Maidens of Cygnus - Volume 3 - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – High Schooler’s Greatest Exams (2)

There were three days left until the end-of-term exams.

Alisa and Marika were looking frantic as they worked hard at studying for the exams today as well. — Rather, Marika was the only one grumbling about something as she stared into the terminal with the face of someone who’s going to cry.

Alisa stared at Marika from the seat next to her with pity. Close to Alisa was a terminal showing the completely solved exercises. Her preparations for the exam are going well.

“Uwaah, I don’t get iit!”

Marika suddenly shouted and clung to Alisa. While gently tapping her back, Alisa kindly told Marika “There’s other people around, you can’t yell like that”. They are currently in the classroom after school.

“So, which is the one you can’t solve?”

Alisa gently broke Marika’s embrace and asked her. Marika looked at the display and pointed, saying “This”, and Alisa began a thorough explanation with “Aah, for this...”.

“Ah, I get it.”

Marika’s head isn’t bad at all. Once it was explained to her just once, she understood where she had been stuck. 

“About the rest, are you okay with it?”

“Yeah. And with that, I’m done.”

Marika was solving the same supplementary exercises that Alisa had already solved. They were doing it in the classroom because they can’t take the data home.

“Well, we’re done a little early, but shall we go?”

“Yeah.”

Alisa and Marika stood up at the same time.

Not ‘Shall we head home’, but ‘Shall we go’. The practice exercises weren’t the only reason they were staying.

The end-of-term exams aren’t just written tests. The practical skills exams grades are given more weight. Both of them are better at practical skills, but they’re worried about not practicing right before the exams.

But the same is true for every other student. They just barely reserved a practice room for Friday after school, three days before the exams, with only 30 minutes to use it.

They arrived at the practice room, but there were still about five minutes until the booked time.

“What do we do?”

“It’s pointless to wait outside, so let’s observe while we wait.”

Marika immediately replied to Alisa’s question.

“Sure.”

Alisa agreed to Marika’s answer. They went into the practice room together.

This large classroom is used as a single classroom during lessons, but after school it is partitioned into six booths and open for self-study.

There are three booths in a row both on the left and on the right. Between them there is an aisle. Students outside of their allotted time are also allowed to observe in this aisle. But there is a risk that stray magic will fly off, which they have to deal with by themselves. That is the condition.

Alisa and Marika reserved a booth deepest in the back. This may be natural, but the student that reserved the slot before them was still practicing the tasks for the exam.

“Ah...”

Alisa let out a tiny sound. The reason for that, Marika soon understood.

The person using that booth was Karatachibana Mamoru.

Mamoru interrupted his practice and looked back. The sound Alisa made was faint so he most likely didn’t hear it, but perhaps her felt her gaze.

“Sorry, is it already time?”

Mamoru walked up to Alisa and asked.

“You still have about 4 minutes.”

Mamoru’s question was answered by Marika.

“Four minutes left? Well then, I’m done here.”

“Eh, don’t, please.”

Alisa desperately tried to stop him. However, Mamoru quickly switched the training equipment off.

“Are you sure?”

Marika asked Mamoru as he tried to leave the booth.

“Yeah.”

Mamoru said just one word while nodding.

He then passed by the two of them, stopping again just after passing.

Mamoru turned around and turned his face to Alisa.

The last time Alisa made eye contact with Mamoru was Monday of last week.

The events of that day, which had looked like a breakup, were always on Alisa’s mind.

They are not lovers. They’re not even close enough to almost be lovers.

To Alisa, Mamoru is someone she is friendly with, a classmate she gets along with. In short, they are ‘friends’.

But even if they are mere friends, staying awkward with each other becomes a cause of stress.

She might have felt a little better if she could shift the blame to the other person, but Alisa believed her attitude at the time had been terrible, so that just made her feel depressed.

In addition, even if they couldn’t go back to their previous relationship of studying together and talking about their thoughts on the same books — perhaps it is because Alisa originally wanted to be a veterinarian and Mamoru wanted to become a doctor that their reading tastes are similar — Alisa wanted to apologize right away for what happened at that time and get that weight off her shoulders.

“Look...”

“Juumonji-san, I’m sorry for last week!”

However, Mamoru was faster than her.

Mamoru bowed his head and Alisa became speechless.

“At that time, I didn’t know why you were angry, Juumonji-san, but afterwards I thought about it properly. I asked a lot of things about that rumor. It was insensitive of me.”

As Alisa’s tongue was frozen, Mamoru continued repenting.

“You must dislike rumors about boyfriends and girlfriends even under normal circumstances, right? I dislike it too. Though I’ve never had that experience.”

There was a little pause between his sentences, and Marika, at the same time as she was listening, thought ‘Ah, this guy, he says he hasn’t had it, but he actually has’.

“I’m sorry that despite all that, I said something weird based on my weird misconceptions. I assumed they were wrong, but I really lacked tact. My apologies for being an inconsiderate man.”

“...No. I was horrible.”

After hearing everything up until now, Alisa’s vocal functions finally rebooted.

“That was just me venting my anger on you. Karatachibana-kun, you did nothing wrong. I’m the one who is sorry.”

Mamoru continued his bow, and Alisa faced him and bowed even lower than him.

“Isn’t it fine already, you two?”

Surprisingly, the mediator between the two who didn’t try to raise their permanently lowered heads was Marika, who considers Mamoru a nuisance.

“What is horrible is our seniors who circulate these irresponsible rumors. You’re both something like victims.”

Alisa and Mamoru raised their heads simultaneously.

Marika took Alisa’s hand with her right hand and Mamoru’s with her left.

“Here, now your friends again.”

Saying so, Marika made them shake hands.

Alisa exposed her surprise as she turned to Marika, and then turned to face Mamoru with a smile.

Mamoru’s face had turned red before Alisa smiled at him.

Seeing that, Marika appeared unamused, like she was about to click her tongue, but naturally she read the room and didn’t say a thing.

◇ ◇ ◇

Saturday, 27th of June, after school, awaiting the start of the end-of-term exams on Monday of next week. Alisa and Marika were in the school cafeteria.

They already finished their lunch. After returning the tableware, the girls were using the table to study for the exams.

It wasn’t just the two of them. The reason they were opening their terminals in the cafeteria, and not in the classroom or on the self-study room in the library, is because the number of people in the group has gone up.

It wasn’t just three people in Mei, Koharu and Hiyori either. Mamoru and Joui were added to the total. The desks in the classroom basically cannot be moved due to the wiring to the terminals, and they can’t guarantee enough room for seven people in a group in the self-study rooms. In these circumstances, the study meeting place became the school cafeteria.

“...But is it okay for me to be here?”

As he was self-scoring his practice exercises, Joui suddenly raised his face from the terminal and muttered.

“What are you saying at this point?”

Mei retorted with a cold voice.

“Joey, you being here is helping me. If you weren’t, I would be the only guy in this group.”

Mamoru replied with honest gratitude. Mamoru and Joui are close enough to call each other Joey and Yaku[3].

“Do you dislike harem situations?”

Koharu curiously asked Mamoru.

To this expression from Koharu, which was typical of novels aimed more at boys than women, an ambiguous smile appeared on Mamoru and he didn’t say anything.

“If Karatachibana-kun wasn’t here, I’d be in trouble, because we wouldn’t have enough playing the role of teacher.”

That was Hiyori.

“For some reason, I’m feeling like I’m being told I’m a bonus that came with Yaku.”

“It’s your imagination.”

Mei once again retorted coldly. For some reason, Mei acts rudely towards Joui.

But Joui only forced a smile and ignored Mei’s unfriendly attitude.

The seven returned to their studies after that brief intermission. All the conversations they exchanged with each other was within the scope of the exams. Basically, it was settled that Alisa taught Marika, Mei taught Koharu and Mamoru taught Hiyori, but that assortment was not constant, and sometimes three, four, or all of them exchanged their views.

Other than their group, there were many students opening their study devices in the school cafeteria just like them. Thereupon, the reason why they could hold their study meeting without being disturbed by other groups and without bothering other groups is that each group was using soundproof field magic.

“Alisa, are you sure you don’t want to switch?”

Mei, to the side of Koharu who was troubled by the exercises, asked Alisa.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Alisa responded as she turned around, taking her eyes off Marika, who was reading the textbook with intense concentration.

“It makes me feel a little bad to leave that up to you all the time, though.”

“It really is impressive. I couldn’t maintain the field for such a long time.”

Joui interjected, his expression showing he was sincerely impressed.

What he was talking about was the soundproof field magic. Ever since the study meeting started, Alisa has been deploying the soundproof field by herself.

“I really don’t like saying this, but I wonder if it’s just what’s to be expected of the Juumonji Family.”

Mei agreed, with a tone of guilt mixed with admiration.

“Hmm, I wonder. I can’t make shields as strong as the Head Katsuto-san or the Vice President Yuuto-san.”

“But this stamina isn’t something a normal magician can get, right?”

“Yeah. It’s been close to two hours now.”

Mei deeply agreed with Joui’s words.

“That’s right. Asha, you should have more confidence in yourself!”

Marika, who should have been reading the textbook, suddenly joined the war.

“It’s not like I’ve been keeping one magic. I recreated it many times... Anyway, Mina, are you done reading?”

Marika avoided meeting Alisa’s eyes.

“Y-yeah.”

And what came out of her mouth was an unclear answer. Perhaps she finished reading it, but she isn’t confident she understood yet?

“Then, what does this mean?”

“Umm, that is...”

Marika joined the conversation, and in response, the topic went back to their studies.

Mei and Joui looked at each other and couldn’t hold back their laughter. These two don’t hold back with each other, but they’re not especially on bad terms.

Mei returned to Koharu’s terminal and Joui returned to his own.

◇ ◇ ◇

The last Sunday of June 2099, in the evening.

Alisa and Marika were in the detached building of the Juumonji Family house, facing each other at the dining table.

They were studying in Alisa’s room, not Marika’s apartment, because during the day they were preparing for the practical skills exams using the facilities of the Former Tenth Research Institute.

Marika wasn’t hung up about the past of becoming an Extra from the start. What was on her mind was not anger about past of being stripped of the Number and the poor treatment, it was the resentment of being separated from Alisa in early spring when they were 13 years old. Perhaps this faded once she went there the first time, as she was thankful of using the training facilities today.

Alisa’s room is a detached building built in the garden of the Juumonji Family house. It was decided to be built by Katsuto to make Alisa feel as comfortable as possible. No, rather than consideration towards Alisa, there was a strong implication that it was for the sake of Tatsuki, who had just finished the first year of middle school, and Kazumi, who was an elementary schooler.

This brand-new building has all the important things for living. The contractor was the same as Marika’s one-room apartment, so their layout is almost identical.

The dishwasher is working in the kitchen. Their dinner was prepared by Alisa’s stepmother, Juumonji Keiko. They had the maid deliver it to them so they could eat together.

“...Correct, Okay. Mina, the answers were all right.”

Alisa smiled with satisfaction after scoring the test she had made herself for Marika.

“Asha, Thank you~.”

Marika’s eyes became wet and she took Alisa’s hand.

“I might do well in the written test now, all thanks to you.”

“Yeah. You’ll probably do fine. Do your best, okay?”

While saying so, Alisa stroked Marika’s head.

Marika partly closed her eyes, looking like he was feeling good. She didn’t put any resistance to be patted. Soon enough, she looked like she was about to purr.

“Now, it’s a little early, but shall we finish out preparations for tomorrow? Mina, are you staying over? Or are you going home? If you’re going, I’ll tell Katsuto-san and ask him for someone to escort you.“

There are always several magicians, subordinates of the Juumonji Family, staying at the neighboring Former Tenth Research Institute to guard the facilities 24/7. If Katsuto, the Family Head, calls for them, they should send Marika off to her apartment.

“I’m staying!”

Marika’s reply was immediate.

“Ah, for a change of clothes, will you use mine? I don’t think my bras fit you though.”

“It’s just for the night so I don’t need a bra.”

The laundry will dry overnight. If they wake up early tomorrow and stop by Marika’s place before going to school, there will be no problem.

Alisa and Marika were coming up with the same plan in their heads.

“Well then, I’m going to take a bath.”

“Ah, I’ll help you.”

“Help...? I only have to turn it on?”

In the detached building Alisa lives in, just like other housing equipment, the bathroom is almost entirely automated. Both laundering and bathing are done by a press of a switch. After the bath, if the water is removed from the bathtub and the water heater is stopped, the whole bathroom is automatically washed.

She cleans it manually once or twice per month. That keeps it sufficiently hygienic.

“Then I’ll wash your hair before the hot water piles up.”

In the present time, unless the unit bath is low-price, collecting the hot water in the bathtub doesn’t make the showers worse.

“That would save some time, don’t you think?”

“I guess it’s fine...”

Alisa doubted if it would really save time, but she had no reason to reject Marika’s offer either.

The two headed to the bathroom together, wearing only their underwear.

“I’m going to wash my face here before I go in.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Behind Alisa, who picked up a facial cleanser in front of the washbasin, Marika entered the bathroom.

When Alisa finished carefully washing her face and go in the bathroom, Marika hadn’t just finished washing her face, she had also washed her hair.

“Mina, you’re already done...?”

Alisa’s remark was loaded with the implied reproach ‘Didn’t that take too little time?’.

“My hair isn’t as long as yours, Asha.”

Marika replied, seemingly making an excuse, thought it was not one, with a tone that showed she didn’t feel guilty. 

“That aside, come, sit down.”

Marika didn’t give Alisa time to reply back and had her sit on the chair she was using.

She then kneeled behind Alisa and began washing her hair.

Alisa obediently swallowed her words and closed her eyes.

She only answered when she was asked things like “Is it itchy?” and “Is it too hot?”

After washing away the shampoo, Marika took her time, with no rush, to spread the treatment to the tips of Alisa’s hair, properly wrung the hot water off from the towel and then wrapped her hair in it.

“Okay, stay like this for a bit.”

“Mina... You should take care of your own hair properly, like you just did.”

With her back still turned to Marika, Alisa said the words she previously swallowed.

“My hair is short so just using conditioner is enough. More importantly, want me to rinse your back while we wait?”

Marika didn’t listen to her at all.

Alisa, resigned, said “I’ll do it for you this time” and got up from the chair.

“Okay?”, Marika happily replied and exchanged places with her.

Alisa went down on her knees behind Marika and lathered the sponge with body soap. She took the foam into her hands and started washing Marika’s back with particularly gentle rubs.

“Uhya! T-That tickles. It tickles, Asha!”

“Hey, stop moving. Stay still or I’ll wash the front too.”

“Weh? T-that... Hya!”

Alisa slid both hands on Marika’s sides as a warning.

After that, Marika quieted down.

They then washed their own bodies, Marika finished off Alisa’s hair with conditioner, and they peacefully got into the bathtub. They spent a long time submerged in the hot water, but since the bathroom was about as hot, neither of them caught a summer cold.

◇ ◇ ◇

Monday, 29th of June. It is the season with the longest days of the year, so it is already bright despite being early morning. Perhaps the end of the rainy season is close, as the sky is peeking from slight breaks in the clouds, its color a mix of morning and night. It looks like umbrellas will be unneeded.

In the refreshing early morning air, Alisa and Marika exited the gates of the Juumonji Family house side-by-side. Alisa wore the First High uniform, while Marika had yesterday’s casual clothes.

Neither of them has eaten breakfast yet. From here, their plan is to go to Marika’s apartment, have a meal together, and then go to school.

“Are you okay with bread in the morning?”

“I want to eat an omelet made by you, Asha.”

Marika replied like a spoiled child to Alisa’s question.

“Omelet in the morning...? We still have some time, but not a lot of it, so I can’t make anything but plain omelet, you know?”

Alisa smiled as she said that. Her tone had a nuance of ‘I guess it can’t be helped’.

“Then please!... Can’t you?”

Marika begged with upturned eyes.

“Sure, I’ll make it for you.”

Even without that manipulative behavior, Alisa’s answer had already been decided.

“Yay!”

Marika jumped a little and continued to head to her apartment with similar bouncy steps.

“Wait, Mina. We’re good on time, you don’t need to hurry!”

Perhaps Alisa’s voice didn’t reach Marika’s consciousness, as her pace did not slow down.

“Let’s do our best from today on, Asha!”

Marika, who had turned around, replied to Alisa’s request with something completely unrelated.

“Geez!”

In the end, Alisa ended up having to chase the jogging Marika.

...Despite receiving that treatment, Alisa made an omelet for breakfast while Marika was getting herself ready.