"Miss, Frenda has been brought here."
A rhythmic knock sounded at the door.
Mugino Shizuri stood there, freshly cleaned up, with a completely renewed Frenda beside her.
"In that case, the persuasion work is all yours."
"You won't have a problem, right, Fremea?"
Harumura Makoto clearly had no intention of staying. He patted Fremea's small shoulder with a smile.
"No problem, leave it to me!"
Fremea confidently raised her tiny hand, trying her hardest to put on a serious face despite her childish features.
"Let's go, Misaki. We'll leave this to the sisters."
"You're right."
Picking up her handbag, Misaki followed after Makoto.
The two of them stood and walked side by side toward the door.
Their steps weren't hurried, but somehow the entire atmosphere of the room grew heavier with each one.
Standing next to Mugino, the petite blonde loli visibly trembled.
"I think, someone as pragmatic as you should be able to make the right choice—not to make that child cry."
Makoto paused briefly at the doorway.
"Y-yes!"
Cold sweat drenched Frenda's back instantly, her voice shaking yet loud, like a student suddenly called on by the teacher.
"Good. That's what I wanted to hear."
Just as he had patted Fremea earlier, Makoto lightly tapped Frenda's shoulder before leaving with Misaki.
"Ha… hah…"
The moment they left, Frenda collapsed to the floor.
She gasped like a drowning person dragged up from the depths, her eyes filled with sheer terror as she desperately sucked in fresh air.
No one could understand what she had just endured inside her heart.
Ever since waking up in this unfamiliar place, she had already decided to surrender.
After all, for her, survival always came first.
Yes—surrender was shameful, spineless. But to live, she would do it without hesitation.
She had been waiting only for the leader to arrive, so she could throw herself at their feet.
But then—Mugino Shizuri walked in.
In that instant, she thought Mugino had broken into the enemy base to rescue her.
She had even felt relief that she hadn't bent the knee too early, or Mugino would have incinerated her on the spot.
Yet the next words froze her blood solid.
"Miss Frenda, the master is waiting."
What… was that?
For a moment, she thought she was hallucinating, her mind collapsing from fear.
But during the walk here, her constant tests made one thing terrifyingly clear.
The person before her looked like Mugino Shizuri—yet was not Mugino Shizuri.
It was like a puppet wearing her skin, but with someone else entirely inside.
What did it feel like?
Exactly like those body-swap or rebirth stories she'd been reading recently.
But how could something so impossible happen in reality?
The only explanation was that Mugino Shizuri—a Level 5—had her memories and past rewritten completely by a psychic.
Fear.
At that realization, all that remained in Frenda's heart was fear.
Wasn't this basically no different from being killed?
Of course it wasn't.
And she could never allow that to happen to her.
…
But whatever turmoil churned in Frenda's heart had nothing to do with Harumura Makoto anymore.
He was already outside, waiting for the driver Shokuhou had arranged.
"By the way, Misaki, about Frenda—you should probably use your powers on her a bit."
"Hm?"
"From what I saw, her psychological defenses are completely broken thanks to you."
Hands clasped behind her back, Misaki tilted her small head.
"Of course they are."
"But with someone spineless like that, if the same situation happens again, the problem will fall on you. After all, isn't your ability to completely rewrite her very nature?"
No one doubted that Frenda's surrender was genuine.
Yet at the same time, not one of them trusted her enough to use her.
That was natural.
Ordinarily, the correct choice would have been to simply dispose of her. But she was Fremea's sister.
So the only option was to rely on Misaki to alter Frenda's cowardly, self-serving personality.
"Relax. I already planned on it. Other than you, I don't intend to trust anyone."
Misaki gave a soft hum, her eyes glinting.
Yes—that was her nature.
She didn't believe in "cooperation" or "trust." Even with allies, she would pry into their minds, analyzing their every thought and behavior.
Had it not been for the crisis back then, and Deadlock's words in that moment… she might have controlled Makoto as well.
It was only coincidence—fate, perhaps—that kept her hand.
Makoto, watching her profile, was momentarily entranced.
Others might not realize it, but how could he not?
For Shokuhou Misaki to say such a thing—those words carried immense trust, even affection toward him.
And so, his heart firmed with resolve.
"In that case, I'm relieved."
As he spoke, he reached out and clasped the small hand she held behind her back, just like before, wrapping it fully in his palm.
"I have something to ask of you."
"W-what now?"
Another sudden move—her heartbeat pounded wildly, heat rushing to her head until she felt faint.
"Is it about Fremea? Don't worry, once things are finished, I'll make sure she's safely sent back."
Even dizzy, her mind still worked.
Makoto's words made her instinctively assume that was the favor.
"No, not that. I want you to take care of Leo for a while. Because of certain reasons, I'll have to leave for some time. I'm counting on you, Misaki-chan."