I immediately shut myself in the room that had been prepared after my transfer.

Locked up tight, good!

“…Phew.”

As expected of Purification-chan, she knew all sorts of things we didn’t!

『She’s impressive. Still, who would’ve thought that The Mystic Eye was actually a ghost?』

I acted like I already knew, but honestly, that was a surprise.

She even helped me out, proving once again that beautiful girls have such big hearts.

Someday, I’ll have to return the favor!

『Yeah. But still, I didn’t expect you to refuse her help. That man-eating frog could take on Divided Death Must Die head-on due to sheer numbers. An explosive attack would also be effective. She’s sharp, too—no reason to turn her down.』

That’s a fair point.

With her, I could probably beat the doctor to a pulp.

If she handled the attacks, I wouldn’t have to directly harm a beautiful girl myself.

But that wouldn’t do.

That would mean taking him down for Sorciera’s sake.

As long as I, as we, are Mysterious Beautiful Girls, we must resolve most matters through Sorciera alone.

I am a Mysterious Beautiful Girl.

I am neither a villainous female executive who uses allies to defeat enemies, nor a heroine who fights evil alongside them.

I stand in between.

Sometimes an enemy, sometimes an ally—a self-centered existence.

That is what Sorciera is.

It’s fine to win using someone’s abilities.

A Mysterious Beautiful Girl should be able to cleverly use any power at her disposal.

It’s also fine to give someone a push forward.

When justice and whim align, the Mysterious Beautiful Girl looks reliable.

But standing side by side and fighting together? That’s a no-go…

If that ever happens, it’s either the final episode or a seriously dire emergency.

『Then why not make better use of Purification-chan? You could’ve guided just her toward the doctor, right? She was eager to help you.』

That’s the worst option.

The best outcome is that a beautiful girl never faces danger in the first place.

If it’s necessary for her, there’s no choice.

But this time, she’s truly uninvolved.

I can’t drag an unrelated beautiful girl into my Mysterious Beautiful Girl act.

Think it through, Starreader’s Staff.

Sorciera isn’t meant to hurt people.

『…Sorry. It seems I’m more shaken than I thought. I never expected Sorciera to be completely defeated.』

It’s okay.

Since the two of us make up Sorciera, if one of us starts acting weird, the other should smack some sense back into them.

『Yeah. So, shall we begin?』

Alright! Bring it on!

『Hey, didn’t you touch Purification-chan’s lips?』

…Starreader’s Staff, that was necessary.

It was the most Mysterious Beautiful Girl-like thing to do.

『You’re a guy right now, aren’t you?』

Sorry.

『Did you do it to forcibly recharge your Mysterious Beautiful Girl energy after failing miserably?』

…Damn, you see right through me!

『Reflect on it.』

Yessir… my bad…

With Sorciera’s defeat, we were both acting off.

I knew nothing about spin-offs, so I guess it was inevitable, but I don’t want this to happen again.

Didn’t we handle the Fectom Academy incident pretty well?

Let’s remember those days!

『By the way, shouldn’t we check on Tsukimiya Toa’s safety? If the doctor took her hostage, that would be a real crisis.』

Good point.

Toa-chan would be a perfect hostage.

I opened the door and hurried toward Toa-chan’s room.

But before I reached it, I spotted a shadowy figure standing in front of the door.

“…Toa-chan!”

Crap, did the doctor get here first!?

『No, that’s…』

I rushed closer to confirm the figure’s face.

In the dim light, I could make out the blurry silhouette—it was definitely Miyume-chan.

Oh, just a secret midnight meeting between beautiful girls, huh?

…Wait, since when did Miyu×Toa become a thing!?

『It could also be Toa×Miyu.』

“Miyume-chan…?”

She flinched upon hearing me call her name and turned to face me.

“Oh, Kei… Why are you here?”
“That’s my line.”
“Huh? I… wait, why did I come here?”

Miyume-chan tilted her head.

Just then, her stomach let out an adorably loud growl.

We locked eyes and froze for a few seconds.

Then, embarrassed, she scratched her head and let out an awkward laugh.

“I guess it’s ‘cause I haven’t eaten anything—too many tests today. Aha…”
“Oh… I see. Uh, want to grab something to eat together?”
“Really!?”

I nodded.

Eating with a beautiful girl? I’ll handle a second dinner no problem!

“Wow, I’m so happy! Eating at this hour feels kinda special and exciting!”

Miyume-chan said, grinning.

“Let’s invite Toa-chan too!”

She knocked on the door.

Soon, a half-asleep Toa-chan appeared, dressed in borrowed pajamas and a nightcap.

Adorable!

“Huh… wha… what’s up?”
“We’re getting a late-night snack!”

Toa-chan sleepily turned her gaze to me.

Her eyes clearly questioned, Didn’t this guy just eat?

“What do you say? Wanna join?”
“Ehh… more food…?”

Watching Toa-chan respond in a soft, sleepy voice, I gently conveyed that it wasn’t something she had to force herself to do.

“Ah, no, Toa-chan, you don’t have to push yourself.”

“Mmm… I’ll eat.”

Even though she rubbed her eyes sleepily, Toa-chan firmly said that.

Could it be that Toa-chan is quite the foodie?

■

In the research lab, which was faintly shrouded in smoke from the human-devouring frog’s explosion, Kanon sighed as she stared at the spot where Sorciera had disappeared.

“Ha, she got away. Ugh, this is such a hassle.”

The plan had been perfect in theory.

I identified the true identity at noon, then made plans and prepared everything thoroughly.

Yet, she still got away… Is it because Sorciera was someone beyond me?

“…No, that can’t be it. Yeah.”

Kanon forcibly rejected the possibility, thinking it over. The explosion that allowed Sorciera to escape had been caused by a third party.

A complete irregularity.

Sorciera hadn’t expected it either.

 『—Oh, it looks like it’s time.』

“Then, what was that about…?”

Sorciera had set a time limit for herself.

Had she anticipated the chance of encountering me, a doctor, from the start?

What exactly was she investigating?

Was she looking into the Mystic Eye?

No, hold on…

“I never heard that Sorciera had the Mystic Eye.”

That was undoubtedly an unknown magical formula.

A completely original magic that didn’t exist in the academic world.

Why, then, did she come all the way here?

“That girl knew where the Mystic Eye was. If that’s the case—”

The premise was that Sorciera knew about the Mystic Eye.

From her actions earlier, it was clear she wasn’t just talking nonsense.

She knew where the Mystic Eye was, and she also knew what kind of Mystic Eye it was.

If that’s the case, why come all the way to this research lab?

Just as Kanon was about to think further, her train of thought was interrupted by the sudden sound of a door being forcibly opened.

“Ugh, that’s annoying. It’s supposed to be an automatic door with an electronic lock, you know?”

Kanon spun around in her chair and puffed out her cheeks.

Standing there, panting heavily, was her classmate with a determined look in her eyes.

“Hah… Hah… Gah… Sor… Sorciera’s reaction… Ughh…”

“Ugh, Luka-chan, if you run like that without sleeping, your heart might explode, you know? Come on, sit down, sit down.”

Kanon stood up and urged her to sit.

Luka, still trying to catch her breath, sank into the chair, her words turning into a string of gasps.

“…Phew.”

“Are you okay?”

“I fainted three times while running.”

“Stop doing that.”

“I anticipated it, so I made ‘Zap! Morning-kun,’ which helps restore mana when I faint, so it’s fine.”

“I said, stop it.”

Rather than a doctor’s concern, it was more of a common-sense kind of stop.

“I found a mana reaction from Sorciera. The mana depth is weak, but given this waveform, it seems like teleportation.”

Sliding a window on her device with her finger, Luka showed the data to Kanon.

Kanon nodded after looking at it.

“Yeah, that’s right. She was just here a moment ago.”

“Really!? …Ugh, I’m getting dizzy again—gah!?”

“Oh, did it zap you?”

Luka, who had slumped in her chair, was suddenly jolted awake.

Her eyes were wide open, more glowing than just being awake.

“So Sorciera came here, huh?”

“Yeah. Here’s the data.”

“Eh… Is it okay to share this?”

“I’m not really interested in analysis or explanation, so…”

Kanon passed the information she had gathered during the brief encounter to Luka.

Although the data was based solely on existing information in the academic community, it was worth a fortune to Luka.

“Whoa…! I’m so lucky to have friends like you…!”

“Well, I’m a genius from the Zilnius Academy, after all. Geniuses value their friends, ha-ha.”

(She shouldn’t know about Sorciera having the Mystic Eye. If I tell her that, Luka’s curiosity and need for analysis would break her emotionally, and she’d probably end up crying. I better keep that to myself.)

Kanon decided to withhold the information about the Mystic Eye purely for Luka’s sake.

“Sorciera seemed to be interested in my research. We happened to run into each other, so I fought her briefly. She got away, though.”

“R-Really!? Please tell me what it was like fighting her—”

Before Luka could say more, Kanon suddenly covered her mouth.

After thinking for a moment, she smiled.

“First of all, how about getting some sleep? If you want more information on Sorciera, the condition is that you sleep properly tonight!”

Luka nodded reluctantly but agreed.

“Alright, let’s sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Kanon stretched happily, then said with satisfaction.

Seeing her carefree back, Luka murmured, as if reassured.

“…Sorciera didn’t try to stop Kanon’s experiment, did she?”

“Nah, it’s fine.”

Kanon turned around, smiling brightly, and flashed a peace sign.

“I won’t let my sister interfere.”