The staff of the Sigma Heroes still couldn’t rest; they had more work to do and would have to work overtime.
The maintenance engineers needed to repair the exoskeleton armor damaged today. After all, there was an event tomorrow that required the use of exoskeletons, so they had to be debugged and restored to a usable state before then. That was why they needed to borrow Lucia’s help.
The photographer had to process today’s footage and edit it into a program. Pulling an all-nighter was inevitable. The reason for her poor mental state was precisely due to long-term overwork, and her long bangs were meant to hide her conspicuous dark circles.
Even though the stylist didn’t have much to do at the moment, she still had to consider the heroes’ styles for the next day and couldn’t truly enjoy a vacation…
Meanwhile, Clara had already returned to her room and was soaking comfortably in the bath.
[Clara, Shuta Dharma said she would visit. If you keep soaking any longer, you’ll be caught in your bath.]
“I know, I’ll come out soon~”
[You said that five minutes ago.]
“Let me finish this plate of grapes and then I’ll come out!”
It was just too comfortable; once she entered the tub, it was hard to get out.
“Tsk, a bath with an ocean view… This is why they say rich people know how to enjoy life, huh?”
Clara stretched out her arms, leaning against the tub. Her small feet splashed and slid around in the water, feeling her slippery skin. Nyx was also using its tiny tendrils to pick grapes and deliver them to her mouth—courtesy of the resort staff.
“So comfy, so fancy! Mmph! Hey, don’t feed me so fast! My mouth isn’t a coin slot, you can’t just stuff things in one after another like that!”
[Hurry and finish up already.]
“What are you, my mom!?”
Clara complained to Nyx, but knowing the other was right, she still climbed out of the tub with her bare bottom, letting the small tendrils holding a towel dry her off.
The bathroom in the guest room was semi-open.
Though it couldn’t be seen from the outside, it was only shielded by two intersecting walls for visual privacy and had no door.
As for the balcony area, it was even less secure—meant to keep out gentlemen, not scoundrels. If a drone flew in right now, it would get a perfect view of Clara…
Suddenly, Clara’s body was covered by a mosaic.
“Hm? What’s going on?”
Nyx suddenly activated its Ps-ycho ability, leaving Clara bewildered.
[Someone’s coming.]
When Nyx said that, Clara instinctively glanced at the guest room door on the first floor, but there was no knock, nor could she see or hear anything unusual.
Next, she looked toward the balcony.
She saw Sista—
She saw Pure White Storm unfurling her white mechanical wings, carrying someone straight into Clara’s bedroom.
“Huh? Hey!!”
Clara hurriedly crouched down, hugging herself. Even with Nyx projecting a mosaic over her, she was still embarrassed—after all, this wasn’t the first time such a scene had occurred.
Previously in the dressing room of the Forest of Enchantment, a similar thing had happened…
Clara suspected that Pure White Storm did it on purpose and couldn’t help but scold in a delicate voice, “Don’t you know how to knock?! Who just flies into someone’s bathroom like that? Pervert! Get out!”
“Sorry, I was just bringing Miss Lucia back…”
The person being princess-carried by Pure White Storm was her own little sister. Clara’s gaze at him turned even more peculiar.
Lucia hurried over to help her up, saying, “Ha! Senpai, you don’t have to worry~ Miss Sista is in a rather special situation… Eh? Miss?”
Clara suspiciously looked at Pure White Storm, whose expression didn’t change at all, as if she wasn’t the least bit concerned.
“Could it be…”
Knock knock—
Just as Clara was about to ask, there came a knock from downstairs.
‘It’s me.
It’s Shuta Dharma.
“That’s right, Pure White Storm… or rather, the one you call Sista—her biological sex really is female. I came here to tell you about this.”
…You’re a girl?!
No wonder carrying Pure White Storm felt so similar to carrying Shinwei. Even flat-chested women felt different than men; that slight softness was unmistakable.
“Ahem!” Clara cleared her throat awkwardly.
She had already changed into a cool camisole nightgown.
Of course, it wasn’t something she’d brought along—it was projected by Nyx via data projection. These data creations couldn’t leave the drive for too long, or they’d vanish, but as long as it was clothing worn on the body, it didn’t matter.
“Well then, Miss Dharma, please explain.”
“In fact, I already hinted at this answer at the Expo Center, but you didn’t notice at all.”
Clara really hadn’t thought Sista was a girl.
After all, his… her behavior always fit that of a handsome young man, at most a bit lacking in common sense.
“Sorry, I’m an idiot—give me a riddle, and I’ll never get it. Please just tell me directly…”
“As you can see, Pure White Storm’s exoskeleton is much smaller than the other three’s. That’s for mobility and lightness, but we couldn’t find any men who could wear it, so we had to ask a woman to pretend to be a man.
A woman disguised as a man?”
Ah—
No wonder they had to buy clothes at the Forest of Enchantment!
“No, the situation is even more complicated than you think…”
Shuta Dharma seemed unsure how to proceed, hesitating for a moment before Nyx spoke in Clara’s mind:
[Let Nyx explain.]
A tendril appeared, shaped like a small injector, and then poked into Pure White Storm’s hand.
[She isn’t a natural human.]
“Huh?”
[She was cultivated in a lab—a manufactured human. At birth, she was already like this, and all her knowledge, common sense, even personality and preferences, were preloaded. She has no concept of childhood…]
Nyx’s words made Clara’s pupils tremble.
“A manufactured human?!”
[In other words, she’s only one year old.]
“What?! You’re only one year old?!”
“You’re…”
Although Clara had no idea how she was reading Sista’s information, Shuta Dharma, surprised as she was, added, “She only came off the production line a year ago. Her set age at release is sixteen, so this year she should be seventeen…”
But Clara didn’t agree with this “released at sixteen” explanation.
“…Isn’t that still just one year old?!”
Pure White Storm released her equipment.
The exoskeleton dissolved in a flash of dazzling white light and disappeared.
She turned back into Sista.
“Miss Clara, I’m sorry for keeping this from you…”
“No, I’m actually relieved you’re a girl.
Compared to falling for a man, being attracted to a woman is much easier to explain.”
[However, falling for a ** who’s one year old is an unforgivable crime.]
Nyx had recently developed a bad habit of making snide remarks.
“So? Why are you telling me this secret?”
Clara turned to Shuta Dharma.
To reveal something that could be called a “corporate secret” so easily, Shuta Dharma must have a favor to ask.
“Um, well, I’d like to ask you to help keep this child’s true identity a secret in the upcoming collaboration… After all, it will be livestreamed… and as you know, she’s… well, very lacking in common sense. Extremely lacking, in fact.”
It was the first time Clara had seen Miss Dharma so hesitant; clearly, this request was hard for her to make, and Clara could understand her difficulty.
“I understand. I’ll help.”
Anyway, Clara had a good impression of Pure White Storm. Helping out this much was no big deal…
“And, there’s one more request.”
“Hmm?”
“Could she stay here tonight?”
“What?!”
Not only Clara, but even Lucia was stunned.
As for the reason, Nyx merely reminded:
[Clara, the number of males is odd.]
Poor Baby.