Me, Maria, and Komachi were spending teatime at a stylish cafe located at the edge of the Academy.
.
.
.
I was speechless. Or rather, I had lost my words.
As the representative of our group, I was the leader, and that meant being in a party with Maria.
Why? How did this happen?
"Senpai... Were you in a party with Maria-senpai all this time?" Komachi turned to me, her face expressing disbelief.
"Huh?" I didn't know. I just found out now.
"Yes. Homura-san. I am Amachi-san's partner. Therefore, please refrain from studying together... No, was it practice? If you could hold back a little, I would be grateful," Maria told Komachi with a triumphant look.
I nearly spit out my coffee. The cup in my trembling hand was rippling with waves.
Calm down, me. Don't show your agitation.
I slowly placed the teacup on the table.
"I, I mean Amachi-san and I are not... Anyway, there was a misunderstanding, but he welcomed me as a member in a gentlemanly way. I won't forget that day. He took my hand and welcomed me like a knight. Isn't that right?" Maria said.
"Huh?" I blurted out in response to Maria's request for agreement. What is she talking about?
"Is that true!?" Komachi glared at me.
No, no, I don't know. When did this happen? Chiaki is the only member of my party. Maria is not a member.
I sent telepathy to Komachi with my eye contact, "No, no, it's not true." But it seems like she didn't receive it.
Maria continued to speak without permission.
"That's right. Amachi-san and I... are together. Homura-san is not a party member or anything. We second years have already started our group battles practice. Do you understand? You'll be busier than the freshmen. Please, don't interfere. I'm sure you'll find a good mentor. Do you want me to introduce someone? I know a few people, so I'm sure I can introduce you to someone good."
"Eh? Wait a minute," my panicked voice doesn't reach either of them.
"No, no. It's alright. Our mentor is Senior Amachi!" Komachi seems to be just as shaken up.
She looks at me with cold eyes, as if I were a cheating man. Don't look at me with such a sad expression. It's a false accusation. I'm starting to feel sick.
"Oh, I see. You didn't have to hold back," Maria says, cutting into the cheesecake in front of her with a fork.
I carefully, fearfully handle the situation, like a bomb disposal unit.
"Um... about the party members..."
That was a joke, right?
"Don't worry, Amachi-san. I have already submitted the necessary documents to the school. According to the paperwork, you and I are partners, so please stand tall. I don't want to trouble you, Amachi-san. This is my own inexperienced job. I won't leave any chores to you. Please don't hesitate to tell me if you need anything in the future," Maria said, smiling.
"What the hell!?" I exclaimed, surprised.
I didn't know anything about submitting documents for party members. That wasn't part of the game. And, can she just do that on her own? It's like writing and submitting a marriage registration form alone. This is completely illegal, right? There must be legal flaws.
"Don't be so surprised. This is about all I can do as a nobody," Maria said.
I didn't ask for this. Wait, let me think. I rev up my brain's thought engine at super high speed. Where is it? Where was the foreshadowing? I don't know. Damn it. I don't know! There was no foreshadowing! Is she underestimating me?!
Calm down, me.
Choose your words carefully for what's to come. Draw a card from the mental deck.
Ha... ha...
Open hand!
First card. "When did we become allies?" Second card. "We're not party members." Third card. "Hehehe." Fourth card. "Well, well." Fifth card. "Really... thanks."
Damn it. These are all garbage cards. They're all trash.
"umm..."
I rethink my tactics in my head, realizing that my hand of cards is too weak.
Ha...ha...
I feel like I might hyperventilate.
"Are you feeling okay?" Maria looks at me with a worried expression.
Komachi also looks at my complexion and says, "What's wrong? You look pale."
Draw! I draw my 6th card. Let me show you my best strategy tactics!
"I want Komachi to join our party too."
"What?!"
"Huh?"
What did I just say? Maybe I'm stupid. I knew that, but I was so confused that I made a meaningless remark.
I draw a useless card from my deck. Can I surrender? I lost.
"Is it okay?!" Komachi's eyes were shining.
Huh? You don't like me that much, do you? I thought you would say something like, "I can't form a party with a weirdo like you!"
"Fu-fu." Komachi looks at me and smiles.
Wait, I can't say, "Just kidding." Why are you so happy?
"I am recognized too. Thank you. Being friends with you, Senpai, is great. Oh, by the way, I'll make you a bento next time. Your eating habits are a mess."
Komachi's innocent smile shines before me. Her eyes, which were freezing just a moment ago, now sparkle with admiration for me.
Ah, it's impossible.
I can't just say "that is not true!!" like before.
"O-Okay..."
"I'm glad to finally become a member of the team. Nice to meet you, Amachi-senpai!"
I may have already gone too far to turn back.
I have no choice but to seriously train Komachi.
I don't know if she'll be able to become a reliable ally.
Honestly, I didn't really want to add the main heroine to the team.
They were too weak for the main party, despite being strong characters in the game. They were too weak to be added to the main party.
Since I added Chiaki to the team, I wanted to carefully consider the other members.
Besides, the future is in chaos.
The Maria route and the Komachi route with Kazane are already a mess.
I really want to see a single picture of all the heroines and Kazane smiling together.
Will I be able to complete this artwork?
I have to figure out a way. I have no choice.
Anyway, I can only have four members in Kazane's party.
There are eight main heroines, and the Holy Sword is also considered one.
Assuming I exclude the Holy Sword from the count, there will still be three extra members.
Kazane's current party is as follows:
Kazane, Systerissa, Minami, and Inori.
The Holy Sword serves as a weapon.
The other party has four main heroines.
I can only add one more main heroine to the team.
By the way, in the game Megashuva, Maria and Komachi die in the true ending.
Although the death route has already been avoided through flying reincarnation...
Is everything going to be okay?
The future may already be in chaos...
What should I do?
I need to rethink my strategy a little bit.
Suppressing the tightness in my chest, trying not to show my emotions.
"Hey, nice to meet you," I said, despite my true feelings being the opposite.
"Ahh..." Maria was stunned, in stark contrast to Komachi's enthusiasm.
"So that's settled then. Nice to meet you, Maria-senpai!" Komachi said, bowing confidently to Maria.
"I...it's okay?" Maria trembled as she held her teacup to her lips.
"Senpai said it's okay. You don't have any complaints, do you? After all, you're our leader. If you have any complaints, Maria-senpai, you're free to leave. As you know, I'm inexperienced, so it's only natural for me to take over. Oh, what a shame! Amachi-senpai! That's what seems to be going on. It's too bad that excellent Maria-senpai will be leaving. Good luck to you. We'll work hard to find suitable companions for ourselves, the shadows and the inexperienced."
"I never said anything like that," Maria retorted.
Maria and Komachi locked eyes, tension rising.
"Easy, easy," I thought to myself.
I'm getting irritated. I want to leave. Right now, the only members of my party are Chiaki and the shadow supporters, Kakko and Hisui.
Life never goes as planned. Without realizing it, I became a member of Maria's party and unintentionally invited Komachi to join as well.
So, it seems that my current party consists of Chiaki, Maria (NEW), and Komachi (NEW).
It was decided today, but my plan may fail. I'll have to check the documents later to see if they're legal. There's no way those illegal documents will be accepted.
I slumped over my desk, feeling defeated.