Volume 1, Chapter 3 Part 4

The girl stared at the two’s frolicking from a distance while making a small sigh.

Dissatisfaction, was it…

“How nice, Chikori-san.”

It was envious. How Chikori could come in contact with Homura that close.

She too wanted to come into contact with Homura in a distance that close. However,

“Nn? What’s wrong Hoshikawa? You keep staring this way since before, you got any business?”

“Ah, n, no! I’m not looking or anything-! It’s just your feeling!”

In a huff Sumika immediately averted her gaze from Homura.

…In regards to this, it always turned out like this.

She couldn’t look Homura in the eyes.

Her cheeks heated up when he was looking at her and she became unable to calm down no matter what she did.

And then, she didn’t want herself to be seen like that and completely looked away.

Yet, when he didn’t look in her direction, she would then stare at him for a long time, she was seriously ill.

“Haa…”

The times when Sumika sighed like this had increased a lot, sighing deeply for who knows how many times already, she thought.

(As I thought, this feeling is… love, I wonder.)

After checking information in books and other sources about this symptom, then diagnosing it objectively, the result was positive.

However, there was also aspects that didn’t ring true.

She idolized Homura, but the time she was together with him hadn’t been that long.

In that short time, was it possible for her to like the opposite sex as the opposite sex she wondered?

Sumika until now had received confessions several times because of her great looks, but she had never fallen in love with someone else for herself.

Naturally, she had also never gone out with an opposite sex as a lover.

That was why, this feeling that scorched her chest, was it adoration, or was it really love―

No matter what she couldn’t come to a conclusion about that.

But―there was a feeling in her that could apply whether it was adoration or love. It was,

(I want, to become closer to him.)

Her feeling that wanted to be close to Homura.

Sumika thought.

What should she do to shrink their distance even closer.

At this kind of time it was better to start a conversation with some common topic, but

(…If talking about a topic that is common between me and Homura-san, as I thought should I talk about the evil god thing?)

{Homura-san. How about we have a discussion about why the people of Hyperborea perished!}

(……I’ll get rejected.)

This way was a dead-end.

It was too lacking in sex-appeal.

Then should she try to ask if he remembered her from before?

―However, if he didn’t remember even for a bit, it would be quite sad.

Looking from how Homura usually was, that possibility seemed to be high, that it made Sumika nervous.

(Looking at Chikori-san, Homura-san, does he like dogs I wonder?)

If she tried to approach him innocently like that, would she be able to get close to him unexpectedly easy?

“Wa, wan-“

“If it’s Sumika-san I think it will be cuter to mimic a cat instead.”

“Kyaa―!!!!”

Suddenly having that whispered into her ear, Sumika jumped on the spot.

The owner of the voice that was behind her without her noticing they were,

“Shiori-san…! Yo, you heard that!?”

“I don’t really hear anything.”

“I, I’m glad.”

“’How nice, Chikori-san’, I only heard from around that part.”

“Doesn’t that mean that you have already heard almost everything then―!”

“You, do you like someone like that?”

“Fukyuu―”

Sumika’s breathing stopped from suddenly getting a pin-point hit like that.

“N, no, I, I don’t like him or anything… ―I, it’s something like idolizing or, eerrr”

She herself didn’t understand well about it, so Sumika’s words were ambiguous.

Shiori talked to such a Sumika.

“I love him you know?”

“Eh-“

“Though I hate him almost as much.”

“……Yes?”

That was… in short which one was it?

Sumika was perplexed by the strange roundabout talk.

Shiori made a smile that had a hidden meaning to Sumika who was like that.

“Well, before long you too will understand. If you are beside that man, you will come to understand even if you dislike it.”

Leaving behind the confused Sumika, Shiori left the courtyard alone.

(…I wonder what that was just now?)

Shiori was her teammate, but she had almost never talked with her.

Shiori had never tried to interact with other people, whether in the team or class. From Sumika’s position too, she didn’t have any reason to especially get involved with Shiori as long as Shiori fulfilled her minimum work as the 101st’s without any shortcomings.

Just now was the first time Sumika had a conversation with Shiori outside of a briefing.

(Well, it’s just that I don’t understand too much of what kind of person Shiori-san is though.)

―But, there was one thing she knew.

From the conversation on the day of that mock battle, she had thought about it somewhat, but there was already no doubt.

Shiori and Homura had a relationship that she didn’t know about.

She guessed that most likely they were old acquaintances.

She didn’t understand what kind of relationship that was … however,

(……For some reason, it feels like I’m the only one who got a late start…)

When she looked at Homura’s figure that was frolicking with Chikori from afar once more, her feelings became bleak.

If she knew that it would become like this, she would have learned more about [fun things] in the past.

If only she did that, she might of been able to invite Homura to have fun more carefree, like what Anna did just now.

But, even so, regretting things at this late hour wouldn’t result in anything.

(Get a hold of yourself, Hoshikawa Sumika-! The person that you have aspired for all this time is now this close beside you! When else are you going to do your best if not now!)

Sumika *pan* lightly slapped her cheeks and encouraged herself.

She couldn’t be the only one to get a late start.

This was the place where she had to do her best.

However even if she tried to talk to him she didn’t have a topic. Thus, she should emulate the classics here, that was the conclusion Sumika reached.

It was that, the collision at the street corner when you were going to school.

If it was that then even without a common topic to talk about she would be able to come into contact with him.

Walking closer to Homura nonchalantly, she would purposefully slip and leap into Homura’s chest.

(Right! Surely I can do it with this!)

As expected humans should rely on their predecessors in a troubled time.

What should she do to approach Homura? Until now she didn’t have any ideas, but for the first time something like a concrete idea flashed inside her mind and Sumika made a small guts pose from its feedback.

And then, Sumika immediately moved that concrete idea into action.

One had to immediately act decisively when getting a concrete idea that could resolve the problem.

This great resolution and ability to take action of hers, was just as expected from the hard worker that became a young S-rank magician.

However how sad―

“…~♪”

The action of Sumika who was facing aside and whistling while nonchalantly walking towards Homura was,

(Uwa… someone really suspicious is coming closer.)

Making Homura be on his guard fully.

In regards to this, it was not only limited to this time, but Homura had noticed that since the mock battle, all this time Sumika had been sending gazes to him at every opportunity.

That was why, Sumika’s action that was approaching him while openly pretending to be nonchalant looked especially eerie.

Well, even without that a human that walked at you with her left hand and left foot moving forward at the same time was eerie already.

(…What is this Sumika girl planning?)

By any chance was she still holding a grudge from him calling her [useless]?

Homura raised his wariness a little from Sumika’s action that he couldn’t comprehend at all.

But, when Sumika had walked until around one meter from Homura,

“Ah-“

Sumika’s body tilted to the front.

She was walking while looking to the side, so she stumbled on the stone under her feet―that was how it seemed.

Although Homura didn’t know anything about that, so he immediately opened his arms and prepared to catch her in his embrace,

“~~~~~~~~~~~–!”

(Ju, just as I thought this is impossible-!)

However at the critical time when she almost fell into the embrace.

The extreme embarrassment made Sumika thrust her leg with all her strength forward and she planted her foot on the ground firmly.

“I, I’m okay! I almost fell but, just barely, I’m fine! Ahaha-!”

And then she declared that with her face reddening.

“O, oh. That’s good. Next time look forward when your walk okay?”

“Ye, yes-! I, it’s dangerous, if I fell isn’t it! The, then sayonara!”

Saying that Sumika ran away like a startled rabbit.

Her expression was half-crying from embarrassment and patheticness.

Sumika herself didn’t think that she would be this gutless.

In the end, the girl’s action ended in vain.

―But, it didn’t mean that it was completely meaningless.

Her series of action, and her momentary expression. Homura guessed Sumika’s broad mental state from that information.

Namely, the feeling of like that Sumika had for him.

(…I don’t have any recollection of doing anything that would make her like me though.)

Even searching his memory, he remembered nothing except things that should make her hate him.

But, Homura felt like that perhaps there was no mistake that Sumika was holding feelings for him.

In regards to that, Homura sighed a little heavily.

(I don’t really want her closing this distance though…)

He was an existence that couldn’t stay in human society anyway.

The real reason why he was called here.

After making clear of that reason and fulfilling it, sooner or later he would be gone from here.

Even if he had faint love directed at him, he had no way to answer it.

…But if it was just something like Chikori, who idolized him innocently, then Homura was grateful for that.

(What should I do eh.)

Thereupon, at that time.

{Oooo!}

Suddenly the students that were still in the courtyard made a stir.

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