“Sorciera… who in the world is she…?”

“It’s me!!!”

“That’s right! It’s me!”

“That mysterious beautiful girl!”

“That S-rank certified beauty!”

“It’s meee!”

“Yeah! It’s Sorciera!”

‘■■ー■!’

“It’s not you, sit down.”

‘■!?’

Though a furious objection echoes in my mind, I completely ignore it.

Heh, without a body, you can’t do a thing.

Currently, I’m at the academy.

Thanks to having a proper meal yesterday after so long, I’m brimming with energy.

I got to enjoy roleplaying as a mysterious beauty under the name Sorciera, helped out Mizuhi-senpai, and even ate meat.

Today, let’s do our best with dungeon rescue again!

“Meat again today… if possible, the good stuff… Oh? Mizuhi-senpai?”

“!? —Ah, Kei.”

While I was on my way to the student council room, I ran into Mizuhi-senpai.

She glanced around nervously before gesturing for me to come over.

“What’s up so early in the morning?”

“N-Nothing. You’re heading to the dungeon rescue, right? Let’s go quickly. Come on.”

“Ah, sure.”

Despite her flustered demeanor, I nodded at her hasty words.

“So, which way are we—”

“To the back entrance.”

“Back entrance? Where are we— Miroku!?”

“Ah, good morning, Miroku-senpai.”

“Good morning, Kei-kun… and yes, I’ve caught Mizuhi.”

With a bright smile, Miroku-senpai grabbed Mizuhi-senpai’s hand firmly.

“Let me go, Miroku! I need to get to the dungeon rescue!”

“With that body of yours?”

Miroku-senpai gently tapped Mizuhi-senpai’s back.

“Ah!?—”

Letting out a strange sound, Mizuhi-senpai collapsed.

“Mizuhi-senpai!?”

“K-Kei, we need to… get to the rescue…”

“From where I stand, it looks like you need rescuing!”

Miroku-senpai effortlessly lifted the trembling Mizuhi-senpai and smiled warmly.

“Mizuhi is out of commission. She overdid it during yesterday’s A-rank dungeon raid.”

“I-I’m fine. It’s just… a sharp pain running through my body.”

“That doesn’t sound fine at all. Here, poke poke.”

“Eek!? Stop it—!”

Poor Mizuhi-senpai. Once captured, she had no chance to escape and was completely subdued.

Miroku-senpai seems like the type who enjoys teasing people with numb limbs.

“Are you okay, Kei-kun? If you’ve also been reckless, I can toss you into the infirmary along with her.”

“I’m fine… I don’t feel anything from being poked, at least.”

“Indeed. Impressive, as expected.”

Please don’t overestimate me. I’m not that strong.

Thank you, Star Reader’s Staff.

‘■■■■’

But I’ll sell you off. No doubt about it.

‘!?’

Ignoring the morning protests of the Star Reader’s Staff, I shook my head.

“I pulled out midway through the fight, so I didn’t push myself too hard. Mizuhi-senpai and…”

“Sorciera, right?”

Miroku-senpai’s smile disappeared.

Her serious expression is terrifying.

“Yes. Without that mysterious explorer, who knows what would have happened.”

“Indeed. But part of why Mizuhi ended up like this is because of her, so I can’t fully be grateful.”

“Really?”

Wait, what? Am I to blame?

“It seems Sorciera interfered, causing Mizuhi to unleash a convergence blast far beyond her limits. The impact was minimized, but not entirely negated. This current state of hers is the backlash.”

“Is she… going to be okay?”

Mizuhi-senpai gave me a thumbs-up without raising her head.

That’s not reassuring…

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”

“Why are you apologizing, Kei-kun?”

Oops.

“I thought if I’d stayed and fought, maybe she wouldn’t have needed to use that attack.”

“Oh, I see. No, Kei-kun, you don’t need to worry. It’s just a mild rejection reaction from exposure to high-concentration magic power. And muscle soreness.”

“Y-Yeah… I guess…”

“Besides, thanks to that, I’ve pushed my limits even further— Ouch!?”

“Shush. Mizuhi, you just rest now, okay?”

Phew, I almost apologized sincerely out of guilt.

“Still, to think we’ve crossed paths with Sorciera twice now… And she’s officially recognized as an S-rank.”

“Wasn’t it said that her ability temporarily elevates other explorers to S-rank? That’s incredible. Who is she?”

The Apis Council’s announcement is something I’ve seen too.

I was shocked to learn about an ability I didn’t even know I had.

Temporarily elevate others to S-rank? Yeah, right.

If it were that easy to create S-ranks, it wouldn’t be such a hassle!

‘■■■■’

Wait, is that actually possible?

So, did I really make Mizuhi-senpai S-rank?

I thought our synergy just led to a spontaneous burst of power… like a friendship-fueled super move or something…

‘■■■■■’

Oh, so that’s a separate thing?

Jeez, this staff is dangerous. I need to get rid of it before I get dragged into something.

Trying to escape reality from the bizarre holy relic, I changed the topic.

“So, um, if Mizuhi-senpai isn’t coming for rescue today, does that mean I’m going alone?”

“Oh no, we’ve already arranged a new partner for you.”

“A partner?”

Miroku-senpai nodded.

“She’s probably in the student council room having breakfast. Would you like to join her for a meal? I made stir-fry with leftover meat from yesterday.”

“I’ll gladly join!”

“And… my portion…?”

Still being carried by Miroku-senpai, Mizuhi-senpai timidly raised her hand.

Smiling kindly, Miroku-senpai said:

“Mizuhi, your organs are strained, so no solid food. You can have a jelly drink.”

“Jelly…? It’s more expensive than sprouts but not as filling…!”

“Sorry, Mizuhi-senpai…”

“No, it’s my fault… My body is weak. I’ll start training aga— Ack!?”

“Okay, no more talk of training. If you disobey me again… you know what will happen, right?”

“…Yes.”

I’m so sorry, Mizuhi-senpai. I feel so guilty I could bow down right now.

It’s true that without Sorciera, we wouldn’t have won. But we didn’t need to push Mizuhi-senpai to fight like that.

Still, offering help on a whim feels like something a mysterious beauty would do!

Better to play the “good guy” card now before I become a hassle to deal with!

All for my self-interest!

“When you’re ready, let’s go.”

Following Miroku-senpai, I headed toward the student council room.

---

At the entrance, I saw a blonde girl happily munching on her meal.

“And here we have today’s dungeon rescue partner—Toa-chan!”

Toa-chan froze mid-bite when Miroku-senpai made the announcement.

After meeting my gaze, she quickly stood up, bowing repeatedly.

“I-I’ll do my best today! I promise not to hold you back!”

“Ah, right…”

But Toa-chan has more rescue experience than me.

And if she’s replacing Mizuhi-senpai, she’s certainly no slouch.

Meaning, she’s probably quite strong.

“…Um, Miroku-chan, can we… switch partners…? No? Okay… I’ll do it…”

…This is going to be nerve-wracking.