Millefeuille Coffee is a café with quite a reputation throughout all of Kivotos, often rolling out various delicious new-style desserts.
Relying on the fact that its sweets are both good and affordable, as well as its excellent location right outside the gates of Trinity, it has become one of the regular gathering spots for the After-School Sweets Club.
According to electronic navigation, running from Trinity's club building to Millefeuille Coffee takes less than five minutes, and I proved that with my own actions.
Because I had received a distress call from Homi, and then heard nothing further from her, while the other three members of the After-School Sweets Club could not be reached either, I hurried straight over.
After entering, I braced my hands on my knees and took a few deep breaths, wiped the sweat from my face with the back of my hand, then walked down the corridor and looked around.
It was much easier than I had expected. With just a casual glance, I spotted four familiar halos.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I walked over to the table. "What's going on with you all? Why didn't any of you reply to my messages?"
"Eh? Sensei? Why are you here… ah."
Homi's expression turned awkward, and I almost failed to catch my breath.
So you just forgot, didn't you?
But that alone was not enough to explain why the other three had not replied either.
Kazusa, who already seemed to roughly understand the situation, sighed and said, "How should I put it… it wasn't really an atmosphere where taking out our phones felt appropriate…"
"So what exactly happened?"
Natsu pondered for a moment. "Being served desserts we never ordered, and ones we had never even heard of before, it's normal to hesitate in a situation like that, right? That's more or less what happened."
That was definitely another metaphor. I tried to interpret it.
Someone named Tsurugi had joined for reasons unknown, and since they were not familiar with her, the atmosphere became awkward?
"In any case, Sensei, please use this to wipe your sweat first."
Airi handed me a handkerchief with concern.
Although I did have my own handkerchief with me, I could not possibly disappoint Airi's kindness.
So I thanked her and accepted it without the slightest burden, then used it.
While wiping my sweat, I took the chance to smell it, and as expected, it was mint-scented.
And since I had used it to wipe sweat, there was no way I could return it without washing it first. That was basic social etiquette.
Keeping a straight face, I pocketed the girl's handkerchief, then asked in confusion, "So, where is Tsurugi right now?"
"We don't know either…"
As Homi was speaking, the rest of her sentence suddenly stuck in her throat.
She then lowered her head, scooped up a spoonful of ice cream, and put it into her mouth.
As for the remaining three, Kazusa uneasily averted her gaze, Airi looked slightly dumbfounded, and Natsu, the calmest among them, all looked past me, toward my back.
But even without their reactions, I had already felt it.
Silently, something bone-chilling had approached behind me.
I froze in place, lowered my eyes, and looked toward my rear side, only to see a black-and-red long dress with a hem full of jagged tears.
Black was the original color. Red was a congealed liquid.
Drip.
I saw with my own eyes a thick drop of crimson fall onto the long dress, staining it an even deeper, more vivid red.
This was… blood?
I slowly lifted my gaze, passing over a Justice Task Force uniform stained with an unknown liquid.
Then, a twisted face appeared before my eyes.
"Hee…"
Perhaps it could barely be considered a smile.
Although under normal circumstances, very few people smile to the point of sticking out their tongue, right?
Her long hair was disheveled, her appearance grotesque, her body hunched over, and crimson liquid occasionally dripped from her halo.
Even though I had mentally prepared myself, I was still a little startled by the suddenness of it.
Hasumi?! Is this what you meant by quiet, introverted, and shy?!
"KYAHAHAHA!!!"
Just as I was trying to adjust to this ghost-like appearance, Tsurugi let out a bizarre scream without any warning, giving me a genuine fright.
At that moment, I suddenly understood something.
Maybe the refined young ladies of Trinity being traumatized by Tsurugi was not entirely because they were overly protected and thus mentally fragile?
To be honest, facing Tsurugi, whose appearance and actions were both strange and who looked like something straight out of a horror movie, I felt uneasy inside.
There was no special reason.
Simply put, as a visual creature, Tsurugi's outward appearance made me feel fear.
If I had run into a stranger like this on the street, I would definitely have kept my distance, even if she were also my student.
But fortunately, I had come prepared.
Recalling Hasumi's description, I took a few steps away, then turned back and greeted her politely.
"Nice to meet you, Tsurugi-san. I am the Sensei from Schale."
Tsurugi quieted down. After staring blankly for quite a while, she finally spoke softly.
"Sensei, hello. P-please take care of me. Ah-wawa… gaooooo~!"
She had only managed one normal sentence before making another exaggerated face and letting out another strange cry, once again making my heart skip a beat.
Why are you suddenly screaming like a ghost?!
And along with that came deep confusion.
Why was she like this? When she was normal, she was just a gloomy-type beauty.
I could not figure out what she was thinking, nor could I grasp the logic behind her actions.
But according to Hasumi…
"Don't be fooled by how Tsurugi looks. She's actually very delicate on the inside, gentle and kind."
I could not see that yet.
Besides that, Hasumi had also said something else.
"Even though many people are afraid of her, I think if it's Sensei, you'll definitely be able to get along well with Tsurugi."
I had to admit, Hasumi seemed to think a bit too highly of me.
Right now, I probably could not do that. Because I could not understand Tsurugi's intentions, and even if I was willing to trust Hasumi's evaluation, I still could not dispel the subtle discomfort in my heart.
As expected, I still had a long way to go.
In other words.
I needed to work twice as hard.
Fortunately, having experience treating students as aberrations, I was able to endure some discomfort and communicate with Tsurugi in a normal manner.
"This table's a bit cramped… Tsurugi, let's sit at the table next to it."
"Eh?"
I sat down first, glanced at the After-School Sweets Club, who looked visibly relieved, then beckoned to the seemingly dazed Tsurugi to sit. I handed her the menu and smiled.
"You order first. It's my treat."
"E-eh? How could that… I'd feel bad…"
As mentioned before, when Tsurugi was not making exaggerated faces, she looked like a gloomy-type beautiful girl. And when she was not making strange noises, her natural voice even sounded a bit soft and cute.
"Um…" I hesitated for a moment. In the end, still not knowing how to interact with her, I asked directly, "Can we add each other on Momotalk?"
"Keeheehee. Heeheehee...!"
"So you don't want to add me?"
"Ah, sorry, I will…"
I successfully obtained Tsurugi's contact information. It felt like I was just starting to grasp the general framework.
If things continued like this, someday, would I be able to genuinely think that Tsurugi was very cute?
I hoped that day would not come too late.
In any case, I could tentatively consider Nagisa's request successfully completed.
And later that very night, I received a message from the Game Development Department.