Once the affection level is maxed out, the rivalry begins!

Imagine if a gloomy, introverted friend suddenly became cheerful and outgoing, bringing his guitar case to school and telling you to go home early if you had nothing to do. How would you feel?

Bai Ze is now experiencing a similar sense of dread.

The detective in front of him was showing a sunny smile that she would never normally wear. She even unbuttoned her coat and shirt, draping them over her body like a shawl, and extended her right hand to him with an air of authority.

"Mobile disasters, the gray reaper... everyone is always afraid of me and hates me. Even after joining the association, I'm still treated as a useful event trigger and a dangerous explosive."

She poured out her heart like an actor reciting a monologue.

"What people need are detectives who will be given the name 'Chain of Sins,' doesn't anyone want to see Natsumi Hoshiori?"

The girl covered her eyes with her left hand and angrily stomped on the platform beneath her feet.

"I...actually hate this!"

Is this jealousy?

It doesn't seem like it.

Just as Bai Ze was hesitating, the girl on the stage smiled again.

"Then, you said you were willing to be my assistant and that you weren't afraid of me at all, and that you never blamed me even when you got caught up in the anomalies I caused... I was so happy."

"Uh... thank you?" Bai Ze accepted the compliment uncertainly.

"I felt very early on that as long as there's even just one person who isn't afraid and is willing to stay by my side, I can continue to work hard as a detective!"

Xia Xingzhi pressed her hand to her chest excitedly, "Everyone has them, right? Holmes and Watson! Mitarai Kiyoshi and Ishioka Kazuki!"

"So, you've already made a promise with me, haven't you? To stay by my side forever."

She extended her right hand again. "Come this way, my assistant!"

"I've never heard of an assistant having to shoulder such a heavy responsibility!"

—When exactly did you make that promise to be together forever? This is a crucial scene in any visual novel, requiring a whole page of CG artwork, right? Have I lost my memory?

Bai Ze's reflexive response infuriated the detective on the high platform, who resembled a queen.

"Why, why? Didn't you even tolerate witches and show them no fear whatsoever?!"

The memory of that night vividly resurfaced in my mind.

Could it be... that Xia Xingzhi is jealous of her childhood sweetheart?

The girl leaped down from the high platform, and the almost transparent, colorless flames enveloped her like a feather robe.

Bai Ze wanted to warn her to be careful, but he immediately realized he had worried unnecessarily.

—Because at this moment, the detective girl is undoubtedly greatly enhanced by the fuel of jealousy!

"Everyone else can do it, but not me?!"

Like a meteor falling from the sky, Xia Xingzhi unleashed a fist burning with flames!

boom!

The Fiery Fist crashed into the ground where Bai Ze had been standing, shaking the entire stage, which was about the same size as Qingqiu Girls' High School, and sending waves of rubble surging in all directions!

In an instant, the horizontal plane of the stage almost collapsed downwards!

"Wow, such intense jealousy! She must be suppressing it a lot usually."

Katsura Mai climbed onto the crossbeam above the stage, shading her eyes with her hand as she looked down at the performance.

Seeing such a spectacular battle is truly worth the price of admission, even if it means dying!

"Stop making sarcastic remarks. How can I possibly separate your evil side from her?"

While dodging the attacks, Bai Ze urged her to think of a solution.

He now finds it somewhat tricky.

Even with the added advantage of the evil-faced Moon Fox, defeating the detective girl who is not used to fighting is not difficult.

But it would be difficult to hold back and not kill her.

"I can't help it!"

Katsura Mai spread her hands, "The theft of the Silver Star Sword wasn't a lie. It was a divine weapon that accidentally ended up in my other world. Once my evil side enters this form, the only way to stop it is to continue to let the jealousy of the possessed host swell to its limit, and then separate it with the Silver Star while it's at its strongest!"

In her script, Silver Star is described as a divine weapon that separates evil forces and is said to have been used to fight witches, and that is not a lie.

But now the Silver Star Sword is no longer in their hands!

It was stolen by that sneaky thief!

Besides, how do you make jealousy swell to its limit?

"It's not like I wanted to have this kind of constitution!"

As Xia Xingzhi went berserk, she unleashed seemingly endless transparent flames, shouting, "I want to be human too!"

If she had a choice, she would rather be born as an ordinary person than have the abilities that come with her abnormality.

Like a continuous tactical bombardment, the wide stage was pierced with craters by the flames she threw and the fists she swung. Each attack brought an earthquake-like tremor, making the foundation of the stage teeter on the brink of collapse.

"I'm really happy for my sister when I see her playing guitar in the showroom and happily spending her youth with her friends."

She paused for a moment to regain her strength, as if she were seeing again the scene of going to listen to the band with Bai Ze.

"But deep down, I couldn't help but think—I wish I were the one standing on that stage."

"If I were born as an ordinary person, I would also have an ordinary life, able to make friends and have normal romantic relationships!"

Xia Xingzhi raised her fist, filled with anger and jealousy.

This is the darkness she sealed deep within her heart, stirred up by the fox.

—She actually loved and envied her younger sister.

If this punch lands, the stage created by the other world will collapse.

But just before she was about to launch her attack, the spotlight suddenly went out.

"Idiot, you have no idea how other people feel and you still make wild guesses."

A clear, cold voice came from above.

The lights came back on, illuminating the slender figure standing on the beam.

A white and red fox ear mask covered her cheeks, while the swallowtail slit of her dress revealed her fair shoulders and calves.

"The phantom thief?! What's the phantom thief doing here?!"

Katsura Mai was startled by the phantom thief who appeared beside her and almost fell off the beam.

"To resolve all of this."

The phantom thief and the detective, who had readjusted to the light, locked eyes. The thief then tossed a postcard like a flying card, which landed on the ground in front of Natsumi Hoshino.

"What...?"

The unexpected visitor startled the jealous girl, who instinctively picked up the card.

Thus, the phantom thief's advance notice was successfully delivered.

[To the super gloomy, self-destructive idiot who mistakenly believes that no one wants to overcome difficulties and is with you:]

I will steal the precious thing you recently acquired.

Let your tears flow with jealousy and regret.

And then... I'm sorry.

Miss Phantom Thief gracefully jumped off the crossbeam and landed in front of Bai Ze.

"I have a way to rescue her. Come closer and listen."

As sisters who know each other best, they might actually have a brilliant plan to get out of this predicament.

Bai Ze glanced at Xia Xingzhi, who was under the control of the notice, and moved closer.

The next instant, lips were invaded by a soft touch, and the sweet scent of cherry blossoms poured into the mouth like a waterfall.

"Let me make this clear first, I really hate you."

The girl tiptoed, her hands naturally encircling the back of her neck, and her soft whispers drifted through the slurping sounds of water.

Out of the corner of his eye, the detective, who had pulled his gaze away from the notice, stared blankly at the scene, the postcard in his hand quietly falling to the ground.

The transparent flames enveloping her body expanded to their limit in that instant.