---

“Don’t forget that today is the final deadline.”

“…Yeah, it is the last.”

*

“Ugh…”

I woke up, clutching my throbbing head, maybe from the dream.

Finally, it was time for the closing ceremony. The opening ceremony and the awards ceremony, which I had rehearsed tirelessly, had gone off without a hitch. Now, if I could just wrap things up today, the long and enjoyable Celestial Festival would finally come to an end.

However, everyone seemed to be knocked out from partying late into the night, celebrating Anne’s victory. Come to think of it, when did I fall asleep? In my hazy memories before I blacked out, all my other friends were still awake, so I must have been the first to nod off. That means I was the only one up in the morning.

Careful not to wake my friends who were still lost in dreamland, I gently opened the curtains a crack and looked out at the clear weather, stretching my body.

“Ughhh!”

With a satisfying pop in my spine, I felt refreshed, even hearing a little crack in my bones.

“…Ugh!”

However, perhaps because I had slept in a bad position, I let out a small groan due to the sudden pain in my back and plopped down on the floor.

How ridiculous is it that despite being diligent with my core workouts, I was suffering from back pain just because I slept badly once?

Fortunately, after sitting for a moment, the little discomfort remained, but I was well enough to get up and move around.

Unintentionally, the pain in my back had fully awakened me.

Looking around the room, it was clear we had partied hard all night, with stains from spilled drinks all over the blankets, so I picked up the blankets that my friends weren’t covering themselves with and tossed them into the laundry basket.

Next, I gathered the empty drink bottles and snack wrappers scattered on the floor and tossed them in the trash. I would deal with the smaller details later, but for now, this would suffice.

In the meantime, I felt particularly thirsty today, so I grabbed a partially full drink bottle lying around and took a sip.

“Puhuh!”

What… What is this? Why is there alcohol here? I definitely didn’t see it when we were partying with my friends last night. Could it be that my friends are still out cold because they drank too much? So they weren’t just tipsy from the atmosphere but actually drunk?

Maybe last night’s mood was just to eat and drink without a care, and with everyone else hyped up, I mistook it for some weird beverage and didn’t realize it was alcohol. Yet, now that I’m downing it with an empty mouth, the taste of alcohol is unmistakable. I began to worry… Did I drink and spill my secrets? But if that were the case, my friends wouldn’t be peacefully sleeping nearby, and I wouldn’t have woken up safely, so I guess I don’t need to worry too much.

No matter how I think about it, Selian, Yuli, or Anne wouldn’t have secretly brought alcohol, so it must be Linne’s prank. I wanted to say something to Linne, but since she was sound asleep on the hammock, being a ghost and all, I put it off for another day.

Instead, I grabbed a clean blanket and gently draped it over Anne, who was sprawled on her back, scratching her belly, and carefully opened the door to sneak out of the room without waking anyone.

There was no need to train on a day like today, so I thought I’d take a light stroll to wake myself up a bit.

“Hm?”

However, as soon as I stepped out of the dormitory building, I felt a strange sensation. Zing!

This feeling was it—the effect of the contract magic Frecia arranged, the meow sensor.

It wasn’t some grand ceremony magic or anything, so its effects were mild and the accuracy quite vague, but there was no better magic for simply making friends.

Following that vague feeling, I quickened my steps and soon spotted a cat sunbathing on a bench right in the sunny spot of the park.

The cat seemed aware that I was approaching, as it was staring at me from afar, lying there motionless on the bench.

“Hey there, kitty!”

I gently lifted the cat and placed it on my thigh, but instead of resisting, the cat nestled right in, making itself comfortable on my lap.

“I’ve been so busy during the Celestial Festival that I haven’t seen you at all. How have you been, kitty?”

“Nyaaa…”

As I slowly stroked from its head down to its tail, the cat responded in a drowsy voice. With the help of the contract magic, I’d interpret its words as: I’ve been fine, so stop talking and just pet me more.

I put a little more effort into petting its head and stretching down its tail, which finally prompted the cat to purr in satisfaction.

Sitting on that bench in the park, feeling the warm sun and gentle breeze along with the soft touch of the cat, I was in bliss. This is heaven.

The cat, too, seemed to enjoy my petting, eyes closed as it savored my hand’s caress.

Suddenly, I caught sight of the cat’s chubby rear. A quick glance at the cat showed it had completely let down its guard towards me.

…This is my chance. It doesn’t come often, but when it does, I should seize it.

…

Well… in the end, I got slapped by the cat, but it was worth it for the enjoyment I got. Judging by how the cat’s paw didn’t have its claws out when it slapped me, I suppose it was a happy cat too.

Leaving behind the fleeing cat, I made my way back to the dormitory. This time, I unexpectedly bumped into someone I didn’t anticipate.

“Hello! Uh, Erin, right? And the one beside you is Stella.”

“It’s been quite a while since we met over something not so pleasant, yet you remember me. Yes, that’s right. Elysia.”

“How are you?”

Erin offered a light handshake, and Stella gave a small salute, taking her hand off her head. They were the investigator duo from the Saint’s attack incident. Erin might not know, but I had seen their faces a few days ago while I was on a date with Frecia, shuttling in and out of the Magic Building.

However, it seemed they had been working hard even during the festival, looking somewhat serious, so I hadn’t approached them.

Yeah, that face looked just like now.

“Are you perhaps still working?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Damn it. I should really quit this job already.”

“Team leader, when you want to quit, just take a good look at last month’s financial report. You’ll feel quite motivated then.”

“No one knows better than I do, so can’t you just shut it for a moment?”

“But if you quit, who will be my shield? Let me know the next time you feel demotivated because I have plenty of motivators for the team leader.”

“…I’m not someone who cries easily, but you’re making me feel so grateful I might just tear up.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s all learned skills from you, team leader.”

They were supposed to answer my question, but instead, they were absorbed in their own chatter. As a team leader and team member, they seemed like perfect companions.

“You looked busy the other day at the Magic Building, and it seems you’re still not done, huh?”

“Huh? How did you know? I’m looking for someone, but they vanished into thin air and I can’t find them anywhere.”

“Actually, I happened to be there the last time you visited the Magic Building as I had some work to do too. I saw you from a distance.”

I can’t help but wonder how they felt working through the festival when they were supposed to be enjoying it. Even though I wanted to empathize, I couldn’t, and they just struck me as pitiful.

“Well, I sure showed you my embarrassing side.”

“Don’t worry, team leader. Your embarrassing moments are nothing compared to mine. Just so you know, I have a collection of your embarrassing moments up to BEST 26, so feel free to ask anytime.”

“…I’ll just take my leave now. You two take care.”

With their conversation picking back up, I felt like if I stayed here any longer, I’d be stuck in their banter, so I quickly made my escape. Fortunately, they only gave me a quick farewell as I rushed away and didn’t make it any more troublesome.

Once I distanced myself from them and checked the time, I realized quite a bit of time had passed for a short walk. Since I had left without saying a word, my friends might have been looking for me, so I hurried back to the dorm room.

However, upon opening the door, I found Anne rolled up in blankets, sound asleep on her bed, while Selian and Yuli were busy cleaning instead of searching for me. Selian was already hanging the blankets I hadn’t dared put in the laundry basket on the drying rack, while Yuli was busy collecting trash from the floor with a trash bin in hand.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t think you’d be up already. I can help clean up now. What should I do?”

I had tidied up a bit before they woke up, but it was just a half-hearted cleanup, so there was still a lot left to do. However, since Selian and Yuli had already done most of the cleaning, there wasn’t much for me to assist with.

“Ah, no! We’ll handle it! You just, um, stay over there on the… no, the sofa… just step outside for a moment!”

“Uh, okay! You’ve already done so much, so I’ll just step out for a minute.”

But they kicked me out of the room as if I were a hindrance to the cleaning, barricading the door behind them.

…What’s going on? Am I really such a bother when it comes to cleaning…?

 

---