When Ryuuko finally managed to escape from the underground theater, the surroundings were already dyed by the setting sun.

“…F-Finally got out.”

The complicated path felt especially long to Ryuuko, who was exhausted to the limit from the previous battles.

As if to comfort her master, Baltius, now a pure white dragon, rubbed against her.

On his back were two girls who looked strikingly alike.

Their blue hair and facial features were so similar they could be mistaken for sisters with a large age gap.

“When she wakes up, she’ll be such a pain. Should I keep her asleep…? Do we even have that kind of anecdote in stock?”

Ryuuko muttered to herself as she kept moving forward.

Then, a voice called out to her.

“Ah, Ryuuko-chan! Kei-chan, over here!”

“Hm? …Ah, both of you!”

Looking over, Toa and Kei were waving at Ryuuko.

Filled with joy at seeing acquaintances, Ryuuko mustered her last strength and rushed toward them.

“I’m so glad! Everyone’s here!”

“Whoa, a-are you okay!?”

“I’m fine… yeah. I really did my best this time…!”

“Yeah. Mm, I think you did really well, Ryuuko-chan.”

At Kei’s words, Ryuuko was overwhelmed with emotion and hugged her tightly.

Then she began to sob uncontrollably in her chest.

“Waaah! I love people who honestly praise me! No one else praises me at all!? Last time it was stuff like ‘Huh? You should be able to do that anyway’ or ‘That’s nothing to praise,’ and Kirika-chan even left me on read!”

“Th-That must have been tough.”

Kei tried to keep a smile as she patted Ryuuko’s head.

Seeing that, Toa looked briefly annoyed but then smiled and said,

“I’ll praise you too—come here.”

“U-waaah! I love you both! Fectom is so warm! I want to go to Fectom too!”

“The balance between schools would collapse, so no.”

Toa answered calmly, unexpectedly.

Ryuuko seemed not to hear that, still crying in their arms.

“Today was full of scary people! Scholars, Sorciera, and stuff! Why do only scary people come…? It’s too much for an ordinary high school girl who could be anywhere!”

“‘Ordinary high school girl…’?”

She had shattered the scholar’s ambition, survived face-to-face with Sorciera.

By appearance alone, she was a hero, and the label “ordinary high school girl” was beyond mere modesty.

Yet still, she wasn’t praised.

Because all the people she saved were under brainwashing, and no one remembered this incident.

The public didn’t know about the evil scholar or the battle over the S-rank clone.

“Ugh… Praise me.”

“Good, good. You worked so hard. You’re really great.”

“If I hadn’t worked hard, does that mean I’m not great?”

“Huh?”

Ryuuko raised her face and asked in a half-cry.

The reason she rarely received praise was that only other S-ranks knew.

And they knew that praising her would only cause trouble.

“So, the ‘me’ who usually doesn’t try is just a worthless nobody?”

“…N-No, usual Ryuuko-chan is great too!”

“Uwaaah! I love you, Toa-chan!”

Burying her face in their chests again, Ryuuko shouted.

Toa wore a slightly exasperated expression.

But she didn’t stop patting Ryuuko’s head and kept saying “Good, good.”

Kei watched them with a warm smile.

“…Toa-chan’s softer than Kei-chan, huh.”

“Ryuuko-chan?”

“Eek!”

At the chillingly terrifying voice from above, Ryuuko jumped back apologetically.

“S-Sorry! But if you hug like that, you can’t help but compare, right!?”

“I’m not angry or anything, but please stop saying things like that all of a sudden. It’s… embarrassing.”

“Y-Yeah. I won’t say it or compare! Kei-chan, sorry too!”

“No, I don’t really mind…”

Kei said without changing her expression.

But Toa quickly grabbed Kei’s hand and nodded repeatedly.

“It’s okay, Kei-chan. Yours are kind of a certain size, but the shape is beautiful! They’re charming!”

That was an unnecessary reassurance.

“…So Toa-chan, you have seen her after all.”

“Of course!”

“No, I haven’t? Also, what do you mean ‘after all’? What were you talking about while I was gone?”

“‘…’”

“Hey, why do you both look away? Hey!”

Neither answered Kei’s question.

Ryuuko glanced at Kei’s ear and smiled softly.

“What’s that smile for?”

“…Ah, if you don’t mind, want to have dinner together? Or rather, it would help if you stayed with me until Hyououdou Rei herself wakes up.”

Rei was still sleeping on Baltius’s back.

Ryuuko did not want to face Hyououdou Rei with both of them at once.

“Yeah, sure. …Ah, I want something healthy for dinner. Like salad instead of meat.”

“I ate too much already. Sure, come with me. I’ll show you a delicious place!”

“Hey, why did you laugh? What were you two talking about? Hey—”

The girls walked through the city dyed by the sunset, wearing smiles appropriate for their age.

Though they were leading a dragon, such a sight was not unusual in this city.

■

“—Ah, Kei and Toa are going over there to eat.”

Clam looked up, reading the message sent to her.

She was lying on a bench at the edge of the training room, clearly bored out of her mind.

“…A message from Kei?”

“Yeah, so?”

Clam looked at Rinka, who was sitting nearby, and wore a triumphant expression.

“Isn’t it normal? You’re from the same academy after all, right?”

“…Tch.”

“Did I say something to offend you? …Just kidding, just kidding.”

Clam got up and laughed.

Rinka looked clearly irritated.

“I’m not bothered. If I want someone’s contact, I can hack it easily.”

“Your choice of method is just a natural criminal act… I mean, here, I’ll give you the contact.”

At Clam’s words, Rinka snapped her head up as if struck.

Her expression was filled with disbelief as if seeing something unbelievable.

“W-What’s your goal?”

“Nothing? Even today, I showed up suddenly and got to join the Demonsgear training, right? This is partly a thank-you. Also—”

Clam said seriously:

“It’s better to have more allies when facing Zero.”

“…That’s true. I’ll gratefully accept.”

Rinka and Clam recognized each other as rivals fighting over Sorciera.

But they understood now was no time for fighting.

“Enemies on the same boat.”

Both were the type to use whatever tools they had.

“Then, I’ll send you Kei’s photo too—”

“What!? When did you get that!?”

“Heh heh heh, corporate secret.”

The photo offered showed Kei in a private moment.

At that moment, Clam sincerely felt grateful toward Rinka.

“Ah, thanks…! I’ll tell you where her erogenous zones are if I find out.”

“Huh? ……Huh?”

“When I get home, I have to find that Lover’s Sweet Spot Finder—Echi Tankchi.”

“Er… what?”

“My mechanic is really good.”

Facing Clam’s proud face, Rinka thought:

(There’s a crazy perverted mechanic at Fectom.)

Miyume’s reputation plummeted without her knowing.

“What are you two happily talking about? Let me join!”

“Ah, Eina.”

“Ugh, Eina.”

Seeing Eina suddenly appear, the two reacted differently.

Especially Clam’s reaction was openly disgusted.

But Eina loved teasing those she disliked by pretending to be close, so she approached anyway.

Having Rokuhara nearby gave her confidence to mock others safely.

“Don’t make that disgusted face! Ki-ra-ra-chan? Hey.”

“Damn… this one…!”

“Purification complete! Do it! I like that, hehe.”

Seeing Clam’s face turn bright red, Eina used the Demonsgear’s computing power to tease her even more.

“You used to dye your hair more blatantly, right? Where did the cute, girly streamer you used to be go?”

“…Tch.”

“Clam…”

“It’s old news! I don’t do that anymore!”

Clam answered desperately.

Rinka’s eyes shone like she found a new toy.

Realizing the danger, Clam quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, Eina, you should go back to the executor! You’ll get scolded.”

“They’re done for today. Touraku’s reached his limit. Also, the others seem to have grasped something.”

Eina said as she looked toward the center of the room.

“—Alright, done. No more fighting today. Time to eat.”

Rokuhara looked cool and calm, without a drop of sweat.

In front of him, Touraku was lying flat on his back.

“You okay, Touraku? Here, water.”

“Thanks, Lutra.”

Touraku gratefully gulped down the water from Lutra.

Unlike Rokuhara, he was drenched in sweat and out of breath.

Yet his expression was somehow clear and refreshed.

“Don’t forget today’s feeling. Don’t skip the image training I taught you.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Rokuhara silently raised one hand in reply.

Then—

“So… did you get it too? Student Council President?”

Rokuhara called out to Miroku.

Unusually, she was wearing Fectom training wear, also drenched in sweat like Touraku.

Miroku didn’t seem to hear Rokuhara’s question and did not respond.

By her side, Shieru and Miyume looked on worriedly.

“Miroku-san, are you okay?”

“If there’s any physical issue, please tell us. Don’t push yourself.”

Miroku stared at her palm with wide eyes.

“This is the power of Demonsgear…”

She murmured, and on her palm, a small jade-green lightning flashed.