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 96: Brilliant and Fabulous

Chapter 96: Brilliant and Fabulous

[Rachel Poker]

Familiar ceiling, familiar light fixtures… and next to me, a familiar sleeping face.

“…Morning, Hikari.”

Judging by the light streaming through the window, it’s probably just before seven. I overslept a bit today. My breath forms white clouds in the chilly room, fading into the air.

With a head cooled by a full night’s rest, I realize I just can’t suspect Hikari. This girl would bleed to protect someone, cry for someone’s sake.

I’m going to trust Hikari. I’ll believe in the Hikari I’ve known and keep believing in the Hikari to come. That’s my decision.

“Hikari-chan, wake up! Hikari-chan, wake up!”

The seven o’clock alarm blares through the room.

In the end, I still don’t know why she loves me so much—but that’s okay.

***

“It’s great to have everyone here today. Food just tastes better when we’re all together, doesn’t it?”

“I’m fine eatin’ just with Emi-chi and still havin’ tasty food~!”

“Tch, you mean gettin’ fed, right? Food’s food—doesn’t matter what it is.”

“Honestly, you lot have no manners! The quality of a meal comes down to the ingredients and the chef’s skill. As for my preferences…”

“Ain’t listenin’, rich girl!”

“Hehe, lively as ever today.”

The school rooftop. Our usual lunchtime. Moments like this remind me a bit of my days with the Ravens. Just from this morning’s memories, I’ve already recovered five years’ worth of time with the Ravens.

The time I spent with the Ravens has long surpassed the time I’ve spent with Hikari and the others, all in a single night. It’s such a strange feeling.

Looking closely, Wisteria and Kanon really are strikingly similar. Even accounting for them being mother and daughter, it’s practically clone-level resemblance. If they had the same hairstyle and speech, I bet no one could tell them apart.

To think that Wisteria got married, had a kid, and runs a hot spring inn… Five hundred years can really change a person.

“Yo, rich girl, what the heck were you up to yesterday?!”

Hikari said, chomping on a bread roll we bought from the school shop. So unrefined.

“Really, Kanon-san, all you sent back to my texts was a picture of some weird plushie!”

“But, like, I swear I’ve seen that plushie somewhere before~!”

That picture got sent to Hikari, too. When Hikari texted Kanon yesterday to check on her, she got a response in the evening—a cryptic photo of an alligator plushie.

“Hehe, the truth is, I sabotaged school yesterday!”

Kanon tossed her hair proudly as she announced this.

“What, you skipped? Then what’s with that plushie…?”

“That little guy is an alligator I personally captured at the arcade. His name is Washi!”

Washi… If I recall, the alligators at her family’s hot spring are named Waichi, Wani, and Wasan. This rich girl’s got a knack for ridiculous names. Make up your mind—do you love alligators or hate them?

“Rich girl, you skipped school to hit up an arcade? What are you, Karuta?!”

“Hey~! I only skipped ‘cause I got too into gaming, so don’t lump us together~!”

That’s literally the same thing!

“It’s the same thing!”

See? Even Emilia’s calling you out!

“But, wow, from what I remember, Kanon-chan’s, like… not exactly great at claw machines, right?”

In my Sakurako memories, that’s definitely the case. She wasn’t just bad—she was on a whole other level of hopeless. Come to think of it, I kinda want to hit up an arcade myself…

“Well, I’ll admit I was working with a slight handicap. This eyepatch makes it hard to gauge distance.”

Wisteria wore her eyepatch to hide a mystic eye, but does Kanon have one, too? Do mystic eyes run in families or something?

“So, how much did you slip the staff?”

“Kanon Atagawa would never resort to such cheap tactics! That’s such a low-class idea, Hikari—your upbringing’s showing!”

Hikari stuck out her tongue, going, “Sorry for being low-class~!”

“As it happens, I was assisted by a charming gentleman.”

Kanon set the Ise lobster she’d picked up with her chopsticks back into the bento box, her cheeks flushing faintly.

““Tell us EVERYTHING!!””

The group synced up perfectly.

“Around noon yesterday, as I was waging a fierce battle to claim my plushie, someone suddenly called out to me from behind.”

“What, a pickup line?!”

“W-What did he say?!”

“Let’s see… if I recall, it was something like, ‘O elegant, brilliant, and fabulous princess, if you’re in distress, might I, your humble servant, offer my assistance?’”

““LIAR!!””

The group synced up again.

“…Ahem, well, perhaps I embellished slightly, but it’s mostly true. In reality, it was more like, ‘Yo, need a hand?’”

“That’s not slightly—that’s a total rewrite!”

“At first, I assumed it was some sort of pickup attempt, so I brushed him off without even turning around.”

Hmm, yeah, in that situation, I’d probably ignore the guy, too. Anyone hanging out at an arcade on a weekday afternoon can’t be up to much good.

“But a little while later, he spoke again, saying, ‘O princess! I can no longer bear to watch you suffer! Please, I beg you, grant me just one chance!’”

“Okay, stop. Kanon-san, no more embellishments, please.”

Emilia fixed Kanon with a steely, almost intimidating stare.

“Ahem, well, in truth, I got so frustrated at failing to grab the plushie that I ended up asking him for help.”

“That’s not just embellishing—you’re straight-up changing the story!”

And she wanted that plushie so badly she asked a random pickup artist for help? Just buy one!

“He graciously agreed to my request and then coached me step by step.”

“Ooh, Sensei~! Was it steamy coaching~?”

“Karuta, hush!”

Karuta fell silent after a swift chop from Emilia.

“And with his help, I finally claimed the plushie! Before I knew it, the crowd that had gathered to cheer me on erupted in applause. As I held the plushie high, a chant of ‘Nariking’ echoed in my honor…”

“Oi, we said NO embellishing!”

“This isn’t embellishment—it’s the TRUTH!!”

True or not, “Nariking” isn’t exactly a flattering title. Muteking would be better… no, scratch that, Muteking’s awful, too.

“So, what happened with the guy?”

“What do you mean? We played some more claw games together, then went our separate ways.”

“Wait, Kanon, you didn’t get his contact info?”

I thought this was gonna be some big romance story with the pickup guy. Kinda anticlimactic.

“He didn’t share his contact info. He said if it’s fate, we’ll meet again.”

“Kyaa! Isn’t that super romantic?!”

“Really? Sounds like he just made some lame excuse to ditch her.”

I don’t know—never been picked up myself, so I’m no expert. But for someone who went all out helping Kanon-chan, he backed off awfully quick. Maybe he wasn’t a pickup artist at all—just a genuinely nice guy.

Yeah, a nice guy who hangs out at an arcade on a weekday afternoon… Do those even exist?

“Say what you will, I believe in him. And if I do, fate will surely bring us together again!”

There was no doubt in Kanon’s eyes. She truly believes they’ll meet again.

Believing in something unconditionally might seem foolish. But sometimes, that kind of faith can be a precious thing—something you might even call love.

Just like how I decided this morning to believe in Hikari—