Last night, perhaps due to exhaustion, I ate the dinner Akizuki-san made for me and fell asleep soundly.
“Mmm… it tickles…”
“Meow.”
As I noticed a warmth next to me, I realized that Rin had crawled into the futon. The tickling sensation on my cheek was just the cat’s whiskers, but I ended up having another strange dream—perhaps because Senpai Kasuno stepped on me.
『Look, doesn’t it feel good being stepped on by me?』
I have absolutely no interest in that kind of thing, but it seemed like my subconscious was trying to wake me up. I’d like to avoid that, so I need to ensure I don’t upset Senpai Kasuno and retain my dignity.
“…Could it be that Rin was doing the kneading thing even while I was asleep?”
Rin was pressing her paws into my chest—what exactly is this adorable creature?
◆◇◆
After changing, I checked my phone to look up monster encyclopedias, but all the cat-like monsters were either ferocious or had wings, none resembling Rin.
“Good morning… huh?”
Senpai Kasuno, who said she would eat dinner in her room yesterday because she was feeling restless, was sitting normally at the table today.
She had been looking at her phone until she noticed me and glanced over.
“…G-good morning.”
Her greeting caught me off guard—it was surprising, and she didn’t seem displeased at all.
“Good morning, Senpai Kasuno.”
“What are you looking at? Walking while on your phone isn’t good, you know.”
“Sorry, I was just looking something up. Um, would it be alright if I joined you today…?”
“You’re being way too formal. I’m just one year older than you, you don’t have to go that far.”
Her attitude today was worlds apart from yesterday. I sat diagonally across from her—she seemed to be about to say something but tilted her head slightly.
“…I guess I had the wrong person after all. But that kid still looks like Nanami…”
“Uh…”
“Never mind. So, do you prefer scrambled eggs or fried eggs?”
“I like both, but today I’m in the mood for fried eggs.”
“Hmm, alright, I’ll make them for you.”
“Eh… is that okay?”
“I got scolded by Suzuri-san about yesterday. Thinking about it, I did have some fault too, so I’m making a little concession. Be grateful.”
“Hey! That’s not an apology at all, Erisa-chan.”
“Ah!”
Akizuki-san popped her head out from the kitchen and placed a hand on Senpai Kasuno’s shoulder, winking at me—perhaps she was trying to mediate between us.
“Don’t scare me… Suzuri-san, I’ll help out.”
“I wanted to make it for Tsukasa-kun myself, though.”
“D-Don’t be mean. I finally gathered the courage… ah…”
“Umm, I’m okay with anyone making it, really…”
“Tsukasa-kun, that response isn’t ideal either… Oh, Shiro-chan’s here too.”
“……”
Nanami-san walked in, still looking sleepy, and after a brief pause, she sat next to me.
“…Good morning.”
“Good morning, Nanami-san. You seem a bit tired.”
“I stayed up a little late.”
“Is that so? I fell asleep without realizing it…”
“So, you didn’t have time to post anything? Ah, thank goodness, that clears things up.”
“…?”
Senpai Kasuno went into the kitchen, wearing an apron that seemed homemade from home economics class, decorated with a cat paw print design.
“…Senpai Kasuno might like cats too.”
“I wonder what she’d think of Rin. She was here earlier; I wonder where she went.”
A relaxed atmosphere hung in the air, but Senpai Kasuno’s words, “post,” stuck with me—was she talking about uploading videos on the academy’s channel?
When I tried to check, I saw that the site was down for maintenance. Nanami-san sat quietly with her eyes closed, resting her head on the table—maybe it was better to let her sleep a bit more.
“Whew… ah, I see all the underclassmen are here.”
“Good morning, Senpai Amagi. Were you practicing swings this morning?”
Amagi-senpai entered from the courtyard holding a wooden sword, dressed in a white kendo uniform, seemingly for practice.
“It helps me start the day fresh… Ah!”
“Huh?”
The normally composed Amagi-senpai suddenly faltered—when I looked, I saw Rin playfully batting at her slippered foot.
“C-cats are adorable, but… I’m afraid if I touch them, I might break them… Ah, that rough tongue…”
“Meow!”
Rin was having her way with Amagi-senpai, and it became clear that she was extremely weak to cats.
I stood up and scooped Rin into my arms, and Amagi-senpai collapsed onto the floor.
“Hah… hah…”
“Why are you panting like that in the morning? You look like you just got out of something with Fujiwara.”
“It was the cat, not Fujiwara… I still have much to learn…”
“Looks like you might need some training to get used to cats.”
“…You’re too serious; you’re making me embarrassed.”
It seemed like the two second-year senpais would be mostly fine with keeping a cat around.
When I glanced over at Nanami-san again, I saw that her chest was resting on the table—perhaps that was more comfortable for her, so I decided to let her rest a bit longer.
