No matter how many something was heard, there were some things in this world that were just impossible to believe.

“…Are you really going to pair up with Hana for the doubles match?”

“Can you please stop asking me the same thing every day?”

Today was the day of the sports festival.

It was probably some kind of mistake… Heck, I might be dreaming.

So, I asked Anita again in the morning despite having vague inklings. However, it seemed that Hana would be taking my place after all…

Anita, who had been wearing tennis clothes since morning, was full of enthusiasm. She was also cuter than normal, including her hairstyle. Her curly hair was tied higher than usual. While chewing her sandwich, Anita glared at me, squinting her eyes.

“It seems that I have no choice but to say it over and over again. I have no intention of betraying you or anything like that. I-I don’t think of you as my best friend or anything!”

Ah, I love my friend so much today, too.

That alone made me happy… Yet I was still frustrated.

Why, why would you choose Hana?

I often tried to talk to her, but I didn’t feel like we were making any progress.

“…Anita, it’s time for morning practice.”

Hana, the cause of my dilemma, approached. Apparently, she didn’t remove her thick glasses even when exercising. However, when I watched her practice the other day, she displayed amazing movement and coordination with Anita.

She still doesn’t look ALL that, though?

Either way, she seemed to be good at signing, sports, and studying…

…Isn’t she too high-spec?

“Well, that’s how it is. I look forward to your support.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll be sure to support you more than anyone else.”

Now that it has come to this, I might even create a banner of light and let off some fireworks.

Except, Cecily’s body still didn’t have enough magical power to achieve that. As such, Eivind would have to be my source of magical power. I also left the cafeteria following Anita and the others who left their seats.

Eivind usually comes without being called, but when I need him, he’s nowhere to be found…

That boy is really like a cat, isn’t he?

He was neither in the cafeteria nor in the store. I secretly teleported to his secret lab, but he wasn’t there either.

Where might he be?

[On the day of the sports festival, some students claim spots to cheer from early in the morning.]

Is Eivind the kind of person who’d do that?

[Right…]

As I spoke with Cecily in my mind, I glanced at the field from the inside of the academy building.

Indeed, many students could be seen placing seats and other items at the very edge of the competition zone. There seemed to be a lot of female students… Well, I guess they are trying to support their crushes. That’s also part of youth. Good luck.

However, among them, there was one battered girl who had been left out. She was holding a chair, probably intending to join the crowd, but they refused her. She ended up placing the chair somewhat faraway, looking very sad.

[Neria…]

Cecily whispered in my heart.

Thinking that there was nothing I could do about it, I went towards the ground.

“Older Sister.”

At my words, Cecily’s older sister’s shoulders jumped. While she’d glare at me from far away, she seemed to be afraid of me, even though until just a while ago, she acted all high and mighty. Although the girls around her did their best to style their hair, Neria’s hair was only tied up in a simple ponytail.

“Can you please sit down for a moment?”

“W-why should I—“

“Don’t you want me to tie your hair?”

She was still Cecily’s older sister and Cecily herself didn’t seem to have any intentions of cutting ties with her… So, at the very least, I’d show her mercy. Neria couldn’t even tie her own hair because she’d been relying on Cecily for such a long time. At the very least, I wanted Neria to enjoy one of the big events in her youth with proper maintained hair.

Then, as I combed her tangled hair with my fingers…

Cecily desperately called out to me.

[W-will you let me do it?]

…Of course.

I immediately surrendered my body to Cecily. Then, without saying a word, Cecily silently combed her sister’s hair. She gently, fluidly moved her hands. Her movements were full of love. However, during the important process of tying Neria’s hair together, she must’ve noticed that she didn’t have any rubber bands or ribbons. Thus, she undid one of her ribbons and tied Neria’s hair into a cute ponytail using it.

“…Do your best.”

“T-thanks.”

“Hm?”

Neria turned around and was about to say something, but suddenly shut her mouth.

“It’s nothing.”

“…I see.”

After saying that, Cecily turned on her heels, looking embarrassed.

The girls around her were looking at us, whispering something. It was unknown whether or not Cecily, who hung her head, knew.

Are you going to participate in the sports festival instead of me?

[P-please take over for me!!]

Okay, okay.

Apparently, Cecily was going to run away after all. Still, for her to be able to call out to her sister directly, it was quite an improvement. At the same time, enjoying the sports festival, where I couldn’t actually participate in any events, would be quite a hurdle.

All right, there’s no rushing it…

So, I took over her body once again.

Well, then. I looked around while quickly retying my hair with the remaining ribbon.

That’s right—I was looking for Eivind to assist me in my flashy cheerleading!

As I looked around, I began to regret not making pom-poms like he suggested from the beginning.

“Watch out—!”

Suddenly, I found myself in someone’s arms.

---

Read ahead on patreon~

***T/N: Neria went from rich to rags real quick

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