Night!!!

20:00, when all the plants and good kids are fast asleep!

Well, Chroma is still in festival mode, so it’s noisy everywhere!

It’s been like this 24 hours a day!

But that’s none of our concern!!

『Uwooooooh! Kill the imposter!』

『Is there really a need to shout all of a sudden? We should handle this calmly. And it’s already 20:00, so brush your teeth and get in bed, My Lord. Or you won’t grow up properly, you know?』

Ueeeeh, I thought he was normal, but he’s scary in a completely different direction ＞＜

『Do not worry. I shall sleep beside you as well.』

『Hah? I’m the one who’ll be on both sides of this child.』

『That’s physically impossible.』

While the perverts are fighting it out, I’ll switch to serious mode!

After parting ways with Rokuhara-san and Eina-chan, I just hung out with Hikari-chan.

Thanks to the self-generated event where Hikari-chan drags around Sorciera, my mana’s already fully recharged.

I’m ready to beat the crap out of the imposter any time.

“This is the meeting spot, right?”

Following behind Mizuhi-senpai, we arrived backstage at a certain stage.

This is where Toa-chan was attacked, and also the rendezvous point for meeting up with the investigation team from Chroma.

“Nmm… fuhh.”

“Hikari-chan, are you okay?”

“I’m okay. I drank hot milk to avoid falling asleep.”

“Isn’t that just making it worse?”

Hikari-chan rubbed her sleepy eyes and gave a thumbs-up.

Nighttime investigations really don’t suit her, with her wild on-off switch.

Alright then, let the mysterious beautiful girl give you some candy.＾＾

I always carry candy on me to fry the brains of boys and girls.

Candy from the big sister you admire… that’s the good stuff.

『I’ve been waiting for you＾＾』

The Starreader’s Staff had already locked onto its target.

If we meet again at the Hinotsuchi Culture Festival, I’m going to absolutely shatter your fetishes again.

“Want a candy?”

“Thank you! Oh, do you have lemon flavor?”

“Yes, here you go.”

“Yay!”

Hikari-chan popped the candy in her mouth and smiled brightly, swaying with joy.

Seeing her like that made my cheeks loosen naturally.

It seemed the same for Mizuhi-senpai, who had been tense just a moment ago but now looked a bit more relaxed.

Of course, that’s natural, since we might end up fighting the fake Sorciera.

“We’re meeting here at 20:00, right?”

“Yeah. I believe they said Watarai Ryuuko and a teacher from Chroma would be coming…”

“Ryuuko-chan, huh? She saved me once. She’s very reliable.”

“Is that so? I’ve actually never met her in person… Somehow she just sent me her contact info out of the blue.”

I think that was something about contact info mentioned during the Rei-chan clone incident.

I’m looking forward to watching Mizuhi-senpai treat Ryuuko-chan more and more casually.

“Ah, isn’t that her?”

We looked in the direction Hikari-chan pointed—and there stood a beautiful girl.

“Um… are you the students from Fectom General Academy?”

Ehhhhhhhh!?

A beautiful girl not recorded in the database appears!

Everyone, brace for shock!

『Kuh!?』

『Eh? …Eh? What are you saying, My Lord?』

Beautiful girls are largely divided into yin and yang.

This way of thinking was passed down from the country with three thousand years of beautiful girl history to our own land of beautiful girl origins.

『Of course.』

『Wait, so imaginary things got passed between imaginary countries?』

Angel-kun, you’re getting remedial lessons later.

『Eh.』

Now then, judging by the yin and yang categories, this girl is clearly yin.

And that’s not a bad thing.

Her calm, quiet demeanor gives the feel of an old library.

Her black hair is a little messy and unkempt, but that just adds to her approachable charm.

And above all… she’s got an eyepatch hairstyle!

『—New achievement unlocked—』

『What’s with this announcement?』

This perfect composition stems from a pursuit of balance—a beauty not like fine French dining, but the comfort of a humble diner.

That “I bet I’m the only one who’s noticed how cute she is…” vibe can’t be faked.

O wonderful beautiful girl, please tell me your name.

“Ah, sorry, I should introduce myself first. I—I’m Mizorogi Kogare. I teach dungeon exploration at Chroma. I’m… technically a teacher.”

Her confidence seemed to fade the more she spoke.

Kogare-sensei… this is dangerous for adolescent boys’ brains!

Shy, older teacher with eyepatch hairstyle and black hair—boys are weak to this!

『Isn’t that a bit too specific?』

『Let’s have a special afterschool lesson, shall we?＾＾』

And in that event, when we catch a glimpse of her clear eyes—it’s burned into the brain.

『Wait, don’t leave me behind!』

We’re not waiting.

Keep up.

『Get on this stage already, angel＾＾』

The Starreader’s Staff is in top form today.

Still, the image of Kogare-sensei giving a lap pillow in a room with a ticking antique clock is probably already preserved somewhere as a religious painting.

『Ear-cleaning voice from Kogare!?』

『Just to check, is this your first meeting? How do you come up with so much nonsense from just that!?』

If a beautiful girl exists, then something real is there too.

Not with your eyes—understand the radiance of the beautiful girl.

Don’t look—feel.

Like trying to catch the wind, reach for the essence of the beautiful girl.

『????????』

“Kogare-sensei, pleased to meet you. I’m Terukami Mizuhi, the student council vice president of Fectom General Academy. This is Narou Kei, and Yatsuka Hikari.”

“Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you, Kogare-sensei.”

Hikari-chan and I bowed.

Kogare-sensei quickly bowed back.

You don’t have to be so nervous.

We’re not going to eat you.＾＾

“A-Are you… Narou… as in the Narou family heir?”

Kogare-sensei asked cautiously.

Ah, so from a teacher’s point of view, dealing with a rich kid is a pain.

Having to watch your words constantly would be exhausting.

Since I’ve cut ties with the Narou family, I’ll be clear.

“No. I’m no longer connected to that family.”

“I-I see.”

“Kei…”

Mizuhi-senpai looked strangely sad.

Maybe she’d prefer a connection to wealth?

But no worries—Fectom General Academy’s finances are already recovering.

“Ah, speaking of which, what happened to Watarai Ryuuko-chan? I heard she’d be coming with you.”

Hikari-chan asked, prompting Kogare-sensei to flinch and bow again.

“I’m sorry! Watarai-san will be late. She simply overslept, it seems.”

“I see. Well, I’m glad it’s not due to injury or anything.”

Mizuhi-senpai’s words made Kogare-sensei bow repeatedly.

It’s honestly hard to tell who the teacher is here.

“Then, before Watarai-san arrives, let’s review the details of this investigation.”

Kogare-sensei pulled out some papers from her expansion domain and handed them to us.

They were the security routes from the day of the Hinotsuchi Culture Festival.

“The routes where Sorciera was sighted all overlap with the security paths for the festival. To be precise, it was always near the displayed holy relics. The attack on Tsukimiya Toa-san also occurred behind the special stage set up for those relics. Sorciera has always appeared near relics.”

“…So Chroma suspects that Sorciera is targeting the holy relics?”

“Yes. However…”

Kogare-sensei’s shoulders slumped.

“This evening, an enforcer from Kisou Academy visited… They said it’s highly likely that the imposter posing as Sorciera is moving with a different goal unrelated to the relics. That person was terrifying…”

That’s definitely Rokuhara-san…

“So tonight, the goal is to determine whether this Sorciera is the real one—and, if possible, to clarify her objective. Though I don’t know if we’ll actually get to meet her…”

If we do, I’ll kill the imposter immediately.

『You won’t even let them recite their death poem.』

“This is all we can tell you at this point. I’m sorry…”

“Not at all, this is more than enough. We’re grateful just for being entrusted with the investigation. If we encounter Sorciera, leave it to me.”

Mizuhi-senpai summoned her gun and took a stance.

“I am an S-Rank after all. I cannot afford to lose.”

“What a reliable S-Rank…! So different from Watarai-san, who overslept and called in with a raspy voice…!”

Ryuuko-chan… even the teacher’s treating her like this…

“So, do we just wait now? Should I fly around and scout a bit?”

Hikari-chan raised her hand, but Kogare-sensei shook her head—at that moment:

“No, let’s wait for Watarai-san. If Sorciera is after the relics, then she might return her—『She’s here』…Huh?”

Mizuhi-senpai was the first to move into combat stance.

I drew my dagger, and Hikari-chan unfolded her light wings.

And there it was—right in our line of sight.

A girl with silver-blue hair swaying in the night wind, with a melancholic expression.

Name: Sorciera.

A girl who shouldn’t be here, was undeniably present.

『Partner, that’s definitely Sorciera.』

『Hmm, just as predicted. My Lord, be careful.』

Words from Demonsgear and the Angel carried more weight than anything here.

I positioned myself to shield Kogare-sensei while keeping my dagger ready.

“Eh, she actually showed up!? Wh-Wh-Wh-What do we do!? Nei-senpai’s not here, Ryuuko-san’s not here, and neither is the student council president!”

There’s no way we could calm down Kogare-sensei.

The chilling bloodlust stabbing into our skin was clearly emanating from Sorciera.

“Kei, Hikari. Give it everything you’ve got. Whether she’s fake or real, it doesn’t change the fact she’s a monster.”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

Before us, Sorciera calmly raised her scythe.

And then, she spoke plainly.

“Bring out the Sanctuary-user.”

As if to say she had nothing more to discuss, Sorciera fell silent.

“…Let’s go.”

At Mizuhi-senpai’s signal, we charged.

Even now, the surroundings were still filled with cheerful voices.

Colorful lights lit up the campus, with students shouting and singing as they pleased.

And in a quiet corner of this chaotic, free-spirited Chroma—

The curtain rose on a new battle.