Cat Nap

"We might be able to collect all the ingredients for a transformation reversal tonic before the end of the week," said Orenji. "But we will likely need the help of the other club members, or someone else."

"You are lucky," said Aoi. "Most of them should show up to a club meeting later today."

"If I was lucky, I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place," I protested. "So, what am I supposed to do until they arrive? Wait here?"

Orenji picked up a pair of glasses and handed them to me.

"What are those?"

"Our one and only 'Babel Binoculars,'" said Orenji. "There are still some issues to fix, but they should allow the user to understand any coherent language... probably. At least as long as it's meaningful and not just random gibberish. Patent Pending."

"What am I supposed to do with those?"

"You think those tomes around here are just for show?" said Aoi. "This is one of the largest collections of summoned scriptures on the whole campus. I am certain you will find something of interest."

She pointed to an upper shelf. "I'd personally recommend these beauties."

I picked a book from the shelf she pointed at and began to skip through the pages.

Wait, is this pretty character with the long hair supposed to be a guy?

Yep, seems so.

But what is he doing to this other guy?

Don't tell me they are?

My god.

They are.

They really are.

Oh my god.

My face turned red and I became lightheaded.

Seconds later, I passed out from a severe nosebleed on top of my already weakened state.

---

I awoke to someone or something doing god knows what to my head and ears.

My ears twitched, and I was slowly coming back to my senses.

"Lewd," was the first thing I heard from a tall girl with red hair and black eyes standing near the entrance to the clubroom.

"Who of you was doing whatever that was to my ears just now!?" I complained.

"It was Aoi this entire time," said an unknown guy with long purple hair and red eyes.

"Murasakino, why would you betray me?" Aoi protested.

"'I’ve never betrayed anyone in my entire life!'" said Murasakino.

"What are you talking about? You just did, and everyone here is my witness," said Aoi. "Why did you even come here today? I thought you had other business!?"

"'I came here to laugh at you,'" said Murasakino.

"Oh, is that so?" asked Aoi. "You know, I wanted to make things easier on you, but you leave me no choice, let's see who's got the last laugh."

Aoi opened a drawer and retrieved a white cloth bundle from it.

She proceeded to unfold it on the table in the center of the room.

To my shock, I recognized it as the undefinable object I accidentally stepped on earlier.

"No!" Murasakino stared at it in disbelief. "My 'Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon' is in shambles! Why? Why? It was too new to be trashed! Damn you, damn you all! What have you done to my baby!?"

"Relax, it's just a toy," said the tall girl with red hair.

"Eh... Aka, there is something you should know too..." Aoi reached into the drawer again and pulled out the bloodstained tome I read earlier.

"You heretics!" Aka cried out. "What have you done to my Holy Scripture?!"

---

"As you'll see we have an excellent collection of all sorts of artifacts," said a voice coming from the corridor outside. "And our members, although somewhat quirky at times, are all good people at heart. I think you'll feel right at home in our club."

Then two people, a male freshman with short green hair and black eyes, and a female senior with long blonde hair and gray eyes, arrived at the door of the clubroom.

They were greeted by me, a cat-girl, sitting on a couch, Murasakino, sobbing, while holding onto the remains of his Cannon figurine, and Aka, crying over the desecration of her Holy Scripture.

The female senior stared into the clubroom in disbelief. "'Good Lord, what is happening in here?'"

---

The female senior, who introduced herself to me as Kiiro, the club president, after a series of sighs and facepalms, introduced the male freshman as Midoriya, who was the newly recruited club member mentioned to me earlier.

The tension in the room lifted slightly after Orenji and Aoi explained the series of misfortunes that led to the current state of events.

Midoriya took a while to settle down, but he too seemed to relax after a while.

---

"Shirona, I am sorry for dragging you into Orenji's little prank," apologized Kiiro. "We, the members of 'The Society for the Study of Otherworldly Visual Culture,' will do our utmost to turn you back to normal as soon as possible. I swear by my honor as club president."

"That would be nice," I said. "I actually have some business with the Botany Club that I'd like to get done with, but I don't want to do it in this form. These last three days were pretty bad overall, so I guess it can only go up from here."

"Just cheer up and remember that 'you can have bad days, so you can love the good days even more.' We'll fix you up as soon as possible," said Kiiro while patting me on the back.

"So, Orenji, what do we need to turn her back?" Kiiro asked.

Orenji hesitated for a second. "The list isn't that long... probably," he stuttered. "Some Minor Herbs. The Root of a Mandrake. A King Toadstool. A Vial of a Vampire Bat's Blood. And finally, the Horn of a Lesser Dragon."

"Most of that sounds reasonable," said Murasakino, "but Vampire Bats usually live in caves and in large groups, and a Lesser Dragon is not to be underestimated."

"I don't believe I am strong enough to face a Dragon..." said Aoi, "... even if it is only a Lesser one."