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)

At that moment, excitement shone in Dekomori Sanae's eyes.

"After seeing you through this trial period, I acknowledge that you're qualified. Once we're back from the May Day holiday, Dekomori, you can hand me your membership application."

Hasegawa Izumi nodded in agreement.

Other organizations would probably require some kind of obedience test, or use some method to keep their members in line. But since she was the loyal servant of another founder, there was no need to overthink it.

"That's wonderful! Lord Sage has acknowledged me, death!"

Dekomori Sanae jumped up in delight, like a rocket shooting into the sky.

Then the three of them turned their eyes toward the lone figure.

"Come back to my side, Mori Summer."

He held out his hand, offering the invitation plainly.

"Fine."

Nibuya Morika raised her right hand, glanced around, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

She really didn't want to keep fooling around with this bunch, but the fallout from this battle was far worse than she'd expected. Even if she jumped into Tokyo Bay now, she couldn't wash away the stain on her reputation.

She might as well become a ghost member from now on and slowly clear her name!

Life was like that. You had to accept your defeats.

But before that, she still had to destroy the evidence of her past...!

"Dekomori, you promised. You have to give me the Dark Grimoire back now."

Nibuya Morika stared at the noisy middle schooler.

"Huh? If Mori Summer-sama wants it, then of course I'll return it to Mori Summer-sama."

To her surprise, the other girl seemed like a completely different person. Her face flushed, her voice softened, and she politely handed over the book.

She had no idea how important she was to Dekomori Sanae. Of course, she didn't care, either.

As soon as the book was in her hands, Nibuya Morika could no longer contain herself. She backed away a few steps, took out the lighter she'd prepared earlier, and set the Dark Grimoire on fire.

"Why!? Why would Mori Summer-sama destroy the magic book she worked so hard to create?"

Dekomori Sanae watched, unable to believe what she was seeing. It felt as if her faith had crumbled.

"This relic of a bygone era should've disappeared long ago. And that embarrassing nickname, too... You little middle school brat, you really made me go through a lot of trouble. You even made me pay the price of 'selling myself.' Still, it's for the best. At least now I don't have to worry about any loose ends. My sacrifice finally paid off."

Her gaze was cold and contemptuous, cutting deeply into someone's heart.

She tossed the burning Dark Grimoire aside.

"How... How could you do this? So this was your reason for pretending to be Mori Summer, death..."

Dekomori Sanae ran over and crouched down, covering her face. The faint sound of sobbing, like mourning, could be heard.

"So it was all for nothing after all."

For some reason, the sight made Hasegawa Izumi want to laugh.

It was supposed to be a pretty sad scene.

Takanashi Rikka said nothing. She knew what was going on, so there was no need to worry.

"Heh, heh-heh, heh-heh-heh... Oh-ho-ho! Good thing I knew this day would come! I made a complete backup long ago, death!"

After suddenly bursting into laughter, Dekomori Sanae stood up with her hands on her hips, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Huh!?"

Nibuya Morika's face changed dramatically.

"I should thank you. Now I finally know what you, the fake Mori Summer, were after! The Dark Grimoire is a trace Mori Summer left behind in this world. It's an important item tied to whether she can return. You wanted to erase that trace, that marker, so she couldn't return to the world of the living, all to accomplish some unspeakable goal, death! But luckily, I, Dekomori, was here. Your scheme has failed completely!"

Dekomori Sanae taunted her without restraint.

"Damn it! If that's the case, then you little brat will pay first!"

Nibuya Morika, frantic and tugging at her hair, could take no more. She charged at Dekomori Sanae.

"You think you can take me?"

Dekomori Sanae stood her ground and met the challenge.

The two of them immediately started grappling.

"See you later. You all have fun. I'm heading home."

Hasegawa Izumi checked the time. He had to get back and look after his Little Sister, so he quickly turned to leave.

Seeing that,

"Hmph! Just you wait! Fake! Sooner or later, I'll make you pay!"

The battle between Dekomori Sanae and Nibuya Morika immediately came to a halt, and they parted on bad terms.

"Let's go, Master. We finally have some free time today, death. Any missions for us?"

"We have a special operation today, called the 'Twilight Hour.' We need to investigate several hotspots where strange reports have surfaced recently."

"Are new monsters about to appear? It seems the Human World is becoming unsafe, death."

The conversation grew fainter as the two walked away.

Shuchiin had originally been established as an institution for educating noble and samurai families.

As a result, the area occupied by the Kendo Club was more prosperous than those of the other clubs. Besides a dojo steeped in history, there was also a separate courtyard behind it, complete with a little bridge and flowing water, flowers and trees—everything one could want.

Just then, several boys and girls wearing kendo uniforms—white tops and black bottoms—walked into the courtyard. Their eyes swept over the area before settling on a purple-haired figure seated beneath a large tree. All of them looked at her with respect.

"Busujima Senpai, the results of the fight are in. It went roughly like this... From what we observed, that man must be quite skilled in martial arts. That's why the fight was so one-sided! We also just heard that the man's next target is our Kendo Club."

A girl stepped forward as they approached along the stone path.

"Is that so?"

The person sitting quietly gripped the bamboo sword embedded in the earth beside her. With an almost casual swing, she cut a falling leaf in two with a single strike.

She slowly opened her eyes. A keen edge showed in her deep blue gaze, and her chest rose and fell slightly as she exhaled a wisp of white breath.

"This is exactly the kind of opponent I've been waiting for!"

I, Qin Shi Huang, Send Me Money!

The person on the bed suddenly opened his eyes.

It was the same familiar ceiling.

After the commotion of the previous day, Hasegawa Izumi had finally come to enjoy a brief, peaceful holiday.

He drew back the curtains, took a breath of fresh air, and planned to finish his workout before Kōko woke up.

He didn't want to go bald, so he kept his exercise to the level of a warm-up for an ordinary person.

After breakfast, he sat on the sofa and kept his Little Sister company while they watched TV for a while.

"This is so boring. It's way too childish. And the main character is so melodramatic. He only lost a hand, but he keeps screaming all the time. Terrible characterization!"

After a while, he gave his most honest review.

"My other half, stop criticizing everything from the sidelines! Do you understand the pain people feel?"

Naturally, his Little Sister took issue with him, and the two started arguing.

"Of course I do. No one understands it better than me. I even understand Kaneki's pain."

"Who's Kaneki?"

"That's a story for another time..."

At times like these, he took the opportunity to temper his Little Sister's mental fortitude until she couldn't take any more.

"Ah, you baka big brother!"

Kōko's willpower +0.1.

At this rate, when the great upheaval arrived, his Little Sister might have a chance to seize the moment and rise with it.

Although his useless Little Sister was adorable, Kōko was already the cutest person in the world to him, so she didn't need to be any cuter than she already was.

After a while.

With nothing else to do, Hasegawa Izumi began thinking about what to do next.

"If I'm going to challenge the Kendo Club, would it be rude to use one of their swords? Swordsmen seem to have their own principles about that kind of thing... I don't have anything else to do during the holiday, so I might as well make a sword myself. It won't be a disposable item, and I'll probably get some use out of it later."

He nodded to himself.

Once he'd made up his mind, he got started.

First, he could confirm that a real sword wouldn't be useful just yet, so he had to choose between a bamboo sword and a wooden sword.

"Doesn't a wooden sword look cooler?"

He quickly made the most sincere judgment he could.

Style and combat power were usually positively correlated.

He wasn't allowed to cut down a tree, though, so he could only buy some wood.

"But I think I'm running out of pocket money."

His expression grew grave. He interlaced his fingers, formed a bridge with his hands, rested his chin on it, and fell into deep thought.

"How could a mere worldly thing like money possibly stump me?"

His eyes soon lit up. He took out his phone and sent a message.

It was a bright, sunny day, and the weather was lovely.

Eriri wore black-rimmed glasses and Shimamura Middle School's green tracksuit as she hurried to finish her work at her desk, doing her part for the doujinshi sales at the summer convention.

The manga spread across the desk featured plenty of provocative scenes that needed to be censored. The art was exquisite and gorgeous.

That was the capital that allowed Kashiwagi Eri to maintain her standing in the adult manga world!

"Ping!"

A notification suddenly sounded, making the Blonde Haired Girl pause in her work.

"Who's messaging me at a time like this? I'm pretty sure I've muted notifications from everyone."

She opened LINE and saw the following message.

"Hello, I am Qin Shi Huang. I did not actually die; I have been asleep all this time, and now I have been revived. I can rule the world once I revive my 100,000 terracotta warriors, so I need some money. If you send me 300,000 yen, you will receive great merit for helping me restore my empire. After we conquer the world, I'll grant you Tou-ei as your fief and make you a prince."

At a glance, she could tell it was a scam.

"Can anyone really fall for a scam message like this?"

Eriri was at a loss for words. She tapped the screen a few times, wanting to delete the contact.

Of course, that wasn't possible.

Because the person who'd sent her the message was that idiot.

Eriri: Why do you suddenly need to borrow money?

Hasegawa Izumi: I want to buy a piece of wood.

Eriri: Huh?

Eriri: Why are you buying wood? To burn it? Are you experimenting with how to start a fire by rubbing sticks together in the wilderness?

The girl tried to get on the same wavelength as her Childhood Friend.

Hasegawa Izumi: No. Starting a fire that way is easy; there's no need to experiment. I'm getting ready for the match against the Kendo Club. I want to pick out a good piece of wood and make a wooden sword.

With that explanation, Eriri could understand.

It was probably because the recent events had raised her tolerance.

Eriri: I see. Then just take one from my garden. You can pick whichever one you like.

Hasegawa Izumi: Then I'll take the one behind the villa.