Chapter 15: Under the Same Roof

"Komori-chan… at least say hello…"

"…Nice to meet you."

The black-haired, gloomy shut-in—self-proclaimed weakest creature on earth—peeked out from behind Sensei with a stiff, awkward smile. She revealed herself to the girls of the so-called Make-Up Work Club for all of four seconds. Yes—four seconds. Far too short.

"The girl who said she wanted some friends the other day—who was that again~?"

"I—I can’t… this is impossible…! Wait—your grip is way too strong…! W-Wait, let me mentally prepare—no, why do you even know about that—no! I didn’t say that… I didn’t…! Besides…! A teacher shouldn’t force their students into things they don’t like…!"

"That’s true."

"Wa—why are you suddenly letti—whoa!?"

Splut.

The brief skirmish with Sensei ended in an instant, and with that damp, pitiful sound, one girl collapsed face-first onto the floor.

My friends, it’s been a while. It is I.

What’s happening to me right now, you ask?

…Hell. This is truly hell.

Surely you’re aware that starting today, I’ve been exiled from Eden—that is, from my room in the SCHALE—and ordered to move into a certain Trinity facility with Sensei. Hm? I never said I was going? Oh, no, Sensei is the one who was ordered to go. But obviously I couldn’t possibly remain in SCHALE alone, right? I don’t know a single soul there. Since Sensei left two days ahead of me to handle preparations, I had to follow later… and those two days were absolutely terrifying.

No acquaintances around, and the only person I could even call vaguely familiar—the Millennium girl—likes to invade my habitat, clean without permission, and scold me if my lifestyle collapses… a truly fearsome individual. At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say my lifeline is in Sensei’s hands.

And so, after all that, here we are at this Trinity facility. It’s an old school building no longer in use, offered as the base for the Make-Up Work Club that Sensei oversees. Honestly, Trinity is incredible. Truly worthy of being called a mammoth academy—lending out such a large, fully functional building for a single club. Well, I suppose it’s ideal for monitoring and isolating “unruly elements.”

But I digress.

Back to the point: Sensei and I have been dropped into the Make-Up Work Club—a den filled with “unruly elements” from both Gehenna and Trinity under the current peace treaty.

Of course, Sensei made sure things would be safe for me, and through my own information network I also know that blending in here won’t result in my sudden demise.

But that isn’t the issue.

What I’m truly afraid of is—

"So that means she’s going to be studying with us as part of the Make-Up Work Club starting today?"

—the unspeakable horror known as joining an already fully formed group.

My friends! Surely you’ve experienced this before, yes? When classes are reshuffled, or when you move up a grade. Even though the class is new, cliques have already formed for idiotic reasons like “we went to the same school” or “we used to be in the same class.” Those outside those groups become isolated. And even among the isolated, conversation barely happens… until eventually you spend recess pretending to sleep… Yes. That hellish experience—!!!

This is exactly that.

Huh? You’ve never experienced it so you don’t get it?? Oh, I see. You must be a social powerhouse, huh? You little—

Aaaaaah, that’s right… that must be it… I’ll be unable to fit into this already-established group of five, left to hole up alone in misery. And unlike my usual shut-in lifestyle, this time I’ll be hiding with the humiliating reality that I lacked the communication skills to integrate…

As I lay there kissing the floor, eyes growing wet with despair—

"Um… are you okay?"

A small, pale hand reached out toward me.

I lifted my head—and there she was. An angel with cream-colored twin ribbons, gently fluttering.

"My name is Ajitani Hifumi. And you are?"

"…Ah, I’m Amari… Komori…"

"I’m looking forward to working with you, Komori-san!"

Hifumi~n.

A strange, inexplicable sound echoed in my mind. The girl before me shone so brightly it hurt to look at her.

…I had read of this in ancient tomes. In the land of extroverts known as the Classroom… on rare occasions, these legendary beings appear…

The very origin of “a gyaru who is kind to otaku”—the mythical creature known as… the extrovert who is kind to introverts!

"Uuh… u-um… n-nice… to meet you…"

"Um!"

"Eep!?"

"About the clothes you’re wearing…"

"Y-yes…?"

"That’s the limited-edition Fire-Breathing Perorozilla T-shirt, isn’t it!?"

………

………Heh.

Fuhahahahahahaha!

"You have done well… truly well to notice it, Ajitani Hifumi… no—Comrade Hifumi…"

A comrade—one who shares the same passion.

Heh… to think she noticed this T-shirt I had hidden under an oversized hoodie to avoid easy detection… As expected of her. No—she’s exactly as the intel suggested. No! Exactly as I had hoped. She is someone worthy of being my comrade!

"…The limited-edition Perorozilla T-shirt… it’s just too cute… It was originally planned to be sold in limited quantities at a certain event… but then a group targeting it raided the factory, and it went missing for a while… After that, the merch was recovered by the workers, but several pieces had already leaked onto the black market… leaving only a few survivors…"

"And now the price has skyrocketed beyond imagination, to the point where it’s said that anyone who obtains it has basically obtained everything—!!"

"That’s… exaaactly right…!"

"Heheh, you two are already getting along so well♡"

"…Wait, that’s the same shirt from before…"

"……!"

With a dramatic fwip! I tore off my hoodie to fully display the limited-edition T-shirt.

By the way, while it’s fairly rare, it’s not actually that valuable… but, well… you know… sometimes you just ride the moment. I didn’t even buy this one myself.

"No way… how did you ever get your hands on that…!?"

"Heh heh heh… let’s just say… work, a long time ago… But Comrade Hifumi… you also have quite the collection…"

"Eh?"

"Your Peroro-sama bag… the plushie… the keychains… gathering that much must have been tough…"

"B-But… I couldn’t get any limited-edition items like you did, Komori-san…"

"True… your goods are all common… ordinary… just… normal… But what matters isn’t whether they’re limited or not… I can feel it—the love radiating from your Peroro-sama collection… I can tell how dearly you’ve taken care of them… And I believe… that is what gives them true value…"

"K-K-Komori-san!!"

With a powerful grab! the two of us hugged each other tightly. This was the moment I discovered a true comrade who shared the same devotion.

"Comrade Hifumi… just meeting you has made coming all the way here worth it… So, this is for you…"

"……Th-this is! The second limited-edition Perorozilla T-shirt!?"

"Yes… one for wearing, and one for keeping safe… I couldn’t secure extras for missionary work or self-defense, but I did obtain two… And I’m giving one to you…"

"Wh—No way!! I can’t! That’s something you worked so hard to get, right!? I can’t accept it!"

"It’s fine… It was a gift anyway… And Perorozilla would be happier being worn than sealed away in a drawer… Besides, I’m a Wavecat fan… This belongs with someone who truly adores Peroro-sama… someone like you…"

"───! Komori-san!!"

"Uugh… too tight… can’t… breathe…"

"Ah! S-sorry!!"

Cough, cough!

I almost died. Seriously, this body is unbelievably frail. Am I really a Kivotos resident? I even got tested once… but nothing abnormal showed up.

"……"

To think I would find such a wonderful comrade in a place like this. Truly, there is no such thing as an evil Momo Friends fan. Nagisa really is a fool—suspecting someone this wholesome…

"……"

Come to think of it, Momo Friends should be fairly well-known, right? I even recommended it to some former coworkers, but none of them were into it… some even claimed they’d never heard of it. Well, except for one guy in a black suit, but… that’s another story.

…Aren’t high school girls supposed to love this kind of thing? Even someone like me—originally a guy—fell instantly. I thought they’d be one-hit KO’d for sure…

…Well, putting that aside.

"…Um, Comrade Hifumi… who is… that child? Being stared at like this… is scary…"

"Eh? Oh, that’s Azusa-chan."

"…A-Azusa…?"

"…Shirasu Azusa. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Instantly, I moved with lightning speed to hide behind Sensei’s leg.

Shirasu Azusa. A name still fresh in my memory—naturally so. She’s one of the “unruly elements” Nagisa gathered… and among them, she’s the one I find most suspicious.

Damn it. I let my guard down. This place is a den where so-called Trinity traitors might be lurking. Just because Sensei and fellow Momo Friends fan Hifumi are here doesn’t mean I should relax.

Look! Look at her eyes! She’s observing me like prey, ready to strike at any moment!

I—I’m going to get killed—wait, she’s not even looking at me…

"…Cute."

"…Huh?"

"Too cute…!"

What… what did she just say…?

"Is it Peroro-sama? No, but Peroro-sama is a bird… he shouldn’t be able to breathe fire… Could it be!? Has Peroro-sama not only remained adorable, but transcended the very concept of “bird”—!?"

"…Wait, Comrade Hifumi… does this one also…?"

"Yes! Azusa-chan has also learned the brilliance of Momo Friends… In Komori-san’s words, she is a fellow comrade!"

"O-Oh… oh…!!"

I see… so that’s how it is!!

"If that’s the case, you should’ve said so earlier…! There’s no such thing as a bad person who loves Momo Friends…!"

Hah, what a waste of fear! Worse, I practically insulted her by doubting a comrade.

Nagisa really must be drowning in paranoia. To suspect such good girls… foolish. Utterly foolish. Honestly, the stock price of the Nagisa in my mind has been plummeting nonstop lately.

"…Shirasu Azusa… no—Comrade Azusa… This is called Perorozilla… As you can tell from the crest on its back, it is a different being from Peroro-sama… But it’s understandable to confuse them. Perorozilla, like Peroro-sama, is also… unbearably adorable…!"

"Ohh… Are there any other goods?"

"There are… but they’re extremely rare… Most are limited-edition, like this shirt…"

"I see… That is unfortunate…"

Ugh!? T-that face is cheating!!

…This is a precious treasure of mine, but… it can’t be helped. If she is to walk the same path, then a newcomer must be welcomed warmly. In any fandom, existing fans’ behavior can inspire newcomers—or become toxic gatekeepers. That must be avoided at all costs.

Besides, like I said earlier, the best home for merch is with someone who truly loves the character.

"…It can’t be helped."

"Komori…?"

"Komori-san!?"

"My, my…"

"!? ?!? ?!? !?"

"…Sorry… I only have these two shirts on hand… so I’ll give you mine… After all, the one who loves the character should be the one who has the merch—mmph!?"

"Komori-chan!! Let’s not start undressing in front of people, okay!?"

"It’s fine… I’m wearing proper underwear… And besides, the only man here is Sensei, and he’s already seen my naked body… So there’s no probl—"

"There IS a problem!!"

"Pervert! Degenerate! Executed!"

"K-Koharu! Wait, this is a misunderstanding…!"

For some reason, Sensei wrapped me in his jacket. But there shouldn’t be anything wrong with girls seeing each other naked, right? The Handy Squad used to bathe together in an oil drum in a park at night. And Sensei is already used to seeing me naked back at Schale. There were a few times I forgot to bring my underwear to the changing room after showering. I did get scolded, though…

"Hmm… Ah, right… Sorry… I showed you something unpleasant… Comrade Azusa, I’ll wash this shirt properly and bring it to you tomorrow…"

"No, don’t worry about it. You’re giving me something precious enough already—there is no way I could let you wash it as well."

"I see… Then, here—"

"NOOOO!!!"

Hmph. What now?

"Pervert! Exhibitionist! Even if you're giving it away, at least wash it first! And seriously! Don't take your clothes off in a place like this!"

"...? Why not? We're in Trinity, and unlike the Black Market, there aren’t any hostile enemies lurking around… Sensei would never do anything like that, so there’s no problem… right?"

"Well… that is true, isn’t it?"

"It's not true at all! And you—don’t jump in on her side, you creep!"

"M-Mmm…"

…Well, I suppose stripping without warning might have been wrong. I looked at the girl scolding me nonstop—Shimoe Koharu—and beside her, listening along with me, Urawa Hanako. When did the Justice Task Force become the Public Morals Committee?

Hmm… We're going to be living in this facility together anyway, so eventually they’ll see me naked at some—no, wait… Given the reaction, maybe that’s not something I should assume.

Since even Urawa Hanako—who has already labeled me an extreme pervert—agreed that what I did was bad, maybe it really was unacceptable.

"...Sorry, I… was wrong…"

"A-As long as you understand!"

"Next time, I'll take my clothes off somewhere people won’t see—"

"That’s not the solution!!"

Then what is the solution?

"Haa… whatever. I'm Shimoe Koharu. You're gonna be studying here starting today, right? Well, I'm an elite member of the Justice Task Force, so I'll be out of this place in no time, but… let's get along for now."

"You may already know this, but I am Urawa Hanako. I never imagined I’d meet someone like you in a place like this… I look forward to spending time with you♡"

"E—ah—y-yes… nice… to meet you."

"That reminds me—you took the last exam, didn’t you? How did you do? Well, obviously you failed, since you're here, but—"

"Um… ninety… eight points…"

"………Huh?"

Ah, right. I forgot to introduce myself.

"Um… I-I'm Amari Komori, third year at Trinity Integrated Academy… Starting today, I'm here as Sensei’s assistant, and I’m supposed to help everyone… but it’s a hassle, so if there’s something you don’t understand, ask someone else who knows… that’s… all…"

"“…………Wha—Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?!!?”"

"Fufufu."

"…Cute."

…Shut up.