At the start of the first round, the character controlled by Eriri launched a fierce assault, and the fight looked almost completely one-sided. (Continued)

"Congratulations, you've won! Here's another one!"

Dekomori Sanae had just taken out the drink when the machine chimed in a pleasant electronic female voice. Another bottle dropped out.

Hasegawa Izumi reached out and took it.

"Congratulations, you've won! Here's another one!"

The machine abruptly announced it again, and another bottle clunked down.

"So this is the power of a spell? It's amazing, death!"

Dekomori Sanae looked incredulous, then spoke excitedly.

Takanashi Rikka blushed faintly and pretended nothing was amiss as she took out the last bottle.

This time, the vending machine made no further move.

"Looks like the power of the spell is limited, too."

She spoke with a straight face, making things up.

At that moment, the two of them seemed even more mysterious and inscrutable in Dekomori's eyes.

After they had left.

"This machine's definitely bugged! What a great opportunity!"

A female student who had secretly watched what happened came over, barely able to hide her excitement, and inserted a coin as well.

But she didn't get the chance to score a free drink. Instead, her coin vanished without a trace, and the vending machine didn't respond at all.

"Where's my money?! Give it back!"

She kicked the machine hard, then left in a huff.

The three of them walked down the street.

"Burp~ Mmm, Magic Power's surging through my body. As expected of the Management Bureau's secretly hidden magic recovery potion—it's very effective... Lord Sage, what's your plan for the next candidates? Fujiwara-san and Mori Summer?"

After taking a sip of her drink, Takanashi Rikka muttered to herself, then turned to ask him.

She made the obvious guess, given what she knew about Izumi's social circle.

"Master, what are you talking about? Mori Summer?"

Before he could reply, Dekomori Sanae reacted strongly upon hearing the name.

"Dekomori, you know that name?"

Hasegawa Izumi let out a quiet exclamation.

Judging by her reaction, he had an inkling.

The move Dekomori had used in the fight earlier seemed to be one he'd heard Mori Summer mention. She had apparently spent a whole week coming up with it.

"Of course I do, death! Besides Master, Mori Summer is the person I respect most... Ah, of course, that was before I met Lord Sage!"

Dekomori Sanae remembered something and added the clarification.

Then she continued.

"Mori Summer once answered my questions about parallel worlds in the Sea of Electrons. And she's the ancient magician who wrote the Dark Grimoire. I often review its contents, and I've learned so much from it..."

Dark Grimoire

"The Dark Grimoire?"

Hasegawa Izumi thought it sounded strangely familiar.

Oh, right!

There was a spellbook called the Dark Bible.

Clearly, the two were only similar in name and had no connection whatsoever.

"Does something seem wrong to you, Lord Sage?"

Takanashi Rikka noticed the unusual look on his face.

"Ah, it's nothing. I just remembered a spellbook with a similar name, called the Dark Bible."

He answered without hiding anything.

"The Dark Bible? Could it be a higher-level spellbook?"

Takanashi Rikka made a guess based on its name.

In ordinary speech, "scripture" and "classic" were nearly interchangeable. In truth, however, scripture was regarded as the higher level in the recitation of classics, representing deeper wisdom and cultural heritage, while a classic focused more on the accumulation of knowledge and the recording of history.

"Could the Dark Bible be Mori Summer's true labor of love? Does it record her ancient wisdom and even more powerful magic? No wonder most of what's in the Dark Grimoire is Mori Summer's everyday observations, with so little in-depth analysis of magic. If she wrote a classic, perhaps Mori Summer is even more powerful than Dekomori imagined, death!"

At that moment, Dekomori Sanae, being an admirer, naturally let her imagination run wild.

But he soon dispelled the unnecessary fantasy.

"No, I can say for certain that the two have nothing to do with each other. The Dark Bible is about..."

He paused, hesitating before continuing. "Magic that's even more chaotic and dark. It's fundamentally different from Mori Summer. As for the specifics, you don't need to ask. I'm not very clear on them, either."

He used those words to put a stop to the girls' urge to ask more.

After all, knowledge like that could taint the soul.

"I see. Is it a 'taboo'?"

Takanashi Rikka and Dekomori Sanae exchanged a glance. Their expressions turned solemn as they understood.

The conversation returned to its original topic.

"Lord Sage, are you sure that girl called Nibuya is Mori Summer? It's not that Dekomori doesn't believe you, but Mori Summer means a lot to me, death."

Dekomori Sanae spoke earnestly.

"Then go and see for yourself."

Hasegawa Izumi replied readily.

He could feel it: the moment had come.

Rather than guiding her himself, Dekomori seemed to know Mori Summer better and share a deeper bond with her.

"Then I entrust this mission to you, my servant."

Takanashi Rikka patted Dekomori on the shoulder as she instructed her.

"Leave it to me! Mori Summer is a great being, and Dekomori will never let anyone blaspheme her. If she's the real deal, then all the better, death. If she's a fake, heh heh heh..."

Dekomori Sanae's expression changed abruptly, and she let out a sinister laugh.

"Achoo~!"

At Shuchiin, Nibuya Morika sneezed while training with the others in her cheerleading uniform.

"I have a bad feeling about this. What's going on?"

When her break was over and she returned to the team, she heard her teammates discussing something.

"Did you hear? The Soccer Club turned down that challenge from Hasegawa because they didn't have enough members."

"But what does that have to do with us? I couldn't care less about a weirdo like him."

"Of course it does! Hasegawa's decided to challenge the Basketball Club next!"

"Seriously? Are we going to have to get out there, too?"

Someone sounded worried.

Cheerleaders were there to cheer at sporting events, and the Basketball Club was one of the main sports clubs. There was no way they could avoid getting involved.

"Probably. The whole thing's already become a hot topic, and everyone at school is paying attention. We should at least get our faces out there."

The cheerleading captain answered as if it were obvious.

Otherwise, how could the cheerleading team become more well-known?

Nibuya Morika looked utterly miserable as she heard that.

The conflict had reached us this quickly?

Where could I run to escape this curse?!

What the girl didn't understand was that wherever there were people, there was bound to be trouble. She couldn't avoid it.

By Wednesday.

During the lunch break, Hasegawa Izumi called Fujiwara Chika over.

"Did you need something, Izumi-chan?"

Chika looked a little surprised, since she was usually the one who came to him.

She didn't mind, though. Izumi-chan was usually laid-back, but with a hint of seriousness. He didn't show up without a reason; that was simply his personality and his way of doing things.

"Actually, there's something important I want to discuss with you. You've probably heard, right? The Far East Magic Society is challenging the Basketball Club on Friday. But before then, we need five members, and we're still two short. So... I wanted to invite you, Chika. Would you be willing?"

He hesitated a little, but still asked.

"Of course! If it's a request from you, Izumi-chan."

Fujiwara Chika smiled brightly and agreed without hesitation.

You really are so innocent and cheerful, girl.

"Are you sure you won't feel pressured? Just imagine—you'll be facing guys as tall as Kawamura."

He deliberately tried to scare her, not wanting her to agree just to be nice to him.

"Come to think of it, that is a little... scary!"

Fujiwara Chika pictured having to look up at her opponent. The pressure of standing before someone as tall as a mountain had left her unable to move, and even now, it made her tremble a little.

"But it'll be okay. You'll protect me, won't you, Izumi-chan?"

The girl smiled gently and pointed to herself.

"I'll do my best."

He made her a promise.

"Ehehe, don't worry. I won't make you work too hard, Izumi-chan. I may look like a refined, pure girl, but I work out for thirty minutes before bed every day. I eat a low-carb, low-sugar diet, and my muscles are no weaker than the average guy's... Besides, I'm pretty good at volleyball. Switching to basketball will only be a little more difficult."

Fujiwara Chika put her right hand to her chest and spoke with confidence.

"Maybe I'll even have time to protect Takanashi-san."

She looked over at Takanashi.

"The wielder of the Wicked Eye of the Tyrant King has no need for help from mere humans."

Feeling insulted, Rikka replied coldly.

Chika's invitation had gone surprisingly smoothly.

Now only his old friend remained.

Hasegawa Izumi's gaze lingered on the gym through the window.

"Mori Summer, the day you truly return isn't far off..."

I've Already Been Studying the Kendo Club's Opponents

During class, Nibuya Morika lay listlessly on her desk, staring blankly into space.

"Nibuya-san, you've seemed kind of out of it the past couple of days. You keep spacing out. Don't tell me you're thinking about men?"

Suddenly, Kazeno, a friend she'd made in class, came over and whispered in her ear.

"Not at all!"

She slapped the desk and immediately denied it.