I arrived at the House of Imaginary Boundaries, and there was a black car parked near the front gate, which I had never seen before. It was a nice, expensive-looking car, similar to the ones that appear in anime in scenes where a butler opens the door for the rich young lady’s introduction.

For how confused the conversation with Miyuki made me, it seems she really wasn’t lying. As I was making my way inside, I saw Katja, Hecate, and Narumi running back and forth, carrying various things to the car. There’s no doubt about it. Something did happen. I felt a chill running down my spine and ran up to the car. “Uhmm… What’s going on?”

“Iroha? You got some nerve revealing your presence at this point in time.” Hecate was heading back to the main building but stopped when she heard my voice. She turned around and approached me. A briefcase in her hand made a small clicking sound and started to change shape. Is that a weapon? I think I remember seeing Katja use a similar thing. Her sword had a similarly mechanical design that could be compacted into the height of a phone. The various parts of the briefcase clicked into place one by one, eventually taking the shape of a big sniper rifle.

“Ehh!?!? What?!?” As soon as Hecate’s weapon took shape, she lifted it up with both hands and pointed it at my face. What the hell did I do? Why is she pointing that at me? Did I show up at a bad time? Is this how I’m gonna die? I didn’t do anything! I’m innocent! I swear!

“What are you doing, Hecate? We don’t have time for this.” Katja grabbed Hecate’s shoulder and pushed down the barrel of the rifle. Whew… I’m saved… Thank god for Katja showing up! I’m saved!

“D- did I show up at a bad time? What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?” I know our relationship is not at the point where we can start smushing lips together, but it’s not bad enough for me to get a sniper pointed at me, is it?

“Did you do something wrong? You mean to tell me that Carol’s curse is not your doing?” Hecate was no longer pointing her weapon at me, but her hostility was still there. She had a distressed look on her face, like she was about to avenge a fallen friend. I’m pretty sure whatever she’s mad about is not my fault. I’ve barely left my room the past couple days… I couldn’t have done anything.

“Curse? What do you mean by that?”

“Carol has spent the last few days in a deep slumber. Her health was perfectly normal, but nothing we did roused her from her sleep. It all started when you stopped showing up! You could have tried to help, but you didn’t even show up! It’s all your fault!”

Wait… Carol was… in a coma? Is she serious? How is it my fault? Just because I didn’t show up? Could it be… because of those weird magic bracelets on Carol’s anklets? Ughh… I had no idea… I didn’t know they would put her in a coma… “Where is she now?”

“Carol’s gone.” Hecate says it with an expressionless face.

Gone? Wait… What does that mean? She isn’t dead, is she? That’s a lie… It has to be a-

“Carol woke up, but then she disappeared.” She isn’t dead? That’s a relief… “Hecate was going to check up on her before she started making dinner, but then her bed was empty. A portal with monsters appeared near the harbor, and after looking around the House, we concluded that’s where she’s headed.”

She went off by herself? What is she thinking? Is this because she’s trying to find out more about the portals, or…? It doesn’t matter… “That’s completely reckless… We gotta save her!”

“We?” Hecate raised her rifle again. “How could we possibly trust you?” Eeek!! Again?! “You didn’t show up the whole time Carol was fighting her curse, and now you claim you wish to save her? How do we know you’re not planning something again?”

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“I’m not going to do anything! I didn’t do anything before either! I swear! Think about it. If I wanted to harm Carol, I wouldn’t have brought her back safely to you guys. It just doesn’t make sense, right?”

Katja once again pushed Hecate’s rifle down and intervened. “You’re completely right, Iroha. You’re not at fault for any of this. Even Hecate knows that, she just gets easily agitated when it comes to our safety. Come on, Hecate. Stop trying to blame Iroha for what happened. You’re smarter than this.”

Hecate clicked a button on her sniper, and it turned back into a briefcase. “Fine… Let’s say I trust you for now. You can accompany us if you want, but if I see you trying anything funny, I won’t hesitate to shoot. I’ll have you prove yourself through your deeds.” Should I be relieved… scared? I don’t even know at this point… I knew this before, but Hecate really doesn’t mess around when it comes to her companions, huh?

“Alright, I accept! All I want is to save Carol. If you’re gonna keep an eye on me, that’s all you’re gonna see. I won’t even give you an opportunity to shoot.” Yeah… Her condition is nothing… I wasn’t planning on doing anything to harm any of them. I don’t have anything to fear… I’ll show her just what I can do… She won’t be able to doubt me anymore after today!

“Suit yourself then.” Hecate scoffed and went back to the car. She pushed her ‘briefcase’ first before entering herself. Sh- should I have stayed home? I hope I didn’t just make things worse… It seems like this is always how it goes whenever I try to do something… Not like I have a choice this time… Carol’s life is on the line. This is one where I can’t opt out.

“Thanks for showing up, Iroha. I know the reception was rough, but we can really use your help.” Katja stayed behind and watched Hecate enter the car.

“It’s alright. Like I said, I want to help Carol too. There’s no need to thank me.”

“That’s good to know. Since you’re here, come with me. We need to make sure you’re ready to fight.” Katja asked me to follow her, and we entered the main building together.

“What do you mean by making sure I’m ready? The only preparation I need is to grab my sword, right?”

“Not exactly… We got something for you. A new outfit.”

“A new outfit?” Now? Is it going to be a shirt with their logo or something?

“Yeah. You see, the clothes we’re all wearing right now may look normal to you, but they’re made with a special fabric. It’s a very elastic and sturdy material, making it ideal for combat. Think of it as armor, if you will.”

“Armor?” That’s the first I’ve heard of this… Hecate was wearing one of her usual dark dresses, but Katja has a white, one-piece battle dress that looks different from her usual casual clothes. I thought she was just trying to look cute with the pink accents matching her hair.

“I put in an order for your outfit a while ago, and it has recently arrived.” We got to the entrance of the dojo’s changing room, and there was a paper bag on top of a card box next to the wall. Katja picked up the bag and handed it to me. “Go in and change into that. Try not to take too long. I’ll wait for you here.”

Huh…? I wasn’t really expecting this… Is this going to fit me? I have a lot of questions, but now’s not the time. I entered the changing room and quickly changed clothes.

…

“Wo- wow…” That’s a look… One look in the mirror, and I was stunned. What Katja gave was a simple, black, tight battle dress without any sleeves. It came with a pair of matching thigh-highs and a detached sleeve. It feels really weird to be wearing this… It doesn’t suit me, or at least it shouldn’t, but I feel some kind of strange affinity. It’s ominous… Like a premonition. I- It’s a bit too revealing, though… Kinda embarrassing…

“Are you done, Iroha? Can I enter?” Katja asked from the outside, and I nodded back to her. “It looks good on you. Fits you nicely too. You’ll be much safer now. It may not look that impressive, but that fabric can even stop bullets. Any bullet shot from a bad angle will simply bounce off. But even if you’re shot straight on, anything low caliber can’t pierce that fabric. Anything that can will be slowed down and is unlikely to kill you.”

“Seriously? It’s that strong?” What kind of material is this? It stretches if I pull it, but when I try tapping it, it hardens, and I don’t feel anything. Non-Newtonian fabric? I have no clue.

“It is that strong, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to be careful. Monster attacks behave weirdly. Sometimes, an attack that looks very weak causes much more damage than one that looks strong. Like a butter knife cutting better than a katana. Looks can be deceiving. Keep that in mind.”

“I’ll keep that in mind…” That difference is probably due to stats, isn’t it? The strength of a monster is determined by its level and its stats. For normal people, a weapon is stronger than a punch, but that might change once we take stats into consideration. At least, that’s what I think she meant.

“Please do. These clothes are the pinnacle of modern combat technology. The protection they provide is amazing. But the best part is carrying this much survivability without having to sacrifice mobility. In fact, the way the fabric is set up actually stimulates the muscles in a way that allows you to draw more strength than normal. It doesn’t just retain mobility—it increases mobility.” She seems oddly excited… This is just how she was acting when she was putting together the training plan for me. Does she like experimenting with equipment? Maybe it’s the managing aspect she enjoys.

“I think I get it already… Thanks for getting this for me. I’ll make good use of it!”

“I’m counting on you.” Katja’s lips curved up slightly. “Here you go. I grabbed your sword for you.”

“Thanks!” I grabbed my sword, and Katja exhaled a small laugh. “Why are you laughing?” Is it my clothes? Do they look weird on me?

“It’s nothing… It’s just that you look ready now. You look like a real fighter. If I ran into you and didn’t know you, I would look at you with a bated breath.”

“Ahahaha… Thanks! You’re right, though. I am ready. We should get going, right?” After a moment of silence, Katja nodded her head, and we went back to the car. How’s Carol doing right now? I hope we find her soon. I won’t let anything happen to her. I don’t know what awaits us in the harbor, but they better be ready!