There’s a saying that even a dog, if it walks, will eventually bump into a stick.

So then, if you pick up a beautiful girl in a dungeon, there’s no issue, right?

Because dungeons are full of mysteries, these things happen sometimes.

『No, they don’t.』

They totally do!

『Fine, they do.』

Alright, let’s go!

“—That’s why I brought back Kūna Mirume.”

In the student council room, Mizuhi-senpai introduced Miroku-senpai and the others to Mirume-chan.

You’re just going to say it like that, like she’s a stray cat?

“Um, to clarify… You received a rescue request from a girl who was expelled from her party while exploring a dungeon. You helped her, and since she seemed to have a situation, you brought her here… Correct?”

“Exactly.”

“Mizuhi, next time, try to explain things more clearly, alright?”

“Why? I thought that was clear enough.”

Mizuhi-senpai tilted her head.

Next to her, I also tilted my head.

Isn’t the important part that a beautiful girl is here, Miroku-senpai?

Look, it’s a type of beautiful girl we haven’t seen at Fectom Academy!

In the first-year group alone, we now have a mysterious beauty, a timid beauty, and a cheerful beauty. The balance is perfect!

『There’s one fake among them.』

Who could that be, I wonder?

“Uh, um… Thanks for the explanation. I’m Kūna Mirume from Zilnius Academy’s Maintenance Department.”

“Yes, hello! Please relax. Well, if you can tolerate our shabby academy, that is.”

“No, not at all! Compared to my lab, this place is incredibly clean! Just having space to lie down on the floor feels like paradise!”

What kind of lab do you have, seriously?

“In any case, this is perfect timing. It seems we’ll be visiting Zilnius Academy in a few days. Agiri Rinka just told me.”

“Ah, right. She was handling the sister school procedures today.”

I tagged along for the rescue mission, making sure not to run into any of the main story characters.

From what I can see, the students from Mikage Academy have already left.

Phew, safe!

If the spin-off protagonist interacts with the original story characters, who knows what will happen?

This time, I need to be more cautious.

“Mirume-chan, if you’re okay with it, why not stay here for a few days? It’d be better than going back and causing unnecessary commotion. You can explain everything directly to Zilnius Academy’s student council.”

“I agree. How about it, Mirume? It’s not much, but at least there are no monsters here. The walls and ceiling are intact, and we can even offer some bean sprout dishes. Why not rest here for a bit?”

The two oldest members made the proposal to Mirume-chan.

How wonderful… Look, Star Reader’s Staff!

This is the unconditional love that beautiful girls possess.

Beautiful girls interacting with each other is always dazzlingly radiant.

『Wait, aren’t they trying to sneak her into Fectom Academy? They seem ready to have her transfer in if given the chance.』

Hey, don’t say such wild things.

They’re just being genuinely kind!

“Oh, by the way, Fectom Academy is always accepting new students.”

“The dorms are fully available now, too. And there’s no tuition!”

“? Huh, is that so?”

Mirume-chan tilted her head, clearly oblivious to their intentions.

…Such thoughtful seniors who are always thinking about Fectom Academy. Nice!

『You become so agreeable when it comes to beautiful girls, don’t you?』

Of course!

『…But what if a beautiful girl committed a crime?』

What?

『If the beautiful girl you admire was forced into crime by unavoidable circumstances, would you support her actions or stop her?』

…How would I know!?

I’ll think about it when it happens!

If a beautiful girl commits a crime, the best course of action is to crush the root cause behind it!

『That’s fair.』

But honestly, if a beautiful girl was involved, I probably wouldn’t be able to fight her seriously.

In that case, I’d retreat with illusions and full speed.

As Star Reader’s Staff and I engaged in excited banter, it seemed like the others had reached a consensus. Mirume-chan would be staying here for a while.

“…Hey, that person is safe, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. He’s not a bad guy, Toa-chan.”

At my words, Toa-chan breathed a sigh of relief.

She was nervous about a stranger coming in.

But, uh, can you stop clinging to my back?

Every time you do that, I’m torn between bearing the weight of sin or becoming a super-mysterious beauty.

For now, I’m in emergency mode: Super-Mysterious Beauty (in disguise).

『You’re working those mental calculations hard.』

Thanks as always, Star Reader’s Staff!

And so, this room is now filled with nothing but beautiful girls.

Is this paradise?

“By the way… Who’s that person hiding behind Kei?”

“Eep! I’m, um, Tsukimiya Toa… Nice to meet you?”

Hearing Toa-chan’s introduction, Mirume-chan bowed her head vigorously.

“I’m Kūna Mirume! First year!”

“I-I’m also a first year.”

“Whoa! We’re the same year!”

“Y-Yeah.”

Still nervous, Toa-chan timidly shook the hand Mirume-chan offered.

Mirume-chan grasped it happily and shook it up and down.

“Well then, nice to meet you for the short time we’ll be together!”

Yeah!

I’ll also learn a thing or two about beautiful girls from Mirume-chan!

“By the way, could I ask something right away?”

Mirume-chan hesitated for a moment, then pointed at Mizuhi-senpai.

“Could I maintain the Dive Gear? It’s not much, but I’d like to repay you for the hospitality.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“No, I insist! It’s been bothering me. It looks poorly maintained… and, honestly, I’d pay money just to fix it.”

At Mirume-chan’s words, everyone’s gaze turned toward Mizuhi-senpai’s Dive Gear.

Noticing their stares, Mizuhi-senpai tried to hide her arm.

“…Mizuhi, who’s been maintaining it while I was away?”

“…Kei, there might be someone in need of rescue. Let’s go to the special district immediately.”

As Mizuhi-senpai tried to leave, Miroku-senpai firmly grabbed her shoulder.

“Have you never maintained it?”

“Well, uh…”

“Was it because you didn’t have time after what I did?”

Miroku-senpai lowered her gaze sadly.

Mizuhi-senpai quickly lifted her head and firmly denied it.

“That’s not it! I just… found it bothersome.”

“Of course.”

Knew it.

Mizuhi-senpai was excited about the academy’s debt being reduced during the rescue.

I guess it’s also my fault for not being able to handle maintenance.

I’ll bear that sin too.

『You’re the weirdest hit-and-run offender I’ve ever seen.』

Miroku-senpai took the Dive Gear from Mizuhi-senpai and handed it to Mirume-chan, who beamed like she’d just been given treasure.

“Thanks! I’ve been wanting to fix this for a while!”

With a wide grin, Mirume-chan began working on the Dive Gear.

Good stuff. I should get her to work on mine too.

『I maintain you 24/7.』

So convenient!

 “Mizuhi, I’ll make sure to check the maintenance regularly from now on. If it’s too much trouble, I can take care of it for you again.”

 “No, I’ll handle it this time. Seriously. Don’t doubt me… Hey, why is everyone avoiding looking this way?”

“Because, Mizuhi-senpai, every time you have maintenance time, you end up going off to help someone instead.”

“Even Kei…!”

We really need you to handle the maintenance.

Otherwise, it’s dangerous.

“Oh, by the way, something’s been on my mind.”

Miyume-chan, what’s up?

Whatever it is, this all-knowing, mysterious beauty will gladly enlighten you.

『All-knowing…? You?』

What, got a problem with that?

“Is that Dive Gear really yours, Mizuhi-san? It doesn’t seem like it fits you properly.”

“Huh? Is that so? I’ve been using it without any issues.”

As she spoke, Mizuhi-senpai summoned a flame in her palm and twirled it effortlessly.

Wow.

Hey, hey, I wanna do that too! I wanna conjure purple flames and act all mysterious!

『Fine, fine… I’ll make it for you.』

Thanks a ton!

“See? I can use it without any problems—oh.”

Suddenly, a short warning sound blared from the Dive Gear she had just finished maintaining.

Miyume-chan’s mouth fell open.

“It broke.”

“What!? I-I didn’t mean for that to happen…”

“No, it’s not really your fault, Mizuhi-san. Could I borrow it again?”

Miyume-chan took the Dive Gear, dismantled it again, and opened several windows while tilting her head thoughtfully.

“Hmm… the processing speed can’t keep up. Honestly, it’s barely providing any support for your abilities. Even if we forget about weapons for now, can you still summon flames with it?”

“Yes.”

Mizuhi-senpai lit a flame at her fingertip.

Whoa! Lighting flames on her fingertip looks so cool!

“…Yeah, it’s functioning to cancel out the effects of the alternate dimensional deep zones. Which means, the Dive Gear can’t keep up with Mizuhi-san’s abilities. No matter how many times we tweak it, the result will be the same.”

“See? Looks like I don’t need to do any more maintenance!”

“Mizuhi.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

That smug look turned into an apology real quick.

But honestly, saying no maintenance is needed is taking it too far.

Safety first, always!

“I recommend buying a new Dive Gear. Not a cheap one—get one that matches your rank.”

“””Rank…”””

Our voices overlapped in unison.

We exchanged glances, thinking the exact same thing.

—S-Rank Dive Gears are insanely expensive, right?

Even the cheaper ones cost millions. An S-Rank Dive Gear…?

『Is it really that expensive?』

Of course, it is!

For instance, take Rokuhara’s S-Rank Dive Gear. It costs 800 million yen. The board made it for them.

『Wha…』

Dive Gears use dungeon cores.

The higher the user’s rank, the higher the core’s rank needs to be.

Which means, for Mizuhi-senpai, it’d need to be at least A-Rank.

Or even fit for an S-Rank dungeon.

『…You don’t have that kind of money, right?』

Aren’t those provided by the board?

Wait, do S-Rank users pay for their Dive Gears themselves?

…Actually, for people like them, it probably wouldn’t be hard.

“Eh, what’s wrong?”

Noticing our reactions, Miyume-chan asked with a puzzled look.

Mizuhi-senpai answered apologetically.

“I’m S-Rank.”

“Huh?”

“I’m S-Rank.”

“…No way! You’re kidding, right!?”

“It’s true. Here’s my official profile from the board.”

Miyume-chan compared the information repeatedly with Mizuhi-senpai.

Finally, she whispered, “It’s real…”

“While I was holed up in the lab or getting kicked out of dungeons, another S-Rank was added?”

“…Yeah. So, uh, I can’t buy an S-Rank Dive Gear right now. I’m broke…”

An awkward silence filled the room.

This… feels pretty bad.

『Couldn’t she just make one? Isn’t she from Zilnius’s tech department? She seems quite talented.』

No way!

Do you have any idea what S-Rank means?

It’s the pinnacle of this academy city!

Even if she’s a spin-off protagonist, this is too much.

Maybe after the final episode, but right now she’s clearly still in Episode 1.

“Zilnius Academy does handle Dive Gear production, right?”

Miroku-senpai remarked.

Ah, she’s planning to negotiate with the Zilnius student council.

“Yes, that’s right. For S-Rank Dive Gear… I believe the one made for Watarai Ryuuko was done by all the senior students.”

“Ah, I see.”

The scale was too big, and Miroku-senpai seemed to give up.

“…So, you’re broke, huh?”

“Yeah… We were bankrupt until recently. Technically, we still are.”

What should we do?

Should we start a “Congrats, Mizuhi-senpai, on capturing Sorciera” campaign?

I wouldn’t mind getting caught by a pretty girl.

『Excuse me! Sorciera isn’t someone who loses and gets captured! That’s unacceptable!』

What’s with her?

But I get it…!

So, how do we make money?

Dungeon rescue missions? Dungeon raids?

“U-uhm…”

Miyume-chan shyly raised her hand.

Then, looking at Mizuhi-senpai nervously, she said,

“If you don’t mind, I could try making it.”

“You can!?”

“I won’t guarantee it. But when I saw Watarai Ryuuko’s Dive Gear blueprint, I thought… I could make it faster, better, and cheaper.”

Yup, she’s totally a Narou-type protagonist.

What she’s saying is absurd.

Brainy genius, huh? That’s wild.

“…How much would it cost?”

“Huh? Money? No, this would be more of an experiment for me. I wouldn’t charge you, especially since there’s no guarantee it’ll even work.”

Miyume-chan shook her head.

She seemed more humble than anything, like she didn’t fully grasp her own value.

Her intellect and her self-esteem felt oddly mismatched.

“Then please, give it a try. If you can make the Dive Gear, it’d be a huge help.”

“It’s a great project for my academic progress, so I’d be happy to!”

Mizuhi-senpai and Miyume-chan shook hands firmly.

Wait… If this works, we’re talking billions for free?

『See? My idea was spot on.』

Sure, but…

Would the board even allow this?

Wouldn’t it be like having dinner outside after your mom made a meal?

『Your analogy is so mundane.』

I’m glad, but…

We should think of a way to thank her later.

“Could you give me a dungeon core? A-Rank would do.”

We don’t have any!

“Sorry, I barely have any dungeon cores.”

“Oh, I see. Could you get some? No rush, though. I’ll start programming now.”

“Sure, I’ll get them. Even if I have to duel someone for them.”

“Mizuhi-chan, we don’t have a duel-ready dungeon.”

Fectom Academy really has nothing!

Well, except cute girls.

That’s good enough! Approved!

Miyume-chan handed us a small tablet.

“Then, take this—’Nakayoshi! Dungeon-kun No. 6.'”

“What’s that?”

What a silly name.

“It detects slight fluctuations when alternate dimensional deep zones start encroaching on this world.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“It’ll show us where dungeons will appear in advance!”

“Huh!?”

Mizuhi-senpai and I spoke in unison.

…Wait, did we just get handed something insane?