"Kujou... Senpai!?"
The instant the crepe shop's proprietress finished speaking, something went subtly wrong with both Su Yuzu's face and Kujou Iruka's.
As a longtime regular at the crepe shop — and thanks to that passive skill of hers that let her get along famously with pretty much every girl alive —
Su Yuzu had heard about the proprietress's past before.
The crepe shop's proprietress had once been an Esper with genuine promise. Back in high school, she'd already broken through to the Second Sequence.
Compared to the real prodigies, maybe that counted as ordinary.
But among normal people, it was a gift that came along once in ten thousand.
Her life should have gone something like this: test into Imperial Capital University, become an Operator in the Assault Department, or land some cushy, guaranteed post on the government payroll.
Except... it wasn't until she reached university that the Assault Department's rising star discovered something.
She fainted at the sight of blood.
An Assault Department student — and she couldn't stand the sight of blood.
A bright, beautiful future turned gray in a single stroke. Fortunately, Miss Shopkeeper didn't seem to care much about guaranteed posts.
After graduating she simply came back to her alma mater, rented a little storefront, and went into the crepe business.
That much—
—was everything Su Yuzu knew.
What Su Yuzu had never once imagined was that Miss Shopkeeper would turn out to be Kujou Iruka's kouhai.
Or that she'd recognize Kujou Iruka at a single glance.
Su Yuzu and Kujou Iruka traded a look, neither of them with the faintest idea what to do about her.
After all... Kujou Iruka's identity was hardly as simple as "ordinary student."
She was the Aberrant who, twenty years ago, had set off the greatest Aberrant catastrophe in nearly a century of human history.
The top-tier Aberrant hailed as "The Abyss of Eternal Smiles."
The fallen Empire's First Archer.
If Miss Shopkeeper ever confirmed that this was Kujou Iruka, the fallout would be unthinkable.
Of course—
The fallout Su Yuzu worried about had nothing to do with Kujou Iruka's safety.
Given half a chance, Su Yuzu would have loved nothing better than to pin Kujou Iruka down by the waist and stuff her full of "Combat Records."
What worried her was some blind fool wandering over and picking a fight with Kujou Iruka.
She no longer had Saint Michael's radiant power backing her up.
Apart from soft tactics, her odds in a head-on forced marri— forced taking were just about zero.
Su Yuzu stared at Kujou Iruka's face, tense.
Kujou Iruka simply went on toying with Su Yuzu's small hand and the bracelet around her wrist.
But—
Su Yuzu had experience enough to pick out a few faint threads in that expression.
Miss Shopkeeper probably hadn't been mistaken.
She really was Kujou Iruka's old kouhai.
Before Su Yuzu could think up a way to bluff past it, an apologetic look crossed Miss Shopkeeper's face.
"S-sorry."
"Little Yuzu."
"That was rude of me."
There was no way Senpai Kujou would turn up at Keigunen Private Academy.
Back then... Senpai Kujou had already fallen into the Abyss on the battlefield.
And... she'd taken everyone down with her.
If she herself hadn't been barred from the front lines by her own blood phobia, she'd probably have become one of Senpai Kujou's followers too.
But... Miss Shopkeeper looked at Kujou Iruka's long, pale-purple hair.
It looked so—
It really did look—
The girl sitting across from Yuzu looked exactly as though Senpai Kujou from a decade and more ago had come walking back.
Some survivor of the Kujou family, most likely.
After all... she'd seen it with her own eyes — that one from the Investigation Bureau's Fourth Action Division, sitting there as meek as a house pet in front of Little Yuzu.
Miss Shopkeeper hurried off in a fluster to make the crepes.
The right hand Kujou Iruka had been playing with suddenly turned over and caught her by the fingertips.
The girl pitched her voice low. "She recognized you, you know."
Kujou Iruka let her keep hold of those fingertips. Watching the girl deliver herself into her hands like that, all hushed and conspiratorial, felt rather like teasing a hamster — or some other small animal.
"If I were you—"
"I wouldn't be plotting out loud in the middle of the street."
"Momomiya's ability is Wind Chase."
"Even a whisper like this..." Kujou Iruka leaned in close to Su Yuzu's ear. "She'd catch every last word."
"Then you—!!!" Su Yuzu tried to pull her ear out from under Kujou Iruka's lips.
She glanced toward Miss Shopkeeper in a panic.
And Miss Shopkeeper, busy assembling their crepes, did seem to be looking their way.
"Relax~"
"She can't hear anything right now."
"At least, not while I'm sitting here."
Su Yuzu let out a breath — and then, meeting those deep blue eyes swimming with laughter, realized she'd been played again.
But... right now she was the hostage.
Every attempt to pull her hand away was caught without the slightest effort.
"Sister Iruka seems to remember her kouhai's surname awfully well," Su Yuzu said, changing the subject, groping for a weak spot of her own.
"I also remember exactly where Miss Yuzu is softest."
Su Yuzu nearly choked where she sat.
Fortunately... Kujou Iruka clearly had no interest in bullying Yuzu with nothing but verbal one-upmanship. She explained, "There are plenty of students in the Assault Department."
"But Momomiya was special."
"She faints at the sight of blood."
"An Assault Department student who couldn't set foot on a battlefield because of blood. Hard to forget, even if you tried."
Just then, Miss Shopkeeper came over with the finished crepes.
Su Yuzu and Kujou Iruka fell silent in the same instant.
"Little Yuzu~"
"And... this young lady..." Miss Shopkeeper set the crepes down in front of the two of them. "Please, enjoy."
"Also, it's getting late."
"Little Yuzu, you and this young lady should head home and rest once you've finished."
"Oh, right~"
"This is on the house. Yuzu~ juice."
She winked at the pair of them. Looking at Kujou Iruka's face, brimming with playful amusement, Su Yuzu squirmed.
It was nothing but a pun. Perfectly respectable yuzu juice.
And yet... it felt to Su Yuzu as though the whole world had turned malicious.
Especially in front of Kujou Iruka.
Su Yuzu watched Kujou Iruka tip back a large mouthful without so much as a flicker, then push the entire pitcher across to her. "Drink plenty—"
"It's good for you."
Su Yuzu was fairly sure that line was supposed to be hers.
"Senpai Iruka really ought to try her kouhai's crepes," Su Yuzu fired back.
And then... she caught the strange look on Kujou Iruka's face.
"I wonder... whether Miss Yuzu has forgotten something." Picking up the crepe beside her, under the girl's flinching gaze, Kujou Iruka pressed it toward that small face.
Tracing the outline of the girl's lips with the cream on top.
"Aberrants—"
"have no sense of taste."
Something in Su Yuzu's chest gave a lurch.
"I think Miss Yuzu still remembers what I told her—"
"If I'm not satisfied~"
"Then... I'll simply have to trust that Miss Yuzu can satisfy me herself."
Kujou Iruka set the crepe down, hooked up a bit of cream on her fingertip, and gave it a small taste.
"It seems... Miss Yuzu is a little impatient."
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