Ch.3131. What is this…?

“What kind of ‘tsk’ is that?”

“But it’s disappointing, isn’t it?”

“Hah, did you really think I would allow that?”

“Well, can’t be helped. Here, sit down.”

“Hah, fine.”

Blanc patted the sofa beside her, indicating I should sit next to her.

Well, what can I do? If I made a promise, I should keep it.

So I quietly sat down next to Blanc.

“Give me your tail quickly.”

“What, you’ve been waiting for this?”

“Yes, I’ve been waiting, so hurry up.”

“Hah.”

What’s with this coercive attitude, seriously.

Sigh, that look in her eyes saying she wouldn’t hesitate to do something terrible if I don’t bring out my tail—what exactly is it?

“Here. Satisfied now?”

“Hmm… but it’s uncomfortable to touch when you’re sitting like that.”

“What do you want me to do? Just touch it while I’m giving it to you.”

As I spoke with a sigh, Blanc now patted her lap and called me over.

“Come on, come up here.”

How should I interpret this situation where she’s asking me to climb onto her lap with that innocent expression?

“Why should I… hah.”

“Hurry. So we’re both comfortable, quickly lie down on my lap.”

“No, hah.”

“If that’s too much for you, you don’t have to rest your head. You can just lie face down like this.”

“Hah.”

What can I do? I have to do as she says.

I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place.

No matter how I thought about it, resting my head on Blanc’s lap seemed too much, so I lay face down across her lap.

Making it easy for her to touch the tail she wanted so badly.

“There, satisfied now?”

“Yes. Hah, you have no idea how much I suffered here. Even thinking about it now, it was really scary.”

“Weren’t you always the one who escaped whenever someone tried to catch you?”

“Mm-hmm. That’s true. But this was still scary.”

“If it’s scary, why don’t you stop touching it?”

“No, I’m still going to touch it.”

“Hah…”

Then, Blanc’s hand began to touch my tail, slowly reaching out and carefully starting to stroke it.

She changed her hand’s form from a mechanical joint to something like delicate tentacles so she wouldn’t hurt my tail while touching it.

I suppose it does look somewhat like a cat’s tail.

“What’s so good about a mechanically made tail that you want to touch it so badly?”

“Just because. I wanted to touch it.”

With those final words, Blanc began her appreciation of my tail, slowly stroking it.

Suddenly, the sensation transmitted from my tail felt so strange that I tried to block the feeling, but that odd sensation climbing up my spine scattered my concentration so much…

“Hnng…”

“Hehe, so touching your tail like this produces such a reaction…”

In the end, she made me make a strange sound.

“Ugh… Blanc, this is weird. This, this feels strange…”

“Then can I touch it just a little more?”

“Hah… as long as you stop touching it in that weird way… it’s fine…”

“Really? Hehe…”

Blanc’s hand moves from my tail closer to my body.

“No!? The connection point is—hyaaah!”

When I cried out in surprise, Blanc removed her hand from my tail and checked my condition.

“Oh, sorry. Did that hurt?”

“No, it’s not that it hurts… the feeling… ugh…”

“The feeling?”

“It’s just weird… anyway, please stop…”

“Alright. Hah, what a shame.”

“…I can bear it as long as you avoid the connection point…”

“No, no. You’ll let me touch it again later, right?”

“…I’ll think about it. Hah…”

Blanc looked disappointed.

I get off her lap and sit beside her.

Then, I slowly move closer to her.

I had something I wanted to ask her.

“I seem to be sighing more these days. Don’t you think?”

“Hm? Really?”

“Yes, do you know why?”

“Hmm… is work difficult? Are the kids bothering you? Or is public opinion still negative toward you?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what’s the reason? You can rest if you’re tired.”

“It’s not that. You’re the problem.”

“Me…?”

At my statement pointing to her, Blanc looked at me with a confused expression.

“May I honestly ask you one thing?”

“What is it? Did I do something wrong? Tell me everything. I’ll fix it, okay?”

“Why are you being so concerned? It’s nothing serious. Haven’t you been teasing me too much lately? I just wanted to ask why.”

Blanc answered my question immediately.

I wondered if it was such a simple matter that Blanc could answer right away.

“Ah, that’s… just… because you’re cute…”

“…Huh?”

What did I just hear…

“When I tease you, your reactions are cute, so I end up teasing you without thinking… I’m sorry. You really disliked it…”

Her reddened face and my confused mind interfered with my ability to come to my senses.

It was Blanc calling my name that helped restart my temporarily frozen brain.

“Vine? Hello, Vine…?”

“Uh…oh? Yes, yes…! What is it!”

“Vine, are you okay?”

“Yes, yes… yes. I’m, I’m fine… uh, um…”

“Vine? Are you really okay?”

“Yes… uh, um… what do you mean I’m cu—what? Cute? Me? To you?”

“Yes. You’re cute…? That’s why I kept teasing you… but I’m sorry…”

“No, no. I just don’t understand the situation. You’re saying that I look cute in the eyes of Magical Girl Blanc? Me, who was once an executive of Eden, your greatest enemy?”

“…Yes. When I see something cute, I call it cute. I can’t deny that.”

“Ah, uh, ugh! Why…! Why would you… hah.”

“I’m really sorry if you disliked it…”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just, why would you tease me, your enemy, like this… it seems like… a defeated enemy… um…”

“Ah, I can see how you might think that… I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean it that way, okay?”

“Yes… I understand your intention now, so please stop…”

“Mm… alright.”

Hah… why do I get so flustered whenever I’m involved with Blanc…

I’ve ended up with one more question to ask.

But this question is too early to ask right now.

For both me and you, Blanc.

Namely.

What… do you think of me?

We used to be enemies.

A little, no.

Perhaps we’ve changed a lot, so what kind of relationship do we have now?

To Blanc, what kind of person am I?

For now, I’ll just keep this question to myself.

* * *

“Arin, do well on your test. I’ll be cheering for you from behind.”

“Yes! I’ll do well, so please go easy on me today…?”

“Arin, don’t worry about training with me. Focus on your test first. I’ve already completed my analysis of your abilities.”

“Yes…! Big sister Vine. See you later!”

After seeing Arin off, I go about my morning work as usual.

Well, there’s not much to do today anyway.

Instead of sitting on my windowsill during break time looking outside with nothing to do, I spend time analyzing Arin’s videos.

And Blanc’s videos as well, while I’m at it.

First, in Blanc’s case, there’s no overall change in her movements.

Almost unchanged movements from when I used to fight her.

Perhaps because her movements are already close to perfection, most of the battles she engages in are only against enemies much weaker than her.

In terms of strength, in terms of speed.

Even in tactical battles, there’s almost no growth to speak of.

Blanc moves almost exactly as I would predict.

Yes, last time Blanc said my movements were “very Vine-like” after watching me.

After hearing that comment, which I found ridiculous, my assessment of these videos would be:

Very Blanc-like.

That one phrase completely sums it up.

It matches exactly with the Magical Girl Blanc I used to know.

Except for some slight magical and physical growth, nothing has changed at all.

Well, more important than sparring with Blanc is actually Arin’s training.

I analyzed Arin’s training videos not just now but also the night I received them.

After all, Arin is a magical girl who has never fought against me before.

I needed time to analyze her combat style and movements.

The problem I noticed with Arin from watching the videos is clearly her lack of experience.

Looking at the records of monsters Arin has fought so far, they’re mostly cooperative battles against weak monsters, or solo fights.

She has no record of fighting against villains.

Fighting mindless monsters versus battling villains who use their brains are completely different scenarios.

Because of that, there are several visible problems.

Personally, what I find disappointing are the obvious openings.

There are so many areas that need correction.

Hah, I’ll have to modify the training plan a bit more.

Sorry Arin, but it’s going to get a little harder.

Thinking about training, I remember I also have a sparring session with Arin today.

The sparring with Arin is actually meant to gauge her abilities.

To ensure that Arin can pull her own weight in the future, maybe not as much as Blanc, but at least to prevent her from getting hurt on the battlefield.

That preventive training is essential.

So today’s sparring will start gently and gradually increase in intensity to find Arin’s limits.

I plan to use my tails only for close combat at first, then switch to ranged attacks to see if she can dodge them properly.

I also need to see how she escapes when caught by my tails.

While I was contemplating Arin’s training, Blanc came out and said we should go to the Association.

She said the Association President invited us for lunch, so we should leave a bit early.

Seeing that lazy unemployed person already prepared, it seems today’s sparring sessions—mine with Arin, and later with Blanc—are really big events.

I wash up and get ready to leave.

Blanc has already loaded the weapons into the Association vehicle.

Hah, let’s go. To the Association.