By the time Soga Yuzu returned to the entrance of the Assault Department's female dormitory, holding Kujou Katora's hand.
What she saw... was a girl with long orange hair, thinly dressed, hugging her knees as she crouched by the dormitory entrance, trembling from the late-night chill.
Her crimson eyes were now thoroughly red, and even the rims were flushed.
Although she was in the Assault Department.
But... the physical constitution of a mental-type Esper was generally nothing to boast about.
What's more, Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi had only just enrolled and hadn't been put through any rigorous training yet.
Her physical fitness was that of an ordinary young lady.
Today, just a slight cut to the sensitive skin on her chest from Soga Yuzu's sword had nearly brought Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi to tears, let alone... sitting on the cold steps from morning until late at night.
She didn't dare return to her dorm.
Afraid that if she went back, she would miss Soga Yuzu's return.
Her father's orders... were for her to wait here as a show of her repentance and sincerity.
Even her lackeys had been dragged back home by their respective parents to reflect on their actions.
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi felt utterly wronged.
Hunger and cold tested the nerves of this young lady who had never suffered a day in her life.
Grievance and anger built up inside her, but in front of Soga Yuzu, she was much more docile this time.
She didn't dare show the slightest hint of resentment or rage.
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi... had never seen her father so furious.
So furious... as if she had committed some catastrophic blunder.
From a distance, Soga Yuzu stopped, still holding Kujou Katora's hand.
She watched the trembling, orange-haired girl hugging her knees, who was clearly waiting for her, and was a bit unsure of her purpose.
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi got up unsteadily.
Under Soga Yuzu's strange gaze, she slowly approached, then suddenly bowed deeply towards Yuzu, her hands on her knees.
"I'm..."
"I'm sorry!"
"Sister Yuzu."
"Today, my crime deserves ten thousand deaths... I was blind and failed to recognize a great person..."
"For upsetting you, Sister Yuzu."
"Please... please, you must forgive me."
Her voice gradually choked with sobs as the grievances that had been brewing all day burst forth in an instant, large teardrops splattering onto the ground one by one.
Soga Yuzu stood there, stunned.
She looked at the bowing Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi before her.
She wasn't some saint.
Nor was she some wicked villain.
While she often enjoyed teasing girls, not just any girl was worth the effort.
To Soga Yuzu, the girl before her was just an insignificant minor character.
Seeing the girl bawling her eyes out in front of her, she found herself unable to strike or scold her.
In contrast, Kujou Katora, standing beside Soga Yuzu, sneered at Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.
She was used to seeing members of great families turn on each other for personal gain.
She knew that, given the girl's personality, she would never have come to apologize unless someone was pulling the strings.
But—
what did that have to do with her?
As for what Soga Yuzu chose to do... that was her own family's business.
Kujou Katora simply stood silently and obediently by Soga Yuzu's side, her scarlet eyes wordlessly exerting immense pressure on Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.
The bowing girl trembled, on the verge of collapse.
It wasn't an act.
The young lady's constitution truly couldn't take it anymore.
Tears streamed down her face as she bit her lip hard, staring at the tips of Soga Yuzu's feet.
If... if this apology wasn't sincere enough, her only remaining option was to kowtow before Soga Yuzu.
Soga Yuzu looked at Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.
Then, pulling Kujou Katora along, she walked around the girl and headed for the dormitory.
Biting her lower lip, the sobbing girl clenched her fists tightly.
Her trembling knees were already prepared... to kneel in submission.
"Let's leave it at that."
"It ends here."
The girl's cool, clear voice finally sounded.
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi could no longer control her knees, and with a thud, she collapsed weakly to the ground.
Without even giving her a second glance, Soga Yuzu stepped into the dormitory with Kujou Katora.
Soga Yuzu held no real resentment or hatred towards her.
She had paid attention to her in the morning purely because... at that time, Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi was just a walking treasure chest in her eyes.
After a brief farewell to Kujou Katora.
Soga Yuzu returned to her own dorm room.
She looked at the pink and blue nightlight on her bedside table and turned it on with mixed feelings.
A little bit of warmth was added to the room.
The girl slowly undid the buttons on her chest while running the bathwater.
She swiped open the Operator panel.
The first thing she saw was the lovely figure of Mihou Sakai in the assistant slot.
Her sailor-style school uniform fell to the floor.
Soga Yuzu curled up in the bathtub.
On the assistant interface.
Mihou Sakai's chibi figure seemed to be interacting with Soga Yuzu, her little face and earlobes flushing a bright crimson.
Soga Yuzu checked her own stats.
Unfortunately—
the game didn't have a system for gaining experience after battle.
After defeating Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi, the experience bar for "Level 4 - Hand of Paradox" hadn't changed at all.
Instead, it was only when she used her ability to torment the little yellow duck floating on the water that the experience bar moved slowly.
Using all four of today's Combat Records only managed to fill the experience bar to about two-thirds.
There was no charming experience like with the little rabbit.
Soga Yuzu just felt an insatiable emptiness, a void in her chest so profound... it felt like even her breath was catching.
She looked at her other gains.
The item reward for defeating Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi.
[Ghost Crown]
[☆☆☆☆☆]
It looked like a small, silver crown hair accessory, adorned with tiny gems that shimmered with a crimson light.
[An accessory that provides a small boost to mental abilities.]
[Charm +2 when worn.]
The reward from a mental-type Esper was also equipment for a mental-type Esper.
That made sense.
Soga Yuzu looked at the Ghost Crown in her inventory.
Whatever... I'll give it to that person as a birthday present next month.
However—
she looked at her own status panel.
In the spot that was previously blacked out ▇▇▇ after [Level 0 - Psychokinesis], a new line of text had appeared.
[Dominator's Aegis (50%) (Visible/Hidden)].
[You have received the Dominator's Aegis. Your resistance to mental abilities has been greatly enhanced. (Mental attacks from those with less than 50% of the Dominator's mental power will have no effect on you).]
[...]
Soga Yuzu knew the value of the word 'greatly' in this game.
The last time she saw the word 'greatly' used as a descriptor...
was in Mihou Sakai's Inherent Ability, [Return from the Abyss].
Lightly biting her lower lip.
Soga Yuzu stared at the (Visible/Hidden) option after [Dominator's Aegis].
Her fists slowly clenched.
"That... damn jerk."
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