Chapter 185

Episode 181: Clam and the Emotional Breakdown of Installed Types

What Clam and Rinka hadn’t anticipated was how incredibly cute Kei was, and that Nameless had prepared several outfits to bring out her cuteness to the fullest.

And then…

“Clam-nee-chan, Rinka-nee-chan, let’s play with dolls next!”

It was a reminder of how innocent young Kei used to be—a level of innocence unimaginable for her now.

Kei seemed to have taken a liking to the Man-Eating Frog, clutching one tightly to her chest as she approached the two.

The moment she did, a muffled sound of ‘Echi-e-chi-e-chi-e-chi—‘ started emanating from Clam’s neck, prompting Rinka to step forward protectively.

Right now, Clam was utterly powerless against Kei.

“Do you want to play with dolls?”

“Yes! This doll is the customer, and I’m the florist!”

With that, Kei handed over the Man-Eating Frog to Rinka. It was akin to handing over a live bomb, so Rinka hesitated briefly but managed to keep her composure thanks to her experience during the Silver Twilight era.

“Thank you. Could I please have a flower?”

“Sure, here you go!”

Kei crafted flowers from origami and handed them to Rinka, who stored them away carefully as if they were more important than any relic.

“What other kinds of flowers do you have?”

“Um… lots of different kinds!”

“Well, I’d like to get some too.”

Nameless chimed in with a smile, joining the pretend flower shop game.

Watching them from the side, Clam pressed her neck while looking on enviously. From where she held her neck, a muffled ‘Echi-e-chi-e-chi—‘ continued to ring out.

She had reached the point where just seeing Kei could set her off.

“…Cute. Would you still wear this even after we change back?”

The frilly apron paired with a light blue skirt reminded Clam of Alice in Wonderland. With her striking features, Kei looked every bit the storybook heroine.

But Clam was also imagining what this outfit would look like on high school-aged Kei. In her mind, Kei was blushing furiously in embarrassment, glaring at her while wearing an overly sweet outfit, reluctantly giving her a leg pillow.

To put it bluntly, Clam was extremely aroused right there.

“It’s practically a crime… I don’t even know how to explain myself to Hikari…”

While evaluating herself objectively as “creepy,” Clam took a step back to cool down. As she calmed herself, Clam noticed something.

(Come to think of it, this might be the first time I’ve been in Kei’s room.)

She had never entered Kei’s room before, given her secretive nature.

The room was surprisingly spacious for someone living alone. It must have originally been designed for multiple occupants.

Perhaps overwhelmed by the size, Kei had clustered new furniture she bought around her bed. The rest of the room showed signs of neglect—peeling walls and lifted sections of the floor.

(I was shocked when I first saw this place. It felt more like a ruin… no, a derelict room?)

Even when Clam and Hikari first moved in, they had to start with a massive cleanup, almost like a full remodel. During those times, having the Man-Eating Frogs around to help was invaluable.

(Still, it’s huge. And despite its size, there’s so little stuff in here.)

The room only contained the bare minimum furniture necessary for daily life, lacking any real human touch.

That made the large makeup table with its cracked mirror stand out all the more. It appeared to be an original fixture of the room, quite old and worn.

In front of it lay cosmetics that likely belonged to Kei—the only item in the room that could be considered a personal indulgence.

“…So, she’s interested in this kind of thing too.”

Clam quietly stepped away from the others and approached the makeup table. There, she found herself immersed in the world of a solitary girl.

Had circumstances been different, she would have never seen or known about this side of Kei. The fact that Kei chose to hide this part of herself, and that the world condoned it, was nothing short of tragic.

“—hmm?”

Clam noticed something inside a slightly open drawer of the makeup table.

Glancing behind her, she confirmed that the three girls were still playing. Feeling guilty, Clam opened the drawer and retrieved what was inside.

It was a small notebook.

A plain black notebook.

There was no doubt whose it belonged to.

Clam steeled herself and opened the first page.

【I must be a Star Reader

It’s okay, I can fight alone

I’m not scared, it’s okay, absolutely okay】

The moment Clam read it, she quickly closed the notebook. The exhilaration she had felt earlier vanished, replaced by an unpleasant sensation, as if cold water had been poured over her head.

(This… I shouldn’t have looked…)

The words written there weren’t from Solciera but from Na Takikai. This was territory Clam should not have intruded upon. She realized that immediately.

The gradually strengthening handwriting that masked fear, the tear-like stains—all of these were things that shouldn’t have been seen without permission.

This wasn’t something that should have been uncovered in such a manner.

“…What am I doing?”

She felt disgusted with herself for deriving excitement from uncovering the secrets of the girl she loved just moments ago.

What she should be doing now isn’t this. What she could do isn’t this.

Clam gently placed the notebook back where it belonged and rushed to Kei’s side. Without regard for Kei’s puzzled expression, she hugged her tightly.

The choker around her neck no longer emitted any sound.

“Eh, Clam!?”

“Ah, customers are troublesome! No, this kind of behavior is unacceptable!”

Ignoring Rinka’s surprise and Nameless’ amusement, Clam looked at Kei and forced a smile.

“Let’s play a lot today. …You might forget when you wake up next time, but yeah. For now, let’s play as much as we can like a normal girl.”

“Will you play with me? Yes, let’s play, Clam-nee-chan!”

Kei was delighted innocently, completely unaware of the sadness hidden beneath Clam’s smile.

Seeing this, Nameless spoke up.

“Kei-chan, why don’t you go for a walk with Clam-nee-chan and Rinka-nee-chan?”

“A walk! Let’s go!”

In stark contrast to Kei’s sparkling eyes, the other two wore perplexed expressions.

“Is it really okay to take Kei outside in this state?”

“Well, just say she’s like this because of Trans Anchor, and people will understand. More importantly, we need her to play to her heart’s content and expend her magical power.”

With that, Nameless patted Kei’s head.

“I’m going to work now, so listen to what they say, alright?”

“Yes! Good luck with your work!”

“Of course! With words like that, I feel like I could take on the whole world!”

Nameless smiled brightly and then turned to Rinka and Clam.

“The rest is up to you. When her magical power runs out, she’ll fall asleep—that’s the signal. Just put her back in bed then. Oh, and she probably won’t remember this, so keep it a secret, especially photos. If she finds out she was photographed like this, she’d get angry. Though, I guess that’s cute too!”

Having said everything she wanted to say, Nameless looked satisfied. Before the two could respond, she activated a transfer magic circle and disappeared without giving them a chance to stop her.

Stunned by the sudden turn of events, Rinka finally spoke.

“…Well, shall we go?”

“Yeah. Kei, let’s go.”

Clam extended her hand.

Kei firmly grasped it with her small hand and cheerfully said,

“Let’s go!”

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