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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Stimulation
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"Ah, Amelia. What in the world is this...?"
"I don't know either! S-surely, no one was supposed to know!"
Immediately after Teacher Claire disappeared,
Amelia and Shiu were trembling.
They couldn't help but tremble.
Because they knew who had rummaged through the female students' underwear yesterday.
No, it wasn't just 'knowing'.
They were the perpetrators and the planners.
Because the two of them were the ones who carried out everything, from planning to execution.
"Where did it leak from? ...CCTV? No, I definitely confirmed the blind spots. Security guards? Or students?"
She muttered, her voice a low drone.
Amelia's voice buzzed in Shiu's ears.
...But the content was a bit strange.
She'd already identified the CCTV blind spots?
What in the world was Amelia aiming for?
Shiu's expression grew increasingly dubious.
Perhaps it would be more beneficial to society to catch her first, rather than Arte?
"Alright. ...Yu Shiu, our tracks haven't been discovered yet."
"Huh?"
"Even if our actions were somehow revealed, the culprit hasn't been definitively identified yet. For now, we pretend we know nothing. Got it?"
Just as the doubts in Shiu's mind were solidifying into certainty,
Amelia showed Shiu a resolute expression.
"But if we've already been found out..."
"No. They know an incident occurred, but they clearly aren't certain who did it. If we'd already been found out, we'd be in jail by now."
Indeed.
Someone rummaging through female students' underwear wasn't an ordinary matter.
If they knew the culprit, it wouldn't be strange to arrest them on the spot for impure intentions.
"So, from now on, we'll pretend we know nothing as much as possible..."
"You two seem to be getting along well?"
"Hiyak?!"
*Grab.*
Someone who had approached without a sound seized Amelia's shoulder.
Behind the startled Amelia, whose legs had given out, black hair was visible.
...Arte.
"H-Heeeee..."
"Oh dear. ...Did I startle you too much? Are you alright?"
Arte's act of helping Amelia up was noticeable, but Shiu couldn't accept it at face value.
Of all times, at this very moment.
Why had she appeared now, of all times, when Amelia and he were gathered to discuss their future course of action?
He knew she was watching him.
But recently, she hadn't approached him directly.
She clearly knew about his and Amelia's secret!
"...Hey, Arte."
"Yes?"
"What brings you here...? This isn't a place where many people pass through."
"...Ahaha. Did I perhaps interrupt a secret meeting? Oh dear, I'm so terribly sorry. Hmm, I was just on my way back from the restroom. On my way back, I saw some familiar faces, so I thought I'd play a little prank."
What an absurd lie.
The restroom wasn't even this way; it was in the opposite direction.
The fact that she was lying so brazenly meant she had no intention of telling them, did it?
"Ahaha. My apologies. I seem to have startled you quite a bit."
"No, it's fine. Right, Amelia?"
"U-Uh-huh. Ha, haha... I'm perfectly fine?!"
The thoroughly flustered Amelia began to insist that she was perfectly fine.
Arte, who had worn a dubious expression for a moment, soon smiled and began to speak to them.
"That's good to hear. ...Still, you should be careful. Didn't the teacher say there's a criminal wandering around inside the academy these days?"
"C-criminal...?"
"Yes. Someone who ruthlessly rummaged through female students' underwear, no less. How shameless! They are truly a being deserving of divine punishment! ...Right?"
*Smile.*
Arte's lips curved into an arc.
Was she seeking his agreement?
Under her piercing gaze, he almost instinctively begged for forgiveness, but he managed to suppress it and expressed his agreement with her words.
"...Y-yes, that's right."
"Ah, it would be wonderful if some brave student could catch the culprit. Don't you think?"
Some brave student catches the culprit.
...Does that mean Arte Isis catches *me*?
"It would be good if they could be caught."
"Oh? Shiu-kun isn't interested? It's a shameless villain who rummaged through women's underwear, you know? If caught, they'd surely receive a big reward."
"...What are you trying to say?"
"Ahaha. Well, I thought it might be fun to work tirelessly with Shiu-kun to catch the culprit. Won't you join me?"
She wants me to catch myself?
What a ridiculous thing to say.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to refuse Arte, she took a step forward.
Smiling sweetly, she naturally bent slightly at the waist and asked him a question.
"What do you think? Doesn't it sound fun?"
Normally, he wouldn't have cared.
No, even if he hadn't satisfied his desires for nearly a month, he wouldn't have thought much of it.
But the sensation he'd felt just yesterday.
That scent suddenly came to mind.
...Because she had bent over, the leotard that peeked out at Arte Isis's neckline was awakening Shiu's five senses.
"Hmm? Doesn't it look fun?"
"U-Uh-huh..."
Oh no.
Shiu realized what he had just blurted out.
Sure enough, Arte, who hadn't missed his slip of the tongue, smiled gleefully and spoke.
"Great! Then, when the plan for finding the culprit is set, I'll let you know!"
Watching Arte disappear with deliberate footsteps, unlike her sudden appearance, Shiu thought.
He was screwed.
By the way, that was the direction *to* the restroom.
She was lying so brazenly.
If she had been coming *from* the restroom, it would have been the opposite direction.
"Phew, phew...! I-I thought I was going to die. My heart hurts..."
"Are you alright?"
"No, I'm not alright! Wow, I was really startled."
Only after Arte disappeared did Amelia regain her composure, catching her breath and calming her pounding heart.
"As expected, she seems to be suspicious, doesn't she?"
"Yes. Without a doubt. Even if she's not certain we're the culprits, she definitely suspects us."
"Phew, I expected it, but... this might be a bit tough."
As Amelia said, he had expected it.
After all, only Arte herself could have told the teacher.
She must have realized somehow that someone had rummaged through her locker.
Whatever the method, she seemed to suspect that they were the culprits.
"But why did you accept that offer? No matter how I think about it, refusing would have been better."
"Th-that's..."
He couldn't say it.
That he'd been distracted by the glimpse of her leotard when she bent over and had accepted it without thinking.
He couldn't say it, not even if he died.
"Well, alright. What's done is done. There's no point thinking about it further. It's better to think about what to do next."
"What to do next..."
"How about we decide after seeing what kind of plan Arte comes up with? ...There's not much we can do right now anyway."
There was nothing particularly strange about Amelia's words, so he nodded.
No, even if there had been something slightly strange, he probably would have nodded.
Because Shiu felt guilty about accepting Arte's proposal.
"Alright. Let's do that."
"Phew, alright. Let's head back. What kind of plan will she come up with, I wonder? ...I'm already getting scared."
***
"Hehe. A huge success, isn't it, Author?"
[Of course! A classic development where the heroines find the villain who infiltrated the school and defeat them...! This is a hit!]
She had been on pins and needles, worried Yu Shiu might refuse.
Fortunately, he seemed to think for a moment, then accepted.
As expected, anime wasn't wrong.
She'd tried imitating how beautiful girls in anime got their requests granted by bending slightly at the waist, and it worked well.
[By the way, you mentioned a plan. Do you have something in mind?]
"Of course, I do. A setting that would be a shame not to use in this situation has already appeared, hasn't it?"
[...]
What?
Did you forget again?
"Haa. ...The club, the club."
[The clu...? Ah, ahh! I remember now! The exploration club! That's right, there was that... *Gasp*!]
"You've already been found out."
[Heh, hehe...]
What would have happened to the Author if I weren't here?
They probably would have been showered with every curse imaginable from the readers.
From "Why introduce this setting and not use it? Is it some kind of MacGuffin?" to every other insult, they would have received them all.
Actually, she was still worried they might be getting cursed at even now, but fortunately, seeing that everything was fine, it seemed the novel was proceeding smoothly.
"You haven't decided on the ability of the villain who infiltrated the school, have you?"
[No. I've only given them the setting of having infiltrated.]
"Since they're an Übermensch ability user, how about a Chameleon Beastman?"
[!!!]
Well, a chameleon doesn't assimilate into its surroundings to the point of being invisible to the human eye.
Moreover, they can't freely become invisible as is widely known; their color merely changes with their body temperature.
But novels don't always stick to historical accuracy.
As long as the perception exists that chameleons are masters of camouflage, a Chameleon Beastman will always be a master of stealth.
It wouldn't be strange for them to appear anywhere, anytime.
The single setting that the infiltrating villain was actually a Chameleon Beastman can create countless scenes.
[You're... a god! Is she a god?! No, she IS a god!]
"There you go again."
[I'll set it immediately! The infiltrating villain is a Chameleon Beastman... Their ability is environmental assimilation! Good, it's done!]
"Alright. Then let's wait patiently."
Once that Chameleon Beastman starts causing trouble again, she can approach Shiu then, as if a great idea has just occurred to her, and lead him to the club.
A feeling that the development would go smoothly this time made a smile naturally bloom on her face.