Miyume, having run out of things to do, was at a loss.

She sat on a random bench, idly fiddling with the tablet in her hands to pass the time.

“I’m bored…”

“Yeah, me too.”

Beside her, Toa, who had been asked by Kei to stay close, was gazing blankly at the sky.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“I’ve already completed all the courses. All that’s left is my graduation thesis and an invention as my final project. Well, my sister and Luka-san occasionally assign me extra tasks, though.”

“I-I see.”

She said it so casually—it was clear she was a genius.

Toa looked at Miyume with a hint of envy.

As for Miyume, she still looked as bored as ever.

“What about you, Toa-chan?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, don’t you have classes?”

“Ah… I don’t. I can’t afford to hire a teacher.”

“Eh…”

The “Eh” that escaped Miyume’s lips carried various emotions.

(If she gets a bad impression of Fectom Academy here, she might not want to come!)

The dorms and school building were falling apart.

The autonomous district had no income source, and to top it off, there were only four students and one Demonsgear.

Classes weren’t properly conducted, mostly consisting of self-study or dungeon rescue missions.

According to Miroku, it was the perfected form of a free school culture.

According to Mizuhi, it was a battle-focused academy designed for immediate real-world application.

When written out, the reality of it sounded terrifying.

People who enrolled either had no other options or had been lured in by the promise of free tuition.

Toa, fully aware of this, hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

“B-but it’s only just beginning! Mizuhi-chan is S-rank! Miroku-chan and Kei-kun are here too! And Nana-chan is, um… well, she’s harmless as long as you don’t touch her!”

“As long as you don’t touch her.”

“Yes! As long as you don’t touch her…!”

Currently, the only person who dared to touch Nana was Miroku when she was clearly under the influence of something extremely questionable.

“And the debt… well, it’s been, um, settled! Things are really looking up now! Fectom Academy is an amazing place! Really!”

“I-I see.”

Before she knew it, Toa had leaned in, speaking with fervent enthusiasm while nodding repeatedly.

“Right now, everyone can have their own room! And classrooms are available whenever you want!”

“Oh, that sounds great for experiments.”

“Right, right?”

Toa deliberately omitted the fact that Miroku’s approval was an entirely different matter.

“So, if anything happens, you can always come to us. Anytime.”

“Are you sure? I might end up being a bother.”

“It’s not a bother at all. Don’t worry, no problem at all!”

The relentless recruitment spirit of Fectom had successfully been passed down from her seniors to Toa.

Seeing Toa so eager, Miyume was slightly taken aback but found herself enjoying the conversation.

It was an ordinary moment, but thinking about it, having a chat like this with someone her age was a rare and valuable experience for Miyume.

(So this is what having friends feels like.)

It wasn’t a bad feeling at all.

“Tell me more. Toa-chan, your stories about Fectom are really interesting.”

“Really!? Then, then—”

Just as Toa was about to continue her perfect sales pitch about Fectom—

A loud crashing sound erupted behind them, loud enough to drown out Toa’s voice.

At the same time, a small “Guh!” that sounded like a stifled scream rang out.

“Huh?” “Huh?”

Turning around from their bench, they saw a pile of cardboard boxes… and a hand sticking out from it.

■

“Thank you so much! You really saved me!”

The girl they rescued from the pile of cardboard boxes bowed her head deeply in gratitude.

Compared to the stacked boxes, her small stature made her seem even tinier.

“Uh, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine! See? I’m perfectly fine!”

The girl bounced up and down energetically, proving her point.

Her golden hair shimmered under the sunlight, making her look almost like a playful fairy.

“Whew, for a moment, I thought I was done for. Yep, yep.”

Nodding to herself, she alternated glances between Miyume and Toa before suddenly exclaiming, “Ah!”

Then, before Toa could react, she grabbed her hands and started shaking them vigorously.

“You! You’re that person! The one who fought me when I wasn’t myself!”

“Huh?”

Miyume tilted her head in confusion.

“Um… oh, I remember now! You’re the one who shot your teammate from behind! With that super powerful focused cannon blast!”

Miyume abruptly turned to Toa.

Toa, her face drained of color, silently shook her head.

“Uh, um… Could this be some kind of misunderstanding?”

“No, it’s not. I saw it happen. Your bombardment made the red-haired person go boom and get stronger!”

“…Ah. Oh! Are you talking about what happened at Kiso Academy?”

The girl nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes!”

Then, she bowed gracefully once more.

“Thank you so much for that time! In the end, I was saved too!”

“…Toa-chan, who is this person?”

Before Toa could answer Miyume’s question, the girl spoke up loudly.

“I’m Yatsuka Hikari! I used to be part of the vigilante corps at Kiso Academy! Nice to meet you!!!!!”

“Oh, uh. I’m Kūna Mirume.”

“Mirume-chan!”

“Uh, yeah?”

“That’s a great name!!”

“…Thanks! Hikari-chan, your name is great too!”

“Thank you! That makes me really happy!”

Watching the two of them get louder and louder, Toa realized she was the only one being left behind.

Mirume, who wasn’t easily fazed, and Hikari, a naturally energetic girl, seemed to have a synergy that made them instantly close.

Toa, on the other hand, was left feeling an inexplicable sense of defeat and isolation.

“Uh, um, my name is Tsukimiya Toa.”

“Okay! Toa-chan, looking forward to getting along with you!”

“Ah, um, yeah.”

Overwhelmed by her energy, Toa could only manage a response.

She’d never been around someone like this before, so there was nothing in her communication arsenal to deal with such an energetic person.

“…Wait, do you not remember me?”

“Huh? Uh, um…”

Seeing Toa struggling to respond, Hikari stepped forward.

Then, she ruffled her own hair wildly, making a mess of it, and spoke.

“…Hmm, will this jog your memory? Though, we only met for a brief moment.”

The lively atmosphere Hikari had been exuding suddenly vanished, replaced by an intense, seasoned aura.

Perhaps out of habit, she traced her fingers along her neck in a scratching motion.

“H-Hikari-chan, uh, you’re acting a bit strange…”

“Uh… Professor?”

As Mirume looked confused and Toa tilted her head, Hikari’s face instantly brightened again, and she nodded.

“Yes, yes! What do you think? Don’t I look just like them? Toa-chan, you’re surprisingly not shocked!”

“Really? If you’ve seen the real person, it’s so different that it’s not surprising. Hikari-chan, you’re cute.”

“Ugh… But when I did this to Kram, he totally panicked and almost cried…”

“Wait, that’s not a funny joke, right?”

“I tricked him so well he almost lost it…”

“You are never doing that again, okay?”

Hikari nodded obediently.

Though, whether she actually understood was another matter.

Toa decided it was best to change the subject before this conversation went any further.

“So, Hikari-chan, why are you carrying such a ridiculous number of cardboard boxes?”

It was a towering pile, at least five meters high.

Apparently, Hikari had been hauling them all by herself up until now.

“Actually, I was hospitalized until yesterday. I was discharged this morning, and I wanted to show my gratitude, so I wandered around the academy. But no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find Luka-san anywhere. So instead, I decided to help people at random to repay my debt in any way I could!!!!”

“O-oh, I see…”

“You were treated at Luka-san’s place?”

“Yes! That person is amazing! I was practically one step away from death, and they completely cured me!”

Her words alone were enough proof—

If anything, she seemed too full of energy.

“As expected of Luka-san.”

“I’m really dumb, so I totally respect super smart people like that! And this academy is a place where all those incredibly smart people gather. That’s why I’m repaying my gratitude through physical labor!”

Saying that, Hikari patted the boxes.

“What’s inside the boxes?”

“Apparently, they’re reports. Right now, the entire Zilnius Academy’s servers are being hacked at the same time, and there have been intrusions into research facilities and labs. Since losing critical reports would be disastrous, everyone is writing them by hand instead. I feel a connection to them since I’m also old-school!”

“Huh… Wait, Zilnius Academy is being hacked!?”

“Yes!!! I heard it’s really bad!”

“Haha, no way! Their encryption algorithms change every minute, and their security is reinforced by the Holy Relic, Laplace’s Clock. There’s no way anyone could break through that!”

Zilnius Academy prided itself on being masters of cyber warfare.

Since their research involved dungeons, they naturally had a vast amount of classified information, which meant their security programs were far more advanced than those of other academies.

There was no way an impenetrable fortress like that could be breached.

“If that’s true, then someone even smarter must be doing the hacking!”

“Can you just call that smart…?”

“Hmm, I’m not an expert, so I doubt I’d be much help. If Nico-san were here, they could probably handle it, but right now, everyone is chasing after Sorciera…”

“Huh? Sorciera? Then—ah.”

Hikari suddenly seemed to remember something.

She shut her mouth.

Then, she slapped herself.

“”Hikari-chan!?””

“Sorry. I almost forgot Kram’s request. I don’t know anything about Sorciera. That’s all I know!”

“That’s called knowing ignorance.”

“Yes!”

With that, Hikari stacked three boxes on top of each other and easily lifted them.

“It’s about time for me to go! I need to deliver these reports to the lab!”

“You’re carrying them all by yourself?”

“Yes!”

Toa’s question was met with a bright smile from Hikari.

Behind her, a large stack of cardboard boxes was still piled up.

“How have you been carrying these up until now?”

“Fufufu, I’m glad you asked! Let me show you my true form… Light Wings, release!”

From Hikari’s back, four pairs of luminous wings emerged.

Seeing them, shaped as if light had been carved into wings, Miyume curiously approached.

“I-Is this all magic power!? Whoa, amazing! High-output magic power, controlled with such precision to maintain this form… Even if it’s ability-based, everything about it is top-tier. Incredible, you must be a really high rank!”

“I’m still D-rank! Due to various circumstances, I’ve gained absolutely nothing!”

Hikari declared this with great confidence.

Understanding the situation to some extent, Toa was at a loss for words, while Miyume tilted her head.

“However, I have gained even greater power. I now have two mode-change options, and reaching A-rank is only a matter of time!”

“That’s amazing!”

“Yes! I am amazing! So, I have been carrying the boxes like this!”

Hikari manipulated her wings like giant hands and lifted all the cardboard boxes in the area.

Then, she nodded proudly.

“How about this? I am now a human truck!”

“Whoa…”

Miyume muttered as she looked up at the boxes.

Surprisingly, the Light Wings seemed well-suited for transport.

“That certainly makes carrying them easier. …Hikari-chan?”

Calling out to her, Toa noticed something was off.

Hikari, who had been so energetic just moments ago, now seemed drowsy, her lively voice completely absent.

“Afuuh…”

With a soft sigh, the Light Wings vanished.

“”Eh?””

Before they could do anything, Hikari was once again buried under a mountain of cardboard boxes.

■

“I’m so sorry! Not just once, but twice!”

Still holding a cardboard box, Hikari energetically bowed her head.

“Don’t overdo it, okay?”

“Yes! Thanks for helping out!”

“Well, we were free anyway…”

The three of them carried the boxes together.

Miyume, as a competent explorer, Hikari now using her Light Wings more sparingly, and Toa…

“Toa-chan, isn’t that heavy?”

“Huh? I don’t think so…”

She was carrying the largest stack of boxes.

Though they were tied together for easier handling, the sheer volume made it look like she was a walking tower.

“Compared to Artemis’s Impact, this is nothing.”

“If you say so… Well, if you’re fine with it…”

Tilting her head, Toa wondered if she’d said something odd, while Hikari looked at her with admiration.

“Amazing…! Someday, I want to obtain my ultimate form and become that strong too!”

“You’re really aiming for a very physical kind of strength… Oh, isn’t this the place?”

Upon reaching their destination, Miyume pointed with her chin.

“Ah, you’re right!”

Carefully, they set the boxes down one by one. Once everything was placed, Hikari smiled brightly.

“Thank you. That was a great help.”

“Is this the last of it? If you need, we can stick around.”

“No, that’s all. …Actually, I have a small request.”

Lowering her voice slightly, Hikari spoke to them.

“I’ve been doing this without telling my childhood friend. If she finds out, she’ll definitely be super mad. It’s terrifying. So, if anyone asks about me, please keep it a secret!”

“Ah, got it.”

“Understood.”

Hearing that, Hikari gave them a thumbs-up, reassured.

“Now, I just need to hand this report to the lab students, and I’m done! Enjoy the rest of your day! See you later!”

With a wave, Hikari entered the lab.

At the same time, a frog suddenly jumped out of the boxes.

“Wait, a frog?”

“Ah!”

The frog swiftly followed after Hikari.

Soon, both Hikari and the frog disappeared into the lab.

“Why is there a frog…? And it’s a Dive Gear-made autonomous weapon…?”

“Uhh, who knows~”

Toa laughed evasively.

“So, what should we do next?”

“Hmm… Well, the Zilnius Academy is currently under a hacking attack, so there’s not much to do. Maybe we should just go back to the bench and chill.”

“Then can we stop by that food truck we passed earlier? They had delicious-looking crepes.”

“Sure!”

Miyume readily agreed, and Toa’s face lit up.

“Alright, let’s go!”

“Yep!”

Following Toa’s energetic stride, Miyume walked alongside her.

(Today’s turning out to be a fun day—)

With that thought, her steps became lighter.