With a dubious dodgeball team formed under Sophia’s leadership, all their student council tasks were done for the day. Finally, the girls earned the permission to head home, even though it was Saturday in the first place.

But before then, they (unwillingly) rendezvoused with Kail. They had to make sure that the slippery scum finished his share of the assignments.

“Hey, hey! You hurt my fragile little heart with your suspicion!”

Kail exclaimed dramatically when Sophia interrogated him about his achievements.

“I did a pitch perfect job today, you’ll be knocked out when you see my awesome submission.”

Kail shrugged with a confident smug and took a bite from his chocolate. It was unclear how much chocolate he carried around, but he had a package ready in his hand at all times.

I hope he’s not all words today.

Erika opened the student council’s task management application and carefully examined Kail’s work. There was a likely chance that Kail made up random sport teams, just to call it a day.

“... he seems to be clean. On the surface, at least.”

Erika took her findings with a grain of salt, as everything else that involved Kail. Throughout the day, she made sure to interrogate every student from A-5 who crossed her path. They confirmed that Kail was truly absent from school for the whole past week; Erika didn’t imagine things when she checked his attendance.

Yet, today, all records about his absence vanished into thin air. Black magic was the only explanation, but Kail pretend to be a pure and innocent fellow.

“You see? You see? I’m just a honest diligent class prez!”

“... alright, let’s call it a day then.”

Erika declared as the unofficial leader of the team. The words flowed naturally out of her mouth, almost making her forget that Sophia and Kail two were no longer her henchmen.

“Sure thing, boss!”

Kail saluted with a grin and munched on more chocolate. Being called “boss” was as annoying as ever, but it was offset by a wave of nostalgia..

It was just a year ago, back when Erika was the student council president in middle school. Back then, Sophia was the vice-president and Kail was also... kinda there for some reason. He always sorta did his job when pressured, but Erika never understood why he even bothered to be in the student council with his attitude.

“Bye, Sophy.”

“Bye.”

“Ciao, girls~”

Once the team dispersed, Erika pretended to go back home. She circled around the whole school, then walked in the opposite direction; her real destination was Mina’s house.

Erika phoned Mina to ensure she could pay a visit, but the little beastie didn’t pick up. The first image to flash in Erika’s mind was that of a starving kitten, helplessly lying on the floor. The second image was that of a grinning brat, secretly playing VR despite the Vireco. Anything was possible when it came to Mina.

Shortly before reaching her destination, Erika came across a park with a playground. Two boys stood at the entrance and stared into the park in awe.

“Think you can do that cool thing?”

“O-of course! If a girl can do it, then I can too!”

One of the boys puffed his chest and lifted his chin in arrogance.

“My, what are you looking at?”

Erika casually approached the boys and joined their conversation.

“Huh? We’re just... eh, just...”

The brave boy turned pale when he saw a black mountain in front of him. Erika was possibly the tallest human being he ever saw, no doubt rivaling the giraffes in the zoo.

“N-nothing! Let’s go!”

The boy commanded his friend and they both ran away. The development stung Erika’s feelings, but the boys were just innocent brats; their rudeness was forgivable.

My, this is cute.

Erika tilted her head with a smile upon noticing the scene that entranced the boys. A small monkey hanged on metal bars and skipped from bar to bar. Interestingly, the monkey used only one hand to progress; this must have been the amazing stunt that astonished the boys.

Erika’s soul was soothed as she a watched Mina fooling around. Erika felt like a mother spending time with her child on weekend, a feeling which turned the tedious Saturday into a much brighter day.

Mina stopped a few bars away from the end and threw a glance at Erika’s direction. She stayed hanging on the bar for a few seconds, then jumped down and darted toward Erika.

“Hey! Titan!”

“Good job, Mini~”

Erika smiled and tried to pat the kid, but her gestures of affection were dodged. At least Mina didn’t retaliate in any form today; she seeemd to be in high spirits.

The girls went back to Mina’s apartment for another session of God Vessel Online. When they approached the door, Mina casually opened the door... without using a key.

“Mini~ Do you remember we found the key yesterday~?”

“Huh? Oh, sure. It’s right here.”

Mina pointed at the shelf by the door, without expressing any hint of guilt or remorse regarding her forgetfulness. Locking doors was an entirely alien concept for the little beastie.

Erika was too tired to deliver a lecture on the topic after her exhausting morning activity. She was getting hungry too.

“Mini, I’ll invite myself to one of your noodle cups.”

“I have better stuff to eat today. I ordered some pizza, so ya can have a bite.”

Mina darted toward a table like an excited puppy and snatched a pizza box. Her hungry eyes glittered, making Erika feel guilty about sharing the pizza. Nonetheless, Erika was hungry and pizza was a much better deal than instant noodles.

“Mmmmm!!! This is some god level shit! Nom nom nom!”

Mina devoured her pizza slices like a predator. The fat cheese was crushed in her teeth and was sucked into her stomach as if pulled by a black hole.

“Pizza is top tier shit, right Titan?!”

“Eh, sure...”

Erika quietly chewed on her pizza slice, unsure how to react to Mina’s fanaticism. It seemed like pizza was a holy dish for Mina; any offense toward pizza may have resulted in a broken spine for Erika. Gulp.

Thanks to the pizza, Mina was in great mood and didn’t emit the usual hostility. This was a great opportunity to deliver the news about the upcoming dodgeball competition, to which Mina was sneakily signed up.

If Sophia were to make the announcement, it’d probably start out like this:

“You are registered for the dodgeball team. You must fulfil your responsibility as a student and do your best for the team”.

A flawless, 10/10 conversation starter that’d turn MIna into a raging demon. Instead, Erika played it slow and safe.

“Say, Mini. Do you like dodgeball?”

“Huuuh? It’s cool, I guess.”

“We’ll be having a sport tournament in a couple of weeks and we lack members for the dodgeball team. Would you like to join?”

“Sure, sign me up.”

“Eh...? Ah, I mean great!”

Erika was confused. It was way too easy. Suspiciously easy. She was prepared to deal with a tantrum, but Mina accepted the offer without giving it a second thought.

It was way too strange. Perhaps Mina was a demonic sadist who enjoyed firing balls at others. Or, maybe she nodded without even thinking about it, as she was busy performing her holy pizza consumption ritual.

Such paranoia kept haunting Erika all the way to Mina’s room, until it was finally erased when she disconnected from reality.

【God Vessel Online】

【Please wait for your awakening...】