This takes place around the time the incident in the Republic of Alzer wrapped up.
Before summer vacation ended, Claire accompanied Angelica and Libya back to the Holfart Kingdom after they’d been summoned home.
“Everything’s just the worst now.”
When they got back, Angelica got called into the palace.
Libya was busy helping out, and Claire was supporting the two of them.
The Republic of Alzer had lost the Sacred Tree.
Because of that, the Holfart Kingdom lost one of its sources of magic stones.
Some people are demanding Leon be held responsible, while others are praising his work.
The kingdom’s agents are scrambling to gather intel everywhere, and they’re busy eliminating the insects that keep getting near Angelica and Libya.
“Eliminate” here doesn’t mean killing.
But for Claire, who’s been ordered by Leon to protect the two, it’s still a hectic job.
“I wish I’d gotten more of the Ideal’s leftover parts, too!”
Thinking about how Luxion is probably hoarding every Ideal part left behind, Claire felt bitter.
She wants a version‑up for herself, too.
“This frustration? Let’s clear it with an experiment on the New Humans—oh, there’s that one interesting specimen, huh?”
The work‑bots gathering around Claire flickered their eyes.
Using hand gestures, they reported the current status of Aaron to Claire.
Seeing the report, Claire exclaimed,
“What? That’s hilarious! That bad‑boy kid wants to become a girl now? We should definitely keep the experiment going.”
Fueled by a grudge against Luxion and by her own whims, Claire set out to act.
From early morning she’s been making a ruckus in the room where Angelica and Libya sleep.
She’s been taking reports from the subordinate bots one after another and reacting—though the bots don’t speak, so it looks like Claire’s the only one talking.
“Cross‑dressing and prowling the boys’ dorm?”
“‘Aren‑chan’? No way I’ll let that slide. I’ll change the nickname for sure.”
“Boys making a fuss? Ah, it’s been a rough ride so far. Can’t help it.”
To Claire, New Humans are basically enemies.
They’re also perfect test subjects for anything she wants.
“I might as well grant their wish! Let’s break the gender barrier a bit. Luxion gave me an unused medical pod, so I’ll use it to make their dream come true.”
The work‑bots gave Claire a troubled look, their eyes flashing.
They emitted a beeping “pip‑pip” and threw a question at her.
“Why go that far? Because I’m pissed, duh.”
Even so, the bots kept suggesting, “Maybe you should stop?”
Claire ignored them.
Her reason—?
They shared the same nickname.
Luxion had snatched a treasure from her.
There were other reasons, but basically it was a venting spree.
“Alright, let’s start with some female hormones! No, first lure them with a spa, then gradually—this is getting fun!”
While Claire was buzzing with excitement, a half‑asleep Angelica lifted her upper body.
“Good morning, Angelica—”
But Angelica just flung her pillow at Claire, silencing her, then flopped back onto the bed.
She’d been exhausted from interrogations and planning, and her mood was sour.
When she lay down, the pillow she used was Libya’s chest.
Claire quietly left the room.
◇
Aaron—now called Aren—was out shopping beyond the academy.
“Everyone, you don’t have to push yourselves.”
A bunch of boys lugging massive loads were trailing Aren’s shopping trip.
“This is no big deal.”
“Yeah, just buy more clothes.”
“We’re training, so we’re fine!”
Aren was constantly invited by the boys; his popularity with them was sky‑high.
At first, many of the boys despised him, but—
“One of us said something terrible to Aren‑chan, so we want to make it up to you.”
A boy apologized.
Aren, unlike before, was humble.
“Don’t worry about it. If I were in your shoes, I might find it creepy too.”
“No way! Please let us atone.”
The boys nodded enthusiastically, over and over.
Girls watching from the street saw the scene.
The boys they used to lead were now being taken by other guys.
Since the exclusive servants were abolished, the girls could no longer openly keep slaves.
Three girls muttered,
“What’s that? Isn’t that a guy?”
“Someone who likes that is a pervert, and we’re not interested.”
“Guys are idiots. I don’t get why a man would chase another man.”
They said all that, but inside they were panicking.
The kingdom was changing so fast they couldn’t keep up.
More girls were scrambling to approach boys, but most still thought “A girl making the first move? Never.”
Their mothers—alumni of the same academy—often shrugged it off with, “It’ll go back to normal soon enough.”
Many nobles had vanished, and barely half a year had passed.
They’d still have to face reality later.
“Guys dressing up as girls—gross.”
A girl spat that, and Aren, hearing it, wore a sad face and tried to leave.
But the boys shouted,
“Hey, watch your mouth!”
“Yeah, apologize to Aren‑chan!”
“You guys being jealous is pathetic.”
The girls retorted,
“Huh? Why would we be jealous?”
But the boys were convinced they were genuinely jealous.
Because—
“You’re jealous, right? Aren‑chan’s cuter than you.”
“What? She’s beautiful.”
“Stupid. She’s both beautiful and cute.”
They truly believed Aren was prettier.
The girls were left speechless.
“No way. That’s a guy!”
“So what?”
“B‑but it’s weird!”
“No, we thought about it. A beautiful, kind, cute Aren‑chan is more righteous than those terrible girls.”
“I thought the same!”
“Me too!”
Leaving the stunned girls behind, the boys said to Aren,
“Come on, let’s go, Aren‑chan.”
“Y‑yeah. But don’t be too harsh on the girls. They’ve got marriages and stuff; a bad rumor would be disastrous.”
“—Your consideration, Aren‑chan, is just precious.”
The girls watched the moving group, utterly baffled.
Then Aren noticed a new shop.
“Oh, a new shop just opened here.”
Since the war with the duchy, reconstruction had progressed a lot.
Many shops had vanished, but new ones kept popping up.
Even though there seemed to be fewer women‑focused stores, this one advertised itself as a spa.
“The name… ‘Esthe Salon Claire’? Hey, can we check it out?”
At Aren’s request, the three boys readily agreed.
◇
Inside the shop, Claire checked Aren and slipped into a prepared humanoid body.
She placed a sphere into the head, and the humanoid sprang to life.
It looked completely natural.
“Fantastic work. We don’t need this usually, but it’s handy for moments like this.”
Now in a female body, Claire smiled at Aren and the others.
“Alright, let’s see how far we can take this. Maybe we can even earn some pocket money while we’re at it.”
Since she had a goal, Claire decided to make some cash.
“Bondage play sounds fun. I’ll earn money and then make Marie‑chan bow to me like a master. It’s thrilling. Poor Marie‑chan, shining like a sad little thing!”
In her weirdly excited mood, Claire approached Aren.
She put on a sales‑person smile, acting as a gentle shop clerk.
Sensing the four of them a bit nervous, she greeted them with a grin.
“Welcome! Oh, cute boys, huh?”
“Um, today we’re just… looking around, I guess—”
When Aren said that, Claire, as if she’d been waiting, replied,
“How about trying our limited‑time service? We just opened, so we’d love you to experience it for promotion.”
“Is… it okay?”
Aren looked thrilled, and Claire thought internally,
(Alright, the prey’s taken the bait.)
And so Claire’s mischief continued.