"Guooooooooh!"

I wonder where that voice is coming from within that bony body.

Letting out a low growl, the bone monster, so large I have to look up at it, readies its sword and charges at us.

We split left and right to dodge the descending blade.

Then, targeting us as we dodged, multiple fireballs fly from behind Rikitomi kun.

Their trajectory curves, clearly homing in on us.

I throw an Illusion Dagger, shooting down the ones aimed at me and Nemusia.

Inoue san was smashing the magic with her tonfas, erasing them.

While we were dealing with the magic, Rikitomi kun started moving again, attacking Nemusia, whom he judged to be the "slowest."

"Your aim is transparent."

However, it seems she knew she would be targeted preferentially.

She sets a "Reaction Cast" right in front of her.

The moment the opponent's swung sword touched it, the compressed wind exploded all at once, blowing Rikitomi kun away.

While the opponent's body is in mid-air, I approach the ruin of Makuchi san, floating eerily in the rearguard.

I dodge the fireballs flying at me with Sword Dance steps, accelerating even further.

In the blink of an eye, I slipped into her guard.

Meanwhile, Inoue san instantly understood the role I entrusted to her and attacked the mid-air Rikitomi kun.

"Uwoooooooooh!"

He swings his giant sword while floating in an unstable state.

However, lacking sufficient power, it was normally blocked by Inoue san's tonfas.

And in quick succession, she unleashes an attack combining not only her tonfas but also martial arts.

"Shatter to pieces!"

Since the opponent is not human, Inoue san has no hesitation either.

She crushes bones with tonfa strikes, snaps ribs with knee strikes, dislocates joints with grappling techniques, and then shatters the skull with her tonfas again.

It was a combination of police-trained hand-to-hand combat and the skills she likely acquired, giving him no time to even fall to the ground.

I don't have time to be fascinated either.

First, I activate Full Burst.

I prepare to throw the knives.

And in the instant between the appearance of the replicated short swords and their launch, I unleash a powerful thrust.

But the tip of the blade was blocked by an invisible wall.

Makuchi san created a shield with magic.

And while blocking with it, she activates her next magic, surrounding me with dozens of fireballs.

If I get hit by all of these, I'll definitely die.

But this shield's strength—I could probably break it if I hit it with Full Burst, but then Makuchi san herself wouldn't take any damage.

If that happens, she'll probably just slip away and take distance with her floaty movements.

I don't want her to escape—or rather, I have a feeling I don't want Inoue san to take all the credit.

Fortunately, although Makuchi san fires a lot of magic, the power doesn't seem extremely high.

First, I focus my consciousness backward and set up a Fire Wall.

At that timing, the short swords that appeared from Full Burst are launched.

They clash with Makuchi san's barrier with a Bzzzt!, sending sparks of lightning flying.

But I'm pushing her back. Just a little more and the barrier will shatter.

At that moment, the countless fireballs floating around me attacked from the left and right.

The Fire Wall is stopping the ones from behind.

I deal with the ones on the left and right with Dual Slash—an 8-hit combo using dual-wielding, shooting them down as much as possible.

But a few shots slip through the slashes and hit me.

Flesh is gouged from my arm, flank, and thigh, and the wounds are burned.

"Hot! But it's nothing I can't handle!"

Getting a part of my body burned doesn't even count as a wound.

Crash! Makuchi san's barrier shattered.

Aiming at the defenseless giant bone body, I activate Full Moon.

"With this, be shredded to pieces!"

Along with the staff and arms protecting its body, I slash and shatter its bones.

However, I've thought this before, but slashing attacks really have bad compatibility with bone monsters.

I try to make them hit as much as possible, but knives with narrow blade widths inevitably slip through the gaps between the bones sometimes.

That's the case now too.

Normally, if I land a dual-wielding Full Moon, I should be able to defeat most monsters, but regarding Makuchi san, it only caused cracks all over her torso, dropped one arm, and opened a hole in her cheekbone.

That's within the range of "can still fight."

In fact, seeing the opening when my continuous attacks ceased, she is unsteadily stepping back to take distance.

Perhaps because she's a mage type, her speed isn't that fast.

Just one more push there—I step forward with my throbbing leg, put strength into it, and leap.

[Power Stab Lv. 3]

[Handle Crush Lv. 1]

[Remaining Skill P: 3]

Before leaving the restaurant, I had already finished learning skills.

Right in front of me as I leaped out is Makuchi san's skull.

Aiming there, a striking technique that slams the handle part of the knife with all my might.

That was Handle Crush.

"Handle Crush! Take thiiiis!"

Gushaaaah! The sound of bones crushing. And the sensation.

The beautifully shaped skull was mercilessly compressed to about half its width, retaining no trace of its original form.

Furthermore, the impact added to the head dispersed throughout the whole body, spreading cracks and shattering the body as well.

I killed it—I felt that response.

Makuchi san's body falls to the side.

Meanwhile, Nemusia and Inoue san's battle was also coming to an end.

"Dual Cast—I shall crush you with Air Burst."

Nemusia uses Dual Cast, which activates two spells simultaneously.

What activated from this was Air Burst, which releases compressed air all at once to cause an explosion.

Originally, its main use is to give the opponent an impact and blow them away.

However, for Nemusia who can use it twice at the same time, it was also possible to activate the magic on both the left and right of the enemy and crush them with pressure.

Rikitomi kun had taken Inoue san's attacks head-on multiple times, and was already unsteady with his whole body covered in cracks.

So even knowing magic was coming, he couldn't escape, and his bone body was crushed while making a creaking sound.

His shattered, fragmented body falls to the ground.

[Monster 'Human' killed. Congratulations, you have leveled up to 57!]

With Nemusia defeating the enemy, the message echoes in my head.

"So these guys are treated as humans too..."

In other words, just like Shudou kun and Shimakawa Yuya, they are humans who became monsters through a special process.

Inoue san must have heard a similar message, as her expression clouded over.

"Were those humans just now?"

"Most of the monsters here were formerly human. There is no point in worrying about it."

"Yeah..."

"More importantly, what does this mean? Why do humans turn into such monsters when they die?"

"I think probably both of them were chosen as members of Shiromachi kun or Suguro kun's party."

"Then if we die, will we turn into that too?"

"The power we originally possess is the power of 'Kaigyo' purified so humans can handle it. Fundamentally, it's the same as the monsters. So I don't think it's impossible that we change if we die, but..."

"Aren't they purified so you don't turn into monsters?"

"Yes, normally. But the two we just defeated looked like 100% pure Kaigyo's Gangrene."

"They were large, but they resembled the Skeletons we encountered on the 1st floor."

"If you turn into a monster like that, magic like Resurrection would have no value existing. These two probably obtained their power through 'something else' other than the party system I use on you, Nemusia."

"What is this something else?"

"Something like the unpurified power of Kaigyo. Thinking about it that way, the reason they aren't attacked even if found by Casts makes sense."

"You mean they aren't attacked because they are allies."

In a word, "fakes created by Kaigyo".

Perhaps they are counters created against humans resisting Kaigyo, like us.

It's still just a hypothesis, but it feels like the most natural reason for not being attacked by Casts.

Because even zombies and non-human creatures like Gii attack indiscriminately, yet they don't cannibalize each other.

"However... if that's the case, I don't think Shiromachi kun will obey quietly. That guy is definitely the type who wouldn't want to become a monster."

"If they don't know until they die, maybe they haven't noticed yet. After all, until now, the only opponent they seriously fought was me."

"That is convenient. If they do not know, we can use it to shake them up."

Shiromachi kun will definitely rebel.

I don't know Suguro kun's reaction, but he seems like he'd say he doesn't care as long as he can fight and get stronger.

As for Ooki and Nakami, they probably think what's happening now is the result of the ritual to summon Giraiguu, so I think they'd gladly accept it.

The effect is 1/4—but if it's not zero, I want to use it well.

"But maybe not right now."

"Is that so?"

"I'm confident I can use it better later. For now, let's just clean up the monster corpses this time. Also, we'll erase only one of the human corpses and leave the other one."

"If we leave it, they can revive it, right."

"You also said that if we erase them completely, they will revive no matter where they are."

"If it's a different thing from our power, I want to confirm the range of their revival. Before the opponent realizes the existence of me and Nemusia."

"Then—"

Inoue san, seemingly having made up her mind about something, said while looking at the corpses.

"It's better if I leave traces so they know I did it. Right now, the wounds on the corpses will make it obvious it was a crime committed with a knife."

She can't kill a person, but she will cooperate in covering up the corpses—she offered to do that.

Normally, she would absolutely hate it.

However, if the opponent is an entity close to a monster rather than a human.

She must have convinced herself of that and offered to cooperate with us.

Ultimately, thanks to Inoue san's handiwork, only Rikitomi kun's corpse, beaten with tonfas, remained there.

◇◇◇

We returned to the restaurant that serves as our base.

A pleasant smell drifts inside.

It seems Akabane san made pasta using canned food and dried noodles.

Apparently, he is also involved with the eateries inside the amusement park and is confident in his cooking skills.

"I'm sorry, Akabane san, we still don't know your daughter's whereabouts."

Inoue san, sitting next to him, bowed her head apologetically.

Akabane san said "It can't be helped," but exhaustion oozed from his expression.

Meanwhile, Nemusia, eating at the same table as me, lifted noodles with a fork and stared intently at the red vegetables.

"Tomato."

"Don't like them?"

"I have never eaten one."

"They're sour."

"I see, it has a sour taste."

It seems she wanted to eat it after asking what it tasted like, and as soon as I told her, she brought the fork to her mouth.

And tasting it, she nodded with a "Hm."

"It's not a bad taste. There is a similar vegetable in my homeland too."

"That's good. They say not liking the food is the worst thing."

"Indeed... the meals in this world are delicious. However, the familiar tastes do not exist in this world. As expected, I do feel lonely."

"The taste of your homeland, huh. I wonder what it's like."

"It has a stronger scent of herbs."

"Oh, can you cook dishes like that, Nemusia?"

"I am a Queen, you know."

"Ah, right."

"Though I say that, I actually can."

"Fufu, what's with that."

"Until my older brother disappeared, my days were filled with bridal training. So it would be troubling if I could not at least cook."

"You are a daughter of the royal family, after all. Even if you didn't become Queen, you would have married someone."

"A partner had also been decided. However, not having to marry him was... well, perhaps it was a good thing."

From Nemusia's words, I can somewhat guess what kind of partner he was.

"Being a Queen is tough, huh."

"Everything is for the Adrasia Kingdom, and its people. I have never thought of it as tough."

"You're a splendid Queen. Ah, but if you can cook, Nemusia, I might want to try eating your cooking after we escape from here."

"There would be no ingredients."

"There might be similar foods like tomatoes, right?"

"Before that, escaping from here means returning to my Adrasia Kingdom. Are you intending to come to my kingdom as a guest and have the Queen cook for you?"

"Can't you forgive me since we're comrades-in-arms?"

"Impossible. Execution for disrespect."

"Haha, lives are way too cheap."

"Fufufu, it is a joke, of course."

Delicious food is something that unravels the heart.

Our conversation also bounced naturally.

But, the face of Nemusia talking like this is Yumemi chan's.

While my heart finds peace in enjoyable conversation, somewhere in my head, I always remember the photos, reports, and audio I found underground.

The pasta is internal organs.

The tomatoes are blood and flesh.

It's okay.

If I think of this as Ooki's internal organs and flesh and blood, if anything, it's even tastier than pasta.

◇◇◇

After finishing the meal, while resting my body lying on a chair, a message arrives from Gii.

I had told her to tell me in detail about the situation inside the hotel after the corpse was discovered.

It's a mystery how she gathers information, but since she can freely change her body shape, she should be able to slip in anywhere.

In fact, she is sending me detailed accounts of Ooki and the others' discussions, which only chosen people should be able to attend.

◆◆◆

"Are you serious about Makuchi chan and Rikitomi chan dying?"

In a certain room of the hotel, several men and women are sitting around a table.

Besides Ooki, Nakami, Shiromachi, and Suguro, of course, the figures of the students chosen as their "party members" were also present.

"Yeah, I confirmed it."

"Under what circumstances did you notice? Speak briefly."

Ooki said that, for some reason with irritation bleeding into the end of her words.

"I know you adore your daughter, but endure it for a few dozen minutes, Ooki chan."

"Shut up. I just don't want to waste time."

"While training against Casts, I noticed their HP had become negative."

"Negative?"

"An overkill, I presume."

"The negative value kept decreasing, and when it reached zero, they stopped moving entirely. Feeling suspicious, I headed to the scene, and found only traces of a battle and Rikitomi's corpse remaining."

"I-is that... the woman with the tonfas you mentioned before... I wonder..."

Myourenji, with his messy hair, opened his mouth timidly.

For him, who is always holed up in his room, going outside is about limited to the time of these irregularly held discussions.

"Inoue chan, was it? But she didn't look like the type to kill people to me."

"Maybe she got serious after we kidnapped the evacuees."

"The corpse also had marks as if it had been beaten with those tonfas. I believe there is no mistake it was her."

"I wonder where Makuchi san disappeared to."

"I don't know. But the fact that her signal disappeared means Makuchi is undoubtedly dead too."

"Why did Inoue chan do something like taking a corpse, I wonder."

"Um... I saw it on the camera footage Shiromachi recorded... that person, she shoots fireballs and stuff from her tonfas. So, maybe she was erased by that?"

"Ah, right. Myourenji chan saying that reminded me, that was a mysterious tonfa that shoots bullets and stuff."

"What is this camera footage?"

"Didn't I tell you? Remember when we kidnapped a bunch of people before? Everyone's reactions back then were so funny, so I recorded a video. And then coincidentally, it also captured Inoue chan who came to take them back."

"If I recall, at that time, perhaps judging she couldn't win, she retreated immediately."

"Yeah yeah, she ran away taking a few people with her. Anyway, going back to the topic, weren't Makuchi chan and Rikitomi chan surprisingly strong? No matter how much of a mysterious tonfa user she is, could they lose to Inoue chan that easily?"

"It is highly likely their actions were read, and they suffered a perfect ambush. The location also has terrain very suitable for ambushes."

Nakami pointed at the map spread out on the table.

Shiromachi rested his chin on his hand and muttered uninterestedly, "As expected of the police."

"However, there are also unnatural things. In order to ambush in this location, it would be impossible unless they had obtained information that the two of them were returning to the hotel now."

"They must have been followed."

"There's no way they wouldn't notice being followed at a distance where voices can be heard."

"That said, with just this information, we cannot entirely deny the possibility that it coincidentally turned into an ambush."

"But there is also the possibility that someone is leaking information."

"I believe we should be vigilant about that as well."

"It's after we brought a lot of people in, so there's a possibility someone has a smartphone or something hidden."

"Then investigate more thoroughly."

"Ah, I'll pass on Inuzuka chan, please."

"I too would prefer not to get involved if possible."

"Also Ooki chan, make sure to thoroughly investigate your daughter, okay? If you say 'I pampered her too much and overlooked it', it won't be a laughing matter."

"You don't need to tell me, I'm investigating Rea chan from corner to corner. There's no way she can keep secrets from her mama."

The moment the topic turned to Rea, Ooki showed a bizarre smile.

As if averting his face from that smile, Suguro said to Myourenji.

"Myourenji, you check if the number of smartphones in storage hasn't decreased as well. Also investigate if there are any missing persons."

"U-understood... I'll do it."

Even though he was merely spoken to, overwhelmed by Suguro's intensity, Myourenji cowered.

◆◆◆

—The contents of the meeting Gii told me about were something like this.

It seems Ooki and the others don't have the concept of resurrection magic.

As expected, the different-thing theory seems likely.

And the story about HP becoming negative.

If that's the result of turning into a monster, then they really don't know that they turn into monsters after death.

And one more thing.

Rea is, as expected, with Ooki.

I heard from Gii that Ushizawa san and Mitsurugi san are locked in the hall.

But she said she doesn't know Rea's specific whereabouts.

I think she was taken by Ooki.

To her, Rea is an important tool to satisfy her twisted motherhood, and there's no way she'd let her go no matter what.

Ignoring the person's own will, she will definitely try to keep her close.

And if she doesn't act as she wishes, she will mercilessly use violence.

She won't kill her.

In a sense, it's safe.

But thinking about the physical and mental pain Rea is feeling, my head feels like it's going to explode with hatred for Ooki.

I want to kill her quickly.

Don't rush.

As soon as possible.

Not yet.

Impatience and reason clash in my head.

Right now reason is winning, but if I see Rea getting hurt again next time, then—

But not now.

Right now, I will steadily chip away at the opponent's fighting strength.

Since they don't resurrect, I know that if I kill them, their numbers will just decrease.

While hinting that there's a spy inside the hotel, first I'll reduce their numbers.

Crushing the head comes after that.

"You are plotting something wicked again."

Laughing teasingly like that, Nemusia sat nearby.

"Did I have that kind of face?"

"Umu, you did. I do not dislike it, though."

"You're weird."

"Indeed, why do I feel a sense of affinity towards you. It is a mystery."

"Did you?"

"If not, I would not become this close to a commoner."

Even if you call me a commoner, I don't really talk to Nemusia thinking she's someone important in the first place.

"You resemble my older brother."

"I'm a girl, though."

"It is not a matter of gender. You look exactly like him when you are thinking about revenge."

"Your older brother was doing things like that."

"Royalty is in a position where they easily get caught up in conspiracies of all sorts. A best friend, a fiancée, and even our mother. My older brother had his precious people taken from him at every turn."

"Isn't that the same for you, Nemusia?"

"I had my father and older brother. Both of them were kind to me enough for the people we lost. But in a sudden moment, a cold flame would sometimes burn in my older brother's eyes."

"He was thinking about revenge."

"That must be what it is. It was a terrifying face, but at the same time, it is also feelings of care for his precious people. Affection and kindness that lost their destination change shape, and become like that, I suppose."

"And, I'm similar to that."

When I said that while looking at the message from Gii, something heavy and warm suddenly landed on my body.

A nostalgic scent and the scent of a foreign land mixed together, throwing my emotions into disarray.

"It's heavy when you suddenly get on top of me."

Nemusia seems to have leaned her body over and suddenly hugged me.

"There is an impulse within me that wants to cling to you."

"Is that so."

"I do not know if this is my impulse, or the emotions of Ikuna Yumemi. Therefore, assuming it is mine, I tried thinking of various reasons."

"And the conclusion was that I resemble your older brother."

"To be honest, you do not resemble him much. The gender is different, after all."

"I guess so."

"However... being like this is calming. Did you have opportunities to do this sort of thing with Ikuna Yumemi?"

"...I did. We did it all the time. I was the one doing the hugging, though."

"I see. The subtle sense of wrongness might be because I am the one hugging."

"I mean, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly doing this."

"That is why I said it is an impulse."

"If you're talking about impulses, you should have hugged me unable to hold back the moment we saw each other."

"Muu..."

"You're worrying about something, aren't you?"

"Umu... I have various worries."

"You can talk about it."

"I... killed a person for the first time."

Seriously, even though she was talking so much about having experience in war.

"I have seen people die before my eyes many times. However, it is different when I am the one doing the killing."

"If it was tough for you, you should have said so earlier, I would have tried my best to comfort you."

For now, I pat her head.

"No, that is not so important. I am a little bothered by it, but it is nothing more than guilt I will forget after a night's sleep."

"Then it's fine..."

"The main issue is... how should I put it, a question."

Perhaps it's a very difficult question to ask, Nemusia hesitates multiple times with "Er, um."

But gathering her resolve, she finally asks me.

"Do you think the Adrasia Kingdom is truly safe?"

"I don't."

I answered immediately.

Because I felt like this was what she was expecting.

"As I thought."

"If it was bitten by Kaigyo's fangs, at least the bitten area is probably doomed. I saw various dead worlds on the 1st floor."

"I did too. Seeing that, I also thought the Kingdom might not exist anymore. No matter how much I believe, there are times when I become inexplicably anxious."

"Besides, your body... isn't there, Nemusia."

"..."

"That body belongs to Yumemi chan, right? And the memories of Yumemi chan remaining in the body are affecting you too, Nemusia. I think you're surviving in a very forceful way."

"Right, I suppose so. Indeed it is. I... might have actually died. When Ikuna Yumemi's soul was offered to Giraiguu, perhaps only my soul happened to flow into this world. However, that—"

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing."

"Truly?"

"It's not like you stole her place. Or that you caused Yumemi chan's death. The ones at fault are Kaisei kyou. The ones at fault are Ooki and the others. That won't waver. Just—I also have mixed feelings about it."

"I suppose so. An unknown person like me is inside the body of your precious person, after all. I intend to respect your feelings as much as possible."

Even if she says she'll respect them, I myself don't know what I want to do with Nemusia.

She is not Yumemi chan.

But I can't completely deny the possibility of her being Yumemi chan either.

Nemusia is such an incomplete existence.

How on earth should I interact with her, and what should I wish for?

The boundary line is too ambiguous, and no matter how much I think about it, I don't think I'll find an answer.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"If Yumemi chan's impulse makes you want to touch me... then properly touch me when that happens."

"Is it not creepy that I am the one touching you?"

"Why do you think so?"

"Because the more I think about it, the more I think my existence is bizarre. Because I am a bizarre mixture."

"I don't think so. I don't feel it's creepy at all."

"I see..."

"Don't make such an apologetic face. Because it's really not your fault, Nemusia."

"Honestly, I cannot distinguish between Ikuna Yumemi's impulse and my own desires. All alone in this world without my father or older brother... I might feel lonely and want to touch you. If I am hugging you using Ikuna Yumemi's body as an excuse to fill my own loneliness. That is, um, very creepy... or rather, wrong...."

Since she was blabbering on about things I didn't quite understand, I pressed both her cheeks with my palms.

Her cute face distorted ungracefully.

Even so, it's still cute, so Yumemi chan really is unfair.

"I don't care which it is, so if you want to stick to me, stick to me. Okay?"

"Ivh ih fhine?"

"It's fine."

If it can serve as even a little bit of atonement towards Yumemi chan.

"Also, it's just my own selfish thought that the Adrasia Kingdom is destroyed. Until we know the result, isn't it fine for you to believe it's not destroyed, Nemusia?"

"But... is there a possibility?"

"Even I think places other than the school and Fantasy Land are safe. That's why I'm using the word 'escape'. Let's believe it until we know the result."

"...Right, I suppose so. If the Queen gives up, the people will not be rewarded either. To think I would become so timid."

Probably, killing a person for the first time weakened her heart, and all her worries erupted at once.

If that exchange just now solved it—then I guess I'm surprisingly capable too.

Maybe thanks to Rea, I've gained a little bit of confidence in interacting with people.

"You, you are thinking about another woman while holding me, are you not."

"That way of picking a fight is annoying."

"Fufufu, I know. It is about the girl named Oogi Rea, correct? I hope we can save her soon."

"For that purpose too, I hope they crumble from the inside quickly."

When I looked at my smartphone, a new message had just arrived from Gii.

"You are smiling with a good face."

"Myourenji kun is digging his own grave in a good way."

Nemusia and I stare at the new message together.

『A surprise physical examination was conducted. The contents of our smartphones were checked. I was of course fine. But strangely, Myourenji has a smartphone of the same model as the one I have.』

『Who manages the smartphones in the hotel?』

『Myourenji. He probably has a stock of dozens, and he manages the numbers and such.』

It seems Myourenji kun is in a position where he can fudge the numbers of supplies like smartphones in that hotel.

And the fact that he specifically chose the same model as the one Gii has from that stock means—

『There seems to be no mistake that the smartphone Gii has is the one Myourenji kun lost. But he's afraid of getting scolded by Shiromachi, so he's keeping quiet about losing it. And to cover it up, he's using a smartphone of the same model.』

Rather than lost, I think it was probably stolen.

But the fact that he's hiding it makes it undoubtedly a suspicious act from the perspective of Shiromachi and the others.

『Should I switch what I have with what Myourenji has right before the contents are checked?』

『Wait, it's still too early. We need to raise the suspicion a little more. Even Myourenji kun will insist it was switched. Since he's entrusted with managing the smartphones, he's trusted to some extent. If we don't break that, there's a high possibility Myourenji kun's excuse will pass.』

『Then kill more?』

『Yeah, kill more and raise their anger towards the spy. But besides that, I want material that increases their distrust towards Myourenji kun himself. To the point where no one will defend him anymore.』

『There's an interesting story. When I was monitoring Myourenji earlier, he was looking at an image on his PC.』

They even have PCs.

Myourenji kun seems to be highly specialized in production skills.

Or perhaps they are intentionally making it that way so he doesn't have the power to rebel.

『Ushizawa was in the image.』

『He was looking at a photo of Ushizawa san?』

『Probably secretly taken.』

『Could it be Myourenji kun has feelings for Ushizawa san?』

『The possibility is high.』

That's quite interesting information.

『Can you use Inuzuka san's position to guide Myourenji kun?』

『I can.』

『Can you contact Ushizawa san without the other guys noticing?』

『I can.』

『Then tell Ushizawa san beforehand that Myourenji kun is after her. Make absolutely sure she doesn't get hurt.』

『Understood. After that, I'll make it known that Myourenji is after Ushizawa.』

If it becomes known that he approached Ushizawa san, a member of the hostile faction, Myourenji kun will have a motive for betrayal.

It's more than enough for the short-tempered Shiromachi to cut Myourenji kun loose.

『Do your best, Gii.』

『I'm good at this kind of thing so it's fine. Erika, do your best fighting.』

Encouraging each other, we narrow the encircling net.

In addition to this, Hiyami san is probably making her move too, so it's no exaggeration to say our preparations are perfect.

"She is a capable intelligence agent. She is good enough that I might hire her in the Adrasia Kingdom."

"Scouting her is probably useless."

"You mean she will not leave you? Indeed, watching the conversation earlier, I could perceive a considerable amount of loyalty."

"Gii has various circumstances, you see."

Really various, including the parts that haven't been revealed yet.

"However, I am worried. No matter how capable she is, eavesdropping on meetings and monitoring private rooms... If she is found, she will be killed instantly."

True, no matter how much she looks like Inuzuka san, there should be a limit to where she can move.

"How is she getting in that deep?"

"Let's ask her."

It seems Gii also has some quiet time right now, so I try throwing the question at her as a test.

An answer came back immediately.

『I'm moving through ducts and pipes. As long as my heart and smartphone can pass through, I can get in even if it's narrow.』

By fusing with a human, she couldn't become a completely amorphous existence, and the heart inevitably remains.

Conversely, it means she can take any shape as long as she leaves her heart.

"She can freely change her shape... I think this Gii is too unfair as an intelligence agent."

"I'm really glad she's an ally."

While thanking Gii like that, we continued to exchange words for a while.

And about an hour later, I had fallen asleep right there on the chair.