NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 32: Exhibitionist?
The girl followed the instructions on the jade token and arrived at the training grounds within the shrine.
"Hello, are you here to use the training grounds? Please show your identification."
"…"
The girl handed the jade token to the staff at the counter. The moment the staff saw it, a look of terror crossed their face, but years of experience allowed them to quickly compose themselves.
"Alright, it's been verified. Just enter through this door and choose an unlocked room."
"…"
The girl nodded slightly and then walked through the door.
Beyond the door was a corridor lined with doors spaced at intervals on both sides, most of which were locked. It wasn't until she reached the very end of the corridor that she finally found an unlocked room.
Pushing the door open, she found that the room's walls, floor, and ceiling were constructed from numerous gray square tiles. Other than that, the room was empty.
Bang!
Suddenly, the door closed automatically behind her.
Almost simultaneously, the six sides of the room began to shift, transforming from gray into a scene beneath a large tree.
Across from her stood a young girl with an unseen face.
She wore a red skirt that barely covered half of her thighs, white socks reaching her ankles, wooden sandals, and exposed a lot of skin on her legs. Her upper body was dressed in a red and white shoulder-baring shrine maiden outfit with loose sleeves.
Combined with her distinctive pink hair and fox ears, the girl could tell immediately, even without seeing her face, that this person was definitely related to Misako.
Rustle.
A breeze stirred the leaves of the large tree above, causing them to rustle. At the same time, the girl resembling Misako raised her hand and snapped her fingers.
A ball of blue flame appeared and swiftly surged towards the girl.
‘…I see, a simulation…’
Although this wasn’t real, it felt all too genuine.
After checking her status with the 'Information' spell during her last visit, she had discovered a skill called 'Illusionary Dream Domain,' which allowed her to perceive such abilities.
The scene transition and the person in front of her gave away some subtle hints about the simulation.
Despite it not being real, the attacks she faced were genuine, and they could inflict real damage.
She evaded the blue flame and quickly defended against a subsequent lightning strike.
Unlike before, this time she chose to block it.
A pale blue barrier appeared between her and the lightning, which was deflected and split into multiple branches upon contact with the barrier.
Through her recent trial, she realized that she and her opponent were on the same level, lacking the overwhelming power of the real Misako.
The simulated Misako realized that such attacks couldn’t breach the barrier and canceled the lightning, only to find that the barrier was now empty.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, the fluffy pink fox ears perked up, and she leaped to the side.
Bang!!
A crater formed in her previous position, the impact causing the soft grass to be thrown up, with the girl now at the center of the crater.
Before she could get up, the simulated Misako summoned a more powerful flame that surged towards her, the heat causing even the light around the flame to distort.
However, for the girl, who had enhanced her already powerful physical abilities with magical reinforcement, such flames were no threat.
In a mere moment, she was again above the simulated Misako.
Adjusting her posture in mid-air, she instinctively created a magical platform to land on and, using the momentum, executed a downward kick.
The simulated Misako turned rapidly to face upward and generated a water shield at the fastest speed possible.
But this time, it was too late. The water shield was instantly shattered by the girl’s strike, and the simulated Misako was dispersed into mist, then completely vanished.
‘…I’m starting to get the hang of it again.’
Even though her combat style had almost become second nature, she still occasionally forgot things. Facing enemies who could exploit her combat style, relying solely on instinct could be a disadvantage.
The girl looked around, initially not noticing the scene’s beauty. Despite the craters left by the recent battle, the soft grass and the gentle sunlight filtering through the leaves created a pleasant atmosphere. It even made her think, ‘Maybe I should just take a nap here.’
‘But surely this isn’t the end?’
The enemy here was simulated, and given Misako’s previous demeanor, it wouldn’t be just this level of challenge.
Sure enough, a mist appeared nearby and gradually took the form of Misako, though…
“Is she a bit slow…?”
“...You’re one to talk!”
In a secret room within the shrine's shrine maiden quarters, a small loli was sitting with her legs hugged to her chest. Around her were numerous magical screens, one of which displayed the simulation of her and the girl.
“Who knew she wasn’t wearing underwear! …No, I don’t think I actually gave her any…”
In the training grounds, the simulations were powered by Misako’s own magic. Especially for the girl’s room, it was directly controlled by Misako, and the simulation shared the same visual field as the real Misako.
Thus, when the girl executed the downward kick, the unshielded view was fully exposed.
Moreover, as the girl had passed through the water shield, her skirt had become damp, making the originally white and somewhat thin fabric transparent. Her delicate areas were now faintly visible.
Even though they had been to a hot spring together, seeing her like this without any preparation still made Misako flustered.
‘No, calm down Misako… You’re an adult now… There’s no need to panic over something like this…’
“...Forget it, I’ll switch to self-discipline mode!”
Misako said, cutting off the shared visual feed with the simulation.
She wasn’t embarrassed, having lived so long and bullied so many juniors. She had seen her fair share of such things.
The evidence was the explicit content currently playing on a nearby screen; she was well capable of watching such things at work without being affected, the so-called 'duo mom'!
But… the girl’s blatant display was so shocking it stirred her own sense of shame… Yes, that must be it!
Misako pushed the battle scenes of the simulated self and the ‘exhibitionist’ girl aside, deciding to refrain from further interference.
