Hospital, Private Room
"Hello hello, testing, one two three, three two one. Elysia, can you hear me, my dear Elysia?" Kiyono Inori lifted Elysia Cat and held her at eye level.
It was Thursday, but because she had caught a cold, Kiyono had to behave and stay in the hospital.
Fairy magic included healing magic.
In theory, it could ease cold symptoms. But it seemed to work best if she stayed in the hospital, and even better if she stayed under the blanket.
Very mysterious.
Considering the nature of Fairy Magic: Fairy Tale Chronicle, Kiyono guessed that when the young pink piggy-cat created this magic, she innocently believed that going to the hospital and curling up under the covers helped recovery. As a result, the magic's effect increased when those conditions were met.
The result was that lying in the hospital bed, Kiyono felt completely healthy.
But once she got out of bed, she felt faintly weak. When she tried to take the elevator to school, the unique sense of weightlessness made her head spin.
It ended with her being imprisoned in the hospital bed.
She could not feel sick under the blanket, and she could not sleep. She was bored out of her mind. And Elysia on the other end of the Parallel Universe Intercom was not responding.
The artifact Curiousity Killed the Cat contained a contact module as a branching point, but something seemed wrong. Which step had gone wrong?
Case cracked.
After Uika left yesterday, she and Elysia Cat played around, named the artifact, played some more.
Then watched a movie.
It was basically a tea party atmosphere.
She had mentioned it casually, but she never taught Elysia how to use the part of the artifact driven by Honkai energy.
Yeah. That was on her.
She hoped Elysia could figure it out herself and establish contact with this world. Still, it was boring, meow.
She turned her gaze to the cat system.
With 2400 cat biscuits and an artifact Star Rail Special Ticket, she could summon another cat anytime.
But—
Unfair, so unfair, meow! I was gone for just a few hours and you already have another cat? That's it! I'm ignoring you for thirty seconds, meow meow meow! Apologizing won't work, meow meow meow!
She could already hear it.
Elysia Cat's meows echoed in her head.
Forget it. She would wait until Elysia Cat was back. Elysia Cat's luck was probably better than hers.
If she pulled from the Honkai Star Rail guaranteed banner and got a suitable cat, like Herta Cat, Ruan Mei Cat, or Acheron Cat, then fifty percent of the Finality of the Previous Era would be solved, right?
Kiyono Inori: (⊙_⊙)
Just as the bored girl was debating whether to exchange the scepter component in the shop or simply use the Pioneer of the Stars to see what was going on—
Her phone received a message.
From Donuts or Soda.
Sumita Mana.
"Mana: Inori, are you free (☆_☆)?"
"Inori: image.jpg"
She sent a hamster peeking meme.
"Mana: Hehe, it's a weekday. Don't you want to know how Mana knows you're free!"
"Inori: I am curious."
"Mana: image.jpg"
The photo showed Mana eating a meat bun, with Elysia Cat perched on her head, staring longingly at the bun.
"Mana: Hehe, Uika-chan sent it to me! I didn't expect you and Uika to be classmates. After coming to Tokyo, you made new friends and even raised a cute cat. That's wonderful."
"Inori: It really is. I'm very lucky."
Kiyono Inori was actually a little socially anxious.
Especially with girls.
She had seen this before.
"You have violated the School Justice Act, crime of early romance. I, the dean, hereby strip you of all rights and sentence you to notify your parents and write a thousand-word self-criticism. Surrender now!"
That was what school management had been like before her reincarnation. It indirectly led to her being bad at communicating with girls even after she was reborn as one.
As for boys.
First, she was very aware of how she looked. Second, she was straight. Well, now maybe not. In any case, she liked girls. So after reincarnation she did not interact much with boys either.
Family background, grades, looks.
All three were top-tier. From childhood to now, she had basically had no friends. After all, she had the soul of a seventeen-year-old. She had nothing to talk about with kids.
Her body was weak, she got sick easily, and most of the time she stayed at home. Outdoor activities were rare.
In middle school.
Some girls tried to befriend her. They chatted excitedly, and she could only reply with silence or a few words.
She simply did not know what to say. But combined with her circumstances, people usually judged her as aloof. Gradually, she became immune to the concept of friendship.
She did not really mind.
Yet when she talked with Elysia Cat, or when she herself turned into a cat and talked with Elysia, her social anxiety never really triggered. She never felt at a loss for words.
Maybe… because it was just a cat?
Compared to confiding in friends or family, many people preferred talking to their pets. Kiyono had once read a fun scientific report about that.
"Mana: Inori, Mana is free today too. How about I come visit you after work? We haven't seen each other in a while."
"Inori: Sure."
"Mana: Oh, is that a yes? I thought you'd say it's fine, no need to come."
"Inori: Well… even if I said that, you'd come anyway, right?"
"Mana: That's right. You know me pretty well."
User Donuts or Soda invited you to join group chat Unified Chaos Age Sumimi Conquest of the World.
Kiyono Inori: (O_o)
The reaction speed was too fast. The group name was too abstract.
"Mana: image.jpg"
By the time she clicked in and realized what kind of group she had joined, it was already too late. Sumita Mana had sent several welcome stickers with little seal heads.
"Inori: I! Am! Not! Forming! A! Band!"
"Uika: Wow, why is it Inori-sama!" Misumi Uika sent several shocked Tom from Tom and Jerry stickers.
"Mana: What are you talking about? What band? It's just a casual daily chat group. But if Inori wants to play, Sumimi could use another keyboardist."
"Uika: Wow, Inori-sama plays keyboard!" She switched to a bouncing celebration sticker.
"Inori: Stop spamming! Pay attention in class! Misumi Uika, who can't even make top fifty in the monthly exam!"
"Uika: Waaah, I'm sorry, I'll never do it again. But I'm not actually in school right now… am I allowed to say that?"
"Mana: So scary, little Inori!"
"Uika: So scary, little Inori!"
Kiyono Inori: (⊙_⊙)
She had accidentally wandered into a girl band chat group, but it was actually really fun. It was already reshaping her impression of band girls.
So then!
You, Misumi Uika, are definitely suspicious, right? How are you having so much fun with Miss Donuts? This is nothing like the image she had in mind of that blond girl with twisted screaming and shadowy crawling. Not even close.
…
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Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.