Tossing and turning like this, depressed and sleepless, every time she barely managed to convince herself that it was all just overthinking—needless worries, impossible for Keti to have turned into a girl—
That employment information sheet, those suspicious moments after meeting the white-haired loli, each little movement and detail recalled afterward, seemed to be tormenting Layla relentlessly, making her worry again despite herself.
Just like that, the purple-haired jellyfish-headed big sister stayed up sleepless the entire night and got up early the next morning.
Perhaps, deep down inside, she already had the answer but simply refused to believe it.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have told Sylvia last night that no one was to look for the white-haired loli anymore. At that moment, maybe… she had already decided to come find Keti first thing in the morning.
Even though just moments ago, standing at the door, she was still trying to fool herself, telling herself it was nothing, just checking if Keti was hiding in the white-haired loli’s dormitory.
After all, where else could he possibly be hiding?
But—
When she saw the silver-haired beauty sitting on the bed, from the awkward expression she had when they first entered to the now relieved look on her face… moments later, the priestess couldn’t help but tremble all over.
No… it couldn’t be wrong.
Though unwilling to accept such a reality, at that moment—
Finally, I found you…
“You… you must be my Keti, right?”
“Mm-hmm~! Yes, yes, Keti’s not here anymore. I don’t know where he is, so please look somewhere else… uh…”
W-Wait a minute?!
Did Layla just ask me that?!
Am I… Keti?!
Hiss—
No, no, what’s going on? Did I hear wrong? I didn’t hallucinate, did I?
This can’t be happening—I’m being recognized on the spot?!
Just now, Keti, who had been rehearsing the perfect script in her head, was so startled by the purple-haired jellyfish-headed big sister’s words that she involuntarily took a deep breath and then awkwardly let out two nervous laughs.
“Ha… hahaha, no way! You… are you okay, Miss Layla? I-I’m a girl, you know, and the Keti you’re looking for is a boy, a man! The genders don’t even match, how could it be the same person? Hahaha…”
Ah.
I really didn’t expect that at the most critical moment, the thing Keti least wanted to mention—her gender transformation—would become the best excuse she could think of to clear her suspicion. Ugh…
After all, Layla and Sylvia couldn’t recognize her before mainly because they couldn’t connect this current appearance to who she used to be.
B-But…
This time, that trick doesn’t seem to work anymore. Layla shook her head without paying any attention to the pale excuses from the girl.
This change in appearance no longer works on the current priestess!
On the contrary, the white-haired loli’s flustered and unusually pale expression was the real ironclad proof that made Layla even more convinced of her judgment.
Because—
If this white-haired loli really wasn’t Keti, then denying such a ridiculous claim wouldn’t be done with this kind of panicked expression. She should have been shouting insults right in Layla’s face by now!
So—
Pfft, my Keti is still so gentle~
After a moment, the purple-haired jellyfish-headed big sister, now having figured things out, showed a gentle smile, and her gaze toward Keti softened.
She slowly approached the girl’s bedside, then knelt by the bed, reached out, and gently touched the flustered silver-haired beauty’s cheek, softly saying:
“That’s right, Keti. No matter what you look like, I will always recognize you…”
“N-No, no! Miss Priestess, you really have the wrong person, I-I’m really not Keti, sob…”
Looking at the jellyfish-headed big sister now close enough to touch, Keti’s panicked >< expression practically gave herself away.
At this moment, the silver-haired girl’s mind was almost completely consumed by one thought:
Ugh, how was I recognized so suddenly? How could she be so sure I’m Keti?
And also, this… this scene is kind of different from what I expected earlier!
Phew… Although she knew this day would come sooner or later, in Keti’s previous imagination, once discovered, she would immediately be mocked mercilessly by her former teammates, accused of having quit the team and even turned into a girl just to escape reality, completely losing her male pride—
T-That’s… not happening yet?
Hiss… could the bigger bomb still be coming?
Kaka… No, absolutely not, I can’t admit it!
So, after a moment, Keti hurriedly pushed Layla away, shook her head firmly, and continued to deny:
“I don’t understand what you’re saying! Are you so desperate to find Keti that you’re hallucinating? J-Just please don’t bother me anymore, or I’ll call the dorm supervisor!”
“Hmm~ Is that so? Ah, still unwilling to admit it… then can you explain this information sheet?”
The priestess wiped away tears at the corner of her eye, then pulled out the paper she had secretly taken from Simon yesterday…
The silver-haired beauty looked at the photo and the clear name on it—Keti—and couldn’t help twitching at the corner of her mouth.
W-Where the hell did this come from? Ugh… this stupid piece of paper has trapped me twice already. Twice! Is the information management at this magic academy really this bad?!
“Ah, uh… I, I say it’s just a coincidence of names, Layla, do you believe that? Ha… hahaha…”
At this point, Keti had almost nothing left to explain, awkwardly trying to make a weak excuse. But before she could finish, Sylvia, who had been silent all along, stepped forward.
Then… with both hands, she formed a magic circle, and a green light reflected over Keti’s body.
“Mm, uh… no mistake, this is the detection magic I secretly placed on Keti before. Sylvia… has also found Keti-kun~”
N-No…
Huh?!
Hearing the words “detection magic,” the silver-haired girl’s mouth twitched again. Did she really still have such magic on her body? And with all the changes she’d gone through, it still hadn’t disappeared?
Click.
Now, it seemed completely undeniable. The silver-haired girl could only awkwardly look at her two former teammates.
After a moment, the priestess excitedly said:
“Keti, I finally found you, hehe—!”