"You..."
"Did I do something wrong? You didn't even give me the respect I deserve."
The butler, clutching her bleeding stomach, collapsed. Rinji squatted down and patted her cheek with a smile.
"Oops, my bad. That probably hurt."
"You... who are you really..."
She had served the Shinomiya family for years. Though the person in front of her looked exactly like Kaguya, she was certain it wasn't her.
At least, not the same person she knew.
Kaguya often wore a cold mask, but it was just that—a mask hiding her fragile heart.
But the person in front of her...
From her expression to her gaze to her actions, everything oozed cruelty from the core.
"Ah… by the way, the folks from the main house who came to Tokyo have been mysteriously disappearing. You're from the main house too, right? If you suddenly vanish, that'd be totally normal, wouldn't it?"
"Wha—"
Before she could finish, Rinji grabbed her hair and slammed her head into the wall.
Thud!!
A muffled crash, and a blood smear appeared on the wall.
The butler, her head bleeding, collapsed. Her condition unknown.
Rinji didn't even check if she was alive. He reached into her pocket and took her phone.
"Locked... fingerprint required? Huh?"
"Young Lady, what are you doing!?"
"..."
Rinji sighed and turned around to see an older man in a suit with a monocle standing behind him.
"Honestly, I don't have time to deal with every useless piece of trash in this house."
He walked toward the man.
"Do me a favor, will you? Pretend you didn't see anything."
"Young Lady..."
This man was one of the bodyguards at the Shinomiya estate—definitely not someone weak.
But even he noticed the eerie, dangerous aura now surrounding 'Kaguya'. It was completely different from before.
As Rinji drew closer, the bodyguard realized cold sweat was dripping down his forehead.
Rinji smiled faintly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You've figured it out already, haven't you? You know what happens if you go against me."
"..."
"Could you move aside? If you cooperate, I'll be really happy."
"...I'm sorry, Young Lady. But I have to—"
Spurt!!
Before he could finish, blood sprayed from his mouth.
Rinji's hand was pressed against his chest. Somehow, he had struck without warning.
As the man's consciousness faded, the last thing he saw was the cold, emotionless eyes of 'Kaguya'—looking at him like he was trash.
"Tch. Dealing with these two is such a pain. Maybe I should just—"
...
And so, Rinji casually strolled out of the Shinomiya residence.
He pulled out the butler's phone from his pocket, then took out a small cloth pouch.
He opened the cloth pouch. Inside was a severed finger.
Using the finger, he unlocked the phone with fingerprint recognition. Rinji dialed Hayasaka's number.
"So Shinomiya really is using my body right now? Just wait, I'm coming over."
"Mhm, but keep things quiet. Karura and the others are still sleeping," Hayasaka said over the phone. "Assassins are highly alert—I'm worried the noise might wake them."
"Don't worry, the soundproofing in my place is actually pretty good."
---
"Hey! Don't smoke using my body!!"
"Kaguya-sama, please keep your voice down."
"But this guy…"
Puff~
At the dining table, Hayasaka sat in the middle with a complicated expression. On one side was the anxious "Rinji," and on the other, the calm, cigarette-smoking "Kaguya."
It was a strange scene.
"Kaguya," or rather Rinji in Kaguya's body, flicked the cigarette ash into the tray and gave a sideways glance at Kaguya, who was using his body.
"Any idea how this happened?"
"How would I know…? One minute I was peacefully asleep, and the next I woke up in a cramped room—and as a guy!"
"Well, I suddenly became a girl too. So we have to fix this ASAP."
Rinji sighed.
Today's events were beyond bizarre.
He wasn't sure when it all began, but somehow he'd gradually become entangled with supernatural phenomena. It probably started after he met Hina.
"Oh right, Rinji, I remember you had a certain… habit?" Hayasaka asked.
"Hm?"
"I remember when you wore women's clothing, your personality would change into a girl's," she said hesitantly. "But now your entire body is female, yet your personality hasn't changed at all."
"Yeah! Rinji-kun, did you finally overcome that issue?" Kaguya asked curiously.
"Not really. I'm not wearing women's clothes right now," Rinji replied. "As for why I haven't mentally changed even though my body is female, I have Shinomiya to thank for that."
"Huh? Me?"
"Yeah. Every time I look down at my flat chest, I remember I'm still a man," Rinji said seriously.
"..."
Kaguya now desperately wanted to slap "herself" in front of her.
But after a moment's thought, she realized that would mean slapping her own body. What if something went wrong?
"By the way, Shinomiya, you really need to work out more. When I went out, your butler tried to stop me. Normally I could've taken them down easily, but I had to rely on a sneak attack this time."
"I don't even know how your monster of a body got built. You look skinny but you're absurdly strong."
After a brief silence, Rinji spoke again.
"Right now, the main issue is figuring out how to switch our bodies back. I have no clue how to do that. But my old man's still in Japan—maybe he can help… By the way, Shinomiya, are you free tomorrow morning?"
"Of course not! I'm going on a date with the President!"
Kaguya shouted and slumped over the table.
"What am I supposed to do like this? Do I have to go on a date with the President in a guy's body…? No way!!"
"I've got a date with Ai tomorrow too! You want me to go looking like your gloomy face?"