When she returned to the dessert counter, Rei was standing on her tiptoes, peering over toward Table 9. Seeing her return, she immediately huddled close, lowering her voice but unable to suppress her intense curiosity.
“Tian Gong, do the guests at Table 9 know you?”
“...No,” Qiluo said, placing the tray on the dessert counter and picking up a menu to fan herself.
“She looks so much like her! Don't you guys think she looks way too similar?”
As soon as the silver-white figure walked away, Night Sakura immediately leaned into the center of the table and lowered her voice.
“Yeah, yeah!” Kohinata responded in a whisper, slumped completely over the table.
“She really does,” Amamiya chimed in, which was rare for her. She was still holding her spoon, having only taken one tiny bite out of her pudding. “But there were no fluctuations of mana from her.”
“She doesn't have any mana. Lightweaver's mana spectrum is very unique; even if she tried to hide it, it would be impossible to leave absolutely no trace at such a close distance. But when she stood so close just now, I didn't sense even a speck of mana.”
“So that means she's not the real deal?” Kohinata slumped back onto the table, feeling a bit dejected, her chin resting on her crossed arms.
The crowd of customers gradually grew. It had to be said, everyone possessed quite the business mind.
With Magical Girls being so incredibly popular in this world, choosing a Magical Girl theme was indeed the right move.
But at what cost?
The cost was that Qiluo and the others were about to be run off their feet.
“Coming through—strawberry parfait for Table 3!”
“Another order here! Two Lightweaver Puddings!”
“Tian Gong! Could you please deliver these drinks over there?”
Qiluo carried her tray, nimbly sidestepping, turning, and dodging between tables and chairs, feeling even more exhausted than she did during patrols.
At least she could fly during patrols; now, she had to rely entirely on her two legs to navigate the maze of tables and chairs.
She placed the drinks in their correct spots, only to be grabbed by another classmate the moment she turned around, telling her that they were almost out of whipped cream at the dessert counter again.
Tucking the empty tray under her arm, she took advantage of the classmate at the dessert counter turning around to grab ingredients, quietly taking a few steps back until her back pressed against the wall at the rear of the classroom.
She fanned herself with her hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she scanned the classroom—almost every table was occupied, menus were rustling constantly, and the line at the cash register already stretched all the way to the door.
She really wanted to go out and play. Suddenly, she felt a pang of nostalgia for the leisurely days when she had first arrived in this world.
But how could she slip away without being noticed?
Many people had probably thought about this: if only they had a clone to do their work for them while they slacked off.
And so!
Since Star-trail happened to be nearby, why not let it wander around the stalls she couldn't visit in person on her behalf?
Star-trail's perspective was incredibly convenient. Being so small, it could weave through the crowds, finding everything it saw fresh and exciting.
“Tian Gong, are you okay?” a girl carrying an empty tray asked as she walked past, noticing Qiluo leaning against the wall with her eyes closed.
Qiluo opened one eye and waved her hand. “I'm fine, just resting my legs for a bit.”
Once the girl had walked away, she sank her consciousness into Star-trail.
It was currently lying on a branch of the tree behind the school building, its tail dangling down.
“Want to go for a stroll?” Star-trail's ears twitched. It stood up on the branch and stretched, arching its back before letting it drop, the tip of its tail quivering happily.
With a nimble leap, its silver-white figure darted silently through the crowd, occasionally brushing past a visitor's leg or jumping onto the corner of a stall table.
Star-trail perched on the railing next to a crepe stall, watching the stall owner spread a ladle of batter into a thin, round pancake on the griddle.
The owner, a girl wearing a home economics club apron, deftly arranged sliced strawberries on top, squeezed three rings of whipped cream, and finally used chocolate syrup to draw a crooked little cat on the surface.
She rolled up the crepe, placed it in a paper holder, and turned to hand it to the waiting customer.
At the exact moment she turned, a piece of excess batter at the edge of the griddle curled up from the heat and slipped off silently, on the verge of falling to the ground.
A silver-white shadow flashed silently from the railing.
Star-trail landed back on the railing, holding the slightly charred piece of batter in its mouth. It lowered its head, placed the batter between its two front paws, and nudged it with its nose. It was still steaming hot.
It tilted its head and took a small bite. It was rich and milky.
Star-trail swallowed the rest of the batter, wiped the crumbs from the corner of its mouth with a paw, and wagged its tail happily. It jumped down from the railing and continued forward along the edge of the stalls.
After all, ordinary people couldn't see it anyway.
As it bypassed a shooting gallery stall, a stray cork flew right over its head, nearly clipping its ear.
It ducked its neck and quickened its pace, weaving through the gaps between people's legs before finally crouching beside a candy apple stall.
The shiny, red candy coating of the candy apples reflected the sunlight, looking like gem-encrusted fruits.
Just as it was seriously considering whether it could snatch one while the stall owner's back was turned, something gently poked the tip of its tail.
Someone saw me!
Hiss!
Star-trail spun around abruptly, arching its back as the magic arrays in its pupils spun rapidly.
Nuomi was crouching behind it, its large, caramel-colored eyes blinking. Its two long ears stood straight up, one tail wagging happily behind it, while the other tail was still in the posture of poking Star-trail's tail.
Today, it was wearing a miniature hat with the school festival mascot's pattern printed on the brim.
“It really is you! I saw a flash of silver-white over there just now and thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.”
Nuomi retracted its tail, its ears twitching with excitement. “Are you here to check out the school festival too? Mingyue said she has a stage play today, so she told me to wander around on my own before the show starts.”
It leaned closer, its nose twitching as it sniffed Star-trail's scent, as if confirming something.
It took half a step back, tilting its head as its ears rotated half a turn in turn. “Were you looking at the candy apples? Do you want to eat one?”
“...Just looking,” Star-trail said, flattening its arched back and crouching down again.
Nuomi followed Star-trail's gaze toward the candy apple stall, then turned back to look at it, its ears twitching as if it had thought of something fun.
“I have a way,” Nuomi whispered. It looked left and right, and after confirming that the stall owner was busy coating a new batch of apples in syrup, it tiptoed over to the back of the stall.
Waving its tail to call Star-trail over, it mouthed to Star-trail: Keep watch for me.
Star-trail crouched at the side of the stall, confirming that there were no other Magical Girls' mana fluctuations nearby.
Nuomi extended both of its tails at the same time. One wrapped around the end of the candy apple's bamboo skewer, while the other fished out a coin and placed it on the counter, quickly pulling the candy apple out.
The candy apple was heavier than Nuomi had expected. Its body tilted slightly to one side as its tail carried it, the candy shell glittering in the sunlight.
“Here you go—” It gently placed the bamboo skewer in front of Star-trail, then ran back to grab a smaller one for itself. Curling its tail around the skewer, it crouched down next to Star-trail and licked the candy shell, its ears twitching in pure bliss.
Star-trail tilted its head and took a lick. The candy shell cracked on its tongue, and sweetness rushed in along with the slightly tart juice of the apple. It tasted even better than it had imagined.
Rate on N.U.
