The duel ended in less than a minute.

The three students, who had been mercilessly turned to ashes, revived as soon as the dungeon deactivated after the duel. Perhaps due to taking the full brunt of the converged energy blast, they appeared dumbfounded upon waking up.

“Alright, losers. Please disappear quickly.”

“…Tch, let’s go.”

Though the students glared at Purification-chan with resentment, they eventually left without bothering to hide their irritation.

I bowed my head again.

“Thank you very much.”

“Oh, no worries. We’re all friends here, right?”

Purification-chan, grinning, pulled Toa-chan and me into a familiar hug. Ah, she smells so nice…

“So, I have a little question for you.”

Still holding onto us, Purification-chan spoke with a smile.

“Sorciera is a student at Fectom Integrated Academy, right? …Who is Sorciera?”

“Ugh…”

“Oh? What’s wrong, Narou Kei-san? Did you get flustered being so close to a girl? How cute.”

At that moment, I must have looked into Purification-chan’s eyes for the first time.

They were terrifyingly cold, as if freezing my very core. In that instant, I realized that everything about her right now was just a surface-level facade, a constructed illusion.

“Dear viewers! Did you see that duel just now? I believe that was solid proof!”

Purification-chan exaggeratedly proclaimed to the drone camera. Her confident tone made it clear that she fully understood Sorciera’s identity.

“I saw Sorciera’s converged energy blast up close that day. That’s why I remember its power so well.”

She recounted her memories, listing the facts. There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in her words.

Then, in her loudest voice of the day, Purification-chan declared:

“The true identity of Sorciera—it’s you, Tsukimiya Toa-san!!!”

A moment of silence.

Then, in a trembling voice, Toa-chan hesitantly replied:

“N-no… that’s not true…”

“Huh!?”

Haha, so she’s just an idiot after all.

“I could have sworn that power was Sorciera’s… Hmm…”

Purification-chan, still unconvinced, stared intently at Toa-chan. She stopped dead in her tracks as her gaze reached Toa-chan’s chest.

“…You’re right. They weren’t this big.”

“Ugh…”

Hey, stop bullying Toa-chan!

“Purification-chan, please stop.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. When something catches my interest, I just have to find out no matter what… I must have been a nuisance. I apologize, Tsukimiya Toa-san.”

Purification-chan awkwardly bowed her head. Realizing she didn’t mean any harm, Toa-chan didn’t get angry.

Yeah, yeah, beautiful girls should get along.

“So, in the end, all we did was defeat some rude explorers, and we didn’t uncover Sorciera’s true identity… How was that for you?”

So, Purification-chan’s streams always end like some curation site summary, huh?

“Next time, let’s meet at Fectom Integrated Academy! See you later, Joukans!”

Purification-chan smiled brightly at the drone camera, waving. Suddenly, she whispered near my ear, “Could you wave too?” Startled, Toa-chan and I awkwardly waved along.

Yay! Are the upperclassmen watching?

“…Ahem, thank you very much.”

Once the stream had ended, Purification-chan released us and bowed in thanks.

“No, we should be thanking you for saving us.”

“No, it’s the wickedness of Kisou Academy that has spawned such explorers. It’s something I must correct.”

Purification-chan said this with utmost seriousness.

“Tsukimiya Toa-san, I’m sorry as well. I got too excited, thinking I was getting closer to Sorciera.”

“N-no… Thank you for saving me.”

“Now then, while you’re setting up the beacon, let’s discuss the next stream.”

“Uh, shouldn’t we talk to the student council president about that first—?”

I was yanked away with unbelievable strength.

I was pulled far from Toa-chan’s side. This girl is scary…

“I apologize. I just had to confirm something now, Sorciera.”

“…What are you talking about?”

W-what? She knows!?

H-how!?

“I was certain you were Sorciera, so I ended the stream. Now it’s just you and me.”

“I told you, I’m not Sorciera.”

“Are you, though?”

Purification-chan leaned in close, peering into my face.

“Your hair color and height are the same. And most importantly, you dodged my Mii-chan’s surprise explosion earlier.”

“T-that frog wasn’t a mistake?”

“Haha, no way.”

The frog that rolled toward me during the duel was apparently intentional. What’s with this person? She’s crazier than I thought!

“I figured from the conversations at the experimental facility that Sorciera was a student at Fectom Integrated Academy. The question was, who exactly is Sorciera? Terukami Mizuhi was excluded because the board publicly revealed she fought alongside Sorciera. Aoi Miroku was also excluded early on based on her equipment and abilities. That left only Tsukimiya Toa, who can use converged energy blasts, and you.”

Purification-chan pointed at me with a confident smile.

“I made it a duel just to see Tsukimiya Toa’s converged energy blast. If I just wanted to defeat her, I could have done it alone.”

“…So that’s why everything seemed so perfectly set up.”

The explosive frog she used was clearly overkill for this duel. But we, the Fectom group, still had room to act because she wanted to determine who Sorciera was.

That made sense.

No, even her convenient arrival at such a crucial time was probably part of her plan.

“As you can see, my weapon is a short sword. I don’t carry that distinctive scythe.”

“That can easily be disguised. …What I was watching were your eyes.”

With that, Purification-chan suddenly swung her fist at me.

Though a female student, her punch carried the full strength of an explorer and cut through the air as it closed in on me.

In that moment, a red armband appeared, enhancing my reflexes, allowing me to dodge effortlessly.

…Ah.

“Yes, those eyes. Sorciera had them too. It’s not based on experience and predictions but rather on processing visual information and reacting. Such astonishing reflexes… There’s no point hiding it now.”

“I…”

This is bad.

Why am I, of all people, losing to a streamer who exposes secrets!?

As I stood there, drenched in nervous sweat, Purification-chan continued to corner me with her words.

“I didn’t expect this. Sorciera is disguising herself as a man, huh.”

“…W-what?”

“Are you still going to play dumb? That androgynous voice and face. And that slightly larger uniform to hide your feminine body—there’s no doubt you’re a girl, right?”

Purification-chan stared at me. Her expression said it all: There’s no escaping now.

I let out a long sigh.

Let’s reassess the situation.

Purification-chan knows I’m Sorciera.

But it seems she hasn’t figured out that I’m crossdressing.

In her mind, the mysterious beautiful girl isn’t a guy in disguise, but a girl dressed as a boy.

That’s a big difference. A very big difference!!!

In fact, could this be an opportunity?

…It looks like Toa-chan will need a little more time.

Alright.

“Haa…”

My gaze turned downward with a melancholy air. This is the signature angle for a world-weary look. Bonus points for looking a little sleepy. Tighten the lips for a touch of aloofness.

And then, raising my voice to be slightly higher than usual, I replied:

“Your persistence is creepy. Well done, stalker.”

I have no choice but to ride this wave of misunderstanding all the way.