Chapter 74

Episode 74: The End and the Goal

“Aah, they’re getting away too!?”

Eina shouted as she watched Clam and Hikari walk away. Eina leaned out from the hole in the roof of the laboratory when Rokuhara grabbed her by the collar.

“Do you have no sense of ethics?”

“I do! Besides, shouldn’t you have used Star Piercing when your sister was off guard just now? Opportunities like that don’t come around often!”

“…When I look at you, I still think you’re a Demon’s Gear. You get cocky as soon as things go your way.”

Being more human than anyone else – that was Rokuhara’s evaluation of Eina.

“Even though I gathered the courage to tell you where my sister is…”

“That was good. But, well… I’m not exactly looking to become an animal either.”

The order to capture Solciera was still ongoing. There should be no missed opportunities if the chance arises, especially since Rokuhara had his reasons for capturing Solciera.

“…So dinner is going to be bean sprouts again today, huh?”

“They’re delicious, those bean sprouts.”

“Ugh… If only we hadn’t caused chaos in the Central District… We wouldn’t have accumulated so much debt…”

The Central District, which partially supports tourism through Kisou Academy, suffered heavy losses. A significant portion was destroyed, students were temporarily driven into madness, and hospital functions were limitedly paralyzed.

“Haha, the Student Council President was really pissed off back there. Personally, I could’ve stirred up some trouble and taken over the presidency right then.”

“Why do you only feel like fighting when I don’t want you to? Are you just contrary or something?”

Too tired to respond with words, Rokuhara roughly patted Eina on the head. When it seemed like Clam and the others had disappeared from sight, he stood up.

In his hands were dual swords.

“…Those guys are gone now. There’s no point staying here anymore. Let’s go.”

“Leader?”

While gazing at the sky, Rokuhara suddenly said this. Confused, Eina tilted her head as Rokuhara pulled her close.

Then immediately, the space behind Rokuhara was swallowed up. A girl with black hair that blended into the void appeared with a stretched smile, emerging from a place where light didn’t exist.

“As always, your instincts are creepy.”

This girl, named Tatarai, was one of the S-Rank individuals reigning over Academy City.

“Eina-chan, it’s been a while! …Slurp.”

Tatarai waved cheerfully at Eina upon seeing her, but at the same time, her stomach growled as if she couldn’t endure her hunger.

“As usual, such vulgar noises. There’s no food for someone as gluttonous as you.”

“Geez, you were pressuring me when you tried to eat Solciera too, weren’t you?”

“Of course. That woman is mine to defeat.”

Pointing the tips of his dual swords at Tatarai, Rokuhara grinned ferociously. Tatarai, seeing this, wiped her saliva.

“Well then, both of you look exhausted, so I’ll just eat you. Hehe, even though it didn’t work this time, next time for sure… Hehe… This is the first time I’ve seen Solciera in person, but she does look quite delicious, doesn’t she?”

“Hiiee!”

“Eina, you can use Star Piercing against her.”

“No way! Let’s go home! I don’t like this person!”

“Oh, I like you. Slurp.”

“You mean you like me in terms of eating!? Leader!”

Grabbing onto his clothes and crying out, Eina watched as Rokuhara sighed. Then, making the dual swords disappear, he motioned with his hand for Tatarai to leave.

“Aren’t you going to fight?”

“Neither of us has any intention to fight. Especially you, you only fight when you’re eating.”

“…Would Eina-chan be fine?”

“In that case, you’d starve to death before you got the chance.”

For several seconds, their gazes locked. In the tense atmosphere where not a moment of relaxation was possible, Tatarai was the first to surrender.

“Alright then. I don’t want to burn more calories than what I’ve eaten anyway.”

Taking out portable rations from the inner pocket of her uniform, Tatarai began munching on them. Seeing this, Eina said, “Ah, that looks nice,” causing Rokuhara to lightly tap her head.

“Will you have some too, Eina-chan?”

“This guy will be eating my bean sprout dish when we get back. Don’t fill up on unnecessary things.”

“Geez, you’re no fun. Well, I’ll be going then. There’s nothing to eat here anyway.”

With that, Tatarai turned her back unprotectedly in front of Rokuhara. Suddenly, a sound akin to biting down echoed, and a void appeared before their eyes. Tatarai disappeared into it like being swallowed.

But then, as if remembering something, she turned around and asked,

“By the way, where does Solciera usually hang out? So far, you’re the only one who’s fought her, right? Do you have any clues about her background?”

“…Do I look like I know? If I did, I would’ve already had a rematch long ago.”

“…That’s true.”

Tatarai stared at Rokuhara for a short while before nodding in understanding and disappearing into the void. Shortly after, the void closed, leaving only silence as if nothing had ever been there.

“We should head back too.”

“Ah, yes.”

Eina nodded and followed after Rokuhara.

“Um, was it alright?”

“What?”

“Not telling about your sister.”

Rokuhara knew not only clues but also Solciera’s true identity. He even knew the face she usually wore, giving him an advantage over other S-Ranks.

“It doesn’t matter. She’s my prey.”

“Is that so… As usual, you plan to fight her head-on, Leader?”

“Are you scared?”

“Yes! I’m genuinely terrified!”

“But,” Eina continued, “once you challenge someone, there’s no turning back, so I also think about completely wrecking them!”

With a beautiful expression of resignation, Eina gave a thumbs-up. Watching this, Rokuhara exclaimed,

“Then let’s boost our spirits with some ramen!”

“Eh, really!? But our accounts are frozen, and the Student Council President took my wallet…”

“Eina, I’m S-Rank, Rokuha Rokuhara. Of course, I’ve got a card under the Director’s name!”

“OOOH!!!”

Seeing the credit card Rokuhara pulled out, Eina reacted more strongly than she had all day.

“I was planning to allow unlimited toppings if we won, but since we lost, you get one.”

“One topping is allowed!? Yes!!”

As Eina made a small victory pose, Rokuhara chuckled softly.

(The other S-Ranks are seriously searching for Solciera too. With the war against Mikage Academy and everything, it seems like things won’t be boring for a while.)

This marked the arrival of turbulent times. More importantly, it was the beginning of the world Rokuhara sought.

(Ah, interesting! This is why Academy City is the best!)

Suppressing his rising emotions, Rokuhara smiled. His eyes were set on catching the stars.

■

Good morning everyone!!

Isn’t it a great feeling to wake up to a happy ending morning?

‘You’re lively early in the morning, aren’t you?’

It’s because I saw something amazing yesterday.

Yeah, rescuing beautiful girls is truly rewarding.

I opened the window in my room. With a creak, it opened, and the hardware fell off, dropping straight to the ground.

“Ah!”

A few moments later, came the sound of clattering.

Oh, I’ll have to clean that up later.

‘Why don’t you start paying attention to your room? How long do you plan to live in a place like this ruin?’

Until now, I’ve spent all my money on cross-dressing gear.

So, I didn’t have the funds for new furniture or fixing the holes in the walls.

Maybe it’s time to tidy up my room.

Also, I need to create a hidden room for playing mysterious beautiful girl games.

‘That sounds fun. Why don’t we put Tarot cards and pendulums in there?’

That’s a good idea.

Alright, let’s start working hard in dungeons from today!

‘Why don’t we eliminate dungeons altogether? ^_^’

We are free now.

Because everything at Factom General Academy has been resolved.

There’s nothing left except endgame content.

All we need to do is secure TS Dungeons.

As for the war with Kisou Academy, well… yeah, Tourak will handle it.

Let’s watch his performance from prime seats, shall we?

Thus, I’ve decided to spend all my time on hobbies from now on.

First, let’s greet everyone at Factom General Academy.

Being able to say good morning to beautiful girls in the morning is the best, isn’t it?

As usual, I headed towards the student council room.

Even from the door, I could feel the lively atmosphere of the old days.

“Good morning!”

Opening the door, I greeted them as Kei Natatakai. There were Miroku Senpai, Mizuki Senpai, Toa, and a new face, Nana.

Noticing me, they all greeted me back.

“Good morning, Kei-kun.”

Sitting at the student council president’s desk, Miroku Senpai smiled and greeted me. It’s good to have Miroku Senpai around too!

“Good morning, Natatakai. Today’s breakfast is stir-fried bean sprouts.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Nana handed me my share of the stir-fried bean sprouts. Taking it with gratitude, I sat down on the sofa.

“Toa-chan and I made it together today.”

“H-how is it?”

I took a bite, and instantly lost consciousness.

My brain couldn’t keep up with the double dose of beautiful girls’ homemade cooking.

“It’s delicious… incredibly delicious!”

“Hehe, that’s great. Right, Toa-chan?”

“Yeah! There’s plenty, so please eat more!”

Looking at the mountain of bean sprouts, I then glanced at Mizuki Senpai sitting across from me.

Mizuki Senpai was happily munching on the bean sprouts while nodding in satisfaction.

It feels great to be able to eat childhood friend’s home-cooked meals again.

“Then, without further ado―”

Just as I was about to enjoy the bean sprouts, a thought crossed my mind.

―Am I unintentionally forming a harem here?

Judge!

“Death sentence!”

No mercy?!

No, I don’t need it.

Because I’m not a beautiful girl, am I?

Then, there’s no choice but to become one!

Using the power of the homemade breakfast made by beautiful girls, I transformed into a Super Mysterious Beautiful Girl.

Of course, I still looked like Natatakai on the outside.

There was a slight increase in girlishness, but I managed to hide it skillfully.

Judge!

“Reversed verdict – Not Guilty!”

Yes! Long live justice!

Thanks to the rigorous review by the Star Reader’s Staff, I’ve been granted permission to live.

However, transforming into a Super Mysterious Beautiful Girl every time for this reason seems rather inefficient.

…Alright, I’ve decided.

‘Sounds ominous.’

Next, I aim to acquire a gender-switching device that can temporarily turn me into a beautiful girl.

‘If you had that, wouldn’t you no longer need the dungeon you’re looking for?’

Not necessarily.

When Tourak and the others were temporarily gender-swapped in the TS Dungeon episode, they immediately tried to revert using a machine.

However, it didn’t work.

That was because it was a soul-deep transformation into a beautiful girl concept.

Tourak, whose interests and thoughts slightly leaned towards beautiful girls, was absolutely adorable.

A machine can only scratch the surface.

That’s not what a real beautiful girl is.

‘Hmm, I kind of understand, but not entirely.’

The initial gender-reversal machine used by Tourak and the others was created by Jilnias Academy.

Hence, my next objective is clear!

‘Say it already.’

I will bribe smart students from Jilnias Academy with a large sum of money to make me a TS device!

‘Rich pervert?’

It’s perfectly reasonable.

As I ate the bean sprouts, I meticulously planned everything in my head.

Meet students from Jilnias Academy… Get along well with them… Bribe them with a large sum… Great!

‘Does that even qualify as a proper chart?’

Shut up.

Jilnias Academy doesn’t play a major role in the main story in the original work, so it’s okay if there are gaps in the plan!

Finally, I can move freely without worrying about my surroundings!

‘Weren’t you doing that all along?’

And so, let’s head to Jilnias Academy!

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