Clara, still dripping wet, hugged her little white rabbit (and it really was a little white rabbit), and fled the bathroom in embarrassment, leaving the “private space” to Sista, who clearly had no sense of boundaries.
“Hmm? Why is Miss Clara running away?”
Sista, sitting in the bathtub, turned her head blankly, expressing her confusion.
She didn’t understand at all why Clara was so agitated.
In her heart, she didn’t mind being close to Clara—after all, Clara was cute, and her own real gender had already been exposed. From what she’d learned, it was normal for women to bathe together (in public bathhouses, for example). Since there was nothing to hide anymore, it seemed logical to save time by bathing together. Unless… maybe Miss Clara didn’t actually see her as a woman?
Thinking this, Sista suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
She didn’t want Clara to distance herself.
In the living room, Nyx was helping Clara dry off with a towel.
[What’s wrong? It’s just taking a bath with a “child.” There’s nothing weird about it, is there?]
For Clara, who was actually thirty-five, Sista, only a year old, was clearly still a child—one might even say an infant.
Even with all the knowledge Sista had been taught, she still lacked common sense.
“That may be true…”
Clara was also rubbing the battle suit of her rabbit with a towel as she replied,
“To Sista, I’m just another girl, so she didn’t feel awkward at all coming in. But I know I’m not… I just can’t bathe together with her… Actually, not just Sista, I can’t with anyone else either.”
[So is it fine when it’s Lucia?]
Nyx brought up the time when Lucia had scrubbed Clara’s back.
“That time, my eyes were covered, weren’t they?” Clara shot back.
Her own conflicted sense of self had produced some odd principles…
She believed in ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ when it came to others, but was perfectly fine being seen herself (by women she knew), with a kind of saintly generosity.
[Clara, it’s been almost a month. Don’t you think it’s time you got used to being a girl?]
Recently, Nyx had been acting less and less like a weak AI.
“Getting used to it is one thing, accepting it is another! My real name is Squier, I’m Lucia’s older brother! That’s not going to change just because you turned me into a little girl!”
She sounded fierce, but was whispering, worried that Sista might overhear.
[Well then, “Mr. Squier,” do you need a little perfume to cover the smell?]
“Yes! Of course I do!”
[Nyx recommends orange blossom scent.]
“I want cologne~”
[Nyx does not have such data. The orange blossom perfume is based on data collected from President Chessia. The scent is fresh and bright, giving an elegant and lively impression.]
“If you’ve smelled it, you must have data, right? Then you should have the perfume that Minister Mostima uses too! You’re just refusing to give me any masculine scent!”
[Mostima doesn’t use perfume. The scent you noticed comes from her mycelium.]
“Seriously…”
Nyx not only sprayed Clara with perfume but also gave her a light makeover and helped her change into a new one-piece swimsuit.
The old one had absorbed the smell of trash.
“That should about do it, right?”
After finishing in the bedroom, Clara called toward the bathroom,
“We should get going, Sista!”
Sista, seeing the time, climbed out of the tub as well.
Though it was a short soak, they’d only come back to the room to get rid of the trash stench. For the stubborn odors that wouldn’t come off, they just covered them up with perfume.
Honestly, the two of them barely smelled at all by now.
Sista’s clothes hadn’t picked up much of the trash smell either. After all, she’d worn her exoskeleton into the dump and left in it, and the exoskeleton armor had already been sent back to the hangar for recharging and deodorizing.
Tonight’s activities wouldn’t require the exoskeleton.
“Let’s go.”
Sista finished getting ready much faster than Clara, almost more like a boy.
On one hand, she didn’t need makeup. On the other, her short hair was much easier and faster to handle than Clara’s long hair.
Long hair was pretty, sure, but short hair had its benefits. Yet Clara couldn’t bring herself to cut it.
Her little tentacles needed a home, after all.
After leaving the guest room, Sista, walking side by side with Clara, glanced at the moon rabbit in her arms. She looked like she wanted to pet it. Clara hesitated, then offered the rabbit’s head.
Sista reached out and grabbed the moon rabbit’s fluffy belly, a rare, genuine smile appearing on her face. She just couldn’t resist cute things.
Clara, however, felt a bit awkward.
After all, she was the one having her belly rubbed.
Satisfied, Sista asked, “Do we have to bring this rabbit everywhere?”
“We have no choice. We can’t just leave it in the room, right? If someone saw it, they’d probably call security straight away.”
Besides, the rabbit would be needed for their plans later. It was better to show it to the others now, and as for its origin—
“Sista, just tell everyone I tamed this moon rabbit, okay? Don’t mention that it’s my ‘magical avatar.’”
“Hmm? Why not?”
“I have to keep some secrets about my abilities, don’t I?”
Clara didn’t really know what abilities she had anyway. As she spoke, she realized she had no idea what other strange abilities Nyx might still be hiding…
“We’re here.”
At the rainforest trail at the foot of the mountain, the three Sigma brothers, the staff group from Sigma Heroes Company, and Lucia were already waiting.
Only Fran was missing—she was in the medical bay, dealing with that unlucky moon rabbit and analyzing the blood samples the security team had brought back from the cave.
“Huh? Senpai! What are you holding?”
Lucia was the first to rush over and the first to notice the moon rabbit battle suit in Clara’s arms.
“Isn’t it obvious? A moon rabbit. As long as it stays still, it’s pretty well-behaved.”
Azure Cavalier pushed up his glasses and asked, “Where’d it come from?”
“Sista caught it at the garbage station. She got another one for Fran to study.”
“Wow, it really is a moon rabbit. But why is it so tame?”
Lucia looked really curious, but didn’t dare to touch it—these lunar creatures could eat solid alloy armor like nothing, and in front of it, her hand was probably as fragile as tofu…
“If you want to pet it, go ahead. But only this one~”
Clara could see the longing in her sister’s eyes and handed the moon rabbit to Lucia.
“Mm, I used magic to make it my pet.”
“Oh! There’s magic like that?!”
Only then did Lucia finally reach out and stroke the moon rabbit’s head.
“The fur is so soft!”
Even though Lucia was rubbing the rabbit’s head, since both sides counted as Clara’s body, Miss Squid couldn’t help but narrow her eyes contentedly.
Looking up and seeing this, Lucia put her hand on Clara’s head as well.
“…Hey, why are you patting me too?”
“Because, Senpai, you look like you want to be patted too.”
“The livestream is about to start, so you hold her for now.”
The moon rabbit was about the size of a small dog. It wasn’t heavy for Clara, but her short arms made holding it uncomfortable. Besides, it wasn’t ideal for the battle suit to appear on camera.
…
Since Lucia was interested, she might as well hold it for now.
But being held in her little sister’s arms felt…
…
Wow, this girl’s really grown up, huh?
Hmm, I’m sinking in.