"Milady, Young Master Haramura, please come this way. Miss Fremea is in this room."
The voice came from a rather familiar face — chestnut-brown wavy hair cascading down to her waist, golden-yellow pupils, a delicate visage that looked about eighteen or nineteen years old.
Yes, it was none other than Mugino Shizuri.
But now, her face bore none of the violent, frenzied expression she had worn the first time they met, the look of someone ready to rip everything apart.
Instead, she smiled warmly, her manners polite and proper. If not for her recognizable face, it would be hard to believe this was the same person.
Of course—!
The biggest difference wasn't just her expression, but rather what she was wearing.
A black-and-white maid outfit trimmed with lace. The neckline revealed an ample stretch of pale skin, while the skirt barely covered her hips.
Paired with over-the-knee stockings, it left between skirt and stocking a perfect band of exposed thigh — that absolute zone.
It was an extremely risqué maid costume.
And on Mugino's already exceptional figure, it was explosively seductive.
"…You, what's with this?"
Though his mouth twitched violently, Makoto was already giving Misaki frantic thumbs-up in his mind.
Leaving aside the person wearing it, at least in this instant, the view was undeniably pleasing to the eye.
"This is the standard, isn't it!! I've always felt I was missing a truly capable maid at my side. So I went through the trouble of completely rewriting her life — altering all her memories from childhood up to now."
Misaki introduced her handiwork proudly, while Mugino's pupils had long since transformed into the distinctive starry eyes that showed she was under Misaki's control.
"Honestly, even for me, erasing that many memories and fabricating so many new ones was a lot of work."
It was as if she were admiring a masterpiece.
Maybe that wasn't the perfect description, but Makoto figured that was exactly how Misaki saw it.
"Fine, but even if so, why this outfit?"
In truth, they didn't even need Mugino to guide them. This place was practically Misaki's second home.
Whenever she stayed out, it was usually here.
The two walked side by side down the corridor, with the controlled Mugino obediently trailing behind.
"Physical punishment? Forget it. I don't want to dirty myself with that kind of thing — it's disgusting."
Misaki touched her lips with one finger, a sly smile curling there.
"But you know, when I looked into her mind, I discovered something very interesting. From the outside, she seems like a bold, uninhibited type. But in truth, she's extremely shy inside — the kind who might secretly put on revealing clothes, but only dare admire herself in private.
I rewrote almost everything about her personality and traits… But that part? Oh no, I made sure to keep it exactly as it was."
"… …"
Makoto let out a helpless sigh as he looked at Misaki's refined profile.
"In some ways, you really are a devil."
Because this was relentless psychological torment.
Forcing someone shy and conservative to wear such revealing outfits day after day, unable to resist, because she was now Misaki's exclusive maid…
"This is nothing more than what she deserves."
Her sly smile vanished instantly, replaced with a cold indifference that radiated from her eyes to her very core.
"The moment she dared harbor thoughts about you she shouldn't have, the fact she's even alive is already the greatest mercy. Exposing her shame over and over — what's that compared to what she owes?"
Makoto could clearly hear the deep resentment laced in Misaki's words.
He suspected that if he told her right now he didn't want to see Mugino again, Misaki would abandon this hard-won trophy without hesitation.
"Enough. There's no need to go this far. In some sense, by killing her spirit, you've already avenged me."
Patting her shoulder lightly, Makoto even found himself comforting her.
"Hmph—"
Misaki let out a soft, almost adorable huff.
Of course, that was exactly what she had in mind.
If all she wanted was Mugino as a bodyguard, there'd been no need to replace all her memories.
Altering key points would have been enough.
But she had chosen to rewrite Mugino entirely, erasing her very being from the inside out.
In some ways, it was a paradox.
What defines a person's existence — their body, or their memories?
If the body is gone but the memories live on in another, who acts the same as before — are they dead?
If the memories vanish but the body remains intact, behaving like a stranger — are they alive?
The two stood in contradiction.
But for Shokuhou Misaki, who could freely control minds and memories, there was no question: memories were what made a person.
Mugino's LV5 ability, Meltdowner, was too useful to waste.
So she had chosen to kill Mugino's spirit entirely — to avenge Makoto.
"…Do you think what I did was right?"
Out of nowhere, walking alongside him, Misaki suddenly asked this question.
"Do you think I'm scared of you? I already told you, don't waste energy worrying about pointless things. I'll always believe in you."
Sure, she'd said Mugino was shy at heart.
But the truth was, Misaki herself was also deeply sensitive inside.
Ever since revealing Mugino's secret nature, Makoto had sensed her unease.
Clearly, she was afraid her actions, her power, might make him fear her.
And in this moment, what could he do but reassure her firmly — to keep fear from ever taking root in her heart?
"Mm~"
Perhaps it was the release of that last bit of hidden worry.
When Makoto turned and glanced at her profile again, he thought her smile seemed brighter than ever.
"So… how are things with the other three? I imagine it wasn't so easy to handle, was it?"
After all, they had been a squad led by a Level 5. In terms of both combat and research value, they were a tremendous asset.
It wouldn't be easy to transfer their allegiance so smoothly.
"As for that, let's just say… I happen to have a headmaster who values the school's honor very much."