Endless Silver Machine

The moment she returned to the room and unfolded her soaked yukata, Aika's mind was completely frozen.

The pink and white fabric fell from the belt of the yukata and lay lightly on her bed.

That was the continuation of the contract between Wei Xi and Aika, but in fact it was the cute underwear they wore during a skin-to-skin kiss.

The naked evidence of guilt is imprinted on Aika's retina. If someone pushed the door in at this time, he would not notice it.

Aika still clearly remembers that this was what he put in his Yukata belt when he escaped from the bathroom.

Why are you holding the underwear? Because the underwear is right there!

No matter from which angle you look at it, the current Aika is the perverted thief who should be cut into pieces by Ling under the eyes of the girls with contempt, and sent to the prison of the Gods by Teacher Letika to be sentenced to death.

A few minutes ago, Aika also made an execution declaration for the perverted thief. The executioner who really killed his own dignity was me.

"No, it has nothing to do with me!"

The first reaction was not to hide Wei Xi's underwear quickly, but to raise her wrist and ask in panic at the silver wrist.

Another reason why he didn't hide Wei Xi's underwear was that he still remembered his promise to Ling that he would not do anything after finding her underwear, but this agreement was no longer valid from the beginning.

"You brought this here, right, Hitomi? This thing also appeared when you appeared!"

The wrist reincarnates with his silent silvery white light, and the surface can only reflect Aika's face that cannot accept the facts under the light.

After receiving such a response, the first thing Aika did was to quickly go back and lock the door.

The original intention was to destroy the incriminating evidence, but instead brought new incriminating evidence.

Aika sat slumped on the edge of the bed, next to Wei Xi's underwear.

Wei Xi's underwear was stolen, and the suspicious figure An Jie saw in the dressing room suddenly appeared in Hitomi's hand with Wei Xi's underwear.

No matter how you think about it, there is no way it is irrelevant.

"If the person Anjie saw is you, it means you have already been to this world, right?"

Ignoring the connection between Wei Xi's underwear and Hitomi for the time being, Aika really wants to meet Hitomi in the real world.

But he didn't talk to himself like this to the silver wrist, there was only silence floating in the room.

...The most important thing now is to solve the problem at hand. You must find a way to return Wei Xi's underwear to her.

There was originally the easiest way, but the option of putting it directly back into Wei Xi's room no longer existed.

Anjie and Wei Xi are both in that room now. If the missing underwear is found after his visit, there is no doubt that he is the culprit.

Put it back where it belongs? It is even more unrealistic. There is no doubt that women’s bathhouses have become heavily monitored.

Aika glanced at the pink and white fabric lying quietly beside her hand, feeling completely helpless.

What made matters worse was the knock on the door.

"Wouldn't it be so soon..."

No way, you found this place just after locking the door? Wouldn't locking the door arouse their suspicion even more?

Aika stared nervously at the door. After a pause of four or five seconds, the knock on the door rang for the second time.

It feels like my brain has lost the ability to think. What to do with the incriminating evidence? Is there any place to hide? Which one should be hidden first and which one should be hidden later?

Thumb thump thump——

A polite knock on the door, only a palace attendant? If it were just a waiter, it wouldn't be a big problem, but Ling would sometimes knock on the door patiently, not to mention Lan Ming and Charlotte. Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that it might be Mentor Letika or Ruby.

At this point, Aika could only break the agreement with Wei Xi and stuff her underwear into her pants pocket.

As the saying goes, it is dark under the lamp, and it is safest to hide it within yourself. Who would have thought that a girl’s lingerie would be hidden under a well-dressed person?

He was the first to know the truth and burst into tears.

After making sure there were no flaws, he went over to open the door for the person waiting outside.

No matter who comes, as long as you deal with it properly, there will be no problem. Due to personal privacy, it is impossible to be searched.

"Well……"

However, the people standing outside the door were neither the girl group who came to check the wards nor the palace attendants, but a handsome young man.

The boy... a girl to be precise, she tied the hem of her pure white shirt into her trousers, and tied her hair that fell past her shoulders into a short braid at the back of her head.

The overall look is neutral and neatly decorated without any sense of contradiction.

"that……"

Aika stammered, startled by the unexpected visitor.

The person he least expected to see a few minutes ago was now barely within safe limits.

Probably because he saw Aika's inner struggle, the other party also forced out a smile that was a bit embarrassing but still charming.

"They seem to be looking for something in the palace now. Since I didn't see you with them, I wondered if you were still in the room."

It was still a familiar face and familiar voice, but Aika didn't know what attitude to respond to her.

In fact, the entanglement lasted no more than ten seconds, and Aika recalled what she had said before in her mind.

——Even if we find out, we should still be friends...

For these words, Aika definitely didn't want to disappoint her.

"Also...I said I would come to listen to your explanation, right?"

Maintaining the same tone as before was probably Carlo's concern for Aika. She walked past Aika with a matter-of-fact expression and walked into Aika's room minding her own business.

If Aika still didn't know the secret Carlo was hiding, it would have been a natural behavior in the past.

"Should I call you Carol or Carol?"

After adjusting her mentality a little, Aika asked her in a voice that could not sound confused.

Carlo turned around, tilted his head and smiled.

"Carol and Carolie are both my names. Wouldn't it be more cordial to use a title you are more familiar with?"

The girl whose full name is Carol said to Aika in a slightly playful tone.

If you didn't know the truth, you wouldn't notice it. Although Carol was wearing boy's clothes, she could feel that she exuded more of a feminine feel.

A simple exchange of just a few words eliminated Aika's worries about the true identity of her friend.

Caroliel definitely didn't want to destroy the original relationship between the two, and Aika couldn't let her efforts go to waste.

"Well, Carlo, let me explain about the open-air bath first. In fact, there is really nothing to explain. I just went in without knowing where it was, and you just came in when I was about to leave. This kind of Under such circumstances, it is generally impossible to walk out openly, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

Caroliel didn't doubt Aika's suspicious words at all, and nodded without thinking.

"Eh? Is this okay?"

"I already guessed that this was the case, because I am your spiritual friend."

Caroliel walked up to Aika and patted him on the shoulder with a snicker of "I really can't do anything to you" on her face.

Even in the palace, she still wears white gloves. Even if you didn't overhear Caroliel's confession in the open-air bath, you would still notice such a unique outfit when walking in the palace.

Normally, Aika would have tried her best to deny this kind of damaging relationship that she couldn't get rid of, but now she had to be thankful that Caroliel was so reasonable.

"And, if you really knowingly committed the crime, you wouldn't be standing here intact now."

Words spoken with a smile can be so scary.

Aika noticed that Carol was actually a little unnaturally nervous now. Although it is well hidden, this sense of dissonance will seep out from every word and deed.

No matter what, nothing has changed between now and the past.

After knowing that Carol is actually of the opposite sex, she will subconsciously treat her as a girl. No matter how casual his behavior is or how rude his tone of voice, the essence has changed.

This subtle change cannot be called a regret, and I can't tell whether it is good or bad, but I have this kind of emotion.

"I've finished what I want to say, tell me about your situation, Carlo."

This is not an unspeakable secret. Caroliel herself also said this to Teacher Letika.

She was ready to admit the truth frankly if exposed in front of Aika.

It was probably for this purpose that I came here in the male attire that Aika was familiar with.

"Haha..." Carole rubbed her cheeks in embarrassment, "Actually, there is no very special reason. It's just that the girls had misunderstandings from the very beginning, and they spread very quickly. I don't think it matters. It’s troublesome to explain it alone or publicly, so I just keep saying it’s wrong.”

"Wait, you said it's troublesome to explain...but there will be a lot of trouble after doing this, right?"

"I live alone. Although the dormitory is a double room, the administrator registered my dormitory as full after I requested it using my privilege as an exempt student."

Caroliel and Aika are both second-year students, which means that he has spent a year in Shimozuki Academy as a male.

Since he is so understated, he probably does have a way to solve the various troubles caused by gender differences.

"And I'm not the only one who hides my true gender."

"Any more!?"

Aika suddenly felt that Frost Moon Academy had become a completely unfamiliar place to herself.

"Disclosure of gender is different from reality. This kind of thing is more common than other secrets that need to be concealed. I won't go into details about personal privacy issues."

"Carlo, although I don't think such a thing will happen no matter what...could it be said that you often get together..."

"Don't use the term that makes it sound like I have some special hobby, okay?" Carole raised an eyebrow, "Most of these people have hidden secrets, and I'm only vaguely aware of it. It's impossible to get together to discuss it. Such a thing!"

"So that's what you said... Anyway, I probably understand the situation here. By the way, have you met everyone here?"

"Well, I've seen it before."

"Are you dressed like this?"

"yes."

Just when she was about to ask when it happened, Aika suddenly remembered that when she and the girls were separated, they seemed to have met with Teacher Letika and Ruby.

If you put it that way, it's not surprising that Carole was nearby at that time.

"...Do they know?"

"It goes without saying that after you escaped, the security in the bathhouse was strengthened. What I explained to Teacher Letika was to allow the intruder to escape. When I left the bathhouse, I also thought about it. If I deliberately concealed it, it might be easier to be exposed. In this way It would be better to appear openly in front of them. If they ask, admit it. If they don’t ask, don’t explain.”

"I just want to know if they asked."

"No," Caroliel smiled slyly, "Maybe it's because all their attention was attracted by the perverted thief at that time?"

When the word "perverted thief" was mentioned, a chill ran down Aika's spine.

His hands involuntarily reached for his trouser pockets, but he stopped this small movement immediately after realizing it.

"...Did they explain that matter to Teacher Letika?"

"After all, suspicious figures have appeared on our side and on your side. To be honest, Teacher Letika takes this issue very seriously. After all, if someone with an unknown identity sneaks in, we can't just let it go. We will conduct a comprehensive search tonight."

Aika had long thought that the situation would develop into this situation after the girls met Teacher Letika.

The whole city must be on alert now. As long as Carole kept her secret, she was barely within the safety circle, but finding an opportunity to return her underwear to Wei Xi would be a big problem.

"Don't worry, if this kind of search leads to no results in one night, we will give up and we won't catch you."

Caroliel said something that she didn't know if it was a placebo, and she sat down beside Aika's bed without hesitation.

Then his eyes fell on the yukata draped on the back of the chair next to the table.

"This is... the yukata from 'that time', right? Why did you bring it here?"

"Normally, you wouldn't get your yukata wet, right? It would be hard to explain why you stayed in the men's bathroom that only I used during that time."

"...Although what you said makes sense, I think you are still too nervous? This kind of thing cannot even be called evidence."

Caroliel smiled evilly, supported the edge of the bed with both hands, looked up at the ceiling, and swung her feet as if it was not her own business.

He is still dressed like a "noble young man", but this kind of behavior that is far from elegant is something you won't see in Shigetsuki Academy.

"Then the question is, doesn't it matter if you don't go with them to find it?"

Before Caroliel asked this question, Aika was already considering that method.

Can we discuss it with Carol? If you tell her the reason why Wei Xi's underwear is in your hands, she should be able to understand.

If she, who is familiar with the palace, can find a solution together, maybe we can end this farce.

"Carlo, let me tell you something now. After listening to it, please think carefully about whether I am responsible for this matter, and then decide whether you want to help me, okay?"

Aika's serious look made Carolie put down her swaying feet in confusion.

"Why does this need to be so serious? You won't tell me that it was you who took away classmate Wei Xi's underwear, right?"

"That's right."

"..."

Caroliel stood up silently with a straight face, let go and walked towards the door.

"Wait, wait, wait, listen to me first!"

Aika hurriedly stretched out her hand to stop Caroliel, but Caroliel slapped his hand away without mercy.

She squinted at Aika with a look of disdain that Aika had once imagined, a contempt she had felt countless times in Ling's eyes.

"Aika-kun, your mother will shed tears if she knows."

"Didn't you promise me that you would listen to the end?"

"I've never made a commitment that was a waste of time."

Caroliel exuded an aura that would never allow Aika to come within half a step of him.

Thinking about it carefully, she did not promise to hear the end.

Having said that, even though we already know that Caroliel is a girl, is it really appropriate to discuss something like this with her that may cause physical discomfort?

But now that the words have been spoken, they cannot be taken back.

"Then think about it differently. When Wei Xi's underwear was taken away, wasn't I staying with you?"

"So that's exactly what happened."

Caroliel still just didn't want to think at all and just echoed Aika's words.

"..."

Aika finally reacted, probably she just wanted to see her reaction like this.

After noticing that she no longer had to perform, Carole finally couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

"Because..." Carole held her belly while trying to hold back her laughter, "When you talk to me now, Aika, you always seem to be cautious, and you can't help but..."

After taking a few breaths like this, Caroliel finally suppressed her laughter, or she had laughed enough in her heart. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up.

"How did you get her underwear? You can't tell me that the underwear suddenly appeared in your hand and you took it away, right?"

"That's right."

"...You are serious this time, right? Depending on your answer, you may be hanged on the chieftain's sky and exposed to death."

"I thought it was a joke myself."

Caroliel didn't expect that she would guess two absurd results correctly using her absurd way of thinking in a short period of time. Her expression could no longer be described as speechless.

"In that case, regardless of whether there is a real perverted thief or not, the person they are looking for now is you!"

"This is why I didn't go out from here. Please, Carlo, help me find a way! You should be familiar with the terrain of the palace, right?"

"Secretly put him back in classmate Wei Xi's room?"

"Everyone would feel disgusted if their stolen underwear suddenly returned to the room, right? Who knows what happened to the underwear in the meantime!"

Caroliel murmured to herself, "That's right," and started thinking again.

"It's quite disgusting. If the underwear was stolen and then secretly returned, I would definitely dig a hole and bury it forever."

"Fortunately, your thinking circuit is still relatively normal."

"Speaking of which, where is classmate Wei Xi's underwear now?"

Caroliel, who had never seen the real thing until now, suddenly asked the suspect Aika as if she remembered it.

Then he took out a piece of pink-white fabric that was folded into small squares from his trouser pocket.

Wei Xi was probably going to put on these underwear after taking a shower, so there was still a faint scent of perfume after washing. However, Aika was completely soaked when she fell into the water, so Aika didn't "take away the girls' clothes." Underwear” such a strong sense of guilt.

It has a vaguely mature lace edge, a cute little bow, and two fluttering ribbons on the left and right.

That night Wei Xi suddenly came to her room, and Aika knew for the first time that she had this slightly bold underwear. It seems that she usually wears it, but Aika doesn't have the chance to see it.

"You can actually put a girl's underwear in your pocket without changing your expression. I'm going to change my view of you."

"How could I have hidden it on my body if you hadn't knocked on the door suddenly!"

Caroliel moved closer to Aika and looked at Wei Xi's underwear carefully.

"Hey, classmate Wei Xi is wearing this style of underwear. It's the winning style."

"Why do you know so much about girls' underwear?"

After Aika habitually complained about Carol, she remembered that there was nothing wrong with her even if she had a lot of research on girls' underwear.

Listening to Aika's sudden stop, Caroliel probably guessed what he was thinking.

"It doesn't matter, it would be better if you treat me as a boy."

Aika had already seen Caroliel naked in the open-air bath. Under the white shirt that Carol is wearing now, her beautifully shaped breasts don't have much of a presence. They may have taken some special measures, such as underwear or belts with a breast-constricting effect.

"And..." Although she still leaned forward next to Aika, Carole's eyes no longer paid attention to Wei Xi's underwear, but looked at the ground under her feet, "We stay friends like this. The relationship is pretty good, a relationship where both of us can let go..."

Wonderful, right? Caroliel seemed to say so, tilting her head slightly to show Aika a happy smile.

Whether it's a "gentleman" or a "beautiful girl", this expression is enough to attract any man or woman.

It probably has something to do with Caroliel's cheerful personality. Even though she remains extremely popular among girls, her relationship with boys is extremely harmonious.

If it were any other girl talking into her ear at such a distance, Aika would inevitably be nervous, but Caroliel didn't feel any such abnormality when she did this.

On the one hand, it was because the two had been fighting for a year, and on the other hand, it was because Carolee was still so frank with Aika after her identity was exposed.

"I understand. Our relationship will not change, and I sincerely hope so."

After Aika firmly told Caroliel what she was thinking, her warm breath, which seemed to finally be relieved, passed over Aika's neck and did not escape Aika's attention.

Then, as if she had abandoned all confusion, she grabbed Aika's neck as usual, and exerted force on her arms with her usual hearty smile.

"Since you came to me to discuss it, you just want to return classmate Wei Xi's underwear, right?"

The sudden close physical contact made Aika's heart beat suddenly. As expected, he didn't get used to it so quickly, but Aika tried his best to put all those worries behind him.

"If possible, I want to try to convince them that the underwear was not stolen, but was not found in time due to carelessness."

"Why? I also want to create a fantasy criminal, and then let them decide what to do with the underwear and it will end smoothly."

"that is because……"

Aika took the cute soft and smooth underwear into the palm of her hand.

Wei Xi must have liked this underwear so much that she mustered up the courage to wear it in front of her that night.

Moreover, this is also a past agreement between himself and Wei Xi, and it exists like a token that symbolizes the agreement.

So Aika didn't want Wei Xi to hate this underwear and get rid of it with regret.

"Anyway, I think it would be best to be able to quietly put them back into the bathing changing room, but it's basically impossible to enter their bathing room now, right?"

"Do you still need to ask? Now we have started to track the remaining magic power in the girls' bathing place."

"track?"

"The figure seemed to have activated movement magic when he was discovered by Anjie. The activation of magic will inevitably leave traces of magic power. We are searching for such traces now."

Caroliel let go of Aika, took Wei Xi's underwear from his hand, and activated primary elemental magic to evaporate all the moisture in the underwear.

"I see. Fortunately, I didn't use magic at that time..."

"There is no physical evidence left behind even if you don't use magic. Is your head rusty after being soaked in water for too long?"

"...even if there are any traces left, you will help me fix it, right?"

"My service has ended when I helped you escape. If you still need value-added services, please renew."

Caroliel said casually while folding Wei Xi's underwear again.

However, he did not return it to Aika, but kept it himself.

"Renewal?"

Aika didn't know what Caroliel's request specifically meant, but she just repeated the word.

Caroliel put her hands on her hips and raised three fingers.

"I will help you return classmate Wei Xi's underwear, and I will also help you fool you about the traces. In addition, I helped you escape from Teacher Letika and Ruby before. Now you owe me three wishes."

If you say that, Aika will understand.

"I understand. I will do my best to grant you three wishes. Not just three, but thirty."

"Aika, it's not okay to say that." Caroliel put her finger on Aika's lips to stop him from continuing, "Human desires are endless. If you say so, I am He will make a lot of excessive demands.”

"Excessive demands are not in line with your image, Miss 'Noble Young Master'."

Amused, Aika gently grabbed Caroliel's wrist and removed her fingers.

On a normal day, when Aika calls him the nickname "Young Master", it's mostly a joke.

Probably she didn't expect that Aika would call such an affectionate nickname on such an occasion. Caroliel's eyes widened in half surprise and half shyness, and her long eyelashes seemed to tremble slightly due to shock.

Then she immediately stepped back and stood up straight, and looked away coquettishly.

"I don't have to maintain any image in front of you... Or do you think that feeling is better than the real me?"

"I think you're doing fine just the way you are."

"Really...If you say that, then I won't be polite to you for the thirty wishes you willingly gave me."

As if escaping, Carole walked quickly past Aika in a good mood and put her hand on the doorknob.

"After I leave, you can go out and stay with them as much as possible. I will find a way to put Wei Xi's underwear back in the locker room. After ten minutes, you can find an opportunity to let them go to the locker room and search again. It should be It will achieve the effect you want.”

Without waiting for Aika's reply, Carole left the room in a hurry like the wind.

Leaving Aika alone in the room, Carole left without even explaining her plan clearly.

Recalling the conversation just now, Aika's face couldn't help but heat up.

It's just that at the time, there wasn't such an obvious sense of commotion, but now that I think about it, I start to worry that I was too frivolous.

But it shouldn’t matter if the other party is Carol. It was just because she seemed a little panicked that Aika became a little too concerned about her words and deeds.

Looking at the silver-white wrist wheel on his wrist again, it still only reflected the expression on his face at the moment.

But compared to before, his expression is no longer so ugly now.

"If Tong wants to come here, you can do it at any time. I will always be waiting for you. As for the matter of Wei Xi's underwear... in short, it will be resolved, and you don't have to take it too seriously."

Hitomi said that she and he are of the same mind. As long as Hitomi is not sleeping now, these words should be able to be conveyed to her.

Hitomi sleeping with her back against the cherry blossom tree... Aika imagined that scene for a moment, and felt a very healing and warm feeling.

The corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously, but the snickering didn't even last for a second.

The skin under the wrist was stimulated by the sudden heat.

Although it couldn't be called pain, it was just enough to divert Aika's attention.

Pushing the Fiery Eyes upwards, there were no strange marks on the skin under the wrist. It seemed to be just pain felt from deep within the consciousness.

"..."

In the end, Aika just chalked it up to being neurotic.

…………