I never knew eating could be such a tiring affair. With everyone insisting on feeding me, I somehow felt like I'd put five slices in my mouth.
Of course, since they were each giving me a bite of what they were eating, the actual amount was probably less, but mentally it felt like I'd eaten way too much.
If I had a normal body, I probably would have been full from the moment the professor fed me that first bite.
Was my stomach a bottomless pit? Or some kind of magical pouch that could hold anything? Pondering these bodily mysteries, I somehow made it through the meal.
I sat blankly on Aria's lap.
"Urr, are you sleepy?"
I shook my head. Aria responded with "I guess not," while running her fingers through my hair.
Maybe because I had too much hair, it seemed to get tangled whenever I tried to brush it, and it took too much time, so I'd given up on it. But having her casually run her fingers through my hair like this felt nice.
"You seem a bit drowsy."
Maybe it was because Aria was big and warm, and with her touching my hair, I felt like I could easily fall asleep if I wanted to.
"Your hair really hasn't been maintained at all."
"Urr's hair is so long that it would take over an hour just to handle her hair before going out. It can't be helped. Urr gets bored with it too."
The professor answered Aria's comment.
I glanced sideways at the professor drinking cola, then turned my gaze forward again. That's when I caught the looks from Sera and Karen, who were cleaning up the pizza we'd eaten.
Receiving both Sera's intense gaze and Karen's subtle one at the same time gave me a strange feeling.
"True, when hair is too long, it's annoying to maintain. I usually keep mine tidy, so even though it's longer than Urr's, I can finish quickly."
Aria's hair was so long it nearly reached her bottom. Proportionally it might be similar to mine, but in actual length, it was much longer.
Seeing that Sera and Karen also had hair reaching their backs, I wondered if keeping long hair was the norm here.
Whether it was the waves in their hair or how they maintained it, the overall impression each gave was quite different.
I turned slightly to look at Aria, thinking straight hair might be easier to manage than wavy hair.
"Should I tidy up Urr's hair?"
"I, I want to do it too."
"...I'd like to try as well."
At Aria's suggestion, Sera rushed over. Karen, not wanting to miss out, squeezed in between her seniors.
Before I knew it, I was sitting in a chair like at a salon, entrusting my hair to the three of them.
"...Professor."
"It's fine, it's fine. Your friends will take good care of you."
When I called out to the professor in a trembling voice, she waved her hand and smiled, as if telling me not to worry.
"How should we do this? Can we brush all this hair in time?"
As Sera touched my hair, Aria let out a small "hmm."
"I think we can manage if all three of us brush it. Karen, do you have a comb?"
"Oh, me? I... I left it at home..."
Karen rummaged through her bag before admitting with a troubled voice. Aria shook her head and pulled a new comb from her own bag.
It was a comb that broke my perception that all combs were basically the same. Instead of being made of ordinary plastic, it had a unique wooden design that caught my eye.
"Take this. You should carry a comb with you."
"This is..."
"I'm giving it to you because you're a junior in our Study Group. It's a common item in the Garden, so don't think too much of it."
Aria's networking...!
It seemed Aria was subtly trying to add another person to the hot spring trip. With just Sera, a one-on-one might feel burdensome, but perhaps she thought the more the merrier and wanted to be nice to Karen too.
That would be fun... No, it might be awkward if I went.
I mumbled "hmm" to myself. Karen, seemingly flustered at receiving such a nice comb, hesitated before bowing her head.
"Thank you... I'll use it well!"
"Sure."
While Aria calmly replied and continued touching my hair, Sera, who was sitting on my right, quietly asked Aria in a low voice:
"Wait... if it's common in the Garden, doesn't that mean it's not common here?"
When I turned my head slightly, Karen flinched and looked at Aria. Aria glared at Sera for her unnecessary comment and sighed.
"I guess it's not common. But as a token of friendship..."
"Then what about mine?"
"Sera, be quiet."
Aria, seemingly tired of Sera's voice, covered Sera's mouth with her hand.
Watching them made me laugh. I wondered if this was how everyone normally played around.
"Hmph, why didn't you give me one when we became friends?"
"...If you want one, I could give you something even better."
When Sera pretended to be upset and turned her head away, Aria casually shot back.
After wiping her hands with a tissue, Aria started touching my hair again. As I closed my eyes and surrendered to the feeling of the brushing, the voices of Sera and Aria behind me sounded like a radio.
"Something better? Better than a comb? Like a hair straightener...?"
"Do you think a wooden hair straightener is possible?"
"I guess not."
"Hee!"
Listening to their conversation, I couldn't hold back my laughter at the sudden mention of a hair straightener.
"...Ah, e-everyone, please continue what you were doing."
The atmosphere turned awkward, and I felt embarrassed. I just scratched my cheek with an awkward smile, but I felt everyone's eyes on me.
If I had laughed with a "pfft," it might have been less embarrassing, but that "hee" sound made me feel real-time self-loathing. As I closed my eyes tightly, I suddenly heard whispering behind me.
Then a shadow fell over me.
In the darkened atmosphere, I opened my eyes slightly to find all three looking down at me.
"Eh...?"
As I made a dumbfounded sound, three pairs of hands immediately flew toward me.
"Karen, brush her hair a bit."
"Ah, yes!"
Karen immediately started brushing at Sera's command.
"Urr is so cute."
"..."
Aria suddenly tied my hair up. Unfamiliar with the sensation of my hair being pulled, I narrowed my brows and stayed still.
It felt strange, like my scalp was playing tug-of-war between left and right. Meanwhile, with Karen and Sera still brushing, I realized just how long my hair really was.
As I groaned and pouted, I felt the professor's gaze on me from across the room.
"She really is cute. I thought Urr hated having her hair tied up since she found hair maintenance bothersome."
"...They're forcing me to do this."
"Forcing?"
When I spoke with my lips still pouting, the professor opened her eyes wide and looked at the girls behind me.
"But Urr looks so cute, isn't that great?"
Sera answered proudly, as if she had nothing to be ashamed of.
"And it's easier to manage her hair this way..."
Aria mentioned the practical aspect.
Karen silently played with the ends of my hair.
After hearing all three, the professor made a "hmm" sound and rested her chin on her hand. Looking at me with an intrigued expression, she asked in a whisper:
"Do you dislike it, Urr?"
"...I don't dislike it."
It was just that the feeling of my hair being pulled felt strange, but having someone touch my hair was actually quite nice.
"Really?"
"I'll definitely do it for you next time too."
"...I could brush your hair as well."
Sera, Aria, and Karen spoke in turn from behind me. With all the attention focused on me, I laughed awkwardly, "Ahaha."
After pausing my laughter, I gently shook my head from side to side. I felt the weight of what seemed like two bumps on my head. The swaying sensation of my flowing hair was strangely addictive, so I kept shaking it, and from behind came voices asking if I liked it.
Since it wasn't bad, I nodded, and Sera quickly took the seat beside me.
"Then should we go shopping sometime? It would be nice to try on different clothes."
"...I already went shopping."
"Huh?"
When I answered Sera like that, all three tilted their heads in confusion.
"The professor bought me clothes. Shirts and dolphin pants?"
When I said that, the professor laughed awkwardly and added an explanation.
"Since we didn't know when Urr might grow, I bought her things she could wear comfortably even after growing."
"Yeah."
As I turned to look at the others with a "that's right" expression, Karen slipped in a question.
"Do you wear those normally?"
"...I wear big shirts."
"I want to see that."
"Huh...?"
Why would they want to see that? Isn't it just me wearing someone else's clothes?
As I tilted my head trying to understand, Sera and Aria immediately nodded, as if such a reaction was natural and they understood.
"Then should we take pictures and send them to each other?"
"You mean showing each other in pajamas?"
When Sera gestured to Karen and Aria with a "what do you think?" expression, Aria questioned.
"Yes, in pajamas. Isn't that what you wear as pajamas, Urr?"
"That's right."
"Then I'm fine with it."
After I answered Sera's question, Aria immediately nodded. Seeing her agreement, Sera clapped her hands.
"Then we'll exchange contact information. Karen, here's my contact. We should make a group chat."
"Ah, yes! Here's my contact information."
When Karen handed over her contact, Aria looked at the number and immediately wrote it down.
"That's an easy combination to remember."
"Ahaha, it's a number my family coordinated."
"I've called you."
"Thank you. I'll save it right away."
After the three finished their exchange, Karen asked me:
"By the way, Urr, do you have the messenger app?"
"Huh? No..."
"Then shall I install it for you?"
"Sure."
When I fumbled to take out my phone and handed it over, Karen installed the app for me herself.