Chapter 18: The Mysterious Transfer Student

“Shiori Onee-chan~”

“Shiori-chan~”

Ever since Shidou came back from Wan Mie, Kanzaki Kotori had been calling out his name every day without getting tired of it.

Shidou, who was cooking dinner in the kitchen, forced a bitter smile and said, “Kotori, Miss Ayase has already clearly refused. What should we do next?”

Although Shidou felt somewhat reassured that Wan Mie, being a Spirit like Yoshino, was taking care of her, he still couldn’t completely relax.

After all, Wan Mie was also a Spirit. If both of them leaked their Spirit Waves at the same time, AST would likely discover them.

Actually, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if AST found out. Before Tohka was sealed, she always managed to escape AST’s clutches and even beat them half to death.

But Wan Mie was different. Several observations by Fraxinus had all concluded the same thing: Wan Mie was a total weakling in battle. Every time, Origami would easily defeat her, and the last time she encountered Ellen, she fled without a second thought.

With that in mind, how could Shidou be at ease?

“What else can we do?”

Kotori switched to a black headband, casually popped a lollipop into her mouth, and smiled.

“What else? Didn’t Miss Ayase say it herself? You could cross-dress to get close to Miku Izayoi and then find a chance to get Yoshino’s Hand Puppet back. That way, you’d not only retrieve the Hand Puppet but also gain Yoshino’s favor. Two birds with one stone.”

“Stop joking. I’m not going to cross-dress.”

Shidou flipped the Hamburg Steak in the pan and continued, “That was just a joke Miss Ayase made on a whim. Don’t take it seriously.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

“Good…”

Shidou breathed a sigh of relief. As a guy, there was no way he would cross-dress.

But the next second, Kotori’s words completely shattered his brief moment of calm.

“That’s exactly what I’m planning.”

Pfft!

Hearing this, Shidou almost spat out his lunch.

He turned to Kotori in panic.

“Kotori, you’re joking, right? You have to be joking!”

“Who said I’m joking?”

Kotori shot him a disdainful look.

“If you have a way to get close to Miku Izayoi as a guy, or another way to get Yoshino’s Hand Puppet, then just forget what I said.”

“This…”

Shidou’s mind raced. Soon, a bold idea began to form in his head.

Just as he was about to speak, Kotori suddenly said, “I should remind you, theft is illegal.”

Shidou’s mouth twitched twice as he swallowed back the words on his tongue.

How did Kotori know he was thinking of sneaking into Miku Izayoi’s house to steal the Hand Puppet?

But thinking about it, if he were caught, he’d definitely be sent to the police station.

Besides, Miku Izayoi had a massive fanbase.

Even if Ratatoskr could get him out, the flood of fans’ scorn would drown him, leading to Social Death.

Kotori saw the confused look on Shidou’s face and smiled even more brightly.

“If you can’t think of a better way than cross-dressing, then just follow the original plan.”

Shidou shook his head and sighed deeply. It seemed he couldn’t escape the fate of cross-dressing.

Seeing Shidou stay silent, Kotori announced, “After dinner, come with me to Fraxinus. The people under me can handle anything, so remember…”

Before she could finish, a sudden smell of something burning hit her nose.

Strange, what was burning?

Wait, wasn’t Shidou still cooking?!

Kotori snapped her gaze toward Shidou.

The Hamburg Steak in the pan was almost burned to a crisp. She hurriedly shouted, “Shidou, turn off the stove! Turn it off!”

At Kotori’s shout, Shidou finally snapped out of his daze and noticed the situation. He quickly rushed to deal with it…

Dinner time. Tohka stared at the blackened food on the plate, tilted her head, and asked, “Shidou, what is this?”

Shidou gave a bitter smile.

“Hamburg Steak…”

In the end, the three of them had their dinner at a family restaurant not far from home.

***

In the Fraxinus Conference Room, facing the aggressive crowd of employees, Shidou started to have second thoughts.

“Miss Reine, can we negotiate a bit?”

Shidou said as he backed away.

“It’s okay, little Shidou.”

Reine smiled faintly.

“It’ll only take a moment.”

“That’s right, Shidou-kun. Don’t worry too much.”

Kannazuki Kyouhei chimed in.

But instead of reassuring Shidou, their words only increased his fear.

“It’s precisely because of how you all act that I’m worried!”

“Oh dear, such a hassle.”

Kotori frowned, waved her hand, and ordered, “Bring Shidou here and hold him down!”

As soon as she finished speaking, two muscular men entered the room and grabbed Shidou from both sides.

The Fraxinus staff swarmed over and began demonstrating their skills on Shidou’s body.

That night, Shidou’s pig-like screams echoed throughout Fraxinus…

***

“Hmm, not bad.”

Half an hour later, Kotori looked at Shidou, who was completely transformed, and nodded in satisfaction.

Shidou was now dressed in the Raizen High School girls’ uniform.

His long blue hair reached his waist, adorned with a four-leaf clover hairpin.

He had completely become a genuine beauty.

Looking at Kotori’s pleased expression, Shidou, dressed as a girl, felt like crying.

He couldn’t help but feel that something important shattered the moment he put on the cross-dress…

Coincidentally, the day after Shidou’s cross-dressing transformation, Raizen High School was hit with a big scoop.

Miku Izayoi, a popular idol with tens of thousands of fans, announced she would be starting a high school tour, with the first stop at Raizen High School.

At first, the boys at Raizen were over the moon.

Although Miku Izayoi had never revealed her image publicly, leaked info online described her as a top-tier singer with an amazing figure and stunning looks.

Naturally, what excited the boys most were her looks and figure.

But their enthusiasm was soon doused.

The tour was girls-only.

Boys weren’t allowed.

However, the boys’ disappointment didn’t last long.

The reason? The mysterious transfer student in Class 2-4.

Not long after Miku Izayoi’s tour announcement, Okamine Tamaki, the homeroom teacher of Class 2-4, known as Kozhu-sensei, announced that a transfer student would be joining their class.

Right after Kozhu-sensei’s announcement, the classroom erupted into chatter, with everyone speculating about the transfer student’s gender and appearance.

However, Origami Tobiichi, sitting in the back row, didn’t join the discussion.

She quietly stared at the empty seat to her left.

That was Shidou’s seat.