"Whoa—this is! Miki, your tonsils are terribly swollen! What's your temperature?"

"Ugh... I just measured it, and it was still 38 degrees."

"Well then, take this antibiotic and fever reducer. I think you'll be better in about two days."

"Okay, thanks, Dad."

"Now, get plenty of rest."

When your parent is a doctor, it's so convenient—you don't have to go all the way to the hospital when you're sick.

That aside, these two days are crucial... Isn't there some clever way out of this? My voice might return to normal by tomorrow too. The audition was June 10th, right? That's still four days away! Sigh.

I absolutely didn't want to take that audition, so I spent the whole night coming up with a little lie. And then I mustered the courage to call Midori-san.

"Oh, Midori? Yeah, listen. I had my dad check me out yesterday... and, well, he said the drug's effects might be unstable. So, it's not like I'll suddenly turn back to normal, but he thinks the audition would still be impossible. Yeah... unfortunately. Well, see you later."

Midori-san has such sharp intuition; I was nervous the whole call, afraid she'd figure it out.

* * *

The next day, my fever had finally gone down, and I was having a late breakfast when...

Ding-dong.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Who could it be at this hour on a weekday??

"Com~ing."

I quickly threw a cardigan over my pajamas and opened the front door, only to find Midori-san standing there with a scary face, arms crossed.

"Gah, Mi-Midori-san... Wh-wh-what's the matter?"

I was severely shaken by this unexpected visit from the last person I wanted to see.

"......"

Midori-san just glared silently.

"U-um... What about school?"

"May I come in for a moment?"

"Ah, sorry. Please, come in."

Thump-thump...

My heart was pounding wildly! Had she found out? But how on earth?

"U-um... Wh-what's wrong?"

I timidly asked, looking up at her.

Bang!

"Honestly, Miki. Why did you tell such a lie?"

Midori-san slammed the table and got straight to the point.

Whoa, she totally knew!! But howww—?

"Th-that's... I... I just didn't want to do the audition no matter what. But you were so incredibly gung-ho about it..."

"If you disliked it that much, you should have just told me properly."

"But how did you know it was a lie?"

"Ahaha, after that, your dad called to say your tonsils were swollen and you'd be resting at home for a while."

Ohh... Crap. I hadn't thought that far. Dad went and told Midori-san even that?! He really did something utterly unnecessary.

"For that reason, I've already canceled the June 10th thing."

"Huh? So I don't have to do the audition?"

"Yes. In exchange, though..."

"In exchange?"

Gulp.

"Hehe, mumble mumble mumble..."

"Whaaaat—!"

Bonus: The girl on the right in the illustration is a beautiful girl robot who appears in episode 107 of the main story.

↓

The girl opened her eyes and, without moving her neck, slowly shifted just her pupils left and right. However, once she confirmed nothing in her field of vision had changed, she slowly closed her eyelids again.

"Future Miku!"

When Shuichi called out with what seemed to be the girl's name, the girl's eyelids instantly opened this time and she replied, "Yes."

Then, at the same time as her reply, she smoothly sat upright; but at that moment, the white sheet that had been covering her body slithered and slipped off.

"Ah!"

The moment the sheet fell, Miki and Emi exclaimed in unison, just like twins, covering their mouths with their hands.

It was no wonder. Because below the girl's chest, a metal framework and countless bundled cables were hanging down.

"There are still many parts that aren't quite like a human yet, but this girl can adapt to most situations within the scope of daily life," Shuichi added, finding the pair's speechless astonishment amusing as he watched.