I was near a shop in a large shopping mall that dealt in a rather niche kind of clothing. And by "niche," I don't mean anything lewd. Well, maybe some people would use it for lewd purposes, but that's not what it's for.
The store sold clothes with a lot of frills and decorations. They were the kind of outfits that would definitely make people stare if you wore them out on the street.
I don't have a hobby of wearing these kinds of clothes, and none of the girls living with me—with the exception of Kurumi—would wear them on their own accord.
The person I was watching was Jeanne d'Arc XXX, who I fought at the airport the other day.
Today, everyone from my house had come to the mall together. I was planning to be their bag holder or whatever they needed, but they said, "girls have their own kind of get-togethers," and promptly kicked me out.
So I was just wandering around, bored, when I found her at the entrance of the store, repeatedly trying to go in and then hesitating.
"Hey, Jeanne."
"Waaaaaahhhh!"
A hand-chop flew toward my neck along with a scream. I had predicted some kind of counterattack, so I was able to block it without taking any damage.
"Y-you...!"
"It's been a week. Is your plea bargain already over?"
She was so surprised that her face was beet red and her breathing was ragged. Still, she didn't let go of her hand-chop stance, which showed how wary she was of me.
"...Why are you here?"
"I'm just shopping. What about you? Aren't you going in? I've been watching you for about five minutes—"
"—You were watching me...!"
I felt something hard pressing against my abdomen. A short blade, maybe. How menacing.
I think Durandal is in the case she has slung over her shoulder, but it's a good thing it didn't jump out.
What must this pose look like to the people around us?
After her loud scream attracted a lot of attention, we're now in this close contact. If I were a light novel protagonist, I'd definitely be flustered. She doesn't seem to have any shame because her chest is lightly pressed against me.
Neither of us is wrapping our arms around each other, but from a distance, we must look like a proper couple.
I'm experienced (in a suggestive way), so I'm fine. My heart rate just sped up a little, and blood started gathering in my lower body.
"Yeah, I was watching you up close."
"Die!"
I dodged Jeanne's wide swing using the body-maneuvering techniques I learned from Aria with my perfect memory.
"Come on, you're going into the store, right?"
"H-hey! Don't push me!"
I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her inside the store's entrance.
Maybe because we were causing a ruckus, the store clerk quickly spotted us, grabbed a random outfit, and led Jeanne to a fitting room.
I was grateful for the understanding staff.
After a while, the clerk came out of the fitting room, gave me a thumbs-up, and left. I returned the gesture and waited for the fitting room curtain to open.
But it didn't open.
Well, I guess she's not obligated to show me, but I can't let such a fun opportunity pass me by.
"Jeanne! Are you changed? Can I open the curtain?"
"W-wait! No! ...Ugh... how do I wear this...!"
Oh, she doesn't know how to put it on? Do clothes require such complex procedures to wear? I'm not a girl, so I wouldn't know.
"A-alright. Sigh, huff. I-I'm opening it...!"
Jeanne came out of the fitting room in a simple, easy-to-move-in maid outfit. Is a maid outfit really easy to move in? If not, I'd say it's more for work than for show.
"S-so? How do I look?"
"I think it looks very good. It's cute."
Not to say that Jeanne isn't charming on her own, but the power of clothes is truly great. The dignified silver-haired beauty had her face flushed with shame, and she was clutching the hem of her long skirt. And I was the only one who got to see this.
To put it mildly, it was the best.
"S-stop it. This kind of outfit doesn't suit me. Something like this is for a small and adorable girl like Riko."
Jeanne said, turning away, but she couldn't suppress the smirk on her face.
"I have this tall stature, you see... Fwip."
She flipped her hair while looking into the fitting room mirror. She totally loves it.
She's about the same height as me, so I really can't complain... I wish I were a little taller.
After letting her enjoy her moment alone for a while, I said one thing.
"So, are you going to buy that outfit?"
"...W-well, just this one. Yes. Just this one."
Oh no. She's fallen into the "just one purchase" trap. This is definitely a pattern where you can't stop at just one.
"I thought about making a hole in the wall to escape, but it's a good day today."
"If you were that embarrassed, you could have just chosen not to show me, you know?"
"...Ah."
"Huh?"
"N-no, I thought it was proper etiquette to show the outfit when a man waits for you to change..."
"You're too serious."
She's so inflexible in weird ways.
"I'm sorry. Please don't tell anyone about today—"
"Alright, in exchange for my silence, there's something I want to ask. Can you spare some time for me?"
---------
Jeanne and I went into a family restaurant to take a break. It was past the lunch rush, and there were only a couple of other customers, so we could probably stay for a while.
We sat down and ordered the drink bar. I got up to get some drinks before we started talking.
"Jeanne, I'll go get some drinks."
"Hm? Oh, so you get your own drinks at this place."
I led Jeanne to the drink bar. I grabbed a cup... I guess I'll get oolong tea.
"Yozuki, what is this?"
"It's a drink bar. You can drink as much as you want."
"As much as I want... so I can drink 100 liters?"
"...If you can."
"I can't possibly drink that much. Are you a fool?"
"You..."
Ignoring my subtle look of annoyance, Jeanne chose oolong tea, just like me.
"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?"
"It's about Vlad."
I got back to the table and got straight to the point without any small talk.
"That guy..."
"It's hard to ask Riko, and I can't get in touch with Oleander."
Actually, Riko finished her plea bargain in the blink of an eye and is now living with us. As a result, I'm on edge every day, fearing that a gunfight with Aria might break out.
Vlad is a formidable enemy, and I'll have to fight him eventually. Although I have some knowledge from the original story, he could also be strengthened by the influence of this world.
It can't hurt to gather more information.
"I see, I've heard about it, but you're a reckless one... I can talk, but the information I can give you is limited."
"Is that because of retaliation for leaking information?"
"Yes. I-U doesn't forbid duels. And given who the opponent is, I might be targeted depending on what I say."
"Even with your combat ability?"
"Don't be sarcastic, you who defeated me so easily. Besides, my combat ability is the lowest among all of I-U."
Jeanne's mood soured at my words. I felt a little bad about that, but I'd just gained another piece of information.
Jeanne's combat ability is the lowest in I-U, which is the same as the original story. Wait, does that mean Jeanne is weaker than Oleander? Or maybe they're just a bad match for each other?
Jeanne's combat ability isn't low by any means. In terms of psychic abilities, she's probably above average.
I'm so used to rampaging around after transforming into a Kamen Rider that I almost forget that in this world, only a minority of people can fight using just their abilities.
"First, let me explain about I-U. It's an organization where people who have been given a divine talent gather to share their skills and techniques. Their goal is to become as strong as gods. There's no organizational objective; each individual acts freely."
In short, it's a group that aims to get stronger by sharing their strengths. The idea is great—if they don't break the law.
"And Vlad... he and my family are sworn enemies. The Jeanne d'Arc of three generations ago teamed up with the first Arsène Lupin and fought him to a draw."
"Vlad's ancestor or something?"
"What are you saying? He's a vampire. It's him, of course."
Oh, right, my bad. Vlad is a famous vampire in this world. He wasn't in Aria the Scarlet Ammo, so I got confused.
I mentally pushed aside my knowledge of the original Aria the Scarlet Ammo and brought up the information I'd gathered in this world.
"Just kidding, just kidding. What I want to know is the location of his demonic organs and his Familiar."
A demonic organ is an organ that allows a vampire's regenerative abilities to function and invalidates weaknesses like crosses or garlic. There are four of them inside the body, and if they are all damaged at the same time, these powers are lost, which greatly weakens the vampire.
A Familiar is a mass of magic in the form of a beast that is materialized at the cost of the host's lifespan. It's a vampire's main weapon with various powers. While it possesses immense combat power, the life consumption from summoning it is so great that a normal person's lifespan would be instantly depleted. Therefore, it is said that only immortal vampires can handle them. This means that if you can destroy the demonic organs, the Familiar will also become unusable.
"I thought so. If you're going to fight a vampire—well, not many idiots would show up to do so—you need to know that."
She's been calling me an idiot a lot, hasn't she? She's definitely holding a grudge about me finding out about her hobby.
"The locations of his demonic organs are on both shoulders and the right side of his abdomen. I don't know where the last one is."
The tricky thing about demonic organs is that their location is different for each vampire. Fortunately, the vampires whose existence has been confirmed by the UN in this world have a mark etched on the location of their demonic organs, but knowing the location beforehand makes a difference.
The last one should be on his tongue, according to the original story.
"I know nothing about his Familiar. That topic wasn't discussed in I-U."
"I see..."
This is going to be a much more intense battle than I thought.
With my current strength, I'll definitely be defeated. Ah, I wish I had a Gamer Driver. I wish I could evolve my Kiba Tusk.
For now, I need to figure out how to use these two new abilities that I was able to get thanks to Kurumi.
---------
Cosmic Holy Sword Space Calibur
A replica of a certain X-man's sword, reproduced with super-cosmic technology. It makes a vwoom vwoom sound when swung. Despite being a replica, its sharpness is incredible, and it can easily cut through most things. Also, by releasing energy from the blade, it can fire beams and fly.
Psycho-Frame Blueprint
A blueprint for a Psycho-Frame. It's an over-technology for this era, so there are only a limited number of people who can make effective use of it.
---------
The Cosmic Holy Sword Space Calibur... is exactly the same as the promised sword of victory, Excalibur. It's a good and easy-to-use weapon. Although I've never used a sword before.
As for the Psycho-Frame Blueprint, I have no idea how to use it. It's something that ordinary scientists can't even begin to comprehend. What am I supposed to do with just the blueprint?
...Oh, right.
"Hey, Jeanne. Can you teach me how to use a sword?"
"A sword? I don't mind... but you're not going to say it's for free, are you?"
"Of course not. Before or after our practice, I'll be your audience for your fashion show."
"You don't have to do that! And seriously, don't mention it to anyone! You have to promise!"
Haha, come on. If it's not a joke, she shouldn't repeat it so much.
"Senpai, what are you doing?"
I heard a sudden voice from the side. My expression froze.
"Y-Yukina...?"
Standing there were the members who came here today: Yukina, Chloe, Asuna, Kurumi, Aria, and Riko.
All of them had a very subtle expression. Most of them had twitching eyes, and their "anger" was the most prominent emotion.
"N-now hold on. This is all because you guys left me alone, and besides, you all approved of this—"
"Hello, Jeanne d'Arc? Riko told me about you."
"Oh, yes. It's a pleasure. You can just call me Jeanne... or..."
Ignoring my words, Asuna greeted Jeanne with a friendly smile. Jeanne returned the greeting and smoothly got up from her seat. She was probably trying to avoid getting caught up in my mess. I appreciated that. I wanted to avoid Jeanne getting into trouble because of me.
I was now all alone. I couldn't expect help from anyone. The waitress at the family restaurant was holding her breath and watching us with a slightly amused expression.
"Well, everyone, let's go."
"Huh?"
At Asuna's voice, they all turned their backs and walked away.
"W-wait a minute!"
I... I'm in the wrong here. It's not a matter of whether a harem is accepted; I'm just in the wrong.
While paying for two drink bars, I swore to myself that I'd be more careful next time.
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