There are two things to be cautious about if it ever comes to a serious fight with Rokuhara-san.

The first is Demonsgear’s Eina. As you know, it’s an insanely dangerous piece of equipment, and its power is terrifying, which contrasts with her timid personality.

The second is Rokuhara-san’s personal abilities as an explorer. This is a broken mechanic, and as far as I know, the only person who could potentially beat him head-on is the awakened Touraku-kun.

As long as these two factors exist, I cannot win. Even if she is a mysterious, beautiful girl.

“Hey, hey, show me your guts, damn it!” “Tch, so crude.” “Haha, is that coming from the one who was sneaking around like a rat?!”

While dodging the slashes, I thought to myself. Not about how to defeat Rokuhara-san, or how to save Miroku-senpai.

But a singular question that summed it all up.

What would a mysterious, beautiful girl do in this situation?

‘It seems Eina hasn’t used that function yet.’

The Starreader’s staff secretly informed me. I see. Eina can be dealt with later.

What’s necessary here is to make Rokuhara-san use his abilities.

My idea of a mysterious, beautiful girl has to be the strongest. This also means that it’s acceptable if Narou Kei loses.

To make that happen, I needed to get Rokuhara-san to use his abilities.

“Tch.” “Hey, hey, you’re gonna get hit!”

I deliberately dodged the attack by a hair’s breadth. My body hurts just from dodging…

But, to become the perfect mysterious, beautiful girl, I must always perform at my best, no matter what.

Seeing me, Rokuhara-san seemed to increase his intensity. This person is terrifying… I’ll raise the stakes even more for you.

“…!?” “Huh? Trying to blind me?”

I created a cheap, flashing magic circle. I made it shine once.

It seemed Rokuhara-san thought it was a smokescreen.

“…” “Huh? Are you trying to run away?”

With the flash, I ran down the hallway at full speed. Just as I sensed Rokuhara-san’s presence behind me, the next moment, a slash came from the side.

At the last second, I kicked the floor and leaped sideways with all my strength.

That momentum caused me to crash into a wall and break through it.

“Cough, cough…”

This place… Damn it, it’s just a dimly lit room!

“Don’t look away!” “Tch.”

As I got back up, double swords approached me. I barely dodged it by jumping sideways again.

The slash destroyed the wall again. On the other side, I saw what looked like an office.

Oh, there’s a window in that room! Let’s make that my stage for the mysterious, beautiful girl.

“Tag, huh? I’m not into chasing after men’s asses, though.”

Rokuhara-san continued to chase after me. I kept dodging his attacks and rolled through the hole in the wall into the office.

The window—check! Outside—check! The time, just as the sun sets—check!

Now, let’s begin the “Mysterious Beautiful Girl’s Rolling Palm” operation!

“Tag…? The hunter here is me, Rokuhara.” “Your mouth is quick, but you’re just running around, aren’t you?” “It would be childish if I went all out. I’m waiting for you to put on your glass slippers. Or should I put them on for you?”

Upon hearing my words, Rokuhara-san’s expression changed. His face, which had looked bored, now showed a terrifyingly ferocious glare.

“…This is strange. Everyone who saw that is supposed to be dead.”

Yes, dead. When Rokuhara uses his abilities, he always kills the opponent, so very few people know the full extent of his power.

But, I’ve read about it in the original story, so I know!

Because of that, I can say things that will get under Rokuhara-san’s skin.

“Who could kill with such a weak ability? …Ah, I suppose you could kill with the tools in your hand.”

With a clatter, Eina, in her dual-wield stance, trembled. I didn’t dare look at Rokuhara-san’s expression because it was so terrifying.

Maybe I should look at the ceiling instead. Oh, there’s a crack from the battle! I could throw a short blade there!

“—Haha, you must want to die, huh?”

As usual, his voice was flippant, but I could clearly hear the anger behind it.

Here’s a tip when facing Rokuhara-san!

This guy, despite appearances, is close with Eina. So, if you insult her…

“I’ll kill you just as you wish!”

That’s what happens!

“Tch.”

Along with the murderous intent that pierced my skin, the air changed drastically. It was like a execution ground, cold, terrifying, and filled with the stark reality of death.

“Twelve seconds.”

With that declaration, red crystalline-like objects wrapped around Rokuhara-san’s legs. It covered his lower legs, resembling glass boots.

T-This is the power of Rokuhara-san that I’ve seen many times in the original story!

“I’ll kill you in twelve seconds.”

No sound, no wind. Only a flash of light, followed by a heavy impact in my abdomen.

“Ugh.”

Huh? No way, my reaction time should work against Rokuhara-san, right? What? Did my stomach just—wait?

As I crumbled to the ground, another shock hit my side, and I found myself embedded in the office wall. Ahahaha, it hurts so much, it’s almost funny. But at least it’s just bruising.

If the blood splatters, there would be bloodstains everywhere…

“Tch.”

I drew a short blade and somehow stood up. Good thing the mysterious, beautiful girl outfit wasn’t a midriff-baring one…

A mysterious beautiful girl covered in bruises? That kind of thing only appeals to a few perverts.

“Where are you looking?” “?!”

I swing my dagger in the direction of the voice. But it just cuts through the air.

“You know it, right? You can’t beat me in this state.” “Well… maybe.”

I get up, battered and broken. But, of course, I don’t think I can beat Rokuhara-san. Because in this state, Rokuhara-san becomes ‘superior to all phenomena in the world.’

In other words, invincible. Twelve seconds of insanely fast, invincible murderous intent. How could I possibly win against that? What a crappy game!

That’s why I need to end this “crappy game time” right here. This ability has a twelve-hour cooldown after being used.

I need to make sure I can’t use it for the upcoming mysterious beautiful girl time!

“Hey, hey, what happened to the bravado you had earlier?”

I wildly swing my dagger, being kicked around here and there. Aha, so you’re planning to completely lose it and kick me around for the full time, huh? If I weren’t a super mysterious beautiful girl, I’d be dead by now.

My body goes through destruction and regeneration.

But, on the surface, I maintain a broken state. Rokuhara-san must not know that I can regenerate.

I want Rokuhara-san to defeat me, just once.

With utmost care not to spill blood, I continue to take the attacks. Then, after being tossed by the window, I summon my last strength to stand up and throw the dagger, wildly swinging it toward the ceiling.

“Tch, damn it!” “Where are you aiming?!”

As the dagger pierces the ceiling, I hear a terrifying voice from below my face. At the same time, a kick strikes my chest with perfect timing after exactly twelve seconds.

Now, dagger explosion!

The dagger bursts due to magic manipulation, and the fragile ceiling collapses. As debris falls, I crash through the window and tumble outside.

Heh heh, nice. I look absolutely disgraceful right now. But that’s exactly why the upcoming time will shine!

From the fading consciousness, I realize how close death was just now. I mean, Rokuhara-san really was going to kill me… If I hadn’t had the Starreader’s Staff in my body, I’d be dead.

So, Starreader’s Staff, my friend.

“Alright, here we go!”

With a cheerful voice, a magic circle for teleportation forms. The coordinates are right on top of the debris I just made.

■

Against the rising moon, there’s a large pile of rubble formed from the shattered window and collapsing ceiling. Rokuhara snorts in dissatisfaction as he takes a quick glance at it.

“Tch, was I wrong? I thought I’d get a bit more fun out of this.” “Leader…” “Using my ability on someone like that… it’s a little wasteful, but it’s better than being disgusted by it.”

Rokuhara turns to deal with the remaining intruders.

At that moment, the wind blows.

“–Well, if you’re satisfied, then that’s good.” “?!”

As soon as he hears the voice, Rokuhara instantly reacts.

Without even thinking about who the other person might be, he follows his instincts, turning and leaping, sending a slash toward the voice’s source.

But—

“You’ve got no class, do you?”

A strong magic barrier blocks the slash. At the same time, multiple magic circles unleash magical cannonfire at Rokuhara.

“Tch.”

Rokuhara dodges the blasts and takes some distance, then repositions his twin swords. He glares at the girl, who’s standing with the moon behind her.

“You—Sorciera, right?” “So what if I am?” “I’ll crush you. And make you a gift for the council.” “You’re barbaric. Sorry, but you can’t beat me.”

Sorciera sits down on the rubble, crossing her legs, looking down at Rokuhara like a queen on her throne. The sight stirs up an instinctive fear.

“I didn’t notice it. Suddenly, there’s a magic response… is this teleportation?” “Heh, no, that’s not it, Eina.”

Sorciera elegantly smiles at Eina’s words.

“I’ve been right by your side this whole time. Watching you fight against Narou Kei.”

“…Huh?” “Eh? No way. There’s no way you were watching me—”

In front of the stunned pair, Sorciera chuckles and lifts a hand to her face. In that instant, her appearance changes.

“I guess this form is more recognizable.”

It’s the form of Narou Kei, the one Rokuhara had just killed.

“Eh, what is this? Eh, huh?” “Heh… so this was your true form all along.”

Rokuhara watches with amusement as Sorciera changes into Narou Kei’s form right in front of him.

(I definitely killed Narou Kei that time. There’s no doubt about it.)

“Leader! You’re alive!”

Ignoring the panicked Eina, Sorciera, in the form of Narou Kei, continues to speak.

“Hey, didn’t you find it strange? I never once hit you. I only avoided your attacks. Wasn’t I basically invisible to you?”

Realizing it, Rokuhara looks around the room. The ruined room and debris. Not a single drop of blood is in sight. There had been so much fighting, yet—

(Thinking back on it, there were some strange actions during my evasion. Like destroying the ceiling and crashing into walls. Those aren’t actions someone sane would do… that means…)

Everything, the collapsed ceiling, the walls, was all unnatural. If that’s the case…

(Did my memories get altered in real-time?)

The memories were rewritten to make it seem like Narou Kei had been the one doing it.

At this very moment, there’s no trace of Narou Kei being here. Furthermore, during this battle, Narou Kei never even attempted to land an attack.

“What did you think when the attacks started landing once I used my ability? Oh, you don’t need to answer. I bet you were disappointed, huh?” “…You…”

Sorciera’s appearance changes back into her own form. She gives a seductive smile and gently holds her hair down, letting the night wind blow through it.

“The Narou Kei you fought was an illusion from the moment she started.”

With Sorciera’s words, Rokuhara is finally certain.

“Did you make me see an illusion…!”
“With my sister’s interference ability, it is certainly theoretically possible. So, does that mean I really was seeing an illusion…? This is bad, Leader, the Star Reader is incredibly strong right now!”

(The sudden provocation was also a bluff. That was to make me use my ability. When did this start…? Could it be…)

There was one time when Narou Kei acted, not to avoid, but to take action.
Shortly after the fight started, she used a meaningless light of magic to obscure our vision once.

“I thought it was just a pointless distraction, but… Was that the condition to activate your ability?”

Solciera smiled, as if to confirm Rokuhara’s words.

“You were captivated by the light of the stars.”

That was an abnormal situation.
Eina, who should have had superior perception, missed it, leading to an impossible result. For the first time, Rokuhara chose to watch the situation unfold.

“Being good at detection is something to consider. Because of it, it’s possible to be taken advantage of like this. You start believing that what you’re seeing is the truth. It’s a bit of a shame that I couldn’t hurt you, since it was just an illusion.”
“You really are acting so condescending. You’re a nasty woman.”
“I’m glad you like it.”

Lightly, Solciera landed on the ground.
She then performed a graceful bow.

“Once again, nice to meet you. I am the current Star Reader—my name is Solciera.”

A large scythe materialized from the magic circle.
Solciera grabbed the pulsating weapon and gave it a light swing.

“Next, how about a dance with me?”