Chapter 1193: NO. 97: Silence is Only this morning

NO. 97: Silence is Only this morning

"Guinea Pig, lots of people are watching you, okay~"

"Same to you, I think Miss Suzi also has considerable fame."

This fame isn't limited to the arena.

Usually, those who come to the Only exhibition are fans of a specific field.

Either they're newcomers who just got into it and are still in the excited, fresh stage, or they're veteran fans with deeper understanding.

For the latter, information about a certain 'mad scientist' from Central Teslen is easy to come by, let alone that this 'mad scientist' has recently started to show promise in competitions.

"Hah, compared to the stares in the arena, these are far off—hey, Guinea Pig, aren't you being cheeky? Everyone here are horse-girl fans who follow the forums, okay?"

"Then, Miss Suzi, what advice do you have?"

"How about dressing up? Coincidentally, there are plenty of cosplayers here."

"I think Miss Suzi might not understand the Only exhibition; at a fan‑con limited to a specific field, any cosplay outside that field counts as a provocation."

"I know, it's fine—we actually have a suitable set prepared!"

"We?"

"Hearing that, I couldn't help but startle and turn back; Aomo glanced at the team already beginning to split formation, setting aside Mann and Rebecca who probably just wanted to wander off—among the remaining few, the most suspicious reaction was clearly from Qian and Chazuo, whom I'd spent every day with."

"But never mind Qian—why is Chazuo meddling in this kind of trap segment?"

"Aomo sank into the worry that his thoughtful jacket might turn into a thoughtful iron board: '…May I ask, your suggestion is for a trainer rather than a horse girl, right?'"

"Eh, don't worry about this small thing—I actually learned through a bit of intel help that you, Guinea Pig, once logged into the Zhouri Ningjing dream account, right?"

"A little bit of intel help?"

"Being able to pull the confidential commission items from the agency logs—this can't be called a little bit, can it?"

"Aomo, whose reaction wasn't slow at all, immediately looked toward Xintiao Qian, who was calling out in a certain direction: 'Xiaolu, look over there!'"

"'Huh? Uh…' Asakura, who felt no particular connection with the speaker, was startled by the sudden affectionate use of his name, then became cautious."

"He had still been marveling at the astonishing words of Aomo's subordinate Ailisang, when suddenly Aomo's girlfriend called him by name."

"Asakura had never seen such a scene; his instinctive reaction was even to scoot closer to Aomo."

"However, Aomo didn't have the leisure to lend a hand to the temporarily shield‑bearing Xiaolu."

"He forced a smile and asked Suzi: 'And then?'"

"I haven't really turned into that guy—if I had, she'd have popped out right now to silence everyone."

"Clothing? It's written in the records, so this is it!"

"At last she unrolled the Yan kingdom's map, then pulled from her satchel a pair of pants whose style could still be seen in the gold‑thread pattern even if folded neatly."

"From Aomo's current viewpoint, he could even make out the outlines of some wigs."

"Nice modification!"

"I think this just needs a cognition‑hindering barrier to be solved."

"There's an anti‑magic device here, right, Guinea Pig?"

"I thought Miss Suzi would have zero interest in this."

"I'll definitely get a full grasp of the lab equipment status!"

"'Lab…' he gave a dry laugh, then turned to look at the crowd still staring over there; Aomo's fingers rested on the barely‑maintaining sound barrier, hesitant, then he looked back at Chazuo, whose gaze was rarely timid yet held a hint of expectation."

"He turned back again, looking at Suzi's right hand still hanging in midair, clutching a set of clothes."

"'…Alright.' He raised his hand, and Ailisuzhi promptly flung the whole satchel into his grasp."

"Everything's inside—go give it a try, Guinea~pig~guy~"

"The gentle‑toned horse‑girl in charge, the red light seemed to ooze malice from beneath the blinds."

"Meanwhile, the girl with her head down, bangs covering most of her face, barely squeezed out a whisper from her throat: '…Trainer… we're waiting for you.'"

"Mm‑hmm, little snake, come out quickly!"

"?"

"Just moments ago she was putting on an act, but here she suddenly greeted with a bright smile, making Aomo's cheek twitch—he almost laughed."

"Really hard to keep a straight face, huh—the first two reactions had built a slightly heavy atmosphere, but with her it collapsed; it wasn't laughter, it wasn't anger, after two seconds of silence he still slung the satchel over his shoulder."

"I'm off to the restroom."

"Hehehe~"

"Please don't laugh so evilly, Miss Suzi."

"Crossing the barely‑holding sound barrier, Aomo couldn't help but speak up, sighing: 'Please still watch your image going forward.'"

"After all, from then on Aomo Lindun, whose reputation was so tangled that image didn't matter anymore, vanished."

"In his place, a few minutes later a black‑haired 'horse girl' stepped out of the men's restroom entrance—wearing a windbreaker and long pants but with horse ears on her head and a tail at her waist, causing passing male visitors to instinctively freeze."

"Or one could also call it Zhouri Ningjing (?)."

"The difference is that, unlike the original whose eye color matched Chazuo's too closely, this one has dark‑red eyes with black pupils that look a bit inhuman."

"No impatience, no ferocity—just sharpness and indifference."

"'Could you move aside, sir?'"

"'Uh… oh oh…'"

"The visitor standing before him reacted instinctively, surprised by the voice that seemed to mix a deep baritone with an unfathomable neutral tone."

"Thus the visitor's gaze also unconsciously searched for electronic gear altering the sound on his person, but could only see a slender black silhouette and, above his head, a slightly contrasting white arc that swayed back and forth."

"That's a cowlick, clashing with that otherwise smooth, pure black hair."

"'Whoa! Even more effective than I expected, Guinea Pig.' Ailisuzhi's eyes lit up."

"'…Trainer?' Mancheng Chazuo stared wide‑eyed in disbelief, gazing at Aomo, who seemed like a friend from an entirely different path."

"Brother, does this count as cross-dressing? Probably?" And if that's the case, it can only be Bi Ze: "By the way, can this tail move? I heard nowadays cosplay props can directly connect to nerves."

"……" Aomo didn't really want to bother with him.

But there was also an equally excited young man beside him.

"O… Mo-san? Is it really Mo-san!?"

Chao Cang Lu, who seemed somewhat dazed, snapped back to attention and immediately ran over with clenched fists: "I really can't recognize you at all!"

"No way, the eyes are too obvious—why isn't the little snake using colored contacts?" Xi, who had flung herself onto Aomo from behind, reached up and grabbed his long hair, then sniffed it: "The realism is indeed high; the sprayed perfume is working too."

"I didn't want to bring it, lest I suddenly get a string of nasty messages from Zhouri Ningjing," Aomo said irritably, then reached out to grab the flash from Suzi's hand: "Don't take photos, what are you doing?"

"Excuse me, may I take a photo with you, sis?"

"……" xN

For a moment, everyone turned to look, including Aomo, gazing at the brown-haired girl whose outfit was somewhere between trendy and rustic, with a badge-laden pouch slung at her waist.

"Um… I said something weird… I know it's rather forward…"

The girl who, in Aomo's memory, was a rising star of the middle school's muddy field, generally not good at facing everyone's gaze here, had already been about to back out from speaking up when she suddenly heard a sentence that diverted all attention onto her.

"Because before you, I also wanted to take a photo with that sister, but I can't cut in line~"

"……"

"Ka Lian?"

In Aomo's silence, and also as Aizhi struggled to keep up, amid the doubtful greeting of the gray-haired girl who had just come running, she smiled and said, her smile blooming like a flower.

"It's Ka Lian~"

However, the scene that changed in an instant still had another shift.

"Huh? Chazuo, Suzi, Zhi Ji and Ji Ling, classmates? And also… Chuang Sheng, classmate, and Instructor Chao Cang?"

"What a coincidence, I suppose you must be Miss Xin Tiao?"

At the moment when someone's silhouette grew even more rigid, the young woman who looked like a human female except for her three‑colored hair greeted this way in surprise.

Although the appearance was unremarkable, the voice and way of speaking, which had hardly changed, already let several people including Suzi and Chazuo react.

"Is the Aomo trainer here? S. S, you change beauty……"

Before the woman could finish speaking, the moment her gaze landed she paused, and then her eyes were filled with astonishment.

Just like that, the entire scene fell into a brief silence.