Fectom Academy was peaceful, as usual.

With the end of the territorial battle, the tensions with Kisou Academy had more or less settled down.

In a school where formal classes didn’t even exist to begin with, there was an abundance of free time.

Kūna Mirume was one of those enjoying said free time.
However, her face showed a hint of dissatisfaction.

“A-Ahh? I thought I left it around here…”

She rummaged through a mountain of inventions.

Her lab-slash-bedroom, created by tearing down three classrooms, was far more spacious than those of other students.
Or at least it should have been—but the room was a disaster zone, utterly trashed by scattered tools and parts.

Only the area around the sofa she slept on was marginally tidy; everything else was a chaotic mess.

“My dummy head mic… where’d I put it…? That thing was gonna rake in cash with Mizuhi-san’s ASMR… I really don’t wanna remake it, those materials cost a fortune…”

Muttering to herself, Mirume grabbed invention after invention, only to toss them aside again.

Behind her, Clam was doing the same—digging through the pile of gadgets.
Incidentally, she was searching for a device called the “Lover’s Sweet Spot Finder—Echi Tankchi.”

Who she intended to use it on is something we cannot disclose for the sake of her honor.
Nor can we say what she planned to do with it.

“Actually, the ASMR thing was Mizuhi-san’s request, but there’s no way that was her idea… Does her fan club have a perv running it?”

“ASMR, huh… I wonder if that girl will release something too.”

“That girl?”

Clam just smiled at Mirume without answering and kept sifting through the pile.
Seeing this, Mirume muttered, “Ah, this is one of those ‘don’t touch that’ topics,” and returned to her own search.

“Ugh, I already told Mizuhi-san we’d be able to record tomorrow…”

“Something up with Mizuhi?”

“『UWAH!?』”

Startled by the voice behind her, Mirume let out a yelp.
At the same time, the mountain of inventions collapsed, burying her beneath it.

Clam, however, was saved thanks to the support of the frog minions she’d brought to help.

“Oww… wait, Miroku-san?”

From beneath the pile, Mirume peeked out to see Aohoshi Miroku crouched in front of her, smiling kindly.

“It’s our first time meeting today. What would you two like for dinner? It’s my turn to cook.”

“Ahh, that’s what this is about.”

“I want simmered fish!”

“Fried chicken for me.”

“Got it. I’ll be drawing lots to decide, so no complaints regardless of the outcome, okay?”

Miroku said as she took notes.
Mirume, peering out from her mountain of junk, suddenly realized something.

“…You’re here for the ampules too, aren’t you?”

Still smiling, Miroku helped Mirume out of the pile.
Dusting off her uniform, she replied:

“As expected of you, Mirume-chan. You’re right. I need the drug to increase compatibility with Demonsgear.”

“…Haa.”

Clam sighed and calmly sent a message to someone.

“Clam-chan, what are you doing?”

“Just letting Mizuhi and Kei know. I want them to keep watch so Miroku doesn’t overdo it.”

“Geez, no trust at all.”

“Everyone already knows about your past stunts. …Tilting your head won’t change anything.”

Miroku was usually calm, always offering rational opinions from a step back—but Mirume knew that deep down, she was a bit unhinged.

(Kei, Toa-chan, and Mizuhi-san all said the same thing: ‘Miroku-san’s addicted to self-sacrifice.’)

Honestly, the whole school was full of people like that, Mirume thought, as she handed over the bare minimum amount of ampules.

“…Is this all?”

“Obviously. Sure, this drug is flawless—even I couldn’t find a single defect. But the toll it takes on the body is still massive. The fact that you’re smiling and walking around like normal is what’s really abnormal.”

“Fufufu, I’ve been praised.”

“That wasn’t… well, yeah, I guess it was praise.”

Even if it required ampules, the fact that she could interface with Demonsgear meant Miroku truly was a “holder.”

But still, that was a door that shouldn’t have been opened.

“Miroku-san, promise me. If your body starts acting up, tell me immediately.”

“…I understand.”

Miroku gently smiled and patted Mirume’s head.

“I’ve stopped doing reckless things like that. Besides, this was something I discussed with Mizuhi beforehand. I just want to be prepared for what’s ahead.”

“Prepared…?”

“Yes. Though, I don’t have any concrete plans yet.”

Saying that, Miroku stabbed an ampule into her neck without hesitation.

Watching her practiced motion, Mirume and Clam grimaced.

But Miroku didn’t even flinch and continued speaking:

“Nameless is definitely targeting Fectom Academy.”

“…Huh?”

“Well, that’s highly likely,” Clam added.

She recalled the territorial battle and clenched her fist.

(My first kiss…! Kei’s first kiss…!)

That scene still came back to her in dreams.

“I don’t know what their goal is… but it’s clear they’re interfering.”

“Yeah, they showed up in front of me too… wait, what’s this?”

Mirume looked at the paper handed to her.
It was a drawing, with an expertly shaded figure.

Recognizing the character depicted, she exclaimed:

“Nameless!?”

“Ah, and by the way, that drawing—”

A black hood, black hair peeking out—every detail matched her memory of Nameless.

“Hikari-chan drew it.”

“You’re kidding!?”

Mirume was shocked more than she had been all day.

“Pretty good, right? That girl’s strangely good at art.”

“She really is. I’ve never seen the real deal, so I can’t judge the likeness though.”

“No, it’s spot-on! Wait, Hikari-chan had this kind of talent…?”

With permission, Mirume stored the drawing in her expanded domain.
It was so well-done that she felt it deserved archiving.

“As you can see, Hikari-chan has met Nameless too.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t get that level of detail otherwise.”

Miroku glanced specifically at Clam.

“To be precise, it was the Professor who interacted with Nameless.”

“…Ahh, I see. That’s how she saw them.”

“Wait—the Professor? The one from that incident at Kisou Academy?”

Mirume asked, and the two nodded.

She didn’t know much about the Professor—only that he was a mad scientist who developed drugs to increase Demonsgear compatibility.

“That kid got taken over by the Professor. She still has hazy memories from that time… Now that I think about it, I never asked Hikari about Nameless.”

“Yeah. So I asked her, and she was like, ‘Oh yeah! That’s the true mastermind, right?’”

“If she knew, she should’ve told us…”

Clam covered her face and sighed.

“And as for what the Professor and Nameless were talking about—”

Miroku’s expression turned grim.

“—How to negotiate to get Aohoshi Miroku to come to Kisou Academy. That’s what Nameless was explaining in detail.”

“…So you’re saying…”

“Yes. Apparently, our actions were being guided by Nameless from the very beginning.”

“Now that you mention it, Nameless showed up for me too… and that ended up leading me to everyone.”

And that wasn’t all.

Whenever something happened at Fectom Integrated Academy, Nameless was always lurking behind the scenes.

“Who even is Nameless…? Or wait, what about Sorciera too? Don’t tell me she’s also targeting our school…!”

“…Uhh, who knows?”

Clam quickly averted her gaze with a strained smile.

It was an open secret to her—but publicly, Sorciera was still a mysterious S-Rank.

“That’s why I want to ruin Nameless’s plan. But to do that, I have to become a contractor soon. I hate being manipulated.”

Miroku’s eyes burned with fierce resolve.
Clam saw the slight anxiety within them—but said nothing.

Instead—

“I like that.”

Clam had already come to terms with the reality of her own limited power.
So she didn’t want to casually dismiss Miroku’s determination.

“I’ll go with you. You’re heading to Nana-chan’s place now, right?”

“Clam-chan… You sure?”

“Yeah. I kind of get that feeling—especially the part about wrecking things that piss you off.”

Saying that, Clam started messaging someone.

The other two tilted their heads, prompting her to explain:

“I’ve got a friend who’s close with a Demonsgear user. They’re apparently sparring today, so why don’t we go watch?”

“Is that okay?”

“We’ve got time. Kei and Toa are out anyway—let’s go.”

Clam took Mirume and Miroku’s hands and led them out of the room.

“Wait, me too?”

“When you search desperately, you never find things. Consider this a break. Besides, don’t you want data on other Demonsgears?”

“ABSOLUTELY!!”

“…Loud much?”

Watching the two chatter, Miroku smiled quietly.

To be able to talk like this with girls other than Mizuhi and Toa—
She’d never imagined such a scene.

“…I’m sure that as Fectom is now, we won’t lose to anyone.”

“What are you saying? That’s a given.”

Clam responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Alright then, let’s go see Nana-chan.”

“Right. She’s probably either asleep, watching anime, or gaming—so she should be in her room.”

“Is she really a Demonsgear user? Sounds more like a shut-in.”

No one denied it.

In fact, the girls would soon witness Shieru attempting to use a mysterious gift card to make in-game purchases.

“I hope Kei and the others are enjoying their outing.”

Meanwhile, Nameless’s schemes were about to result in Shieru’s game ban—just three minutes away.

■

Meanwhile, Kei was—

“Hya—m-my back’s giving out…”

“…We overdid it. Hey, are you okay to fight?”

“Impossible… changing the plan… I’ll appear sitting in a chair…”

Due to ASMR recording and teasing from the Starreader’s Staff, Kei’s body had gone all limp and noodly.
Her cheeks were faintly red, her breath shallow—paired with Sorciera’s beautiful form, it was oddly seductive.

The Starreader’s Staff held back its urge to go berserk and stayed composed.

“Academia’s tart and Toa-chan’s crew are about to make contact. Be ready and move on cue.”

“Got it. …Wait, wanna just play sick and watch from the sidelines?”

“No way! I wanna be a mysterious pretty girl too!”

“…Are you a brat?”

Kei wobbled to her feet and reached out.
With a chuckle and a “good grief,” the Starreader’s Staff disappeared into her body.

“L-Let’s go, Starreader’s Staff-chan… Operation Night Empress Sorciera—commence!”

At the very least, Kei seemed to be enjoying this outing.