The next day—

"Kyah, Jeanne-samaaaaa!"

"Enough of this!"

Jeanne roared while dashing desperately on the road to school. A large group of rabid fan girls were chasing after her, creating rising dust clouds.

This scene was reminiscent of a certain television show I watched long ago.

Left at the dorm entrance, we watched with sympathy as Jeanne ran away.

"It must be tough for Jeanne-chan..."

Iris murmured emotionally and Mitsuki nodded.

"Yes—But we have no choice but to let Jeanne-san go first. We have no means of driving away the students blocking the dorm entrance. Yesterday, we made use of a back entrance... But a similar solution will not work for going to school."

Mitsuki deemed this the ideal solution but Ariella had doubts.

"Eh? But all of Midgard"s important facilities are linked by underground pa.s.sages, right? Can"t we use them?"

"Underground pa.s.sages are meant for emergency use. Furthermore, they are under repairs from the damage incurred during last time"s battle, so none of them are open right now."

"Hmm... Sorry for all kinds of things, I guess."

Ariella shrank away and apologized.

Durign the battle last time, Ariella had taken NIFL"s side and invaded the school while destroying part.i.tions along the underground pa.s.sages.

"—Ariella-san, you have already written your repentance essays, so there is no need for further apologies. I really wish Kili-san could learn well from you."

Mitsuki looked at Kili with a wry smile.

"I have been staying up late every night writing them too! There are so many that I can"t finish! At this rate, I won"t ever be able to pay Yuu visits at night!"

Kili argued unhappily.

"Serves you right. Also, even once you are finished with your essays, you are not allowed to make night visits either."

Mitsuki warned solemnly then glared back sharply at Kili.

"Mama iSn"t wAlkiNg wiTh mE agAin toDay..."

Holding my hand, Shion looked sadly in Jeanne"s direction.

"Yeah... Well, I don"t think this commotion will last too long. Just bear with it for a while."

I stroked Shion"s head and said optimistically but someone tugged at my shirt hem from behind.

I looked back to see Ren looking up at me regretfully.

"Onii-chan, unfortunately—It"s getting worse."

Saying that, Ren showed me the screen of her portable terminal, which had posts like "Jeanne-sama is the best!" or "Jeanne-sama is currently heading to school."

"What is this...?"

"It"s an internal community site created by Midgard graduates back when they were students here. It"s full of stuff about Jeanne."

Ren scrolled the screen, showing the content about Jeanne. Firill was also looking at the screen from behind us.

"—So it"s true. So much activity. If this continues, rather than subsiding, things might get even more heated instead."

Hearing Firill"s comment, Shion said with flowing tears, "tHIs wiLl kEeP goInG...?"

"Come on, stop saying things to make Shion worry!"

Having cared for Shion as her senior earlier, Tia scolded Firill with arms akimbo.

"S-Sorry..."

Firill apologized.

"Firill-san, you have been admonished," said Lisa while smiling wryly.

"—However, optimism isn"t going to bring about a solution. We need to think of something."

Lisa spoke with a solemn expression but she simply repeated Kili"s suggestion of "not wearing male clothes" from yesterday. However, Jeanne herself had resisted vehemently.

And unless a solution was found, things would probably worsen as Firill had predicted.

The net around Jeanne closed tighter day by day.

After school the second day, girls started to ambush the back door, leaving Jeanne no choice but to escape through the jungle. However, she was met by another ambush at the dorm entrance.

Jeanne"s gallant escape attempts ended up increasing her popularity instead. Chasing her had turned into an event itself.

At some point, a rumor started spreading among the girls that the first person to catch her would be able to go out with her. Those who believed this started to use their D powers indiscriminately.

Against shared intel on the community site combined with the mobility of flight-capable Ds, Jeanne was definitely cornered.

Seeing the girls progress so rapidly, Mitsuki remarked with honest poignancy, "I might lose in anti-personnel combat in the future."

But for Jeanne, there was no time for poignant reactions.

On the fifth day of her transfer—Jeanne managed just barely to get home in time for dinner today.

Dragging her body, all covered with twigs and leaves, she looked rather haggard while eating dinner.

—I must do something. But... what?

Lying on my bed after dinner, I contemplated.

My room was on the far end of the corridor. Since the only adjacent room had turned into Firill"s book storage, it was always quiet around this hour of the day.

Living in the floor above, Mitsuki never made any loud noises, so there was nothing to disrupt my thoughts.

—The problem was that Jeanne personally rejecting their advances had been completely futile.

Due to the collective mentality, the girls had gone out of control, ignoring Jeanne"s own wishes. Persuading with logic and reason was probably out of the question.

In that case, a certain action was the only option left...

Just as my thoughts reached that point, I heard a knocking at my door.

"Who is it?"

I sat up and directed my voice at the door. Was it Vritra again?

"...Captain, it"s me, Jeanne. I need to talk to you about something."

Unexpectedly, it was Jeanne"s voice.

I had been thinking about her problem all this time. Since the person in question had showed up, there was no reason to reject her.

"Sure, no problem. I"ll open the door for you."

I got off the bed and walked to the door. Back when it was just Mitsuki and I living in this dorm, I basically never locked the door. Since Mitsuki held the master key, locking was pointless.

However, now that the number of residents had increased all at once, with people among them whom I must be careful with—well, mainly Kili—I currently had the door locked.

"Sorry, it is already this late..."

After I opened the door, Jeanne bowed her head at me in apology. She was carefully holding a transparent plastic bag in her arms.

"No, I don"t mind. But is it okay for you to leave Shion alone?"

"Zwei was already very sleepy, so I had her brush her teeth and go to bed."

"Then it should be fine. Come—please enter."

"P-Pardon the intrusion..."

Nervously, Jeanne stepped into the room.

I sat down on the edge of the bed in the back of the room. Jeanne looked around aimlessly.

"Sit over there."

I pointed at the chair by my desk.

"I-It"s okay, I am fine standing here."

However, Jeanne shook her head and stood in front of me.

"Well, if that"s your preference, Jeanne—What do you want to talk about? Does it have anythiing to do with what you"re carrying?"

I pointed at the plastic bag that she seemed quite conscious of. Jeanne nodded.

"Yes, indeed! Actually—this was the school uniform issued to me initially."

Saying that, Jeanne took out the contents.

Indeed, it was Midgard"s uniform. Furthermore, it was a female uniform.

"But I didn"t wear it because it was too embarra.s.sing... So I requested a male uniform like yours, Captain. However..."

"In order to change the current situation, you"ve made up your mind to wear a female uniform?"

When I asked that, Jeanne shook her head.

"Umm... No, I still haven"t made up my mind, which is why I came to discuss with you, Captain... Last time when you said this uniform would look good on me... I denied it... Oh, no, I know you were joking at the time... But—"

"I wasn"t joking, by the way... Why did you think I was joking?"

I frowned and asked Jeanne. I did not know the reason for her inferiority complex.

"Hmm—I"ve always dressed as a man and worked hard like a man... It must be very weird for someone like that to suddenly dress up as a girl, deserving of ridicule..."

Hearing that from Jeanne, I sighed deeply.

"What are you talking about? Jeanne, you"re very pretty, so it won"t be weird at all."

"Ah!? Very... pretty!?"

Jeanne exclaimed in surprise and her face turned bright red. Her ma.s.sive reaction made me embarra.s.sed too.

"How should I say this...? It"s the objective truth. The girls like you so much."

Scratching my head, I replied apologetically.

"Ehhh!? Aren"t they drawn to the manliness I"ve developed over the years...?"

"Uh, Jeanne... I"m sorry I have to tell you this, but—"

I told the truth to Jeanne who did not know herself.

"Back when we were working in the same team—You were a brave and intelligent subordinate. It might be okay to call this part as being like a man... But as for manliness, to be honest, you have none of that at all. You give off too strong a sense of purity."

"What—"

Speechless, Jeanne dropped the uniform in her hands. Seeing her more shocked than I expected, I hastily continued.

"N-Not being manly isn"t a bad thing, right? That sense of purity lacking in men is precisely the key that makes you a handsome youth. And this aspect definitely works just as well when dressing up as an attractive woman too. You need to be confident!"

Holding Jeanne"s shoulders, I tried my best to convince her.

Next, light shone from her eyes.

"...Captain, you"re saying that, the way I am now... and dressed up as a woman too, would be attractive...?"

"Yes."

I looked her in the eye and nodded vigorously.

"Th-Then... Is it okay for you to look at me in female uniform and tell me if I look weird or not?"

"Of course—Eh, right here?"

I nodded on reflex then gasped.

"Yes... I will change in the washroom..."

Picking up the uniform on the ground, Jeanne peered at me face with a blush.

The atmosphere in the room turned bittersweet.

While saying "oh sure," I nodded stiffly in response.

"Please wait, Captain."

Saying that, Jeanne went into the washroom. Inside the quiet room, I could hear faint sounds from the washroom.

—What am I getting nervous for?

Sitting on the bed"s edge, I scratched my head anxiously.

After what felt like an extremely long time, the washroom door opened. I could not help but straighten my back, waiting for Jeanne to emerge.

"......Jeanne?"

However, despite the opened door, she was nowhere to be seen.

"S-Sorry, I am a bit nervous... I-I am coming out now!"

Despite the determination in her voice, time went by and she still had not turned her words into action.

"............Jeanne?"

"S-Sorry! U-Umm... Could you close your eyes?"

I could not refuse this request delivered in a trembling voice.

"Sure, I got it," I said and closed my eyes.

After roughly ten seconds, I heard soft footsteps and the sound of friction in clothing.

Jeanne had finally exited the washroom, I guess. The footsteps stopped in front of me. Feeble breathing sounds could be heard clearly.

Judging from her breathing, Jeanne had never been this nervous before.

"Can I open my eyes now?"

Noting to myself how much this resembled hide-and-seek, I confirmed with Jeanne. Well—since she was moving from a hidden state to enter my presence, it would be the opposite of hide-and-seek.

"Yes, please go ahead."

Hearing Jeanne"s stiff reply, I slowly opened my eyes.

Since it was sitting on the bed"s edge, my vantage point was quite low. The first thing I saw was her skirt and the pale thighs extending from underneath—

"I-I can"t do this after all!"

However, my vision was blocked then. Lunging forward, Jeanne covered my eyes.

"Woah!?"

With that, I was pushed back onto the bed. Pinning me down, Jeanne continued to cover my eyes with her hands.

"Ah, wawawa, w-what am I doing to the Captain—S-Sorry! I am terribly sorry!"

"I-If you really mean it, hurry and back away!"

The soft sensations coming through her clothing was undoubtedly a woman"s. I was well aware that my face must be bright red.

"I-I can"t! If I back away, you will see me, Captain!"

"Like I said, it will be fine!"

I grabbed Jeanne"s hands and forced them away from my face.

"Wah!?"

Jeanne screamed but since her hands were in my clutches, she could not escape.

My gaze settled on Jeanne in her female uniform.

This outfit emphasized what the male uniform could not—her ample bust, narrow waist and the pale thighs exposed beneath her skirt.

"Ah, wa, wa..."

With her mouth gaping open, Jeanne"s face turned pink like the color of a fully ripened peach. With her usual ponytail untied and tears welling up in her eyes, she looked exceptionally adorable.

Also—

"—See, what a pretty girl as expected."

I looked up at the panicking Jeanne and told her in rea.s.surance.

"Huh!?"

But under these circ.u.mstances, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Jeanne"s face began to boil while her tears started to fall.

"S-Sorry! I didn"t mean to make you cry—"

I frantically released her hands and apologized.

"...No, th-these are... tears of joy. I am relieved... Captain, that you don"t find me weird... Also, umm, it is embarra.s.sing after all... Oh, e-excuse me!"

Jeanne wiped her tears and seemed to recover. She hastily escaped from me.

Clutching the hem of her skirt shyly, she kept apologizing with her head bowed.

"Sorry, I am so sorry! I clearly came to seek your counsel, Captain, but ended up causing so much trouble... What could I ever do to make up..."

"Don"t worry about that. We"re no longer superior and subordinate."

I said that but Jeanne did not accept.

"I still mind even if you say that! Please punish me—Please impose punishment upon me!"

"By punishment... You mean like getting spanked?"

Out of ideas, I joked as a test.

However, Jeanne suddenly fell silent, turning around while holding her skirt down.

"My bottom... huh. A-As you wish."

Seeing Jeanne trembling while bending over and lifting her bottom, my mind blanked out.

"N-No! That"s not what I intended—!"

"Eh...!? Don"t tell me you want me to roll up my skirt too!? Umm, actually, I forgot to bring female underwear... Oh no, that"s wrong, I do have some prepared in my room—But right now, I"m not wearing any—"

"What..."

After learning the reason why Jeanne was holding down her skirt, I could not help but look at the boundary between her skirt and those pale thighs. Under there was—

"Umm, if it"s the Captain"s orders, I shall...!"

Blushing intensely, Jeanne was about to roll up her skirt.

"Stop, stop, stop! It"s fine, it"s fine!"

I frantically reached out to stop her.

However, while pushing down her skirt, my hand also grabbed her bottom through the fabric at the same time.

The unimaginable softness was transmitted through my hand—At the same time, Jeanne"s body kept shaking.

"Mmm—C-Captain—This is kind of sudden—"

"S-Sorry!"

I mobilized the entirety of my sanity to make my hand release Jeanne"s skirt.

But looking back while holding her bottom, Jeanne shook her head with a blush.

"No, I don"t mind, this is punishment, so I am fine with it. Umm... Is that all?"

Looking up at me, Jeanne"s eyes seemed to be hoping for something, but surely, that must have been a delusion born from my l.u.s.tful thoughts.

"...Oh, yeah, that"s all. So, you have to do your best tomorrow."

To put Jeanne at ease, I played my captain role and encouraged her in a firm tone of voice.

Since Jeanne called what happened a punishment, there was no need for me to go out of my way to correct her.

"Very well—I understand! Thank you very much!"

Saluting to me, Jeanne fled to the washroom, picked up her male uniform in her arms and ran out of my room.

"Phew—"

I exhaled deeply and lay down on my bed.

The soft sensation was still lingering clearly on my hand.

Despite my exhaustion, it looked like I was still going to have trouble falling asleep tonight.

While looking up at the familiar ceiling, I hoped that today"s efforts could buy tomorrow"s success in return.