The Infinite World of Weapon Girls

As Chishou Natsuyo patted his chest and murmured to himself, he turned to leave, only to bump into a soft body with a 'plop'.

Xia Shi exclaimed "Ah!" and then looked up at the girl who had somehow appeared beside him, her expression calm and undisturbed.

It seems we've already been exposed.

“Tina…” Thinking that she was angry, Xia Shi lowered his head in guilt.

"Mmm," the girl replied quietly.

"...I'm sorry, I just wanted to know if you had forgiven me, so...I came up with this prank."

Xia Shi did not say that the Holy Emperor had orchestrated it, even though Tina already knew everything.

"Hmm." As always.

Xia Shi was stunned for a moment, her eyes darting restlessly left and right, her expression hesitant, unable to look the girl in the eye. After a while, she finally asked the question.

"Tina... are you... angry?"

"Ah."

“I knew Tina wouldn’t make a fuss over something like this…” Then Xia Shi paused, his expression turning blank and confused, “Huh—?”

Because she just responded with 'hmm,' which means she admitted she was angry.

"I'm angry. Because I was just...so scared."

"Afraid...?" Xia Shi secretly looked into Tina's eyes, which were so calm yet so gentle.

While she was still in shock, the girl grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the alley without saying a word. She subconsciously tried to break free, but the domineering action made her follow involuntarily.

Xia Shi: "Where...where are we going...?"

Tina: "Go home."

Xia Shi: "..."

…………

At first, Tina never intended to compete with Rentaro for any loli; she simply couldn't bear to see Natsume repeat the tragedy of the anime and wanted to save him.

Unexpectedly, he was instantly smitten by a little girl.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't exactly love at first sight.

Last time, Tina's unintentional remark, "I've been watching you for a long time," seemed to have caused a misunderstanding with Xia Shi; coupled with Xia Shi's immediate discovery that Tina wasn't a cursed child, his curiosity was heightened; and then there was that meaningful heart-shaped equation, and the unknown secrets...

Xia Shi may appear expressionless, but she possesses a sensitive and rich inner world. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been moved to tears by Rentaro's few words in the anime, let alone when faced with Tina's emotional offensive.

Love at first sight... Is it unexpected? No, it's entirely reasonable.

However, for Tina, there were still some unexpected events. Whether it was the great upheavals that followed or the decision Xia Shi ultimately made for himself, they all far exceeded expectations.

just now……

If Xia Shi wanted to, she could wholeheartedly protect this girl who had once risked her life to prove her feelings for her.

“Tina, I’ve regretted what happened before for a long time. I think I should… apologize to the Initiator of the deceased Facilitator, even if she kills me.”

Xia Shi, feeling guilty, said as he followed behind the girl, who was holding his hand in an absolutely dominant position.

"She has already left Tokyo."

"Is that so..." For some reason, Xia Shi did not feel regret, but instead breathed a sigh of relief.

“She doesn’t know it’s you. As long as the Holy Emperor tells IISO the false news that Xia Shi is dead, Yi Xiong will be missing, and the Initiator is ‘dead’, it will be difficult to find you even if you go to IISO headquarters.”

"Speaking of Ikuma no Shogun..."

“Brother Jiang Jian must have perished.” Xia Shi’s eyes darkened. “…I only found the giant sword he always carried with him. It broke after blocking that last sword strike. So, I took the two broken sword pieces as Brother Jiang Jian and buried them in his hometown.”

"Um……"

Throughout the journey, Xia Shi's heart fluttered whenever he thought about "going home."

—Is this Tina's house? I really want to go and see it. Tina is so gentle and capable. Her parents must be strict and talented people, right?

"Are Tina's parents home too...?" Xia Shi looked on with great anticipation and curiosity, a strange excitement welling up inside him. "If Tina-chan isn't a cursed child, her family must be very happy, right?"

parents……?

As Tina pondered, she took her hand and walked slower and slower.

Home……?

She quickly stopped and looked up at the sky with a bewildered expression.

Including the four days he was unconscious, he had been in the Black Bullet World for six days, but he still didn't know where he lived.

I definitely don't plan to go back to the hospital. The VIP room of the Ministry of Defense's central building, which is where I first met Xia Shichu, has been completely devoured by gluttons, so I won't consider it either.

Xia Shi was stunned, standing there blankly with the girl. Thinking there was something special in the sky, he looked up and saw a beautiful, clear blue sky, just like the girl before him.

There's nothing there.

—Huh? Could it be that Tina has lost her memory and has forgotten where she lives?!

Xia Shi tugged at Tina's sleeve, instantly bringing the girl back to her senses.

"Sorry, I got distracted."

Tina first used her wristwatch to greet her teammates from Samsara, who were still showing as online, but surprisingly, she received no response from any of them, even in broad daylight.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck her. She used the supercomputer in her mind to log directly into the network of this world. The power of the super-tech dimension brute-forced the encryption zone and easily obtained the information she wanted.

Tina activated the watch's built-in call function. After two beeps, a pleasant female voice answered the call.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Tina."

"Tina...wait a minute, how did you get my private number?!"

"I want to stay at your place," Tina said, completely ignoring her question.

"My home... Tina, would you like to stay at 'Sacred Residence'?"

The voice sounded surprised, after all, the suggestion to stay at her home was abrupt, especially given her status.

"Well, I can only invite you to stay as a guest, but as for staying at home..."

"I'm not asking for opinions."

"What do you mean? Did you just come to inform me...? The Holy Residence is heavily guarded, and you don't have a key QAQ"

"Could you spare two rooms?"

"Wait a minute! Does the process have to be this fast...? And this is all so sudden, especially since I didn't even agree to it!!"

Thank you very much.

"Thank you for what... How could you do this... Wait! Don't hang up yet..."

beep-

A despairing dial tone came through the line, signaling a dead end to the girl on the other end of the line.

Seeing the girl put down her watch and stop talking, Xia Shi asked curiously, "...What you were asking just now was, whose house are you staying at?"

"The family of the Holy Emperor."

"Which Holy Emperor..." Where in Tokyo could there be another Holy Emperor? Xia Shi, who had just turned the corner, was astonished and pale.

"Tina, you said you want to stay at the Holy Emperor's Holy Residence?"

"It's not me, it's us."

"I...can I?" Xia Shi blinked hard, making sure he wasn't in a dream, and asked softly, still in disbelief.

"Ah."

The incredibly calm voice, as if it were perfectly natural, made Xia Shi's heart pound. Still feeling it was all too real, he asked again:

"Will the Holy Emperor... will His Majesty the Holy Emperor agree? After all, that is the Holy Residence."

She said, "Go ahead and stay."

"I never expected the Holy Emperor to be so kind, approachable, and friendly..."

Tina's nonchalant calmness convinced Xia Shi, but she thought to herself, "This is just a little too 'approachable'!"

"Hmm." The usual response.

She would answer Xia Shi's every question, even if it was just a short "hmm".

"Why?" The girl seemed preoccupied. Xia Shi looked up and met her gaze intently. "...Inviting me to live with you? Why? Is it out of pity that you're showing mercy to me because you've taken away my brother Jianli forever and I'm homeless?"

That must be it, she thought. She really didn't have much left, whether it was her family or her facilitator partner, which was why she cared so much about Tina... But if it really was just her pity, why was she so unwilling to accept it?

"You want to hear it?"

“Yes.” Xia Shi took a deep breath, already prepared.

"In death, you gave me life..."

If that sword strikes, will I die?

If Nata and the others manage to storm the control room of the Sky Ladder and stop Rentaro from launching it, and Scorpio destroys Tokyo, the mission will fail, and I—will definitely die, right?

Tina also lowered her eyes, and their gazes met fearlessly and clearly.

“…Natsuyo Senju, thank you.” the girl said.

Xia Shi stared into the girl's calm, earnest eyes, his lips pressed tightly together, his gaze trembling slightly with moisture. Finally, he gave a wry smile and said:

"If you had just said 'I love you' right now, I would have cried."

“But you’ve already cried,” Tina said.

"Then, then I'll cry even harder..." With that, Xia Shi rushed over and hugged the girl tightly.

"Then... even if I can't bear to see you cry, fine." Tina held her narrow shoulders and gently separated her from her body.

"Let's go see our new home."

"Mmm, mmm!" As Xia Shi spoke again, tears welled up in her eyes.

Actually, at that moment, the thought "I like you" did flash through Tina's mind.