So-called [Combat Records tier used is unsuitable.]
[Combat Records satisfaction has been corrected.]
As Su Yuzu understood it, this was probably because she had now advanced to the Third Sequence.
She'd also gained access to "Advanced Combat Records" suited for Third Sequence consumption.
So when Su Yuzu used the most basic "Basic Combat Records" — the plainest kind there was — on a Third Sequence Esper…
…her system automatically assumed it was either a slip of the hand, or that Su Yuzu was just looking for some fun, and so it reinforced the satisfaction the "Combat Records" gave the Operator.
Su Yuzu watched the chibi-cute little icon of Kujou Katora, slumped over the table in front of everyone in the meeting, shoulders trembling.
She suddenly found herself praying for Kujou Katora, sincerely.
"Heaven as my witness…"
"I really wasn't trying to bully Kujou Katora on purpose."
At a moment this critical, Su Yuzu couldn't muster any real desire to tease a girl on purpose.
She'd genuinely just wanted to give Kujou Katora a little nudge.
To let her know she was fine, and to get her to notice the change happening to her own body.
After all… in the past, Su Yuzu had often remotely slipped Kujou Katora a "Combat Record," then given her something extra — or taken something away from her.
Teasing Kujou Katora.
But Su Yuzu's teasing always had its limits.
Su Yuzu loved seeing that ashamed, helpless, pitiful look on a girl's face as she begged for mercy, but she'd never actually let a girl suffer true public humiliation in front of everyone.
Watching the chibi Kujou Katora icon tremble like that, Su Yuzu began to seriously wonder just how strong this [correction] actually was.
Among all the Operators Su Yuzu had Recruited, Kujou Katora's tolerance probably ranked near the very top.
Excepting Ms. Unohana, who stayed perfectly unbothered no matter how much "Combat Records" Su Yuzu Fed her.
And excepting Mihou Sakai, who through her own diligent training had built up something like immunity to external things such as "Combat Records."
Kujou Katora, being every inch a Sadist — both the one who dishes it out and the one who craves it — probably had the strongest tolerance of them all.
Even so… the chibi little Kujou Katora still couldn't hold herself together, losing face right there in front of everyone. When she lifted her head, those crimson eyes — once brimming with hatred — held nothing but a fragile, watery shimmer.
Su Yuzu suddenly began to seriously consider: once she Recruited Kujou Iruka, if she used the lowest-tier "Basic Combat Records" on the Seventh Sequence Kujou Iruka, just how strong would the correction end up being?
Could it knock Kujou Iruka down in a single hit?
[Beep—]
[Yuzu Card?]
Su Yuzu could hardly wait to try it out.
Unfortunately, the biggest problem right now was how to Recruit Kujou Iruka in the first place.
Of course—
There were more urgent matters at hand right now.
In the operations meeting room at Keigunen Private Academy, every eye in the room was fixed on Kujou Katora.
The women and girls wore expressions each more suspicious than the last.
No one could miss the sorrowful, plaintive note in Kujou Katora's voice.
It made everyone wonder if something had happened to her.
But Kujou Katora was the infamous Empire's Hound, and even Epiphany Manufacture wasn't willing to casually court her bad temper.
In fact, the female researcher from Epiphany Manufacture even tried to keep the conversation moving, to help draw some of the attention away from Kujou Katora.
But the girls around Su Yuzu—
Soga Yura, Sakura Mai, Saotome Yukina, Lyudmila… even Ms. Unohana and Tsukiyomi Fuya — the way they looked at Kujou Katora grew more excited, more hungry, by the second.
Judging by their posture, they looked ready to pounce straight on Kujou Katora.
To them—
Kujou Katora's current state was almost painfully familiar.
It was the exact scene that unfolded whenever cruel Lady Fate decided to bully someone and drop a "Blessing" at the worst possible moment.
Normally, the girls could withstand it well enough.
And that kind of "Blessing" from the cruel Lady Fate usually only descended when Su Yuzu was nearby.
Once, Lyudmila had even worked out that day's game Rule after watching the girls disappear one after another into the restroom.
Then she'd endured it for an entire day, without even Su Yuzu knowing.
Although…
In the end, she hadn't been able to hold out either.
In truth, someone as perceptive as the Saintess Lyudmila, or someone as powerful as the Seat of Evil, or even Tsukiyomi Fuya, could already faintly sense the subtle connection between the so-called "Blessing" and Su Yuzu.
Like delicate threads wound around a puppet of fate.
Binding them to Su Yuzu.
And they were more than happy to play this "Blessing" game with her.
Now—
Those subtle threads had activated once more.
"Is it Yuzu?"
"Is Yuzu nearby!?"
Row after row of eager eyes made Kujou Katora, already dying of embarrassment, wonder if she should just move to another planet.
Especially when faced with Soga Yura's pretty face, identical to Miss Yuzu's.
When Soga Yura leaned over the edge of the table and looked back at her, her chest out of view, it truly gave Kujou Katora the illusion that Miss Yuzu had come back.
"N-no…"
Kujou Katora's voice grew even weaker with grief. "Ever since a long, long time ago… Miss Yuzu has been able to command me remotely—"
"Making me do…"
Kujou Katora's frail voice trailed off lower and lower.
The girls gathered around her exchanged glances one after another.
So… why?
Why was Kujou Katora the only one who could receive Miss Yuzu's "Blessing" remotely?
Why was Kujou Katora the only one who could directly Interact with Miss Yuzu?
They couldn't make sense of it.
But… deep down, they already had a vague premonition.
A feeling—
That the bond between Kujou Katora and Miss Yuzu ran deeper than their own.
They had to admit it — Kujou Katora, who longed to give everything of herself to Miss Yuzu, who wore the collar Miss Yuzu had given her every waking moment, who wished she could press its chain straight into Miss Yuzu's hand — really did deserve all of this.
Except… Soga Yura.
Soga Yura couldn't understand it. Soga Yura wasn't willing to accept it.
Her mouth crumpled like she was about to cry.
Why should that be!
Why could this girl do something she herself couldn't?
Where exactly did her own devotion to Yuzu fall short?
She wanted a bond with Yuzu that close too.
But aside from all that, there was something else weighing more heavily on their minds—
Yuzu—
She must be fine now, more or less.
She could even spare a moment, in the middle of everything, to tease Kujou Katora.
Just then, they noticed Kujou Katora's clothing had changed.
Kujou Katora's usual outfit was always extremely short — a cropped, long-sleeved combat suit that showed off the bottom curve of her chest, paired with hot pants, a full-body Camilla Composite Silk bodystocking, and various straps bound around her body.
Just like a moment ago—
Yes, a moment ago.
Right under the girls' watching eyes, the black bodystocking on Kujou Katora had simply vanished.
Her bared skin, pale and fair, still looked faintly damp from having been tightly wrapped in the Camilla Composite Silk all this time.
Watching Kujou Katora's expression — not entirely surprised, but deeply ashamed—
the girls around Su Yuzu already suspected — nine times out of ten — that this was Su Yuzu's doing.
Was Yuzu just bored out of her mind?
So she'd decided to play with the one girl she could tease remotely — Kujou Katora?
Taken captive by Kujou Iruka, and under pressure from her, Yuzu could only take out her frustration on Kujou Katora.
No matter how they looked at it, something about that picture felt off.
But soon enough, the girls noticed that Kujou Katora's outfit hadn't just lost its black stockings — there was more to it than that.
Beneath her combat suit, Kujou Katora's slender, striking figure had been wound round and round with bandages.
And most importantly — there was writing on the bandages.
They caught on instantly—
Yuzu… was sending them a message, through Kujou Katora.
It was simply astonishing.
Tsukiyomi Fuya's pale violet eyes lit up like little stars.
Her expression practically screamed I'm so curious, brimming with the researcher's urge to drag Kujou Katora off for experiments.
But right now, what mattered most was what Yuzu had actually said.
The girls exchanged glances.
Bound together by the same girl, they might occasionally have their differences, might each hold different thoughts of their own.
But right now, their goal was the same.
The operations meeting room held more than just Su Yuzu's inner circle — there were plenty of people from other factions here too.
Obviously they couldn't just strip Kujou Katora's top off right here.
Frail and mortified, Kujou Katora suddenly found herself receiving a level of grand attention she'd never enjoyed before. "Superintendent Kujou doesn't look too well."
"Let's take her to rest."
Among the whole procession of girls, only Sakura Mai seemed to be struggling to walk.
Soga Yura ended up dragging her along.
Sakura Mai stared at the bandages that had abruptly appeared, wrapped around Kujou Katora in place of a bra, covered in delicate handwriting.
She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination.
But Sakura Mai couldn't shake the feeling that she'd seen those bandages somewhere before.
Like the same kind she herself had once used.
Was it… just her imagination?
There was no way Sister Yuzu would do something like steal her bandages.
An illusion!
It had to be an illusion!
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