My typical day at Fectom Comprehensive Academy mainly involves dungeon rescues.

Teaming up with Mizuhi-senpai and Toa-chan to spend the whole day helping people—that used to be my daily routine.

But now, things are different.

“Here you go, ‘Nakayoshi! Dungeon-kun No. 6’!”
“Thank you!!! I’ll be going now!!!!”
“Wait, wait, you didn’t even hear how to use it— Hey… she’s already gone.”
“Ahahaha~ Well, I’ll upload the manual, so you can read it on the way!”

Hikari-chan dived out the window, spread her light wings, and headed straight for the gate.
Watching that scene, Clam-chan let out a tired sigh while Miyume-chan looked delighted.
So many beautiful girls~!

Right next to them, Mizuhi-senpai was dragging a struggling Toa-chan off to training.

“Let’s go, Toa. Now’s the time to train hard. If you don’t get stronger now, when will you?”
“Fweh… I wanna go dungeon diving toooo…”

Probably, she doesn’t actually want to go dungeon diving—she just hates Mizuhi-senpai’s brutal training.

I’ve been through it plenty of times myself, and in Narou Kei Mode, I black out at least twice.
The only person I know who can handle it effortlessly is Hikari-chan.

That girl kept up with Mizuhi-senpai while laughing the whole time. She’s literally a mass of latent potential.

“Well, I should get going too. If I don’t leave soon, Hikari’s gonna charge straight into the Special Zone. …Kei, what about you?”

Unlike Hikari-chan, Clam-chan headed for the student council room door like a normal person before turning back to ask me.

Right. Right now, I’m just floating around with nothing to do.

Since we have enough personnel now, I don’t have to go on dungeon rescues anymore.
Plus, thanks to Miyume-chan’s newly limited-functionality ‘Nakayoshi! Dungeon-kun No. 6’, finding dungeons has become way easier.

Even if a duel breaks out over a dungeon, Clam-chan brings a duel-specialized dungeon core, and unless it’s someone on Rokuhara-san’s level, I won’t lose that easily.

Right now, Fectom Comprehensive Academy is functioning just fine without me.

Before, I always had something urgent to take care of, so I just did that. But now, I suddenly have way more freedom.
I could train, dive into dungeons, keep doing rescues—or even cross-dress if I wanted.

『That last one’s kinda different, isn’t it?』

So yeah, I’ve been struggling to decide what to do today.

“Wanna come with? I could use someone to hold Hikari back.”
“Hmm… sure, why not?”

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time tagging along with beautiful girls like this.
I just go with whoever invites me first.

Is this what being a mysterious beauty is like?
Doesn’t this just make me look like some harem protagonist with no agency?!

“Ah, Kei-kun, so this is where you were~”

Turning toward the voice, I saw Miroku-senpai looking my way.
With a sweet smile and a little wave, she said:

“There’s something I’d like your help with. Are you free right now? I really need you for this, Kei-kun.”

Oh? She’s calling me out by name?
Well, no reason to refuse. It’s not like I had anything else to do anyway.

“Sorry, Miroku-senpai called for me, so I’ll go with her.”
“…I see. Yeah, got it.”

Clam-chan nodded, then fluttered her hand in a wave as she left.
A frog was hopping energetically at her feet.
Even knowing she won’t accidentally blow it up, it’s still kinda scary.

“Well, I’m off to the dungeon!”
“Okay, be careful, Clam-chan!”

As they passed each other, Miroku-senpai and Clam-chan exchanged smiles.
So cute~! Such beauties~!

I’m glad they get along so well.

『A warning…? Nah, that’s too much shipping brain.』

Ignoring the random muttering from Starreader’s Staff, I headed over to Miroku-senpai.
I think I heard Toa-chan scream as someone jumped out the window, but I’ll ignore that.

“So, what’s up, Miroku-senpai?”
“Well, I’d like you to join me for a meeting with a company that’s coming soon.”
“A meeting…?”

Why would they want some plain guy like me there?
Should I go as Sorciera instead?

『You planning to wreck the meeting?』

I just wanna do a cool negotiation as Sorciera, y’know?
The only problem is that I’m such an idiot that standing in a formal setting would expose how dumb I am.

“I am from the Narou family, but I don’t think my name carries that much weight, you know?”
“Fufu~ Don’t worry. I’m asking you, not the Narou name. Because you’re the Kei-kun who was with me at the amusement park that day.”
“The amusement park…”

I could never forget.
My date with Miroku-senpai.
Rinka-chan’s rescue.
And my first-ever Super Mysterious Beauty Time.

For me, what happened that day in that place is a memory that’ll never fade.

“I remember. That day was so intense, forgetting it would be impossible.”

At my words, Miroku-senpai nodded with a happy smile.

“Right. Let’s go again sometime.”
“Of course!”

Next time, there’ll be tons of beautiful girls, so it’ll be super fun!
And of course, I’ll be a beautiful girl too, so don’t sue me!

『…Hmph.』

Why the dissatisfied tone?

“Then, you remember the girl we’re about to meet too, right?”
“Huh?”

■

With a bit of extra funding, our school renovated the reception room.
No more holes in the walls or ceiling, and the desks and sofas are brand new.

Sitting on the plush sofa in that reception room were me and Miroku-senpai.
Across from us were a beautiful lady and a familiar kid.

“Do you remember that child?”

Miroku-senpai whispered in my ear.
I nodded.

How could I forget?
That boy whose tastes were completely shattered.

Long time no see, how’ve you been?

“Um, you’re… ‘Thank you very much!’ …Eh? Hmm?”

When the lady bowed her head to me, I froze.
Miroku-senpai hurriedly told her to raise her head.

“P-Please don’t bow, Hinami President!”
“President!?”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice.
Wait, President?! A super-rich VIP!?

“I’m not really someone who should be called ‘President’ yet…”
“No, no, no!”

Even back in the previous world, being a president was impressive, but in this mirror world of Lutra, the title holds even more weight.
With nations losing power and the world effectively run by corporations now, a president is practically untouchable.
No matter the company’s size, being a president in this world means I can’t afford to be disrespectful.

Starreader’s Staff, I might just lick President Hinami’s feet if I have to!
Lick lick ^^

『You just wanna lick them, don’t you?』

I’m not that much of a pervert.
I’d only do it if I had to.

“Please don’t bow so easily, President. It’s awkward for us too.”
“But you saved my little brother, so…!”
“Brother?”

Urged by President Hinami, the kid next to her spoke up.

“I’m Jingūji Sougo… h-hi.”
“Ah, hi.”
“Fufu~ Hello.”

He sounded nervous, his voice cracking.
Plus, he’s been sneaking glances at me this whole time… Looks like I successfully wrecked his tastes.

『Poor kid. Just… poor kid.』

Nah, c’mon.
Meeting a mysterious beauty like this in his childhood is like something straight out of a light novel protagonist’s backstory.
If I were in his place, I’d be thrilled.

『That’s just because you’re weird, right?』

No way~.

“After hearing from this one how you two saved him at Hinotsuchi Land… I had to repay the debt in my parents’ place. …Ah, they’re alive! Both of them!”

Sensing the mood turning serious for a second, President Hinami flailed her hands and added that last part.
Thank goodness…

“Right now, I’m acting as president in place of my hospitalized parents. So, um… you don’t have to be so formal… We’re around the same age, after all.”

Ah, that explains why she’s so young.
This isn’t a world where you can just casually start a venture, after all.

Despite her harmless big-sister vibe, if I were rude, the corporation would probably retaliate in ways I can’t even joke about.
Maybe I should lick her feet!

“If you say so, that makes things much easier for us too. We’ve never had proper corporate support before, so we’re not sure how to handle this…”

Miroku-senpai smiled brightly as she said that.
She’s probably thinking at full speed behind that smile.

Do your best~!

『You should too.』

“Just being able to thank you properly is enough for me! S-So, um, the department I’ve set up is focusing on entertainment for a new project, and I’d like to propose—”

President Hinami clumsily spread documents across the table as she spoke.
Miroku-senpai picked them up and began reading with keen interest.

As for me, I wasn’t really interested, so I decided to play with Sougo-kun instead.

“…Miroku-senpai, can I give Sougo-kun a tour of the school?”
“Of course. I knew you’d understand.”

In a hushed voice, Miroku-senpai agreed.
Still watching President Hinami struggling with the documents, she continued quietly.

“It’s like that saying—’If you want to shoot the general, aim for his horse.’ Sougo-kun is all yours.”
“Got it.”

I see. So I was called here for Sougo-kun from the start.
Since we’re the same gender, it’d be easier to win him over.

Well then, I’ve gotta live up to those expectations.
Alright! Time to completely destroy this kid’s taste in women!

『How does that fulfill expectations?』

A nice big brother might be good, but a first-love older sister would leave a much bigger mark on his life.
I’m just making the optimal choice here.

Leave it to me, Miroku-senpai!
I’ll give him the full Mysterious Beauty experience!

『I’m nothing but worried.』

“Sougo-kun, while your sister’s talking, how about a walk with me? I’ll show you around the school.”
“…!? Y-Yeah!”

Sougo-kun nodded repeatedly.
Hahaha, see this, Starreader’s Staff? My ego’s getting stroked so good~.

『Jingūji Sougo… the person in front of you is a cross-dressing, beauty-obsessed weirdo. Please realize it…!』

Why would I let him realize that?!
I’m gonna twist his tastes into knots!

“Alright, let’s go.”
“Yeah!”

Sougo-kun took my hand, his face lighting up with a bright smile.

“Well then, Miroku-senpai, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Got it.”
“Sougo, listen to what your big brother says, okay?”
“Yeah! I’ll be super good!”

With a wave to President Hinami, Sougo-kun and I left the reception room.
Right until the door closed, I kept up the act of the perfect big brother.

A “walk” around Fectom Comprehensive Academy doesn’t offer much to see.
So instead, Sougo-kun and I wandered around an unused school building.

“It’s been a while, Sougo-kun. Do you remember me?”
“Yeah.”
“I see, I see… You remember, huh?”

After walking for a bit, I stopped.
The crumbling hallway had sunlight streaming through holes in the ceiling.

I deliberately stepped into that natural spotlight.
The smile on my face now was a high-level Mysterious Beauty grin—nothing like before.

Okay! Starreader’s Staff, now!

『Wind, blow~』

Along with a somewhat half-hearted voice, a gentle breeze ruffled my hair.

“It’s been a while, Sougo-kun.”

And now… begins Mysterious First Love Time.