Aoko Aozaki walked along the park path, pressing her pale lips together.
"Alice always underestimates me!"
Although patrolling the park alone was a responsibility Aoko had volunteered to shoulder, she should not have been doing it at a time like this, when they had already discovered the enemy and begun laying their trap.
Even if she understood Alice Kuonji's approach, the girl who had always maintained her status as an exemplary student at school still felt somewhat indignant.
What was more, tonight's patrol felt more like a routine formality in terms of difficulty.
When her housemate activated the Naptime Mirror, she had also deployed a fairy-tale monster specifically meant to accompany it: the Nameless Forest. This item worked even better than an ordinary barrier for driving away bystanders. Anyone within its designated area, or approaching it, would receive a suggestion along the lines of "there's no need to go any farther," making it impossible even to encounter anyone suspicious.
Yet despite knowing things would turn out this way, Alice Kuonji had still used this excuse to send Aoko away.
Sometimes, she could not tell whether that Witch was too single-minded or she herself was simply too accommodating.
Still, the girl who took every task she accepted seriously had no intention of going through the motions. She walked through the park attentively, observing her surroundings.
Even if she wanted to slack off, she had to finish the job first.
"Tap, tap, tap, tap..."
Just then, crisp footsteps came from the slope beside the bushes.
The long-haired girl immediately raised her head, casting a sharp gaze toward the source of the sound.
Her circuits, already poised for action, began converting the magical energy within her body. Apprentice or not, Aoko Aozaki was a genuine mage.
Alice Kuonji might seem extremely cold, but