Morning comes, even for losers.

“Good morning… This is a loser speaking…”

『Loser No. 2 here…』

Last night, I completely lost as a mysterious beautiful girl.

It was a total, utter defeat.

The same convergence barrage as me, restraint with chains, and even teleportation magic.

That evasive, nonchalant demeanor? It felt like a different kind of mysterious.

A mysterious beautiful girl must always hold the upper hand.
Since revealing one’s trump card first decreases your mysterious points, the fact that Sorciera was already a known existence put me at a disadvantage.

The other girl? A complete enigma.

Even her voice was synthesized behind a mask.

And she wore a black, hooded cloak, no less.

That’s… that’s what a mysterious beautiful girl should be…!

『For my convergence barrage to be… mimicked… It kind of stings, doesn’t it?』

Starreader’s Staff, we lost.

We got conceited.

We thought we were the only mysterious beautiful girls in this world.

That arrogance made us weak…

Thinking back calmly, we were neither the origin nor the only ones.

We were merely one of the many mysterious beautiful girls aiming for greater heights by following the footsteps of the truly great ones.

『Yes…』

The possibility of another mysterious beautiful girl in the academy city? It was always there.

And I overlooked it…

『Partner… There’s no excuse this time. I’m really at a loss for words…』

This means I can aim even higher!!!

『Huh?』

Maybe, unconsciously, I had been settling for less in my mysterious beautiful girl persona.

I need a deeper, more desperate yearning!

A heartfelt wish to become a mysterious beautiful girl!

I lacked the strength of will…!

『I think your willpower is already pretty excessive…』

No, it’s not enough.

If I were truly a mysterious beautiful girl, I would’ve toyed with that Nameless figure.

I would’ve seen through her identity!

Even my knowledge was lacking.

If what Miume-chan said is true, all her inventions came from Nameless’s knowledge.

What’s their connection…?!

Could that mysterious beautiful girl be a spin-off character?

She was strong, and it’s strange that she’s not in the main storyline.

『If only we had some clue about her identity…』

We do have a clue.

I picked out several familiar voices from that synthesized one using my beautiful-girl ears.

Miroku-senpai, Mizuhi-senpai, Toa-chan…

Purification, Miume-chan, Touraku-kun, Mihaya-chan, Rinka-chan, and Lutra were all in there too.

Oh, and… right, Rokuhara-san. And Eina-chan.

The rest, I couldn’t figure out.

Some voices of beautiful girls mixed in, but they weren’t recognizable.

『Does your body even function like a normal human? No offense, but that’s seriously creepy.』

I can recognize beautiful girls and original characters’ voices.

What are you even saying?

And another clue.

Nameless observed my fight with Mizuhi-senpai at the training grounds before.

If she was watching me then, she could’ve intervened during the twin-rider academy incident too.

But she stayed a bystander until Miume-chan’s case. There must be a reason.

We need to investigate around Miume-chan.

『Hmm, so the Zilnius Academy then?』

Exactly.

And right now, a meeting was taking place in the student council room.

As expected of the beautiful-girl seniors.

They move fast!

Everyone gathered in the student council room early in the morning.

The topic of discussion? That mysterious beautiful girl called Nameless.

Since it was so early, Toa-chan and Nana-chan seemed sleepy.

How cute.

“…That’s all I know about the fight from last night.”

After explaining the previous night’s battle, Mizuhi-senpai concluded her report.

Miroku-senpai, who had been quietly listening, slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling without saying a word.

“Miroku…?”

“Please allow me to process this information… I thought all the problems were solved, but it feels like we’re caught in something strange again, and it’s making me a little dizzy.”

“…It’s because of me, isn’t it? I’m so sorry.”

Seeing Miroku-senpai’s reaction, Miume-chan stood up and deeply bowed.

Her expression was heart-wrenching, like she was about to cry.

“No, it’s not Miume-chan’s fault. If what Mizuhi said is true… we’ve already been under Nameless’s surveillance. The fact that she intervened now suggests that our interaction with Miume-chan was the trigger. That’s where we should start investigating.”

Miroku-senpai calmly explained, her words carefully chosen.

Wow. She’s amazing. She’s deducing all of this without any meta reasoning.

『Maybe it’s just that you never think things through?』

Shut up.

“Could it really be that Miroku-senpai has a better chance of reaching Nameless before anyone else!?”

“And there was that project at Zilnius Academy about artificially creating geniuses, wasn’t there? That might be relevant too.”

Ah, crap.

I totally derailed this conversation.

Sorry, Miroku-senpai… That thing I said, I only made it up because it sounded mysterious and cool.

Zilnius Academy is actually filled with well-adjusted people compared to the other academies, so there’s no way they’d be doing such unethical research…

After all, the student council president is a good person.

‘So that was a lie after all, huh.’

Obviously.

I just don’t want to lose to Nameless.

With Mizuhi-senpai getting all friendly with Sorciera lately, I really want to maintain my mysterious beautiful girl image…!

“So in the end, we’re going to Zilnius Academy, huh?”

Toa rubbed her sleepy eyes as she spoke.

“Yes. Let’s ask Mikage Academy if they can move up the negotiation period a bit. We’ll bring up Nameless when we meet the student council. That said—”

Miroku-senpai clapped her hands together.

“Let’s decide who’s going to Zilnius Academy.”

Yay!

I wanna go!

I want to experience a spinoff firsthand and meet the mysterious beautiful girls of Zilnius Academy!

‘What happened to your solemn demeanor from earlier?’

Shut up.

I can’t stay down forever!

If they’re ahead in terms of mysterious beauty, I need to learn from more beautiful senpais and level up!

This makes perfect sense!

『…Maybe… you’re right.』

“So, Kei-kun is confirmed, but are there any other volunteers?”

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong, Kei-kun?”

“Can I really go?”

“Of course. It’s important for the future student council president to gain experience. Besides, you’ve had a serious expression on your face, so it’s clear you’re very interested.”

So kind.

I think I heard something about me being the next student council president, but let’s focus on how kind she is.

“I’ll go. If anything happens, I’ll burn it to ashes.”

Mizuhi-senpai raised her hand confidently.

No, she’s totally unsuited for this kind of mission.

But it’s okay. I’ll cover for her.

Just as we were about to settle on Mizuhi-senpai going, Toa unexpectedly raised her hand.

“…No, I’ll go, Mizuhi-chan.”

It was rare for her, usually passive, to speak up.

Has Toa been growing every day too?

I’m proud of her, as a fellow mysterious beautiful girl.

“Mizuhi-chan, there are more things you should be doing as an S-Rank. And if we’re going to protect Fectom Comprehensive Academy, we need your power.”

Mizuhi-senpai lowered her gaze, considering Toa’s words.

Then, she looked at Toa and said:

“Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. I’ll do my best!”

Toa clenched her fists in front of her chest and nodded repeatedly.

She seemed totally ready to go.

“Alright, then it’s decided. For the record, I have contracts with our corporate sponsors, so I’ll be staying behind again. Mizuhi, please help with the paperwork.”

“…Got it.”

Did Mizuhi-senpai volunteer just to avoid paperwork…?

“That won’t be necessary. Mizuhi’s participation would reduce work efficiency by 30%.”

Nana, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

Mizuhi-senpai conjured flames in her hands.

“What? S-Rank doesn’t need to worry about that.”

Please don’t push yourself, Mizuhi-senpai.

Also, no fire indoors. It’s dangerous.

As we continued our lively banter, Mirume bowed her head again.

Beautiful girls shouldn’t bow so easily.

“Thank you, everyone! For helping someone like me…!”

“No need to thank us. Besides, you’re the one making my Dive Gear.”

“Exactly. Considering the multi-million gear you’re crafting for us, it feels more like we’re the ones being helped.”

True.

But thinking about it, why did we specifically ask Mirume to make it, when it’s Nameless’s knowledge we’re using…?

Ugh! What even is Nameless!?

The more I think about it, the more perfect Nameless’s mysterious beautiful girl moves seem!

『Nameless… just who are you…?』

Ahh! That’s what I wanted people to say to me!

Stop it, Starreader’s Staff!

It makes me feel like I’ve lost!

This is an attack on my identity as a mysterious beautiful girl!

“We’ll do whatever we can. So if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“…Got it!”

See, Starreader’s Staff?

We mysterious beautiful girls exist to protect moments like this.

You must feel inspired now.

『Weren’t you just excited about meeting new mysterious girls at Zilnius Academy?』

Nonsense.

Our only goal is to perfect the path of the mysterious beautiful girl.

There is no compromise on that.

“Well then, Kei-kun, Toa-chan, we’ll be counting on you.”

““Yes!””

We both nodded firmly.

I’m really looking forward to meeting the unknown beauties of Zilnius Academy!