Because Motoko’s room was a complete mess, there was no space for everyone to sit on the floor and do homework. The posters and figurines were also too distracting. So, everyone decided to move to Tamako’s clean and tidy room.
“Alright, let’s get started with today’s main task… First-years sit together, second-years sit together,” Kotoka said, arranging the small table that had been moved from Motoko’s room.
“Okay,” the others responded. Although they had just enjoyed a moment of fun together, homework was top priority… there was no way around it.
Tamako sighed and sat down. “Rina-chan, show me the problems you don’t understand. I’ll explain them to you.”
“Okay,” Lirina nodded and reached for her textbook—but Etsuyuki interrupted.
“Eh? You’re going to help Rina-chan first? What about me?”
Tamako’s sharp glare made Etsuyuki shiver. “W-What… did I do something wrong?”
“Etsuyuki, first finish what you can do, then ask me only about the parts you don’t understand,” Tamako said coldly. “Do the parts you know on your own. Don’t expect me to help you slack off.”
“Ugh!” A bead of sweat appeared on Etsuyuki’s forehead. “Tamako… how did you know?”
“…Because you’re always like this… I just guessed… You haven’t done any of the math homework, have you?” Tamako looked helpless.
“Well… I’m tired…” Etsuyuki tried to flop onto the desk, but Tamako’s piercing gaze stopped her.
“…Being tired is one thing, but you’re supposed to do this yourself. Only ask for help if it’s truly difficult.” Tamako folded her arms. “Etsuyuki, go to my desk and finish the parts you know. Have you finished the other subjects?”
“Ah… yeah, I did those,” Etsuyuki slumped slightly, holding her math homework. “Math is the only hard one…”
“Alright, even if it’s hard, it’s not impossible. Go finish it,” Tamako chuckled. “Rina-chan, now tell me the problems you don’t understand.”
“Ugh… how can I be like Tamako-chan and the club president, and never find any subject difficult…” Etsuyuki muttered as she walked toward Tamako’s desk.
Watching the second-year group, seeing nothing new was happening, everyone else turned their attention elsewhere.
Then they noticed Motoko, looking uncomfortable.
“….” Kotoka, Saya, and Kotoka were silent for a moment.
“Uh… hehe…” Motoko scratched her head. “I’ll just find a place and start writing the parts I can do…”
“Good, go quickly,” Kotoka muttered, massaging her forehead.
Motoko pushed up her glasses and grabbed her notebook, about to move—but Kotoka spoke again.
“You can’t write out of my line of sight… and you can’t disturb Tamako and the others… of course, you can’t sit with Etsuyuki either… is there a small table?”
Motoko sighed helplessly and went to fetch a small table.
Lirina listened from across the table.
Haha… rather than Tamako-chan being Motoko-senpai’s sister… it’s more like she’s Kotoka’s little sister, looking at how similar they are.
“Rina-chan, don’t get distracted,” Tamako’s voice sounded just at the right volume, making Lirina jump slightly. She turned to Tamako, who had a helpless but amused expression.
Lirina couldn’t help but laugh, and Tamako quietly covered her mouth, giggling a little.
“Alright, back to work. You said you didn’t understand this problem—” Tamako coughed twice and tapped the desk after laughing.
Lirina nodded and dove into her homework.
“Mm-hmm,” Kotoka smiled and withdrew her gaze.
“Okay, Saya-chan, Kotonoha-chan, show me the problems you can’t solve,” she added.
“Okay,” the two responded and began taking out their homework.
At Lirina’s house…
Anya opened her eyes. Light filtered through the curtains, creating a dim, half-shadowed room.
She had slept reasonably well, but her natural body clock made it hard to fall back asleep. She felt a little tired, but if she wanted, she could still sleep.
Adjusting her position slightly, she closed her eyes.
But something felt off. Anya opened her eyes again.
The strange feeling… she eased her breathing and listened carefully to the room.
Nothing—except the sounds of movement from the neighboring house.
…Where’s Lirina?
Anya realized what was off.
It made sense that Lirina wasn’t in the living room, but in her room… she should at least make a sound after all this time.
Anya flexed her arm slightly, feeling a bit of strength.
She propped herself up. Sitting up, she realized she had just enough energy to move.
But after weighing the situation, she gave up. Going to Lirina’s room wasn’t a good idea—her right ankle was still swollen, and her legs felt weak. One misstep could have her collapsing.
Adjusting her posture, Anya leaned back against the sofa.
She thought for a moment and frowned.
…Why am I so curious about what she’s doing? What does it matter to me?
She exhaled sharply and closed her eyes.
…After a while, she opened them again.
Nope, she still cared too much. Forget it! Forget it, I don’t care! she muttered, exhaling sharply multiple times, like a snorting cat.
Why do I even care? She’s not mine, I’m not hers… why do I need to know what she’s doing?
Thinking that, Anya felt even more irritated.
…Because she was lonely. Her sleep-deprived, nameless irritation flared up—reminding her that it was Lirina who had held her last night, letting her calm down enough to sleep.
Wait… why are my cheeks burning? Am I hoping to be held to fall asleep again? How old am I, Anya Harts!?
She grit her teeth and lightly patted her own head.
Am I really unable to sleep without her hugging me? What kind of logic is that…
A rumble came from her stomach.
…Hungry.
Ah, of course. It wasn’t because she was thinking about the succubus that she couldn’t sleep.
But now… she faced another problem: food. What to do about food?
Just then, she saw two ramen buns and two drinks on the coffee table.
…Did Lirina buy this for me? So she went out?
She reached—but couldn’t grab them.
Frowning, she slid along the sofa and tried again.
Still out of reach.
…Ugh, does she have a problem? Why put it in the middle of the table instead of the edge?!
One bottle of water had a note underneath.
…Damn it. I have to see what she wrote for me…
After thinking for a bit, Anya came up with a plan.
She took a deep breath and adjusted her posture—half-lying on the sofa, one hand supporting herself on the floor, the other stretched out, she pulled the items to the ground, then dragged them onto the sofa.
“Phew…” She collapsed.
Her body was still weak. Luckily, she hadn’t tried walking earlier.
After a short rest, she slowly sat up again. Her left hand, which had supported her, was exhausted… almost all the effort came from her right hand, making it take twice as long to sit up.
“Phew… phew…” She gasped. Her body, normally strong, was still extremely weak after so long… She really needed proper rest.
It also reminded her how exhausting her work in Heaven had been… and how much magic the Invisibility cloak consumed.
She recalled… when she bought it, the shady-looking tailor Ivak hadn’t said anything, but Reese had repeated over and over: “The Invisibility cloak consumes extremely much magic. Use it wisely!”
Finally feeling less exhausted, she reached for the note Lirina had left.
“Anya, I’m going out. I’ll be back by noon, so don’t go wandering off.”
“…Tch.” Anya frowned.
What’s with that tone? Am I a child? Wandering off… I’d need energy to wander anyway. And… who told you to leave me a note? I’ll do whatever I want!
She held the paper, puffed her cheeks, and pouted.
Hmph. Hmph… hmph!
Anya lifted her hand, intending to throw the note—but stopped midway.
…This is the first time Lirina has written something for me… maybe it’s meaningful. I’ll keep it.
She folded the note and tucked it under her pillow.
Immediately after, she pulled it back out.
Damn it, what am I doing?!
She clenched the note in her teeth.
It was just an ordinary note… what’s with all this “first time” drama? Am I sick in the head!?
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