There were two bodies on the ground.

"...Shizuku-chan, are you still alive?"

“…I’m still alive.”

Seems to be still alive.

Like squashed frogs, these two people, as miserable as corpses, are Shizuku and Suzu.

The two turned over and lay on their backs, stretching their arms and legs in a spread-eagle position, then took a deep breath.

The night air filled their lungs, gently cooling their burning bodies. Under a sky filled with stars, they both exhaled in unison with a "whoosh."

"We're finally leaving tomorrow."

"Yeah, at least it finally has a shape."

Shizuku and Ling were lying in a spread-eagle position, talking to each other.

The two were talking about getting familiar with the artifact that was modified by Hajime.

The power of those artifacts increased, and their might grew. Before heading to their next destination, the Shuuni Snowfield, they practiced on the deck of the anchored Fornil.

We are now not far from the snowfield. Tomorrow we will enter the snowfield, and then we will enter the final maze [Ice and Snow Cave] without stopping.

The night before entering the Great Labyrinth, it seemed that Shizuku and Suzu had achieved results that were acceptable to a certain extent.

Although their magic power was exhausted, making them feel extremely tired and sweating profusely, they both looked quite satisfied.

At this time, there was a sound of footsteps.

"Shizuku-chan, Suzu-chan, thank you for your hard work!"

Accompanied by the sound of a yellow oriole, Kaori appeared. Though she was the "Apostle of God," Noin, she was wearing a set of white pajamas, a feeling that still evoked an indescribable feeling.

Behind Kaori stood Yue, Shia, and Tio. Like Kaori, they were all wearing light-weight pajamas. Only Tio was wearing something resembling a yukata. Though it wasn't particularly revealing, her breasts and thighs were faintly visible. "This person is so strangely alluring," Suzu muttered to herself.

"Come on, both of you, make sure you wipe off the sweat, okay?"

"Thank you, Kaori."

"Xiao Xiangxiang, thank you!"

Taking the soft towels, Shizuku and Ling stood up and wiped their bodies happily.

Tio looked at the two of them and asked worriedly:

"It's already New Year's Eve, huh? Aren't you two trying too hard?"

"That's right~ Anyway, let's have a midnight snack! You have to eat well after working out, or you won't get stronger!"

The plate Xia brought contained steaming soup and soft bread. The fragrant aroma of vegetables filled the air, and immediately someone's stomach rumbled.

"Ahaha, are you starving, Miss Ling?"

Xia said with a smile, but Ling rolled her eyes at her.

"I really want to ask why you so naturally assumed it was Ling's stomach growling, but Xixi, it's not Ling who's stomach growling."

So who was it? Everyone's attention was inevitably focused on another person.

“…Don’t look at me…”

It was Shizuku. She seemed utterly starving. She immediately pulled her ponytail over her face, activating her shame defense—the ponytail defense.

The scene was filled with a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

"By the way, what about Kouki-san and Ryuutarou-san?"

To save her friend who was trembling with shame, Kaori changed the subject. Shizuku thanked her friend, untied her ponytail, and replied:

"They rested first. Ryuutarou, as usual, collapsed from overexerting himself. Kouki, on the other hand, collapsed first due to the unimaginable output of the holy sword and the exhaustion of his magic power."

"Are they alright?"

"Yes, anyway, they're both already familiar with the artifact. Next, before arriving tomorrow, we need to make final adjustments and confirm our synergy."

"Is that so? That's good. But what should we do? I've already prepared a late-night snack for both of them."

Indeed, the midnight snack on the large plate that Xia was carrying seemed to be enough for six or seven people. That was probably the amount prepared considering the two boys with big appetites.

"Since this is a rare opportunity, how about having a late-night snack together? It would be quite fun to have a girls-only dinner under the night sky."

Shia said cheerfully, wiggling her rabbit ears.

“…Well, Hajime has already rested today to try and recover his strength, so I agree.”

Since Yue also agreed, no one objected.

So the midnight girls' party began.

As if the wonderful taste spread to every corner of their tired bodies, Shizuku and Suzu immediately showed an intoxicated expression the moment they drank the thick soup, and Kaori, who was in charge of cooking, also smiled happily.

"I thought this was Shia's usual dish, but... this tastes like Kaori, right? Thank you, Kaori."

"Hehe, I can't hide it from you, Shizuku-chan."

Kaori gave a shy smile. Shizuku smiled gently and said, "Of course, right?"

"Shizuku-san and Kaori-san are really close~"

Shia wiggled her bunny ears, seeming quite impressed. Kaori, on the other hand, snuggled up to Shizuku, as if to hug her, a smug expression on her face, "Right?" Her eyes kept drifting towards Yue.

"...Why do you look so smug, Sakibe Kaori?"

“Who is that!?”

Perhaps because he was annoyed by Kaori showing off her friend, Yue snorted and pulled Shia towards him.

"...Shizuku doesn't have those alluring rabbit ears."

Yue's smug expression seemed to say "My friend wins!"

"Shizuku-chan has this ponytail!"

"...Hmph, nothing compares to this soft feeling."

"If we compare breasts, Shizuku-chan's is also very soft!"

Shizuku scolded Kaori, "What are you talking about, Kaori!?" As they were both bragging about how great their friend was... at that moment...

"It's nice to have friends, isn't it? Friends, Suzu had one before~ Ah, I misunderstood, we can't even be considered 'former' friends...haha."

Everyone's eyes suddenly shifted to Ling, and then when they saw that Pistachio's eyes were like a rotten dead fish, everyone's expressions froze.

Kaori quickly separated from Shizuku, and Yue quietly let go of Shia.

"Rin, Rin, how's your mastery of the iron fan going? Is everything going well?"

After all, facing Ling's heavy self-torture, Tio couldn't joke around, nor could she act perverted. Yue and the others gave Tio a small thumbs-up in praise of the topic she brought up.

"Well, it went very smoothly, Miss Tio. Although this is my first time using a fan, I feel quite elegant!"

Ling put away her dark side and returned to her original cheerful self.

In order to prevent Suzu's unexpectedly deep darkness from surfacing again, Shizuku cautiously joined the conversation.

"Yes, it is indeed elegant and beautiful. The fan imbued with the magic of the bell, in sync with the movements, scatters orange light in the air. It can be said to be a 'dance'."

"Shizuku-chan, don't praise Ling so suddenly! Ling will be embarrassed. It's just that Nagumo-kun's divine weapon is very powerful. He also said that it has a brilliant effect."

Hajime was still the same, always wasting unnecessary time and effort on making things.

Seeing Ling's shy look, Shizuku said with a wry smile:

"Hehe, sorry, I'm afraid to give compliments in front of Kouki, so I couldn't help myself."

Hearing this, Kaori tilted her head in confusion.

"? Why aren't you so confident in praising me in front of Kouki-san?"

Shizuku flashed a look of "Oh no!" for a moment. She and Suzu exchanged glances, their expressions indescribable. Kaori's curiosity grew, and after repeated inquiries...

“Um… you know that Kouki has a grudge against Nagumo-san, right? But he can’t help but seek his help…”

"Ahaha, so he gets a little angry if you praise Nagumo-san's divine weapon."

It seems that's the case. Although he was happy about the increase in combat power, when he thought that it was a reward from Hajime, Kouki, who wanted to prove himself right, felt very complicated.

Hearing Ling say that, Kaori gave him an ambiguous smile, Yue looked as if she was defeated by him, and Tio had an expression that said, "There's really nothing I can do about him."

Seeing Shizuku's wry smile, Shia felt puzzled.

"Does Miss Shizuku like him?"

"What?"

Shizuku's expression was as if she had been asked an unexpected question.

"No, I've always had a question. How should I put it? Shizuku-san is always quite tolerant towards Kouki-san and considerate of his feelings, isn't she?"

"Yes, I felt that too. When she was learning sublimation magic, only Kouki had a complicated expression. And Shizuku, you were also very concerned about Kouki's attitude back then, right?"

"...Hmm, you're being rather biased towards a man who can't be happy about the success of his childhood friend. Are you the type of girl who's attracted to jerk guys?"

Shizuku simply denied Yue's question solemnly, then shrugged with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Because he is a family member, I can't abandon him."

Everyone except Kaori was puzzled. Could the word "relatives" mean that they were not just childhood friends, but relatives?

"Shizuku-chan, what you mean is that Kouki-san is a student of the Yaegashi-ryu school. In Shizuku-chan's family, they treat all their official students as 'family'."

Yaegashi-ryu—a long-established kendo school deeply rooted in the region. Unlike kendo classes open to the public, Yaegashi-ryu offers martial arts instruction to security companies and police officers, making it a renowned school within the industry.

The number of people who can become disciples is extremely limited. On the other hand, once they are admitted, the Yaegashi family will treat them as "family."

──Family members will never abandon family members. It is precisely because they will never abandon each other that they are family members.

As the master of the Yaegashi-ryu school and also Shizuku's grandfather, Washizo attaches the most importance to this one among the many tenets of the Yaegashi-ryu school.

In fact, no matter what kind of disaster a student faced, the Yaegashi-ryu people never failed to help them. Therefore, there is a deep bond between those associated with Yaegashi. This teaching, ingrained in Shizuku by her grandfather, father, mother, and her students, is deeply engraved in her heart.

By the way, in Guanghui's case, he was allowed to join the sect because his mother had done a favor to Jiu San in the past, and Guanghui was able to use this relationship to gain admission.

"That's why, even though Kouki is a real headache, I can't abandon him. How should I put it... if I had to say it, he feels like a 'little brother who needs care'."

Being treated as a younger brother by girls of the same grade, one can't help but feel a little sympathetic when thinking about the man's feelings.

We often hear of childhood sweethearts who grew up like siblings, but because of this, they don't harbor romantic feelings. It's possible that Kouki and Shizuku are in this relationship, but...

Thinking back to the look Kouki gave Shizuku, it’s hard to say what he meant.

Xia's rabbit ears twitched, and she asked with curiosity in her eyes:

"Have you never realized your feelings for him?"

When the question finally began to take on the appearance of a girl's love of gossip, Shizuku seemed to fidget and shifted. Perhaps answering for her, Suzu, nibbling at her vegetable soup, disregarded table etiquette and spoke:

"There are rumors all the time. Shizuku-chan and Kaori-chan are always with Kouki-san, and Kouki-san obviously has a special liking for them."

"Yeah, thanks to that, guys who think they can't compare to Kouki won't confess to me, and that makes me feel a lot more relaxed..."

In other words, she truly possesses a radiant consciousness! Not only Shia, but Yue and Tio's eyes were also filled with curiosity. Because Yue and the others all liked Hajime, even when they wanted to talk about love, they only talked about Hajime. Perhaps this was a backlash, making them extremely interested in other people's love gossip.

The wry smile on Shizuku's face deepened, and she shook her head slightly.

"Actually, there was a period when I was afraid of seeing the light."

““““Eh!?”””””

Suzu joined Yue and the others in exclaiming in surprise. Their surprise was certainly because Shizuku had never shown such an attitude before, but what was even more unbelievable was that Shizuku was actually afraid of meeting her childhood friend. The silent pressure demanded that Shizuku explain herself.

Only Kaori looked at Shizuku with a slightly worried look in her eyes.

"Koki has always been popular with girls."

Shizuku recalled the painful memories and the cold gazes of the girls.

The girls were insidious and cruel due to their young age, and they mercilessly pushed Shizuku to the brink of collapse.

"I wasn't very girly at the time. Because of that, when I stood next to Kouki, I would attract the jealousy of the girls."

Although Shizuku's tone was relaxed and her expression seemed nonchalant, her heart was filled with pain. Shizuku suppressed her emotions, not letting the pain locked deep inside her heart spill out, and continued:

"Plus, I wasn't very sociable at the time, so I couldn't handle it properly..."

"But since they are your relatives, you cannot abandon Guanghui. This kind of distress makes you afraid to see Guanghui, right?"

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