Along with a sudden sense of weightlessness, when the light faded away, Megumi found herself back in her room—the very same place she had left. Everything was just as it had been before her departure.
What had once been a stormy, torrential scene outside the window had now given way to gentle sunlight.
She could even hear birds chirping cheerfully outside. Although it was supposed to be nearing autumn, the atmosphere carried the feeling of an early spring morning.
Looking into the mirror on her desk, what stared back at her was a girl with a bob cut, wearing pajamas. The priestess-like attire she had once worn was gone, and the divine influence that had changed her hair and appearance had also disappeared.
It all felt like nothing more than a fleeting dream.
Just a day ago, she had been a completely unremarkable, average high school girl. But in the span of just one day, she had experienced something so fantastical it defied belief.
Goddesses, Demon Lord, dragons, angels, heroes… these were things one would expect only in mythology or fantasy stories.
And yet, she had encountered them all.
She had seen a catastrophe-level horde of evil dragons. She had seen heroes fighting in blood-soaked battles to protect the world. She had even witnessed a mythic battle that seemed to tear the heavens apart.
All of it still felt too unreal.
Then her mind wandered back to the boy she met that day—Yazuki—especially his overly dramatic claims, like how he was the Demon Lord, how he almost destroyed the world, and his mentions of dragon girls and heroes.
Strangely enough, many of the things he said matched up with what she had experienced.
Was he really that Demon Lord? That cold, ruthless, almighty Demon Lord? A Demon Lord disguised as an otaku living in the real world? It sounded completely absurd. She couldn't understand why he would do something like that.
They didn't seem alike at all. But then again, he was a Demon Lord. If he changed his appearance, that wouldn't be surprising.
Still, she just couldn't reconcile the cruel, godlike Demon Lord with that passionate otaku illustrator obsessed with pervy art.
The whole situation was bizarre.
The terrifying dragon invasion—if not for the Demon Lord's appearance at the end—probably would have spread into the surface world.
But then the original creator, the Demon Lord, showed up, began battling the dragons, and somehow stopped their invasion. Then, a mysterious hero appeared, annihilated both the Demon Lord and the dragons in one sweep, and vanished.
"Beep—"
The sound snapped Megumi back to reality. She had unknowingly dialed the number labeled Yazuki on her phone.
"Sorry, the number you dialed..."
Couldn't be reached. Of course.
She laid back on the bed, telling herself not to overthink. Maybe she'd take a little nap. There was no school today anyway—she could sleep all day.
Yes, a long nap sounded good. She could deal with everything else later.
Just as her eyelids were about to close, her phone rang. An unknown number.
"Hello? Who is this?"
The voice on the other end immediately cleared away her drowsiness. Her usually blank face showed rare surprise.
It was him—Yazuki.
He had called her? Was it urgent?
...
After riding the train for more than thirty minutes, a girl walked up a slope based on the address she had been given. She raised her head slightly, trying to spot the "obvious landmark" Yazuki had described.
There it was—probably that hotel?
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew by.
"Ah—!"
She cried out as her hat was blown off her head.
"My hat~!"
She instinctively reached out with her right hand to catch it, while her left hand held down her wind-tossed hair. With both hands occupied, she had no way to hold down her skirt.
So, if someone were standing at the bottom of the slope below her, they would just need to glance upward to catch a view of her white dress, her pale thighs, and her white panties.
Well, her beret just happened to land on the head of a boy standing below.
Moments later, the girl jogged down the slope.
"Thanks, Yazuki."
"Huh? It just happened to land on my head. Sorry you had to come all the way down. But since I can only bother girls who are inconspicuous and have no presence like you, at least it's not too embarrassing."
"Um—that's a little rude. You're making it sound like I'm not even a girl."
Although Megumi sounded a bit indignant, her voice and expression remained as blank as ever.
As for Yazuki, he looked a little embarrassed—whether from saying something awkward or from possibly seeing something just now that made it hard to look her in the eye.
Since Megumi wasn't familiar with the area, Yazuki came to find her once he knew she was on a slope nearby.
He had something to ask of her—something only a girl like her could help with.
"Um, did you bring the thing—?"
"Yep, I brought it. So what is this for? Something that requires a girl's clothes? Don't tell me, Yazuki, are you—?"
Megumi's eyes turned toward him with a subtle expression, instantly causing Yazuki to understand what she was implying.
"I am not into cross-dressing!"
He snapped in exasperation.
"Then… Yazuki, were you trying to smell my scent?"
"Come on! Your reaction is way too fake! Can't you at least act grossed out? You're supposed to give me that disgusted look, lower your eyelids in disdain, clutch your clothes and hug yourself like you're protecting your body, maybe even take a few steps back like you're being cautious. What the heck is with this completely neutral reaction?!"
Yazuki's tirade came fast, clearly agitated by how nonchalantly Kato was acting. Her attempt to act creeped out came off as more like indifference.
"Eh? But Yazuki, how do you know all that? You acted it out so perfectly... It's like you've been—"
"I haven't! I didn't! Stop making things up!"
Triple denial.
"That's a relief. You really are the Yazuki I know."
This time, Megumi showed a rare shift from her usual calm. A soft, slightly cute smile appeared on her normally expressionless face.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing."
"No way it's 'nothing'! You're making it sound like there's something really weird about me!"
Yazuki was clearly confused.
Today's Megumi seemed a little different. Though she started off with her usual calm and pale demeanor, there was a trace of melancholy in her eyes that now seemed to have lifted.
"Yazuki, what color was my hat today?"
"White."
"And my skirt?"
"Also white."
"And my panties?"
"Of course they're—!"
Yazuki clamped his mouth shut instantly. The natural flow of their conversation had lulled him into answering without thinking.
She really was a natural-born interrogator. Or maybe an assassin too.