“I’m done! I wanna go home! Go home and sleep!”

“R-Ryuuko-chan…”

We were hiding beneath Baltius’s wings on the rooftop of a building overlooking the gate.

Little brat Ryuuko-chan, throwing a tantrum, flailed her arms and legs while lying on the ground.

“Ryuuko, do you have any salty snacks stocked at home?”

“I do! A mysterious hamburger I got from Tatari-chan with unknown ingredients! So let’s go home! Let’s just leave it all to tomorrow me!”

“A hamburger… sounds great. I, the great me, could eat hamburger forever!”

Rei-chan said this and plopped down beside Ryuuko-chan, wrapping her arms around her.

Ryuuko-chan didn’t resist; instead, she tearfully nuzzled into Rei-chan.

“Uwaaaah! Rei-chan, help meeee!”

“Give me a hamburger and I will.”

Kya-wah-tan! Kya-wah-tan!

Especially when their cheeks go mush against each other—super kya-wah-tan!

Actually, Ryuuko-chan’s completely warmed up to her now! As expected, Ryuuko-chan really is the type to get bossed around by kids!

I respect that!

『Respect…?』

……Now then, what to do.

It’s about time I start thinking about moving as Sorciera.

『Don’t suddenly get all calm.』

Let’s assess the current situation.

Right now, most of the people in the Chroma district are equipped with bracelets and are halfway enemies.

We don’t know the enemy’s goal or location.

We’re tasked with protecting Rei-chan, and we can’t recklessly act out since we can’t endanger civilians.

Looking at it like this, things seem pretty hopeless.

『Well, if you become Sorciera, things will work out somehow.』

Ryuuko-chan’s good at going wild, so this kind of enemy must be frustrating for her.

I want to find the enemy boss quickly and beat them mysteriously in front of Ryuuko-chan and Toa-chan, but…

There’s a major problem.

I don’t know this event.

Did such a totally busted event even exist?

Wasn’t the Chroma enemy supposed to be the Conductor?

Wasn’t this the event where he manipulates a fake Touraku-kun and causes havoc?

What is this? Hey, seriously, what is this?

『If you don’t know, what makes you think I would?』

Yeah, no way you’d know.

And the other three as well—

“Ah, even communication’s finally dead… It’s over… Eina-chan only replied with ‘草’…” (translator note: I translated this and it turned out as grass/herb. I think its just a slang thing. Imma leave it as is.)

“L-Let’s calm down for a moment, okay?”

“Exactly, Ryuuko. Quietly cry as miserably as you want in my arms for now.”

“Uuu… sniffle”

Still lying on the ground, Ryuuko-chan buried her face in Rei-chan’s chest.

Your Honor!

『Mmm, not guilty.』

N-No way!

Crying in a loli’s chest is a serious offense regardless of gender!

It’s envy—no, I mean, it should be judged equally!

What’s the point of the judicial system then!?

“There, there. Cry for now. Then, offer up your hamburger afterward.”

She’s even patting her head!

She’s even patting her head!!

Your Honor, this is no longer acceptable!

Even if she’s a beautiful girl, this is foul play!

『…I see, a “Loli Sorciera’s Gentle Nap Time Voice” situation.』

Have you lost your mind, Your Honor!?

“S-Shouldn’t we at least decide on a course of action? If we keep this up, we’ll eventually get found out.”

I said with a forced smile.

Ryuuko-chan, I also really want to frolic with a super cute loli.

Don’t you think monopolizing her is just plain cruel?

『Is this a setup for a cool-type loli patting session…? Or maybe, since you’re a loli now, getting wrapped up in her innocence is also a charming route.』

Look at the Starreader’s Staff, dude.

It’s gone. Completely broken by your sudden yuri content overload.

“But what should we dooo…? Should I try asking Nei-sensei for help…? If we were in her Sanctuary, maybe communication would be restored… but I don’t even know where she is… and if she has a bracelet and turned enemy, that’d be the worst…”

Who?

Don’t drop the name of someone I don’t know.

And what’s a Sanctuary?

That ability’s not in my data!

『Maybe give up on being a data character?』

Tch—shut up!

Fine, I’ll just make up a solution with Sorciera!

I’ll prep everything on my end!

『Oh, Sorciera!? You’re going Sorciera!?』

Yeah, I’ll do it!

But first, I need a reason to vanish from the trio’s sight.

Since I have to investigate the enemy anyway, I need at least an hour alone.

I already had ice cream—maybe I can play the tummyache card?

『Loli Sorciera-tan got a tummyache?＾＾ Come here, I’ll pat it for you—』

Stop being a damn lolicon!

『But even if you pretend to leave due to a stomachache, an hour is too long, don’t you think?』

Don’t get rational all of a sudden!

I need some excuse to slip away… an excuse…

“U-Um, Ryuuko-chan, I have a suggestion, if that’s okay?”

Toa-chan timidly raised her hand.

“What is it, Toa-chan? Right now, literally any idea is welcome.”

Ryuuko-chan answered while still lying down.

“This place has a lot of guards, but maybe other gates are less secured. Like ones used for supply shipments… or student-only gates.”

“There are a lot of gates, yeah… but are we gonna check them all now? That’d take forever. And the more bracelets they distribute, the worse it gets for us. We really don’t want to waste time. It has to be fast, safe, and a way we’ll be praised for later…”

This girl might actually have it together, huh?

“Yeah, moving all together would slow us down. So what if we split into two teams?”

“…That means moving outside of Baltius’s camouflage, you know?”

Ryuuko-chan said this as she sat up.

Toa-chan confidently pointed at me.

“Kei-chan is… really good at crossdressing as a boy!”

““Eh?””

Toa-chan, full smug face.

“He looks like this now, but Kei-chan is really good at pretending to be a guy. Right, Kei-chan!”

“……! Yeah, actually, I am.”

I don’t know what’s going on, but this might be my big chance!?

My daily good deeds must’ve earned me the favor of the Mysterious Bishoujo Goddess!

Time to ride this wave!

“I was taught all sorts of things in the past. That’s how I learned to crossdress like this.”

Saying that, I deactivated the Trans-Anchor.

And now I’m a guy.

Not even crossdressing—just a guy now.

『A guy going on a date with three cute girls? …Hmm.』

The court is always harsh on me.

“Wha… You really do look like a guy…”

“Right? Almost no one’s ever figured it out.”

Ryuuko-chan froze as she stared at me.

Rei-chan was already sound asleep beside her.

Maybe she was full and content after eating and playing with Ryuuko-chan.

We have to protect this child.

“This way, I look different enough from before, and I should be able to move around freely. Right, Kei-chan?”

“Yeah. This should be fine. Let’s split into two groups.”

Thanks to Toa-chan’s perfect support, we had a solid plan.

Now, I just need to get a little distance and transform into Sorceira.

“No, this isn’t gonna work.”

“Huh? But don’t I look totally different now?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing. But it’s still dangerous. You two just got dragged into this, so you don’t need to take unnecessary risks.”

“Ryuuko-chan…”

That’s not something you can say with a straight face.

What is this kid…?

Y-You fool! A mere mortal like you worrying about me is a hundred years too early!

But… thank you… for worrying about me…

I-I didn’t say anything! Nothing at all!

『Is this a classic light novel setup? A tsundere burdened with dark secrets meets a self-proclaimed average high schooler in a supernatural romcom battle!?』

It’s not! Pay attention to the meeting!

『Ultimate betrayal.』

“Ryuuko-chan, we weren’t just dragged into this. Sure, maybe at first, but now we’re close friends. Right?”

“Kei-chan…”

As I mentally played through the “typical tsundere getting worried about scene,” I answered seriously.

This was a good moment.

“Since we’re friends, rely on us. And don’t worry. I may look like this, but I’m strong. Right, Toa-chan?”

“Yep, exactly!”

“You are?”

Toa-chan nodded repeatedly.

With a smug face like it was about herself, she said:

“Kei-chan’s strong! She went through Mizuhi-chan’s hellish training, helped out during the incident at Zilnius Academy, and…”

Toa-chan looked straight into Ryuuko-chan’s eyes and said:

“She’s survived against that Rokuhara-san twice.”

“……Eh”

Ryuuko-chan looked at me.

I made a peace sign and said:

“Survived even after his abilities were used on me. Peace.”

“Please, Kei-sama! Save this pitiful me!”

““W-Why are you bowing!?””

Such quick adaptation.

Seems I’ve been promoted to ‘strong person’ in Ryuuko-chan’s eyes.

Still, she’s weirdly good at bowing…

“P-Please raise your head! You don’t have to go that far—I’ll definitely help!”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

While Ryuuko-chan offered increasingly sports-club-style bows, I turned to Toa-chan.

“Th-Then, I’m heading out. I’m counting on you two.”

“Yeah, leave it to us.”

Toa-chan nodded with a smile.

She can even fire convergence shots when push comes to shove—very reliable.

“Ryuuko-chan, could you take me down?”

“Sure. …Really, thank you. Be careful.”

Baltius scooped us up and dropped us in the back alley below.

I jumped down from his back alone.

After walking a little and turning back, there was nothing there anymore.

Eh, they already left?

『No, judging by the reaction, they’re still there. You just can’t see them anymore.』

Wow, so that’s how this works…

『Partner, don’t waste time. Let’s go.』

Yeah.

Alright, let’s go, Starreader’s Staff.

It’s time to prep for Mystery Mode.