Survive in Azure Files

Hugging her every night... I'm a little touched that she cherishes the gift I gave her so much after our relationship has improved.

But if I remember correctly, when I went to Hoshino's house before, the pillow seemed to be pressed under the quilt, right?

In other words, Hoshino used to hate me but still fall asleep every night with the Blue Whale pillow I gave him?

Wow, that's so weird, even I can't help but secretly get excited!

At the same time, I also realized that Hoshino wanted to say something to me.

Hoshino: But uncle, I've turned the storage room upside down, but I couldn't find the marine life illustration book you gave me.

Hoshino: Are you still with me, teacher?

Me: I don’t deserve happiness.

Hoshino:?!

Hoshino: Wow! You actually peeked!

Me: I was watching it openly, right?

Hoshino: Teacher, how can you be like this! It’s fine if you just look at it, but you also say such things. Uncle, my heart hurts so much~

Hoshino: Uncle is angry? The consequences are serious, right? If the teacher doesn't hold me, he won't be able to comfort me, right?

I suddenly missed the Hoshino who was so distant at first, even if he was cold and arrogant to me later. I felt that the Hoshino who harassed me all the time was a little bit arrogant.

I really don’t know who he learned this from. Why doesn’t he take the teacher as a role model?

I sighed, then responded with an upright attitude.

Me: Give me an address and I’ll come and hug you right away.

Me: Do you want to have dinner together after the hug? If you want to have dinner, I will take you back to Xia Laina.

Very good, the response I made perfectly reflects the sense of distance that should exist between a master and his apprentice in the Kivotos style.

Hoshino: Hehe~ What?

Hoshino: I'm at school now. It's rare that everyone is away today. Uncle, I can sleep wherever I want~

Hoshino: So please come to the activity room to find me~

Hoshino: By the way, since you are so bold as to ask me to treat you to a meal, I will not hesitate to treat you to a meal tonight~

I blinked and scrolled through the chat history, thinking that I didn't say I wanted to treat him. But it doesn't matter, as long as Hoshino is happy.

I drank the rest of the coffee, wiped my mouth with a tissue, and headed to the tram station to catch the train back to DU.

Given how desolate and remote Abydos is, it is more convenient and faster for me to get there by Xialai's helicopter.

When I was about to return to Xialai, I received the news that the engineering department had completed the work, so I told them that I would be there soon and asked them to wait for a moment.

Soon after, I saw from afar three dirty girls standing at the door of the Xialai office building, waiting eagerly.

I walked quickly to them and said, "Have all the explosives been removed? Thank you for your hard work."

Utahara smiled and said, “It is the responsibility of the engineering department to fine-tune the work according to the requirements.”

Xiang said weakly, "And I'm on duty..."

Kotoli pushed her glasses up proudly. "Hehe~ It's time for me to show up! Teacher, you must be curious about the functions of Xialai's new equipment, right? Let me explain them to you one by one! First, start with the door--"

"Sorry, although I'm interested, I have work to do later."

I regretfully interrupted Kotoli's speech.

Kotoli then said, "Then I will explain it to you in detail next time when you are free!"

Actually, I didn't think there was anything good about it. After all, I was 100% confident in the results of the engineering department. But since Kotoli was so enthusiastic, I couldn't refuse, so I agreed.

"Also, I have something to tell you."

I said frankly, "The White Wolf that I had promised to lend you for research was damaged by an accident during the operation."

Utahara couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard this: "Damaged? Considering the toughness of the White Wolf, could it be that the front suffered a large-scale explosion?"

"almost."

Utahara frowned and thought deeply: "Hmm... there should be some wreckage left? Has it been recovered? Or can you provide the approximate location of the wreckage?"

Seeing that Utahara still had some ideas, and thinking of the large number of troops deployed by Caesar PMC and the mysterious mechanical python hidden in the desert, I had to try to dispel her idea:

“The location was on the private land of a large company. When I left, I was buried under the rubble of the explosion. Now it has probably been cleared by the company.

“And even if it’s still there, it would take a lot of time to remove the masonry that’s pressing on it, and it’s almost impossible to do so without alerting private forces. It’s really too dangerous, so let’s just forget it.

"Although it was just an accident, as the price for breaking my promise, I can agree to one of your other requests, provided it does not violate my principles and does not exceed my ability."

I think my attitude is sincere enough.

"Do you have any other similar creations in your hands?"

"temporarily unavailable."

Utahara, Hibiki, and Kotoli exchanged glances, then nodded slowly:

"Since you put it that way, there's nothing we can do about it. In our previous research, we've actually gained a lot. Although it's a bit regrettable, there's nothing we can do about it. As for your request, allow us to put it forward now."

"Of course. What do you want?"

I was a little nervous, not knowing what requirements the engineering department would make.

As far as I can guess, they most likely want me to promise that when I obtain similar creations containing special powers again, I will lend them to them for research.

However, Utahara took a deep breath and gave me an answer that was totally unexpected:

"Teacher, can I borrow Xia Lai's bathroom?"

……what?

"Can I just use the bathroom?"

I confirmed with them in a somewhat uncertain tone.

Kotoli nodded her head like a woodpecker. "We are girls after all! We are dirty and sticky after work, which is very uncomfortable! There is no other place to take a shower nearby, so I had to endure it and go back to school some time ago."

"Then you could have mentioned it to me some time ago, right?"

Xiang whispered, "Because... I'm sorry... I felt like I was bothering you too much..."

"It's not a big deal." I pressed my forehead. "Forget about it. You can think of another one. You can use Xia Lai's bathroom anytime you want."

Utahara smiled slightly: "Then our request is to lend us the bathroom when we come to Xialai for duty in the future. Please don't refuse, teacher, for the sake of our pleasant cooperation."

That’s right, for the sake of pleasant cooperation between each other.

"There is a dryer in the laundry room. I won't be back for at least two hours. Remember to turn off the lights and lock the door."

"clear."

After giving the instructions, I didn't delay any longer and headed to Abydos to keep my appointment with Hoshino.

It was already dusk when I arrived at the activity room.

"Sorry, I'm late." I said as I opened the door.

"You're so slow. I'm so tired of waiting for you."

The petite girl with long pink hair and golden-blue eyes sat on the edge of the table, puffing her face in dissatisfaction.

Then, she landed lightly on the ground, her steps were light, and finally she fell into my arms briskly, her voice soft and sweet:

"But~ I forgive you~"

Today, Hoshino has made up his mind to attack in the cutest form!

Chapter 26 Pay attention to Xiaoniaoyou Xingye Miao

I was a little dazed by Hoshino's sudden attack, and then I reached out to hug Hoshino, gently stroking her hair which was extremely smooth except for the stubborn tuft of hair on top of her head.

"You won't be angry if you do this, right?"

Hoshino nudged my chest and snorted with satisfaction: "Um~ By the way, teacher, is your neck injured?"

"It's just a minor injury. It's almost healed. And, since you're no longer angry..."

I put my hands on Hoshino's shoulders, pushed him away, and said solemnly: "Then, let's continue to keep our distance from now on, Hoshino-kun."

Hoshino exclaimed: "Wow! You are so unromantic!"

Quite the opposite. It is because I understand romance so well that I must stick to my original intention.

The more active a girl is, the more distant she should be; the more passive a girl is, the closer she should be. Only in this way can you enjoy the fun of pulling each other with girls!

I changed the subject immediately: "Are you hungry? Let's go eat. Do you have a favorite restaurant?"

"Hmm~" Hoshino pondered, with a bright smile on his cute face, "Has Xia Lai stocked up on any ingredients? If not, let's go shopping at the supermarket first~ Today, I want you to taste the food cooked by the uncle himself, although the cooking skills are not very good. But no matter whether it tastes good or not, you will eat it happily~"

Food made by Hoshino himself?! I want to eat it!

But the engineering department might still be taking a bath in Xialai.

I had no choice but to refuse: "But wouldn't it be better to have a candlelight dinner at a restaurant overlooking the night view for the first date?"

A'lu, let me borrow your innocent and romantic girlish feelings for a while!

“Wow…Wow…”

Hoshino, who is good at attacking but not defending, opened her eyes wide, her face flushed instantly, and she scratched her cheek unconsciously with her fingers: "Date? Really, what are you talking about, I didn't know today was a date... Hehehe... But since you think so, it's okay with me~"

The joy was palpable.

An easy woman to deal with. I still miss the way you looked when you said you would never believe me.

In my heart, I teased Hoshino, who always brought me pleasure and a sense of accomplishment every time we met, despite the huge contrast. I couldn't help but rub her head again, and then, as I said just now, I took her to a restaurant overlooking the night view for dinner.

By the way, it happened to be the one I went to with Alu a few days ago.

The front desk clerk seemed to recognize me and noticed that the female companion I brought was different from the last time. She looked at me with a slightly strange look.

What are you looking at! Haven't you seen a good teacher who is widely loved and supported by students? If I couldn't get a table at other restaurants, why would I come to your restaurant again?

Ignoring this minor complaint, the dining experience with Hoshino was quite pleasant.

Especially Hoshino, who was nervous and awkward in the beginning, gradually relaxed under my unremitting efforts. When the seafood dishes were served, he enthusiastically explained relevant marine knowledge to me, which was very interesting.

Next time I'll take Hoshino to the aquarium for a date. By then, she will definitely show an expression that will touch my heart even more.

After dinner, we took a walk by the nearby lake and chatted about trivial things in life.

Most of what Hoshino talked about was about the daily changes in Abydos after it got rid of the direct threat from Caesar's PMC.

Antonis, the director of Caesar PMC, was abandoned by the Caesar Group's top management. After being fired and accused of many crimes, he disappeared on the wanted list of the Federal Student Union.

Although most of the land in Abydos still belongs to the Caesar Group, after this failure, the new Caesar PMC director who replaced Antonis, or this more behind-the-scenes figure, seems to have no intention of continuing to target Abydos.

Caesar Credit still acknowledged Antonis' promise to lower interest rates and reduce debts, and the debt pressure was suddenly reduced a lot compared to before.

Moreover, Caesar no longer hired thugs like the Steel Helmets to attack Abydos. The benefit of this is that the public security situation in the Abydos Autonomous Region has improved a lot in recent times, and even Hoshino's night patrols have become much easier.

"Then it's time to end it. Patrolling all night like you does is really too much of a strain on your body. It's time to rest."

Facing my suggestion, Xingye waved his hand and refused with a smile: "It's okay~ Don't look at me as thin as an uncle, my physical fitness is actually very good. Besides, I have long been accustomed to becoming a nocturnal animal. Now if you ask me to go to bed early, I can't sleep!"

"It hurts me to watch."

I stopped and calmly watched Hoshino, who turned back after taking two more steps forward. I reached out and stroked her cheek, pressing my thumb on the dark circles under her eyes, which were very faint but real. I said calmly:

"So, even if you can't give up completely for the time being, you should reduce the intensity. This is the limit of my concessions. I respect your persistence, but I won't allow you to destroy your body. Do you understand?"

Hoshino stared at me blankly for a long, long time.

Under the moonlight, the outline of her face became softer than usual, and her expression became more serene and calm. The girl held my hand that was caressing her face and whispered:

"Yes. I will."

In this charming and subtle atmosphere, Hoshino and I walked silently along the lakeside path for a while.

Seeing that it was getting dark, I invited Xingye to go to Xialai with me. After taking the marine life illustration in my bedroom, I sent her back to Abydos. I returned to Xialai to take a bath, and it was almost time for me to go to bed.

It means playing with mobile phone until you feel sleepy while lying in bed.

Kan took a helicopter that was parked at a nearby public helipad and refueled. Not long after, he returned to Xialai.