For the duration of our mission, we had been given permission to use whatever was on the ship as we pleased. The cruise wasn’t making any money while there was a monster on board, and the owners were willing to cover any expenses if it meant cleaning things up sooner. Even destruction was okay to a certain extent.

  While we were sent to eliminate a monster, no one really expected us to succeed. The PSF only gave us this mission to keep up appearances. They can’t afford to repeat the mistake they did before, so now they’re assembling a better team before going all in. However, they also can’t leave a problem that falls under their jurisdiction unattended while they take their sweet time preparing. That’s where we come in—as an excuse for someone’s higher-ups. This way they can say they sent someone without taking any risks. If we actually eliminate the monster, they’ll take the credit for it, and if something goes terribly wrong, Shinji can be used as a scapegoat.

  It’s a terrible deal for us… But that’s the price the House pays for its freedom. We can’t do anything about the credit, but as long as we do our job right, we also don’t need to worry about any consequences. And we’ll do it right… As long as I have anything to say about it.

  We were given three days because that’s the time they think it’s gonna take them to get ready. Since we’re spending some nights here, we snagged two neighboring rooms for ourselves. One of the PSF guys got attacked in his sleep, so individual rooms are a no-go, and cramming all five of us into a single one is just as ridiculous.

  I’m partnering up with Hecate, so the two of us are sharing one of the rooms. I’m nervous, but it might be fun to sleep with her. I would have been scared of sleeping in the same room as her before, but we’re getting along much better now.

  “Iroha? Are you done changing?” Hecate asked from outside the room.

  “Wait! Give me a couple more minutes. I’m almost done.” This is a bit of a predicament. My clothes got drenched after I fell into the pool, so I had to take them off, but… “A swimsuit…? Really…?” Is this really the only option? It’s so embarrassing!

  At least it’s much better than that string thing Narumi was wearing. I managed to find a simple, white bikini that fit me. With how hot it is today, wearing a swimsuit is not that bad, but it’s still embarrassing. Good thing we’re the only ones here. “*Sigh…*” Don’t wanna keep Hecate waiting. With one last look, I grabbed the swimsuit and got changed.

  Seriously… It’s such a ridiculous idea. What if we end up running into the monster while I’m wearing this? I have my levels, so I’m not too worried about my defenses, but it’s not ideal. It happens often in games and anime, doesn’t it? Characters fighting in swimsuits… I’ve always appreciated the aesthetics of it and found it funny, I just never thought it would happen to me one day. Is this what it feels like on the other end of the stick?

  “I’m done!” My face is getting hot. I hope it looks okay on me. I opened the room’s door, and Hecate was there waiting for me. “He- Hecate?” But things took an unexpected turn.

  “Took you a while.” After a glance from head to toe, she smiled. “Delightful. It suits you perfectly.”

  “Ah- uhh- Thanks… You too…” As soon as I opened the door, I got an eyeful of Hecate’s pale skin and supple body. For some reason, she was wearing a black, lacy swimsuit. A black, see-through fabric around her waist, giving off the idea of a skirt, and a black and white umbrella in the style of her usual dresses. “Why are you wearing a swimsuit too?”

  “Why, you ask? Solidarity. I thought you’d be more comfortable if you were not the only one baring your skin.” Hecate swiped her hand, causing the skirt fabric to flutter. “That, and the fact my dress is too precious to be careless with it. You have my thanks, Iroha. You saved me from a very tragic heartbreak.”

  “It was nothing… I’m just glad you didn’t trip and get hurt.” Though it seems like she cares more about her dress than that. “What happened back there at the pool, Hecate?”

  “It was all my fault, I’m afraid. I must have seen a shadow and mistakenly assumed it was our target. It put me on edge and caused me to act carelessly.” Hecate lowered her head, feeling regretful.

  “Really? It might have been something. Wasn’t there a springy sound? I also thought something was jumping into the pool.”

  “Hm?! You heard it too?” Hecate thought momentarily. “That means I wasn’t hearing things, but… then it was just a misunderstanding. Nothing jumped off the board, and I didn’t find anything around the pool. My guess is that it was Narumi moving around in her chair.”

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  “Is that so? That’s a shame… I thought we found a lead.”

  “Don’t sweat it. We have two full days to find our culprit. We have plenty of time.” True… I guess I was too focused on what Miyuki said about the pool. “Since we’re here, how about we check in with Katja? She should be working next door.” I nodded, and we paid her a quick visit.

  When we entered the room, we saw a stepladder near one of the walls and a butt dangling out from high in the wall. The juicy bits were covered by a white skirt with pink vertical stripes. “Katja!?” What was she in charge of again? Defenses? Yeah… That explains why she’s crawling inside a vent, right? “What are you doing?”

  After the initial shock, Hecate and I got closer to the ladder. “Is that you, Iroha? Just give me a second. I’m almost done here.” Their room was similar to ours. Three beds instead of two, and it looked like a nice hotel room. The walls were white with some sections made with rich, glossy wood. The floor was carpeted here too, making the room very cozy.

  “Don’t hurt yourself. You can tell us if you need a hand.”

  “Oh! You’re here too, Hecate?” The pounding of metal resounded through the walls as Katja made her way out. “Some of these vents are surprisingly large. This must be how the monster got our friend from the PSF. I just finished blocking it off, so we should be safe. If anything tries to break through, the noise should wake us up.”

  “Nicely done, Katja.” Hecate and I watched as Katja’s foot dangled around, searching for a foothold.

  “Woah!” As her next foot reached the ladder, the shift in weight caused the whole thing to start wobbling.

  “That was a close one.” I reacted before anything bad could happen and held the ladder in place.

  “Thanks, Iroha.” She climbed down, taking care not to bump into me. She was covered in dust from going into the vent and patted her clothes to wipe herself. “Swimsuits…? That’s a good idea…” She said after looking at Hecate and I. What is she thinking? Don’t tell me she’s gonna change too.

  Hecate stepped forward and pushed her way between me and Katja. “That was a bad move, Katja. You could have hit your head if Iroha wasn’t here.” With a handkerchief in hand, Hecate helped Katja wipe the dust. “You’re worse than Narumi sometimes…”

  “I’m sorry for worrying you, but getting hurt is part of the job description for us. As much as I try to be careful, it’s only inevitable that I get hurt sometimes. You just worry too much.”

  “Save that for moments with bloodshed. You fail your duty if you get hurt on a stepladder.” Hecate flicked Katja’s forehead before returning the handkerchief to a suitcase in the corner of the room.

  “Ouch… Anyway, what are you doing here? Have you finished checking the bridge?”

  “Yep. Not a single scratch.” I answered. “The pool area’s clear too. Narumi didn’t find anything, and neither did we.” But… What about the prophecy? “Then again, that area’s pretty big, so I can’t say for sure.”

  “I see. It was worth taking a look anyway. Good work.”

  “What about you, Katja? Are you done?”

  “I still have to fortify your room. The doors and windows in our rooms are strong enough to delay any intruders, so all I need to do is block the vents.” Katja knocked on the window a few times, and sure enough. They sounded sturdy.

  “We’ll leave you to it then, Katja. Iroha and I have yet to check how Carol’s doing. We’ll see you later.”

  The two of us left their room and made our way to the kitchen. Carol was in charge of finding us food and other random things we were likely to need. She’s a cutie, so I’m sure that will be a breeze for her!

  “You seem happy, Iroha. Are you hungry?” Ehh? Was it showing on my face?

  “Ahahaha… I guess you could say that.” I can’t tell her I’m just happy I get to see Carol. “Yep! That’s it! It’s nice that we finally get to have a snack.”

  The cruise was big enough to house multiple kitchens. We were approaching one of the staff entrances to the largest one when the door suddenly swung open. Carol used her shoulder to open one of the doors with a plastic container on her hands. How cute… I was getting withdrawal already.

  “Carol! Whatchu got there? Did you find their stash?”

  “Yeah, I did…” Her eyes suddenly widened, and she rushed over to us with pink cheeks. “What the hell are you wearing, Iroha? Why are you two in swimsuits?!”

  “Hahaha… It’s a long story, okay? Don’t sweat it.” She’s looking, isn’t she? She’s totally looking!

  “Don’t sweat it…?” She clearly wanted to press the subject, but stopped after glancing at Hecate. “Ahem! I made sandwiches for everyone with some of the stuff I found.” She maneuvered the container around and opened it for us to see. Simple yet generous sandwiches made from square bread and cut into pretty triangles. Does she actually know how to cook? Maybe I judged her a bit too soon the other day. “Want one?” She aimed one of the triangles at my face.

  “Can I? Ahhh… *Mhm!*” Savory and a bit sour. Yep… It’s nice! I wasn’t expecting Carol to feed me out of nowhere. We gotta do this more often.

  “Was that necessary, Carol?” Hecate said and caused me to jump. I may or may not have forgotten that she was here. Why didn’t Carol stop me? “I’m sure Iroha can feed herself.”

  “Ye- yeah…?” Carol blushed intensely and pushed the sandwich onto my hands. “Well, you never know. She’s such an idiot sometimes that she might even forget that.” She turned her nose up and looked away. Why is my girlfriend suddenly calling me an idiot? She’s so mean! Is it because of the two-timing? My harem tendencies? There’s actually a lot, huh? Could it be that she’s right?!

  “We were just messing around, right, Carol?”

  “I don’t know anything about that.” She closed the container. “Since you two are here, I don’t have to go around distributing these anymore. Take it!” Carol pushed the container onto Hecate before turning around. “I’m going back to the kitchen.”

  Ahh… No… There she goes… It’s too soon… We watched as Carol opened the door and faded from sight… “You and Carol have gotten pretty close, huh? The others too… Fitting in nicely, are you?”

  “Hahaha… You think so? I want to get along with everyone, so I’m happy they’re friendly with me.”

  “Friendly…? More like seduction… Narumi asked you to spread sunscreen on her back, Katja had a damsel moment with you, and Carol started feeding you with a smile. Don’t you think it’s unnatural?”

  “Uhmm… Who’s supposed to be seducing who?” Hecate’s pretty sharp, but she can’t be seriously accusing me of trying to seduce them. Well, I am, but that isn’t evidence of that. Narumi was the one who was seducing me, if anything! “They were just coincidences.” Carol aside. That one has an explanation. “I’m part of the group, so I want to help out my friends. I helped you too when you were about to fall into the pool, right?”

  Hecate diverted her gaze and didn’t say anything for a second. “I suppose you’re right. Thanks for the help today, Iroha. Would you mind sharing these with Katja and Narumi?” Now the container was being pushed my way. “Once you’re done, you can rest for the rest of the day. I’m joining Carol in the kitchen to get started on dinner.”

  “Sure… I can take care of that.” I received the container from Hecate, and she left. I still can’t get a good read on her. I didn’t feel any hostility between us. She said I earned her trust, and I think she meant it. What was she thinking just now, though? How does she actually feel about me and the others? There’s something strange about her…