kscans

Chapter 344 - Connecting the Apexes

"Alright, well… I'm going to head over to Kagura-san's place now."

"Yeah, I'll be there later too."

"…Um, it might not be my place to say this, but…"

"I know, it's okay. I'll do everything in my power to smooth things over."

After deftly handling the 'what was that all about' inquiries led by the red-headed girl, I made my escape, claiming I had things to do, and headed to the [Mirage Workshop].

I waved to Sora-san as she headed towards the magitechnician's place for the second time today from our parting point, and proceeded down another familiar path.

The building's interior was unadorned and rugged, a spartan design that seemed to embody pure practicality, with almost no decorations or landmarks to be found.

I could memorize it after seeing it once, but for some, the hallways lined with unchanging passages and doors might become a labyrinth—

though I imagine that beyond the doors, especially this one, each space is filled with the personality of its master.

When I knocked on the door of the studio I'd arrived at, a voice from inside replied, "Yes," in a tone that was slightly more subdued and calmer than usual.

Sensing a presence approaching, I waited… and the master of the room, her indigo hair swaying, peeked her head out with a timid look.

She saw my face, then looked around nervously.

"W-… welcome."

"Sorry to drop in unannounced."

Nia, letting out a breath of relief and relaxing her tense expression, invited me into the room—or rather, grabbed my arm and pulled me in.

"Hey, let go."

"No way."

Still pulling my arm, she led me along, and with an expression that was hard to tell if she was in a good mood or the opposite, she flopped backward onto a large sofa.

Her momentum seemed to imply a desire to have me land next to her, but I used my stats and willpower to remain standing.

"Honestly… so sudden. You really surprised me."

"I know, I'm sorry. It was at her insistence, you know."

"Well, I heard about it, so I was prepared, but still…"

When I contacted Nia to set up this 'meeting,' she was, of course, greatly surprised and flustered… but truth be told, I had already told her about the 'other one's' existence beforehand.

To begin with, I'm not one to judge whether I should even tell someone, 'There's another person who likes me besides you.'

—But in this case, I had already let it slip to Ashe once, so there was the reason that it wouldn't be fair not to tell Nia as well.

On the day of her lightning-fast confession, in my confusion, I blurted out, 'There's someone else who I might end up with…' My own carelessness is astounding.

"Just to be sure, one more time… you're okay with this?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Besides, if I refused now, it would feel like I'm losing. I absolutely hate that."

"Such conviction…"

Should I feel grateful, or should I feel apologetic… It's 100% the latter. A normal person would probably never find themselves in a situation where they're making multiple people wait for an answer like this.

I truly resent my past self for living so selfishly.

"So, where is she? I thought she'd be coming with you."

"Ah, right."

"Don't just 'right,'… when is she coming? Didn't you make it sound like it would be right away?"

"That's right."

So let go of my arm—because you're about to meet her, right now.

"Tetra."

"—Hn."

"Heh…"

After carefully removing Nia's hand, I tapped the empty space right next to me. And then, my voice, another's, and Nia's followed in succession—

Two people appeared in the room, as if they had been there from the very beginning.

It was none other than my senpai-slash-kouhai, the Undying Tetra, and… the 'other person,' her shimmering silver-blue hair swaying.

"We were just listening—I had my ears covered, and my eyes too for part of it, so forgive me, okay?"

"Wh-what… wh-nya… hehueeeh!?"

"I'm sorry, too. I wanted to avoid causing a pointless commotion by walking around outside."

To Nia, who had instantly started glitching out in shock and confusion, the two rankers bowed their heads honestly. I had no intention of stopping them, but I also didn't plan on letting them continue for long, since I was clearly the most at fault.

"…I figured you'd be surprised no matter what, so I did it this way to spare you the stress of waiting after being told beforehand."

"S-stre… ss, wha, sur…pri………………………………"

I declared myself the one to blame, but Nia, reacting just as I had imagined, was freaking out like a frantic little animal, her head whipping back and forth between everyone—

Finally, her gaze landed on Ashe, and as she stared intently at her face, she froze completely. She was still breathing, so at least she was alive.

"…Senpai, can I go home now?"

"You've got some nerve in this situation…"

"I'm not a hero, that's why I'm asking to go home."

While I exchanged words with Tetra, who was making it crystal clear with his face, voice, and expression that he wanted no part of this, Nia showed no signs of rebooting.

"Well then. I'll contact you when it's convenient for me regarding that matter."

"Ah, sorry. Thanks."

"Hn, see ya."

Even after we continued our conversation and my senpai-kouhai waved and left the room, the indigo-haired girl showed no signs of coming back to life.

"…………Perhaps this was an inconvenience, after all."

"Even if it was, there's no redoing it now…"

Ashe looked at Nia with concern, her blank expression tinged with apology. I stood beside her, waiting for the scolding, but…

For nearly a minute after that, there was no reaction from our personal artisan.

Just as I was starting to seriously worry that she might have been forcibly logged out due to a brainwave abnormality, it happened—

"…—Haaaaaaah!?"

A genuine scream echoed through the room, making even Ashe flinch with a rare, honest-to-goodness startle. And next to her, I, who had foreseen the oncoming hands a split second in advance—

"I R E A L L Y D I D N ' T H E A R A N Y T H I N G A B O U T T H I S ! ! ! ! !"

I dutifully swallowed the excuse, I couldn't tell you.

As I was grabbed by the collar and shaken back and forth—I accepted the fury of the half-crying Nia, ready to sincerely receive her anger.