After an early lunch, Clara changed into the swimsuit she’d bought earlier (DAY1 style, yellow and white with layered ruffled ribbons, two-piece), and followed the SIGMA staff down to the beach.
Tents and simple changing rooms had been set up at the edge of the sand. Fran and Lucia had gone off to deal with that paparazzi, leaving Clara all alone, without even a companion. It felt a bit pitiful, to the point that she even had to ask SIGMA’s hero stylist for help with her makeup.
Nyx could also do makeup—didn’t even need cosmetics to do it.
But that would be a bit too conspicuous, and too hard to explain. So in the end, Clara just borrowed some makeup and did her own in front of the mirror. She had a knack for it, so Nyx didn’t have to worry.
“Miss Clara, please come into the ball now!”
“…Oh, coming!”
Up next was the main event for the noon: beach volleyball.
Sports full of masculine energy always attracted female viewers. Even if one didn’t like sports, seeing four handsome guys run and jump across the court for a ball was a sight few women could resist.
But for Clara, it wasn’t so pleasant.
…The ball.
Because the role she was playing was…
A volleyball.
A loli volleyball.
At this moment, the five participants in the event were already on the beach court, split into pairs.
The hero Scarlet Star General, known for his overwhelming strength, teamed up with the nimble Pure White Storm, and faced off against the brainy Azure Cavalier and the skillful Verdant Echo.
And lastly, the petite and adorable newcomer magical girl, Clara—stuffed inside an inflatable ball.
“Tch…”
Even when caught on camera, Clara wore a Sima-face, so miserable that she couldn’t even muster the spirit for business. The working conditions were so bad, she didn’t even want to pretend to smile.
The transparent ball was roasting under the dome, and the temperature inside was easy to imagine.
When they invited her for this collab, they said she’d get to play the pampered little sister, but it was only the first day and she’d already become a prop that didn’t even qualify as a mascot?!
This was fraud! Where was the human rights organization? The Loli Protection Association?
Being used as a ball was already over the line, but they just had to go even further.
They were even wearing exoskeletons to play volleyball! Heavens!
On a sand court three times bigger than a regular volleyball court, Scarlet Star General lifted the Clara-ball with one hand and tossed it upward, then spiked it fiercely, sending her smoothly sailing over the net.
It might look hard to get power with such a big ball, but to them, wearing exoskeletons, even lifting that tens-of-tons lunar bus together was nothing. Clara’s weight was nothing as a ball…
They even had to be careful to control their strength, to avoid sending her out of bounds—
Or hurting Clara.
Bang—
Next came Verdant Echo’s return, and the Clara-ball split into three in midair. It was a trick using holographic projection to create clone balls, to mess with their vision.
But the holographic system glitched, and in those two clone balls, Clara was dressed in incorrect and unsuited high-cut swimsuits and bikinis.
As soon as the ball crossed the net, Pure White Storm—flying overhead—smashed the correct ball right back, scoring a point!
Come on, playing volleyball in the air was just too unfair, wasn’t it?
Even though she was being batted back and forth, Clara wasn’t hurt. The material of the transparent ball was quite tough, and the force of impact was all absorbed. The only problem was, flying around was starting to make her dizzy.
It was a good thing she hadn’t eaten too much lunch.
Not only did it keep her tummy from bulging in her swimsuit, it also prevented her from puking when being used as a ball.
Clara was already plotting how she could chop four watermelons with a single stroke.
[Clara.]
Nyx suddenly spoke, snapping Clara back to reality.
[Lucia and Fran are in trouble.]
“Huh?”
[They found the culprit’s hideout, but ran into the culprit during the search. Now they’re trapped in the culprit’s wardrobe.]
Nyx was concise, but hearing such troubling news while flying around in midair, Clara couldn’t focus.
But—how do you get stuck in a wardrobe?
The two of them can’t even handle a paparazzo?
[Because the culprit is Ps·ycho.]
…Given the urgency, Nyx didn’t bother keeping secrets.
“Huh? A lunatic?”
[The maniac leader of the Fourth Calamity.]
Now Clara understood. She’d run into that pervert again.
This time, was she here for Sista again?
[Maybe she’s here to assassinate you.]
Nyx’s answer left Clara speechless.
If she ever found out that last night, Clara had shared a bed with her beloved “Pure White Storm-sama”—whom she “loved enough to want to kill with her own hands”—she probably wouldn’t be put on the Fourth Calamity’s expedited hit list—
She’d be at the top of her personal assassination list.
Ps·ycho’s stealth abilities were perfect for this. If you got stabbed out of nowhere on the street, not even the strongest hero could guard against it.
“They’re hiding in a wardrobe and still haven’t been found?”
[I used something Ps·ycho is interested in to distract her.]
Eh? Is Ps·ycho some kind of wild animal?
At that moment, the loli volleyball landed on the sand. As the referee announced a point for Azure Cavalier, Clara stuck out a little hand from the ball, waving and shouting:
“Wait! There’s something going on!”
“Clara-chan, are you not feeling well?”
The four from the SIGMA series immediately rushed over.
“Of course I’m not! Why don’t you try it?!”
…
…Clara grumbled first, then shouted toward the edge of the court, “But that’s not the point. Pause for a moment! Miss Damo, I have something to say!”
As the most important volleyball of the match, when Clara spoke up, no one could refuse her request…otherwise, how could they play? With no ball, what would they hit—air volleyball?
“There’s a new development on that case. Can we talk?”
Ogata Damo was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what Clara meant.
She signed to the camera lady to stop filming, then called the four from the SIGMA series to gather. The livestream scene instantly shifted to a beach view.
The morning’s activity had ended early because of Clara leaving, and now the midday volleyball match was paused just as it started. Clara’s popularity and likability with the general public were sure to plummet.
But compared to that, her sisters were more important.
To make discussion easier, the SIGMA four removed their gear.
Clara explained the urgent situation to them.
“Are they still safe? Haven’t been taken hostage?”
The seemingly rational Azure Cavalier was the first to ask about Fran and Lucia’s safety.
“They’re safe for now, but we’d better hurry.”
Nyx had used something “Ps·ycho would be interested in” to distract her, so Fran and Lucia hadn’t been found yet. But they couldn’t get out, and it was only a matter of time before they were discovered.
Clara continued, “But first, let’s be clear—you’ve fought her before. Her ability includes invisibility, so she’s really hard to catch…”
“I know. We have to deal with that power first.”
Azure Cavalier nodded, then turned to Ogata Damo for permission.
From what happened last time, all kinds of sensors didn’t work on her.
If equipment was useless, then they’d have to rely on other senses.
Azure Cavalier pointed to his own nose.
“Alright, we’ll use this.”
“Miss Damo, give us half an hour.”
“Mm, I can’t help much with the tactics…so, is half an hour enough?”
“Yes, it’s plenty.”
SIGMA’s “strategist” seemed to have an idea, pushing up his glasses.
“The first thing we need to do is locate her. Paintballs probably won’t work. Since optical equipment and the naked eye are both…”
Who makes someone a ball.