With the rooster's crow, dawn breaks over the world.
Early in the morning, Natsume Sonoko's alarm clock erupted into a chirping clamor, thoroughly disturbing a certain someone's peace.
On her bedside table, four or five alarm clocks stood lined up like a theatrical troupe, a remnant from the days when Natsume Sonoko had ample funds and willfully splurged on unnecessary purchases.
Struggling to rise from the sofa, Sonoko felt drained of energy. She shot a displeased glance at the noisy offenders and silenced each one with a decisive click.
Thanks to her lack of sleep the previous night, she woke up in a less-than-ideal state.
Here in Tokiwadai's dormitory, there was simply no chance of sleeping in.
For a moment, Sonoko found herself wistfully recalling the blissful days at Uncle Mori's place, where she could wake up naturally, refreshed and unrushed.
She noticed her eyelids were slightly puffy, and the dark circles that had once faded seemed to be making a comeback—such was the price of burning the midnight oil.
After quietly washing her face, her tired, world-weary expression—reminiscent of a middle-aged office worker—finally gave way to a fresher look. Much better; it was like shedding thirty years in an instant.
She'd forgotten to let her hair down last night, and the bun atop her head had slumped into a lopsided mess. Sonoko re-did her hair, and soon she was back to her usual, familiar self.
Entering the main hall, she found the lights fully lit and the space buzzing with lively chatter, far more animated than usual.
Tokiwadai's Summer Festival wasn't just run by the students of Tokiwadai alone. Among the crowd, students from Ryouran Maid School could also be spotted. Unlike their usual maid training routines, during the Summer Festival they were specially invited as culinary advisors.
Sonoko drifted through the crowd with an air of listlessness. Honestly, she had zero interest in activities that required her to lift a finger.
Every dorm resident was expected to participate in the Summer Festival. Sonoko had been assigned to distribute festival guidebooks and serve as a tour guide—a relatively light duty, one of the more cushy roles.
"Natsume-san, wait up!"
Just as she was about to step out of the hall, a voice called out from behind her.
"Fujiwara-senpai, what is it?"
Sonoko turned to see a pink-haired senior, slightly out of breath.
"Well, you see, a package arrived for you yesterday. But because of the festival preparations, the mail storage lockers were moved, so some parcels are temporarily being held in the Dorm Supervisor's office," the senior explained after catching her breath.
"I see, thank you, Senpai."
This was a surprise. Truth be told, it had been a while since she'd received any package—letters were far more common.
Who could have sent it? Sonoko's curiosity was piqued.
After finishing breakfast in the dining hall, Sonoko swung by the Dorm Supervisor's office to pick up her package.
By the time she returned to her room, half an hour had passed.
The box was quite large—at least, by Sonoko's standards. It took both hands to hold it, though the weight was still manageable for her.
The return address was in Yatsuhara, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, and the sender was none other than Natsume Takashi.
Oh, so it was from that cousin of hers.
Sonoko suddenly remembered. Before returning to Academy City, she'd asked Ran-neechan to help send some things to him. She hadn't expected a return gift so soon.
Academy City and the outside world were connected by a massive logistics channel—District 11—which handled over seven thousand tons of cargo daily. It was a super-sized distribution hub where all external goods and supplies entered the city.
Thanks to District 11's highly automated, nearly unmanned operations, the speed of Academy City's logistics was exceptionally fast.
Using a utility knife, Sonoko sliced open the box and dumped the contents onto her bed.
Inside were a thick envelope, a small box, and an assortment of unique local snacks. Some looked familiar—she seemed to recall having them years ago at Natsume Takashi's place.
Blinking with curiosity, Sonoko picked up the snacks that took up most of the box. They were all local specialties from Kumamoto, some even homemade by local farming families.
Setting the snacks aside for the moment, she picked up the envelope.
Inside was a folded letter and three photographs.
--+--
[Sonoko, I hope this letter finds you in good health. Thank you for your suggestion that I keep a pet to lift my spirits, and for the gift you sent.]
[The gift you sent was much appreciated by Nyanko-sensei. I should explain—Nyanko-sensei is a friend who lives with me, a cat with a rather remarkable spirit... My aunt suggested I send some local specialties in return, so I've included some things you seemed to enjoy last time. I hope you like them.]
[Oh, and the small box contains a charm I made myself. Wearing it regularly might help ward off bad luck. Nyanko-sensei contributed too—some of the materials inside are made from his shed fur. It seems he wanted to send you a little something as well.]
--+--
It took her three or four minutes to read through the letter. Afterward, Sonoko turned her attention to the photos.
The first showed a young man with a gentle, infectious smile, a strangely patterned cat asleep on his shoulder.
The cat's face was marked with ten short red streaks, and its forehead and body were adorned with orange and grey patches.
"So cute, is this Nyanko-sensei?"
Sonoko's eyes widened slightly as she studied the adorable little cat in the photo. It looked almost exactly as she remembered.
That harmless appearance was just a disguise, of course. In truth, he was a powerful, high-level youkai.
Though youkai seemed even less believable than magicians, like magicians, they appeared to be very real.
In this often bewildering world, Sonoko couldn't help but wonder if these so-called youkai might be espers naturally occurring among plants and animals, or perhaps their descendants.
After all, who could say that the unique phenomenon of innate esper abilities was limited only to humans?
Within the vast biosphere, there were far more non-human creatures than people. Though humanity was powerful, it was merely one particularly privileged species among many.
Of course, this was just one of her own far-fetched theories—nothing to take too seriously. Perhaps youkai were simply conglomerations of some natural energy.
Reining in her wandering imagination, Sonoko looked at the second photo. It showed her uncle and aunt—Natsume Takashi's current guardians.
The third was a full-body shot of Nyanko-sensei, slumped in front of an automatic cat waterer, tail drooping on the floor, the very picture of lethargy.
After reviewing the photos, Sonoko took it all in stride. Having seen so much already, nothing really surprised her anymore.
A part of her even wanted to scoop up Nyanko-sensei and call him by that cute nickname, Nyanko-sensei.
Is that all?
These days, Natsume Sonoko felt she could even accept a bunch of headband-wearing ninja popping out of some hidden village. Maybe that's what they called growing up.
The last item was the small wooden box, unremarkable in itself.
Opening it, she found a rather well-made charm inside, about half the size of her palm, embroidered with the characters for "Peace and Protection."
It seemed her cousin Natsume Takashi had some skill in craftsmanship.
The charm was made of common fabric and gave off a faint, herbal fragrance. It felt soft, stuffed with some kind of filling—which, upon reflection, was likely Nyanko-sensei's fur.
Though curious about the cat-hair stuffing, Sonoko resisted the urge to open the charm. As she picked it up, she noticed a small bundle of white fur tucked inside the box, neatly tied with a thin string.
Sonoko put the box away, then paused and decided to slip the charm into her pocket.
Maybe it was her imagination, or just a placebo effect, but she felt an inexplicable lightness, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.