Altered: Puppet

Soga Toyura.

The Young Lady of the Soga clan.

A genius girl who had stood beneath the spotlight and basked in the attention of the masses since almost the day she was born.

Her ability, Mental Manipulation, was even more terrifying and loathsome than any other Mental Type ability.

At only six years old, Soga Toyura had already been able to manipulate and rewrite the wills of ordinary people—even ordinary Ability Users.

Now... at eighteen, just one year older than Su Youzi, Soga Toyura had already risen to the Second Sequence.

Entering the Third Sequence was practically within reach.

However... Su Youzi looked at her "Operator Compendium."

[Operator: Soga Toyura]

[☆☆☆☆☆☆]

[Level.39—Mental Control Ability User]

[...]

She was still hiding her true ability.

That woman... had probably already been stuck at the Third Sequence for who knew how long.

She was even more terrifying than the strongest Valkyrie of Imperial Capital University back then, Kujo Iruka, known as the "Empire's First Archer."

Compared to Soga Toyura, Su Youzi—whose ability had never broken through and remained at "Level.0—Telekinetic Ability"—was practically the disgrace of the Soga clan.

She was not even worthy of bearing the surname.

All she could do was stand in the shadow at the edge of Soga Toyura's spotlight and humbly gaze at her back.

But... Su Youzi looked at the bewildered Little Rabbit before her.

She could not understand.

She truly could not understand.

If that woman really cared so much about her, why had she always acted as though she wanted to avoid her, even seeming to hate and despise her?

Could a person's emotions and behavior really be disguised to that extent?

But if she did not care about her...

What was the meaning of that "99" affection rating—the kind that, in a game, was only one step away from proposing marriage?

Su Youzi truly could not figure it out.

Regardless of whether she cared about her or not...

Why had she sent Saotome Yukina to her side?

In truth, Mental Type abilities capable of deceiving consciousness were not limited to Mental Manipulation. Soga Toyura was not the only one capable of planting a wedge in Saotome Yukina's consciousness, either.

But... most of those people had no connection with Su Youzi.

Never mind—

Looking at the girl before her, who was racking her brains like a Little Rabbit, Su Youzi held Saotome Yukina's right hand and gently rubbed her thumb over the girl's tiger's mouth.

She changed the subject. "Saotome, have you ever practiced Mixed Martial Arts before?"

"What kind of weapon do you prefer?"

"Swords?"

"Or do you prefer your fists, or perhaps some other weapon?"

Su Youzi knew.

It was extremely uncomfortable to have a Mental Type Ability User plant a wedge in one's consciousness, leaving one's mind blank while still forcing oneself to think.

For a girl like Saotome Yukina...

It was better for her to peacefully remain a stupid little rabbit.

She would handle everything else herself.

"We... weapons?"

All of Saotome Yukina's thoughts seemed to have gathered around the sensation of Senpai's thumb rubbing her tiger's mouth. She had not heard what Su Youzi was saying at all.

"Senpai... what kind of weapon do you like to use?"

Su Youzi looked at Saotome Yukina.

The girl had already prepared herself for training.

Her smooth, lustrous snow-white hair was tied behind her head.

Her timid eyes, hidden behind wisps of bangs, shrank back like those of a small animal as they furtively glanced at her.

Saotome Yukina's slightly childish, baby-fat cheeks made Su Youzi unable to resist wanting to reach out and pinch them, then enjoy the adorable sight of the Little Rabbit whimpering and struggling.

"I'm a little familiar with all kinds of weapons."

"But I still prefer blades and fists."

She was not boasting.

With almost no abilities or Technology Department equipment supporting her, Su Youzi had still achieved excellent results in the final examination for Mixed Martial Arts class.

What she relied on was unparalleled combat talent.

A teacher at Shiritsu Megumi Garden Academy had once said regretfully that if Su Youzi had not been born into the physically frail Mental Type Ability User family—the Soga Family—and if the ability she possessed had merely been the most ordinary physical enhancement ability...

Su Youzi could have become the sharpest blade on the battlefield against Altered Users.

Saotome Yukina's choice had actually been very clever.

Among the second-year upperclassmen, Su Youzi—who had achieved excellent results despite having almost no ability—was indeed her best choice.

"Then let's go with a blade..."

Saotome Yukina gazed at Su Youzi with longing.

The way Senpai swings a blade must be so cool... I want to become someone as amazing as Senpai, too.

Su Youzi glanced at the Little Rabbit before her.

Their gazes suddenly met, and the girl immediately shifted hers away like a startled rabbit.

Su Youzi brought Saotome Yukina to the combat practice field at the edge of the campus.

The moment she entered the combat practice field, Su Youzi's brows furrowed slightly. She felt as though someone was secretly watching her.

Were they people from the Soga Family?

Or someone watching the Little Rabbit beside her?

Su Youzi did not know.

She merely became somewhat more vigilant.

Pretending to rummage through her storage locker, Su Youzi took the white-quality Training Kodachi from her "Material Slot" and tossed it to Saotome Yukina.

It was clearly only a one-star weapon.

Yet its forging was surprisingly fine.

It was considerably better than the standard-issue weapons at school.

Saotome Yukina hurriedly caught the blade in a panic, and her body sank with it.

The blade nearly buried itself directly in the girl's chest.

She hugged the blade.

She even wanted to hold it tighter.

This is... the first gift Senpai has given me.

The corner of Su Youzi's eye twitched violently.

Saotome Yukina had not even fully grown into her features, yet she was already as alluring as a femme fatale.

Once she matured, growing into a bewitching rabbit spirit, wouldn't people want to bury their eyes in her along with the blade?

"Anyway..."

"First, learn how to hold the blade."

[—Girl Practicing—]

[Ding—]

[Quest Complete: Accompany Saotome Yukina through one Mixed Martial Arts training session.]

[Reward Gained: Blue Vitality Pill.]

[...]

Compared to the composure Su Youzi had when wielding a blade, the Little Rabbit could not even hold one properly. Su Youzi had to stand behind her, rest her chin on the girl's shoulder, and teach her by hand how to hold the blade and stand...

Yet the more Su Youzi taught her, the worse she became. In the end, she even seemed about to collapse into Su Youzi's arms.

The results of the training could only be described as terrible.

Limp on the floor, the girl's fine hair was already damp with sweat. A faint blush colored her face as she lightly panted in small breaths, her full chest rising and falling along with her breathing.

Her mind was filled with the fresh, sweet-and-sour fragrance that had seeped into her from Senpai.

Su Youzi looked at Saotome Yukina.

She was already beginning to regret teaching the girl how to use a blade.

A Little Rabbit like Saotome Yukina ought to carry a Healing Staff taller than herself and bonk the other side twice on the forehead.

That simple, brutal fighting style was better suited to a Healing Type Ability User.

She reached out, wanting to pull the Little Rabbit up from the floor. "Get up first..."

"The floor is cold."

"Be careful not to catch a cold."

Behind them, a girl in a one-piece short dress tilted her little head and watched Su Youzi and Saotome Yukina.

In those scarlet eyes... faint black lightning seemed to leap.

The Little Rabbit's tearful, watery blue eyes pitifully turned toward Su Youzi. "Senpai, I..."

"Am I really that useless?"

The corner of Su Youzi's eye twitched.

That was putting it mildly.

During training, Saotome Yukina could not concentrate at all. The slightest lapse in attention sent it drifting toward Su Youzi.

Even pinching her face to remind her did not work.

The Little Rabbit's cheeks had been pinched rosy by Su Youzi, but... her attention only wandered even faster.

But... looking at the Little Rabbit's miserable face, as though she were about to cry, Su Youzi could not bring herself to blame her.

In truth, Saotome Yukina had already been working very hard at practicing.

But... the citrus fragrance seeping over from behind her.

Senpai's body heat...

Senpai's gentle voice brushing against her ear...

Even the faint rustling produced by Senpai's short hair rubbing against her clothes as she swung her blade—all of it made Saotome Yukina feel as though she had fallen into an extremely dangerous situation.

The girl did not even understand what was happening to her.

The seed that had begun to sprout contained chaotic emotions she completely failed to understand.

Was it love?

Love for a girl?

She did not understand it at all.

"Not... not too bad." Su Youzi did everything she could, but this was the only "objective" evaluation she could give.

The Little Rabbit's eyes lit up at once.

She grabbed Su Youzi's hand and tried hard to stand, but her body seemed to have been drained of all strength. She could not exert herself at all.

It wasn't an illusion—

Both Su Youzi's and the Little Rabbit's strength was slowly being drawn out of their bodies.

A dark-red domain silently unfolded.

[Ding—]

[Warning... Warning...]

[Entering instance.]

[Entering instance.]

Su Youzi looked at the flashing red "Warning" prompt before her.

Behind her, the staggering figure of the girl stepped creakily across the wooden floor, moving toward Su Youzi and Saotome Yukina one step at a time.

Then she suddenly accelerated.

She reached out toward Su Youzi... and a black-and-purple blade wrapped in faint black lightning cleaved through the air.

With a roaring wind, it hacked heavily toward Su Youzi.

[Trial Instance Opened.]

[—Altered: Puppet—]