
Thinking that pointless thought, I pulled Miku away from Mayuri and chopped her on the head with the side of my hand.
"Kyah!"
"Enough. Let's head home soon."
"If darling says so, then okay."
Thankfully, it seemed Miku hadn't planned to loiter here forever.
Relieved by that, I left the school grounds with Miku.
"By the way, where are the others?"
Miku looked back at the school and asked, apparently a little surprised that no one else was with us besides me and Mayuri.
"Ah, they're all busy with club activities."
Besides me, Mayuri, Itsuka-kun, and Tohka, everyone else had joined some club or another.
The Fire Keeper said she was in the cooking club, and I think the Yamai sisters were in board games.
Come to think of it, the Fire Keeper was supposed to be doing practice in the cooking club today.
"...I feel sorry for the cooking club kids."
"They'll get to see Sachi's cooking, after all...."
The taste itself was ordinary, but the sight of food being given life and moving around would probably be no different from seeing an eldritch god from the perspective of a normal person.
Even [Fraxinus] had said that phenomenon was inexplicable and to just accept it.
As I was thinking about the Fire Keeper's cooking skills and quietly admiring them, Miku's phone rang.
Ring ring ring—!
"Ah, yes? Okay."
"What's wrong, Miku?"
After answering the call, Miku gave a slightly regretful smile and replied,
"Something came up. It's something only I can really handle, so I'll have to head out here."
"Really? That's too bad, but take care."
Mayuri smiled as she said that.
I figured she'd been put through the wringer by Miku enough times already.
Every time Miku showed up, she tried to hug all the spirits, so I could understand why Mayuri would react like that.
Besides, Miku seemed to enjoy that kind of reaction too.
I heard she even said that being looked at with contempt felt fresh and exciting.
Yeah, Miku really was a hopeless pervert.
If I had to compare, maybe Kannazuki would be the same sort of type.
"Then I'm really going now~"
"Yeah, take care. Good luck."
After parting ways with Miku, we headed to a nearby shopping street.
We needed to buy ingredients for dinner before going home, and Mayuri had suggested we look around together for a while since it had been ages.
"Isn't this basically a date...?"
"So what? If you're jealous, you should've signed up for no club like me."
It was weirdly hard to argue with that, so I set my worries aside for the moment and started looking around the shopping street.
We first headed toward the street food stalls, and once we got there, the smell of all the food was enough to make my appetite flare up.
"Since we're here anyway, want to eat something while we walk?"
"That sounds like a good idea."
Since Mayuri suggested it right then and there, I accepted without arguing.
Honestly, I was hungry too, since Tohka had eaten all the bread at lunch.
"I want to try a crepe."
"Then let's go to the crepe shop first."
Since Mayuri wanted crepes, we went to a crepe shop first and bought two.
Strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup all came together to make my tongue happy.
"Mmm~"
"It's delicious."
It was my first time eating a crepe too, so I'd been looking forward to it, and it was nice that it lived up to my expectations.
No wonder they show up so often in romance comedies.
"Next is..."
"...Ugh."
"Natsumi?"
Just as we were moving on to get the next snack, we ran into Natsumi.
She looked a little irritated.
"Ugh? What's with that reaction? And that face, too."
"...It was a mistake. If I suddenly run into someone I know, I get nervous. It's not like I'm unhappy to see you two or anything. Just think of it as the sound effect that plays when you encounter me."
"Encounter? What are you, a game...?"
Watching her talk as if she were some monster in a game made me think Natsumi was really steeped in this world too.
Or maybe she was just a serious gaming addict.
"So, are you two on a date?"
"Cough!"
The one who coughed at that question wasn't me, but Mayuri.
I wondered for a second if I'd heard wrong, so I looked over, and Mayuri had turned her face away while covering her reddened cheeks with a hand.
It was a little ridiculous that she'd say it was fine when I asked, but then get embarrassed when someone else asked, but at the same time, I also thought it was kind of cute.
"Your reaction says that's a yes."
"I won't exactly deny it."
Mayuri herself hadn't denied that it was a date, so I didn't deny it either.
"I don't want to get in the way of you two dating, so I'll disappear here."
"Huh? You don't have to do that. Come walk around with us."
Mayuri seemed a little stung by that and said as much, but Natsumi already seemed to have made up her mind.
"...No, I'm fine."
Let me correct that.
It wasn't that she'd made up her mind; she was just uncomfortable in crowded places.
Natsumi was a total shut-in type, so I guess that couldn't be helped.
Just as I was about to part ways with Natsumi, I realized the source of the odd feeling I'd had when I first saw her and called out to her.
"Oh, right. Natsumi."
"...What?"
"That outfit, you bought it new, right? It suits you."
I had thought something looked a little different, and it turned out to be a shirt I'd never seen before.
So I complimented her on how well it suited her, but why was Natsumi blushing and quickly backing away?
"...Mayuri, did I make some kind of mistake?"
"Yeah. Even saying that was a mistake."
"......"
No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't see what I'd done wrong.
As if she could read that thought, Mayuri let out a long sigh and tugged on my arm.
"Haah.... Let's hurry up and go."
"Ah, sorry. Then let's go try something else."
I'd temporarily forgotten because we'd run into someone unexpected, but I was basically on a date with Mayuri, and I was thinking about another girl.
I really was a terrible guy, I thought to myself, and let Mayuri lead me off to try other things to eat.
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