The Witch and Her Companion: I'm Just a Normal High School Student, but I Became the Familiar of the Highest-Ranked Witch. Also, It Seems I'm the Only Guy in the Witch Organization I Joined

Chapter 29: Half-Open and Morning Call

[Baba Sakurako]

A company with a silly name, and employees who enter and exit through the window.

Suddenly, a messenger from the Seraph Witch Association appears, and there’s a transfer magic.

I thought I was being taken to the Witch Association’s headquarters, but I ran into Raven…

—

It was the most whirlwind Sunday of my life. So many shocking things happened in quick succession that I’m still trying to process the information and my feelings.

Especially the fact that witches have a special property called “parthenogenesis,” and that romantic relationships between witches are considered normal. This has been bothering me.

In other words, it’s about my relationship with Hikari-chan.

Since I realized Hikari-chan’s feelings for me, I’ve barely been able to focus on what Rose-san and Magenta-san have been saying, and I can barely remember how I got home from the Seraph Witch Association.

Hare-kun was my first friend after transferring, and now finally, Hikari-chan is my friend too. Of course, I like Hikari-chan. She’s cute, cool, and sometimes wild, but she’s also very straightforward…

But when I realized that Hikari-chan liked me in a romantic way, I kind of panicked.

I don’t know what to call this feeling in my heart, this vague sense of unease.

I don’t like myself. I’m a coward, a misfit, and a cowardly person, and I never thought that someone like me could be liked by others. I thought it was a miracle that I even made a friend.

So, I’m still trying to come to terms with this direct expression of affection.

—

But the world keeps turning, and today, I’m in the elevator of an office building again.

In less than a minute, I’ll be facing Hikari-chan again. What kind of face should I make?

—

* * *

As if mocking my worries, Hikari-chan wasn’t in the office. Nor were Atagawa-san and Ootori-san.

“Good morning, Baba Sakurako. Arriving ten minutes early is excellent.”

The only person in the office was Yakuma-san, leaning against his desk and smoking a cigarette.

His complexion was as bad as ever, and he called me by my full name. If Hikari-chan and the others were slightly late yesterday, it’s possible they’re in the same pattern today. Given the earlier time, it’s definitely a possibility.

“Sakurako, how was yesterday? Do you think you can get along with those three idiots?”

By “yesterday,” Yakuma-san meant the day we were taken to the Seraph Witch Association, not the day we were supposed to have a get-together at the office.

After discussing it among the four of us, we decided to keep quiet about yesterday’s events to Yakuma-san and the boss unless necessary, so I had to come up with some kind of answer.

“Well, I think we got along pretty well. Ootori-san only talked about her phone the whole time.”

“I see, today I have to introduce you to another idiot. Be prepared.”

“H-huh. I understand.”

Yakuma-san took a deep drag on his cigarette and slowly exhaled, then stubbed it out in the ashtray. It was a simple action, but for some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Maybe Yakuma-san would be considered a good-looking guy if his complexion wasn’t so bad…

—

* * *

Today is a weekday, and we were supposed to gather at the office early in the morning. The meeting time was 6:30 a.m. It’s currently… 6:40 a.m.

“—Good morning. It’s quite cold this morning, isn’t it?”

The first to arrive, or rather, the first to be late, was Atagawa-san. As usual, she appeared through the window. The elevator must be crying.

“Good morning, Atagawa Kanon. You’re late.”

“Oh, Yakuma, it’s exactly 6:40?”

“Don’t arbitrarily extend it by ten minutes. And it’s Yakuma-san.”

This exchange also happened yesterday. I wonder if this is how it always goes.

“Good morning, Atagawa-san. Um, about that uniform…”

Atagawa-san was wearing her school uniform instead of her private clothes, like yesterday. Of course, she’s going to school afterward, but what caught my attention was that her uniform was the same as mine.

“Once it was decided that I would work for VCU, I had to transfer to a high school in the central district. Due to the procedures, my transfer was delayed compared to Hikari’s. Karuta should also be transferring today.”

Hikari-chan didn’t mention anything about this. But with this, our school will have four witches enrolled.

It’s getting pretty intense. And I’m one of those four.

“I see. Well, nice to meet you at school, Atagawa-san.”

“……If you really want to get along with me, why don’t you change that distant way of calling me?”

“……Eh, the way I call you?”

“You call Hikari by her first name, but you only call me and Karuta-chan by our last name.”

“Yeah~ I feel a bit of a distance there~”

I turned to the voice that suddenly interrupted, and there was Ootori-san, or rather, Karuta-chan, at the window. Indeed, Karuta-chan was also wearing the same uniform as me.

But I never thought these two would be so bothered by being called by their last names.

Hikari-chan asked me to call her by her first name when we went out together, but they don’t know that.

“Umm, is it okay if I call you by your first name?”

“Of course. I’ve been calling you by your first name from the beginning.”

“Me too~ Sakurako~”

Come to think of it, that’s right. But for someone like me, calling a stranger by their first name wasn’t even an option in the first place.

“……Well, Kanon-chan, Karuta-chan, let’s get to know each other better.”

Calling each other by our first names, it’s almost like we’re friends, isn’t it, isn’t it! I suppressed my embarrassment and greeted the two of them.

The two of them smiled at each other, looking satisfied.

“Hey, Karuta, it’s already too late for you to join this nice atmosphere.”

“……I guess it’s no good~”

Ootori-san… I mean, Karuta-chan. Were you thinking about that?

“Hey, Sakurako~ Don’t look at me like that~”

“Tsk tsk. Karuta, you’re always late. It shows your upbringing.”

“Yeah. Kanon-chan was late too, though.”

“Anyway, Hikari still hasn’t come. Shouldn’t someone call her?”

Kanon-chan obviously tried to change the subject. But I have a feeling Hikari-chan is still sound asleep.

“I~ well, my smartphone is still broken~”

“I don’t have a cell phone to begin with.”

The two of them looked at me. I do know Hikari-chan’s phone number, but it’s pretty awkward to call her after yesterday. I don’t know how she feels, though.

“……Well, I’ll call her.”

I opened the phonebook on my smartphone, and Hikari-chan’s name immediately appeared. It’s only natural since the only people registered in my phonebook are my mom and Hikari-chan.

“……”

The call sound repeated from the phone I held to my ear. I was starting to feel strangely nervous.

“……Hello?”

The connection was made. A sleepy-sounding Hikari-chan’s voice came from the other end. As expected, she was asleep.

“Hello, Hikari-chan?”

“……Hello.”

“Good morning, do you remember that we were supposed to gather at the office this morning?”

“……Hello.”

After a pause, I only heard the same reply. A Hikari-chan who seemed to be about to lose consciousness, holding the phone in her hand, played in my mind. What’s with “hello”?

“Really? Do you remember? We’re already past the meeting time. Are you listening to what I’m saying?”

“……Huh, who is it?”

Finally, I got a response other than “hello,” but she was still completely asleep. Kanon-chan and Calta-chan were giggling as they watched me calling.

On top of that, Kanon-chan started taking pictures of me desperately calling Hikari-chan with her smartphone. What does she plan to do with these photos?

…Wait, Kanon-chan has a smartphone!

“Come on, Hikari-chan! It’s me, Sakurako! Hey, Kanon-chan, stop taking pictures…”

Kanon-chan, with her jagged white teeth showing, kept taking pictures with a smirk on her face.

Karuta-chan didn’t try to stop her; instead, she joined in, talking about angles and such.

“……Sakurako? Sakurako!”

Suddenly, a ridiculously loud voice echoed in my ear, and I almost dropped my smartphone. It seems she finally woke up.

“Wow, it’s so cool to wake up to Sakurako’s morning call! Wait, what time is it?”

“It’s almost seven o’clock, Hikari-chan.”

“Seriously? If I leave now, I can just make it! Thanks for waking me up, Sakurako!”

After saying all that, Hikari-chan hung up. Whether she arrives in five minutes or five seconds, she’s still late. I didn’t have time to say anything.

“Kanon-chan… you have a smartphone.”

I took the smartphone away from my ear and glared at Kanon-chan.

“I just tried to be considerate. I don’t like you guys being awkward face-to-face.”

However, surprisingly, Kanon-chan seemed to have noticed that I was feeling awkward about Hikari-chan.

Indeed, it might have been easier for us to talk on the phone than to suddenly face her. I was able to talk more normally than I thought.

“……But you didn’t have to take pictures.”

“Hikari would want this photo, even if she had to pay for it.”

Kanon-chan showed me the screen of the photo she took earlier. It was a picture of me desperately calling. It’s so embarrassing.

“You took these photos for that reason! And no one’s going to buy them!”

“Wah~ Sakurako’s eyes are half-open in this photo~ It’s funny~”

“Hehe, it’s true, it’s a funny face.”

“Hey, wait, stop it, delete it!”