"...I feel like I've been confessed to, which is a bit embarrassing...but if someone wants to be my friend, I have no reason to refuse."
Shia said, "What a fuss, princess!" and, despite looking annoyed, she still held Eltina's hand.
Eltina smiled happily. Though the situation had unfolded unexpectedly, it had finally come to a happy conclusion. A loving expression crossed everyone's faces, especially those of Eltina's followers.
"?"
However, when Shia was about to let go, she tilted her head in confusion, because for some reason, Eltina refused to let go of her hand.
"Um, Eltina-san, it's about time you let go..."
"Please call me by my name, Eltina. I'll call you Shia. It's normal for close friends, right?"
After becoming friends, they were upgraded to close friends in just five seconds. Shia thought, "Huh? This girl seems to be in trouble after all?" and began to sweat.
Her premonition proved correct. Eltina blushed and said to Shia:
"So, then, what kind of moves will Shia use on me this time?"
"What?"
“It’s incredibly embarrassing, but Shia’s moves give me a wonderful, numbing pain, and I can feel her warmth… I’m Shia’s best friend, so you can use more moves on me, right? You can ‘use me’ to play with me, right?”
At that moment, Shia shook off Eltina's hand and quickly retreated to the wall.
Cold sweat broke out on her face.
"W-What best friend?! You're just a pervert after all!!"
"Why are you saying that?! I just want Shia to have as much fun as possible before she embarks on her journey in a few days!"
"In that case, why do you want me to 'use' you to play? You should be 'playing with me', right?!"
Eltina's eyes widened, and Shia's ears perked up. "Oh no! This girl's serious," she thought. Shia naturally turned her gaze to Hajime, pleading for help. Her eyes seemed to say, "I'm special, right? You'll prioritize me, right? Save me!"
Facing Shia's plea for help, Hajime showed a gentler expression than before and said to Shia:
"As expected of me, Shia. Whether in sickness or health, you will always be there for me through thick and thin."
"Don't use those sacred words now! You're ruining the atmosphere!!"
"What I mean is, experience with me the hardship of being entangled by a pervert." Hearing these rather cruel words, Shia finally shed tears.
It seems that Hajime has no intention of helping. What exactly is this so-called "special"?
Shia pressed herself against the wall, her fur standing on end. Eltina approached, her smile demanding, "Come on, keep going!"
It was easy to imagine that she would be happy if she was suppressed by force, because Xia had already witnessed the various tragic situations caused by the big benders around her.
"I, I don't want to stay where this pervert is!"
Shia flung open the cafeteria window and escaped through it like a rabbit.
It seems she's planning to hide and wait until things cool down. It feels like a strange flag has been raised, but will she be able to escape the clutches of the devil...
"Ahh! Shia, where are you going?! Wait for me!"
Eltina chased after Shia and jumped out of the window. As if chasing after a lover who had abandoned her, she used her exceptional physical abilities and displayed unexpected speed to chase after Shia.
Shia looked back and saw Eltina chasing after her. She screamed, "Eh~!?" and then, using all her strength to strengthen her body, she began to run away, kicking up a cloud of dust in the castle of [Feabelgen].
Shia desperately fled, but for some reason, Eltina chased after her with a smile on her face. Screams began to be heard from all directions.
The remaining members in the cafeteria, except for a group led by Hajime, all stood there in a daze, not knowing how to react.
"...Hmph, it's a rare opportunity to talk, why did it turn out like this?"
Yue muttered with an indescribable expression, while Hajime shrugged with a wry smile.
Seeing their interaction, one girl seemed to come back to her senses and she slowly walked forward.
“…Hashi-kun…what happened just now?”
A snowstorm is happening, Miss Prajna is on standby!
Kaori came towards me like a ghost, swaying eerily.
For some reason, a shadow appeared on her face that was impossible given the position of the light source, and only the eye sockets were darkened. Combined with Noin's cold and beautiful face, it gave people a very heavy sense of oppression.
But that was only natural, since Hajime's clear affection for Shia seemed to bother Kaori.
"I've been vaguely feeling it for a while now... Has Shia also become your 'special'? When? Why? What happened?"
Although her tone was calm, Kaori's eyes held no trace of a smile. Facing Kaori's pressing questioning, Hajime scratched his head, a wry smile forming on his face. Then, turning not only to Kaori but also to Tio, he began to explain, carefully choosing his words.
Kaori and Tio listened quietly, sensing that Hajime was going to be honest with them both.
“…How should I put it… I still can’t compare Shia to Yue, but I’ve recently begun to realize that I seem to have a desire to monopolize Shia. At Yue’s suggestion, I decided to act accordingly towards Shia. It’s not that anything has happened.”
"I-Is this to mean that Hajime-san has romantic feelings for Shia?"
"Well... Honestly, I don't know. It seems the feeling is different. But I feel pity for her."
In fact, if asked whether his feelings towards Shia were romantic, Hajime himself would not be able to answer.
Because the intense feelings he had for Yue, which sometimes made his heart beat fast and sometimes made him want to abandon his rationality and obey his desires, were not felt in Xia.
Unlike his overwhelming feelings towards Yue, which were like a raging fire, Hajime's feelings towards Shia were calm and gentle.
If I had to put it into words, that feeling is still love.
For Yue, who is always quiet, I have feelings that burn like the sun; for Xia, who always seems innocent, I have feelings that are as gentle and calm as the bright moon.
It's incredible, but although it's a contrasting feeling, Hajime's "love" for Shia is definitely not just a simple affection.
Hajime didn't know what to call such a huge and warm feeling, so he couldn't explain it...
Hajime was also aware of this, knowing that this was selfish and, under normal circumstances, extremely dishonest. However, at this point, he truly felt very reluctant to give up the current Shia to another man.
Hearing Hajime's sincere and honest feelings, the cafeteria was filled with a silence that had a different meaning from before.
Most people looked as if they had eaten a deadly sweet dessert. Yue and Tio had gentle expressions on their faces, Shizuku had a complicated look, and Kaori, who was questioning Hajime, was...
“…Is that so? Okay, I understand.”
She nodded quietly, then smiled happily for some reason.
Of course, Kaori was not without jealousy, and at this moment, her mood must be extremely complicated.
Even so, Shia was a friend Kaori could trust with her life, and now that friend's life-threatening wish has been fulfilled. It must be Kaori's own personality and Shia's popularity that allowed her to smile naturally.
(There's no point in thinking more.)
Seeing Kaori's smile, Hajime's eyes widened in surprise. Kaori found Hajime's reaction inexplicably amusing, and she muttered to herself.
Kaori has learned her lesson in the [Melkine Undersea Ruins] that she will not get anything by just being depressed and jealous.
She already knew that Hajime's feelings for Yue would never change. Even though Hajime loved her, she still felt uneasy, worried that she would not be able to get closer to Hajime's heart.
However, Shia has proven otherwise. Since that's the case, I must be even more...
"Hajime-kun."
"What's up?"
Kaori chuckled and said with a smug smile:
"You need to be mentally prepared, okay?"
"..."
Hajime sensed her feelings, and because of this, he said with an even more embarrassed expression:
"...You all are truly invaluable to me."
"!hehe."
Hearing Hajime's answer, Kaori's face suddenly lit up with a smile, and at the same time, a wave of melancholy nostalgia welled up in her heart. The embarrassed expression on Hajime's face made her realize that the expression she had seen in the Great Labyrinth Garden was indeed not a mistake.
Thinking of this, Kaori felt even happier.
At this moment, with a snap, something touched Kaori's temple.
The thing that gradually slid down from his temple was—soaked bread soaked in soup.
Kaori maintained a smiling expression and slowly shifted her gaze to take a look.
I saw Miss Yue tearing off a small piece of bread from her lunch, soaking it in the thick soup, and preparing to load the next bullet.
It seems that Yue was also the culprit of the previous attack, and it was she who fired the "Wet Bread Fingershot".
Yue sneered at Kaori, using actions instead of words to express "Kaori is impossible."
"Yue, what do you mean?"
The phantom of blizzard appeared again, and Miss Prajna had also arrived.
Yue replied nonchalantly:
"...Shia is fine, but Kaori, there's no place for you. Go back here with your tail between your legs."
Then Yue fired the second shot, and with a bang, it hit Kaori right between the eyebrows. Yue's technique was amazing.
Kaori then roared like a wild beast and pounced towards Yue.
Then the sound of ping-pong was heard, "...Well!! You want to fight? You guy!" "Yue is an idiot! I'm going to teach you a lesson!" The two of them entangled with each other, growling and wrestling.
Having said that, this is the cafeteria, not the place for a fight.
Seeing the waiter's panic, Yue and Kaori rolled on the ground, then floated into the air at the same time, then rolled in the air again, and then rolled out through the window that Shia had exited.
The combination of the two can be said to be seamless.
Is their relationship good or bad?
At least Yue only picks on Kaori, and Kaori only fights with Yue, and for both of them, this is a common occurrence.
"Well, Master, it seems you've finally been won over by Shia. What do you say? Strike while the iron is hot and accept my love, which is higher than the sacred mountains and deeper than the ruins of the sea."
Tio deliberately opened her dress to highlight her formidable breasts, and flirted with Hajime. Indeed, she exuded a very sexy and alluring aura, and all the men in the cafeteria bent over.
However, Hajime, who was tempted by the sexiness, was——
"Kaori is fine, but you're impossible."
“!? Fufu, such strong words… My beloved master, you are so evil! You hit my weak spot so accurately! Fufu, I can’t stand it!!”
Shi's words caused Feilong's body to spasm and tremble. He hugged his chest, rubbed his legs continuously, and began to indiscriminately release a sexy aura to the surroundings that was incomparable to what he had just done.
However, the male members who had been bending over seemed to shrink when they saw her. Perhaps because Tio's expression was disgusting, they all retreated in fear.
Shizuku was standing there doing nothing at the time, but after hearing Hajime casually classify Kaori as belonging to the same category as Shia, she was trapped in strange thoughts.
(If that's the case, then even if there's one more person... No, no, what do you mean by 'one more person'?! This is so confusing! Who is that one more person?! I have no idea! I don't feel anything at all! It's so wonderful that Kaori is being loved! Yes, there's nothing else! Absolutely nothing!)
Shizuku fretted alone in a corner of the cafeteria. Everyone in the cafeteria gave Tio a wide berth, while Hajime sighed deeply. From outside came screams and roars, along with the sounds of something being destroyed.
The noon in [Fejarbergen] is very different from the usual quietness and is very lively.
It was evening, and the setting sun's afterglow streamed through the branches of the trees, dyeing the city of [Fejabelgen] orange.
"Wow~ How could such a tragic thing happen to me..."
Such complaints were heard in a square a little further from the city center.
This square has tables and chairs made from tree stumps and a fountain created from a spring, and is a place for residents to relax.
However, there were two people alone here, Hajime and Shia.
The residents were busy rebuilding the disaster area, caring for their liberated compatriots, and reorganizing their warrior groups, seemingly having no time to relax at the rest area. Yue and Tio, Kaori and Kouki, and the others were probably helping the demihumans, training themselves, or preparing for their next journey.
In the quiet square where the two of them were alone, Xia slumped over the table with her head down.
The reason was obvious: Elkina's fiery "Play with Me" attack. Before Alfred reclaimed her, she had relied on her animal instincts to chase after Shia, draining most of her mental energy.
However, when Alfred saw his granddaughter awakening, he also let out a strange wail, and his mental strength was greatly reduced.
Hajime sat across from Shia, diligently cultivating. Seeing Shia's rabbit ears droop, Hajime couldn't help but laugh. The ears twitched, then one stood up, slapping the table as if in protest.
"Honestly, Hajime-san, stop laughing. I'm really scared."
"Don't say that about her. She must be happy to have friends her own age. Just have fun with her—play with her."
“I won’t be fooled by you. You were trying to play with me, weren’t you? That wouldn’t be considered friendship at all, right? Sigh~ I completely understand how Hajime-san felt when he was being pressured by Tio-san. How should I put it? I don’t mind being liked by her… but it is incredibly tiring.”
The rabbit ears drooped again, and Shia became even weaker. One could even describe her as "limp Shia."
Although Hajime laughed again, he nodded in agreement with Shia's sentiment.
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