Little Black Rabbit, who had been so timid just a moment ago, exploded with ten times the fury the instant she heard the name "Black Rabbit-Eating Grass."
Whipping out a paper fan from who-knows-where, she smacked Kasukabe Yō right on the head.
"You're joking, right? You must be joking with me, Black Rabbit! Didn't I already eradicate that evil plant, root and stem, with my Sun-Scorching Fire?"
Seeing Little Black Rabbit's wide-eyed, accusatory glare, Pest wasn't frightened. Instead, she marveled aloud.
"So Black Rabbit-Eating Grass actually exists—ah!"
Though she wasn't sure what kind of plant it was, judging by the name and Little Black Rabbit's reaction, she could guess it was something specifically meant to torment her.
"No! It's not! It doesn't exist!"
Little Black Rabbit grew frantic at Pest's remark.
After a rapid-fire triple denial, she turned back to the expressionless girl, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Miss Yō, I'm giving you one last chance. If you help Lady Shiroyasha hide this from me, I won't cover for you in front of Lady Canary later!"
"A mere Black Rabbit dares to threaten me…"
Kasukabe Yō smirked contemptuously at the bunny-eared loli's outburst.
Her expression showed no trace of respect for the girl who had raised her.
But as Little Black Rabbit's aura intensified and she actually began to summon her Sun-Scorching Armor, the girl instantly backed down.
"Hey, no need to get so serious, right? Okay, okay, don't be mad, Black Rabbit. I was just making it up! Lady Shiroyasha did want to restart the Black Rabbit-Eating Grass cultivation project, but Little Brother Homura turned it down. He said he didn't want you to destroy his entire lab."
Hearing this, Little Black Rabbit finally let out a sigh of relief, the Sun-Scorching Armor fading away. But a pout remained on her childish face.
"That idiot Lady Shiroyasha!"
"Anyway, just calm down for now, Black Rabbit."
Kasukabe Yō let go of Little Black Rabbit's ears, then looked at Pest on the ground. She casually sat down beside her, hugging her knees, and offered a greeting.
"Hello. We've met before. I'm Kasukabe Yō."
Though her tone was flat, her calm demeanor put Pest slightly at ease.
"Hello, I'm Pest."
After the greeting, Pest looked at Kasukabe Yō with curiosity.
Compared to the other freaks, Kasukabe Yō was the least intimidating of the Problem Children she had met.
When they'd first crossed paths, Yō had been sunbathing with capybaras in the ecology park. While she seemed quiet and not much of a talker, she hadn't displayed any overly extraordinary traits.
A normal person was a true rarity in this place.
With that in mind, Pest set aside her previous concerns about combat strength and asked out of curiosity.
"Miss Kasukabe Yō, according to what Black Rabbit said just now, you were all raised by her here?"
"Black Rabbit?"
Yō glanced at the bunny-eared loli beside her in surprise, then thought back for a few seconds.
"I hate to admit it, but I guess that's true."
"Why do you hate to admit it?!"
Little Black Rabbit, having reverted to her meek self, protested from the side, but both Pest and Kasukabe Yō instinctively ignored her.
"So it's really true."
Pest shot a surprised look at Little Black Rabbit, never imagining this little girl was actually older than her.
"But if that's the case, shouldn't you all respect her as an elder, like she said? What I'm seeing is a little different."
The Kudō sisters' attitude toward Black Rabbit was decent enough, but it was more like they were good friends, not respectful juniors.
The Saigō brothers were just perfunctory with her, basically treating her like the child she appeared to be.
Although they all held Black Rabbit in high regard, there was a clear lack of respect.
Hearing Pest's observation, Little Black Rabbit puffed out her cheeks and nodded vigorously.
"Exactly! I've felt something was wrong for a long time now! I'm the elder here! When you were little, you all called me Big Sis Black Rabbit. How come you all got more and more disobedient as you grew up, and now you don't even show me basic respect?!"
She had long been dissatisfied with this upside-down state of affairs. Now, with Pest's observation as backup, she, Little Black Rabbit, was going to stamp out this improper trend once and for all!
Seeing Little Black Rabbit clench her fists, full of fighting spirit, Kasukabe Yō scratched her cheek, looking troubled.
"If I have to say, there are a lot of reasons. Teacher Canary was mainly in charge of our academic lessons. As for our other talents, whether it was combat or research, we were guided by other teachers. You might have 'raised' us, Black Rabbit, but you were really just a playmate at most. A big sister next door, maybe, but that doesn't rise to the level of an elder."
She said this with complete sincerity.
"Okay, I guess I really didn't teach you all much…"
Even Black Rabbit had to admit that she hadn't really fulfilled the duties of an elder.
Even the times she helped them cover up their troublemaking were just things a big sister next door would do.
But—
"Even so, you don't even respect me as much as you would a big sister next door, do you?" Black Rabbit pressed.
A big sister next door would at least be taken seriously. She, on the other hand, was constantly teased by these Problem Children. It was obvious they treated her like a mascot.
"I can't really argue with that."
Looking at Little Black Rabbit's cute, pouting face as she waited for an answer, Kasukabe Yō shook her head and threw up her hands.
"Maybe you just lack the qualities that command respect… I mean, look, we're even respectful to the uncles in the engineering department. It's just you we can't bring ourselves to respect."
"…Huh? I lack the qualities to be respected?"
Black Rabbit's eyes went wide in shock as she leaned back tactically.
"You're only just realizing that now?" Kasukabe Yō blinked and retorted.
"You have the power to wipe the floor with all of us, yet you're treated like a mascot. The problem is clearly with you!"
"Guh… I can't even argue with that!"
The bunny-eared loli hung her head, utterly defeated.
So, it was her own fault she wasn't respected?
Seeing her dejected state, Kasukabe Yō patted her on the back comfortingly.
"It's okay, Black Rabbit. People aren't born winning respect. As long as you can overcome your weaknesses and show the will to strive forward, I believe that one day, you'll be just like Teacher Canary and win all of our respect!"
"Miss Yō…"
Hearing such warm words of comfort, Black Rabbit lifted her head and looked at the girl before her, deeply moved.
In this moment of sisterly affection, Kasukabe Yō looked gently at her loli big sister, patting her on the head as she spoke in an encouraging tone.
"The best way to overcome a difficulty is to face it head-on. Your biggest weakness is the Black Rabbit-Eating Grass, so you could consider accepting Lady Shiroyasha's proposal and face the Black Rabbit-Eating—"
"I will never face that thing!"
With her true intentions revealed, Little Black Rabbit instantly caught on.
"I'd rather never be respected and be Master Su Mo's maid forever than let that evil thing be born into this world!"
"To think that was your ultimate goal! I was such an idiot to be moved by you, Miss Yō!"
Black Rabbit glared at her, looking like she might summon the Spear of Indra at any moment.
Kasukabe Yō quickly threw her hands up in surrender.
"See? This is why you lack authority, Black Rabbit! Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing you… Anyway, what were you two talking about before? Was it girls' talk?"
It wasn't a particularly clever change of subject, but Black Rabbit had no intention of discussing her lack of authority. After shooting the expressionless girl one last glare, she reluctantly began to explain.
"No! It's about Pest-chan's lack of confidence. It seems she's worried she won't be able to become the Savior!"
At these words, Kasukabe Yō paused, her gaze toward Pest filling with approval.
"You just got here and you're already aiming for the final victory? This rookie's got a lot of fighting spirit!"
"No, no, no! Don't listen to Black Rabbit's nonsense!"
Pest frantically shook her head and corrected her.
"I'm worried I don't even have what it takes to join the Sublime Ones! I've never even thought about competing to be the Savior!"
*Actually, I have,* she thought, *I was just so crushed that I went into a shell.*
"Huh?"
Kasukabe Yō was a little surprised.
"The others might doubt whether they can become the Savior, but you're the first one to doubt if you even qualify as one of the Sublime Ones, Pest."
Neither the Kudō sisters nor the Saigō brothers had that kind of humility.
"No, it's not that! I'm different from you all. You're being modest. I'm genuinely weak."
"Genuinely weak?"
Kasukabe Yō thought for two seconds, then asked, "Combat power isn't a requirement, but even if you're weak, you should at least be strong enough to defeat a Divine Beast, right?"
Even a researcher like Saigō Homura could easily achieve that by setting up traps.
"Strong enough to defeat a Divine Beast?"
Pest subconsciously looked to Black Rabbit, unsure what that standard meant.
"That means being able to defeat a five-digit-class divinity holder. At least strong enough to destroy a country in a single blow, I'd say?" Black Rabbit said after a moment's thought.
"My apologies for the intrusion."
Pest closed her eyes in despair.
Combat power, research ability, martial arts—she had nothing to her name.
"Hey, don't lose heart! By the way, don't you have a Gift, Miss Pest? Something like the Gastrea Virus Life Factor."
Black Rabbit grabbed her arm, trying to encourage her.
"I couldn't really understand the name on the Gift Card, but it should be the same type of Gift as Miss Yō's. If you ask Miss Yō for advice, I'm sure your strength will improve quickly, Pest-chan!"
At this, both of their eyes lit up.
"A power of the same type as mine?"
Kasukabe Yō clutched the Life Catalog on her chest, looking at Pest with a hint of anticipation.
"Aren't we competitors? Can we really ask each other for advice?"
Pest blinked, a look of confusion in her eyes.
This was a little different from the intense competition she had imagined.
"They call it a competition, but it's really just an excuse for them to be competitive. They care more about who's stronger than the title of Savior!" Little Black Rabbit explained proudly, shaking her head.
"So don't worry, Pest-chan. There won't be any malicious competition here. Although everyone's personality is a bit of a Problem Child, their character was nurtured by Lady Canary, so there's absolutely no problem—ow, ow, ow, stop pulling my beautiful bunny ears so hard!"
Halfway through her sentence, Little Black Rabbit was bullied again and glared resentfully at Kasukabe Yō, the culprit.
"Correction. My personality is fine. I am not a Problem Child."
Kasukabe Yō released her hand without a change in expression, then turned to Pest.
"As for the competition for Savior, of course we have to help you. Making you fight at your full potential only to be defeated without any complaints is the only way to prove the winner's excellence!"
It wasn't about aiding the enemy; it was about making the loser accept defeat wholeheartedly.
That was why they never refused to help a competitor.
Of course, in Pest's eyes, this was just their tsundere way of showing they cared.
"I understand. Please, help me, Miss Yō!"
Pest clenched her fists, stood up, and bowed deeply.
"I don't want to disappoint my Master's expectations! Even if I can't become the Savior, I can't bring shame to Master Su Mo's name!"
"Leave it to me."
Kasukabe Yō nodded, her face expressionless.
Though her tone was flat, it was incredibly reassuring.