Episode 52: Moonbow Hermit
And so, on her thirteenth attempt, Manamin-san succeeded in recreating Pretear’s transformation scene using 《Dress Change》.
“Pretear… Opening Ceremony! Flower Barrette!”
“Pweteah, do youw besht~”
Even Shi-chan’s comments were getting pretty half-hearted.
At first, she’d reacted with things like, “Wow, amazing!” or “Natsume-kun, can’t you see her underwear with that?!”
But now, this was how she was.
“A great flower blooming in the night sky! Tear Festival!”
Manamin-san held her finishing pose, unmoving.
“…Was that perfect?”
A moment later, a single tear trickled from Manamin-san’s eye.
Then, she returned to her original clothes.
“—I’m satisfied…” she said, filled with deep emotion.
“Ko-chin…”
“What is it?”
“…Sorry, but could you go get Tamama? I want to apologize for losing my composure.”
☆★☆
The four of us were sitting in a row on the veranda.
Manamin-san said quietly, “…Actually, I made an expensive purchase yesterday.”
“A purchase?”
“Yeah… this.”
Manamin-san took out something like black cloth from the bag she’d brought.
“Is this… a SEEKERS magic robe?”
“Is it a brand-name item for Explorers? Otama-chan, you know a lot.”
“Well, you know, I work at the Explorer Association in Eeyon. There’s also an Explorer shop in the outlet mall nearby, so I look at them sometimes.”
The Sano Millennium Outlet, huh.
“Hmm… I’d like to go with you sometime.”
Now that I had some money, I’d been thinking I wanted to get some good equipment too.
It’s embarrassing, but I’m kind of scared to go into expensive shops by myself.
“Eh, eh? Me and Ko-chan, together?!”
“Yeah. If you don’t want to, it’s fine, but…”
“I don’t mind! I don’t mind at all! I’ll go! I’ll definitely go!”
“Oh, okay. Thanks.”
“Eheheh…”
“…?”
For some reason, Otama-chan seemed happier about it than I was.
“…Hey, Tamama.”
Manamin-san said in a reproachful voice.
“Ah, s-sorry.”
“My bad, Manamin-san. I guess I hijacked your story. Please continue.”
“Manamin-san, this thing of yours… it’s the one that costs around 300,000 yen, right?”
Otama-chan pointed at the magic robe Manamin-san had brought.
“…That’s right. With this gold circlet, it’s 350,000 yen. Thanks to this, I’ll be living on bean sprout pasta for a while.”
“That’s quite an expensive purchase.”
Though I, who bought a car in cash on the spot, was probably the last person she wanted to hear that from.
“Manamin-san, could you use magic?”
To Otama-chan’s question, Manamin-san replied.
“…If things go well, yeah. That’s right. There was something I kept secret from Tamama before.”
“Was there something like that?”
“Yeah, my blog account name.”
Come to think of it, Manamin-san had mentioned before that her main job was being a blogger.
“I’ll tell you now since we’re at it. My blog account name is ‘Moonbow Hermit.’ I’m an active A-rank Explorer.”
“Eh? Eh? But, Manamin-san is…”
“Isn’t that falsifying your background…”
She was running a pretty shady business.
“Well, that’s true… But what if I could actually do it?”
“Ah… the 【Transformation Craving】 skill, huh.”
The mysterious skill Manamin-san possessed even before she reunited with me.
“Heh heh, that’s right. I always write my articles while fully embodying the persona. In terms of 【Transformation Craving】, I have a track record. Explorer name: Moonbow Hermit. Skills are attack-focused 【Light Magic】 and support-focused 【Dark Magic】. I don’t do close combat, but I handle enemies with 【Aikijutsu】 and 【Evasion Ability】. My beloved items are purchased from SEEKERS, and of course, I have affiliate links for them.”
“Manamin-san, did you come up with all that? Didn’t you feel empty?”
“Eeeh, Moonbow Hermit-san is Manamin-san…? There are people in the government who use her as a reference…”
“Her role-playing level seems pretty high…”
“Yeah. So, let me try. And pray for me. If I don’t hit the jackpot with the candy either, and the 350,000 yen goes to waste, I won’t be able to recover.”
“Got it! Go for it, Manamin-san!”
Otama-chan cheered irresponsibly.
“Alright, let’s give it a shot…”
☆★☆
After putting the black robes into her 【Magical Closet】, Manamin-san appeared before us in her usual clothes.
According to Manamin-san, simply wearing the clothes wouldn’t activate the 【Transformation Craving】 skill; it seems she needs to embody the character from the bottom of her heart.
It’s a little off-putting to think she was that into Pretear, but…
“It is benevolence, and also madness. A merciless ruler of the night, one who governs light and darkness…”
“Why is Manamin-san muttering to herself?”
“Is it self-hypnosis, maybe…?”
“This is starting to get kind of embarrassing…”
“The seven-colored trajectory piercing the dark night… This, is my authority…”
“Oh…”
Manamin-san’s clothes were glowing white.
It was the precursor to 《Dress Change》.
Is her incomprehensible chanting finally over?
“Behold! I am the Moonbow Hermit! The shadow ruler who governs the world from behind the scenes!”
“Oh!”
At that moment, Manamin-san’s clothes switched to those expensive black ones.
On her head was the 50,000 yen gold circlet.
“Did it work…?”
“Ko-chan… Manamin-san has quite the aura, doesn’t she?”
“Manamin-san, I wonder if she’s okay…?”
Then, Manamin-san turned to me and said.
“—Natsume. Behold.”
“Ah, yes.”
So this is her character.
I just beheld her a moment ago, though.
“This is my power… the primordial chaos of creation!”
“Eh…?!”
At that instant, a ball of light formed in Manamin-san’s right hand, and a ball of darkness in her left.
“Seriously…?!”
Amazing…!
I’d heard that Explorers who could use two attributes in a balanced way were extremely rare.
Only the true top-tier could do it.
“Manamin-san, show me your status!”
“Manamin…? Who is that? I am the Moonbow Hermit…”
…Ugh, this is a pain again.
Then, Otama-chan came forward from behind.
“Ko-chan, leave this to me. …Hey, hey, Harmin-sama. I want to know Harmin-sama’s strength. Please show me your status!”
A mysterious nickname, Harmin-sama, had been born.
Is that really going to work?
Then, Harmin-sama said.
“A commendable spirit. Behold. Status Open!”
“So that’s all it took…”
The three of us peered at Harmin-sama’s status.
Moonbow Hermit (Miyanohara Manami)
Level: 32 (Pre-correction: 10)
Experience: 103/331
HP: 206
MP: 265/270
Attack: 51
Defense: 130
Speed: 70
Wisdom: 201
Skills: 【Transformation Craving】, 【Magical Closet】, 【Light Magic】, 【Dark Magic】, 【Aikijutsu】, 【Evasion Ability】
Special Moves: Dress Change, Ray, Holy Lance, Supernova, Prism Blade, Black Veil, Shadow Hands, Corruption, Curse Swamp, Nighthawk, Unique: Lucifer Moonbow
“She’s strong…!”
Her stats are skewed, but isn’t she excellent as a rear-guard?
“Eeeh?! Her level is higher than mine now!”
“That’s amazing… Manamin-san!”
Then, Harmin-sama said.
“I thank you, Natsume…”
“M-Me?”
“Without the 《Dress Change》 you bestowed upon me, it would have been difficult for me to become myself… All that remains is for me to heighten my self-image.”
“Shi-chan, what does that mean?”
“Hmm… I guess it means that just changing clothes wouldn’t have allowed her to get into character this deeply. You know, like when you’re fastening buttons, you kind of snap back to reality…”
“As expected of you, Shi. Astute.”
“So I’m Shi now…”
“Natsume, I shall give you a reward. However, as I have no money, all I can offer is this body of mine… Will a tongue kiss suffice?”
“A tongue kiss…? You mean a French kiss?! N-No way, Ko-chan!”
“Receive it, Natsume.”
“K-Ko-chan, no! Ah, what’s this?! Black hands are reaching out from the ground! No, I can’t move! Ko-chan, don’t worry about me, run!”
“H-Hey.”
“No! Ko-chan is going to the outlet with me! Ko-chan, hide!”
“Natsume-kun, step away for a bit. I’ll calm her down.”
“O-Oh…”
And so, without really understanding what was happening, I ended up moving away from the scene.