In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

But then, a deeper embrace followed, instantly sweeping away all her thoughts.

At this moment, in this tight embrace, the tension between the two becomes even clearer and harder to ignore.

Hayasaka Ai raised her wet eyes, unintentionally revealing a hint of unconscious allure: "Chiya..."

"Hmm?" Yuan Qianye's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He reached out and gently tucked a few strands of her sweaty, messy hair behind her ear, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against her burning earlobe.

She shifted slightly, her voice even softer, like candy melting in her mouth: "...I feel my heart beating so fast, and yours too."

Yuan Qianye paused, trying to calm his overly agitated emotions, but some instinctive reactions were indeed difficult to bring to a state of calm at such a moment of mutual understanding.

"Hmm... a little," he murmured honestly, his voice a little hoarse. "Maybe I was just too happy."

“It’s not just happiness…” Hayasaka Ai murmured softly, not as a question, but as a confirmation tinged with a bewildered curiosity.

Although she was inexperienced in worldly affairs, she was not entirely ignorant. The knowledge from books and her personal experience at this moment allowed her to vaguely understand the meaning of the situation before her.

"..." Yuan Qianye was speechless for a moment, but gently patted her back, trying to comfort her and himself.

But Hayasaka Ai tightened her grip on him, hugging him even more tightly: "Chiya, you must be... feeling unwell too?"

Looking at his rare expression, a mixture of tenderness and a hint of helplessness, Hayasaka felt a warm glow in her heart.

An unprecedented courage quietly began to grow.

She stood on tiptoe and, in a voice almost like a whisper, said shyly yet with unusual clarity, "Let's... not stay here any longer... okay?"

The evening breeze was gentle, and the moonlight, like water, flowed quietly over their intertwined figures.

Her words were like a pebble thrown into a still lake, creating even deeper ripples.

Yuan Qianye took a deep breath, the air filled with the fragrance of her hair.

He gazed into her shimmering eyes, where the dependence, courage, and unreserved emotion shone like the most brilliant starlight.

He tightened his arms, holding her more securely beside him, as if embracing the whole world.

"Okay, let's go..."

The two held hands, their fingers intertwined tightly.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Four Palaces and Separate Courtyards.

As the youngest daughter of the Shinomiya family and the only eldest daughter, Kaguya Shinomiya is a little bored today.

Today is different from usual; it's a rare day off.

She had no mandatory schedule for the whole day, such as attending those complicated and headache-inducing courses on etiquette, flower arranging, tea ceremony, and other essential skills for ladies.

Or it could be a boring banquet where one has to dress up, wear a perfect mask, and engage in empty pleasantries with so-called high society figures to expand one's so-called network.

Since it's summer vacation and there's no need to go to Shuchiin Academy, she can theoretically have all the day at her own discretion.

Logically speaking, most people who are usually very busy should have many things they want to do but don't have the chance to do when they have free time.

For example, you could scream your lungs out at an amusement park, go hiking to enjoy the view of nature, go fishing leisurely, or go shopping and chatting with friends...

This aligns with general logic and is indeed a common practice for many people to relax and unwind after a hard day's work or study.

However, Kaguya Shinomiya's situation is subtly different.

After all, she was the daughter of the Shinomiya family, a behemoth with deep roots and immense power throughout Japan.

This leads to the need to maintain a certain family image at all times, with countless cold and strict family rules, and ubiquitous constraints and scrutinizing gazes of etiquette...

These undeniable circumstances prevented her from acting as recklessly and as she pleased, unlike other girls her age.

For example, those activities just listed, if she insisted on going, it wouldn't be entirely impossible for her, given her status as a young lady.

But it's easy to imagine that once you go out, you'll be surrounded by bodyguards, both overt and covert, seemingly for protection, but in reality, it's another form of tight surveillance.

The itinerary probably needs to be reported in advance and kept as appropriate as possible to match one's status.

Those who haven't experienced this kind of treatment might think that the trip is impressive and grand, a symbol of status and prestige.

But for Kaguya Shinomiya, who has experienced all of this since childhood, she feels like a bird imprisoned in a gilded cage at all times, subject to supervision and control no matter where she goes.

If Hayasaka Ai is by her side, she can occasionally deceive herself and pretend that she is just an ordinary girl who is not much different from other girls her age, except that her family is slightly better off.

Hayasaka always manages to cleverly deflect some unnecessary attention for her, or create a brief period of relatively relaxed private space for her.

But if she's not around, this young lady really has no interest at all.

There are girls at school who are the same age and from similar social classes, and we can call each other friends, but that one girl always seems a bit too cheerful, a complete puppy-like girl.

If we were to use dog breeds as an analogy, that one would probably be a combination of a husky and a golden retriever.

Sometimes she has nonsensical and whimsical words and actions that make people facepalm, and other times she can show a lively, cheerful and overly enthusiastic personality without any gloom. She is a troublesome existence that often makes Kaguya sigh helplessly and feel that her thick-skinned nature is unusual and difficult to deal with.

On occasional days off, it's probably better to spend them quietly. Today, she simply didn't have the energy to deal with her friend's excessive energy.

So, today, Lady Shinomiya has decided to stay home for the day.

Being in your own room without being disturbed by others provides a greater sense of privacy.

At first, Kaguya Shinomiya was in a good mood.

Although she tried to get Hayasaka to take her thoughts with her in the morning but was seen through and refused, it was still a day off, and she could freely manage her schedule within a certain range. Such an opportunity might not even come once a month.

But then she thought about how Hayasaka Ai, who was always by her side, was probably out doing something fun with her male friend, and she started imagining them laughing and playing intimately at an amusement park or zoo...

Her mood then took a sharp turn for the worse, and she became somewhat depressed and gloomy.

She wasn't the kind of narrow-minded, fake friend who couldn't stand seeing others do well.

She couldn't help but compare the vibrant smile she imagined Hayasaka might have when she was with that person with the way she always maintained a perfect maid demeanor, a cool expression, and concise speech when she was with him, as if there was always an invisible distance between them.

She usually appears serious, businesslike, and aloof when she's around, but this morning before leaving the house, she dressed up so meticulously, even the curl of her hair seemed to have been carefully adjusted. Her eyes sparkled with an undeniable brightness, and her steps were so light that she seemed to be about to jump.

I know you're happy, but there's no need to be that happy, is there?

Hayasaka's attitude made it impossible for Kaguya Shinomiya not to overthink things.

This unique relationship, which he had grown up with since childhood, was not only that of master and servant, but also a bond that was more than friendship and almost like family.

This was also the first time ever that Kaguya Shinomiya felt a slight... just a slight... jealousy.

This kind of thinking is simple and easy to understand.

A friend you thought was a good friend suddenly becomes less close to you and starts getting closer to someone else instead.

The sense of loss that comes from a perceived decline in one's value in the other person's eyes, and the indescribable, vague feeling of being abandoned and having a good friend taken away...

These various intangible negative emotions mixed together indeed left Kaguya Shinomiya with mixed feelings.

After her personal maid left without revealing anything, Kaguya spent the morning alone in her room watching a movie she had been longing to see for a long time but never had the time to watch.

The film has an artistic style and doesn't have many grand scenes, but the love stories it depicts are beautiful enough, and there are also many moments that will bring a smile to your face.

Kaguya Shinomiya laughed for a moment, but as she subconsciously turned her head, habitually wanting to share with the person who had been by her side day and night—

His gaze fell on the empty space, but he could no longer see that familiar figure.

So the overwhelming joy of watching the movie eventually subsided and turned into a silent sigh.

Alone in the spacious and luxurious room, Kaguya Shinomiya felt an unprecedented sense of emptiness and loneliness.

After lunch, she realized that her emotions were completely unfounded and unreasonable.

The most crucial point is—it's so embarrassing!

How could the Shinomiya family be so distracted by such a trivial matter?

This is so strange and so wrong!

She's just Hayasaka... just a mere Hayasaka!

As if realizing something, or perhaps out of spite.

During her free time in the afternoon, Kaguya Shinomiya forced herself to calm down and decided to read some extracurricular books.

However, as she reached for the bookshelf, having already pulled out a famous overseas novel, her gaze inadvertently drifted to the side and fell upon the novel she had borrowed from Hayasaka and had not yet returned.

But then, as if possessed, he put the original novel back and took out that book instead.

That was a science fiction novel called "Four Bodies".

She remembered that Hayasaka didn't have the habit of reading extracurricular books, so she wanted to see what magic made Hayasaka so special that she bought more than one copy of the novel.

If it's a novel of such quality that I can actually read it, then maybe I can have something in common with Hayasaka based on the plot... At least it won't just be about my daily routine anymore, and we can talk about other things together.

And then, just like that, Kaguya Shinomiya, who had been experiencing a lot of chaotic emotions during the review, inexplicably became immersed in it.

The "Dark Forest" theory proposed in this novel completely reconstructs the interactive logic of cosmic civilizations. The grandeur and rigor of its imagination also profoundly subverted Kaguya Shinomiya's understanding of the creative genre of "science fiction"!

Compared to this novel, the science fiction novels and movies she had encountered before, which were full of plots like humans fighting aliens, seemed as childish as children playing house.

For the entire afternoon, Lady Shinomiya's eyes sparkled as she remained completely absorbed until evening. It wasn't until a servant knocked on her door to invite her to dinner that she snapped out of her reverie and her thoughts were pulled back to reality.

She took the bookmark, closed the novel, and lingered her fingertips on the book's textured cover.

It's truly fantastic content; no wonder Hayasaka made an exception and became so fascinated that she bought several sets as a show of support.

She spent the entire afternoon reading two-thirds of it, with one-third still unread.

There's still time after dinner; I should have enough time to finish watching it today.

So she deliberately ate dinner a little faster, which prompted the old butler standing beside her to gently remind her to be mindful of her dining manners and not to be impolite.

But that doesn't matter anymore.

What she cared about most was that grand story concerning the survival of human civilization, which she had not yet finished reading.

After returning to her room from dinner, Kaguya Shinomiya couldn't wait to pick up her novel again.

She stared intently at the rest of the film, completely oblivious to the passage of time.

Only after turning to the last page, when the novel ended, did she close the book and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

I felt exceptionally refreshed, savoring such a magnificent and profound masterpiece, as if I had engaged in a thoroughly enjoyable brainstorming session.

No! This is not just a masterpiece, it is a true classic! It is a work worthy of being recorded in the annals of science fiction literature, and even in the broader history of literature!

"Knock Knock Knock-"

There was a gentle knock on the door.