Alice’s behavior remained a bit off for a while, but eventually, she reverted to her usual self—or at least, she seemed to force herself to act normal.
It felt as though she was consciously trying not to think about something specific. When I asked her about it, she gave me a look of such earnest intensity that it bordered on desperate. "It’s not relevant right now, so please don't worry about it!" she insisted.
Since she was so adamant, the details remained a mystery. Still, she said it wasn't relevant right now... which presumably meant it would eventually involve me. I suppose she’d tell me when the time was right.
While lost in those thoughts, I caught a familiar voice nearby.
"...Wait, that’s just wrong! That event we just joined was almost entirely a game of chance, yet you won match after match. You cheated, didn't you?"
"I did no such thing."
"...You definitely did, right?"
"Sigh. You really don't get it, do you? Cheating that doesn't get caught isn't cheating."
"I knew it! You were cheating!"
"It’s their fault for hosting a prize-money event that looked so easy to win right in front of me. Therefore, I am innocent."
I turned toward the source of the bickering and found Hapty-san standing with... someone who certainly sounded like Noin-san. Well, it was less a matter of "seeming" and more that it was unmistakably her, except for one glaring detail.
"Oh? Well, if it isn't Kaito and... ugh, Alice-sama."
"Is that any way to greet your boss? You’ve certainly gotten arrogant lately," Alice retorted.
"Ah, ahaha..."
Hapty-san’s face twisted in an overt grimace the moment she spotted Alice. Technically, the two were the same person, but for the sake of their roles, they acted as superior and subordinate.
Alice had once explained to me that Hapty was a high-resource Split Body. Unlike her minor clones, Hapty possessed autonomous thought and action, meaning the main body didn't need to control her directly. They shared information in real-time, yet seeing them bicker so naturally made it easy to forget they were one and the same.
"Hello, Noin-san. What a coincidence meeting you here."
"Kaito-san, you're here too? It is a coincidence, but I am happy to see you."
"...Yes, but, um... Noin-san? I’m sorry to be blunt, but what’s with the outfit?"
Noin-san was dressed in civilian clothes instead of her usual armor, but her headgear was the issue. She was wearing a helmet—or perhaps a cowl—that completely obscured the upper half of her face. To put it mildly, she looked incredibly suspicious.
"Ah, this? Hapty told me that full plate armor wouldn't suit the atmosphere of the festival. Since I’m poor at using Recognition Inhibition Magic, I wasn't sure how to disguise myself, but then she suggested this would be perfect..."
"...I see. Um, Hapty-san?" I looked toward the Split Body for an explanation.
"Honestly, I only said it as a joke," Hapty admitted. "I was waiting for her to snap back at me, but she committed to it with such gusto that even I lost the chance to stop her. Pretty suspicious, right? She looks like a total pervert."
"..................Excuse me?"
The temperature seemed to drop the moment Noin-san spoke. Her voice was so low and frigid that I couldn't believe it came from the same gentle woman I knew. I felt my spine snap straight instinctively.
"...Hapty? What did you just say? A joke? When I showed up in this, didn't you say I looked 'perfect' and that it 'really suited' me?"
"W-Well... I might have said something like that, but I'm a bit too scared to say 'yes' right now..."
"Hapty, please be honest while I can still manage a smile. Does this outfit actually function as a disguise?"
"No, it’s suspicious as hell. You’re literally the center of attention. I mean, if you wanted to hide your eyes and head, why didn't you just use a hat and sunglasses?"
"I see... Die!"
Hapty-san gave a resigned thumbs-up as she came clean. In response, Noin-san drew her blade with a murderous aura—the image of a Shura and Rakshasa—that was utterly unthinkable given her usual demeanor.
Well, they were just close friends playing around, so I was sure it was fine... probably. Besides, Hapty was Alice’s Split Body, so even if she got cut, she’d be okay... I hoped.
Serious-senpai: "If we assume Alice and Hapty are the same person, then Alice likely summoned her specifically to distract Kaito so he'd stop prying into her weird behavior from the previous chapter..."