“Ah, it’s nothing, we…” Lirina glanced around. “Let’s wait for Etsuyuki-chan by the stairs ahead.”

“Oh, got it! I’ll be quick then~” Etsuyuki said, hurrying off.

“Mm, this way.”

As Lirina walked forward, Anya followed behind her, unable to suppress a small laugh.

Why is this so amusing…?

They soon reached the stairwell. Going up from here would lead to the floor where the Light Novel Club was located.

“Um, Anya…” Lirina turned to look at her.

“Hmm?”

Even though she already knew what was coming, Anya deliberately put on a puzzled expression.

“Why… um… how can you lie so naturally?!” Lirina whispered, trying to keep her voice low.

Her nervousness—afraid someone might suddenly appear—combined with that hushed voice and her flustered, conflicted expression…

This is too much… I’m getting a full show here.

…Why is she this cute?

Coming to Elsh Girl’s Academy was absolutely the right choice.

“Ah, well,” Anya replied with a smile, “a little lie can be very convenient in situations like that. The truth obviously can’t be revealed.”

“But still… you said it so naturally…” Lirina looked at her, feeling slightly embarrassed about how awkward she herself had been. “To come up with such a complete lie that quickly… Anya, you’re really… amazing.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Anya chuckled, scratching her head. “By the way, I wanted to ask earlier… what exactly is this ‘Light Novel Club’?”

“Oh, it’s a club where we write light novels,” Lirina answered simply. Then she paused. “Ah, right—you might not know what a light novel is. It’s… a type of novel written in a more casual style, easy to read, usually aimed at younger readers.”1

“…Oh?”

Anya nodded, then smiled. “Well, in that case, you’re pretty impressive.”

“Huh?” Lirina blinked. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve only been in this world for about a month, right? But it feels like you’ve lived here for ages. You know so much,” Anya said. “Not just the culture and customs… you can even cook using ingredients from this world… when you think about it, that’s actually pretty amazing.”

“Eh… hearing you praise me like that all of a sudden…”

A faint blush spread across Lirina’s cheeks as she scratched her head shyly.

“Well… I’m just telling the truth.” Anya waved her hand lightly. “So, since it’s called a club, that means there are quite a few members?”

“Ah, yeah.” Lirina nodded. “Besides me and Etsuyuki-chan, there are five other members.”

“Oh, five more… hmm?”

Something clicked in Anya’s mind.

She remembered the time she came to pick Lirina up from school—and saw her walking happily with six human girls.

“…Are they the same six people I saw with you before?” she asked.

“Ah, yes.” Lirina nodded, then suddenly seemed to realize something and quickly looked up. “Um—An, Anya, please don’t say anything strange or do anything strange in front of everyone… they’re all friends I made after coming here…”

“Hm? I haven’t even said anything yet,” Anya raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“Um, because… because you’re…”

 Lirina trailed off, unable to find the words.

“…Haha, don’t worry,” Anya said with a smile. “I won’t cause trouble for you. After today, my impression of girls this age has changed a bit. They’re curious, sure—but completely different from those guys in Heaven. Everyone here lives simply, happily. Even that Takenaka girl just now—she seemed alright. And you said the people in the club are your friends, so they shouldn’t be strange. Acting normally won’t be a problem.”

“Mm… mm…”

 Lirina studied her expression carefully—but quickly realized she couldn’t tell whether Anya was telling the truth just to reassure her.

And on top of that, staring at her beautiful, slightly cool-looking face for too long made her cheeks heat up again, so she quickly turned away.

At that moment, the sound of rapid footsteps—almost like running—approached.

Etsuyuki appeared in front of them.

“Ah… Etsuyuki-chan, you shouldn’t run in the hallway,” Lirina said—though to Anya, it looked a lot like she was hastily changing the subject.

“Huff… hehe, I wasn’t running! Just walking fast, walking fast,” Etsuyuki laughed. “Let’s go to the club!”

“Okay.”

The three of them headed upstairs together.

“Hey, what were you two talking about just now?” Etsuyuki suddenly asked.

See? This is exactly what I mean—girls this age are so curious.

Anya smiled helplessly. “Oh, I was just asking Rina about the Light Novel Club.”

“Ohhh! So what do you think, Harts-san?!” Etsuyuki’s eyes lit up with anticipation.

“I’ve decided to join.”

—Because Lirina is there. She goes to the club every day after school.

—If I want to spend more time with her, joining is the only option.

Well… it’s not a bad thing.

And I’ll get to see what kind of ‘friends’ she’s made in this world.

Those thoughts flashed through Anya’s mind as she watched Etsuyuki’s delighted reaction.

“Whaaat?! Rina-chan, what did you say to her?! She decided to join just like that?!”

Etsuyuki grabbed Lirina’s shoulders in excitement.

“Whoa—!”

She just did that so naturally?

Anya watched Etsuyuki’s hands gripping Lirina—and suddenly felt a strange itch in her chest.

Fortunately, Lirina quickly brushed her off. “It’s not because of me—it’s Anya’s own decision… um…”

They hadn’t even talked about this earlier, so Lirina herself was just as surprised.

That was smoother than before… adapting on the fly.

Anya smiled to herself.

“Hahaha~ The club president and Motoko-senpai are definitely going to be shocked~” Etsuyuki rubbed her hands together excitedly.

“Ah, haha… yeah,” Lirina forced a natural smile, scratching her cheek.

“Then let’s hurry—Rina-chan, Anya…”

Etsuyuki suddenly froze mid-sentence.

Both Anya and Lirina blinked.

“…Mm,” Anya spoke first. “Takenaka…-san?”

“Ah—ahh! S-sorry, Harts-san! I just got too excited… and Rina-chan was calling you that, so I accidentally—” Etsuyuki’s face flushed bright red as she waved her hands frantically.

“Mm… it’s fine,” Anya said, amused. “People used to call me that too. And you’re Rina’s friend, right? So it’s no problem—call me whatever you like.”

Etsuyuki’s eyes widened. “Then—does that mean… we’re friends now?!”

“Oh, so that’s how it works?”

Anya glanced at Lirina’s surprised, speechless expression.

“…Sure. Why not.”

Hmph. You have so many human friends… I might as well make a few too.

“Wahhh… then—can I call you by your name from now on?” Etsuyuki’s eyes sparkled.

“Sure… Etsuyuki, right?” Anya said thoughtfully.

Etsuyuki froze completely. About five seconds later, she turned red and waved her hands wildly.

“Ah—um! At least… at least add ‘-chan’…!”

 Lirina was still staring at Anya in shock.

“Ah… I see. I don’t really understand these Japanese name suffixes…” Anya admitted honestly.

“Eh? Then… um…”

Etsuyuki covered her face for a moment, then lowered her hands.

“Then… just calling me like that is fine, A-Anya!”

“Alright, Etsuyuki.”

Anya smiled. “Anyway, let’s go. There are other members in the club, right? I should meet them.”

“O-okay…”

Etsuyuki nodded and turned to continue up the stairs.

Harts-san isn’t as cold as she looks… actually, it’s more like… the fact that she doesn’t understand these things at all… is kind of cute.

Meanwhile—

 Lirina bit her lip slightly, her brows knitting together as she looked at Anya.

Why does this feel… strange?

When Anya said ‘Etsuyuki’… and when Etsuyuki called her ‘Anya’…

My chest feels a little… itchy.

No, no, don’t think about it!

Stop thinking about things that make my head all fuzzy…!

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