What Clam and Rinka hadn’t accounted for was just how unbearably cute Kei was—and that Nameless had prepared an entire wardrobe of outfits designed to bring out that maximum cuteness.

And then—

“Clam-oneechan, Rinka-oneechan, let’s play dolls next!”

Little Kei, so innocent it was hard to believe she would ever become the girl they now knew, bounced over happily.

Apparently fond of the Frogs, she clutched one to her chest and toddled over to the two of them.

Just that alone caused Clam’s collar to emit a soft 『Echi-chi-chi-chi-chi――』, prompting Rinka to quickly step forward and shield her.

Right now, Clam was utterly powerless against Kei.

“You want to play with dolls?”

“Yup! This dolly is the customer, and I’m the flower shop!”

With that, Kei handed the Frog to Rinka.

It was effectively handing her a bomb. Rinka hesitated for a second, but her well-trained social skills from the Silver Twilight era kicked in.

“Thank you. Then, I’ll take one flower, please.”

“Okay, here you go!”

Kei crafted a flower out of origami and handed it to Rinka.

Rinka tucked it away into her expanded storage area as though it were a holy relic.

“What other kinds of flowers do you have?”

“Umm, umm… all sorts of flowers!”

“Then I’ll take one too~”

Smiling brightly, Nameless joined the flower shop roleplay.

Clam, still clutching her collar, watched them enviously.

From beneath her hand, the muffled 『Echi-chi-chi――』 continued to sound.

Just seeing Kei had brought her to the edge.

“…So cute. I hope she’ll still wear that outfit even after she’s back to normal.”

The frilly apron paired with the baby-blue skirt gave her an Alice-in-Wonderland vibe.

And with Kei’s exceptionally pretty face, she looked like a protagonist straight out of a fairy tale.

But Clam was also imagining high school Kei in that same outfit.

In her mind, Kei would be blushing in embarrassment, scowling at her while wearing the cutesy clothes.

And reluctantly, she’d give Clam a lap pillow.

To put it plainly, Clam was overwhelmingly aroused at this moment.

“Lolis are a crime… I have no idea how I’d even begin to explain this to Hikari.”

Evaluating herself objectively as “a gross person,” Clam stepped back to cool off.

And in doing so, she noticed something.

(Come to think of it, this might be the first time I’ve been in Kei’s room.)

She’d never once entered the room of the secretive girl.

It was more than spacious enough for one person.

Originally, it was probably a large room meant for multiple occupants.

Perhaps Kei found it too much, as she’d clustered her bed and the furniture she likely bought herself all in one corner.

Elsewhere, wallpaper peeled and floorboards curled up.

(I remember how shocked I was too. It looked more like a ruin than a dorm—no, more like a derelict room?)

When she and Hikari first moved in, they’d had to start with a near full-scale renovation.

At times like that, the Frog, who could be counted as extra manpower, came in handy.

(Still, it’s really spacious. And for how big it is, there’s hardly anything here.)

The furniture was pared down to only the bare necessities for daily life. The room had no human warmth.

Which is why the ornate vanity with its large, cracked mirror stood out so much.

It must’ve been a built-in piece from the start; it looked quite old.

On top of it were cosmetics, presumably Kei’s.

They were perhaps the only indulgence-like items in her entire room.

“…So she’s into this kind of stuff too.”

Clam quietly stepped away from the group and approached the vanity.

What she saw there was nothing more than a life-sized world belonging to a single girl.

If not for this, she’d never have seen this hidden part of Kei.

And knowing it now filled her with overwhelming sadness.

The fact that Kei had chosen to hide it, the fact that the world had made her feel the need to—everything about it felt tragic.

“—Huh?”

While gazing at the vanity, Clam noticed that one of the drawers was slightly ajar.

Glancing back, she saw the others still playing.

Clam quietly apologized in her heart, pulled the drawer open, and took out what was inside.

It was a small notebook.

Plain, pitch-black.

She had a pretty good idea whose it was.

“…”

Clam steeled herself and opened the first page.

[I have to be a Starreader
I’m okay—I can fight alone
I’m not scared It’s okay Absolutely okay]

The moment she read it, Clam instinctively slammed the notebook shut.

All the excitement she’d felt before vanished, leaving her with the horrible sensation of cold water being poured over her head.

(This is… something I shouldn’t have seen.)

These weren’t the words of Sorciera, but of Narou Kei.

This was a realm Clam had no right to enter.

She knew it instantly.

The increasingly bold pen strokes, as if to stave off fear.

The stains that looked like traces of tears.

This wasn’t something to read without permission.

This was not something to unravel in such a manner.

“…What am I doing?”

Just a moment ago, she’d been thrilled to uncover the secret side of the girl she loved.

But that wasn’t what she should be doing now.

That wasn’t something she was supposed to do.

Clam gently returned the notebook to its place, then ran over to Kei.

Without hesitation, she pulled the girl into a tight hug.

The choker around Kei’s neck no longer made a sound.

“Eh? Clam!?”

“H-Hey! Customer, you’re making trouble! Nooo, that’s not allowed!”

Ignoring the surprised Rinka and the amused Nameless, Clam looked at Kei.

Then she forced a smile and said—

“Let’s play a bunch today. …You might forget it all when you wake up again, but still. Just for now, let’s have lots of fun, like any normal girl would.”

“You’ll play with me!? Yay, let’s play, Clam-oneechan!”

Kei giggled, completely unaware of the sorrow behind Clam’s smile.

Seeing this, Nameless spoke.

“Kei-chan, why don’t you go for a walk with Clam-oneechan and Rinka-oneechan?”

“A walk! I wanna go!”

Unlike Kei, whose eyes sparkled with joy, the other two wore hesitant expressions.

“Is it really okay? Letting Kei outside like this?”

“Let’s just say it’s a side effect of the Trans-Anchor. That’ll cover it. More importantly, we need her to burn through a ton of magic power while having fun.”

Saying that, Nameless gently patted Kei’s head.

“Oneechan has work now, so listen to what they say, okay?”

“Okay! Good luck with your work!”

“Of course! With those words, I could take on the world!”

Nameless beamed, then looked at Clam and Rinka.

“I’m leaving the rest to you. When she runs out of magic, she’ll fall asleep. That’s the signal. Just return her to bed when that happens. Oh, and she probably won’t remember any of this, so keep it secret, okay? Especially no pictures. Guard those with your life. If she found out we took any, she’d be furious. …Which is cute too, but still!”

Having said her piece, Nameless looked very satisfied.

Then, before either of them could say a word, she deployed a teleportation circle and vanished.

Left stunned, Rinka spoke.

“…Well, shall we go?”

“Yeah. Kei, let’s go.”

Clam held out her hand.

Kei took it firmly in her tiny one and said brightly—

“Let’s gooo!”