Episode 1: Send the Cute Master on a Journey

I—Kotoyorozu Kotoha—had three worries.

"...Um. Koito-senpai?"

At night, when everyone had gone to sleep. In the Koito dormitory swallowed by darkness, the dorm leader Koito-senpai was lying on my futon in her pajamas, reading a shounen manga.

"It's already time for bed, so could you maybe... you know?"

"Yeah."

Koito-senpai set the manga down on the floor and crawled into the futon.

"Good night, Kotoha. Feel free to turn off the light. Oh, but leave the nightlight on."

I yanked the futon off her.

"This is MY room! Would you please get out already!?"

It had been a full month since I'd returned from that other dimension—and this person had been camped out in my room the entire time.

"Then just come sleep in my futon instead."

"I can't do that. You share a room with Koshiba."

"So? Then we're at a stalemate. Nowhere to go with this. Now hurry up. Come here."

Koito-senpai lifted the comforter and patted the space beside her.

"Hurry uuup."

Apparently, my trip to that other dimension had really scared Koito-senpai. On the surface she acted carefree, but deep down she was utterly terrified.

If Kotoha goes somewhere again, I don't want that... I don't ever want to feel that sad again...

I was happy she felt that way. Really, I was. But I was a healthy teenage boy, and sharing a bed with such a beautiful woman was incredibly hard. Disappointing her expectations was even harder. Since this had been going on for a month straight, I'd been running away constantly and hadn't gotten any sleep.

"Senpai. Don't you think this violates basic decency? Stealing your underclassman's futon like this."

"The strong create the rules of the world. Namely, me."

"What, are you invincible?"

I'd raised the question to the people in the Koito squad: "Isn't it a problem for a boy and girl to sleep in the same room?" Everyone had dismissed it with, "Your partner is Koito-senpai, so ahaha." They apparently thought her mental age was around second grade.

"Ugh, you're being so annoying."

Koito-senpai swept my legs out from under me, gently caught me as I fell, grabbed me from behind using joint-lock techniques, intertwined her legs with mine, and pulled me tightly against her back.

"There, pinned. No tapping out—no giving up."

"S-S-S-Senpai!?"

Her body heat transmitted through my back. The damp feel of her hair after a bath, even the rough texture of her night bra. Precisely because she usually didn't give off any sense of being the opposite sex, I felt incredibly squirmy.

"Night night then. Yaaawn..."

"Are you serious!? Hey!"

"...zzz"

She fell asleep fast too. That was Koito-senpai for you—beyond the norm in every possible way.

(No, but... this, this situation is... in so many ways...!)

Spending the night being used as a body pillow by a beautiful senpai. Unable to move.

(This is a new form of torture~~!!)

—That was my first worry. Thanks to it, I constantly had bags under my eyes.

"Kotoyorozu. ...So, how're you feeling?"

In the student guidance room at Azure Academy, I was having a meeting with my homeroom teacher—Tanaka Hideo-sensei.

"Yeah, doesn't seem like anything's changed."

Tanaka-sensei puffed on his e-cigarette without caring that he was on school grounds.

"Well, don't rush it. 'Gunscar' is still a weapon with lots of unknowns."

My Gunscar—noapusa—wasn't working. Ever since I'd defeated the Star Whale. I kept trying to manifest it like before, but there was no response. As for why, I only had a vague idea.

"Even if noapusa stays unusable... can I still remain at Azure Academy?"

That was my second worry. Namely, losing my means of fighting.

"Well, your Apocalypse alone is still plenty useful, combat-wise. And besides..."

Sensei placed a hand on my shoulder.

"There ain't nobody at this academy who'd try to kick you out now."

"Sensei..."

"No, seriously. You made too much of a name for yourself in that last mess. If we tried to kick you out now, the media and the alumni would throw a fit, guaranteed. So just stay put for a while, okay?"

I didn't exactly dislike that irresponsible adult side of him.

"You could also transfer to the research track. Your Apocalypse is probably better suited for that anyway, right?"

"...I see. That's an option too."

"Here's the career pamphlet. Read it carefully."

I was handed the Research Division pamphlet and dropped my gaze to it.

(But... I have...)

Something I need to do.

(I have to remember 'someone's' name.)

The person who gave us the rocket in that other dimension. The person who destroyed noapusa. The person who... saved me. To do that, a battle surely awaited.

(There's an organization said to possess all manner of forbidden knowledge—the 'Library Mandala.' They might know how to recover lost records.)

However, the Library Mandala was an organization hostile to the Apocalypse Stagnation Committee. I didn't even know where it was or what kind of place it was. And right now, I had no way to search for it.

"Hmph, the Library Mandala, huh. You've got good taste, setting your sights on a place like that."

I—had visited Termibek Janebekova-senpai. Still holed up in his lab as usual, he talked to me while busily flipping through documents.

"But why ask me about it?"

"Well... I figured a normal person would get mad."

"True. If you asked Von Simon, you'd definitely be sent to the thought correction room."

The mere fact that such a terrifying room existed made me shudder.

"The Library Mandala... I don't have any connections there. They're an eccentric bunch, and their relationship with Azure Academy is thin. The Three Great Academies with the most ties to them would be Chaos Institute."

My only acquaintances at Chaos were Léa and Magina-senpai. But making contact with the Library Mandala would clearly violate the Apocalypse Stagnation Committee's rules. I couldn't drag them into this.

"By the way, I heard your Gunscar stopped working?"

"Yeah. That's also been a problem."

"Hmm... And Koito's been clinging to you too, was it?"

"Yeah. I mean, I thought there were perks at first. At first."

Ter-senpai was shockingly good at looking after people despite his attitude, so before I knew it I'd told him all three of my worries. He was a good listener, and he even gave me snacks. I liked him.

"...Hm. There is a way to solve all three of those worries at once."

Ter-senpai quickly operated his Ringphone and opened his email on a holographic screen.

"In exchange, you'll be taking on a fairly troublesome assignment. The other party won't say no to you either. Your exploits in the Tokyo defense battle are known throughout all of Fructus."

"...The other day, a pretty woman on the street came up and asked me to hang out."

"Wait, what did you do?"

"W-well... I kind of panicked, laughed awkwardly, and ran away."

"Pfft."

"Don't laugh at me."

But a "troublesome assignment" was exactly what I wanted. I wasn't expecting information for free. To recover 'someone's' name, I was prepared to do anything.

"I've personally received a request for a certain solo mission. I really should take it to Simon, but he's busy with student council president duties. And frankly, it helps me to pass on this hassle."

Ter-senpai turned his sharp, refined gaze toward me and smirked.

"Kotoyorozu. You—go on a short-term exchange to Chaos Institute."

"Whaaat~!? There's no way that's okay!!"

That night, at the usual Koito squad dinner table. I told everyone I'd be studying abroad on my own. The one who stood up to object was my maid—Luna-san.

"Going abroad alone? Absolutely not. No way. Hard no. At least let me come with you."

As Luna-san glared at me from close range, Mef stepped in.

"That won't be possible. Chaos has strict regulations on Apocalypses. A human-based Humanoid Apocalypse like Kotoyorozu-kun might be fine, but for a machine-based lifeform derived from Parallel Law like Luna-san... it would take an enormous amount of paperwork just to enter the campus grounds."

"See? So you can't go after all, Master-chan. Too bad. Let's stay home and be all cozy."

Luna-san grabbed my sleeve and glared with a frustrated gnnn.

"I'll be fine. I promise I'll contact you every day."

"...Once an hour."

"...Once every half-day?"

"Once every three hours. And keep your GPS on so I always know where you are."

I had no choice but to accept Luna-san's proposals, which sounded like a clingy girlfriend's.

"Must be nice. A week-long exchange program. It's basically a vacation. Koshiba wants to go too. ...Maybe Koshiba will go."

"Koshiba. Kotoyorozu-kun isn't exactly going for fun, you know."

I was grateful for the backup from Mef, the most sensible person in the Koito squad.

(I'd definitely feel more confident with everyone along, but...)

There was only one slot for the short-term exchange to Chaos. It was rare for such a rule-heavy academy to invite people from other schools in the first place. And besides... I had a purpose.

(I need to investigate the Library Mandala at Chaos. I don't intend to involve anyone else.)

Luna-san and I were sharing the same fate regardless, so I fully intended to involve her. If I hid it and she found out later, she'd kill me—I'd have to tell her soon. But the others... they didn't need to know.

"Hmmm, well, I think it's fine? This is also a learning experience."

"What the heck!? Koito-chan, aren't you lonely at all!?"

Watching Luna-san still flustered and upset, Koito-senpai smiled like an adult.

"Kotoha's a full-fledged Azure Academy student, and they say to send the cute kids on journeys."

That didn't sound like something someone who'd been stealing my futon every night out of loneliness would say.

(Is that how she really feels...?)

I couldn't help peeking into Koito-senpai's mind.

Hehe, Kotoha. It's useless to look into my mind.

Aagh! She had telepathy countermeasures!

"...Master-chan. I'm way too lonely right now."

"...Let's think of it as our love growing while we're apart."

"Master-chan, you always say exactly what I want to hear at times like this. You don't actually care about me at all, do you. I'm just a convenient woman to you. Whatever, I don't care."

"I do care about you! You're incredibly important to me! You know that, right!?"

Watching the slightly clingy master and servant, Koshiba secretly whispered to Mef.

"Ooh... Luna-san, who's usually so mature, is acting like a child. That's rare, isn't it, Mef-senpai?"

"Really? I think she's always like that."

"Luna-san has a cute side, doesn't she?"

"Really? I'm not so sure about that."

"Huh?"

That night turned into an evening of preparation for the exchange program while taking care of Luna-san every step of the way.