Chapter 164

Episode 161: Meanwhile! Factom General Academy!

Factom General Academy was as peaceful today as ever.

With the territorial war concluded and tensions with Kisou Academy settled for now, things had calmed down.

In this school where classes barely existed, there was an abundance of free time.

Even Miyume Aoi Hoshi, enjoying such leisure, seemed dissatisfied.

“Ah, wasn’t it around here? I thought I placed it nearby…”

Rummaging through a mountain of inventions, Miyume’s lab-cum-private room, which spanned three classrooms, was larger than those of other students.

Despite this, the area was cluttered, making it appear chaotic.

Only the area around her sofa, where she slept, was slightly organized; the rest remained in disarray.

“Dummy head mic… Where did I put it… Hmm? I wanted to use that for Mizuki’s ASMR project. Oh, the materials were expensive, so I don’t want to make it again…”

Muttering to herself, Miyume grabbed and threw inventions repeatedly.

Behind her, Clam was similarly searching through the pile of gadgets.

He, too, was looking for something specific—an “Echi Detector,” designed to locate someone’s erogenous zones.

Who he intended to use it on—and what he planned to do afterward—remained his secret, preserved for the sake of his honor.

“In fact, wasn’t the ASMR request from Mizuki herself? But surely, she didn’t come up with that idea herself… Maybe one of her fan club members is a pervert?”

“ASMR, huh? …I wonder if her work will appear soon.”

“Her?”

Clam smiled at Miyume but said nothing, continuing to dig through the mountain of inventions.

Realizing this might be something dangerous to touch, Miyume nodded in understanding and returned to her search.

“Ugh, I already told Mizuki we could record tomorrow…

“Is something wrong with Mizuki?”

At the voice behind her, Miyume let out a startled cry.

Simultaneously, the mountain of inventions collapsed, burying her underneath.

Thanks to the help of the frogs assisting Clam, he managed to escape unscathed.

“Ow… This hurts… Wait, isn’t that Miroku-san?”

Peering out from beneath the pile of inventions, Miyume saw Miroku smiling kindly while crouched beside her.

“I believe this is our first meeting today. What would you two like for dinner? It’s my turn to prepare it.”

“Oh, so that’s what this is about,”

“I’d like some simmered dishes,”

“I want fried chicken.”

“Got it. We’ll decide by drawing lots, so no complaints, please.”

As Miroku jotted down their requests, Miyume, watching from within the mountain of inventions, noticed something.

“Hey, aren’t you also after some ampules?”

Still smiling, Miroku helped Miyume crawl out before brushing off her uniform and saying,

“You’re sharp, Miyume-chan. That’s right—I need medicine to increase compatibility with my Demons Gear.”

“Hmm…”

Clam sighed and sent a message to someone familiarly.

“Miroku-san, what are you doing?”

“I thought I should inform Mizuki and Kei just in case. They can keep an eye on you two to prevent unnecessary injections.”

“That’s unfair!”

“You’ve done reckless things in the past, everyone knows that. …No amount of head-tilting will change that.”

Though usually calm and able to offer advice from a distance, Miyume knew Miroku had deep-rooted eccentricities.

(Kei, Toa, and Mizuki all say the same thing—Miroku loves self-sacrifice…)

Honestly, the academy was full of people like that. While internally facepalming, Miyume handed over the minimum number of ampules.

“Is this all?”

“Of course. Sure, this drug seems flawless even to me, but it still places immense strain on the body. Living normally with a smile like you do, Miroku-san, is honestly abnormal.”

“Hehe, I’m being praised!”

“Am… well, I guess it is praise in a way.”

Even with ampule-induced contact, Miroku, who could handle Demons Gear, was clearly on the side of the wielders.

However, that door was not meant to be opened…

“Miroku-san, please promise me that if anything unusual happens to your body, you’ll tell me immediately.”

“…Understood.”

Miroku smiled faintly and patted Miyume’s head.

“I’ve stopped doing reckless things like that. Besides, this action was discussed with Mizuki. I’m preparing for various things.”

“Preparing…?”

“Yes. Though nothing concrete has been decided yet.”

Saying this, Miroku injected one of the ampules into her neck without hesitation.

Miyume and Clam grimaced at her practiced motions.

But Miroku continued speaking without batting an eyelid.

“Nameless is undoubtedly keeping an eye on Factom General Academy.”

“Eh?”

“…Well, the possibility is high,” Clam added, recalling an incident from the territorial war.

(The first kiss… Kei’s first kiss…!)

That day’s scene still haunted him in dreams.

“We don’t know their purpose, but they are definitely interfering with us.”

“Indeed, Nameless appeared before me too… Hey, what’s this?”

Miyume looked at a piece of paper handed to her.

It bore an expertly shaded drawing.

Recognizing the figure in the picture, Miyume exclaimed,

“Nameless!?”

“Ahh, and this drawing is by…”

A black hood revealing glimpses of black hair, the outline matching the Nameless in her memory.

“Drawn by Hikari.”

“No way!”

This shocked Miyume more than anything else that day.

“How about it, Miyume? Isn’t it good? She has surprisingly excellent art grades.”

“It’s impressive… though I haven’t seen the real Nameless, so I can’t confirm the likeness.”

“It’s not just ‘likeness’! Wow, good… Wait, Hikari has this skill…?”

After expressing her reservations, Miyume stored the drawing in her expansion field due to its incredible quality.

“As you can see, Hikari must have met Nameless too.”

“…Yeah, if she can draw this accurately, then probably.”

Miroku turned her attention specifically to Clam.

“Actually, Professor and Nameless had direct contact.”

“Ah… So that’s why you’ve seen them.”

“Professor, as in… the incident at Kisou Academy?”

Nodding at Miyume’s question, both confirmed it.

Miyume knew little about Professor, only recognizing them as a mad scientist who created drugs to enhance compatibility with Demons Gear.

“She was possessed by Professor back then, and her memories from that time are vague… Come to think of it, I never asked Hikari about Nameless.”

“Yes. So I inquired out of curiosity. And she said, ‘Oh, I know them! They’re the true mastermind, right?'”

“If you knew, why didn’t you say anything…?”

Covering her face with her hands, Clam sighed deeply.

“So, what exactly happened when Professor and Nameless met?”

Miroku spoke solemnly.

“—They were negotiating how to get Aoi Hoshi Miroku to join Kisou Academy. Apparently, Professor was explaining the details.”

“…So that means…”

“Yes. It seems we’ve been manipulated by Nameless from the start.”

“Indeed, Nameless visited me too… Which eventually led to meeting everyone else.”

Not only that.

Whenever something happened at Factom General Academy, Nameless was lurking in the shadows.

“Who exactly is Nameless…? Moreover, what even is Solciera? Could she also be targeting Factom General Academy…?”

“…Well, maybe?”

Clam quickly averted his gaze and chuckled nervously.

While openly known among his circle, Solciera remained a mystery to the public—an S-Rank enigma.

“So, I want to disrupt Nameless’s plans. To do that, I need to contract sooner rather than later. Being controlled like this is infuriating.”

Miroku’s eyes held a strong sense of determination.

But Clam instantly noticed a hint of anxiety amidst it.

…Nevertheless.

“That’s great.”

Clam had faced the harsh reality of his inadequacies multiple times.

Thus, he didn’t want to easily dismiss Miroku’s resolve.

“I’ll go along too. If I understand correctly, you’re heading to Nana’s place next?”

“Clam-chan… Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I somewhat understand that feeling. Especially the desire to mess things up that you dislike.”

With that, Clam began contacting someone.

Seeing the puzzled looks from the two, he explained,

“There’s a friend who gets along well with a Demons Gear user. Apparently, there’s going to be a mock battle between Demons Gear users today. Want to check it out?”

“Is that okay?”

“What else are we gonna do? We’re bored anyway. Kei and Toa are out, so let’s go too.”

Taking Miroku and Miyume’s hands, Clam left the room.

“Eh? Am I coming too?”

“When you’re desperate, things don’t turn up. Let’s take a break. Besides, wouldn’t you like data on other Demons Gear?”

“I WANT IT!”

“Too loud…”

Watching the lively duo, Miroku smiled alone.

Having lively conversations with girls other than Mizuki and Toa was something she hadn’t even imagined.

“Right now, Factom can surely defeat anyone, no matter who the opponent is.”

“Of course.”

Clam responded naturally, as if truly believing it from the bottom of his heart.

“Alright, let’s head to Nana’s place.”

“Yeah. She’s probably either asleep, watching anime, or gaming, so she should be in her room.”

“Is that really a Demon Gear user? Hey, isn’t that a hikikomori?”

There was nothing to refute that claim.

In fact, they were about to encounter Ciel, who was about to indulge in in-game purchases with a mysterious gift card.

“Hopefully, Kei and the others enjoy their rare outing.”

Ciel’s tearful week-long ban from gaming due to Nameless’s repercussions was only three minutes away.

■

Meanwhile, Kei…

“Hyaa, my waist feels weak…”

“Did we overdo it? Is this okay? Can you fight?”

“No way… Let’s change tactics and stay seated.”

Completely exhausted from the ASMR recording session and Star Reader’s Staff’s teasing, Kei sat on a chair.

Her cheeks were tinged with a light blush.

Looking slightly disheveled, her beauty was almost sensual.

Star Reader’s Staff maintained composure despite wanting to ravage her immediately.

“Scholars, those nuisances, will soon meet Toa and the others. We’ll proceed according to plan when the timing is right.”

“Ah, leave it to me. No, seriously, you can trust me this time? Should I call in sick and watch?”

“No way! I want to be a mysterious beautiful girl too!”

“Are you a brat?”

Struggling to stand, Kei reached out her hand.

Seeing this, Star Reader’s Staff chuckled and disappeared into her.

“Alright, let’s go, Star Reader’s Staff. Operation Night’s Domination by Sorcière begins now.”

At least Kei seemed to be enjoying this outing.

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