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 71: A Date with Scarlet – Part 2

[Tatsumori Haruto]

──The last time I sneaked into this room, it was the dead of night, dimly lit, and all I could think was, “Man, this place is a mess.”

But now, bathed in the gentle glow of the morning sun──I see it in a new light.

Yes, it’s still messy. But now, it’s not just a messy room—it’s a messy girl’s room.

And that makes all the difference.

Because no matter how messy it is, the difference between playing around in a girl’s room and playing around in an old man’s room is monumental.

…Well, whether anyone actually plays in a filthy old man’s room is an entirely different matter.

“Scarlet, what about this?”

“Oh, that’s my spring uniform. Put it over there.”

“And this one?”

“That’s also for spring, so put it in the same place.”

“What about this?”

“That’s…! W-Wait! You don’t need to touch my underwear!!”

The bulk of the mess in Scarlet’s room is clothing. Most of it consists of Ravens uniforms, and for some reason, there are a lot of them.

According to Scarlet, the uniform design changes once every five years.

And apparently, each design comes with separate outfits for going out and lounging at home, plus variations for spring, summer, autumn, and winter. That’s eight new uniforms every five years.

If Scarlet has been in Ravens for, say, a hundred years, that means twenty design updates. Multiply that by eight, and you’re looking at a minimum of 160 uniforms.

“By the way, aren’t you allowed to just throw away the old uniforms?”

“Well… it’s not like I can’t, but… every single one was made by Brush, and I’d feel bad throwing them out.”

Brush, huh. The girl who interrogated me and, for some reason, was enthusiastically in the “Let’s kill him” camp.

“Wait, they’re handmade? That’s impressive.”

“And there’s no rule saying we have to wear the newest design, so we just choose whatever suits our mood for the day.”

Now that she mentions it, all the witches in Raven do wear different uniforms, yet there’s still a weird sense of unity among them.

Most of them are predominantly black, with red accents.

“Well, I could throw out the summer uniforms.”

“Why just the summer ones?”

“Brush always uses summer as an excuse to make them way too revealing. So no one wears them.”

The uniform Scarlet is holding is a… questionable design. I can’t make sense of how it’s even supposed to be worn, and the amount of fabric is… minimal. The material also seems awfully thin.

“Ah. Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Oh, and this one I’m wearing now? Brush made this too. It’s called the Legendary ‘95 Model. That year, all the designs were student uniforms.”

“Oh? So it was legendary because it was super popular?”

“Nope. The exact opposite. No one wore them. I mean, normally, we don’t care about age, but… calling it a ‘student uniform’ kinda makes you think about it, doesn’t it?”

She’s got a point. No matter how young she looks, a full-grown adult wearing a school uniform is… a little painful to witness.

…Or maybe it has a forbidden sort of appeal?

“Then I guess Brush must’ve been thrilled that you finally wore it, huh?”

I don’t know much about Brush, but judging from this, that girl is probably a huge pervert. People can like what they like, but abusing your position to push your fetish is another level.

“Yeah… She was crying and had a nosebleed.”

“That… is some intense joy.”

…Just how badly did she want someone to wear this thing?

＊　＊　＊

By the time the clock struck one in the afternoon, Scarlet’s disaster zone of a room had finally transformed into an actual livable space.

The mountain of uniforms was gathered up and would be washed and stored properly. Of course, we couldn’t handle all of them at once, so for now, they were placed in an empty room.

Apparently, Ravens Castle has over sixty rooms, most of which are unused. Repurposing one of them as a storage space should be no big deal.

“Phew. We finally did it.”

“Huh. So that’s what my floor looks like.”

Where there had once been no visible walking space, the room now felt almost twice as large. This was a tough battle, but the sense of accomplishment was worth it.

“From now on, try to get rid of any clothes you don’t need or magazines you’ll never read again. And don’t start a new snack before finishing the one you already opened.”

“Fiiine, I’ll try my best.”

Most of the scattered snacks in the room had been opened and left unfinished. The mice were probably attracted by them.

If she keeps the place clean, the mice should stop showing up. With that, my mission is complete.

I’m starving, though. But before anything else… I need to rest.

“Scarlet, how about we take a little break before lunch?”

“Hmm, good idea. We’ve been going at a pretty fast pace, and even I have to admit I’m getting tired.”

Scarlet sat down on the bed and gestured for me to sit beside her. I hesitated for a moment before settling down next to her, leaving a small gap between us.

That uniform really suits her…

“…Hey, thanks for today.”

“Huh? No, I really didn’t do anything special.”

Without warning, Scarlet wrapped her tail around my waist and pulled me closer. Our shoulders touched.

Déjà vu—? No, wait, that was Ys.

Curious about what she was thinking when she did that, I turned to glance at her face—but what caught my eye instead were her horns.

Or more precisely, the ribbon-like ornaments attached to them. Not quite a hair accessory… maybe I should call it a horn decoration?

“…This is cute.”

“Oh, this? Yeah, once I decided to stop hiding my horns, I just went all in. If they’re gonna be out, might as well make them stand out in a cute way.”

Scarlet used to be self-conscious about her horns and tail, always covering them with a bandana.

But now, she’s embraced them with such confidence. She’s really amazing.

“You look way better like this than with the bandana. And this tail wrapped around my waist—it kinda feels like the safety bar on a roller coaster. Very reassuring.”

“Heh, the first half of that was nice, but the second half? Total disaster. Did someone hijack your personality?”

“You got me there.”

Scarlet chuckled mischievously, and she looked so beautiful when she did.

But that smile overlapped with the image of Fuu in my mind… and a sharp pain tightened in my chest.

“…Hey, Haruto-kun, you know… sometimes, you look really troubled.”

“…Huh? Me?”

I had no idea. It must be when I’m thinking about Fuu… but was it really that obvious?

“Yeah. Even today, there were a bunch of times when you looked like you were hurting. You’re thinking about that girl—Fuu-chan, right?”

“…I’m sorry. Even though I’m on a date with you, Scarlet…”

No matter what I was doing, Fuu was always somewhere in my thoughts. I knew that much about myself.

But I didn’t realize it was showing on my face.

“Oh, no, I’m not mad or anything! I just wondered… if maybe there’s something I could do to help.”

“…Help?”

I hadn’t expected that. I thought for sure she’d be upset.

“You know, I spent such a long time struggling with how I looked. I kept running from it. It’s my own fault I ended up this way, so I couldn’t even blame anyone else… I felt completely helpless.”

As she spoke, Scarlet gently took my right hand in hers. Her fingers traced the shape of my hand, as if memorizing it, before giving it a soft squeeze.

“But then… you told me I was cute, remember? That this was just part of who I am. And just from that, my heart suddenly felt so much lighter.

That’s why… I want to say it again. Thank you, Haruto-kun.”

“Scarlet…”

She turned toward me and lowered her head.

I tried to do the same, but… I couldn’t move because of the “safety bar” around my waist.

“So this time, I want to help make your heart a little lighter.

Because… I like you, Haruto-kun.”

With those words, Scarlet leaned in and kissed me.

A soft, fleeting touch—just a gentle brush of lips against lips.

“…Uh… wait… what…?”

“L-Let’s, um… let’s eat now, okay…?”

I was flustered, but Scarlet was at least ten times more flustered, her face burning red.