Lately, I've found myself getting nostalgic for my middle school days.
The Sisterhood. The Justice Task Force. All the other factions… Every single one of them is hell-bent on making me their new prize, and they show no signs of leaving me alone.
All I ever wanted was a normal, quiet school life… If I'd known things were going to get this complicated, I'd have hidden my grades from the start.
"First-year student, Urawa Hanako. The hostesses of the Tea Party wish to see you."
Right. So the Tea Party is no different from the other three.
It's not like I can refuse, anyway. How could a mere student possibly ignore a summons from the highest authorities in all of Trinity?
I already know how this conversation will go. It'll be the same as it was with the other factions—an endless lecture about why I should join them.
Honestly, why can't they just leave a person be? It's not that I lack the confidence to play the political games they're all so engrossed in; I just have absolutely no desire to.
Trinity is a viper's nest. A banquet hall for those who have mastered the art of smiling with a knife behind their back. I doubt any other academy in Kivotos is this suffocating.
"Heeey☆"
"…?"
But it seems I'd overlooked the fact that there's an exception to every rule.
This must be Misono Mika, one of the three hostesses of the Tea Party. At first glance, she gives off an aura completely unsuited for someone at the apex of Trinity's power structure.
The girl right next to her, Kirifuji Nagisa, has the same look in her eyes as all the others—I can tell that much just from her gaze. But Mika-senpai… her eyes are completely unreadable.
One thing, however, is certain…
"Hanako-chan, how's the tea? Is it to your liking? You can be honest if it's not~ It might make Nagi-chan a little sad, but everyone has their own tastes, you know!"
"…Since when do you speak for me, Mika? I assure you, I won't be saddened by such a trivial matter."
"Ahaha! Don't worry about it, Nagi-chan. Anything you brew for me is my favorite☆"
"Ah… the tea is lovely. Thank you for your concern, Misono-senpai."
Misono-senpai exudes a unique atmosphere, somewhere fundamentally different from the other upperclassmen. You could say she has a special, invisible aura about her.
"Oh? That's the most formal I've been addressed in a while. This won't do, Urawa-kouhai! That kind of distance makes me feel lonely. If you could, I'd much rather you call me Mika-chan! If that's too hard, I'll permit Mika-senpai for now☆"
"Uh… yes. I'll do that, Mika-senpai."
My first impression? She's a person who moves at her own, incredible pace. A rare type to find in Trinity. Perhaps it's because everyone else here is so hyper-aware of each other.
To be honest, I think she's kind of cool. It takes tremendous courage to not care what others think.
"Mhm~ That sounds much better! A little disappointing you didn't go with Mika-chan, though."
"Mika, that's enough teasing Urawa-san. Shall we get to the point?"
"The point…?"
Just as I thought. That's what Kirifuji-senpai was after. And despite her relaxed demeanor, I'm sure Mika-senpai's intentions are no different. That's just the kind of position the student council president of an academy like Trinity holds.
I wonder, is Kirifuji-senpai the current Host? Or maybe it's the third, absent hostess who's leading the Tea Party right now.
"Ahaha! Really, Nagi-chan. Wasn't it our Tea Party's policy to respect the way of the current Host? Of course, I'd do whatever I want even if you were the Host, but you're not allowed to do that!"
"Honestly… your shamelessness knows no bounds. Hypocrisy on that level is a sickness, Mika."
"Hanako-chan, shall we just ignore the local broadcast for a moment?"
"…Haaaah."
Hmm… is it just me, or do I suddenly feel a pang of sympathy for Kirifuji-senpai? She must have it rough.
But to think the current Host is Mika-senpai. It's so different from what I expected that I'm a little flustered. I haven't seen anything yet, so I can't judge if she has the skills for the position, but based on her atmosphere and speech alone, she completely lacks the gravitas the title implies.
"Ahaha, well, Nagi-chan's blood pressure might be in danger, so I'll just ask! Hanako-chan, do you have any interest in joining the Tea Party?"
"I'm sorry, Mika-senpai. I'd like to remain unaffiliated until I find a club that truly interests me."
"Hmm…"
There it is. That ambiguous reaction. Now they'll start trying to persuade me, saying things like, "Are you sure about that?" or "An opportunity like this is rare." These people are relentless, refusing to let go even when the person in question has no interest.
So much for the normal school life I dreamed of.
Please, just leave me be…
"She says no, Nagi-chan…? Ahaha! See? I told you so!"
"Ugh… but without her, there's no student to succeed us…"
"Honestly, the time we have left here is shorter than the time we've already spent, you know? If we wait, talent is bound to appear. So let's not bother someone who isn't interested and just get back to the ice-breaking☆ Sound good? Right?"
"…"
…What is with this person? Did she know from the start that I would refuse? I suppose it wouldn't be hard for the Tea Party to find out that I'd rejected offers from other factions, but for her to accept it so matter-of-factly…
I don't get it. It's strange, isn't it?
"Hanako-chan? If you want, I can tell the other factions to stop bothering you! No matter how much they covet talent, if that person wants to go a different way, you have to respect their path, right? Oh, and if they still bother you after that, you can just come and tattle to me☆"
"…And what do you gain from this, Mika-senpai?"
Are you planning to become my benefactor, showing me favor to subtly pull me into the Tea Party—and more specifically, into the faction you lead?
Or is it that me not joining any faction is, in itself, a gain for you?
I don't understand. I was so sure Trinity was a den of vipers. Even Kirifuji-senpai, right next to her, is making a face that clearly shows her displeasure with this situation. So why, Mika-senpai, are you…
"I thought a top student like you would understand easily, Hanako-chan… Hmm, don't think too hard about it! The world isn't just made of black and white, is it?"
As she said that, Mika-senpai snapped her fingers. A tiny shooting star appeared, tracing a beautiful arc before disappearing. Did I just imagine that?
"Let's see… A certain student I know who's trying to live a normal life in Trinity, she's white. My dear Nagi-chan here, who spends every day struggling in the undercurrents against the other factions, she's black. And me? I'm gray—a part of the black, but unwilling to give up on a normal, fun school life. That's all there is to it☆"
…I think I'm starting to get it. As I thought, you're the unusual one, Mika-senpai. No one else in Trinity's upper echelons is like you.
Mika-senpai called herself gray, but that drab color doesn't suit her at all. Can you really define someone like Mika-senpai, who could dye both black and white with her own light, by a mere color?
"You know, Hanako-chan, I have a humble dream, a slightly bigger dream, and a dream so large I don't even know if it can be fulfilled."
As she spoke, Mika-senpai's eyes transformed into a beautiful night sky, where brilliant stars scattered their individual light. If the stars within were the number of people she could embrace, then this person's capacity was surely as vast as the night sky itself.
That's it. To define Mika-senpai, you'd have to call her a galaxy. That feels right.
"A humble dream, where I wish for my own happiness more than anyone else in the world."
"A slightly bigger dream, where I wish for the people around me to be just as happy."
"And a dream that doesn't stop there, but wishes for everyone who deserves happiness to find it, for no one to be left behind in the swamp of misfortune… a dream that is, quite literally, an ideal."
The moment I saw her eyes sparkle, I realized it. For Mika-senpai, her position as a Host of the Tea Party, the pinnacle of this academy's power structure, was nothing more than a tool to achieve her dream… her ideal.
"Hanako-chan, I want you to be happy. Yes, I want you to be able to fully enjoy all the pleasures that Trinity has to offer. So, I'll be your shield."
"Until you find the club you want to belong to. Until you make friends you truly connect with. And if you wish, even after you've achieved all of that."
"Whether it benefits me or not isn't really that important. Yup, I'm not that calculating of a person. So Hanako-chan, my reason for wanting to help you is extremely simple. It's because I can't just stand by and watch as a person named Urawa Hanako is deprived of her chance to pursue happiness. There's no hidden meaning, no ulterior motive. That's all there is to it."
And just like that, I, a person, was utterly captivated by the magic Mika-senpai had cast.
A single meeting. That was all the time it took for me to be drawn to Misono Mika, for the seed of admiration to sprout in my heart.
"Happiness can be a vague and distant concept, but at the same time, it can be something surprisingly close. Just like how every moment I spend with Nagi-chan is happiness for me, I'm sure your own happiness exists somewhere nearby. Finding it is your part to play, but if you're having trouble, I recommend wandering around the academy in nothing but your swimsuit☆"
"What on earth are you telling your junior, Mika! I swear, I can't with you…!"
Seeing Kirifuji-senpai, who had maintained such an elegant and dignified demeanor, blush and fluster like that, I had a thought. Maybe, just as Mika-senpai said, she isn't completely black either.
…I'm sure the others, the ones I felt such revulsion towards, have moments like this too. I just haven't seen them.
Perhaps my thought that Trinity was a viper's nest was a bit of an exaggeration.
"…I don't really get the part about the swimsuit, but you truly are an amazing person, Mika-senpai. It's a dream that would sound foolish coming from anyone else, yet for some reason, I feel like you could definitely achieve it."
"Ahaha! Hanako-chan, you'll make me blush with so much praise. For someone like me, a compliment from a genius like you is nothing short of a potent poison!"
I wonder what kind of person Mika-senpai is referring to when she says 'someone like me.'
An ordinary person?
She seems leagues away from ordinary no matter how you look at her, but I suppose I shouldn't press the issue.
"Mika-senpai, if I ever change my mind… I'll join the Tea Party then."
"Ahaha, of course, of course! We'd welcome you with open arms, Hanako-chan… huh? Oh? Whaaa…?"
Seeing Mika-senpai blink in genuine surprise, it seems this outcome wasn't what she intended at all. For such an honest person to be given the seat of Host… isn't that a form of torture in itself…?
A laugh escaped me without my realizing, and in an instant, it spread to the other two, filling the Tea Party office.
Yes. This, too, must be a part of the ordinary school life I wanted.
After chatting about this and that for a while longer, I left the Tea Party building and found myself staring up at a cloudless, clear sky, lost in a single thought.
Mika-senpai definitely told me to try wandering the academy in just a swimsuit. Perhaps it was a metaphor for her own way of being—revealing her true self without reservation.
Wasn't it a lesson, that just because others wear masks, doesn't mean I have to?
To be honest, the idea of doing something in just a swimsuit… is strangely appealing. I'm a little tempted.
…It wouldn't hurt to try it just once, right? As a momentary act of rebellion.