"Ugh..."
"Big Sister..."
"Boo-hoo..."
In the room, Kuroko Shirai had thrown herself into Mikoto Misaka's arms and refused to get up, crying so hard she was a complete mess. The sound was downright eerie.
"Huh?"
"Kuroko..."
Mikoto raised a hand and tried to push her away. When that didn't work, she gave up and began trying to comfort her with an awkward laugh.
"Kuroko!"
"Don't be so upset..."
"Whose fault is it that you were so careless?"
"Sigh!"
"I heard that High Elf Solarian isn't just a Great Mage. She's also a Grand Astromancer, specializing in spatial magic. She even handles things like building star gates and pinpointing locations. Her mastery of spatial magic is incredibly impressive."
"But you..."
"She must have prepared a trap specifically for you well in advance. And what did you do? You were facing a mage for the first time, yet you charged right in without thinking. What did you expect?"
Thinking back to how confident Kuroko had been before the match, only to be knocked out less than a minute after it began, Mikoto felt sorry for her—but she couldn't help wearing a faintly amused, teasing expression.
Fortunately, Kuroko was busy sobbing and rubbing against her, so she didn't notice Mikoto's conflicted expression.
"Boo-hoo..."
"I don't care!"
"Big Sister, you have to win!"
"If Kuroko can't be queen, then at least let me be your concubine. But you have to promise that I'll be your only one, Big Sister!!"
Kuroko was still wailing. In her grief, she accidentally let slip some of the sincere thoughts she'd been keeping to herself.
"!!"
"What concubine?"
"What are you even thinking?"
"You little...!"
?
Hearing Kuroko's words, Mikoto's temper flared. Sparks crackled across her forehead as she forcefully shoved Kuroko away.
"I'm not promising I'll win!"
"Everyone