The Invincible Little Lady: Volume 5 E-Book

Chatsufusa

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

When Mary needs to pick a topic for her research project, she lands on investigating the rumor about the “Magic Mirror of Hallucinations,” a nightmarish object said to cause your own reflection to try to switch places with you. Naturally, Mary immediately stumbles upon the mirror and carelessly exposes herself to its effects—when nothing happens, she wonders whether it was just a rumor after all. Soon enough, however, it appears to her friends and classmates that she’s turned over a new leaf: where before she went to such great lengths to be demure and ladylike, she’s now wearing frilly miniskirts, referring to herself as “Platinum Heart SR,” and, most troublingly, claiming she’s neck-deep in a conflict with a shadowy cabal known only as “the organization.” Can Mary successfully unravel the organization’s intrigue before her academy life collapses? Or will she go down in the hearts and minds of her friends as the girl who failed to defeat the great evil haunting her?

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Chapter 1: Academy Arc—The Magic Mirror of Hallucinations

Chapter 2: Academy Arc—The Steaming Hot Spring

Side Story: What If...

Afterword

Color Illustrations

About J-Novel Club

Copyright

Landmarks

Table of Contents

Color Illustrations

Chapter 1: Academy Arc—The Magic Mirror of Hallucinations

1. My Fourth Year

Hi there! I’m Mary Regalia, a thirteen-year-old in her fourth year in the academy.

“Now I’ve reached this school’s highest grade...” I mused as I stared up at the ceiling.

I was enjoying some tea in a lounge of the old school building—but not our usual one, mind you. The room we’d always used had somehow gained a status among the students as the office where class masters meet and conduct their duties. Meh, it makes sense. Since we used the room as our base, the next set of class masters are just following suit. Not too surprising.

Speaking of which, the prince and friends were no longer class masters. Generally—barring extenuating circumstances—class master duties were done by third-years, so after we moved on to our fourth year, they passed their work on to our underclassmen, and now they could look ahead to enjoying their last year at the academy to its fullest. All that said, the fresh blood would occasionally visit our new room for advice: since class masters now had more duties than ever as of last year, the role came with heavy responsibility, fulfilling though it may have been.

That wasn’t the last thing to change, however: shortly into the year, our self-selected uniforms were also passed on to the next generation.

Because the three class masters had all worn matching clothing, the academy had gradually begun to consider our uniforms class master attire. (Incidentally, Safina and I had apparently been viewed as being in some kind of supporting role.) I’d noticed this all too late—I’d only managed to realize it when, despite our now being fourth-years, students and teachers were still approaching us for assistance. I’d found this to be a huge pain, so I accidentally floated the idea of “Why don’t we just make the uniforms and the class master title a package deal?” My suggestion was immediately approved, so our uniforms were now formally reserved for class masters as of this year.

I’ve heard so many people say, “I’ve always dreamed of wearing that uniform!” I wonder when our clothes got so beloved. Thinking about it brought to mind my close shave at the class master succession ceremony—I was about to be written into the pages of academy history as the designer of those clothes, but I managed to muddy the waters and have them chalk it up as another one of the prince’s accomplishments. Good work, me!

Currently, I was wearing the blazer outfit I’d made in my first year. After I’d walked around for three years in my uniform, I felt weird attending the academy in my personal clothes—I’d considered making a new set of garments, but I hadn’t wanted them to turn into another weird symbol too.

By the way, Magiluka, Safina, the prince, and Sacher had all apparently felt awkward attending classes in their personal clothes as well—although their individual reasons had all surely been different from each other—so they’d asked me to make them their own blazer outfits to match mine. I know I went and made versions for both men and women, but surely this won’t become the academy’s official uniform or anything, right?

To think I once wanted the school to have its own uniform... To be fair, I didn’t realize it’d be such an earthshaking idea that they’d want to put me in the academy’s history books. Please, anything but that.

“Lady Mary, have you thought about your topic for your research report?” Magiluka asked. She was sitting across from me.

I’d been lost in my thoughts, and her question immediately snapped me back to reality. “Ah, right...” I muttered. I sighed deeply as I considered my current situation and quietly placed my cup onto the table.

“Don’t forget, Lady Mary: in exchange for having fewer classes, each Aleyios fourth-year must turn in a research report. Failure to do so would put your graduation in jeopardy.”

“Thanks for the detailed explanation,” I replied, “but it’s not like I can just find a topic off the top of my head...”

I brought my gaze toward the ceiling. Have I ever been passionately immersed in something? I pondered, trying to think up a fitting topic. Hmmm... I think I’ve only ever been excited when I’ve thought I’ve found a way to control my powers.

I reflected on this goal I’d consistently failed to achieve. Wait! Could I possibly make controlling my abilities my research topic?! Oh my god! That’s perfect! I’d be killing two birds with one stone!

“Did you think of something, Lady Mary?” Magiluka asked, cocking her head to one side.

I’d gotten so absorbed in my brilliant idea that I had been smirking and muttering, “Mwa ha ha.” I hastily put a hand over my mouth, broke eye contact for a moment, and cleared my throat to try to calm myself down.

“I-I suppose,” I replied. “It might be a common topic, but I think I’ve thought of one.”

“Oh my! May I ask what you’re considering so that I can use it as a point of reference?”

“My topic is how I can— I mean, how users can control their abilities!”

I balled my hand into a fist and declared my topic with confidence. Let’s pretend that I didn’t misspeak and have to hastily correct myself before I said anything foolish... Honestly, this is a case of “If you don’t have it / You just gotta make that chance / With your own powers.” I formed a little haiku in my head as I grew excited, in awe of my own intelligence.

“If memory serves, there’s an item under the jurisdiction of the Relirexian royal family that can do just that,” Magiluka said, referring to the binding shackle that was within the kingdom of demons.

Personally, I’d found the results of that item to be unsatisfactory, but there was indeed a possibility there—surely the binding shackle wouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of restraining magic.

“Right!” I exclaimed, fired up. “Exactly! I’ll successfully do my research!”

“It’s only natural you’d pick such a complex topic, Lady Mary. Even among demons, few if any could ever hope to make progress in that area of magic, yet you’re rising to the challenge as an academy student.”

“Huh?”

“Even if your results are imperfect, should you achieve even incremental success, you may become the first person to have ever done so in our kingdom.” Magiluka was looking at me eagerly, a twinkle in her eye, thanks to my confident declaration...but little did she know I’d felt all the passion leave my body during her enthusiastic commentary.

“Uh, erm... Never mind! Forget it!” I quickly said with an awkward gasp, waving my right hand in front of me.

I had officially taken back what I’d just said. That was close! Forget the school—I was about to gleefully carve my name into the history of the whole kingdom. Arghhh! And here I thought that this was a perfect idea!

“Hm?” Magiluka asked. “Are you going to give up on that topic? I believe you’d be capable of finding something, Lady Mary.”

She looked at me a bit sadly as I quickly shifted gears, but she remained composed nonetheless.

“Ha ha ha!” I laughed heartily. “You’re overestimating me! I should probably find a more realistic topic, don’t you think? Ha ha ha!”

Ughhh! It hurts when I call my own hopes and dreams unrealistic! My poor heart! Ahhh! I smiled at Magiluka while I internally screamed in agony.

“W-Well, let’s leave my topic aside for now,” I said, swiftly changing subjects. “What about you, Magiluka? Have you decided on your topic?”

“Hmm... Well, I do have a few candidates,” she divulged. “I have so many that I’m currently struggling to choose just one.” She placed her index finger on her chin and seemed to be deep in thought.

“Huh. Like what?” I asked.

“Well, I suppose the most curious matter is that Lordrat. How did he obtain those abilities? I’d love to look into it, but I think he’s rejecting me since he flees whenever I come near.”

Magiluka’s sparkling eyes quickly gave way to a deep sigh of defeat. I didn’t know how to console her. You know, for whatever reason, I’ve got a sinking feeling I’m siding with Lordrat on this one.

“I only told him that I wanted to dissect him juuust a bit for research and analysis purposes...” Magiluka murmured, seeming genuinely confused as to why she was being avoided.

I felt cold sweat run down my back, but I managed to crack a strained smile. “Y-Yeah, Lordrat, huh? We sure did have that run-in with him before. Prince Reifus became a princess and everything back then! Whew, lately we’ve had our fair share of, uh...mysteries! Yeah! Speaking of mysteries, is there anything like the seven mysteries at this academy?”

“Pardon? Seven...mysteries?”

Magiluka stared at me blankly. I’d managed to successfully shift topics, but judging from her reaction, it seemed like the concept of “the seven mysteries” wasn’t a thing in this world.

“From the name, I get that there are seven mysteries, but why are there only seven?” Magiluka asked.

“Huh? Uhhh... I-I wonder...”

It was a topic that had just tumbled from my mouth, so all I could do was stare blankly in response to Magiluka’s simple question. I tried to think of an answer.

“W-Well, I think there were only seven at the time, and there’s no deeper meaning behind it,” I answered. “If you simply think of it as a catch-all for any of the unsolved mysterious phenomena that’ve been rumored to occur within the academy for years, it might be easier to understand.” I couldn’t find a suitable response to her question, so I’d decided to just nonchalantly wave it off.

“Judging by your manner of speaking, you must know what the seven mysteries are, don’t you, Lady Mary?” Magiluka asked.

Aghhh! I think I dug my own grave on this one! My eyes frantically wandered around the room at her astute observation. Since “the seven mysteries” trope didn’t exist in this world, it was likely impossible to have Magiluka understand no matter how much knowledge from my previous life I put to use. Worst case, if I didn’t handle this properly, I could come off as cringey and mentally unwell again. I didn’t want to repeat that mistake.

“Uhhh... Ummm... Err... That is to say... Well... I forgot!” I said.

I decided to use the old reliable, the tried-and-true: I do not remember.

“I see,” Magiluka replied. “So, you’re thinking you could investigate them once more and decide whether they’re worth using as your topic.”

“Hm? Uh... Yeah...”

I wasn’t sure how she’d managed to take my pathetic excuses that way, but I decided to just roll with it. I felt the stabbing glares of Tutte, who was watching this entire exchange, but I ignored them. If I didn’t see it, it didn’t happen.

“Now then, shall we go?” Magiluka said, standing from her seat. I’d been breathing a sigh of relief over managing to narrowly escape a sticky situation only for her to unexpectedly ask me to leave with her.

“Huh? Where?” I asked, also rising from my chair.

“If we must do research, the library will be the perfect place,” Magiluka said. “I haven’t heard of the seven mysteries of the academy, but it could very well simply be due to my lack of knowledge.”

“Hm, I wonder...” I mumbled. “I feel like these things spread due to rumors... Oh.”

I used knowledge from my past life to casually reply to Magiluka, but I noticed too late that from her point of view, my claims were completely baseless. I braced myself to plunge further into my own grave.

“Is that so?” Magiluka replied. “Then perhaps we should consult our teachers...or my grandfather.”

“Huh? No, we don’t have to bother the headmaster with such a trivial matter... In any case, is anything the matter? You’re awfully fired up today.”

I was no longer relieved by how Magiluka was letting my comments slide—I was concerned about her unusually gung ho attitude.

“Ah, well... Er... Wh-When I was a class master, you helped me numerous times, Lady Mary. So...I want to return the favor.” Magiluka trailed off as she averted her gaze from me, her face beet red.

“Aw, c’mere,” I said, immediately giving my bashful pal a hug.

Thinking back, Magiluka’s been burdened with a busy academy life. And now when she finally has some time to herself, she wants to use it to help me...? I sort of feel bad, but I’m also so happy. Ah, it’s so nice to have friends...

“U-U-Um, Lady Mary?!” Magiluka squealed.

Perhaps not a fan of my hug, she tried to squirm out of my embrace. If I’d wanted to, I could’ve locked her in and held her close, but it wouldn’t have been good to force myself on her like that—I released her immediately.

“Eh heh heh. Thank you, Magiluka,” I said.

“N-Now then... Wh-Why don’t we a-ask a t-teacher who might be knowledgeable about this stuff?”

She turned away from me and walked toward the door blushing ear to ear. I enjoyed the wholesome display with a smile and followed her out of the room.

“You’d like to hear about any unresolved mysterious phenomena that are both said to have occurred in this academy and are the subjects of long-lasting rumors? And the older the rumors, the better?” Professor Fried asked.

Since the phrase “the seven mysteries” didn’t seem to exist in this academy, I decided to try to explain what it meant to the best of my ability. For all my efforts, it was clear from Grand Master Fried’s paraphrasing that my explanation still needed a little work.

“Th-That’s right,” I replied. “I apologize for this convoluted question.”

“Don’t be. You’re still searching for a topic for your research report—I don’t mind.”

My handsome professor smiled at my unreasonable question. The reason I was asking him first was simple: as he’d explained to me earlier, if I simply stated that I was looking for a research topic, I could forgo any troublesome explanations.

Now that I think about it, if any other professors heard my question, they might think I’m some kind of weirdo.

“Lady Mary, I’m always surprised by your novel approach to tasks. You do things quite differently from everyone else, and you seem interested in such unusual topics,” Professor Fried said with a smile.

Um...am I being praised here? I’ve got a sneaking suspicion I’m being thought of as a weirdo anyway. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Though the professor spoke casually, with a carefree, gentle smile dancing on his lips, I felt a little doubtful about where I stood. Be that as it may, I decided to push the conversation along.

“In any case, Professor Fried, would you perhaps have any leads?” Magiluka asked. As she saw me looking a tad hurt, she decided to pose the question in my stead.

“Hmm, let’s see...” he replied. “There are certainly numerous problematic issues within this academy...”

He acted slightly troubled and haggard about it all. I guessed it was his way of incorporating dark humor into the conversation, but neither Magiluka nor I could find a fitting response, so we just forced ourselves to smile.

Low-key, the students of Aleyios class have caused quite a few stirs...

“Ah, I know!” Professor Fried finally said. “This really is an old tale, but there was a case that was once looked into yet never solved.”

“Errr... A case?” I gingerly inquired. “Is there anything perhaps more...peaceful?”

Professor Fried’s position within the academy may have caused him to run into “cases” rather frequently, but I decided to politely decline dangerous-sounding incidents.

“Pardon me,” he replied. “I was referring to the Magic Mirror of Hallucinations. But you’d like a different subject, I see...”

“Wh-What is that? Could you please enlighten us with details?” Magiluka eagerly jumped in upon hearing the professor elaborate—or really, it was more like she was lured in hook, line, and sinker.

Agh... When Magiluka gets fired up like this, there’s no stopping her. Ha ha ha... Please, God, spare me from getting wrapped up in some troublesome mess... I glanced at Magiluka, saw her staring at the professor expectantly with sparkling eyes, and heaved a deep sigh.

To summarize Professor Fried’s explanation, around ten years ago, a rumor about a Magic Mirror of Hallucinations had begun making the rounds among the students with the claim it was completely true. This magic mirror suddenly appeared within academy premises one day, and those who peered into it would see a reflection of themselves. Their reflection would then try to switch places with the unfortunate victim.

Whoa... Okay, this is starting to sound like a seven-mysteries-style story...but it might be a bit too occult for modern-day Japan. I hate how in this world there’s a part of me that thinks, “It might be due to a magic item or something.” Ahhh!

The two calmly continued the conversation while I was lost in my thoughts. “I never knew such a story existed,” Magiluka said.

“It remained just a rumor,” Professor Fried replied. “Thus, it must’ve been lost to time.”

“But for a tall tale, it does seem rather realistic,” she confessed.

“I thought the same. I believed that there could’ve been a high-class magic item of sorts left lying around, so I searched for the mirror, but to no avail,” he divulged.

While I was completely on the sidelines, I thought back to the circlet incident. As I’d expected, Professor Fried had also assumed this to be the work of a magic item. Furthermore, the fact that someone could’ve just left such an item lying around felt oddly convincing, attesting to the unique craziness of this academy. Well, the academy is basically a hotbed for disasters...

“Authenticity of the rumor aside, what do you think, Lady Mary?” Professor Fried asked. “Has this tidbit offered you any insight?”

“Hm? Er, yes, very much so,” I hastily replied.

With that, he ended the conversation and left.

“W-Well, what shall we do, Lady Mary?” Magiluka asked once the professor was gone.

“Uh, let’s see...” I stammered.

Her eyes were very obviously glimmering with curiosity. Ugh, she’s really intrigued. She totally wants to look into this case... Even if I decided to not proceed with this topic, I was certain that Magiluka would try to look into it by herself. I’d known her long enough that I could easily guess her actions. If, by any chance, the magic mirror turned out to be true, she’d be plunging headfirst into something dangerous. It was worrying to leave her alone. So, I reached my conclusion.

“Well... I guess I’ll look into it a little...as a potential topic,” I said slowly.

Magiluka beamed happily like a child when I gave her the news. Yep, she’s cute. So, so cute. And so, in search of my research topic, I decided to stick my nose into an odd rumor.

2. All for That Report!

The next day, I started collecting information. I wanted to confirm whether the rumors were credible and ascertain the truth. This was a more straightforward task than it sounded—alongside Professor Fried’s notes from when he’d looked into the matter, I simply went around asking the Aleyios class students if they’d heard of the magic mirror.

“We found some students who’d heard of the rumor, but no concrete information or sightings,” Magiluka said. Seated in her chair, she slumped her shoulders in disappointment at the results of this effort.

“Well, that’s kind of how the seven mysteries work,” I explained. “They may or may not exist, and that’s where the charm lies. It’s starting to get a little exciting.”

“Is that so...?”

“For now, our most reliable source of information are these notes we received from Professor Fried documenting his findings from when he looked into it in the past.”

I eagerly placed the bundle of papers I’d received from the professor onto the desk. Most of his notes were hasty scribbles. Judging by the messy handwriting, it seemed like he’d decided to write down anything he’d heard and try to sort it out later. In other words, he was fine if only he could understand his notes, but...

There aren’t too many pages, so his chicken scratch shouldn’t be a difficult task to decipher, but it also means that there really isn’t much information about this mirror...

“All we know is that on a moonlit night, there’s a mysterious magical mirror that suddenly appears within the academy, illuminated by the moon. The reflection in the mirror switches places with the person in reality, and that person becomes trapped inside,” Magiluka said.

She took a page from the bundle and scanned its contents.

“Right, I get it,” I nodded. “Nighttime definitely sets the mood for stuff like this.”

“Um, my lady,” Tutte said behind me as I grabbed a few papers and started reading through them. “May I?”

“What’s wrong, Tutte?” I asked. “If you’ve got any ideas, feel free to just shout them out!”

“All right. Well, if people clearly know about the effects of the magic mirror, does that mean that there are people who have fallen victim to it?”

“I wonder...” Magiluka replied. “It might’ve just started as a plain old rumor that was exaggerated and spread through word of mouth. If there really had beenany victims, I wouldn’t think it would end as just a petty rumor.”

“Heh heh heh...” I chuckled before I continued mysteriously, “The truth might have been covered up by someone such that only rumors remain...”

The two ladies fell silent. They turned pale, perhaps taking my mean joke at face value.

“Oh, uh, I’m joking. Really, I am. Totally a joke,” I quickly said before shifting topics. “I-In any case, true or not, we just need to find that magic mirror.”

I tried to imagine this mirror that I’d never seen before... Oh, yeah. “Speaking of which, what does the mirror look like?” I asked Magiluka upon realizing I wasn’t able to picture it. “Is it a handheld mirror? Or is it a larger, full-body one?”

“The rumors seem to indicate that it’s a full-body type,” she replied.

“I see... If something like that just suddenly appeared in the academy, it would obviously stand out. I wonder why no one could find it?” I only had more questions.

“According to the notes Professor Fried jotted down, the rumors indicate that each generation has seen the mirror in a different place,” Magiluka observed. “It seems it doesn’t have a set location.”

“The only common ground each account seems to share is that it’s within this academy,” I noted. “But this place is unnecessarily huge...”

I was out of leads, but I immediately switched gears. “For stuff like this, if we lay out a map and write in all the supposed sightings, we can usually find some kind of pattern somewhere.”

I proudly invoked my knowledge of this extremely common trope and decided to give it a try.

“I-I see,” Magiluka replied in awe. “You’re amazing, Lady Mary.”

“Heh heh heh. You think so?” I said, getting a little too happy about being complimented for that.

“Here’s a map, my lady,” Tutte said.

I unfurled our academy’s map over a table.

“Okay then. Let me just mark the sightings on this map...” Despite declaring my intentions confidently, I stopped once I realized that I was about to vandalize academy property. My hand trembled.

“Would these serve the role sufficiently?” Tutte offered, taking out a few bronze coins and handing them to me.

Yep, it’s so nice to have an excellent maid.

“I believe it was here and here...” my excellent maid said, swiftly placing the coins.

“And here and here,” my excellent friend said, doing the same.

I was still trying to confirm the locations as all the work was done for me. Y-Yeah, I won’t let this bother me. Me? Look stupid? Ha ha, no way. Impossible. Yeah, I’m overthinking this. No way. I waved away the self-doubt creeping into my mind and stared at the map with the coin markers. Magiluka and Tutte joined me.

We silently stared at the map for several seconds. Arghhh! There isn’t anything like if I place another marker, it’d form a hexagram or something! I was totally banking on an emotional revelation, but nothing! I’ve got nothing!

Contrary to my hopes, I couldn’t see any pattern pop up. I’d spoken with such confidence only for my grand idea to yield no results.

In my extreme embarrassment, I hastily tried to make a claim. “Uhhh... I feel like the clock tower is at the center of all this...” I mumbled.

“Do you? The clock tower is at the center of the academy, so perhaps it just seems that way.”

“R-Right.” I immediately took my words back in response to Magiluka’s instant refutation.

“And yet...none of these markers are particularly distant from the clock tower,” Tutte replied, possibly noticing something from my arbitrary assertion. “Perhaps there is some sort of correlation.”

Now that my maid had supported my claims, the two ladies once again stared at the map in silence. “Since you mentioned the clock tower, my lady, I tried remembering the area around it,” Tutte said. “For example, I believe this marked spot used to be a deserted place—not many students walked nearby.”

I remained quiet.

“Indeed,” Magiluka added. “I’ve also heard that not many students used this area for a while until an annex was built here.”

I felt left behind by these two intelligent ladies, and I could only stand in silent panic as my mouth opened and closed like a fish.

“Ah, Lady Mary,” Tutte said. “Could you have been pointing out an area near the clock tower where the connected road had been deserted?”

“Hm? U-Uh, yeah, right,” I stammered.

Though I was the first to suggest this place, only Magiluka and Tutte had apparently formed a deeper understanding. I tried my best to blend in and act like I knew what I was talking about.

“Splendid analysis,” Magiluka said. “You managed to glean so much information while we were simply laying out the markers. I’ve been totally oblivious, and I feel embarrassed for immediately trying to deny your observations.”

“Huh? Y-Yeah—I mean, don’t be. Nothing to be embarrassed about,” I replied. I’d gotten so fixated on agreeing with everything that I almost accidentally rejected Magiluka’s humble apology. She looked at me as though to say, “I understand,” but I was worried I might’ve given her the wrong idea.

“I-In any case, now we can investigate a little,” I said before these odd misinterpretations spiraled out of control. “Why don’t we try to visit those deserted areas?” I chose to flee—I mean, to act—and rose from my seat to head to our first lonely location.

We were currently using the clock tower as our base as we searched for vacant paths.

“Don’t you think there’s a crowd gathering wherever we go?” I asked. As I looked around, it felt like the students we saw earlier were still here.

“It seems like curious students are wondering if anything is amiss,” Magiluka noted as she glanced around, possibly sharing the same thoughts as me.

“Maybe people are curious because two famous students of the academy are analyzing passersby,” Tutte said apologetically. “They might believe that something has occurred.”

“Goodness, Magiluka. You’re way too famous!” I said.

“Oh, not as much as you, Lady Mary,” Magiluka replied.

I wasn’t sure if she wanted to avoid the term “famous,” but she praised me without directly referring to the word.

“No way,” I continued. “You produced excellent results as the former class master of Aleyios, and your name has been engraved within the annals of this academy’s history. I don’t hold a candle to you.”

“Nonsense. All my results are contained within this academy—meanwhile, your accomplishments off campus have even gotten people to call you the Argent Holy Woman.”

I frowned and pursed my lips. The longer this conversation continued, the worse I felt about our differences in status.

“Pardon me, but I believe you both stand out even more now...” Tutte interjected. “I don’t think we can discern how many people normally frequent these places at this rate.”

We had no choice but to retreat for the time being. Several minutes later, however, we realized that all would be well if our identities were concealed. Magiluka and I wore robes over our heads and returned to the clock tower, but students soon reported the appearance of two suspicious beings loitering on academy premises. Professor Fried immediately appeared to scold us.

We returned to our lounge after the professor excused us.

“All right then,” I said, balling my hand into a fist with gusto. “How can we conduct our research while concealing our identities? We looked suspicious because of the robes. We just need a better disguise that allows us to blend in with the crowd.”

Magiluka squinted at me and calmly retorted, “Lady Mary, aren’t you forgetting our initial objective?”

“What? Do you have a good disguise in mind then?”

“Why don’t we step away from disguises for the time being?”

“Then how can we do our research? Can you turn us into air or something? Tell me if you can! No, seriously, please. I reaaally want to not stand out!” I clasped Magiluka’s shoulders and brought my face close to hers to accentuate my earnest inquiry, causing her to turn red and try to gain some distance from me.

“Wh-Wh-What are you on about? C-Calm down, please,” she stammered.

“Heh heh heh heh,” I chuckled. “You better tell me. If you don’t, I’ll do something even more outrageous!”

“H-H-H-H-Hey! S-S-Sto—”

But I didn’t listen and drew even closer, holding Magiluka close to my body.

“My lady, I fear you’ve completely lost the plot,” Tutte said, trying to calm me down. For some reason, she approached us and used her hands to blindfold me. “Why don’t we take a few deep breaths?”

As my vision grew dark, I stopped, and...

“Hey! Do you think I’m a bird or something?!” I yelled, freeing myself from my maid’s hands. Magiluka used this opportunity to flee from my grasp.

“What?” Tutte asked, cocking her head to one side, making my comedic comment a total bust.

Feeling a little embarrassed, I swiftly cleared my throat to change topics. This gave me time to remember my foolish actions from moments before, causing me to feel even more awkward.

“W-Well, jokes aside, why don’t we get to the meat of the issue?” I suggested.

“My lady, if you two stand out too much, shall I conduct the research in your stead?” Tutte offered. “I believe I would have more luck in researching the area.” She’d quickly caught on to the “Please forget I just embarrassed myself” vibes I was feverishly exuding and shifted topics.

“Th-That’s a great idea,” I replied. “Is that all right with you, Magiluka?”

“Huh?! I-I believe so, yes...” She was still taking deep breaths from being flustered earlier, letting out an odd squeal before offering her ready approval.

“Um, are you okay?” I asked, a little worried as I approached her.

“I-I am,” Magiluka insisted, still looking to be in a tizzy.

“Okay, if you say so...” I smiled and wiggled my fingers as I got even closer. “So, are you sure you don’t know of a method to turn me into air?”

“I don’t!”

She fled from my suspicious movements and gained some distance.

“What’s with that reaction?” I asked. “You’re just making me curious. You actually do know of a method, don’t you?”

“I don’t!”

I once again inched closer, wiggling my fingers and threatening to tickle her. Magiluka used chairs and tables to defend herself from me. She’s so cute when she looks embarrassed and tries to run from me. It only tempts me to trouble her even more.

“Ahem,” Tutte said, clearing her throat behind me. “My lady, I shall be off.”

I snapped back to my senses and decided to put an end to my bullying. I lowered my hands. Whoa, that was close. Something was about to awaken in me.

“Uh, right, yeah. Please, Tutte,” I replied. I stopped chasing Magiluka around and watched my maid leave.

With Tutte gone to conduct research for us, I finished the rest of my lessons and returned to our lounge as soon as I could. Magiluka was already there waiting for me. Upon giving the room a sweeping glance, I noticed that Tutte had already finished her investigation, but she was facing a corner of the room.

“Magiluka, what’s wrong with Tutte?” I asked.

“Ah, erm, it might be best to leave her alone for now,” she replied with a dry laugh as she stared at Tutte.

I wasn’t ready to drop it, however. If someone had done something to Tutte, I certainly wouldn’t be silent about it.

“She seems to be down and muttering to herself...” I observed, unwilling to let this go.

“When she went out to do her research, students noticed her as your maid and it piqued their curiosity,” Magiluka explained, looking a little troubled. “She apparently stood out quite a bit.”

It seemed that even though Tutte had assumed that she didn’t stand out and could go undercover perfectly, she had inadvertently become rather famous. Still, she wasn’t well-known enough to gather a crowd.

“Tutte, you don’t have to be so down.” I consoled my maid who was still facing the wall. “It’s rare enough for a maid to be within this academy. I’m sure that’s why you stood out.”

Tutte turned around and beamed. “O-Of course! It’s only because maids are rare here! I didn’t stand out because I’m your maid or because people were wary of me. Certainly not.”

Her phrasing felt odd to me. “Huh? Wait, what do you mean by that...?” I started.

“Forget that,” Magiluka interrupted me, cutting down any hopes of pursuing that topic. “How was the investigation?”

“How do you expect me to do that?!” I mumbled. I kept myself in check and fought against the urge to argue with her, however.

“Ah, I surveyed around the clock tower and I found a passage that seemed rather deserted,” Tutte replied. “Right here.”

Tutte peeled herself from the wall and pointed to a location on the map.

“Then why don’t we focus on searching near that area?” Magiluka suggested. “Is that all right with you, Lady Mary?”

“Sure,” I replied. “Tonight’s a full moon, so let’s investigate the academy at midnight!”

I raised my fist eagerly, unable to contain my excitement.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself, my lady,” Tutte remarked.

“Well yeah, it’s like a test of courage within this school,” I said. “I’ve always wanted to do something like this.”

Due to my excitement, I failed to notice Tutte growing pale at the idea of visiting the academy at night.

“I know not of what this ‘test of courage’ is, but I would encourage you to refrain from roaming around academy premises in the middle of the night,” Magiluka said chidingly. Her reasoning was sound.

“I’ve gotta do what I’ve gotta do!” I insisted. “This is all for the sake of my research report!”

I wasn’t afraid to use this classic excuse against Magiluka to get my way.

“But, my lady, will you be spending the night here?” Tutte asked. “I find it dangerous to head home in the middle of the night... Your parents will be very worried.”

It was now Tutte’s turn to argue against me. And she was right; Magiluka and I were the daughters of a marquis and a duke respectively, and it didn’t seem safe to remain at the academy through the night. Although the academy may have provided some protection while we were on campus, that was all the security it had to offer, and this world wasn’t safe like modern-day Japan. Though this school had plenty of aristocrats, safety may easily have been the primary reason students had never decided to look into this particular rumor.

As I ruminated over Tutte’s words, Magiluka chimed in.

“Shall I ask my grandfather?” she reluctantly offered.

“The headmaster?” I asked.

“Yes. My grandfather stays in the clock tower, which has a room where one could spend the night. He occasionally uses it himself when he must stay at the academy. I can request to use that room and have him act as our guardian for our nighttime excursion. If my grandfather is with us, perhaps your parents will feel at ease, Lady Mary. We’d need his consent first, of course.”

The headmaster was a busy man; we would only trouble him with our sudden request, but it didn’t feel right to give up without trying. And this is a completely personal ask... I have the pretense of searching for a research topic, but I doubt he’d go this far for such a thing.

Magiluka seemed to notice my apprehensions as I frowned.

“It’s all for that research report,” Magiluka insisted. “I think it’s worth asking.”

With a wink, she stood up and jumped into action. I sheepishly followed her out of the room.

“I feel bad,” I confessed. “I’m just dragging you along with my whims.”

“Don’t be. As I’ve said before, I’m doing this of my own accord. I’d like to help you out.”

Moved by her words, I tried to hug her from behind. “C’m...ere?”

Possibly expecting my clingy display of affection, she skillfully dodged my embrace. Ouch... That kinda hurts. I must’ve looked devastated—after Magiluka saw my expression, she hastily tried to explain herself.

“I... Um... I don’t dislike your hugs or anything,” she said, her face turning red as she mumbled the rest of her sentences. “I-I’d just like for you to know that there’s a time and place for everything, and...um...”

“You’re adorable.”

I turned into a hugging machine and clung to her without listening to her words.

“Come on... Time and place!” Magiluka wailed while peeling me off her.

3. The Academy at Night

“Oho, I see... You’d like to investigate the academy at night for your research report, would you, Mary? Well, aren’t you quite the little oddball?” the headmaster said.

Magiluka and I had entered the clock tower and placed our request, and now I felt a little down since the headmaster’s reaction was about the same as Professor Fried’s. Is everything I do so weird? Is it really?

“Well, headmaster, may I hear your response?” I asked.

“Hmm... Well, I was planning on staying the night today anyway, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

The discussion having gone surprisingly smoothly, Magiluka, Tutte, and I would officially be spending the night at the academy tonight. Tutte immediately entered the room we would be using to make some preparations, and I had the coachman of the carriage that was waiting for me outside leave to tell my parents about my overnight stay. The headmaster took care of alerting Magiluka’s family.

“By the way, Mary, what are you all trying to look into within this academy?” the headmaster asked.

We’d only provided a vague explanation about looking around for my research topic, and he wasn’t privy to the details yet, so it seemed he’d become a tad curious about our motives. I was surprised he’d accepted our request with so little information in the first place—it was doubtless that this kind of carelessness was what’d caused this academy to become so chaotic.

“Er, I was thinking of investigating the Magic Mirror of Hallucinations rumor,” I replied.

“I see... Ack!”

All of a sudden, the headmaster was reeling like he’d just heard some shocking news and erupted into a coughing fit. Did I touch on a surprising subject?

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“Ngh... Yes, I’m quite all right. B-But I understand now. You’ve brought up quite an ancient tall tale.”

“Do you know of it, headmaster?”

“Well, I’ve heard rumors of it, yes.”

He proceeded to avert his gaze. He’s acting suspicious... I’m not sure what he’s up to, but he’s being shady... I glared at him doubtfully, but he cleared his throat to break the silence.

“Ahem! Ah, I just remembered that I’ve got matters to tend to,” the headmaster said. “If you need anything, feel free to let me know.”

With that, he swiftly left the room. He’s acting really suspicious...but whatever. The headmaster was basically unsettlingly shifty by default, so I decided to disregard his behavior.