Fast forward some vague amount of time.
“Urk! The beam didn’t land!” Rentaro groaned.
The vice principal avoided the attack by leaping between buildings with surprising nimbleness. It was a feat that put Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the famed samurai who allegedly dodged his enemies by jumping ships eight times in a row while wearing a full suit of armor, to shame.
“At times like this,” said Hakari, “you can really tell that she was a former athlete.”
“Nah, this goes well beyond the realm of athletics,” said Karane.
“Our fuel will run out shortly,” Mei announced.
Faced with the prospect of running out of juice yet again, the girls took turns hugging their boyfriend pilot from behind.
“Nice! We got her this time! Wait…” Rentaro gasped. “Was that a clone?!”
“She is merely sidestepping at rapid speed, giving the illusion that there are multiple copies of herself,” said Nano.
“What do you mean ‘merely’? That’s actually insane,” said Kurumi.
“Our fuel will run out shortly,” Mei announced.
The girls knew the drill by now. They took turns kissing Rentaro’s cheeks, one on each side.
“Okay, I think I’ve finally got a handle on the vice principal’s movements. If I take things step-by-step, I should land a hit. What the hell? She’s got wings now?!”
“Don’t ask Kusuri. Her evolution has gone well beyond Kusuri’s imagination.”
‹We bear witness.› ‹To a new life form.›
“Our fuel will run out shortly.”
This time, the girls took turns feeding Rentaro candy in order to replenish their Love Energy. This was an obnoxious display of affection that appeased even Kurumi’s stomach.
“Woo-hoo! Now we’re flying too! With jets!”
“Be careful, Rentaro-chan! If you use the jets in your stomach, ‘The Beam That Shoots from Rentaro-chan’s Eyes’ will consume even more energy!”
“Our fuel will run out shortly.”
The girls took turns patting Rentaro on the head, thereby satisfying Hahari’s compulsive head-patting desires as well.
“Phew…” Rentaro panted heavily. “The vice principal is one tricky customer…”
After countless clashes and still no end in sight, Rentaro and his girlfriends were showing signs of exhaustion. The power of their love might have been endless, but their stamina still had limits.
“By the way,” said Hakari, “I’ve been wondering something for a while… The vice principal took a lot of damage from bumping into buildings and whatnot. So how did she already heal up?”
“She has the metabolism of an athlete. It is possible that this allows her wounds to heal quickly,” said Nano.
Karane rubbed her temples as if in pain, watching the vice principal on the monitor. “Who cares about that trivial stuff?! What about the entire rest of her?!”
“She’s basically not even human anymore,” said Kurumi.
At present, the vice principal possessed birdlike wings, deerlike antlers, and the sharp fangs of a carnivore. Her body was covered with innumerable fishlike scales, and deadly catlike claws protruded from her fingers. A turtlelike shell shielded her back, and a snakelike tail swished about, slamming against the ground.
‹To be precise.› ‹It has undergone metamorphosis.›
Right as Shizuka’s smartphone spoke, rabbitlike ears sprouted next to the vice principal’s antlers. This was the only cutesy thing about her, which, ironically, had the opposite effect and made the entire thing incredibly jarring.
“Oh! Kusuri gets it!” As she watched the scene, Kusuri brought a fist to her palm. “The vice principal also drank BunBun Fantasy Medicine! Biggifying Medicine and BunBun Fantasy Medicine both meddle with genes. This is what happens when you mix them, aye! Rapid healing is another side effect!”
“Oh, yes, now that you mention it, I always carry a vial around with me so I can feed it to everyone on the go.” Hahari let out a long-suffering sigh. “I must have dropped it along with the other one…”
“Our fuel will run out shortly,” Mei announced dispassionately.
“What do we do? The longer this goes on, the more disadvantaged we’ll be,” said Hakari. “The vice principal will only get stronger. Things are not looking good for us…”
“Don’t you have any stronger weapons?” Karane demanded. “Like a function that unleashes the robot’s hidden power?”
“There is one, but…” Hahari glanced at Mei.
“You are referring to the kamikaze mode, yes?” the maid explained with a bow.
“Did you make this robot to kill us?” asked Kusuri.
This simple question appeared to stab Hahari directly in the heart. “Dear me! Of course not! Yes, it is called kamikaze mode, but that doesn’t mean it will actually launch a suicide attack! It beefs up all the robot’s functions by consuming a vast amount of energy. Once that energy is gone, the fuel can’t be replenished. You can only use it once!”
“In that case, it would be logical to use it after shoring up the maximum amount of energy,” said Nano.
‹I fear that we will be unable to keep up!›
Yes, it was just as Shizuka declared. The girls had been taking turns to replenish the Love Energy as the battle raged on. However, because the robot was constantly consuming that energy, they were barely keeping it afloat.
“You must generate an immense amount of Love Energy in one fell swoop,” Nano Two said, using Nano’s mouth.
Nano Three emerged from one of Nano’s ears. “I recommend the act of romantic affection Earthlings refer to as ‘kissing.’”
“Yes, that sounds like our only option!” Hakari seemed quite eager to get on with it.
“Well, if it’s to save everyone in town, then I guess it’s fine!” Karane turned away in a huff, but her desire was plainly evident on her face.
Unfortunately, Rentaro shook his head slowly. “No… We can’t do that.”
“Wh-why not?!”
“I-it’s not like I’m saying we have to do it or anything…”
Both girls were plainly shocked.
Rentaro’s reasoning, however, was unexpected. “I want to kiss every single one of you with my fullest concentration! I can’t do that while I’m piloting!”
The love he poured into his agonized scream made his girlfriends swoon.
“If that is your problem,” said Nano Two, poking out from Nano’s ear, “then may we suggest—”
“—that we pilot the robot briefly in your stead?” Nano Three offered.
Rentaro didn’t need to think twice. He nodded eagerly.
“Thanks a ton, you two! All right. Let’s get going, everyone!”