Alice seemed to be in a slightly strange mood, but after a little while, she returned back to normal. No, she seemed to have forced herself back to normal.
It feels like she’s intentionally avoiding thinking about a certain something, but even when I ask her about it, she just responds with “That’s not relevant right now, so don’t worry about it!!!” in such a serious manner that I could only let the details remain unclear.
It’s just, when she says it’s not relevant right now……. Does that mean it would be relevant later? If so, will she tell me what’s going on at that time?
As I was walking along thinking about this, I suddenly heard a familiar voice.
[……No, that’s just strange, isn’t it!? That event you just participated in was mostly based on luck, so there should be no way you can keep winning like that, right!? You cheated, didn’t you?][I didn’t.]
[……You did, didn’t you?]
[Haahhh…… You sure are clueless, aren’t you? Cheating that isn’t detected isn’t cheating.]
[Then that means you did cheat!]
[It’s the fault of that guy for holding an event with prize money in front of me, where I could win so easily. In other words, I’m not the one at fault here.]
When I turned around at the sound of the voices I heard, there was Hapti-san…… and from the sound of her voice, someone who seemed to be Neun-san. No, rather than “seemed to be”, she definitely must be Neun-san……
[Oya? That one over there is Kaito and…… Geh, Alice-sama……][You sure have become remarkable enough to say “Geh” first thing you see your boss huh.]
[Well~~ Ahaha……]
Hapti-san noticed us, and when she saw Alice, the expression on her face clearly warped to a frown, which prompted a tsukkomi out of Alice. The two of them are actually the same person, but it seems like their established setting was that they were a boss and her subordinate.
Well, Alice also told me that Hapti-san is a clone of hers that she had used more resources into and does not need to be operated by her main body, but is a self-reliant clone that thinks and acts independently.
Although they share information in real-time, it’s easy to forget that they’re the same person when you see them talking naturally like this.
[Hello, Neun-san. What a coincidence, meeting you here.]
[I see you’re here too, Kaito-san. It may be a coincidence, but I’m glad to see you here.]
[……Yes, it’s just, ummm…… Errr, Neun-san? I’m sorry to be so blunt, but what’s with your outfit?]
Neun-san was currently out of her full-body armor, wearing plain clothes, but the problem was her face…… She was wearing this helmet-looking headpiece that hid the upper half of her face.
Frankly speaking, she really looks like a bundle of suspiciousness.
[Ahh, Hapti told me that wearing full-body wouldn’t suit the festive atmosphere, but as I was wondering how I should disguise myself as I’m not good with Recognition Inhibition Magic, Hapti told me that being in this outfit would be more suitable for the festival……]
[……I- Is that so…… Errr, Hapti-san?]
[To be honest, I recommended it more as a joke and was waiting for her tsukkomi, but she just executed with such enthusiasm that I didn’t know how to respond. I mean, she looks really suspicious, doesn’t she? She definitely looks like a pervert, right?]
[……………………Huh?]
When I asked Hapti-san about it, she responded that she was taken seriously when she said it as a joke, but right after that, Neun-san’s voice resounded, spoken in a low, icy voice unimaginable from how gentle her voice usually is, sending shivers down my spine.
[……Hapti? What did you just say? Joke? ……When I showed up in this outfit, you said it looked good on me and that it was perfect, didn’t you?]
[H- Hmmm…… I think I said that, but I’m afraid of what I’ll go through if I say that here……]
[Hapti, please be honest while I can keep a smile on my face. Is this outfit of mine working as a disguise?]
[Nah, you look so damn weird that you draw all the attention. I mean, if you want to cover your eyes and hair, why don’t you just wear a hat and sunglasses?]
[I see…… Die!]
In response to Hapti-san’s nonchalant and unrepentant thumbs up, Neun-san, with an aura that was nothing like her usual gentle self, drew her sword resembling a ruthless demon.
W- Well, they’re just two good friends playing around, so it should be fine…… Unnn. Well, I mean, Hapti-san is Alice’s clone anyway, so worst-case scenario, even if she gets cut down, it doesn’t really matter……
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [If we assume that Alice and Hapti are the same person, with Alice not wanting to bring up that subject from the any further, Alice must have called Hapti in to distract Kaito……]
