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"Uh… I really gotta go."
"Hold on a second, Ryoji! I finally get a chance to show off my singing! No audience, no performance? You can wait a little!"
"Ah, for crying out loud!"
Ten minutes later.
The mountains were silent and the pathways utterly deserted. Ryoji was spread out on the sofa with an empty look in his eyes, a dazed look on his face, looking utterly defeated.
"Truly astonishing! I never expected to find a worthy rival here!"
"Hmph, I thought the student council president was just a pretty face, but who knew she possessed such stirring talent!"
The two girls grasped hands tightly, staring at each other like long-lost soul sisters, ready to swear an eternal bond on the spot.
A perfect pairing, like a turtle finding its favorite lettuce leaf, it was clearly destined love.
"See? I told you my singing wasn't awful! The state of this music room isn't my fault!"
The Dragon Girl, especially, had a mix of indignation and sheer excitement radiating from her.
'Wow… so the reason the music room is abandoned is all thanks to you!'
"Haha… hahahaha!"
Ryoji suddenly slapped his hands over his face, letting out a wild, hysterical laugh.
The two girls spun toward him, completely taken aback.
"Ryoji, what in the world are you laughing at?"
"Looks like I can't hide it anymore!"
Ryoji rose from the sofa with a chilling expression, snatched the microphone, and cleared his throat.
Three minutes later.
"Stop! Just stop! Don't sing anymore!"
"W-wait, Ryoji, I think I'm going to throw up…"
The Dragon Girl collapsed onto the floor, wailing in agony, her head pounding furiously.
Nero had turned ghost-white, clutching her stomach, feeling a hurricane brewing in her gut.
Ryoji threw the microphone onto the floor with an absolutely exasperated expression on his face.
Why?
'Everyone else wails like they're being tortured, but why do you two get along perfectly fine?'I open my mouth, and you act like I'm unleashing some kind of human suffering?'
'I'm calling foul, this isn't fair!'
"Ryoji, please, can you just stop singing? Just speak normally, there's no need to unleash magical attacks!"
Nero looked at him with a pained face, her eyes full of desperate pleading.
Humans aren't perfect.
Even with such overwhelming charm, the gods had to curse his body with an artistic 'plague' that ruined everything!
Ryoji stalked out of the music room with a dark scowl.
"Did you hear that? The music room just had more Devil Beast cries! And this time it was a triple magical resonance!"
"What kind of human torment is this?"
Damn it!
Once back in the Student Council room, Nero had the first-floor karaoke room completely dismantled at lightning speed.
After school.
"I'm heading out first."
Aozaki Aoko finished her work, closed the documents, handed them to Nero, and left the Student Council building without a backward glance.
"I'm leaving, too."
Ryoji finished his casual 'checking around,' pretended to inspect everything one last time, and followed her out.
"Huh?"
Nero looked up at the two who had left one after the other. Something felt off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she just went back to her work.
At the school gate.
"You're so slow!"
Aozaki Aoko waited four or five minutes at the gate before Ryoji finally emerged from the high school section, having changed his clothes.
"Changing takes time, Mom. Otherwise, we'd be exposed. You don't want every girl in school seeing you as their enemy, do you?"
Ryoji was now in casual clothes, a mask, and sunglasses, covering most of his face. He muttered back, his voice muffled, "It's just for today anyway."
Aozaki Aoko sighed a couple of times, then fell silent and started walking ahead.
Ryoji didn't know the way to the Kuonji residence, so he had to stick with Aoko this time. Once he was familiar with the route, he could go alone without arousing suspicion.
Souji had already gone home earlier. Ryoji had told his family he needed to stay at the Student Council to work and would be home late, and they hadn't suspected a thing.
Kinoko Town is a region of rolling hills.
Deep within the residential area, there was a particularly unusual road, straight, with no curves, leading directly up a sharp hill.
A dense forest crowned the hilltop, its fresh spring growth forming a canopy of vibrant green. Following the road through this woods, one could spot a Western-style mansion perched halfway up the slope.
It was an exceptionally large estate, easily two or three times the size of a typical home, completely enclosed by high steel fences. The grounds were massive, partitioned into front and back yards and several other wide-open spaces, hinting at the sheer scale of the property.
However, the mansion was noticeably old. Weeds in the yard reached nearly half a person's height, completely untended and lifeless. The place gave off the chilling, unmistakable aura of a haunted house, enough to make anyone think twice about approaching.
This was the Kuonji Residence.
The mansion's gate was unlocked. Aoko pushed it gently and walked into the front yard.
"Alice, I'm back!"
Aoko crossed the yard, pushed open the double doors, and stepped into the entrance hall.
Ryoji followed, his eyes sweeping over the interior.
The mansion itself was built with an unmistakable sense of luxury. From the entrance, it seemed to be split into east and west wings, with staircases mounted along the first-floor walls, leaving a vast, empty central atrium.
Silently, like a shade of night or an ethereal elf, a girl appeared in the atrium on the first floor.
She wore a long, flowing dress that looked much like a nun's habit. Her dark eyes settled quietly on Ryoji, showing practically no flicker of emotion.
Most serious Magecraft practitioners meditate to shield their minds and energy from intrusion. The higher their rank, the stronger their mental defenses.
Aoko sometimes had to avert her gaze when facing Ryoji, her heart picking up a slight pace, but Alice was a Magecraft 'monster' of a different caliber. Unless Ryoji actively unleashed his charm, there was no way he could make her waver.
"Living room."
Alice glanced at the two people who had entered, spoke the single word, and then walked into the room on the right.
"She means you're only allowed in the living room," Aozaki Aoko explained with a shrug.
"This mansion holds extraordinary significance for Alice; almost no one is usually allowed inside."
Meaning, for years she has been living mostly alone, and at most, only two people, counting Aoko, have resided here.
No wonder it felt like a haunted house; the yard's weeds were never cleared.
The room immediately to the right of the entrance was the living room.
Sunlight poured into the space. Two sofas faced each other across a coffee table. An old-fashioned television sat on a wooden table against the far wall, and the floor was covered with a deep red carpet.
Though Ryoji had never heard the Kuonji name before, this mansion was clearly the remnant of serious wealth.
"Alright, let's go over the intel first."
Aoko and Alice each took a seat on one of the sofas.
Ryoji scanned the available spots before choosing the seat next to Aoko.
Aoko brushed her long hair, letting it settle lightly down her back.
"In conclusion, this time our enemy… is my Big Sister."
(End of chapter)