Seraphim is a Bystander

School Trip Day 1: Final Destination
—Aoi's Point of View—
 

My consciousness was hazy—like I was watching something important from a distance… or perhaps seeing nothing at all.
From somewhere, I heard a familiar voice. Someone I was used to hearing.
“Hey… Aoi-kun!”
“…Huh?”

Suddenly, Runa-chan’s face was right in front of me, peering into mine.
Looking around, I remembered—we had arrived at the final destination of our first day on the school trip: the residence of the god.
“Aoi-kun, are you okay? Sasaki-kun was the same, but you’ve been kinda spaced out all day.”
“O-oh, I’m fine! I guess I didn’t sleep much last night ‘cause I was so excited. Just spaced out a little, that’s all.”

“I see… Well, don’t push yourself, okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Runa-chan.”
I gave her a reassuring smile to brush off her concern while I pieced together my memories of what had just happened.

Shortly after we arrived in Kyoto and started our free exploration, Sasaki-kun—no, Rei-kun—started acting strange.
At our first destination, one of the god’s retainers told us ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) something had latched onto him.
Not long after we left the place where the god was born, Rei-kun got possessed by a spirit.
Thanks to the angel I saw in that dream, I awakened the and managed to save him.
I still didn’t know who that angel in the dream really was, or why I could use the ,
but I decided not to dwell on it too much for now and just enjoy the trip.
After rejoining our group, we toured Kyoto together—eating delicious food, visiting beautiful spots, and occasionally purifying any spirits that got too close.
Eventually, we arrived at our final destination: the god’s residence.
…I remember all of that. Or at least, I should.
But I feel like something happened after we passed through the torii gate…

“Aoi-kun! It’s amazing! Come on, hurry!”
“Ah, yeah! I’m coming!”
I must’ve zoned out again. Runa-chan, who had just been in front of me, was now a short distance away, calling me over.
…Well, I have been through a lot today. I’m probably just tired.
But this is a school trip—I’ve gotta switch gears and enjoy it to the fullest!

“…It’s incredible.”
As I rejoined everyone and looked up at the god’s residence again, I could clearly feel the divine aura emanating from it.
Even though I only awakened to spiritual sensitivity a few hours ago, it was unmistakable.
“Th-this place’s atmosphere… it’s kind of like your flame, Aoi-kun.”
“Really? …Now that you mention it, yeah, it is kind of similar.”

Rei-kun was right.
It had the same kind of aura as —one that not only repelled evil spirits but outright erased them.
Though… something about it felt fundamentally different from my flame.
“...Nyaa~”
“Hm? A cat?”

Suddenly, I heard an adorable meow near my feet.
Looking down, I saw a beautiful cat sitting calmly beside me.
“Wow! Kitty, where did you come from?”
“…Nya.”

Runa-chan, delighted, reached out to pet the cat,
but with a dismissive mewl, the cat turned its face away from her.
Rejected, she stepped back sadly, while the cat remained at my feet, staring up at me.
“What’s wrong? Do you need something from me?”
The way it stared at me reminded me of Ao, probably being smothered by my little brother back home.
I knew cats didn’t usually like to be pet out of the blue, but I couldn’t help myself and slowly reached out a hand.

“Nya~u.”
“Whoa, you’re so soft…”
The beautiful cat, who had just snubbed Runa-chan, was now rubbing itself against my hand like it couldn’t get enough.
It was even pressing its body into my palm, practically begging for more.

“Ugh… Even cats prefer beautiful people like you, huh, Aoi-kun…”
“Huh? Did you say something, Runa-chan?”
“N-nothing!”

“Nya~u?”
I thought I heard her mumble something, but the cat let out a short meow as if to scold me for looking away,
so I quickly resumed petting it.
Still… why was there a cat here?
There was a sign at the entrance saying no animals allowed, wasn’t there?
“Hmm… Where’d you come from, little guy? Did you wander in here?”

“Nya!”
“Whoa!”
As if responding to my question, the cat leapt up in a flash and perched neatly on my shoulder.
For its size, it was surprisingly light and seemed to settle in like it was wrapping around my neck.

“Hey, Aoi! What’s with the cat? You find that thing somewhere?”
“Ah, Ken. I’m not really sure where it came from, but it seems to have taken a liking to me.”
“So now even animals are falling for you, huh?”

“What kind of phrasing is that?”
“Nothin’. Still, this place has a no-pets rule. Even if someone brought it as their pet, it’s kinda bad news, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true…”

Just as Ken said, if this cat was someone’s pet and they broke the rule without knowing, we couldn’t do much about it.
We should probably leave the cat with the shrine staff.
“Alright. I’m gonna go find someone from the shrine and hand this kitty over. You guys go on ahead, okay?”
“Sure thing. I’ll let the others know—just don’t take too long.”

“Thanks, Ken.”
And so, I set off on my second solo errand of the day.