Chapter 23: Chapter 23

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: The Intruder

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Whoosh.

The sound of water running from the sink echoed.

"Hmm, is this right?"

Watching Amelia meticulously wash her hands, I quietly asked the Author.

"Um, Author."

[Yes?]

"Do girls normally go to the bathroom together like this with their friends?"

I'd seen groups of girls go to the bathroom together sometimes.

And I seemed to recall hearing online that women actually accompany each other to the bathroom.

Even so, is that really true?

You'd only know if you'd lived as a woman for a long time.

I just wouldn't know.

[I don't know either.]

"You're a woman, Author, and you don't even know that?"

[...Because I didn't have any friends.]

Oh.

The atmosphere suddenly became solemn.

Well, it seemed I'd brought up something I shouldn't have.

I shouldn't have asked.

Fortunately, the awkward atmosphere didn't last long.

Because Amelia finished her business and came over to me.

"Sorry, was I late?"

"No. It was perfect."

"..."

I didn't bother explaining further to Amelia, who looked puzzled.

She wouldn't understand even if I told her.

"Alright, let's head back then. The teacher must be waiting."

"R-Right. Let's go back."

After playing around so much for the first time in a while, I was getting hungry.

Gotta eat something delicious.

The academy's food is good, that's why I like it.

What should I eat today? I was starting to look forward to it.

"Something's off..."

"Huh? What is?"

"No, it's just... I wonder if my clothes were this disheveled before."

My clothes were subtly disarranged.

I'd definitely tidied them up neatly before, hadn't I?

They were slightly crumpled, as if someone had touched them and messed them up.

"W-Well, maybe someone mistook the locker? You know, that happens often."

"...Is that so?"

"Yeah. There's only a name, and no lock or anything. Maybe someone careless just touched it?"

Hmm.

Right, Amelia's words made sense.

It's a bit unsettling, but oh well.

Someone might have mistakenly touched it and then put it back.

Just as I was about to think that and move on.

I found a strand of hair stuck to the leotard.

A black hair, noticeably shorter than my own.

"There's... a short strand of hair here."

"Th-That must be your hair... It's black, after all."

"But my hair isn't this short..."

"You don't even know that? ...Ouch!"

"?!"

I was greatly flustered by Amelia suddenly plucking her own hair.

Perhaps she'd pulled out far more than she intended, as Amelia's eyes, holding five or six strands in her hand, were brimming with tears.

"L-Look at this. It's shorter than my hair, right?"

"...It is?"

I wondered why she suddenly pulled out her hair, but it must have been to show me.

Indeed, just as she said, though her hair was much longer than mine, the plucked strand was a similar length to mine.

"I'm sorry. I guess I was a bit overly sensitive."

"Y-Yeah... Let's go back quickly."

Still, something felt off.

Ah, I just had a good idea.

I'll have to tell the Author later.

***

"H-How did it go?"

After school, I saw Amelia rushing towards me.

I... had nothing to say.

"Sorry."

"Right. So it failed after all. I thought that might happen."

"...Huh?"

You knew it would fail?

But you still put me there?

I glared at Amelia, implying that meaning, but she said calmly, not caring at all.

"Well, they could be a telepath, you know."

"Then why the infiltration...?"

"If they don't have long-range communication abilities, we could have caught them at that moment. Though it failed in the end."

"You threw me into such a dangerous situation without even being sure?"

No matter how I thought about it, this wasn't right.

Wasn't there a slightly more gentle method?

I knew about her radical way of thinking, but this crossed the line.

If I'd been caught, it wouldn't have ended with just expulsion.

Just as I was about to burst out in anger, Amelia's voice stopped me.

"But you didn't get caught in the end, did you?"

"It's not a matter of getting caught or not—!"

"Could you also consider my contribution, taking Arte outside while you were hiding in that locker?"

"...So you knew."

"Isn't it obvious? You hadn't come back. It was clear you'd be somewhere in the changing room, and what other place is there to hide besides a locker?"

Ugh...

There were various things I could have retorted, but I couldn't retort any further.

It wasn't that I was defeated by logic. It felt like a sensation I shouldn't recall was coming to mind.

Speaking of lockers, the feel and smell of that leotard seemed to come back to me.

Ah, no. Don't think about it.

I tried hard to calm my flushed face.

"Here, take this."

"...What is this?"

"You'll know when you open it."

While I was trying to cool my flushed face, Amelia handed me a black bag.

I opened the bag, a question in my mind.

Inside... were contents you'd only see in movies.

It was filled with enough cash to practically burst the bag.

"?!"

"I'm not just going to throw you into something and wash my hands of it. Here, this should be enough for hazard pay, right? Don't worry, it's all real."

*Do you think I'd be swayed by mere money like this?*

*Even so, my life almost ended.*

I wanted to retort like that, but Shiu's mouth ultimately didn't open.

It was too much money to refuse.

"Use that to get some good equipment. You never know what dangerous things might happen."

"...Alright."

"And, I'm sorry."

Amelia, her face slightly flushed, spoke in a rapid-fire manner, unable to properly look at the puzzled Shiu.

"I'll be more careful next time. I've fully realized how dangerous it can be, more than I thought."

*I wish you'd realized that a long time ago.*

A sigh escaped Shiu's lips.

"Yesterday, someone infiltrated the school."

And the next morning.

Teacher Claire's words echoed through the classroom.

An intruder?

"The reason is unknown. But judging by the fact that they rummaged through female students' underwear, it must be a superpowered sex offender. Haa, honestly. To use their powers for something like that."

Shiu's mind went blank.

A sex offender who rummaged through female students' underwear?

Shiu's gaze turned towards Arte Isis.

She was smiling brightly, as if in a good mood.

Did she notice my gaze? She turned her head and waved at me with a smile.

N-No way. No, it couldn't be...?

"Everyone be careful, and female students especially should watch their behavior. If you see anyone suspicious, be sure to report it. Understand?"

"Yes!"

"Honestly, what on earth are the police even doing...?"

This time, I looked at Amelia.

The police, she says.

She might know something...!

However, Shiu's hope was quickly dashed.

Because she also looked confused, as if she had no idea what was going on.

Despair washed over Shiu's face.

***

[You truly are the Reader. Using even trivial events as material...! I admire you!]

"I'm more impressed that you forgot the setting, Author."

[Ugh, ugh...]

Right.

Based on yesterday's incident, I came up with a new scenario.

I thought the Author would be happy, so I recited it for quite a while, but what she said in response was truly a sight to behold.

"'Secret room? What's that?' she said. Haa..."

[U-Ugh... I-I'm sorry! I can forget things sometimes!]

"There are some things you just don't forget."

We clearly said we'd use it as the academy's main scenario last time.

The fact that she'd already forgotten it after only a few incidents had passed since then made me do nothing but sigh.

No, okay.

I should try to understand the Author.

From the shocking Yoo Shiu's escape to the USB disappearance incident.

There were certainly enough incidents to impact the Author's mental state.

It's not strange to forget... No, it is...

"Oh, speaking of which, how was the reaction to that spy development?"

[Hmm, fortunately, it was pretty smooth. Though there were some reactions saying the protagonist's actions were a bit too bland.]

"Phew, that's a relief..."

The Author was writing a novel based on this world.

However, the Author, unable to perfectly control the detailed actions of the characters, would sometimes just use her imagination to fill in the gaps for unexpected variables.

But in the last incident, it wasn't just one or two problems that exploded.

The Author couldn't see the 1-on-1 battle scene with Lyra.

The battle scene between the protagonist and the Minotaur also got lost due to USB corruption.

*What, couldn't she see Yoo Shiu and Lyra's coming-out scene? Are you crazy? Write a novel about a protagonist who abandons a girl and runs away? Instead of the protagonist, all the readers would run away, seriously.*

In the end, the Author had no choice but to fill in most of the developments with imagination, and the only information the Author had was that Lyra had died.

Even that was false information. Because she's alive.

Amidst such a complete mess, the Author somehow managed to clean things up, and it seemed she succeeded, fortunately.

*Author, can she write better than I thought?*

That thought suddenly crossed my mind, but I immediately dismissed it.

Judging by her usual behavior, it didn't seem like she'd write well.

[I couldn't properly see it last time, so this time I'll definitely see it...! The start of the main story!]

"...The main story you forgot, Author?"

[U-Ugh! I told you not to mention it!]

The fan service scene was over, and I was wondering how to continue the next main story, so this was perfect.

I got inspiration from the clothes a classmate accidentally touched.

"How will Yoo Shiu handle the Ubermensch's infiltration? Heh heh, this time I'll have to watch properly."

[A villain dispatched by Ubermensch to find the secret room...! And the heroines and protagonist uniting to find the villain! Kyaa, this is a hit!]

The thought that came to me upon seeing the disheveled clothes was simple.

To find the secret room, someone would inevitably need to search the school.

So, wouldn't the villain organization have dispatched someone to search the school?

The appearance of the villain was born from such a simple thought.

In the face of this new threat, how will Yoo Shiu overcome this adversity?

In the dungeon, Yoo Shiu moved in directions I hadn't even imagined.

This time, how will he move?

I was starting to look forward to it too.