Congratulations on your victory, Honoka."
Shizuku, who had returned to their room first, congratulated Honoka,
who was fresh from her post-event medical examination.
"Thank you...... It was a nice try, Shizuku."
"Yeah...... But I can't accept it."
Her soft words would likely prompt some people to suspect: "Is that
true?" But Honoka was her close friend from childhood, and there was
no way she could misinterpret Shizuku's meaning.
"Shizuku......"
Honoka wrapped her arms around the slightly shorter Shizuku and
pulled her into a hug.
Arms dangling, Shizuku dove into Honoka's embrace.
"Even though I never thought I had a chance from the beginning."
"Really......"
"But, there was nothing I could do."
"............"
"I still can't let it go, Honoka......"
"......You gave it your all."
This persisted for some time.
"......Thanks. I'm OK now."
Shizuku said as she separated from Honoka.
There were no tear tracks on her face.
"Is that so......? Shizuku, want to grab some tea? I'm a little hungry."
"......OK."
"Give me a second to change, alright?"
Shizuku smiled in embarrassment and nodded as she watched
Honoka's sunny attitude.
The moment Honoka stepped into the cafeteria, she was immediately
caught between a rock and a hard place and struck immobile.
She locked gazes with Miyuki, who had arrived beforehand.
They couldn't just retreat like this, but even so, it's not like they could
just nonchalantly sit down next to her. This terrible situation almost
caused Honoka to burst into tears.
"Congratulations on your victory, Honoka."
While Miyuki's warm smile was no less brilliant than usual, there was
still a little stiffness in her upper lip. They were unable to "act
normally" and, while there were some degrees of difference, Miyuki
was no exception to this either.
"Honoka, congratulations."
If Honoka hesitated now or put on a stilted smile, this would only
worsen the mood. In order to deny her that opportunity, Tatsuya
immediately addressed her in his usual tone and simultaneously
dispelled the awkward atmosphere around them. However, by doing
so he also cut off Honoka's path of egress.
"Ah, err, thank you very much......"
"Tatsuya-kun, may we sit with you?"
Shizuku broke the ice here.
"Of course, please do."
Tatsuya said as he rose and stepped behind an empty chair. Miyuki
picked up the teacups and moved the tray before sitting down in an
adjacent seat from her previous position opposite Tatsuya.
"Please."
"Thank you."
Shizuku didn't hesitate and sat down in the chair Tatsuya pulled out
for her — directly across from Miyuki.
Honoka blushed as Tatsuya did the same for her and sat down.
After Honoka and Shizuku ordered a cake set from the waitress that
just happened to pass by, Tatsuya once again looked over the two of
them.
"This one's on me. Let's call this the celebration for taking First and
Second Place."
"Eh, really?"
"......Then, I'll do just that."
While Honoka hesitated briefly, Shizuku merely nodded in
acceptance. She seemed to comprehend that Tatsuya's real intention
was to console her, so there was no reason to refuse.
Seeing her friend rebound faster than she expected, Honoka breathed a
sigh of relief and finally focused her attention on her own situation.
"Um, well......"
"Hm?"
"Well, I was able to win all thanks to Tatsuya-kun! Thank you so
much!"
After all the attention was drawn back to herself, Honoka faltered
even more than earlier when she realized that she hadn't thanked
Tatsuya for everything yet. She was finally able to deftly do so after
great personal difficulty.
Seeing her like this, Tatsuya smiled and nodded his head.
"Just a little."
He wasn't being humble nor was he denying her words, he just didn't
want to blow it out of proportion. Honoka didn't take issue with the
words "just a little" probably because she understood the meaning
behind his smile.
After verifying this, Tatsuya wiped away his smile and turned his gaze
on Shizuku.
"However, I do need to apologize to Shizuku."
"Eh?"
Shizuku stared at Tatsuya with a "I have no idea what you're talking
about" expression.
"Disregarding the final outcome, this could have turned into a more
even contest...... My estimation was too naive. It was too strenuous a
demand for you to completely master 'Phonon Maser' in two short
weeks."
"Ah, that...... No, that's not Tatsuya-kun's fault at all. Also, without
that, I would have had no chance to retaliate at all."
Fully comprehending why Tatsuya was apologizing, Shizuku
vigorously shook her head.
"It was my fault I couldn't control it. I should be the one apologizing.
If I could wield it at will, that would have made for a much better
match. As an inept opponent, I also extend my apologies to Miyuki as
well."
"Please don't be like that. At the time, I was very surprised. You were
able to use such an advanced magic ability while dual-wielding CADs
at the same time."
Miyuki smiled and shook her head. Afterwards, she teasingly glared at
Tatsuya.
"Onii-sama, were you really trying to make me lose?"
At this fairly complex to answer question, Tatsuya immediately
responded.
"......I just wanted the both of you to bring out your maximum
potential."
And the result was this dignified but brilliant rejoinder.
Pompous, but it was no lie.
Miyuki knew this very well, but understanding this was one thing,
being satisfied with this answer was another thing altogether.
"Seriously...... Does this person not care about his own sister?"
"I do believe you would be truly indignant if I went easy on you."
Anyone could encounter their friend teasing an older sibling, but this
was an extremely rare occurrence for Miyuki. Her words not only
brought about Tatsuya's rebuttal, they also caused Honoka and
Shizuku to burst into laughter.