Chapter 202

Episode 198: Drifting Actions Without Basis

Solciera is currently at the center of attention.

The situation where numerous impostors of herself are appearing could be perceived as an incident caused by Solciera.

And more importantly, Solciera is now being pursued by the Board of Directors.

Simply put, S Rank is considered an enemy.

In other words, showing up here would give her no advantage whatsoever.

Unaware of when she might be attacked, Solciera calmly looks at the faces of those present in the room.

There are those who appear surprised, others whose faces have turned pale, some wearing playful smiles, and a few who seem to regard her with trust.

And then—there’s the innocent smile directed at the feast before her.

“…Ah, it looks absolutely delicious.”

Without realizing it, Tatarai mutters these words. The shadow that had previously seemed unremarkable stretches out dramatically, rising like a snake.

Before anyone realizes it, the meeting room fills with the sound of hunger.

Upon seeing Tatarai’s state, Solciera beckons her provocatively.

“Come here. I’ll play with you.”

“Let’s work up an appetite with some exercise before eating!”

There’s no warning.

Neither the chairs nor the table nor even the curtains so much as waver before, in the next moment, Tatarai appears right in front of Solciera. Terrifyingly, even at this point, Tatarai remains rational.

She understands that everything in this meeting room, while not edible, still holds value. Even as a monster, she grasps human feelings. In a manner that almost seems to express concern for Dia, Tatarai simultaneously engages in actions contradictory to both humans and monsters—attempting to consume Solciera.

“Itadakimasu!”

“Hold on.”

Flames dance between Solciera and Tatarai.

In the next instant, Mizuki steps in between them, creating a wall of flames to shield Solciera.

“Wow! There’s even side dishes!”

To Tatarai, the flames are nothing more than food.

Indeed, given her abilities, she could devour such a barrier in less than a second.

However, S Rank wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.

“Inheritance of the Dragon—Gleipnir!”

As soon as the voice sounds from behind, chains wrap around Tatarai’s legs, restraining her completely, even binding her shadow to halt all movement.

Looking back along the chains, Tatarai sees the desperate form of a mechanical dragon pulling on them alongside Ryuko.

“Tatarai…! That’s enough! Control yourself!”

“Ryuko, let me go!”

“Tatarai, Solciera is an ally. Don’t eat her. Please.”

Being told this from both sides, Tatarai slumps dejectedly, shrugging her shoulders.

Seeing this, Solciera smiles, moves past Mizuki, and stands before Tatarai.

“Hehe, you’ll have to settle for this today.”

With that, she tosses a grape-flavored candy into Tatarai’s mouth.

“This…this is…!”

Packed with Solciera’s magical power, it’s more than enough to satiate Tatarai’s hunger. Completely losing any intention to fight, Tatarai presses her cheeks together and beams with joy.

“This smooth, gentle texture… What meticulous magical craftsmanship! The more I savor it, the more flavors unfold… Rich yet easy to swallow, leaving a clean aftertaste. This is… top-tier quality!”

“Just sit down already! Baltius, secure her with the chains! More chains, quickly! Tie her to the chair!”

Still smiling, Tatarai is dragged away by Baltius until she’s eventually bound to a chair without resistance. All the while, she continues to rave about Solciera’s magical candy in a daze.

Mizuki swiftly returns to stand beside Tatarai, naturally to keep an eye on her.

“Hmph, I wanted to see how they’d clash…”

“Haa… Only Rokuhara was enjoying it. I was seriously worried. Thank you, Mizuki.”

“Don’t mention it. I was helped too. Are you alright, Solciera?”

“I’m fine. Honestly, you worry too much.”

Despite her words, Solciera’s expression appears unusually calm. However, she leans against the wall, showing no sign of taking a seat.

“Why aren’t you sitting down?”

In response to Mizuki’s question, Solciera shrugs and says,

“I thought I made it clear that I dislike familiarity.”

■

Rokuhara’s assistance was impeccable.

Honestly, when Tatarai took the lead, I thought about just leaving.

“That was good, wasn’t it?”

Yeah!

“But there’s no point in participating in the meeting. It’d be more efficient if we acted independently rather than teaming up with the people here.”

Kame, I came here just to make a mysterious move. I’m not attending the meeting.

“Isn’t that bothersome?”

Ignoring Kame’s overly serious remarks, I say,

“Here’s a piece of advice for you all. This is the work of the Fourth Angel.”

At those words, everyone among the S Ranks reacts differently.

“Te-terror! Angels!? I don’t want to fight…”

“Angel…gulp…”

“Hmm, finally getting to properly tangle with angels, huh?”

“Hm, next time, I’ll make sure not to hold anyone back.”

Truly, they are S Ranks.

Everyone was ready to act.

…Compared to them, Ryuko! What’s wrong with you?

You’re S Rank and possess an absurdly powerful ability like Baltius’!

Your role is supposed to be leading Tourak to the final boss during the battle against calamities!

What do you plan to do? Your original version was far cooler!

“One-sided impression imposition is quite something.”

“Sometimes partners can be troublesome, huh?”

It’s not troublesome.

It’s love for the original work.

I love everyone ♥

Because I love you all, I’ll share some details about this incident ♥

“However, this incident isn’t typical angel behavior. Likely, the Silver Twilight is involved somehow.”

Let me show you the full knowledge of someone who has thoroughly read the original work.

“Full knowledge?”

Don’t question it.

This incident likely relates to the story in the original where fake Touraks appeared. The Silver Twilight judged Tourak’s growing strength after defeating an angel as problematic and decided to collaborate with the angels to tarnish the image of Demon Gear users.

Thus, the students were forced to chase after the false Tourak while running through Chroma’s district.

That’s the Chroma arc.

The scene where Mihaya and Tourak watch fireworks at the end of that arc is great… Everyone gets their moment to shine; it’s amazing. Afterward, it’s only tough battles, making this part especially touching…

And the one chosen as the negotiator to create such fakes was the Conductor. This guy is the mastermind behind this event! (Spoiler)

“But doesn’t your foreknowledge of the future differ somewhat? Is it really accurate?”

If it’s the Chroma arc with the fake incident, it should be right.

Probably.

“Providing information based on such flimsy grounds isn’t reliable, is it?”

Shut up.

Anyway, the Conductor! The Conductor is the bad guy!

“Silver Twilight… Hmm, it doesn’t sound strange. Tatarai, aren’t you my successor? What do you think?”

“I also believe the Silver Twilight is involved. Moreover, they’ve already obtained the First Angel, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they’ve acquired the Fourth Angel too. This incident could potentially be seen as a performance test for the angels.”

Good job, intelligent people building theories on their own…

Thank you, smart ones!

“If we’re wrong, you’ll embarrass yourself terribly, you know?”

It’s fine.

No matter who the culprit is, I’ll just say, “This guy is the leader of the Silver Twilight.” And then I’ll hand him over dead.

Dead men tell no tales…

“…I’ve been thinking, My Lord. You aren’t a good person, are you?”

“What’s with this sudden realization? It’s just that my partner’s needs happen to align with society’s definition of justice. My partner has always been faithful to desires.”

Say something about pursuing dreams straightforwardly.

“I’ve given my warning. What happens next is up to you all.”

Saying that, I activate the teleportation magic circle.

A mysterious beautiful girl doesn’t participate in meetings and won’t chatter on endlessly. I’ll vanish into the night soon enough.

Let’s go hunting for fakes under the midnight sky ^^

“I want to create an emotionless Solciera with sand—how cute ^^”

I already said no.

“My Lord, staying up late isn’t good for your health.”

Would you stop being weird every single time?

“Hold on. Solciera, will you help us?”

Mizuki Senpai calls out to me like this. To her, I must appear as a reliable ally.

But! A mysterious beautiful girl isn’t one to lend a hand so easily.

“There’s no way I’d help.”

“…I see.”

An alliance formed out of shared interests.

This is the beautiful reason a mysterious beautiful girl participates in battles.

“Hehe, well then. See you later. Next time… let’s meet on the battlefield.”

“Ah.”

“Next time, it’ll be the main course!”

“Ah, please spare me… I’ll offer you my soup set instead…”

Ryuko, isn’t that leftover collaboration merchandise?

Though I desperately want to comment, a mysterious beautiful girl doesn’t do such things. That’s reserved for spin-off four-panel comics where characters break character.

“Aww, Solciera with a loose art style. So cute ^^”

“Requesting a loli character episode.”

Don’t do that.

While scattering unnecessary magical feathers everywhere, I vanish from the scene.

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