What do we do?
Carlo looked nervously at Mir, the one closest to Xia Ye.
Calm down.
She might not necessarily make us out right now—we only just met her, she shouldn’t be able to tell.
Sak gave him a reassuring look.
Mir: @#%##@#%…%*
Sak & Carlo: ????
Why is this kid’s eye-signaling on a totally different wavelength from ours?
Sak: Anyway, let’s just act natural and stroll on past.
Carlo: Right, I don’t want to leave a bad impression on the new girl.
Mir: @#¥%…¥#!@#%@!#%&*
Xia Ye stared blankly at the three acting so strangely.
She still hadn’t placed where she’d seen the three of them before, but now she was starting to harbor a few suspicions…
Xia Ye hesitated, then tentatively addressed the cool-looking girl in front of her.
“Mir?”
Holy crap!?
Carlo and Sak’s hearts leapt into their throats—this girl’s eyes were way too sharp!
If they hadn’t known in advance, even Carlo and Sak might not have recognized Mir, yet this girl, who’d only met him not long ago, saw through him at a single glance.
Sak looked at Mir.
Quick, come up with some excuse to bluff our way out of this!
Mir gave Sak a relax, I’ve got this look, then turned to Xia Ye.
“That’s right, it’s me.”
The hell you’ve got?!
Carlo and Sak felt like they were going insane—stuck with a pig teammate like this.
“So you’re a girl after all?” Xia Ye wore a look of disbelief.
Why did this guy arrive at the conclusion that I’m a girl?
Does cross-dressing automatically make you one?
“No, even though I’m in women’s clothing, I really am a guy.” Mir answered seriously.
That line successfully flipped Xia Ye’s expression from surprise straight to contempt.
“Never would’ve guessed you had this kind of weird hobby.
Then again, you are a hopeless creep.”
“Now that’s slander,” Mir said, looking gravely at Xia Ye.
“Who decreed that guys can’t wear women’s clothing? When a girl wears men’s clothing it’s called having personality—so why is it that when a guy wears women’s clothing he’s a pervert? By your logic, a girl wearing men’s clothing would be a pervert too, or a girl wearing women’s clothing would be a pervert, so then why do girls wear skirts at all…”
As expected of Mir—effortlessly pulling off what we can’t.
Steamrolling us with logic like that, masterfully done!
The two Cross-dressing Masters looked at Mir in reverence.
But Xia Ye quickly rallied.
“Don’t feed me useless nonsense. Whatever weird hobbies you’ve got are none of my business… Who are these two?”
So that’s how it is!
The loser duo looked at Mir in sudden understanding.
Xia Ye clearly hadn’t recognized the two of them yet, and since Mir—the one Xia Ye knew best—was obviously the easiest to spot, playing dumb here was worse than just outing his own identity and then passing the two of them off as female friends of Mir’s.
As expected of Mir!
Sacrificing himself to shield them!
The loser duo gazed at Mir with respect.
“Them? You’ve met them before—it’s Carlo and Sak.”
Dammit!
We really did overestimate this idiot after all!
The two glared at Mir with murderous eyes.
This kid just sold us out, plain and simple!
“Heh heh.” Xia Ye regarded the three with an indescribable gaze.
“So then—what are you all up to?”
At Xia Ye’s question, Carlo hurriedly looked at Sak.
We can’t let this kid keep talking!
No telling what kind of plot twist will happen otherwise!
Sak: Understood!
Just as the two moved to drag Mir away, they caught Mir’s eye-signal.
@#@#@#¥#@!@#…leave it to me, I won’t tell her our real goal…&&#@!
…Even though they still didn’t fully get it, at least they could pick out a few words.
The two froze in place at the same moment, and it was precisely that freeze that led to an irreversible disaster.
“We’re planning to cross-dress to make money—want to join us?”
Xia Ye: …
Sak: …
Carlo: …
“What the hell are you even saying?!” The two tackled Mir to the ground in unison.
“…I thought you three were just a little mentally warped, but I never imagined…” Xia Ye’s gaze at the trio turned steadily more ominous.
Xia Ye didn’t answer.
She simply took out the communication crystal Mir had bought her when she first arrived in this world, tapped one of the only three contact beacons stored on it, and it connected almost instantly.
“Hello?
Is this Officer Aisha?
It’s Xia Ye from yesterday—I’ve just uncovered some kind of shady operation…”
“Thank goodness, Xia Ye.
This is a little abrupt, but could you bring me some paper?
The thing is…” Aisha shyly aired her predicament.
Xia Ye: …???
“So why exactly are we obediently marching into the police station?” Mir said impatiently, wearing handcuffs.
“Zip it, you. I’d like to know myself why merely cross-dressing counts as a crime.” Carlo, also cuffed, glared at Mir.
“Why did we come here of our own accord? Couldn’t we have just slipped away clean?” Sak felt they were being complete idiots right now.
“And besides, we really didn’t break any law!”
Officer Aisha, her crisis now resolved, walked over in an odd gait, apparently because her legs had gone numb.
“So these three little girls are mixed up in some shady racket, is that it?” Aisha smoothly drew paper and pen from a drawer.
“Not little girls—all three are guys. The one in the red jacket is Mir.” Xia Ye answered, sipping tea brewed at the station.
“Huh?” Aisha’s eyes went wide, feeling it both incredible and somehow inevitable.
“So you’ve finally reached this stage in life, kid?”
Mir felt a little riled, and pointed at Xia Ye.
“How come she gets tea and I don’t? Aren’t I one of your regulars?!”
So that’s what you’re riled about?!
“You’ve got some nerve calling yourself a regular, kid!” Aisha snapped her pen in half and yelled at Mir.
“But I don’t have time to deal with you lot right now. I just took a report—a murder case that looks like it involves a Magic Ritual, waiting for me to handle.” As she spoke, Aisha pulled out a few more sets of handcuffs and shackled them to the desk.
“These cuffs are made of anti-magic stone, so don’t even think about breaking them with Psi-Spirit Energy or magic.”
That done, Aisha armed herself and got ready to head for the crime scene.
Mir tapped the handcuffs with a finger, then, under Aisha’s astonished stare, casually snapped the cuffs apart and taunted her loudly.
“Letting you cuff me was me showing you respect. Normally, do I even need you to invite me into the station?”
The two shackled beside him tried to stop Mir from talking, but failed against his brute strength.
Mir paused, then went on.
“Coming here feels just like coming home. Everyone inside is a real talent, and they all talk so nicely too.”
Aisha didn’t quite catch the latter half of what he said, but she could tell she was being mocked, at least.
Aisha felt herself genuinely starting to steam.
“You’d better stay put right here! I do not have the time to play with a little brat like you right now.”