Ch.36Chapter 36

I never knew eating could be such a tiring affair. With everyone insisting on feeding me, I somehow felt like I’d put five slices in my mouth.

Of course, since they were each giving me a bite of what they were eating, the actual amount was probably less, but mentally it felt like I’d eaten way too much.

If I had a normal body, I probably would have been full from the moment Professor fed me that first bite.

Is my stomach a bottomless pit? Or a pocket that can hold anything? Pondering the mysteries of the human body, I somehow managed to get through the meal.

I sat blankly on Aria’s lap.

“Ourr, are you sleepy?”

I shook my head. Aria responded with “I guess not” and ran her fingers through my hair.

Maybe because I have too much hair, it seems to get tangled whenever I try to brush it, and it takes too much time, so I’d given up on that part. But having her casually run her fingers through my hair like this felt nice.

“I feel kind of drowsy.”

Maybe it was because Aria was big and all, but she was warm, and with her touching my hair, I felt like I could easily fall asleep if I wanted to.

“Your hair really hasn’t been maintained at all.”

“Ourr’s hair is so long that it would take over an hour just to handle her hair before going out. It can’t be helped. Ourr gets bored with it too.”

The Professor answered Aria’s comment.

I glanced sideways at the Professor drinking cola, then turned my gaze forward again. That’s when I caught sight of Sera and Karen cleaning up the pizza we’d eaten.

Receiving both Sera’s intense gaze and Karen’s subtle look at the same time gave me a strange feeling.

“True, when hair is too long, it’s annoying to maintain. I usually keep mine tidy, so even though it’s longer than Ourr’s, I can finish quickly.”

Aria’s hair was so long it nearly reached her bottom. Proportionally it might be similar to mine, but in actual length, her hair was much longer than mine.

Seeing that both Sera and Karen had hair reaching their backs, I wondered if keeping long hair was the norm here.

I wasn’t sure if it was the waves in their hair or how they maintained it, but the atmosphere each style created was different.

Thinking that straight hair might be easier to maintain than wavy hair, I glanced back at Aria.

“Should I tidy up Ourr’s hair?”

“I, I want to do it too.”

“…I’d like to try as well.”

At Aria’s suggestion, Sera hurriedly approached. Then Karen, not wanting to miss out, squeezed in between her seniors.

Before I knew it, I was sitting in a chair like I was at a hair salon, entrusting my hair to the three of them.

“…Professor.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Your friends will take good care of you.”

When I called out to the Professor in a trembling voice, she waved her hand and smiled, telling me not to worry.

“How should we do this? Can we brush all this hair in time?”

As Sera touched my hair, Aria let out a small “hmm” sound.

“If the three of us brush together, I think we can manage. Karen, do you have a comb?”

“Oh, me? I… I left it at home…”

Karen rummaged through her bag before admitting with a troubled voice. Aria shook her head and pulled out another comb from her own bag.

It was a comb that broke my perception that all combs were basically the same. Instead of being made of ordinary plastic, it had a unique wooden design that caught my eye.

“Take this. You should carry a comb with you.”

“This is…”

“I’m giving it to you because you’re a junior in our study group. It’s a common item in the Garden, so don’t think too much of it.”

Aria’s friendship-building…!

It seemed Aria was subtly trying to add another person to the hot spring trip. Having just Sera might feel like a one-on-one burden, but perhaps she thought the more the merrier and wanted to be nice to Karen too.

That would be fun… No, but if I went, it might be awkward for me.

I mumbled “hmm” to myself. Karen, having received the nice comb, hesitated in bewilderment before bowing her head.

“Thank you… I’ll use it well!”

“Sure.”

While Aria was calmly responding and touching my hair, Sera, who was sitting on my right, quietly and softly asked Aria:

“Wait… if it’s common in the Garden, wouldn’t it be uncommon here?”

When I turned my head slightly, Karen flinched in surprise and looked at Aria. Aria glared briefly at Sera for her unnecessary comment and sighed.

“I guess it would be uncommon. But as a token of friendship…”

“Then what about mine?”

“Sera, be quiet.”

Aria, seemingly tired of Sera’s voice, covered Sera’s mouth with her hand.

Watching that scene made me laugh. I wondered if this was how everyone normally played around.

“Hmph, why didn’t you give me one when we became friends?”

“…If you want one, I could give you something even better.”

When Sera pretended to be upset and turned her head away sharply, Aria casually retorted.

After wiping her hands with a tissue, Aria started touching my hair again. As I closed my eyes and surrendered to the feeling of the brushing, the voices of Sera and Aria behind me sounded like a radio.

“Something better? Better than a comb, what could it be? A hair straightener…?”

“Do you think a wooden hair straightener is possible?”

“I guess not.”

“Hee!”

Listening to their conversation, I couldn’t hold back my laughter at the sudden mention of a hair straightener.

“…Ah, e-everyone, please continue what you were doing.”

The atmosphere turned awkward, and I felt embarrassed. I just scratched my cheek with an awkward smile, but I felt everyone’s eyes on me.

If I had laughed with a “pfft,” it might have been less embarrassing, but laughing with a “hee” was giving me real-time self-loathing. As I closed my eyes tightly and shut my mouth, I suddenly heard whispering from behind.

Then a shadow fell over me.

Opening my eyes slightly in the darkened atmosphere, I saw the three of them gathered, looking down at me.

“Eh…?”

As I made a dumbfounded sound, three pairs of hands immediately flew toward me.

“Karen, brush her hair a bit.”

“Ah, yes!”

At Sera’s voice, Karen immediately started brushing.

“Ourr is so cute.”

“……”

Aria suddenly tied my hair up. Not used to the sensation of my hair being pulled, I narrowed my brows and stayed still.

It felt strange, like my left and right scalp were playing tug-of-war. Meanwhile, with Karen and Sera still brushing my hair, I realized just how long my hair really was.

As I groaned “nng” and pouted my lips, I felt the Professor’s gaze on me from across the room.

“She really is cute. I thought Ourr hated having her hair tied up since she finds hair maintenance annoying.”

“…They’re forcing me to do this.”

“Forcing you?”

As I spoke with my lips still pouting, the Professor opened her eyes wide and looked over the girls behind me.

“But Ourr looks super cute this way, so isn’t that great?”

Sera answered proudly, as if she had nothing to be ashamed of.

“And it’s easier to manage her hair…”

Aria mentioned the practical aspect.

Karen silently played with the ends of my hair.

After hearing all three of them, the Professor made a “hmm” sound and rested her chin on her hand. Looking at me with an interested expression, she asked in a whisper:

“Do you dislike it, Ourr?”

“…I don’t, dislike it.”

It was just that the feeling of my hair being pulled felt strange, but having someone touch my hair was actually quite nice.

“Really?”

“I’ll definitely do it for you next time too.”

“…I can brush your hair as well.”

Sera, Aria, and Karen spoke in turn from behind me. With all the attention focused on me, I laughed awkwardly, “Ahaha.”

After stopping my laughter, I shook my head slightly from side to side. I felt the weight of what seemed like two bumps on my head. The swaying sensation of my flowing hair was strangely addictive, so I kept shaking it, and from behind me came voices asking if I liked it.

Since it wasn’t bad, I nodded, and Sera quickly took the seat beside me.

“Then should we go shopping sometime? It would be nice to try on lots of different clothes.”

“…I already went shopping.”

“Huh?”

When I responded that way to Sera’s suggestion, all three tilted their heads in confusion.

“The Professor bought me clothes. Shirts and dolphin shorts?”

When I said that, the Professor explained with a wry smile:

“Ourr said she didn’t know when she might grow, so I bought her things she could wear comfortably even after growing.”

“Yeah.”

As I turned to look at the others with a “that’s right” expression, Karen asked a question:

“Do you wear those normally?”

“…I wear big shirts.”

“I want to see that.”

“Huh…?”

Why would she want to see that? Isn’t it just me wearing someone else’s clothes?

As I tilted my head trying to understand, Sera and Aria immediately nodded, as if such a reaction was natural and they understood.

“Then should we take pictures and send them to each other?”

“You mean showing each other in pajamas?”

When Sera gestured to Karen and Aria with a “what do you think?” expression, Aria questioned.

“Yes, in pajamas. Isn’t that what you wear as pajamas, Ourr?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I’m fine with it.”

After I answered Sera’s question, Aria immediately nodded. Seeing her agreement, Sera clapped her hands.

“Then we’ll have a contact exchange ceremony. Karen, here’s my contact. We should make a group chat.”

“Ah, yes! Here’s my contact.”

When Karen handed over her contact, Aria looked at the number and immediately wrote it down.

“That’s an easy combination to remember.”

“Ahaha, it’s a number my family coordinated.”

“I’ve called you.”

“Thank you. I’ll save it right away.”

After the three finished their exchange, Karen asked me:

“By the way, Ourr, do you have a messenger app?”

“Huh? No…”

“Then shall I install one for you?”

“Sure.”

When I fumbled to take out my phone and handed it over, Karen installed the app on my phone herself.