/
In the darkness it watches all the time.
He is the current owner, the absolute master, and for his usefulness, he never leaves.
[… he’… but there is no point in worrying about it. I’m me]
Yes, it’s no use, worrying. It laughs.
In the end, there is no one who can reach the truth behind it – no one who can find out why it was born – no one who can reach its original existence.
Even so, such things are no longer relevant anymore.
The only thing it should have done is to answer the Lord’s wishes from now on… but recently it has been harboring something that I don’t quite understand.
[If it wasn’t really for you… er, you buddy, me and Kai-kun might not have been able to be like this…]
He is an abnormal person when he tries to talk to it, but besides the Lord, the girls who gather around him have started talking to it like this.
They tell him, whatever they are thinking… But one thing I can say is that one word can make me feel like joy.
[Thank you.]
Thank you… I know what that word means.
But that doesn’t mean that the words were just conveyed to him, and he is puzzled as to what this feeling is that makes something tremble that it shouldn’t be.
The Lord used to talk often, but since then I have been plagued by this sensation.
[It’s a really good power, this guy. Kuku, you’re going to be used by me from now on.]
[So, which one of you will be next? Convenient power is so much fun.]
Even if it was a filthy desire, it was my role to make it come true.
No matter how much power they were made to use, they never said a word of thanks… well, there was no need. But even so, it was the current Lord who brought about a change in that situation.
[My days with my senpai… ehehe, it’s all thanks to you, buddy…]
[Thank you, buddy, for listening to my wish at that time]
[At first, of course, I was scared, but it was Buddy-san who gave me the push…]
[Buddy! Buddy! Buddy oh oh oh! Leaving the story aside, it was you who pushed me, just like Aika. So thanks…]
I don’t know… what this mushy feeling is, I can’t hide the confusion.
But what was clear was that it wasn’t something unpleasant… and I was certainly glad to be able to receive those words.
[Thank you buddy]
The most familiar voice nowadays is really pleasant.
There is no clear intention in it, and yet… maybe I’ve been seeking it for a long, long time.
I don’t know what I was meant to exist for, even if it was just to fulfill a desire… maybe I just wanted one word, one proof of my existence.
{……}
With that comfortable feeling, even. If I just disappeared, I’d be satisfied, laughs.
o▼.
A few days after the summer holidays, various events take place in our high school.
One of the events held during this hot season is called the sports festival, and I was experiencing it right now.
“… so hot…”
With short sleeves, short trousers and a red headband on my head, I mutter under the tent.
“It’s seriously hot…”
“It’s hot…”
Shogo and Mari, sitting nearby, muttered the same.
On the ground, the students were running as if in friendly competition, and there were quite a few parents and outside visitors, so the enthusiasm cheering for the competitors was at its peak.
“Ah, it’s my turn next. I’m off.”
“Ui~”
“Good luck~”
After seeing Shogo off, Mari moved a little closer to me.
It doesn’t seem like she’s going to cling to me in this heat, but she still doesn’t move away from me as if she wants to stay by my side as much as possible.
“…Hmm.”
I steal a glance at Mari’s profile next to me.
Since it’s too late for me to get excited about her gym clothes, I don’t have to worry about that in particular any more.
What caught my eye was the hair stuck to her cheeks.
(It’s really sexy to see a girl sweating… that’s nice).
Because I have a special relationship with her in this way, I no longer resist gawking at Mari and the others.
“What’s wrong?”
“I was looking because Mari looking all sweaty is so sexy.”
“Really? That makes me happy♪”
I gave a thumbs up to her expression as she smiled smugly saying that.
“Really, thank you for always giving me the best smile, Mari.”
“It’s only for Kai-kun, okay?”
“I know. Mari’s smile is mine and mine alone.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s true, but only Kai-kun can see all my embarrassing expressions, too, you know? From now on and forever.”
“Okay, Kukuku.”
So I want you to stay with me forever, and I’m not the kind of guy who can’t read those words.
The two of us are already on the verge of building a world together, but there are so many students around that we read the atmosphere properly too.
“Hey, it’s Saika and Emu!”
“Ooh… wow.”
They’re shaking… their bo*bs.
Right now they’re doing a borrowing task game, and even though it’s only a short distance to run to the box with the borrowing written on it, still, the two of them have good style, so that’s a feast to the eye.
“I wonder what kind of topic we’re going to get?”
“I don’t know.”
I want to support them both, even though they’re different colors.
Mari and I tried to be in the front row of the tent to watch what was going on. But just as we stood in front of the tent, the two of them who had looked at the topic suddenly turned to me.
“Huh?!?!?”
“…If the times are the times, you two can be warriors, can’t you?”
If I could shoot beams out of my eyes normally, I would have been dead in the moment I just had.
As it was, the two of them approached me with the paper, and they each took both of my hands to run.
“Oh, hey!”
“My senpai is a borrower!”
“Kai-kun is a borrower.”
If that’s the case, it can’t be helped…?
Mari pushed me back to do my best, and I found my sister’s figure as I ran along.
(… Oh, I see. She’s here, isn’t she?)
Of course, not only my sister but also my mother had come.
The one who was talking to my mother like a good friend was Nayu-san, and Matsufusa-san was also there among those who were waving their hands to me and my sister.
(It’s a fresh combination in this way and they seem to be getting along soooo well.)
That makes me very happy.
However, I decided to concentrate on the competition for now, so I turned my attention to running and ran all the way to the finish line.
“Phew…”
(After crossing the finishing tape, I kept holding their hands and they didn’t move away from me, and this continued until the announcement.
“Then I’ll take your paper… oh, I see…”
“… what’s written on it?”
Immediately after that moment of doubt, the topic they held in their hands was announced.
It seems that {reliable classmate} and {reliable senior} were the two’s topics, and when I heard that, I was relieved that it wasn’t a topic that would cause strange rumors to be spread around.
Well, I feel like I have nothing to fear no matter what rumors are out there now, but I’m still a little bit concerned about it.
“You’re sure you’re not wrong?”
“Yes. Because I could only think of my seniors.”
“You two… but thank you.”
I told them so, thanking them for thinking of me that much.
“Because we can’t spend much time together because we’re different colours.”
“Yes! Mari-senpai is cheating!”
Incidentally, when I told Mari that she had said that, she grinned and felt completely superior.
Then time passed, and it was lunchtime, and Mari and the others weren’t by my side because they were all having lunch with their own families. But I was still surrounded.
“This seasoning… it’s good. I’d love to learn about it sometime.”
“Really? Then come over anytime. I’ll teach you.”
“Oh, I’d like to learn how to make that too!”
“Sure, why not? Let’s do it together.”
Nayu-san and Matsufusa-san are really getting on.
Well, as for Matsufusa-san, it seems that they have met before because of her relationship with my sister, but according to my sister, they only started talking to each other that much recently.
“You really change a lot of people, don’t you?”
“…I should feel honoured?”
“That’s right. Even for me, I’m happy that Mafuyu is having fun like that.”
“Hmm~”
“That’s right. Lend me your ears for a minute, Kai.”
“Eh?”
Then my sister told me something… which I was to give a try as I was talking to Matsufusa-san.
“Um…”
“What’s wrong, little brother?”
“…Mafuyu-san.”
“…!”
That’s what Sis said to me. It was a suggestion to call Matsufusa-san’s short name as if to catch her off guard.
Matsufusa-san’s eyes widened immediately, but then she looked down with red cheeks… I thought it was cute to see an older sister all embarrassed like that.
“Then, Matsufusa-san–”
“… Aren’t you going to call me like before?”
This seems to have triggered me to only call her by her name now.