Chapter 2 School Is Filled with Thrills! …Sounds Good, but It’s Mostly Exhausting.

Their time at school would last a single week. Masato’s party took rooms at the inn in town and would have to trudge into school each day. Here, they were in a game, doing the same thing they’d do in the real world. A depressing thought, but those were the breaks.

The rooms at the inn were, as always, built for two. The group paired off just as they always did, so Masato and Wise were sharing a room.

And just like usual, she cast Morte on him in the evening, and he spent the night resting in peace inside a coffin.

“What the…? It’s still dark…”

That morning, he woke up and emerged from his coffin to find himself surrounded by darkness.

Masato couldn’t see a thing. It was like a dark mist before his eyes.

“Um, Wise… What’s happening to me? Please explain.”

“When I revived you, I also cast a Blind effect on you. You know, the one that makes it easy for your attacks to miss? Standard stuff.”

“Aha. That explains it.”

It definitely severely limited Masato’s ability to act. He reached out, trying to grab anything, but kept missing. It was extremely frustrating.

“Why would you do this? Can you please stop? I think it’s a little much.”

“I’m merely protecting my privacy. Since you’re sleeping in the same room as me, there’s always a risk of you seeing me naked somehow. But if I make it impossible for you to see, there’s no risk of that. And I don’t have to punish you. See?”

“Well… I suppose it’s better than pointlessly pissing you off and getting my eyes literally poked out, but…”

“Now that we’re in agreement, hurry up and get ready. Can’t be late for our first day.”

“I agree with you there, but…how am I supposed to get ready like this? I can wait until you’re ready, but please cancel the spell.”

He really couldn’t see anything. He took a single step and stubbed a toe—“Ow!”—and almost fell over. He reached out a hand to catch himself.

“Whoops…” His hand touched something squishy. Squishy and soft. Spongy and springy.

Uh… Is this…?!

It couldn’t be. Had Masato seriously landed a critical touch?!

But hang on. Whatever Masato was touching was quite large. So large he couldn’t even get his whole hand around it. Wise wasn’t exactly equipped with anything so bountiful…

That was when it hit him.

“Goodness, Ma-kun! Is that what you want for breakfast? Hee-hee.”

“…Eep…”

He knew that voice. All too well. It was like she was right there.

Then that meant the soft something he was now cupping belonged to her…

No, wait. Wait, wait, wait. W​a​i​t​w​a​i​t​w​a​i​t​w​a​i​t​w​a​i​t​w​a​i​t​w​a​i​t​w​a​i​t w​a​i​t​w​a​i​t​w​a​i​t​!​!

“Hey, Masato. I’m done getting ready, so want me to restore your sight now? Heh. Heh. Heh.”

“N​-​n​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​!​!​!”

He refused to acknowledge this reality! He turned on his heel and ran for it. “Ah, Ma-kun! Not that way!” “Have a nice trip!” “Huh…?” One second he was running, the next second there was nothing underfoot.

Masato fell out the window. Self-punishment: complete.

When they entered the inn dining room, the smell of miso soup filled the air. Japanese-style breakfast was laid out on the table. Porta was there, waiting.

“I thought I heard a loud crash, like something falling! I wonder what it was?”

“Hee-hee. That was Ma-kun.”

“Pfft. You see…”

“Nothing happened! Nothing at all! There was nothing weird! Right, Mom?! You need more rice? Wise, have some more soup! I’ll help fetch them! Ask me for anything! Ha-ha-ha!”

Masato eagerly busied himself helping, hoping to seal their lips. He did NOT want Porta knowing about any of that. He wanted to remain a cool older brother to her forever, and this made him desperate.

After a lively breakfast…

“Thanks for the food! …Right then, we’d better getting going…right away!”

Masato was looking forward to school. He wanted to be there already. Never in his life had he wanted to be at school so much.

If he was at school, he was sure…

“Yeesh, what’s gotten into him? Look at his face! He’s gone full creepy ‘a destined encounter awaits me’! What an idiot.”

“I’m not an idiot! Maybe I did look a little like that, but I’m not wrong! I think destiny really is waiting for me!”

“U-um… Masato! Wise! Let’s stop fighting and go to school. I really want to get there myself!”

“Mm, exactly. Right you are, Porta. We can’t be wasting time on idle chatter. Now, the three of us are off to school, but…”

Masato did feel a little guilty about Mamako.

Three of them were going to school. Mamako was not. So she’d be left behind at the inn, all on her own.

Mamako enjoyed spending time with him more than anything, but now they were forced to spend time apart. That could be really hard on her…

And that wasn’t his only worry.

…She won’t, like…show up at school, will she?

That was maybe his greatest fear. It was Mamako, after all.

Since they’d entered the game, Mamako had become extremely proactive.

And she’d received mom-only support blessings that made things you’d think were impossible rather easy for her to accomplish.

The woman herself did not appear to be paying their conversation any attention. She was calmly sipping at her cup of tea. But that behavior, in and of itself, seemed highly suspicious…

“…Um, Mom?”

“Hee-hee. Don’t worry. I’ve been a housewife all this time. I spent all day at home alone! I know how to hold down the fort. Don’t you worry about me.”

“Sure, that’s true, but…are you really just gonna wait for us to get back? Are you just gonna behave yourself alone? You won’t find some excuse to show up at school, right?”

He wanted this made very clear.

Mamako took another sip of tea and sighed.

“…Phew. What lovely tea,” she said, satisfied.

“Quit looking so satisfied and answer me! You’re gonna behave yourself, right? You’re not gonna butt in where you’re not supposed to?”

“Oh, look, Ma-kun! It’s almost time! You’d better hurry or you’ll be late.”

“Seriously, answer the questions! Whatever you do, don’t come to school…”

“Oh, that’s right. Mommy made lunches for everyone! They’re in Porta’s bag, so make sure to eat them when the time comes, okay?”

Mamako was clearly being evasive. She refused to answer the questions. In which case…

“Porta, question. How many lunches did she give you?”

“Huh?! …U-um… Well…”

Porta jumped, then froze, her eyes wide as saucers, sweat pouring down her face. Like her name was now Pourta. Ha-ha. Wait, this was no time for puns.

Porta had definitely been handed four lunches. He knew it. Mamako had included one for herself.

Which meant…

“…Mom.”

“Hee-hee. I sure do love tea!”

“Answer! The! Questions! Promise you won’t come! You can’t come! Say you won’t come!”

Mamako met Masato’s interrogation with a smile, pretending to sip from a long-empty teacup.

“…She’s coming… She’s definitely coming… Mom’s gonna come…”

“What are you muttering about now, creep?”

“Don’t call me a creep! I’m seriously worried here! If Mom worms her way into class pretending to be a student, lord knows what’ll happen!”

“I think Mama could be a student! Mama’s super young!”

“That’s exactly why I’m so worried… I’m really scared she’ll blend in like she belongs there…”

The first day of school was scary for anybody, but Masato was being crushed by anxiety quite removed from the norm. Oh well.

They arrived at the adventurer training school, Gioco Accademia.

Masato alone was preoccupied with looking over his shoulder as they stepped onto the beautiful school grounds. They first stopped by the front desk they’d visited the day before, and the same reception lady greeted them with a smile.

“Wait right here until your teacher comes to get you,” she said.

So they waited. Their teacher arrived soon enough.

Striding down the hall came a male teacher, burly body wrapped in academic garb, his bellow echoing like a starting pistol.

“Hey! You guys must be the students starting today! Masato the Hero, Wise the Sage, Porta the Traveling Merchant! All present and accounted for?”

“Oh yes! That’s us!”

“Right, right! Welcome! I’m your teacher, Mr. Burly! Good to meet you!”

“P-pleasure… Like body, like name, I guess… Sorry, I hate to point this out, but that really is a lazy name…”

“Bwa-ha-ha! Well, I am an NPC! I dunno if it was the writer or the artist, but one of them was definitely too lazy to bother coming up with a decent name, so they just called me as they saw me! Such sloppy work, honestly!”

“Oh, I see… Being an NPC must be tough…”

The NPC teacher led them to the classroom, griping about management to the limits of his artificial intelligence the whole way. The hall was a luxurious affair, with plush carpeting.

Mr. Burly seemed to be quite an easygoing teacher. His friendly demeanor belied his rough-hewn exterior.

“If you’ve got any questions, ask away! I can handle any of them! They’ve programmed the entire text of the school-related FAQ within me!”

An FAQ was a list of frequently asked questions. Very useful when at a loss.

“Wow, just like a real NPC. That sounds handy. So I was wondering… Are we being treated like transfer students?”

“Yes. All the test players transfer in and undergo a special accelerated course. That allows you to experience all the school has to offer within a week, and the classes are a special curriculum designed for all ages, so the three of you are in the same class.”

“Oh, that’s great! Good news, Porta! You’re in the same class as us!”

“Yes! Ooooh! I’m so very, very happy!”

“And in a week’s time, we’ll all graduate with awesome items! A flawless life plan!”

“Oh, by the way, the other students are supposed to be enrolled in a standard three-year course. Three years means, honestly, they’ll be students until this game ends. After all, they’re NPCs made to fill out the student body! Like myself, they’re trapped here until it all comes crashing down! Bwa-ha-ha! …So anyway, try to be nice to the poor kids who’ll never actually graduate.”

“““…I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look my classmates in the eye…”””

This place was dark. An academic sweatshop. The student NPC was not allowed any hopes or dreams…only pity.

Just as the emotional roller coaster reached its lowest point, they arrived at their classroom. “Come on in when I call your names,” Mr. Burly said. He went in, and they waited in the hall. A bit nervous.

Then their moment arrived.

“Beloved students!” Mr. Burly bellowed. “Today we have several new friends transferring in! Let me introduce you all! Come on in!”

Feeling tense, Masato’s party filed in.

The classroom interior was fairly typical. The desks and chairs themselves were quite fancy and arranged in perfectly neat rows.

The students in the seats were wearing uniforms—stiff-collared military-style attire for the boys, and sailor uniforms for the girls. There were around twenty of them in all.

The party blinked a little at seeing such standard-issue uniforms inside a video game fantasy school, but…that was hardly the biggest problem.

Every face staring up at them was made with ASCII art. Where eyes and mouths should be were letters and symbols. Seriously. What the hell.

“Urgh… I guess we can still register their emotions somehow, but there’s no way to tell them apart…”

“That’s hardly the real problem here! This is ridiculous! I mean, there’s sloppy, and then there’s just downright unprofessional!”

“Whoever was in charge of making NPCs must have been really short on time! This is so shocking!”

The unnervingly slapdash faces ensured they would literally never look a classmate in the eye.

Even so, they had to introduce themselves. They lined up before the blackboard and said their piece.

“Um… H-hi. I’m Masato. Technically a hero.”

“’Sup, I’m Wise. I’m a Sage. Nice to meetcha.”

“I-I’m Porta! I’m a Traveling Merchant! Thank you very much!”

There was a silence, then a sudden eruption of applause.

“Whoa! All three of you are so original! They broke the molds after you! Nothing like us mass-produced people!”

“The guy’s pretty normal-looking, but both girls are super cute! Can I ask a question? Do either of you have boyfriends? If not, would you go out with me?”

“Hey! Boys! That’s enough of that! I know that’s just what you were programmed to say, but that doesn’t make it any less weird!”

“Shut up, Class President! Quit making that angry emoticon face; it’s so annoying!”

“Don’t be rude! Better than having a face made entirely of horizontal lines like yours!”

Okay. Well, at least someone gave them voices. The words that accompanied those voices were all kinds of problematic, and their faces were still all ASCII. But at least it seemed like their classmates were happy to see them.

Mr. Burly waited for the commotion to subside and then clapped his hands, calling for silence.

“All right, be nice to the new kids. You three can sit anywhere you like.”

“R-right,” Masato said, glancing around. There was a cluster of empty seats toward the back. “Well… Over there is fine, I guess.”

Masato took a seat at random, with Wise on his right and Porta behind him.

“Well, with the three new students… Hmm? Three?” Mr. Burly frowned. “One…two…three…” He counted them again, his scowl deepening.

“Something wrong?”

“Oh, um… It’s a little late, but I could swear there were four new students today… I’m pretty sure we were expecting four…”

“Then there’s still one coming? …Wait… That can’t mean…?!”

A face flitted across Masato’s mind; it looked young enough that its owner could conceivably claim to be a student, and a wave of despair washed over him.

But then he heard footsteps coming down the hall. Someone clearly in a hurry. They stopped outside the door.

Could it be? No, it definitely was! She was here!

“Wha…? Seriously?! What the hell, Mom?!”

He had to prevent this at all costs! Masato dashed over to the door and attempted to put his shoulder against it…but the door was already open.

And standing there was a girl with blue hair, in pure-white robes.

“Huh? ‘M-Mom’?” she said.

“Erm… Wait… You’re not Mom… Medhi?”

Yep. Definitely Medhi. His destined partner whom he’d met only yesterday. Masato’s prospective heroine. He’d know her angelic face anywhere.

Masato and Medhi stared into each other’s eyes, surprised, until Wise yelled, “Um, Hero Masato? Earth to Masato? Is there something wrong with your eyes or do all women look like your beloved mommy now?”

“H-hey! That’s not what I…”

The classmates all burst out laughing.

Masato’s only salvation was that it wasn’t a nasty, mean laugh, but even so, he wasn’t exactly feeling great. More like he wanted to die. Shortly after killing Wise.

Also, Mr. Burly was laughing harder than anyone, so he definitely wanted to punch him. Not that he actually would.

“Bwa-ha-ha! Then can your surprisingly young mother introduce herself?”

“Oh, yes! I’m Medhi! I’m a Cleric! …Um, also… I’m not actually Masato’s mother, so…”

Medhi turned toward Masato and bowed politely. Too politely.

“I’m sorry to dash your hopes like that. I apologize. From the bottom of my heart.”

“Please don’t do that. I’m the one who should be apologizing…”

There were few things more painful than a polite apology. Masato was ready to plant his face on the floor.

Then.

“Oh, but I am glad!”

“Huh…? About what…?”

“I’m so glad we’re both in the same class… Perhaps this is destiny? Oh, I can’t believe I just said that. Tee-hee-hee!”

Medhi gave him a smile that looked genuinely happy and a little embarrassed.

I a​g​r​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e​e, Masato nearly yelled, but she was right there, so he managed to control himself. He had to keep his cool. On the surface anyway.

The morning homeroom-ish period wrapped up, and there was a break before the first actual class of the day began.

But there was no rest for the transfer students. They had to deal with swarms of friendly classmates. It was the duty of any transfer student.

“Masato! If there’s anything you don’t understand about school, just ask! Although…the facilities are all still trial versions, so we can’t really explain much about them. Instead, you’ll have to ask about us! We’ll answer everything!”

“Ask me, too! I can tell you every name in my family tree going back fifteen generations!”

“I can give you a month-by-month account of the one hundred eighty months it took me to turn fifteen!”

“Oh, uh, w-wow… They may have scrimped on your visuals, but they sure did buckle down on your backgrounds…”

“Yep! Our histories are the most developed things about us! Hilarious, right? Ah-ha-ha!”

“I guess they just like working on that stuff! A shame it’s so useless! Ah-ha-ha!”

“But that’s the only thing we can really take pride in! Sad, right? Ah-ha-ha!”

“You’re all…living the best lives you can…”

The NPC classmates’ open, cheery dispositions were like freshly chopped onions. Masato found himself shedding tears on their behalf.

It didn’t take all that long for each to greet him, after which his stalwart classmates politely went back to their seats.

At last, he had a minute to rest. He glanced to one side, where Wise and Porta were still buried in questions, and leaned back in his seat.

He allowed himself a single, long sigh and decided that was rest enough.

…All right! Here goes nothing!

Inside, he was pumping himself up, but on the outside, he maintained his cool. Masato stole a quick glance to his left.

Where Medhi sat.

She had chosen that seat without making a show of it. She had voluntarily chosen to sit next to Masato. This was her choice. She was here because she wanted a relationship with him. He was sure of it.

Perhaps Medhi was a little too beautiful for them—the other classmates weren’t approaching her at all. It was just her and Masato, the two of them. This was his chance. If he didn’t seize it, he was hardly worth calling a man!

He was going for it—casually, not showing how much he was stressing this.

“Ha-hay, um… Cough, cough… H-hey, Medhi? Got a sec?”

“Yes? What is it?”

Masato had blown it entirely, but Medhi just smiled gently, answering easily.

The way she tucked her hair behind her ear was almost too much for Masato. Calm down. Just make conversation.

“Um, I don’t really have anything in particular; I just thought this would be a good chance to talk. I mean…we didn’t really get to talk much yesterday.”

“That’s true! I wanted to speak to you more, too. I’m very glad you reached out to me.”

Did you hear that?! He wasn’t mishearing this! A girl was actually happy he’d spoken to her!

He could search every world out there and there would be only a handful like her! He had no choice but to love her with every fiber of his being. “Uh-oh, I’m starting to tear up…” “M-Masato? What’s wrong?” He just wanted to quietly savor this emotion, but…

He had to keep talking.

Um… S-so, what do we talk about?

He’d made a start at least but had failed to think of an actual topic. Things were certainly headed the right direction, but this could be a real stumbling block…

Just then, Mr. Burly’s voice echoed from the hall.

“M-ma’am! Wait just a minute! You can’t just drop in for an unannounced classroom inspection!”

He seemed to be trying his hardest to stop someone. Judging from the ma’am, this was a grown woman. Someone’s mother?

Masato froze. Was it really her this time? Apparently not.

The voice he heard next was not Mamako’s.

“Fear not. I am merely here to check on my daughter, not watch the class. In my opinion, school is not a place to learn but a means to determine which students rise to the top and which do not. The content of the classes is irrelevant. I merely wish to ascertain all the ways in which my daughter is the best.”

With that haughty spiel, Medhi’s mother, Medhimama, stepped into the room, her gold nouveau riche robes gleaming. There was no mistaking her.

Medhimama pushed past Mr. Burly, glanced around the room, located Medhi, and came directly over to her. As she approached, her gaze locked onto Masato.

“Oh, we met you yesterday… Masato, was it? Good morning.”

“Y-yeah. Hi. Good morning.”

“If Medhi is this close to you, I assume you are getting along. That’s nice. But…I feel you’re a little too close.”

“Huh? R-really? …I don’t think we are, but…”

“No, much too close. I do not approve. Which means… Come, Medhi. Move over one seat.”

“Y-yes, Mother.”

Once Medhi moved, Medhimama sat down in the seat between her and Masato, as if she belonged there. And if that wasn’t bad enough…

“Should you be entertaining any thoughts about inviting Medhi to your party or any relationship above and beyond that, Masato, I ask that you discuss it with me first. I will conduct a thorough interview. We’ll discuss particulars once that is concluded.”

“Eep… A mom interview…”

For Masato and Medhi to get any closer, he’d have to do one of those…a mandatory mom interview, where he’d be evaluated by whatever biased and arbitrary standards she had, failed for saying things anyone else would consider totally acceptable.

Here destiny had brought the two of them together, yet an impregnable wall of motherhood sprang up between them. There was no way he’d be able to easily speak to her again.

“Now then, Masato, sit down. It’s time for class to start.”

“…Right…”

His own mom was bad enough, but being tormented by someone else’s? Was this what fate held in store for all heroes, or just Masato in particular?

A hero who had passed through any number of worlds and defeated any number of powerful enemies would be dashed against the cliffs of despair in Masato’s shoes. Tears would flow. They’d cry themselves to sleep at night.

Class was off to a great start.

First period.

“Okay, class! Picking up from where we left off yesterday…is not what I’m doing, since we have transfer students and have changed up the entire curriculum for their benefit! NPCs have no right of refusal in their operational settings, so the special curriculum’s first period will be…”

“No need for the long-winded preamble. Move along to the actual lesson.”

“R-right…”

Mr. Burly managed to avoid wilting under Medhimama’s piercing glare, but he did break into a cold sweat. Hang in there, Mr. Burly!

“Th-then let’s get started. Eyes up!”

Mr. Burly began writing on the blackboard.

{(Level ÷ 2 + 2) × Skill Power × Attacker STR stat ÷ Defender DEF stat ÷ 50 + 2}

A fairly complex formula.

“Erm, this is the formula for how damage is calculated in battle. Everything after the decimal is discarded. So the problem: If a level 50 hero with an STR of 125 uses Divine Slash with a power of 255 on a demon lord with a DEF of 100, how much damage will they do? If you get this right, you’ll receive 10 SP.”

“Whoa, that much right off the bat?”

“Bwa-ha-ha! Good reaction, Hero Masato! You’ll receive the points instantly, so rake them in! But the fastest answer wins. Raise your hand as soon as you’ve figured it out!”

Normally you could only get a few SP each time you leveled up. Getting ten at once? They had to take this seriously.

But the problem was a little too tricky. “Tch… Gotta work it out ourselves, huh?” There were no calculators. Masato scribbled the problem down using the pen and paper on his desk and started working through the calculations…

But.

“Got it!” Medhi said, her hand raised. Less than ten seconds had passed.

“Oh, that was fast. Cleric Medhi, what is the answer?”

“174 damage.”

“Mm, correct! Ten points to the Cleric!”

Medhi got it right. A buzz went around the class, followed by a round of applause.

Despite the shower of praise, Medhi showed no signs of letting her achievement go to her head. She simply politely bowed her head. Even this was beautiful but difficult to see past Medhimama, who leaned forward, saying, “Heh-heh-heh. She is my daughter, so naturally she’s quite extraordinary!” Geez, lady.

When Medhi sat down, Mr. Burly picked up his chalk again.

“Right, next problem. This is a tricky one!”

Something more difficult than that formula? Masato and the other students faced forward, bracing themselves.

The following was written on the board:

The hero used Divine Slash. But the Demon Lord took no damage.

“Now, what does this mean? If you can’t figure it out, you’ll never beat the Demon Lord. It’ll attack you, and you’ll lose. Hurry up now—answer! Ten SP to whoever gets it right.”

How could he answer this out of the blue? No, he had to at least try. Otherwise, he’d never get any points. Masato racked his brain.

It’s soaking the damage… Does it have some damage nullification effect?

Masato had fought enemies like that before, so that answer popped into his head quickly. He wasn’t sure if it was right or not, but sometimes the shotgun approach was best. He’d better at least answer.

Masato raised his hand…or at least, he tried.

For some reason, he couldn’t do it.

“…Huh?”

He was trying to raise his hand, but it just wouldn’t budge. Confused, he looked down at it.

The head of a bejeweled staff was pressing firmly on his wrist.

Medhimama was holding that staff with one hand and had her other hand raised.

“Mr. Burly, if I may?”

“Hm? …Um, no, this class is for the children. We ask that parents and guardians please refrain from—”

“Naturally, it will be my daughter answering, not myself… Well, Medhi? The correct answer, please.”

“Yes, Mother… I believe the Demon Lord has cast an illusion, and its real body is hidden somewhere else.”

“There you have it. What do you say, Mr. Burly?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s right. So ten points to the Cleric! Congratulations!”

“Thank—”

“Oh-ho-ho! The only possible outcome!”

Ding-ding-ding! There was a pleasant sound effect, and Medhi’s SP increased. Medhimama seemed much happier about this than the one who actually earned the points, but that aside…

Masato’s hand was still pinned down.

“Um, Medhimama…?”

“Yes, Masato, what is it? …Goodness me! My staff just happens to have fallen coincidentally in your direction and accidentally pinned your hand down!” Medhimama said, leaning her staff against her desk. She seemed genuinely apologetic. “Gosh, I’m so sorry! I never noticed. I can’t apologize enough.”

“Oh, um… Well, if it wasn’t intentional…”

He’d definitely thought it was a conscious effort with a lot of force behind it, so he wasn’t entirely convinced…but his answer was wrong anyway, so he’d been spared looking the fool in front of Medhi. He let it pass.

The class came first. He had to score some points next time.

“Next problem. The hero attacks! But the Demon Lord takes no damage. This sudden twist shocks the hero. And the Demon Lord says… What does he say?”

“Huh? What on…?”

“I wrote this problem myself! If I like your answer, ten points!”

“What the heck? Is that appropriate for this class?”

But if he could get points for it, it was worth a shot. Whoever spoke first won. “Argh, let’s just do it!” Masato tried to raise his hand…but before he could…

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes! I thought of something! Me!”

Masato looked to his right. Wise had her hand up and was frantically trying to draw the teacher’s attention. He hadn’t even called on her yet, but she was on her feet and ready to answer.

Or so he thought.

“The answer is… H-huh? Huhhh? Huhhhhhhh? Meep? Uh-heh-heh-heh-heh?!”

Wise suddenly began acting incredibly stupid, grinning like an idiot. She even started dancing. This was much too bizarre. Masato had never seen her acting this silly. Had she lost her mind?

“What’s gotten into her? Did she finally snap?”