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They all went to the same mall they had visited when Kou came out of the hospital for the first time. When they mentioned they wanted to go there, Sora offered to take them, as he also wanted to visit a bookstore there.

And now…

“Mitsuki, try this one next! Please!”
“But first, this one, Kou!”

They had reached their main destination: the section for women’s underwear. As usual, Hijiri was excited to see Kou try out a variety of underwear, but this time she was not alone. Next to her was someone who had joined them at the last minute when she heard they were going to the mall—Kasumi, their class president.

“A-Are you sure about that one..? It looks a bit too cutesy…”
“Don’t worry, if it’s you… no, it’ll definitely suit you because it’s you, Mitsuki!”

There seemed to be little sanity left in Kasumi’s eyes as she let out wild, excited breaths while rushing to Kou with another set of underwear. This one was covered in frills in a gothic lolita style.

Her excitement quickly pressured Kou into scanning the tag with her NLD, and a moment later…

“Master, you look cute!”
“You look like a princess!”

Hinagiku and Miyuki’s eyes glistened as they looked at Kou, whose face quickly reddened as she cowered back.

“Ughh… I know only those I accept can see me like this, but it’s still so embarrassing…”
“This one nex—”
“If you really think a see-through set like that is actually cute, then you try it out first, okay, prez?”
“…I’m sorry.”

Finally, Kasumi brought something that was too extreme, and Kou drew a line, warning her.

That made her snap out of her excitement and apologize, while Hijiri, who was standing behind her, quickly hid what she was holding behind her back. But Kou had already seen everything.

“Really, you two… Hinagiku and Miyuki are here too. Don’t go around teaching them anything weird now.”
“Okayyy…”
“I’m really sorry…”

Kou was back in her regular clothes—a white dress covered with a white blouse—and stood with her arms crossed and a stern gaze, while Kasumi and Hijiri hung their heads in self-reflection.

Seeing them like that, Hinagiku and Miyuki felt like stepping in.

“I think they understand, that’s enough…”
“Can you please let them off the hook for now..?”

They did their best to calm down Kou, who let out a sigh and obliged. With that taken care of, they resumed their shopping.

Kou had learned that her size had actually changed from A to B after being measured again, and she was still conflicted about whether to feel glad or not that she was gaining a more feminine body.

But her internal conflict only got worse when she saw Miyuki looking through the junior bras while muttering, “I also need new ones already…” and realizing that Miyuki was already two sizes larger than her.

She really needed to convince herself that she was not jealous in the slightest of someone younger than her.

◇◇◇

When they were done browsing for underwear, they regrouped with Subaru, who was waiting for them outside, and continued walking around the mall for a while.

“Well, we still have some time left. Is there anything else you’d like to do?”

Everyone was done shopping, but they still had some time left before their agreed lunch time, and they couldn’t really start eating without Sora.

“Let’s see, what time did Mr. Sora tell us…?”
“At 1 o’clock, right? Can we check out the arcade until then?”

The class president suggested this, and Hinagiku and Miyuki instantly raised their hands in support.

“Yes, I concur!”
“M-Me too..!”
“Alright, the arcade it is then. Maybe we could…”

They headed to the arcade, and Kou was starting to plan what to play, but she stopped talking the moment she saw the fighting game corner.

“Ah…”
“…Geh.”

Seeing a familiar face there, Kou scowled.

“You… Suzaku?”
“Ah, well, yeah.”

Subaru also recognized the young man sitting at one of the arcade cabinets, who reluctantly nodded. Looking at the other side of the cabinet, it was clear that Suzaku had just won a perfect round against his opponent, which reminded Kou of her own past experiences there.

◇◇◇

“…So, you’re the type of person who likes to beat others up as soon as you see them?”
“N-No, that’s not what I… I didn’t…”

Kou had unconsciously skipped the line and pushed in a coin to challenge him earlier. Now he was glaring at her while she squirmed awkwardly, a cold sweat running down her back.

“Please forgive her. Kou still needs to learn some manners.”
“Subaru… who are you trying to be..?”

For some reason, Subaru stepped in and apologized on Kou’s behalf, earning him a glare from his friend.

Essentially, what had happened was a really close match. They had tied the first two rounds, and in the third round, Kou emerged victorious—but with only a sliver of HP blinking red.

The issue was what Kou did right after, in a fit of passion, which led to them ending up in the break room sharing a coffee as a way to apologize.

But considering this was real life, Kou’s smile, even if insincere, was something no one could resist.

“Ugh… Okay, okay. I think this more than makes up for it anyway.”

Suzaku seemed slightly embarrassed as his cheeks reddened, and he averted his gaze. He raised the can of black coffee in his hand and shook it a little.

He also had the misfortune of being male, with little past experience around women, and was introverted by nature. So when faced with someone with such a princess-like appearance as Kou, he didn’t have the means or hope to say no to her smile.

After that, while their real-life meeting was unplanned, there were still a few things they had to discuss.

“Anyway… Has anything happened on your side? I mean, about Belial.”
“No… I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary. Everything’s been quiet.”
“I see, so it’s the same for you…”

He seemed pensive after that question, and Kou rested her chin on her hand.

“…Do you think she’s not in the dungeon anymore?”
“I was about to ask the same… She seemed pretty pissed after that fight, so she’s probably gone to prepare something big.”

Kou agreed with Suzaku’s idea, and the rest of the group sitting at the table behind them also nodded.

“I guess that means the next time we see her, it’ll be the final fight.”
“Yeah… probably.”

That was Suzaku’s hunch as a gamer. Kou was also convinced of the same.

Afterword:

Subaru is destined to be pushed into awkward situations.

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