The entire Tachibana High School felt as if time had been sped up.
Students carrying desks and chairs could be seen everywhere in the hallways. From the direction of the gymnasium, fragments of the brass band tuning up drifted over from time to time, occasionally mixed with a few out-of-tune trumpet notes.
The back walls of the classrooms were plastered with promotional posters for each class's booth. A few had their corners curled up by the wind, and passing students would casually press them back down before hurrying off to the next classroom that needed help.
Qiluo was slumped over her desk, her face resting on her crossed arms as she stared out the window with her head tilted to the side.
She didn't want to move.
Although she really hadn't slept well last night, with Star-trail constantly switching back and forth between Yuki's and Kizuna's blankets.
She just didn't want to join the chaotic atmosphere outside.
Everyone was running around in circles for the same event; she had never been good at handling this kind of collective enthusiasm.
It had been the same way in her original world, during the observatory's anniversary festival and her school's academy festival.
While everyone else was decorating the hall, hanging ribbons, and rehearsing choruses, she was always the one who slipped away in the chaos.
Another dull thud of moving desks and chairs rolled through the hallway. Someone yelled, “Watch the corner!” followed by the crash of a collapsing cardboard box and the simultaneous shrieks of several girls.
Qiluo buried her face deeper into her arms.
In her original world, her academy festivals had looked pretty much like this.
Back then, not long after she had promoted to an Intermediate Mage, the school scheduled the academy festival during the month with the most stable mana tides. The entire academy would be decorated into themed zones of various elemental attributes.
The Fire division would grill skewers on the sports field, the Water division would make shaved ice in the hallways, and the Wind division was in charge of throwing confetti into the sky, scattering it all over the campus.
She remembered it clearly; that year, she didn't want to participate in any booth, nor did she want to line up to buy anything.
She had found an excellent hiding spot by the pond behind the old school building.
The fork of an old ginkgo tree was just enough to block the line of sight from all directions while still catching the sun.
She had borrowed a star chart atlas from the library, planning to while away the entire afternoon there.
Trouble always had a way of finding her, and back then was no exception.
She had just opened the book in the tree, before she could even look at the table of contents.
Her mentor popped out of nowhere, standing under the tree and looking up at her.
She had been looking for Qiluo the entire morning.
The department was hosting an astronomy-themed exhibition and needed a student to stand at the entrance to guide visitors.
She refused, but her mentor said her appearance perfectly matched the standards of an observer.
She told her, “You might not know it yourself, but you have a nickname at school: ‘The Doll of the Astronomy Department.’”
When Qiluo spaced out by the window of the observatory, she did indeed look like an exquisite doll.
She jumped down from the tree, brushed off the bark fragments clinging to her skirt, and tried to use the book to cover her face to slip past her mentor.
Instead, her mentor grabbed her by the back collar, lifting her up like a kitten.
A few minutes later, she was standing at the entrance, a sign larger than her entire upper body stuffed into her hands.
She stood there, wearing a deep blue robe her mentor had specially prepared for her, with star-trail patterns embroidered on the cuffs. The robe was so long that a small section of it dragged on the ground when she walked.
Her expressionless face and the giant sign in her hands created an extremely mismatched contrast.
And this contrast happened to be spotted by passing underclassmen.
The rumors began to spread.
“So the rumors are true, the astronomy department really has a silent beauty.”
This kind of talk circulated around the school for a very long time.
Qiluo Tian Gong didn't even know, because no one had ever told her.
Someone had taken advantage of her being unable to move while holding the sign to stuff candies into her pockets.
She had stood at the entrance for a long time that day.
Her pockets were stuffed full, and there were even love letters.
The next year, she hid even more discreetly on the roof of the back hill, but her mentor still managed to find her.
In the third year, she simply hid in the archive room and locked the door from the inside, but her mentor used a spare key to open it and dragged her out from behind the document shelves.
She stood in the exact same spot with the exact same expressionless face, and the exact same reputation was passed down by word of mouth among her juniors.
One underclassman had asked her very cautiously, “Senior, are you really human?”
At that moment, Qiluo had desperately wanted to slam the sign onto the ground.
But looking at the junior's bright, innocent eyes, she ultimately gave up on the idea.
“Tian Gong—” Rei's voice came from the direction of the back door, carrying more piercing power than any other sound.
Before Qiluo could even close her eyes completely, Rei was already leaning over her desk.
It looked like there was no escaping today. It was definitely about the Magical Girl stuff again.
“Why are you still slumping here? Something huge happened with the costumes!”
She pulled her phone from her pocket and shoved the screen in front of Qiluo's face. It was the class group chat interface, with messages scrolling up at a visible speed.
“All the other sets have been picked. Right now, there are only two sets left unclaimed. One is the classic model of the original Meruru, and the other is—Lightweaver's.”
She deliberately emphasized the word “Lightweaver.”
Qiluo lifted her face from her arms, looking at the screen where her classmates were discussing which set would suit her better.
Lightweaver was out of the question, but this Meruru outfit...
Why is it so pink?!
She stared at it for a moment, then shifted her gaze back to Rei's face.
“Meruru.”
“...Eh?” Rei blinked, leaning back a few degrees.
“Are you sure? Don't you think that's a waste?”
“It's not a waste. Besides, wearing Meruru's outfit won't make people say I'm trying to copy anyone.”
Her fingers unconsciously brushed back a stray lock of hair by her ear. “Wearing Lightweaver feels a bit too flashy.”
Just like holding that giant sign at the entrance in her robes back then.
She hadn't liked it then, but back then, there was that old geezer—no, her mentor—to force her.
But here, there was no such threat.
Rei blinked and slipped her phone back into her pocket.
She had originally thought Qiluo would choose the Lightweaver one. No, not just thought—she had already taken the liberty of deciding for her.
Ever since Ms. Tanabe showed the pictures of those cosplay outfits, she had been mentally putting Qiluo into Lightweaver's outfit.
Their height was about the same, their build was close, and although their hair color was different, there were always wigs.
Rei pulled her phone back out and looked down at the two unclaimed cosplay outfits on the screen.
Meruru's classic outfit was pink, its skirt adorned with musical notes, and the collar lined with a ring of lace.
It was cute, sure, but it was in a completely different direction from Qiluo's usual aura.
Yano Rei thought about it. A cold, aloof Qiluo Tian Gong wearing Meruru's pink lace...
Was that even right?
She almost blurted the question out loud, but bit her lower lip just in time.
“Alright, Meruru it is then.” Rei put her phone back in her pocket and patted Qiluo on the shoulder.
Right?
She looked good in anything anyway, and pink would probably look very cute against her fair skin.
But she would still keep that Lightweaver outfit reserved.
Just in case someone wanted to swap at the last minute, there would be a backup.
What if she changed her mind when the time came?
Or maybe after the school festival, she could convince Qiluo to wear it just for her in private.
Hehehe, just thinking about it was getting her a little excited.
In any case, Qiluo's willingness to participate in the class activity was already the biggest victory. She had to lock this down quickly before she could regret it.
Rate on N.U.
