The retrieval of the experiment records is complete!
Everyone has already escaped, and the place is now an empty shell!

“Ha ha ha, with such sloppy security, there’s no way you could stop me! I’ll take all the data, thank you very much＾＾”

With the help of the Star Reader’s Staff, I managed to secure the data to present to Mikage Academy.
Now, all that’s left is to reunite with the others.

I arrived at the place where I had first separated from Mizuhi-senpai and the others.
Rokuhara-san had caused quite a ruckus, and the area was a mess of rubble.

Hmm, could this be the spot?

“Well then, let’s release the super mysterious beautiful girl. Afterward, you can just do your best as Narou Kei.”

The costume scattered instantly, and I returned to my original uniform.
It was torn in several places from the fight with Rokuhara-san, but it wasn’t enough.
I need to make it look like a more intense battle occurred.

With a satisfying rip, I tore the uniform further, making small cuts with the rubble.
Ha ha ha, even this pain feels pleasant right now.

Finally, if I slump against the wall and sit down with my head bowed, it’ll be perfect.
This will make it seem like I’ve just survived a fierce battle.

“Hm, they’re coming soon. …Huh? Wait, there’s more of them than I expected.”

Well, of course, there’s Miroku-senpai’s part too, so the number is going to be higher than when we came.

Ha ha ha, Star Reader’s Staff, come on, pull yourself together!

While teasing the clumsy Star Reader’s Staff, I listened for footsteps approaching from my direction.

“—Kei!”

It was Mizuhi-senpai’s voice.
But now is not the time to answer.
I need to pretend to have been knocked out and be woken up.

“Come on, wake up!”

My shoulders were shaken, and I opened my eyes as if I had just woken up.

“…Ah, Mizuhi-senpai.”
“Are you okay, Kei!”
“Yes… somehow.”

I raised my head, and whoa, Mizuhi-senpai is so close!
She’s beautiful…

“You held up well against Rokuhara.”
“Well, during the fight, Sorciera interrupted… and somehow, I managed.”
“…I see, so Sorciera came here too.”

I nodded.
Then I looked at the two people behind her.

There was Toa-chan, looking relieved that I was safe, and Miroku-senpai, who seemed guilty, as though she thought it was her fault I got hurt.

“Kei-kun.”

Miroku-senpai lowered her head when she saw me.

“I’m sorry. I acted recklessly on my own and dragged everyone into it…”
“That’s not necessary! No need to apologize!”

There’s no need for an apology.
In fact, I should be the one apologizing for getting to see such a good thing for free.

Just as I was about to tell her to raise her head, I saw something strange.

“Raise your head—”

As Miroku-senpai lowered her head, I locked eyes with what was clinging to her back.
A jade-haired little girl peered out curiously from behind her.

…Huh!?!?

“Oh, Shieru…”

I knew it!?
That’s the Demonsgear we saw earlier, right?

Why did she bring it with her!?
We already have an incredibly powerful Demonsgear at Fectom Academy, so why would she bring another!?

“Heh heh, you’re embarrassed, huh.”

I’m not complimenting you right now!
This is about how she’s increasing the trouble for me!

And wait, Miroku-senpai, why are you even touching it!?

“Miroku-senpai! Th-the one behind you…!”
“Oh, you mean Nana-chan?”

Miroku-senpai smiled casually and showed me the girl she was calling Nana-chan.

“This girl… well, I brought her along after some circumstances.”
“Eh…”

This is definitely not okay.
It’s a Demonsgear!

“Oh, it’s time.”

Huh? Miroku-senpai? What’s with the briefcase?
…Miroku-senpai!? Why are you pulling out a syringe!?

“Here.”

“What?”

With practiced ease, Miroku-senpai injected it into her arm.
Then, just as easily, she finished injecting the liquid and closed the briefcase.

“…Huh? Wha…?”
“I was surprised at first too. But after seeing it three times, I’ve gotten used to it.”
“I still don’t get it… Syringes are scary…”

What the heck happened while I was stealing the data?

“Kei-kun, I’ll explain it to you eventually. For now, just understand that this girl is a student at Fectom Academy.”
“…I see. Understood.”

Well, if it’s an increase in beautiful girls, I guess it’s fine…

“Nana-chan, can you introduce yourself briefly?”

At Miroku-senpai’s words, Nana-chan tilted her head.
By the way, why are you calling her Nana-chan? Her real name is Shieru.

“Is it necessary? That person already knows me, so it isn’t required.”

Eh?

Nana-chan looked at me, narrowing her eyes.

“Sister, it’s been a while. I wasn’t able to greet you earlier…”
“Huh?”

The air in the room froze.
Everyone’s gaze was now fixed on me.

“Ah, they’ve figured it out.”

What do I do now!?
This is such a lame way to get exposed!

Oh no, I need to come up with an excuse!

“…Is ‘sister’ referring to Sorciera?”
“Yes. For me, Sorciera is the only one I consider as my sister.”
“…I’m not though. That’s not what happened. Uh, a little while ago, Sorciera came here and fought.”

I spun my eyes around in circles, my brain scrambling to come up with something to say.

“At that time, she was casting a lot of cannon magic. I was nearby and ended up absorbing her magical power. I think that’s what you misunderstood?”

Silence descended once again.
Did that work?

“…I was surprised. Yeah, that makes sense! Kei-kun was unconscious here after all.”

Toa-chan, innocent and pure, was the first to speak, relieved.
The other two followed suit, softening their expressions.

Star Reader’s Staff! Now’s the time to hide, hide!

“Good luck!”

You’re acting like it’s none of your business…

“Indeed, you mentioned earlier that Solsiera barged in.”

“Yes… Apparently, she was after the Demonsgear that Rokuhara holds. After leaving me behind, the two of them immediately went outside.”

I quickly followed up on Mizuhi-senpai’s words, pointing to the hole in the wall. Then, before Nanachan could continue speaking, I stood up and quickly said,

“So, the current situation at Kiso Academy is a complete mess! We need to escape now!”

“…But my sister—”

“Let’s escape! U-um, it’s Nanachan, right? Nice to meet you!”

“Alright, let’s go quickly!”

Toa-chan nodded at my words. She’s the first to agree with the plan, which is really helpful—no, not just helpful, it’s a lifesaver.

■

The central district of Kiso Academy is relatively close to an exit gate due to the number of tourists it attracts. Once you get through the gate, you’re in the district of the academy city, Hinotsuchi. Even if you run into a restricted combat area or Arianrod, as long as you escape there, you’ll be fine.

That said, the real problem is whether we can manage to escape that far. There are two key obstacles we need to worry about.

The first is Rokuhara, who holds the title of Executioner. With the powers granted directly by the academy city, she can apprehend students from other schools at her discretion and is authorized to act in other academy districts.

Honestly, she’s the most troublesome of the bunch. That’s why I handled it carefully. If it weren’t for the paralysis poison, she’d probably have revived by now and be chasing after us.

The second concern is the Kiso Academy Discipline Committee. This is the security organization that only has authority within the district. Once we get past the gate, they won’t have jurisdiction.

So, currently, the only thing standing in our way is the Discipline Committee.

And right now, we’re being chased by them. Please help.

“Don’t stop running!”

“Yes!”

We were currently sprinting through the academy district. The Discipline Committee, having heard the commotion, quickly found us and started chasing.

“Nanachan, don’t bite your tongue!”

“No problem. I can handle some combat even on my own. I’ll manage this shaking… chomp I bit it…”

“Are you alright?”

Toa-chan called out worriedly. Surprisingly, these guys are holding up well.

As expected of explorers. With stamina that could rival athletes, speed that could keep up with cars, and high-level tag skills, they’re more than capable.

“Ah! They shot at us!”

But if we’re explorers, they’re explorers too. Moreover, they’re from the Discipline Committee, whose job is to settle disputes between explorers. They have real power. In fact, I can even see one of the original characters from the Discipline Committee, the vice-chairman.

If it were just Toraku and the others, it’d be fine, but right now, it’s a huge problem for us.

“…Should we burn them?”

“They might just be trying to delay us. We should keep running.”

“Plus, Mizuhi-chan is probably reaching her limit, right? She can’t keep using that attack so easily.”

“…Hmph.”

Mizuhi-senpai looked a bit dissatisfied but reluctantly agreed. Well, if it comes down to it, I can just become Solsiera.

Also, a war between Fectom Academy and Kiso Academy would definitely put us at a disadvantage. Right now, the situation is hazy due to the illegal experiments and the appearance of Solsiera, but if we seriously clashed with the Discipline Committee, it would give Kiso Academy an excuse to act. So, we have no choice but to run.

“…Yeah. We can’t afford to mess up the plan.”

Mizuhi-senpai muttered. Huh? Is something going on that I don’t know about? Lately, it feels like my knowledge isn’t really helping.

Just as I was about to ask Mizuhi-senpai, I heard a voice from somewhere.

“That’s right, just as planned. Stop wasting actions, okay?”

The voice came from Mizuhi-senpai’s Dive Gear.

Mizuhi-senpai operated the Dive Gear while running, causing a window to appear on the side. There was a familiar face in the window.

“When did you start listening in on our conversation, Rinka?”

Rinka smiled and said, “Oh, come on, it’s like you’re accusing me of eavesdropping.”

“I hacked into the surveillance cameras around here… well, I did a little tampering, you know? I’ve been gathering information continuously. That’s how I happened to pick up your conversation.”

Did she just say hacking? Did she hack into Kiso Academy’s systems?

“The plan is going smoothly. There’s no problem with the original Plan A.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve been watching. I thought for a moment there, ‘What should I do if you get all beat up?’ But when Toraku said, ‘I’m going right now,’ stopping him was a hassle.”

“Sorry to worry you.”

“Haha, I wasn’t worried. I knew you’d make it through. You promised to help, so I knew you’d pull it off.”

Rinka and Mizuhi-senpai both smiled at the same time. I looked at Toa-chan, and she smiled back as if relieved. Seeing that, I and Miroku-senpai could only stand there, stunned.

“Mizuhi-senpai… What’s going on?”

“The mission to rescue Miroku had some cooperation. Well, rather than cooperation, it’s more like a deal with an academy.”

“That’s right. Long time no see, Narou Kei-kun.”

“…Long time no see.”

I felt a huge pressure coming from them. Oh no, they’re really staring at me.

“We made a deal. A mutually beneficial one. To make sure we succeeded in our plan, we assigned roles to each of us.”

“Our job was to rescue Miroku, or at least reach that location. But this time, we got the best possible outcome. If it weren’t for Solsiera, it could have been dangerous.”

“Yeah, that was a known variable. We expected Solsiera to interfere.”

Rinka said with an exaggerated smile. Oh no, she’s staring at me again.

“You two perfectly fulfilled your roles. Now it’s our turn… right, both of you?”

At Rinka’s words, a gunshot rang out. One of the Discipline Committee members was shot and fell to the ground. In response to the sudden counterattack, the others stopped and became cautious, but most of them collapsed on the spot as if they had lost consciousness.

The scene was familiar.

It was the interference with consciousness. A method of winning without harming the opponent, used by the person who is best at it.

“…Ah, now it’s our turn.”

Two shadows descended, seemingly to protect us. Probably a one-time teleportation spell.

I recognized who they were, based on the timing of their arrival.

“…Toraku, Mihaya.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Kei-kun.”

“I wasn’t waiting that much… But seeing your surprised face, it feels pretty good.”

Toraku and Mihaya. The two who would later be known as the greatest combatants at Gokei Academy, appeared as if to help their friend.

Why?????