A New Character [Honkai Impact 3 X OC]

Anniversary Special Chapter - 1st Anniversary

— Start Of Anniversary Chapter —

Ray: "It looks like today's chapter is a special one, huh?"

Lei "Yep~!"

Leila: "Wait, why am I here as well?"

In the middle of a blank room. Ray and Lei suddenly appeared though Leila was also there for some reason.

Mei: "Ray!"

Mei also appeared, and when she noticed Ray was there, she didn't even hesitate to charge at him.

Ray: "Wai-?! Why did you jump on me?!"

Mei: "Ray~!!"

Leila: "No seriously, why am I here as well?"

Mei hugged Ray, while Leila was still questioning her existence.

Ray: "...Uh, yeah?"

Mei: "Give me your see-?! Mmmm!?!"

Lei: "K. That was dangerous."

Mei was about to say something dangerous, luckily Lei appeared and saved the day. She put her hand on Mei's mouth, making her unable to say anything.

Kiana: "Huh? Where am I?"

Kiana appeared and quickly looked around as if she was cautious about this new place. Ray noticed her and called her.

Ray: "Oh, you're here as well?"

Kiana: "Hm? What do yo—..."

She was about to answer the question, only to realize that Ray was the one asking.

Kiana: "You're... Alive..."

Her eyes widened as she said those words.

Ray: "Hm? Ah, right. The last time we met was when I was trying to save you, huh..."

He realized that they hadn't met for quite a while and smiled.

Kiana: "...I'm sorry."

That was the only thing she could say as she walked close to him before hesitantly trying to hug him as well.

Ray: "...It's fine. After all, it has passed and you're okay now."

Patting her back, he assured her.

Bronya: "...Da."

Lei: "Oh! Bronya is also here!"

Bronya: "I- *Cough*, The Bronya also wants a hug from Ray."

Leila: "No wait, did you just say 'I'?"

Bronya: "...The Bronya doesn't understand what Lei's older twin sister meant."

Bronya said as she looked away from Leila's questioning gaze.

Kiana: "Huh, older twin sister?"

Lei: "Oh, right, Kiana wasn't with us."

Kiana: "Uh, I missed a lot of things did I?"

Lei: "Well, a few things. But not a lot of them are important."

Kiana: "Really?"

Leila: "Well, if you say that knowing the truths about our family isn't important, then yes, it's not important."

Kiana: "Eh?!"

Lei: "Eeh~? But I'm not wrong, am I? After all, we don't want any dark stuff here in this special chapter."

Leila: "Speaking of that... How did Bronya know about me being Lei's older twin? I'm pretty sure she wasn't there when we told our story though?"

A suspicious look was given by Leila toward the sweating-but-still-emotionless-Bronya. Meanwhile, the girl in question still had her gaze away from Leila.

Fu Hua: "I told her."

A wild birb appeared!

Kiana: "—?! Fu Hua!"

Fu Hua: "Yes yes, Kiana. I'm alive... Well, at least here... I think."

Mei: "What happened, Fu Hua? Why did you suddenly disappear like that?"

Mei asked with a worried voice.

Fu Hua: "I... Don't know. I can't remember it..."

Rosemary: "Well, that's obvious because we wouldn't want any spoilers."

Rita Rosemary (Or at least that's how she's called right now) suddenly said as she was sitting casually on a sofa that she made the moment she appeared here.

All (Except Ray): "Wha-?!"

Rosemary: "Oh? Did I surprise all of you? Fufufu~"

Ray: "Well, maybe it's because you have the same appearance as a certain maid."

Rita: "Oh? Someone with the same appearance as me?"

Rita also appeared. Damn, I don't even know what would happen now that both Ritas had met each other. Unfortunately, the captain wasn't here to calm these two dangerous beings.

Rosemary: "It's fine, Narrator-san. After all, nothing bad would happen."

Welp, it looked like she noticed me.

Ray: "Huh? Who's 'Narrator-san' you just talked to?"

Rosemary: "Hm~ I don't know if it's fine to tell you"

Naron: "It's fine."

All (Again, except Ray and Rosemary): "Huh?!"

Another Ray appeared! But... This Ray was different from the Ray they know! He's... Much cooler!

Naron:"..."

See? He's so cool he couldn't even talk!

Ray: "Oh, is it that mysterious voice?"

Rosemary: "Yes~ Correct~!"

Ah damn, now he also noticed me.

Must be weird knowing me.

Ray: "It's fine. Uh... Narrator..san?"

Just call me Narrator.

Ray: "Okay...? Anyway, nice to meet you, Narrator."

Ah yes, nice to meet you too. Though, I've already known about you since this story started.

Kiana: "Uh, Ray? How much did I actually miss? How there's two Ritas and that mysterious voice? Hey? I think I need an explanation though?"

Lei: "It's okay, Kiana. I don't even know about all of this. And I'm sure as my sister that no one in this room beside them knew about this."

Kiana asked but Lei was the one who answered her, though she answered Kiana's question with a complicated gaze.

Kiana: "O....kay?"

Kiana said as she looked away awkwardly not fully understanding Lei's answer, only to realize that her gaze met with Mei's.

A gasp left Mei's mouth as she realized that Kiana had been here for a while.

Mei: "Kiana..."

Kiana: "..."

With a worried tone, Mei tried to call her (formerly missing) best friend. The moment she tried to walk closer to her, Kiana instead walked the opposite way. This made their distance stay the same as before.

Kiana: "I'm sorry, Mei... But, I don't think I—?!"

Lei: "Ey~"

Just as she was about to give her sad-eyed-best friend an answer, a push suddenly came from behind her, resulting in her about to fall face forward.

But of course, she was able to recover by quickly planting her right foot in front of her.

Kiana: "Why did you-"

Kiana was about to ask Lei why she did that, only to realize that she was in front of Mei.

Kiana: "...Sigh."

With a sigh, she was about to walk back to her former position but Mei caught her hand.

Mei: "At least, tell me..."

Her voice was small, but it was able to go through the room quite clearly (because everyone was silent).

Mei: "...That you're fine... please."

She looked at Kiana with a sad and pained expression.

Kiana: "...I..."

Kiana wasn't able to answer Mei's question. Instead, she pulled her hand forcefully, releasing it from Mei's hands.

Mei: "Ah..."

Kiana: "I'm sorry... But I don't think I can even say that. As easy as it sounds... I just can't bring myself to say it."

With a regretful expression, she looked down at the floor.

After that, there was only silence in the room. No one said a word, but one of our characters didn't give a damn about that.

Naron: "Why did you—No, or should I say 'he' gathered all of us here? What's his objective?"

Well... Why don't you ask him yourself?

Naron: "...Fair point."

Naron walked a few steps before he stopped right in front of nothing. He moved his arm to slash the blank space in front of him, revealing a certain someone looking at him from the other side.

???: "Well, it seems like you got me faster than I expected."

Naron: "Straight to the point."

??? sighed as he stood up and walked closer to—Eh?

???: "It's fine to stop narrating now, come with me."

Uh, okay.

Both I and ??? walked out of our place through the gap that Naron had made just now.

Naron: "Huh, I didn't expect that she's a girl."

Narrator: "Eh? How so? Couldn't you guess it from my voice?"

Naron looked at me with a blank stare.

Naron: "How do you expect me to know based on your soundless narration? You do realize we don't have any 'real' voice here. So I couldn't guess what your gender was."

Narrator: "Huh, now that you mention it, you're right..."

??? clapped his hand, making him the center of attention from all the people here. Strangely though, nobody questioned who he was.

???: "Well, that'll make everything easier, I guess."

Bruh. Although you're not wrong, but still bruh.

Rosemary: "I see, so you're him, huh..."

Ah, she realized who he was.

Ray: "Huh? Who are you?"

Ray asked the question that everyone wanted to ask. It seemed like everyone did realize that they didn't know who this person was, though they were too shaken by everything that happened too quickly.

Fortunately, Ray managed to recover himself faster than the others and asked the important question.

???: "Hmm, well, just call me... 'Author', yeah, that'll do."

Ray: "Author...? That name... sounds famili—Ah! Don't tell me he's the one who—"

A surprised expression appeared on Ray's face as a certain memory appeared.

A memory that he was able to remember clearly due to how short the interval between the time before he got here and now.

Naron: "Yes."

Rosemary: "I knew it~"

With a nod, Naron confirmed his assumption. So did Rosemary who was almost 100% sure that she was correct—that this was the "one".

Author: "Anyway, is there any question before I tell all of you the important announcement?"

Mei lifted her hand.

Author: "Yes?"

Mei: "I want Ray's see-I mean, chil-Why do I keep saying that!?"

Mei stuttered her words twice, and her face was also red from embarrassment. Meanwhile, the person who she meant to from her words was looking at the floor.

Ray: "Ah yes, the floor here is made out of floor."

Narrator: "...He's running away from reality, isn't he?"

All the people (except Ray and Mei) nodded their heads, agreeing with what I just said.

Author: "Would you mind answering, Naron?"

Author said with a strange smile at Naron while the person in question only looked at him with a certain gaze before he sighed and opened his mouth.

Naron: "This space where we currently are, is a place where our deepest desire could be known. Or in other words, this is a space where your true feelings would come out. Or... Your real personality."

He said as he glanced at a certain someone smiling at him from behind Ray.

Ray: "Huh?"

Ray noticed Naron's glance and looked behind him. There was nothing.

Ray: "...?"

He had a confused look as he tilted his head toward Naron.

Rita:" Basically it's a space where you can't lie to yourself~"

Mei: "Eh?! Does that mean I...?"

Rita: "Hm~"

With a teasing tone, she nodded. Meanwhile, Mei—who had just realized a shocking revelation about herself—started to become red.

Naron: "Nonetheless..."

Naron moved his gaze toward Author who was smiling.

Naron: "Why isn't 'she' here?"

His voice was deep and different.

Author: "You mean 'her', huh... Well, she hasn't made an appearance yet in the story, so... No wait, she did make an appearance in the prologue... But you know what happened after that, right?"

Naron: "...I see."

Naron folded his arms as he nodded slowly.

Author: "Heh, you miss her? After all, she's your-"

Author casually lifted his right hand and caught something, it was so fast that almost all of the people here didn't see it.

For the normal people here, they only knew that the sword suddenly appeared right in the middle of Author's index and middle finger. But actually, the speed Naron threw the sword far exceeded that of a light speed.

Ray: "Eh?! Isn't that—"

It was a sword Ray was familiar with. The same sword that he used to fight against Herrscher Of The Void at their final moments in the battle.

Naron: "...I know you'll catch it."

Author: "Well, of course, you do."

He said as he grabbed the sword and threw it lightly, though it also far exceeded the light speed as it suddenly appeared in Naron's hand.

Author: "Anyway, now you know why you always said those words."

Mei: "I-I... w-want his... c-c-child?"

Author smiled at Mei's embarrassed face as well as stuttered and nodded.

Mei, on the other hand, froze for a moment before she walked to the corner of the room and crouched down.

It looked like she was depressed. Poor her.

Author: "Now... Ray, go comfort her."

Ray: "Eh?!"

Author pushed Ray lightly. Yes, I'm sure all of you do know what "lightly" meant if he wasn't the one doing it.

Fortunately, Naron quickly appeared in front of Ray and caught him. Though, he only did that and also pushed him toward Mei. But he actually pushed him lightly, so that's a relief.

Ray: "U-uh..."

Mei: "Stop it, Ray. I'm fine."

She said as she stared at him with dead eyes.

She's not fine.

Narrator : "Anyway, when will the main point of the chapter start? We're already quite far in the chapter, yet you're just fooling around."

Author: "Hm, well then."

He clapped his hand.

Suddenly, all of us were already sitting down on our own chairs. In front of us was a big screen, big enough for all of us to see clearly.

Author: "Now, the theme for this special chapter is..."

He trailed his words.

Author: "A reaction chapter!"

The screen suddenly turned on. Some texts were starting to form on it.

Ray: "A New Character's special chapter..."

Lei: "Anniversary specials..."

Leila: "...A reaction chapter."

The three of our main characters were speaking out loud the words that had formed on the screen.

Author: "In this special chapter, we will be reacting to some certain scenes in the past. Scenes that weren't in the story, or should I call it a 'side-story'."

He said as he walked in front of the screen.

Author: "And for this chapter, we will be reacting to..."

Suddenly, drum roll sounds appeared from around us.

Author: "Kiana's special chapter!"

The text "Kiana's special side-story - First Time" appeared on the screen.

Kiana: "Wha-?! I'm still a virgin!"

She shouted from her seat, which was now moved beside Ray.

Instantly, everything went silent to the point that the sound of an imaginary cricket could be heard in the background.

Kiana's face instantly turned red as a sign of embarrassment and she sat down with a grumpy face.

Ray: "...Uh, I'm still a virgin, as well though? Nothing wrong with that, right?"

As an effort to calm the situation, he asked out loud.

Mei: "U-uhm... Me too."

Bronya: "Da. The Bronya, as well."

Lei: "Me four~!"

Leila: "...Hm."

Fu Hua: "I... am too, right? Weird, somehow I can't remember... But I have a feeling that I'm still a virgin, so it must be true."

...Uh, okay. They all said those important information without hesitation (except for the last one).

As a result, Kiana's redness (embarrassment) reduced to a certain extent.

Oh, and did I forget to mention? Kiana and Ray were on the same sofa. So, Ray was able to see her embarrassed face from the start.

Anyway, moving on.

Author: "As for the next special chapter, the chapters we will be reacting to are (in order) Mei, Bronya, Lei, Leila, Fu Hua, and lastly Bianka."

He announced though I had a question I needed to ask.

Narrator: "Wait, wouldn't that mean that we will need to wait for 6 more special chapters? And we only do an anniversary special chapter every year, you know?"

Author: "Hm, you're right... Oh well, we'll just add Mei and Bronya's special side-story to this chapter's reaction."

Narrator: "So we'll be splitting them into two parts? And does that mean you'll really do a second anniversary chapter in the future?"

Author: "Yes, and probably. Though, I do hope that this story will reach two years, or even more."

I hoped that would happen too. Though, I wondered if we even have enough arcs to reach two years at the moment?

Eeh, I'll just leave it to him.

Ray: "Uh, can I ask something?"

Author: "Hm? Sure."

Ray: "If Bian—I mean, Durandal also has this 'special chapter' time. Then why isn't she also here with us?"

Author : "What do you mean? She's always been here though?"

Ray : "Huh? Where?"

Strange, could it be that Ray never noticed Durandal's existence since the start?

Lei : "Uh, Ray?"

Ray : "Yes, Lei?"

Lei : "Look on your lap."

Ray : "Huh? My lap?"

He looked down to see a small figure sitting on his lap. Upon a closer look, he noticed that the small figure was actually a girl, and she also had a similar hair color as well as the hairstyle of a certain girl.

Ray : "Eh?! Bianka?!"

Wow, he never noticed that she had always been on his lap? Though, it was understandable if he didn't know because she was on his head before we got transported here.

The small girl figure, Durandal Bianka (Kiana B) Ataegina, looked up straight into Ray's eyes and opened her small mouth.

Bianka : "Ray."

Her voice was different from her usual one. It had a higher tone. Maybe it was because she was smaller?

Ray : "Yes?"

But nonetheless, he answered her call.

Bianka : "I love y-"

Just before she completed her sentence. Kiana quickly snatched her and put her hand on the small Durandal's mouth.

Ray : "Uh, Kiana? Why did you do that? Bianka was about to say something, you know?"

Kiana : "...I have my reasons."

Ray : "Uh, okay... Tuna."

Kiana : "You're still calling me that?!"

Anyway, it seemed like no one would be able to confess to Ray even in this special chapter, huh... Well, that's understandable since this is a space where your real feelings would come out.

But whether it was because of some kind of natural power or something like that, no one was able to confess clearly to him from long ago.

Especially a certain purple-haired girl whose confessions were always get interrupted at the last moments. Though, the person himself was also not completely dense. I guaranteed that.

Author : "Hey, those two love birds over there, please be silent. We need to continue the chapter."

He clapped his hand and said that, directing his words toward the two just now.

Kiana : "Wha-?!"

Ray : "Sigh, just let it go. It's not... true anyway, right?"

What sharp words. And that indeed, made Kiana's expression become that of a shock, even though Ray noticed it he was trying his best not to let it show on his face.

Although, it was clear he was also receiving damage from his own words based on how he was biting the corner of his lips to hold himself.

Kiana : "...Yeah, you're right. It's not true anyway."

She said while having a dark expression.

Ray : "..."

Ray couldn't say anything and just switched his attention to Lei who was on the other side of him. In fact, she was actually looking at him angrily.

Lei : "Why would you say that, dumb Ray."

She whispered loud enough to make Ray hear it.

But the person in question only looked at her with a complicated expression.

Because of this, the mood between Ray and Kiana became worse.

Author : "...Anyway."

He made himself the center of the attention once more, and this time the screen behind him showed a "Play" button.

Author : "Shall we react to it, now?"

...But no one said anything.

Author : "...Sigh, seriously?"

He sighed and walked toward Ray. And chopped him on the head.

Ray : "Ow-?!"

Author : "Listen here, you little shi-"

Narrator : "Hey, no curses, remember?"

I cut his words off just before he said that dangerous word.

Author : "Right, sorry. Anyway..."

He stared right into Ray's eyes.

Author : "Just because you don't want your relationship with the other girls to crumble and change, don't ever run away from their feelings."

Ray : "What are you—"

Author : "Ray."

Ray : "?!"

Just before Ray could comment on what he was saying, Author cut his words off with a REALLY intimidating tone.

Heck, even Naron reacted to that specific aura by instantly making a sword appear on his hand.

Author : "Continuing on... You have to accept those who have feelings for you. Not like I'm telling you to get into a 'special' relationship with her or something, but you shouldn't and never have thought of them as nothing."

Ray : "..."

Author : "Even someone as smart as you know what I mean, right? After all..."

He smiled cheekily while pointing his index finger toward him.

Author : "You are a character that I created. And a smart one on that. Although your denseness still exists. At this point, surely you've noticed their feelings towards you."

He said it as he patted Ray's head with a... smile similar to that of a parent that had noticed their child's secret.

Ray : "..."

Ray didn't say anything—no, more like he couldn't say anything. He only looked down silently.

Ray : "...I..."

Slowly, he started to talk.

Ray: "I... do. I've known their feelings since a year after we were enrolled into St. Freya."

Mei : "?!"

Mei's reaction was understandable. After all, to know that the person you had feelings for had noticed it for so long would be surprising.

Meanwhile, Kiana only stared at Ray with widened eyes. She was also surprised at Ray's statement just now.

Ray noticed the two girls' reaction and smiled sadly.

Ray : "I'm sorry for pretending I never noticed. It's just..."

He trailed his words.

Author : "It's fine, don't say anything more. After all, you will explain it yourself in the side-story I'm about to show all of you."

Ray : "Wait, does that mean..."

Author nodded with a smile as he walked back to his former position.

Author : "Now that the mood has changed—for the better, of course—let's start the reaction shall we?"

Everyone nodded.

Author : "'Kiana's special side-story - First Time' begins!"

Even though a girl with white hair and blue eyes had a faint blush on her cheeks as she heard that title, no one paid attention to her and shifted their attention to the big screen behind him.

Now, the special side-story would truly start!

— Start Of Kiana's Special Side-story —

It was a sunny day like any other, nothing major nor problematic was going on. It was a peaceful day.

??? : "Hey! It's my turn! Why are you the one rolling the dice?!"

But not in St. Freya's Dorms, specifically in Squad V's dorm.

A certain white-haired girl was shouting to a black-haired boy, it was also worth mentioning they were playing monopoly.

It was Ray and Kiana.

Ray : "Well, you did get into the prison. So, you can't do anything for the next few turns. Unless you want to try your luck and grab the 'free' card."

Kiana : "Fine then! Let's try it!"

Kiana grabbed a card and.... It was, indeed, not the "Free" card.

Kiana : "UUGGGHHH! SERIOUSLY?!"

With a loud shout, she threw away the card but was instantly caught by Ray.

Ray : "Don't be too loud, Tuna!"

Ray smacked Kiana's head with the card she just threw in frustration.

Kiana : "WHY?!"

Ray : "You're bothering the others in their own dorms!"

Ray sighed before standing up and walking down the hallway to the front door and checked the main corridor, making sure that no one was walking through it.

Ray : "Good thing no one was passing by..."

After that, he went back inside and sat down in front of the table they were playing on—in front of the sofa in the living room, to be exact.

Ray : "Well, do you want to continue playing?"

Kiana : "Nah, I'm bored."

Ray : "Bruh."

Kiana responded while laying down on the sofa. While Ray just gave her a disappointing look.

Ray : "But..."

Minutes after they decided to just relax, Ray started to talk and Kiana glanced at him as a response.

Ray : "To know that the others are out at the same time... Lei and Bronya went out to train, while Mei and Fu Hua went to the City's Main Library."

Kiana : "Hmm, Aunt Theresa got called to HQ while Himeko went to Hyperion for some reason."

She added while holding her head with her left arm.

Ray : "Well, maybe Major Himeko wants to meet with the Captain?"

Kiana : "Huh, why would she do that?"

Ray : "I don't know."

Kiana : "No wait, perhaps..."

Ray shrugged his shoulders while Kiana muttered something under her breath.

Kiana : "Wait! I got an idea!"

Ray : "Huh?"

Kiana suddenly stood up and pointed at the ceiling.

Kiana : "Let's do an investigation!"

Ray : "Uh, investigate what?"

Kiana : "Duh, of course about Himeko."

Ray : "Okay...?"

At his weird response, Kiana stared at Ray for a moment before she said—

Kiana : "Are you stupid? Or just dense?"

Ray : "Huh?"

Kiana : "Sigh, forget it... Anyway! Change your clothes and let's meet up at the Dorm's lobby."

She said before she sprinted upstairs, while Ray only looked at her confused before sighing and went to his room—which was also upstairs.

A couple of minutes later. Ray was standing alone in front of the Dorm's lobby. He was currently looking at his phone but stopped when he heard quite a loud step coming from behind him.

??? : "Didn't I already tell you to wait in the lobby?! Not in front of the lobby!"

She shouted angrily while heading toward his way. As a response, he turned around and said what he wanted to say a few minutes ago.

Ray : "What are you saying? This is still part of the lobby, isn't it? Just in front of it. And also, you took way too long changing clothes just for this investi—"

Suddenly, he paused his words when he moved his gaze towards the girl in front of him.

Ray : "...Who are you?"

With a doubtful look, he suddenly said. But that was understandable, after all...

The girl in front of her was just too different than the one he knew.

Kiana : "Ha?! It's me! Kiana Kaslana! The girl that will be the strongest Valkyrie!"

Ray : "Ah, yep. That's what Tuna would say in her introduction..."

He said with a blank stare at Kiana.

Kiana: "What do you mean?!"

Ray: "...Anyway, what took you so long?"

Ignoring her question, he asked her.

Kiana : "Huh?! A girl's preparation is longer than boys, you know!"

Ray : "You? What do you even need to prepare?"

Kiana : "Why are you saying it as if I'm not a girl?!"

With a dumbfounded look, he asked her honestly.

Ray : "Sigh... But..."

He looked at Kiana from the legs until her head. She was wearing a pair of white shoes and a blue skirt, combined with a white shirt that covered only the upper part of her arms.

She also had a bracelet on her right wrist. And a single pair of earrings on her right ear. It seemed like she also did a little make-up on her face, based on how her lips were a bit more pink than usual. Her hair was also laid straight out and not braided into two like her usual twin tail.

A small bag could also be seen hanging on her right side, it had the color of light blue and was big enough for a few small things (like a phone or a wallet) to fit inside it.

Ray : "Well... You look pretty, I guess."

He said before turning around and started walking.

Kiana : "Eh?! You actually complimented me for once?"

Ray: "...I feel like that's something I shouldn't be angry about considering how I usually treat you. But I'll dismiss it for now."

Kiana: "You shouldn't be angry! I always got treated unfairly from you!"

Ray: "...Really? Weird... Since I remember sometimes helping you with your homework..."

Kiana: "Thank you, Ray! You're the best!"

Ray: "...Sigh. Let's get going."

A sigh left his mouth as he turned around and started walking. Not wanting to be left behind, Kiana also walked toward him.

Kiana: "...Ehehe. He said I was pretty..."

Those words were muttered under her breath just before she arrived beside him and matched her pace with his.

After that, they continued walking toward the station.

— Intermission 1 —

Kiana : "..."

Silently, she was watching the screen with widened eyes. It seemed like she didn't expect that this was the scene Author chose for her "Special Side-story".

Kiana : "Wait wait! Why did you choose this one?!"

Author : "Well, why not? Maybe it's because this was your first date with Ray?"

Kiana : "It wasn't a date!"

Author : "Oh? Then how about we see what happened next?"

With a cheeky smile, he pointed at the screen once again.

— End Of Intermission 1 —

Kiana : "Look! That's Aunt Himeko and The Captain!"

Ray : "Don't shout! We're in the middle of the streets! Look, there are even people looking at us!"

Kiana : "Oh, sorry."

Ray : "It's fine, just be mindful about where we are right now."

Kiana : "Okay."

Kiana and Ray were talking in the middle of the city. They were currently looking at Himeko and the Captain—who were talking to each other in a certain Restaurant.

Some people were looking at them strangely. Even a mother—who was a distance away—quickly grabbed her son's hand and suggested that they go through another way.

Back to the coupl—I mean, pair. They—especially Kiana—were still observing the other two inside.

Kiana : "I knew it, they are on a date!"

Suddenly, with a pose as if she had already known everything, she said so.

Ray : "Huh? What do you mean?"

Kiana : "Well, I did kind of accidentally hear that Himeko had planned something on this very day with a certain someone. And when she said she was going to Hyperion today, I knew that this 'certain someone' is the Captain!"

Ray : "Wait, you eavesdropped on her?"

With a questionable look, he stared at her.

Kiana : "Anyway! Look!"

Ray : "She dodged my question..."

Kiana only looked away before she said something while pointing in a certain direction, while Ray only sighed and followed along.

Ray : "Huh, what's that?"

Ray focused his eyes on a certain stand sign in front of the Restaurant. It had the words "Only Today! Couples Got 20% Discount!" on it.

Kiana : "See? That further proves my point of them having a date!"

Ray : "But what if... Himeko was too broke and asked Captain to pretend as her lover so she could get the discount?"

Kiana : "Eh? That actually sounds possible?"

Ray : "...You didn't think of that?"

Without being able to say anything to his question, Kiana looked away while Ray only sighed.

Kiana : "But then! Why didn't she just ask anyone else? Why must it be the Captain?"

Ray : "...I don't know. Maybe because she IS closer to the Captain and... because he's easy to be bribed."

Kiana : "Wait what?"

Ray : "Wait what?"

With a surprised expression, Kiana quickly shifted her gaze from the pair toward him. Meanwhile, Ray did the same as her. The difference being that he had an intentionally (fake) confused expression.

Kiana : "What did you just—"

Ray : "Nothing. Forget it. I never said anything."

This time, it was Kiana who stared at Ray suspiciously.

Kiana : "Uh, sure... But, why don't we take a closer look?"

Ray : "But why though?"

Kiana : "For example, watc—I mean, observing them from that Cafe over there."

Kiana pointed at a nearby Cafe.

Ray : "..."

He looked at Kiana with a suspicious look.

Kiana : "Uuh, what?"

Ray : "Why don't you tell me what you really want?"

Kiana : "I don-"

Ray : "I'll help you in the next exam."

Kiana : "I want a drink. I'm exhausted."

Without even hesitating at his offer, she said her real purpose. Though, Ray already guessed it just after she pointed at the Cafe.

Ray : "Sigh... Sure. Let's go there. Let's take a break for a while."

Kiana : "Eh, really?! Yeay!"

Ray only smiled at Kiana's childish reaction. It was a good call for him to bring his wallet. After all, he doubted Kiana would bring her own money. And for some reason, he also felt like he would need to bring some money to satisfy a certain Tuna's needs.

— Intermission 2 —

Kiana : "Wait, you even doubt me just for that?"

Ray : "Of course. After all, this is you, we're talking about."

Kiana : "Huh?! Even I'm not that careless, you know!"

Ray : "Well yes, that's the current you. What about you in the pst? The girl that likes to do things carelessly and always got into all kinds of problems? Oh and she also likes to annoy her friend. And don't forget, she didn't like studying because apparently, it was 'tiring' and useless."

Kiana only looked away from Ray's undeniable truth talk. The others were smiling at the two's interactions, it was quite a nice sight to see.

Mei had a warm gaze towards them, Bronya smiled (wait what how) and so did Lei. Leila was just looking at them without feeling anything in particular, and Fu Hua was smiling albeit just a faint smile.

Author : "Well, would you look at that? I knew using this scene was the right choice."

Naron : "Really? It's quite doubtful."

Narrator : "Uh, I was the one who chose it though?"

Naron : "See? I knew it was the right decision to doubt you."

Author : "Eh?! But I'm the one who decided whether or not to use the scene, you know?!"

Naron : "Yeah, sure."

Author : "...He still doubts me."

Meanwhile, the three of us had a conversation while looking at the screen. I also noticed that both Ritas were watching the screen with a smile, though both of their smiles had different meanings than the other.

Well anyway, let's continue, shall we?

— End Of Intermission 2 —

Kiana : "Fuwaa~! Tis ish so ghood!"

Ray : "Hey, don't talk while eating."

Kiana nodded her head as she continued eating the cake she had ordered. While Ray only sighed as he stirred the teacup in front of him.

Ray : "But well, I didn't expect them to have that much menu."

He said as he remembered the first time he opened the menu book. It had a lot of different foods and deserts as well as different variations of the so-called desserts.

Kiana : "Uun! It's the right decision to choose this Cafe!"

She exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

Ray : "Well, what can I say? It's your luck, maybe?"

He chuckled and lifted his cup.

Waitress : "Excuse me."

Ray : "Ah, yes."

A female waiter, or usually called a waitress, came to their table and placed down a parfait. Strangely though, there was only one of them and it was massive. Even though they ordered two for both of them—and of course the normal-sized ones (because the bigger size was too expensive for Ray's wallet).

Ray : "Eh? Uh, Miss? We ordered two though?"

Waitress : "Ah, right. This is actually a two-in-one parfait, it's a promotion we have for today. Because of that, we gave you two a bigger parfait. Aren't the two of you a couple?"

She tilted her head as if she was asking a totally normal question.

Ray : "We're no—?!"

Ray was about to decline but his mouth was quickly shoved by a spoon of the parfait by none other than—

Kiana : "Yes~ that's correct, miss waitress~ this guy here is my lover~"

Waitress : "Is that so, then there's no problem, correct?"

Kiana : "Yes~"

Ray : "But—"

Ray once again got shoved by another spoon of the parfait. The Waitress smiled at the "couple" in front of her and bowed a bit before she went to another table.

A few seconds after that bizzare event, Kiana grabbed one of the spoons nonchalantly as if everything was fine. Except, everything was not fine at all.

Ray : "Tuna."

The moment she heard his call, her body twitched and her movement stopped entirely. She then slowly moved her gaze toward her "lover", who had a smile on his face. Though, his smile had an entirely different meaning than a normal smile.

Ray : "Ah, wait. That's not right. Let me rephrase it..."

Ray coughed for a bit before he looked at Kiana with an expression full of affection.

Ray : "My lovely Tuna."

He said with a smile. Though, the "Tuna" in question was shuddering. Oh, she also gulped just now.

Ray : "Ah, right. Let's eat it together, shall we? My lovely Tuna."

He grabbed a spoon full of the parfait and said "Aahn" while holding the spoon in front of Kiana.

In an instant, every possible thought went through her head. But in the end, she couldn't think much and just followed her "lover".

Kiana : "A-ahn."

She stuttered her words but eventually managed to eat the parfait. At that moment, a certain feeling suddenly appeared in her head.

Kiana : "?! Cold!"

It was brain freeze.

She quickly held her head and put it on the table. Meanwhile, Ray sighed as he placed the spoon in the parfait.

Ray : "What are you doing, Tuna?"

Kiana : "! You're back to normal, Ray!"

Kiana was about to jump at Ray and hug him, but he stopped her by using his hand to hold her shoulder and forcefully made her sit back down.

Ray : "What are you doing?!"

Kiana : "Uuuu, you won't believe how happy I am to know you're back to normal..."

She said in exaggeration and started to fake cry a bit. Ray, who knew it was fake, let out a sigh and—

Kiana : "Ouw?!"

Flicked her forehead.

Kiana : "Why?!"

Ray : "Huh, you ask why, my Lovely Tuna?"

Ray smiled at her question and asked back, not forgetting to use his expression that was filled with affection. Without even needing another second, Kiana realized what was wrong and quickly apologized.

Kiana: "Ah, right. I'm sorry. I won't do something like that ever again."

Fortunately for her, Ray was a kind-hearted person (probably). He forgave her... not without punishment, of course (See? Doubtful).

Kiana : "Gasp! Don't tell me you're after my bo—Ow?!"

With another flick, he sighed.

Ray : "Hah... I don't know what I should do with that kind of thinking of yours..."

But as if everything that just happened a moment ago was nothing but a simple amusement, he chuckled and shook his head.

Kiana : "..."

Kiana stared at Ray for a moment before she smiled, but this time, it was a different smile. A girlish one.

— Intermission 3 —

Ray had a surprised expression on his face.

Ray : "No seriously, who's this girl?"

Lei : "Pft—"

Ray stared at the screen before changing the subject of his attention to the Kiana beside him, before once again taking a look at the screen.

Meanwhile, Lei just laughed out loud as she held her stomach. Leila only stared at her with blank eyes before sighing.

Kiana : "Why did you even ask that question?! Am I that unbelievable?! Even I'm a girl, you know!"

Kiana stared shocked at Ray.

Mei : "...una."

Kiana : "Huh?"

Mei : "Ray called you 'My Lovely Tuna' didn't he?"

Kiana : "Eh-?! M-Mei?!"

Mei was staring at Kiana straight in her eyes. But that only made Kiana even more terrified, especially Mei's blank eyes that looked as if they were dead.

Kiana : "R-ray!"

Ray : "Would you look at that, the chair we're sitting on is actually a sofa."

Lei : "Indeed. I never noticed that."

Leila : "..."

Kiana looked at Ray in an attempt to ask for help, only to realize that Ray was looking at the chair he was sitting on. No wait, it was more like he was analyzing it.

Bronya : "...Fu Hua."

Fu Hua : "Yes, Bronya?"

Bronya : "Are those sweats sliding down across Ray's neck?"

Fu Hua : "Yes, it appears to be."

Bronya : "And Ray is running away, isn't he?"

Fu Hua : "Indeed."

Bronya and Fu Hua were having a conversation while looking at the sight beside them.

Bronya had a blank look on her face while Fu Hua had an expression as if she was already used to this kind of thing.

Kiana : "Wait! That's right!"

Kiana suddenly shouted as she had an idea and a bright one on that.

Ray moved his gaze at her as he suddenly had a bad feeling.

Kiana : "Mei! You're right! He did call me 'My Lovely Tuna'! You have a problem with that?!"

Kiana said as she jumped at Ray and hugged him. The only reason Ray didn't dodge was that he couldn't.

It was as if some kind of unknown force was holding him in place. Oh wait, that was actually the Author making him unable to move.

Ray : "K-kiana! Let go of me!"

Kiana : "Never!"

Ray : "T-this Tuna!"

Kiana : "Eek~ I'm embarrassed you're saying it without any shame. Be mindful about where we are okay~?"

Ray : "Are you kidding me?! I didn't even—"

The moment Kiana heard the word "Tuna", she acted and became bashful as if she was embarrassed to be called that. Even though it was just normal a while ago.

Mei : "Uuuh!"

Mei couldn't hold it anymore and charged at the both of them, by jumping at them of course. Oh and also, she had a sword on her hand and was already positioned as if she was about to slash them.

Ray : "W-wait Mei! Lei! Help-"

Lei : "Onee-chan. What do you think is the purpose of life?"

Leila : "Hm, it's a hard one."

Lei : "Eeh~ really~?"

Leila : "Well, I did kind of die before I was born... So I don't know much about it."

Lei : "I see~"

Ah yes, Karma.

Just before the sword hit his face, Ray was finally able to move again and quickly held the sword by holding both sides of the blade with both of his hands. Oh, but Kiana was still between him and Mei—hugging Ray with an expression as if she had just escaped with her dear life.

Ray : "M-mei! Calm down!"

Mei : "Uuu!"

Ray : "She became stronger instead?!"

Purple particles started to appear on Mei's sword. Fortunately, Ray too had the same lighting power so he wasn't zapped by it.

But it didn't change the fact that the strength Mei used was stronger than her normal one, it was actually similar to a certain purple Herrscher.

Oh, wait... Isn't that The Herrscher Of Thunder?

Ray : "Eh?! Herrscher Of Thunder?!"

The Herrscher Of Thunder had appeared with almost the same appearance as Mei, though she had far longer hair and two horns on her head.

Oh well, if you don't know what she looked like, then the Author will put a picture below this text okay?

No, wait. That's the wrong picture.

Author: "Huh? Oh, sorry."

There. Thank you, Author.

Author : "No problem."

Anyway, continuing from before. The Herrscher Of Thunder... Let's just call her HOT so it wouldn't take too many words.

Author: "Eh? But doesn't it sound worse?"

...

Author: "..."

Anyway—

Author: "No, but seriously—"

HOT suddenly appeared behind Mei and was glaring at Ray. It seemed like she was angry at him for some reason.

Meanwhile, the others (except Rita (Rosemary), Naron, Author, and I) were surprised or even shocked by the sudden appearance of the 3rd Herrscher herself in this place.

Ray : "E-eh?! Mei became even stronger?!"

Ray suddenly shouted as he came back to reality by feeling the strength coming from the girl in front of him suddenly increased once more to the point that even he had to use his lightning power to boost up his strength.

Kiana : "Eek! Protect me, Ray!"

Kiana said as she hugged him tighter. But that was the worst thing she had done... Or was it intentional? Who knows.

Because of that, Mei became even more... Frustrated? The lightning on her sword became more violent and the glare from HOT toward Ray also became more intense.

Ray : "P-please! Calm down! Right! I'll do anything as long as you calm down and stop doing this!"

Mei : "..."

Ray : "I'm serious! I'll do anything if you calm down and stop this!"

Mei : "...Really?"

Ray nodded his head furiously.

Mei : "...Okay."

Mei finally stopped after thinking for a while and lifted her sword back up, before throwing it away as it quickly disappeared mid-air.

Oh, the Herrscher of Thunder also disappeared.

Both Ray and Kiana let out a sigh of relief. But Kiana's fate hadn't ended yet.

Kiana : "Huff... Fina—Gaaah?!"

Ray : "This little problematic and useless Tuna."

Kiana's head was gripped by Ray. It was the so-called "Iron Grip" to the face.

Kiana : "W-wait! S-stop! You're breaking my beautiful face!"

Ray stared blankly at Kiana and smiled. He then changed his grip from the face to the back of her head and smashed her to his chair, which was a sofa—so it didn't do much damage to her (although that was still quite a strong smash).

Kiana groaned in pain as she held her head and writhed on the floor. Ray only sighed as he suddenly shivered and quickly moved his gaze toward Mei.

Mei : "Ehehe..."

It seemed innocent at first. But trust me, it's not. Plus the fact that she had a REALLY concerning gaze toward him. And what she was currently imagining was...

...

...

'Aight, I'm not gonna talk about it.

Ray : "...I just did something bad, didn't I?"

Leila : "Yes. Yes, you did."

She said as she tapped Ray's shoulder.

Leila : "Good luck with what she had in her imagination, Ray."

Even Leila gave him her consent with a smile! A smile, everyone! It must mean that Mei's imagination rivaled that of Leila's!

Leila: "Ha?"

Nothing. It's nothing.

Leila: "I'll remember that."

...Anyway—

Ray's face twisted as he realized what he had done. But he then shook his head and had a determined face as if saying "Bring it on!".

Author: "Uh, let"s continue? We've been in the Intermission for too long."

Naron: "Hm."

— End Of Intermission 3 —

After they ate the parfait (although with some "couple-like" actions in between to prove that they looked like a real couple in other people's eyes), Ray went to pay the bill and then got out of the Cafe with Kiana.

Kiana : "Huh?"

Suddenly, Kiana's phone rang.

Kiana : "Wait a sec."

Ray : "Hm? Sure."

Kiana opened her phone and noticed that it was a message from Lei. She opened the messaging app and opened Lei's chat, but then—

Kiana : "Wha—?!"

She suddenly looked around her in a hurry.

Ray : "What's wrong?"

With a cautious look, he instantly became wary and stood behind her while looking around.

Kiana : "A-ah no, it's nothing. Right, there's nothing to worry about."

Ray : "...?"

But from her reaction, it probably wasn't that big of a deal. So, he only tilted his head before returning his mood to before. The relaxed one.

Kiana : "How did she..."

She muttered small enough so Ray wouldn't hear her.

Kiana : "...Well, I guess it's also good news for me. Thank you, Lei."

She typed her replies to their chatting and closed her phone before putting it back into her bag.

Kiana : "Let's continue the investigation!"

Ray : "Uh, sure? But we don't know where Himeko is currently."

Kiana : "Uh, I do."

Ray : "Eh? How?"

Ray looked confusedly at her.

Kiana : "Um, I had my source?"

Ray : "..."

Now it was a suspicious gaze from him.

Kiana : "Okay, it was from Lei. She told me where Aunt Himeko is."

Ray : "Hm? Lei?"

Kiana : "Yes... Why? You got a problem with that?"

Ray shook his head.

Ray : "Nah, I'm good. I was just a bit suspicious about how she was able to know we were currently investigating Himeko's 'date'. After all, she and Bronya were supposed to be in the training facility in St. Freya."

Kiana : "Uh, she said that she's done with training and we're currently heading back (Though I don't know how she was able to spot us).

Ray: "Huh, I see... Wait, what did you just whisper—"

Kiana: "They're in the amusement park! So, let's go now!"

Ray : "...Okay."

Although a bit suspicious, he followed her and walked beside her.

Both of them sometimes chatted with each other while walking.

And after a few minutes, they finally arrived at the City's Amusement Park.

Kiana : "Woooowww!"

What appeared before them was a big gate with many colors and decorations implanted into it, there was also a big "Homu" logo on the side of the gate.

Ray : "Well, this is a limited-time collaboration between the Amusement Park and Homu. So yeah, it does deserve an applause."

The entrance itself was quite crowded. A lot of people came here with their friends, family, or even lovers.

Kiana : "Eh? What's that?"

Ray : "Huh, it's a promotion for those who came in pairs. They will get a discount and some kind of lottery ticket that could win prizes."

Kiana : "...I feel like there are so many stores today that gave 'couple' promotions."

Ray : "What a coincidence, so do I."

Kiana : "Anyway! Let's enjoy the Amusement Park!"

Ray : "Eh? But didn't we come here to-"

Kiana : "Scratch that! I want to enjoy this!"

Ray : "...Well, I guess that's fine too. At least it's better than spying on other people "

Kiana : "We didn't spy on them! We investigated them!"

Ray : "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Tuna."

With a smile, Ray shook his head playfully and followed her along.

After that, they went inside the Amusement Park and enjoyed all kinds of rides. And of course, with the power of being the Main Character, they won the grand prize from the lottery ticket.

The prize they won was 10 tickets to a certain hot spring. But that would be a story for another time.

After what felt like not a long time due to them enjoying the day, it finally came to an end.

Both of them were currently inside the bus heading toward St. Freya. They didn't use the train since it was probably more crowded than the bus.

Why? Because it's time for the office workers to get home. So, it's normal to presume that they took the train to get to their own homes.

Meanwhile, inside the bus, Kiana appeared to be sleeping while Ray was looking outside the window.

Ray : "Well, this kind of thing is also nice."

He said with a smile before sending a glance toward the sleeping girl beside him.

*Thud*

Ray : "Huh?"

The bus shook a little before driving calmly again, but that shake was enough for Kiana's head to fall to Ray's shoulder.

Ray : "..."

He looked at her for a moment before sighing once again, but this time it was a different sigh. He smiled and put his hand on Kiana's head, patting her.

Ray : "You... really are a cheerful girl, Kiana."

His gaze didn't move away from her.

Ray : "Sometimes... I envy how you were able to keep that cheerful attitude, even in the worst situations."

A memory appeared in his head. It was a memory from the past. He shook his head to dismiss them.

Ray : "But, well... That's what made you different from the others."

He said while letting his head fall on hers.

After that, there was only silence on the bus.

Kiana : "...Ra...y."

That was until a certain sound came from the girl.

Ray : "Hm? What?"

Interested, Ray moved his ears closer to Kiana's mouth and hear-

Kiana : "I..."

Ray : "Yeah? You wha—"

Ray was about to ask as a joke but then got cut off by-

Kiana : "...Like you."

Ray : "...Eh?"

...

A confession.

Ray didn't expect that based on how his expression showed his surprise.

He quickly moved his gaze to the girl—

Ray : "...Are you serious?"

He realized that she was, in fact, still asleep. Her breathing also didn't change, meaning she must've said that while sleeping, or what could be called a "Sleep Talking".

Ray : "...Ahaha..."

He suddenly let out a dry laugh. One of his hands was covering his face, he also had his back relaxed on the seat so he could move his gaze to the bus ceiling.

Ray : "You've got to be kidding me..."

He said.

But something was different.

There was a faint red color on his cheeks. Or in other words...

He was blushing.

Anyway, now both of his hands were covering his face as if trying to hide it.

As you might have guessed, this was the first time he get confessed to by other than Lei. Oh, but he didn't take Lei's confession seriously because he saw her as his little sister (for now).

After calming himself down, Ray took a look at the girl that had just confessed in her sleep.

Ray : "...You really are a problematic Tuna... Kiana..."

He said before moving his gaze away from her.

— Intermission 4 —

...All the girls (except Rita(s) and I) showed surprised expressions, especially Kiana.

Poor girl didn't even know she was the first one to confess to Ray, though she was sleeping when it happened.

Kiana : "W-wait... I... Confessed to... While sleeping...?"

She said with broken words toward the person she had confessed to, Ray could only nod his head while looking away.

Kiana : "N-no way! S-seriously?!"

She suddenly shouted while falling to her knees. An "Uuu..." could be heard from her, it was as if she was crying but not at the same time.

Mei : "..."

Ray : "W-wait! Why are you pointing your sword at me?! I didn't even do anything! And you said you'll calm down, right?!"

Mei suddenly had her sword in her hand again and pointed it at Ray, she also walked closer to him with a dark expression which made it terrifying.

Lei : "Well, that was something."

Leila : "Hm, I didn't expect her to confess straight out of the blue like that. *Mumble something*"

Lei : "Huh?"

Leila : "Nothing. How about you help that 'brother' of yours?"

Lei : "Nah, he's fine. But what caught my attention was what you just said, can you say it again?"

Leila : "No, why would I?"

Lei : "Please~?"

Leila : "No means no."

Lei and Leila were having a sisterly conversation. While Ray was still trying to calm Mei down once more, and Kiana was still on her knees.

Bronya : "...Author."

Author : "Hm, yes?"

Bronya : "Please continue the scene."

Author : "Ah yes, of course. Oh, and after this will be the last scene."

It seemed like Bronya had already had enough and wanted the scene to continue. Well, we had no problem with that.

But what Author said, especially the latter sentence made Ray and the others stop their antics and had their attention back to the screen.

— End Of Intermission 4 —

Ray : "Hey, wake up Tuna."

Kiana : "...Mmh..."

Ray : "We're already in St. Freya."

Kiana : "...Mhm."

Ray : "...Sigh, seriously?"

Ray sighed as he lifted the sleeping Kiana to his back and got off the bus. He didn't forget to thank the bus driver for waiting for them to take their time.

Ray : "..."

On the way to St. Freya's Dorms, there was only silence. He glanced at the sleeping girl he was carrying on his back. A sigh then escaped from his mouth and a tired one on that.

Ray: "I wonder..."

He thought out loud.

Ray: "Do I like you as well?"

A question that had been on his mind ever since her "confession" finally went out.

Ray: "If I do... Then does that mean we will go out?"

He smiled. But... It was a sad smile.

Ray: "...I know. But..."

It seemed like he was talking to himself now. But actually, he was talking to Naron, except that his response was out loud rather than inside his mind.

Ray: "...I'm worried."

...

Ray: "If I do get into a relationship, then would the others be okay with it?"

...

Ray: "And if they are okay, then would I, too, feel fine?"

...

Ray: "Would I... actually feel okay with it?"

...

Ray: "I... Don't know."

...

Ray "It's just..."

He stopped walking and looked up to the now almost dark sky.

Ray: "...I'm a coward, aren't I?"

He let out a dry laugh.

Ray "I just worry too much about what could happen and am scared to know what would happen."

He stopped his laughter and glanced at the sleeping girl. Which appeared to be quite different for some reason.

*Ba-dump*

Ray: "Ahaha... Seriously? NOW you're beautiful?"

The sight was enough to make Ray's heart thump differently.

He too let out a strange laugh while admitting that she was "beautiful" this time, rather than just a "pretty" girl.

Ray: "...Haha...ha..."

Perhaps that meant something...

Something... that he never expected to feel... again.

Ray "Hah... Maybe... Just maybe. If there will be a time where I can finally decide..."

He glanced at her with a certain look.

Ray: "I will tell you my response."

Suddenly, a wind passed by them, making all the leaves around them fly around.

After that, he continued walking until finally reached the main dorm building. And there, he noticed that a certain (short) white-haired girl was waiting in front of the doors.

Ray: "...Well, we're quite screwed aren't we?"

He chuckled as he continued walking to the small girl. And so, both of them then got scolded for going out too long (without asking for permission).

— End Of Kiana's Side-story —

The girls were silent. They took a glance at Ray who had his right elbow on the sofa's side and his right hand was covering his face.

Ray was also silent as he looked at the screen slowly darkening out through the gap of his fingers.

Kiana stared at him from her spot for a moment before nodding to herself and standing up.

The others noticed her action and looked at her, wondering what she was about to do.

Kiana stood in front of Ray, who was still covering his face and opened her mouth.

But then, she closed it again. It seemed like she was hesitating to say something, all of them noticed that.

Kiana : "...Ray."

Ray : "..."

Kiana called him, but he didn't say anything in response.

Kiana : "...Look at me."

She grabbed his hand and made him look at her. What appeared was that of a face with a certain meaning behind it. A soft smile appeared on her face as she realized what it meant. Now, without anymore hesitation, she said—

Kiana : "I love you."

Boom! All the girls widened their eyes (except Rosemary, of course)!

Though, both Naron and Author only stared at both Ray and Kiana silently and didn't care about the others' reactions.

Kiana : "I... know you're scared. Scared about what would happen if you responded to my confession. Heck, not just to mine but to the others as well, I'm sure."

She laughed a bit. Although the way she knew that some of the other girls had confessed was a mystery.

Kiana : "But... do you know that I don't give a damn about that?"

She held Ray's head with both of her hands on both sides of the head. And at that moment, Ray suddenly felt something was different. Different than before.

Kiana : "What I do care about is that my feelings reach you. After all..."

Suddenly, her eyes turned yellow. There was no more smile on her face—or at least a smile with good intention.

Now, there's only a smile filled with craziness.

Well... Damn.

Did she turn into a yandere?

Kiana(?) : "You... are mine."

'Aight, she's a yandere now.

Ray quickly realized his thought just now was indeed correct about her being different and tried to pull his head, but the girl in front of him didn't let him do so by forcefully pulling him to her.

In an instant, both of them were closer than ever. Ray was about to use his power to try teleporting away, but he was too late as she—

Ray: "?!"

Had already met her lips to his.

All (except Author and Naron) : "?!"

Both of them... kissed.

Though, it felt more like she forced him to kiss her. But well, a kiss was still a kiss.

A lot of sounds came from them, and her eyes looked as if she was enjoying it, though the opposite could be seen from Ray.

Sometimes, Mei tried to split both of them but a shield appeared around them and as a result, making them untouchable from the outside.

The shield itself was transparent with yellowish color, and it was strong as Mei was unable to slash it even with the boost of her Herrscher power.

Noticing that, Leila was about to do something but stopped when she noticed that it was not the right time to do it yet.

After what felt like a long 10 minutes, she finally let him go. Oh, and the shield also disappeared.

Ray : "Hah!"

Ray let out a rough breath as he took a distance from her as quickly as he could. Meanwhile, the girl only stood there while touching her lips before she laughed out loud.

Naron : "I see, so she turned into Herrscher of The Void just a few seconds after her confession."

Author : "Correct."

Narrator : "Eh? Really? Then the one who kissed him just now was Herrscher Of The Void? Not Kiana herself?"

Naron and Author nodded.

Mei : "B-but that still counts as his first kiss, right?!"

With a panicked expression, she asked both of them.

Naron : "..."

Naron looked at Author. And so did everyone—except Ray, of course (He had to make sure that there wouldn't be any more surprise attacks from the yandere in front of him).

Naron : "Has he ever kissed someone before this? And by that I mean, it was shown in the main story."

Author : "Hmm..."

Author thought for a moment, before smiling.

Author : "Well, if I answer it... then that'll be a spoiler, won't it?"

Mei had a despairing look on her face as she fell to her knees realizing what he meant.

Lei : "Hmm, pretty sure he hasn't kissed anyone... Right, Onee-chan?"

Leila : "..."

But for some reason, Leila didn't answer her sister's question and looked away.

Lei : "...Why are you looking away, Onee-chan? Ne ne, why, I wonder?"

This time, Lei was staring questionably at her sister's odd response.

Leila : "...Know."

Lei : "Huh?"

Leila : "I don't know. Yes, that's right. I don't know."

Leila said, still while looking away.

Lei : "...Author?"

Author : "Yes?"

Strangely, Author was also looking away from her.

Lei : "Can you play a certain scene?"

Author : "Sorry, no can do. The screen's battery is almost out."

Narrator : "He's lying. To begin with, we don't even need batteries to use this screen."

Author : "..."

With a blank look, I stared at him. While he looked at me as if he never expected me to betray him like that.

Author : "...No means no."

Ah, he's throwing a stupid argument.

Narrator : "...Excuse us for a moment."

I bowed a bit towards our guests and grabbed his arm. He was surprised at my sudden action and quickly realized what I'm about to do.

Author : "Wait—"

He was about to say something but I cut him off by quickly teleporting both of us to a certain space.

....

A few hours had passed as we finally came back to the space where everyone was in.

Oh, would you look at that. Ray was being hugged tightly by Mei while Kiana (who had come back to her senses) was once again on her knees in the corner while muttering "It wasn't me" over and over.

Lei was still staring intensely at Leila, sometimes questioning her reaction a while ago.

Both Rita(s) are playing UNO with Fu Hua and Bronya. Durandal (Who's still in her small form) was currently staying on Ray's head—relaxing.

Naron : "Oh, you're back. You've gone for a few minutes, though I couldn't say how long you two were actually gone if I were to say from you two's perspective."

That's right, we were only gone for a few minutes. If so, then why did I say "a few hours had passed" just a while ago?

Well, that's because that was how long both I and Author were gone in our perspective.

Or in other words, I moved the both of us to a space where the time went faster than the space we're currently on.

Naron : "Anyway, what were the two of you doing?"

He dismissed his question and asked a new one.

Author : "...My legs are dying."

Narrator : "Anyway, it's nothing important."

The author suddenly responded and I retorted. Meanwhile, Naron only stared at us for a moment before saying—

Naron: "I see, so that's what happened."

He nodded slowly. As expected from him, he knew what happened based only on our appearance.

Author: "Anyway, it seemed like nothing much happened while we were away?"

Naron: "Nope. Though as you can see, Mei had been trying to force Ray to kiss her as well. Ray, on the other hand, got a bit of a trauma from being kissed for 10 minutes straight from Void."

Author: "Huh, I see."

Acting as if nothing happened a while ago, he nodded.

Narrator: "Anyway, should we continue now?"

Author: "Well, yeah."

He walked a few steps before stopping and clapped his hand loudly, resulting in him being the main attention once more.

Author: "Now, should we start Mei's special side-story?"

Mei who heard that stopped for a moment, but that was enough for Ray to quickly got out of her hug.

But unfortunately, Mei's hand was still holding his clothes. So he only got pulled back to her as she came back to her senses.

Lei: "But what about Ray's first kiss? Who did it?"

Author: "Ah right, about that... Well, I'll show it in the main story later."

Lei: "...I see."

Mei: "Wait, doesn't that confirm that Ray already had his first kiss?!"

Mei shouted as she realized the meaning behind Author's response.

Author: "Uh... Maybe?"

He said before shrugging his shoulders and tilting his head a bit.

Mei who heard that twister her expression in despair. It seemed like she was shocked to know about that information.

Author: "Oh, but it's okay. After all, his kiss with Kiana just now was his third one."

Kiana who heard that twitched in response.

Lei, who got that new information, started thinking more about the possibilities of who had kissed Ray without her knowing it.

Author: "While his second..."

He glanced a bit at a certain girl in the room, though unfortunately, the girl didn't realize the glance.

Author: "Anyway! Let's start the side-story shall we?"

The screen once again turned on, the people also got into their seats—Which was what should've happened, but Mei insisted on sitting with Ray on his seat.

Ray on the other hand only nodded after Lei told him "It'll be fine, it's not like she will do something dangerous to you.".

...Did she jinx him? Hope not.

Kiana: "..."

Kiana silently sat on her seat (which was beside Ray's) and grabbed his hand.

Ray: "...!"

Ray showed a surprised expression before letting her do what she wanted.

A smile appeared on Kiana's face. And what's more, a very girlish smile.

Mei noticed their action and pouted, before sitting down on Ray's lap (like a certain du— I mean, tiny doll-like girl from before).

Ray: "?!"

Mei: "...Hmph."

Ray had a surprised expression while Mei was still pouting, Kiana also had an awkward face watching them.

Both Fu Hua and Bronya no longer care about what happened, they were just waiting for the second side-story episode to start silently. Meanwhile, Lei just sighed while Leila only stared at them silently.

Oh, and both Ritas were gone mysteriously. Even though they were just playing UNO with Fu Hua and Bronya just now.

Maybe they disappeared knowing that their existence there wouldn't have too much effect on the chapter?

Author: "For Mei's special chapter, the title will be..."

Some text started to appear on the screen, it was starting to form a few words.

"Mei's Special Side-story - Pure Feelings"

Mei's title was different from Kiana's, though it didn't change the fact that it was still a special episode.

Mei who had seen her special episode's title became red and she used a bit of her hair to cover her face.

That action was enough to make Ray look away in embarrassment, only to see Kiana who was staring at him silently—with a bit of an annoyed smile, of course.

Narrator: "Hm? For some reason, I feel like Ray let his true—Ah... Right. I forgot that we're in this space, huh..."

Author: "Indeed, meaning he won't be able to hide his true reaction that was based on his feelings any longer!"

Ray: "Eh?!"

Narrator: "Well, that's a good thing, I guess?"

Author: "Yep, it is. Now we can see more of his honest reactions to the girls' attacks! Oh well, anyway! Mei's special side-story - 'Pure Feelings' begins!"

All eyes put their gaze on the screen, and so the second special side-story begins!

— Start Of Mei's Special Side-story —

Theresa: "Hm~ Hm~"

Theresa was humming a certain tune happily as she walked to the dorm she's currently staying at—or in other words Squad V's dorm.

A few minutes later, she arrived in front of the dorm's door and knocked, after a while, the door slowly opened.

It was Lei. It seemed like she had just finished solving some rubix cubes as she was currently holding a 3x3 (the normal one) cube.

Lei: "Hm...? Oh... It's just you."

Theresa: "Ha?! That's the first thing you said after seeing me?!"

With a surprised expression, she retorted. Meanwhile, Lei had a disappointed expression for some reason.

Lei: "Hah..."

Theresa: "She sighed?!"

Lei: "..."

Concerned at how easy for the small girl in front of her to be the straight-man, she put up a blank expression. But after that, an idea came to her mind as she smiled widely.

Lei: "Oh! It's the principal! You're finally back! Come, let's get inside."

It was a good greeting—one she's supposed to say a while back.

Theresa: "..."

Theresa stared blankly at Lei's quick change of attitude (which was a bit annoying). She sighed before walking past Lei and got inside.

Lei: "Oh, and Ray is in the living room. Cuddli- I mean, hanging out with Kiana."

Theresa: "No, wait. Were you about to say 'cuddling'?"

Lei: "Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Theresa: "This girl..."

Lei acted dumb which made a red mark appear on the loli's forehead. But because she's an adult, she just sighed and let it go by.

Lei: "Heh."

Theresa: "...I feel like you're showing more of your true colors in the last months."

Lei: "Hm? What are you saying?"

Lei put a finger below her right cheek as she tilted her head a bit as if acting like she didn't understand what the small girl in front of her just said.

Theresa: "That kind of gesture won't work on me."

Lei: "Tch."

Theresa:" You just clicked your tongue didn't you?!"

Lei: "Anyway, I'm gonna continue cooking."

Theresa: "And there she goes, changing the topic. But, huh? Why are you the one cooking? Isn't that Mei's duty?"

Lei: "She's busy. Thinking on how to sedu- I mean, make Ray notice her."

Theresa: "..."

Lei: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Theresa had a complicated expression while looking at Lei, especially after Lei almost said the word "seduce".

Theresa: "Sigh... Nothing... Oh, right."

Lei: "Hm?"

Theresa: "After we finished eating lunch, there's something I need to talk about. So, make sure that everyone is in the living room, can you do that?"

Lei: "Hm... Sure."

Theresa : "Thanks."

Lei shrugged her shoulders and walked off to the kitchen to continue cooking lunch for them.

— Intermission 5 —

Mei : "What do you mean I'm trying to seduce Ray?!"

She shouted toward Lei with red(embarrassed) cheeks.

Lei : "Huh, but wasn't that the only thing in your mind at that time?"

Meanwhile, the person she had asked the question to was tilting her head while answering. And the answer she gave felt like she was answering a totally obvious question.

Mei : "It wasn't!"

Lei : "If so, then what was it?"

Mei : "Why would I tell you that?!"

Lei : "Tch. Almost got her."

Mei : "Did you just click your tongue?"

Lei : "I didn't."

(She did.)

Both Fu Hua and Bronya thought of the same thing. But they just stayed silent since Lei didn't really show her behavior to them, at that time.

Well, mostly it was toward Theresa. So, it was quite understandable that they didn't feel too much about it.

Ray : "She totally did, didn't she?"

Leila : "Yes, I'm sorry for her behavior."

Kiana : "Ah, it's fine. She often did something like this when you're not with us."

Ray : "Wait, seriously? Huh, I didn't think that it'll be that bad for you guys..."

Meanwhile, the other trio was conversing normally. Ray also had learned something new!

The more you know. *Put THAT sfx here*

Ray : "But, I don't think that's a useful information though..."

Oh, is that so? Okay, then.

Anyway, back to the side-story!

— End of Intermission 5 —

After lunch, Ray and all the other girls were resting normally in the living room.

Bronya and Kiana were having a match like usual, both Lei and Mei were watching them, Himeko and Fu Hua were talking about something, and finally Ray himself was sitting silently with both of his eyes closed.

It seemed like he was sleeping, but the truth was that he was currently talking to Naron in his mind(Although the topic they had usually isn't a serious ons).

A while later, Theresa appeared. But something was different, she had a big and wide smile on her face.

Ray opened his eyes and noticed it. But it wasn't just him who noticed it, all the other girls (except Kiana and Bronya) also did.

A few minutes later, Kiana and Bronya had yet to finish their game. This made a red thick mark appear on Theresa's forehead, and her smile was also starting to change to an irritated smile.

Ray : "Hey."

Ray karate chopped Kiana's head.

Kiana : "Ow?! Why did you—Ah no! Damn it!"

Bronya : "Heh, The Bronya won once again."

Kiana : "Ray! Why did you do that?! I could've won!"

Ray : "Ah yes, of course. Especially the fact that you're losing all of your points to Bronya. Anyway, Theresa's here."

Kiana looked at Theresa's smile with a "Hm?" and shuddered instantly. For some reason, Kiana could see some wild fire behind the smiling small girl.

Bronya on the other hand, was looking away as if she wasn't at fault and acted as if she had always stood by to hear what Theresa was about to say.

Kiana : "A-ah! Aunt Theresa! Calm down! If not then you'll turn smaller again!"

She said while sweat slid down her face.

Theresa : "Shut up! Don't tell me that! And I'm not small!"

Lei : "I doubt that."

Theresa : "What did you just say?!"

Lei : "Nothing. Just talking about how the weather today is quite nice. By the way, are you gonna stand there and not say the 'thing' you wanted to talk about?"

Lei instantly played dumb and diverted the topic. Theresa noticed that but just sighed as she realized there's no meaning in continuing being angry toward the now-two-annoying kids.

Theresa : "...Okay, then. Deep breath... I'm calm."

She calmed herself down. What a responsible and emotionally controlled adult!

Now that she had calmed down, her smile appeared once again as she opened her mouth and said—

Theresa : "We got invited to a wedding! And what's more, I got a holiday for that day! Yes! Finally! A break!"

She said with a cheerful smile.

Ray : "...I feel like she's more excited for the latter part of the information though."

Fu Hua : "Indeed. That's quite..."

Himeko : "...Sad. That's the word you're looking for."

Lei : "Huh, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't work that much though?"

Himeko : "Well, that is quite true. But maybe the stress..."

All of them looked at Kiana, meanwhile the person in question only tilted her head.

Bronya : "...The Bronya feel pity for the principal."

Lei : "Same..."

Lei had a warm gaze toward Theresa, and so did Himeko. Fu Hua only shook her head slowly. Mei had an awkward smile while scratching her cheek, feeling a bit guilty.

Ray who noticed the situation was becoming more pitiful sighed and clapped his hand—which made the attention turned to him. He then asked Theresa to continue.

Theresa : "Ah, right. The wedding will be held in a few days, 3 days to be exact. So, let's prepare ourselves, shall we?"

Her mood returned to normal as she said those words with a cheeky smile.

Lei : "...You look like a little kid."

Theresa : "Alright. You. Me. Outside. Now."

Lei : "Lol no. Imma do my homework."

She lifted her hand in front of her chest and put two fingers in a peace position, but what's strange was that she had her arm quite tilted like almost a 45° angle based from her elbow.

And suddenly, she disappeared... Not. She just used her power to teleport to her room upstairs.

Theresa : "That girl!"

Theresa on the other hand, was angry and was stomping her feet repeatedly.

Ray : "It seems like she has two sources of stress now."

Mei : "Ahaha..."

Mei, who was beside Ray, heard his mutter and let out an awkward laugh.

— Intermission 6 —

Mei : "Wait! Don't tell me it's that day?!"

Mei finally realized what was about to happen and shouted toward Author.

Author : "Yes, it is!"

He too shouted in response.

Mei : "But it's embarrassing!"

Author : "That's the beauty of these special side-stories!"

Narrator : "Huh, does that makes you a sadi-"

Author : "Don't finish that! And I'm not!"

Lei : "Oh~? This will be interesting~"

Lei, who noticed and realized Mei's embarrassment, smiled slyly.

Leila : "Well, it seems like she will enjoy this. I pray for your fate, Mei."

Mei : "Eh?!"

Ray : "Ah, it's quite bad that even Leila gave you her consent, huh..."

Leila : "...Are you using me as some kind of 'Dangerous-meter'?"

Ray : "...No."

Leila : "Say that to me while looking at me."

Ray : "This oneself thinks that it is wiser to not do what thy just said."

Leila : "...I'm gonna choke you."

Ray : "...You won't"

Leila : "Oh, I will."

Meanwhile, the two were having a lov—I mean, interesting conversation.

Bronya : "Fu Hua."

Fu Hua : "Yes? Eh? Did you just call my name like a normal person?"

Bronya: "..."

The fact that Bronya was able to call someone's name normally and not use "subject" in front of them (like in the past) was a surprising thing for Fu Hua.

Well, that was understandable since Fu Hua "died" trying to stop Otto after awakening the Herrscher of The Void (that dangerous yandere).

Fu Hua: "Oh... So you got your emotions back?"

Bronya: "Da. Not all of them, at least, not yet."

Fu Hua: "I see... Right. What were you about to say just now?"

After telling her a short summary of what happened, Fu Hua nodded understandingly and asked her.

Bronya : "How did you know that Leila was Lei's older twin sister?"

Fu Hua : "Well, I did put one of my feathers inside one of the people who was there when Lei told all of you her story and what she had found in that 'facility'."

Bronya : "I see... Wait, doesn't that indirectly mean that you're a stalker?"

Fu Hua : "...I don't know how to answer that."

Bronya looked at Fu hua strangely, while the birb herself also had a face that meant as if she had just gotten something she didn't know she had before.

Hopefully, she doesn't awaken something weird inside her because of that.

Please don't. This is a friendly-family book (probably).

Naron : "Don't you think we should continue already?"

Suddenly, Naron said to me without even giving a glance.

Narrator : "Well yeah, you're right. Let's continue, then!"

— End of Intermission 6 —

The day had arrived.

A wedding.

An event where two people, a man and a woman, tied their lives together with each other.

They did so by saying a promise—No, perhaps... it could even be said to be a 'swear'.

They swore to be with each other in any situation and condition.

Well, that's the gist of it. If you want to know what a 'wedding' actually is, then search it on google or something.

Anyway, back to Ray and co.

They were currently residing in a certain hotel in a certain country.

Why didn't I say what country they were in? Because I had no idea where they were exactly. But hey, who gives a damn about their location.

Continuing from before. Ray and co. separated to their rooms, though Ray was alone since he was the only man in the group.

The girls themselves decided who would be paired with who in a room. And the method they did was by deciding with a stick. Yes, a stick.

You know, the short stick will pair with the short stick, while the long will pair with the long. Something like that.

Back to Ray.

He was currently looking around his room. There was a single bed, a medium sized tv, a not-so-big balcony outside the windows (which was still covered by the curtains), and a door leading to the bathroom.

There weren't a lot of things in the room. Though it didn't really matter as they were just staying for a single night.

After all, tonight was when the wedding was held.

Ray nodded to himself after observing his surroundings and put his bag down, before opening it and neatly arranged the things he had brought.

After a while, he finally finished it. And then, as if the timing was right, a knock came from the door.

Ray : "Yes, who is it?"

??? : "Who do you think?"

Ray : "Hm, I don't know."

In fact, he did know.

??? : "...I'm gonna break this door."

Ray : "No, please don't do that. Theresa will have to pay for that, and I don't think that's a good idea since this is one of her few breaks. Why don't you give her a break, Lei?"

Ray sighed as he opened the door, revealing a smiling Lei.

Lei : "See, you do know who it was."

Ray : "...What would you do if I didn't open the door?"

Lei : "I would kick it."

Ray looked at Lei strangely.

Ray: "You won't actually do it, right?"

Lei : "..."

She only smiled in response.

Ray : "You won't... Right?"

Lei : "... :)"

Ray : "Hah... Why do you like to do these kinds of things to Theresa?"

Lei : "Huh, what do you mean? I don't understand~"

He gave her a blank stare. While the other party only acted dumb.

Lei : "Will we keep on talking like this? You will make your little sister sad, you know?"

She gave him sad dog-like eyes.

Ray : "Sigh... Come in, then."

Lei : "Yes~ Thank you, nii-san~"

Ray: "...That still feels weird."

She walked inside while looking around, while Ray felt a small shiver as he heard that "title".

Even though they had the exact looking room, although hers was bigger since she and a certain girl were sharing the room, Lei still looked around happily.

Ray : "Wait, have you finished arranging your stuff? And also, didn't you girls decide to pair with each other? Who did you pair with?"

Lei : "Hmm~ I haven't. As for my partner..."

A sly smile appeared on her face.

Lei : "Why don't you go see who it is? And also, can you bring me my rubik's cube? I want to improve my skill."

Ray : "...You're planning something, aren't you?"

Lei : "...No."

Ray stared at her while she looked away.

Ray : "Oookay... What room are you in?"

Lei : "Room 183."

Ray : "Got it."

Lei : "Oh and-"

Ray was about to walk down the hallway, but stopped after Lei called him.

Lei : "You can just walk in, she won't mind it."

She smiled and winked her left eye while saying that before closing the door.

Ray : "...I'll remind myself to knock."

He said to himself.

A while later.

Ray : "Okay... This is the room, right? Uh, 183... Yep, it's room 183."

He looked at the plate number above the door and nodded.

Ray : "Right. Knocking first."

*Knock knock knock knock knock*

He knocked a few times. And then, the door opened-

??? : "Hm, yes Lei? Did you forgot some...thing..."

It was Mei. But, something was different.

Mei : "..."

Ray : "..."

They stared at each other for a moment. Before finally—

Mei : "Kyaa!"

Ray : "The heck?!"

Mei quickly slammed the door to close it, while Ray quickly diverted his eyes.

Mei : "W-why are you here?!"

Ray : "W-why are you using a towel?!"

Yes. She was only using a towel to cover her body. It seemed like she had just finished showering.

Ray : "And why did you open the door while wearing that?!"

Mei : "Forget about that! Lei said that she will knock five times so I can know it was her, meaning I won't have to see who it was behind the door!"

Ray : "She did?!"

Mei : "Yes!"

Ray: "That's dumb!"

Mei: "I know!"

Ray finally realized what happened.

Lei told Mei that she would be back, and when she did, she would knock five times and Mei would open the door for her.

As for why she didn't question it, Lei must have told her a few things that she would do something else if a different situation were to happen.

But what's more, was the fact that Lei knew that Ray would knock five times. After all, that's how many times he usually knocks.

And because of that, Mei would just straight up open the door. But did her getting out of the bath was also within Lei's plan? Well, high possibility, yes.

Lei had told Mei that showering would be better because the wedding would begin in a few hours, and Lei would take a shower after Mei.

In conclusion, Lei had already planned all of this from the very start they had arrived at their rooms.

A sweat ran down Ray's cheek, it was quite dangerous how his sister was able to plan this without him being able to see through it from the start.

Even though he would usually be able to know and see through her schemes, not this time. A thought appeared in his mind about a certain possibility, but he quickly dismissed it.

A few minutes later, the door opened once more.

Mei : "Uh, you can come in now."

She said while showing her head a little bit from behind the door.

Ray : "A-ah, right."

He stuttered his words but eventually managed to calm himself down and went inside.

Ray : "I knew it, it's not that different from my room."

Mei : "Well, it's quite big though. Probably because this room is for two people."

Ray started a conversation after he went inside to make the mood better, and it worked.

Mei : "But, uh... Why did you come here, Ray? Do you need something?"

Ray : "Oh, right. Lei told me to grab her rubik's cube. And..."

Mei tilted her head at Ray trailing his words.

Ray : "...Nothing. The other thing isn't that important now."

Mei : "Okay...?"

A bag could be seen on the bed, it was Lei's. Ray noticed that and opened it, soon after that he found Lei's rubik's cube.

Ray : "Got it."

He nodded to himself and was about to walk back to the door, if not for the fact that Mei caught his hand.

Both of them stopped moving. Ray slowly moved his gaze behind him, only to see a blushing Mei who had her face down.

Mei : "You'll... Forget about it... Right...?"

It was clear what Mei meant by her question.

Ray : "Erm... I'll do my best."

His answer was honest.

Mei : "Eh?! Please forget about it!"

Because of his unexpectedly honest answer, she released his hand and shouted in embarrassment.

Ray : "'Aight, Imma get out now."

He said before sprinting toward the door and ran (silently) through the hallway. Though there was some kind of scream from behind him, he didn't bother to look back and kept running (silently) toward his room.

Lei : "Oh, you're back?"

Was the first thing Lei said after she noticed that Ray had entered the room while sweating a bit. Meanwhile, Ray only panted and didn't answer her question.

Lei : "Anyway, what do you think about her body—!?"

Ray : "Here's your rubik's cube."

His words may have sounded normal, but he actually threw the rubik's cube toward the unprepared Lei. Though she barely catched it, it did almost hit her face straight on.

Lei : "Why did you throw it?!"

Ray : "Why did you do that?!"

Her question was answered by another question. As she noticed that her brother had figured out what exactly happened, she did what she had to do.

Lei : "Huh, what are you talking about, dear brother?"

She played dumb like usual!

Ray : "..."

He stared at her blankly, before smiling while closing the door behind him and walked towards her.

Lei : "Ah... Crap."

Lei noticed what was about to happen and sweats slid down her face.

Lei : "W-wait! Even though I planned that, I had no evil intention, you know?!"

Ray : "..."

Ray only smiled hearing that as he got closer to her.

Lei : "R-ray, y-you won't do that t-to your little sister, r-right?"

Ray : " :) "

Lei "Right?!"

Ray : "Seems like you'll be a bit late to meet Mei, huh..."

Lei : "Ah... I'm dead."

That was the last word she said before getting punished by Ray. And no, they didn't do anything indecent. After all, this is a wholesome book...

...Right?

— Intermission 7 —

Author : "No wait, did you even have to ask that last question?"

Narrator : "Well, uh... Just to make sure, you know?"

Author : "Oh, okay. Then, let me tell you."

Narrator : "Hm?"

Author : "I won't be writing (typing) any scenes that include those things. And if I really have to include those scenes, then I'll make some sort of timeskip to just skip those scenes."

Narrator : "Oh, I see."

Author : "That way, everything in this book will stay wholesome and safe."

At that statement, Naron didn't stay silent and gave his opinion.

Naron : "If you dismiss the fact that so much blood and some gore could be found in this book, then yes."

Author : "...It's not that much though?"

Naron : "Ah yes, of course. Let's see how many times Ray lost his arm. Oh, and also Lei's arc had so many bloody scenes. Oh right, there was also—"

Author : "'Aight, I give up. Please stop. I acknowledge the fact that this book is not 100% wholesome and safe."

Narrator : "Well, that's what you get for writing (typing) this much action."

Author : "Why are you supporting him?!"

Narrator : "Ha? I'm just saying facts though?"

Author : "Guh! It's more painful when you're right and get supported by the true law of writing..."

Narrator : "Anyway, it seems like the group over there are also talking about something?"

I moved my gaze towards Ray and co.

Mei's face was as red as a tomato, while Ray was looking away while blushing as well.

Kiana was staring at the back of Ray's head silently, but what was different was the fact that her stare was so silent it scared Ray to the point he could be seen blushing but also sweating so much.

Lei was being stared blankly by Leila, meanwhile Fu Hua and Bronya were quite surprised at what they just watched.

Bronya : "...Lei is dangerous."

Fu Hua : "Perhaps, I can agree on that."

Lei : "Wait no, I did that in order to make their relationship closer, you know?"

Fu Hua : "Oh, really?"

Leila : "...She also did it because it'll be fun."

After the older sister said that, both Fu Hua and Bronya stared silently at Lei. While the person in question only quickly diverted her gaze to her "brother".

Kiana : "What do you think about Mei's body?"

Her tone was deeper than usual, which made Ray shudder.

Kiana : "Hey, Ray. Answer honestly, what do you think about her body? And also, what about mine?"

Even without looking at her, Ray could feel her gaze was staring deep into his soul.

Mei : "K-kiana?! Why are you asking that question?!"

Kiana : "Silent, Mei. This is something you should do when the guy you like sees another girl's naked body."

Mei : "E-eh? Really?"

Leila : "And there we go, Kiana is slowly corrupting Mei to the yandere path."

Lei : "But that's not my fault right?"

Leila : "Yeah, probably."

Lei : "If so, then stop looking at me with those suspicious eyes!"

Leila : "I don't understand what you're talking about."

Leila looked away from Lei.

Bronya : "Ah, yes. They really are twins, aren't they?"

Fu Hua : "Agree. In these moments we can see how related they are to each other."

Both Fu Hua and Bronya nodded in sync as they had understood how similar the two sisters were.

Kiana : "Ray~?"

Ray : "Wha—?!"

Meanwhile, Ray was being forced to look at Kiana's scary smile. Mei who was still on Ray's lap twitched scared after looking at Kiana's face.

One of Kiana's eyes had turned amber, meaning Kiana and HOV were currently sharing the body. How was that possible?

Well, this is a special chapter, that's why.

Anyway, Mei suddenly got an idea on what to do. Though, I couldn't say that it was the greatest idea she ever had.

Mei grabbed Ray's head and pulled it to her chest, as if protecting him from Kiana. Meanwhile, this action made the other girls widen their eyes.

Ray : "E-eh?!"

Mei : "Um!"

Kiana stared at them silently.

Kiana : "Mei."

Mei shivered at her best friend's deep voice.

Kiana : "What are you doing?"

Mei : "U-uh, I'm protecting Ray!"

Kiana : "From me? Why?"

Mei : "Herrscher Of Thunder told me that you're dangerous right now!"

Meanwhile, HOT was actually saying "I got blamed?!" inside Mei's mind, but her host didn't bother to listen.

Kiana : "I see."

Her face darkened as she looked down, but a moment later she lifted it up again.

Kiana : "Sigh..."

Mei : "U-uh...?"

Kiana suddenly sighed, which made the two in front of her confused.

Kiana : "Well, I wasn't actually angry, you know?"

Mei : "R-really?"

Kiana : "Of course. It was all just an act."

Mei : "A-ah, is that so..."

Kiana : "Yeah, I'm totally not angry."

She was angry. Just look at that smile. That damn smile filled with anger.

Kiana : "Now, Ray?"

Ray : "Yes?!"

Unfortunately, Ray noticed that Kiana was actually still angry before and answered with almost a shout.

Kiana : "Tell me, why didn't you quickly look away when you noticed that Mei was only wearing a towel?"

Ray : "Uh..."

Kiana : "Oh, and an honest answer would be the right answer. Just like how you answered Mei's question about trying to forget the sight you just saw."

Ray : "?!"

A soft feeling could be felt on Ray's hand, it was Kiana's hand touching him. But strangely, the next second that soft feeling became a painful one.

Well, obviously because Kiana's touch changed into a pinch, and a powerful one on that.

Kiana : "Hm? So what's the answer?"

Ray : "Okay okay! I'll answer honestly! So stop!"

Kiana : "Good."

The feeling changed once more into a soft touch.

Ray : "I... Uh..."

Kiana : "Hm? Say clearly."

A blush appeared on his face.

Ray : "She was... Too hot."

...Ha?

All the girls forgot how to speak and became speechless for a while.

Girls : "EH?!"

Was the first words they said while looking at the blushing Ray who had his face covered with both of his hands.

Author : "Alright. Let's move to the next scene now."

Naron : "Indeed. That would be the best course of action."

Both Author and Naron nodded their heads.

— End Of inter—

Narrator : "YEAH NO! How the heck do you expect us to continue watching after that?!"

Fortunately I had the ability to stop the screen from continuing.

Author : "Well, it'll work somehow."

Narrator : "Somehow?! Are you dumb?!"

Naron : "The thing is, if we don't quickly continue then..."

He pointed at the other group and I followed by moving my gaze.

In fact, all of them had red faces. But, the most red was the two who were so close to each other.

Mei was so embarrassed to hear Ray's answer that she had basically smoke coming out of her head. Her eyes were also teary.

Ray on the other hand was just covering his face, but the fact that some red colors could be noticed when looking at the gaps between his fingers meant that he was so embarrassed.

Kiana was also embarrassed from knowing the answer that she came back to her normal self, based on how both of her eyes had become blue again.

Lei had a face as if she had already expected that kind of answer, yet she was also embarrassed when hearing it directly.

Leila couldn't even say anything as she had a blank expression on her face.

Fu Hua was trying her best to remain calm but failed due to her cheeks being red.

Bronya was no longer conscious.

Wait, Bronya's unconscious?!

Narrator : "How did that happen?! I mean, I do know it's because of Ray's answer, but how did that make her unconscious?! Wasn't it supposed to be embarrassing?"

Author : "Ah, right. She was so embarrassed she basically turned off."

Narrator : "That's a thing?!"

New information acquired!... Not that it was important or anything.

Naron : "Oh, would you look at that. Ray finally steeled himself."

A few seconds later, Ray finally opened his hands and although faint, a small red color could still be seen on his ears.

Ray : "That's my honest answer."

He said suddenly toward Kiana. But the girl was still surprised to think more about it and could only nod.

Oh, and he looked at Author.

Ray : "And, uh... Can we continue on, already?"

Author : "Well, sure? But, what about Bronya? She's still unconscious..."

Fu Hua : "It's fine, I'll wake her up."

Author : "If you say so."

— End Of Intermission 7 —

The time had already past midnight.

The wedding went through nicely without any problems.

Currently, a single boy was looking at the night view from his room's balcony.

Ray: "..."

It was Ray. He didn't make any sound nor did any movement. The only thing he was doing was looking at the countless stars in the night sky.

There was only silence. At the very least, the only sound came from the wind that sometimes went past him.

His black eyes didn't remove its gaze from the dark sky.

Ray : "..."

It was a weird feeling. He could feel calmness. It was as if something was making him feel calm, and what's more... safe.

He lifted his arm and straightened it in front of him, as if reaching out for something...

But he pulled it back.

There was a small change in his expression as he stared at his hand silently.

*Knock Knock Knock*

Ray : "Hm?"

A few knocks came from his door. He wondered who it was and walked to the door, before peeking his eyes to the peephole on the door.

A girl with purple hair came into view, it also looked as if she was nervous.

Ray: "Mei?"

He called her as he opened the door.

Mei : "Ah... You're still awake."

Ray : "Well, yeah. What's wrong?"

Mei : "Uh..."

Mei looked like she didn't know what to do and Ray noticed that. So he did what every normal person would do if someone in front of their room was nervous.

Ray : "Why don't we talk inside?"

He offered her to get inside his room. Of course, a boy and a girl alone in a single room. Surely nothing bad could happen. Surely.

Mei : "Ah, yes. Excuse me."

Mei nodded her head and walked inside, before looking around the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Ray looked at her for a moment before sitting down on the single sofa that was a few steps away from the bed.

Ray : "Now... Did something happen?"

Mei : "..."

Mei shook her head.

Ray : "Okay... Then, what's the matter?"

Mei : "..."

Mei didn't answer and instead, only looked at him silently.

Ray : "..."

Mei : "..."

Neither of the two said anything. They only stared at each other in silence.

Mei : "Um..."

Ray : "...?"

Mei : "What do you... think about the wedding?"

Ray : "Hm... It was nice. The couple looked quite happy, especially the girl when her finger was being put on a ring by her husband-to-be."

Mei : "I see..."

Ray : "Yeah... But why suddenly ask that?"

Ray folded his arms in front of him and tilted his head a bit. Meanwhile, Mei only moved her gaze toward the balcony.

Ray : "...Hm?"

She suddenly stood up and walked to the balcony. Ray only stared at her confused before also standing up from the sofa and followed her.

She put her hands on the railing and looked at the moon. Meanwhile, Ray only watched her silently from the back.

Mei : "They... Look happy."

Ray : "...Yeah. Of course they do, after all, they are now together forever with the person they love."

Ray wasn't that dense to the point he didn't know what Mei was referring to, especially because a certain event happened a few months ago.

Also, a thought appeared in his mind ever since Mei suddenly talked about the wedding. But he shook it off since he wasn't completely sure about it.

Mei : "...Why do people marry the person they love?"

Ray : "Because marriage is a way for them to be tied to each other forever. At least that's what I thought."

Mei : "Does that mean they will be separated if they don't marry?"

Ray : "..."

He could easily say "No.", yet the word couldn't get out of his mouth.

Mei : "Will they be there for eachother when the time comes?"

Ray : "...Yeah."

Mei : "What about if they are separated for a long time?"

Ray : "They will still think of eachother. And if their feelings are strong enough, then fate will reunite them one day."

Mei : "Even if it took many years?"

Ray : "Even if it took many years."

Mei : "...Is that so."

Ray : "...Yes."

After that, silence once again fell between them. This time, both of them only stared at the moon above them and didn't do anything.

Mei : "The moon... Is beautiful, isn't it?"

Ray's eyes instantly widened, but he quickly recovered himself and looked at the girl in front of him.

Mei on the other hand didn't move her gaze and kept on staring at the moon. But a faint red color could be seen faintly on her ears.

He stared at the back of the girl for a moment, before realizing that she had already moved her gaze to him.

Mei : "Ray?"

Ray : "Ah... Right. Yeah, the moon is pretty tonight. After all..."

Mei : "After all?"

Ray : "I—..."

Mei : "..."

Ray : "Ah no, wait, it's actually nothing."

He was too focused on watching her that he forgot to answer. And also, he almost said a few words that might cause something to happen between them.

Ray was about to walk back inside, if not for Mei who quickly caught his hand.

Ray : "..."

Mei : "..."

Both of them were silent. Ray wanted to ask why she stopped him, but refrain himself from doing so. That was when he heard Mei mutter something.

Mei : "...ide forever?"

It was a small mutter. But Ray's eyes widened once again as he was able to hear her mutter from beginning to end, though Mei couldn't know that since she was behind him.

After a few seconds of pure silence. She let go of his hand. Ray stumbled his steps since he was still in a surprised state, resulting in him falling to the bed.

As he fell, Mei also let herself fall to him. This caused the two to be on the bed together.

Ray opened his eyes only to be a few inches away from Mei's eyes. They were so close that they could feel each other's breaths.

Ray & Mei : "...Ah."

The two let out a reflexive response.

Ray was about to lift himself from the bed, but got caught once more and was forced to stay on the bed.

Ray : "What are you—?!"

Both of his hands were being held by Mei. But the most surprising thing for him was that she was above him, just a few centimeters away from his face.

This time, she was closer than when they fell to the bed. Just a single head movement could make their lips touch each other.

Mei : "...Ray."

Ray : "..."

She stared at him as she called him.

Mei : "Tell me..."

Ray : "..."

Mei : "What... Do you think about me?"

Ray : "..."

She asked him a question, but he only stared at her in silence.

Mei : "Please answer it, Ray..."

Ray : "...I..."

He hesitated.

Was it the right time to say it? What would happen if he say the truth? Would this be the best thing to do? And... What about the girl from before who had confessed to him (although by accident)?

It was complicated for him. He wasn't sure what to do.

But there was no other choice. So he decided to—

??? : "Stop."

A girl's voice suddenly appeared in the room, and at the same time, Mei's consciousness suddenly disappeared. Ray quickly realized who the voice belonged to—it was Lei.

But because of what she did, something unexpected happened. Mei's body fell towards Ray, and plus the fact that they were so close to each other made that—

Ray : "?!"

Something touched. A sensation of something touching each other made itself known to him.

He felt that... his lips had touched the girl's above him. His mind went blank. But fortunately, he recovered himself after a few seconds.

Ray : "Hah!"

He moved her unconscious body and stood up from the bed, quickly passing Lei and went to the bathroom.

The water flowed out from the tap as he turned it to the side. Then, he washed his face before looking at the mirror above the sink.

Ray : "..."

He touched his lips.

Ray : "...It touched, didn't it?"

A smile appeared on his face, a sad smile.

Ray : "Damn it..."

The thought he had a while ago turned out to be correct.

Mei loved him.

That single thought appeared just while they were chatting, but he shook the thought off as it had no proof. But what had happened after that had already proven otherwise.

Lei : "Come out."

A knock came from the bathroom door.

Ray : "Lei?"

He called her from inside the bathroom.

Lei : "What?"

She answered, but something was different.

Ray : "Ah..."

A realization came to him. It was certainly Lei, but not the usual Lei.

Ray : "The other Lei, huh..."

It was the "Other" Lei (Or what we would call "Leila" in the future) that had control right now.

A low *clank* came from the door knob as he opened the door. His gaze was met with a pair of serious eyes.

Lei(la) : "What were the two of you doing just now?"

A shiver ran through his spine as he realized that the girl's tone was deeper than normal.

Ray : "N-nothing. We just fell because I stumbled when I was walking to the door. She too, then fell after me."

Lei (la) : "...Really?"

Ray : "Y-yeah."

She stared at him silently. But to him, it felt like she was staring right to his soul.

Lei(la) : "You're lying."

Ray : "?!"

A sword suddenly appeared and it was aimed towards his neck. Fortunately, he backed a step away and the sword barely touched his neck.

Ray : "What are you—?!"

Lei (la) : "I hate liars. I could just kill you here right now, but that would be problematic in the future."

Her eyes weren't lying about killing him, that itself already made his face covered in sweats.

Ray : "I-I didn't lie to you."

Lei(la): "..."

Ray: "I just... didn't tell the whole truth."

Lei(la) : "...I see."

The sword on her hand suddenly disappeared, but it was instantly changed to herself who had teleported right in front of him.

Her eyes stared at him for a moment before she concluded what happened.

Lei(la) : "She tried to kiss you, didn't she?"

Ray : "Wha-?!"

Instantly, he realized his mistake, it was that his reaction basically gave his answer.

Lei(la) : "I see, that confirms it then."

Ray : "It's not—"

Lei(la) : "Oh? Then tell me the whole truth about what actually happened. Can you do that? Also, about how you feel towards her. After all, another girl also harbors the same feeling towards you."

Ray : "What are you—"

Lei(la) : "Kiana."

After hearing that name, he widened his eyes and instantly understood what she was talking about.

Ray : "How did you—"

Lei(la) : "How did I know? Simple. I always knew. Especially since Kiana confessed to you a few months ago, albeit unconsciously."

Once again, something that wasn't supposed to be known was known by the girl in front of him.

Lei(la) : "What?"

Ray : "How did you...?"

Lei(la) : "I knew about it from the start. After all, I too had my own methods of knowing things."

A shier once again went down his spine as he realized how dangerous the girl in front of him actually was.

The fact that she knew things that were supposed to be hidden, and how she was able to see through lies.

Lei(la) : "Now, tell me. Did the two of you kiss?"

Ray : "..."

A hesitation.

He hesitated whether or not to say the truth.

Lei(la) : "I said... Answer."

Ray : "...Yes."

The truth came out.

Ray : "But—"

Lei(la) : "But?"

Ray : "It was an accident. After you made her unconscious, which I'm guessing by chopping her neck, she fell towards me and our lips met."

Lei(la) : "..."

Ray : "So it was an accident and unintention—"

Lei(la) : "But if I wasn't here to stop her, then she will eventually kiss you on purpose."

Those words cut him off and made him stop talking.

Lei(la) : "That's true, isn't it?"

Ray : "..."

Lei(la) : "After all, even you have realized it by now. That... Mei loves you."

Ray : "...Yes."

Lei(la) : "..."

Silence fell between them. That was, until Lei(la) sighed and Ray stared at her in surprise.

Lei(la) : "Why are you looking at me as if me sighing is something surprising?"

Ray : "Well, you don't look like a person who does that often, so..."

Lei(la) looked at him annoyed.

Lei(la) : "Whatever. I'm gonna go back now."

Ray : "Wait, what about Mei?"

Lei(la) : "You'll carry her to our room."

Ray : "I have no choice to refuse, don't I?."

Leia(la) : "Nope, and you won't even refuse even if there's a choice."

Ray : "...Yeah, you're right."

He scratched his head and smiled a bit, while Lei(la) only looked at him silently.

After that, he went towards Mei and lifted her. At first, he tried to carry her with a piggyback, but then he felt somewhat guilty about it and decided to just carry her bridal-style.

Lei(la) : "Hm?"

Lei(la) looked at him with one of her eyebrows lifted.

Ray : "What's wrong? Wait, don't tell me you're—"

Lei(la) : "Say the word and I'll make sure you won't be able to walk for the rest of your life."

Ray: "...Alright. Seems like that was just my misunderstanding."

Sighing again, she stared at him blankly.

Lei(la) : "In the first place, why did you even thought that I'll be jealous?"

Ray : "Well... In the end, you're still part of Lei, so..."

Lei(la) : "...I see, that does make sense considering the fact that Lei loves you."

Ray : "Yeah, I'm sorry for that."

Lei(la) : "...Hm."

After that odd exchange, he nodded to himself while adjusting Mei who was on his arms to make sure she had a comfortable position.

Lei(la) : "Done? Let's go."

Ray : "Yep. Right behind you."

Finally, they left Ray's room (not forgetting to lock it, of course) and headed towards Lei and Mei's room.

— Intermission 8 —

Well, that was something.

Mei and Ray kissed, even though the girl was unconscious, it still counted as his second kiss.

Oh, would you look at that, Mei had the face of a tomato. While Ray once again covered his face with both of his hands, maybe that's how he dealt with embarrassment?

High possibility, yes.

Different from the two's reaction, Kiana had her eyes widened while Lei had an expression as if she had already expected it from the beginning.

Leila was still with her usual normal (cold) expression, Fu Hua was calm (Probably because she had witnessed something similar just a while ago), and Bronya didn't faint this time (Which was an improvement!).

Mei : "U-uu...."

Oh, she had recovered some part of herself.

Kiana : "W-was that what you meant by his second k-kiss...?"

As she was still in the state of surprise, she stuttered her words a bit at the start, but she did manage to ask the question while pointing with her shaky finger towards the screen.

The question of course was directed towards Author, and as a response, he smiled and put his hand in front of him with the gesture as if saying "Good job figuring it out!"

Kiana : "U-ugh... I lost..."

She fell to her knees.

Lei : "It's fine, nobody cares."

The smiling Lei told Kiana quite a cruel statement.

Kiana : "G-guh, this little..."

But as if she had realized something, her despair expression changed changed into that of a mocking one.

Kiana : "Ah, right. I just realized you never kissed him either, right?"

Lei : "Bfuh!"

Kiana : "Heh, I still won from you."

Lei : "Ugh..."

Oh how tables the turned, Kiana was now the one mocking Lei. Meanwhile, Leila only stared at her sister strangely.

Narrator : "Huh, I feel like the impact of the kiss wasn't that much impactful now?"

Author : "Well, they did witness a kiss right in front of their eyes a while ago, so... maybe they're more used to it by now?"

Narrator : "Ah, that does make sense. But..."

My gaze moved towards the two who had just kissed (in the senes, I mean).

Mei was still red and was currently looking away from the screen but she sometimes sneaks glances at Ray, while Ray himself was doing his best to stay calm and pretend to not realize Mei's glances.

Mei : "U-um... Ray?"

Ray : "...Yes, Mei?"

Mei : "What do you... Think about it?"

Kiana : "Wha-?!"

It was a bold question, yet Mei mustered the courage to ask him. Kiana, who heard that question, shouted in surprise and shifted her attention from Lei to Ray.

Ray on the other hand, looked at the girl on his lap silently. It seemed like he was seriously thinking about what answer would be the best and correct one.

Ray : "...It was soft."

Kiana : "?!"

Lei : "Pft-"

He answered with a determined expression. It surprised Kiana, but it was different for Lei as she found it funny and laughed out loud.

As this space didn't allow any lies and only let truths, it had proven that the answer was his honest feeling and response.

Mei : "...Ehehe..."

For some reason, Mei giggled with an embarrassed smile while trying to cover her mouth (Though she failed to do so and her cute embarrassed face was revealed).

Author : "See! That's the pure reaction I was talking about!"

Naron : "Yes yes, Grandpa. It's time for you to sleep."

Author : "You won't admit you're wrong?!"

Naron : "I'm sorry, but it seems like you've taken the wrong medicine, huh."

Author : "This damn Character I've made!"

Naron : "Shut up, this damn Creator."

Meanwhile, in the background Author and Naron were talking about something related to Mei's pureness... I think.

Bronya : "...Fu Hua."

Fu Hua : "...Yes?"

Bronya : "I feel like we've been forgotten..."

Fu Hua : "Indeed. It does seem like it..."

Oh shoot! That's right! They're also here! I'm sorry!

It's just that both of them were so silent that their presence was slowly being forgotten...

Uuh, What should I do...? That's right! When in doubt, just ask your superior!

Narrator : "Author!"

Author : "No, even I don't know what to do, okay...?"

Narrator : "Eh?!"

Author : "It's just that Ray, Kiana, Mei, Lei, and Leila had too much involvement that they basically became the main attention..."

Narrator : "But after this it'll be Bronya's special, right? Doesn't that mean Bronya will take the spotlight?"

After I said that, Bronya who was in the corner of the room suddenly lifted her head up.

Author : "Well, yeah... But the thing is, there's one more scene before Mei's special side-story ends completely. Though it's more like a bonus scene, there's not much important information in it. But I decided to add the scene as well because it was still part of the day, or should I say, night."

This time, all of the people here moved their attention towards the screen to see the last scene of Mei's episode.

— End Of intermission 8 —

A few minutes had passed since they left Ray's room. Even though their room was on the same floor, the hotel itself was big enough for a floor to fit more than 100 rooms.

That was why they would need a few minutes to travel from one room to the other, and in this case, from Ray's to Lei's.

Ray : "Uh, Lei?"

Lei(la) : "What?"

Because Lei(la) was in front of Ray, she answered without looking back.

Ray : "Why are you the one in control? I mean, wasn't Lei used to be more in control?"

Lei(la) : "Ha? You got a problem with me being the one in control right now?"

Ray : "Of course not. I was just wondering about it since I haven't seen Lei for quite a while."

Lei(la) : "...She's asleep."

Ray : "Eh?"

Lei(la) : "I'm saying that she's currently sleeping, that's why I have more control over the body right now."

Ray : "Wait, you're telling me that you two were able to control the body alone even if the other personality is not active? As in, currently conscious?"

Lei(la) : "Yes, that's correct."

Ray : "I see, that's interesting..."

Lei (Leila) : "Hm, any other question?"

Ray : "...Well, yes. I actually do have another question"

Lei(la) : "Ask, then."

For a moment, he hesitated whether or not to ask the question that had been in his mind for a while. But after some consideration, he finally decided to ask.

Ray : "Do you... also love me?"

Lei(la) : "..."

After that question got out of his mouth, she stopped walking and stood still. As a result, he also stood still waiting for the answer.

A minute had passed. During that time, he thought about his question again and again in his mind. He himself knew it was a stupid, or even an insane question to ask.

But he needed to know. After all, it would decide what he would do after that. After a while of complete silence, she finally said—

Lei(la) : "...Who knows."

Was the answer she gave him.

Ray : "...I see. Thank you for answering it."

Lei(la) : "...Hm."

Nevertheless, he thanked her and she just nodded her head.

There was no sign of embarrassment when she said that, meaning she must've told him her honest answer. At least, that's what he thought based on her appearance.

Finally, after what felt like a 30 minute walk (Even though it was only 5 minutes), they finally arrived in front of Lei and Mei's room. Room 183.

Oh and for information, Ray's room was room 105.

Anyway, after unlocking the door with her card, they went inside. After that, Ray slowly put Mei down on her bed.

Ray : "Alright. That's done."

Lei(la) : "..."

Lei(la) only watched him silently from the door, waiting for him to finish. Once it was done, he went outside the room.

Ray : "Okay... I guess this is a good night, then."

Lei(la) : "Hm, good night."

Ray : "Yeah, night."

Just as the door was about to fully close, something surprising happened.

Ray : "...!"

Right before the door closed the gap, he swore he could see a smile.

Ray : "..."

It was unbelievable. That cold and serious girl, smiling? Impossible. That's what he thought before. But what happened in front of him changed that. Knowing that, he smiled to himself before letting out a small dry laugh and finally walking back to his room to take a rest for the night.

— End Of Mei's Special Side-story —

Author : "See? Not much of importa—"

Lei : "Nee-chan?! Answer honestly! Do you love Ray?!"

The talking Author was cut off by the shouting Lei towards her older twin sister. Meanwhile, Leila was just watching the scene that had played silently.

Lei : "Onee-chan!"

Leila : "...Sigh, is it really that important?"

Lei : "Yes! Please answer it!"

Even though she sounded as if she was desperate for answers, her eyes were strangely filled with stars of curiosity and excitement.

Leila : "...Who knows."

It was the same answer she had given before to Ray. But this time, something was different.

All (Except Naron & Author): "!!!"

She was smiling.

A smile filled with a certain emotion had appeared on her face. And once again, Ray couldn't believe his eyes when he saw this girl smiling.

No, not just Ray. Almost everyone in this place couldn't believe the fact that the cold and serious girl, who sometimes acted rude to other people and didn't hesitate to do what needed to be done, was actually smiling in front of them.

Leila : "Stop it. Don't look at me like that, even though I'm a normal person too, you know? So don't be so surprised as if all of you just saw something that only happened once in a million years."

Her smile quickly disappeared and was changed into her usual cold expression.

Ray : "W-well, this is you we're talking about so.."

Kiana : "What? You? A normal person? Are you sure you're still san—"

Leila : "Tuna."

Kiana : "Yes, Ma'am."

Lei : "Wha-?! She silenced her with just a single word?!"

The single call from Leila was enough to make Kiana shudder and as a result, she answered her with a formal tone.

Leila : "And... Ray."

Ray : "Hai?!"

After Ray's startled reaction, Leila's expression changed as if she had realized something and turned around, making her back facing him.

Leila : "...Actually, it's nothing. I almost said something unnecessary."

Ray : "Uh... Okay...?"

The confused Ray only tilted his head though there was a relief feeling because nothing bad happened to him.

Lei : "Wait!"

Suddenly, Lei shouted with an expression as if she had found out about something. Because of that, she was the main attention now.

Lei : "If I'm not wrong, there are 7 'Special side-story' right?"

Author : "Yes, that's correct... Well, at least for now."

Lei : "And by order, it's for Kiana, Mei, Bronya, Me, Leila—Oneechan, Fu Hua, and Bianka, correct?"

Author : "Yep."

Lei : "And these 'Special side-story' focused solely on special and important interactions such as confessions and similar things, right?"

Author : "Ye."

Lei : "Does that mean every girl that had these 'Special Side-story' loves Ray?"

Author : "Y."

Lei : "Doesn't that indicate that Onee-chan also loves him?"

After hearing her conclusion, Author was silent. It seemed like he hesitated whether or not to say his response since this space only allowed truths.

Meaning, if he gave her an answer, that answer would probably be the answer Lei was looking for. Which he didn't want to do since he had other plans.

Author : "...Probably."

Oh, he used the same loophole as a certain someone from a while ago.

Lei : "I see, so that means it's a 'Yes' then."

She said while nodding her head.

Leila : "..."

Ray : "..."

The two stared at each other silently. That was, until Ray said—

Ray : "...That's surprising."

Leila : "What do you mean?"

Ray : "I thought that you'll deny her or something."

Leila : "Well, she's a smart girl. So there's no point in denying it."

Ray : "I see... But are you not embarrassed?"

Leila : "Hm?"

Ray : "I mean, uh... You're indirectly saying that you love me."

Leila : "Ah, right. Well... I'll probably confess sooner or later when my 'Special side-story' arrives."

Ray : "Is that so..."

Leila : "Hm..."

Ray awkwardly scratched his cheeks as he didn't expect that Leila would be like this. But nonetheless, their relationship stayed the same for the moment.

Lei : "...Why are they so chill about it?"

Kiana : "Yeah... It feels like she doesn't really care whether or not the truth came out."

Mei : "Uuu, it somehow feels like my confession was anti-climatic..."

Kiana : "N-no! Yours was good, Mei! It's even better than my sleeping confession!"

Lei : "Y-yeah! And how bold you were just after your confession! It was quite thrilling!"

Mei : "E-eh? Ehehe, is that so..."

For some reason, after hearing those words her embarrassing smile appeared once again and she let out a small giggle.

Author : "See?! That's the second time, you know! Just admit that you're wrong!"

Naron : "Tch."

Author : "You just clicked your tongue didn't you?!"

Naron : "Yes. What about it?"

Author : "And he admitted that but not his mistake?! Are you serious?!"

Aaand in the background, they were still arguing about something.

Lei : "Though for some reason, the guy she confessed to only pretend not to understand her confession."

Lei folded her arms and stared at her "Brother", while the "Brother" only diverted his eyes.

Ray : "Sigh, it was quite shocking, you kno—"

Leila : "Nope, that's not the full truth."

Ray : "..."

Leila : "What?"

Ray : "...Sigh. Okay, fine. I kinda thought about it from the moment she came to the balcony and looked at the moon. But I shook the thought off as some kind of..."

Lei : "Kind of?"

Ray : "...Nothing. Let's skip that part, so—"

Suddenly, Leila appeared behind Ray and grabbed his hair and pulled it (softly, to not make it painful).

Ray : "?!"

It was understandable that he was surprised, after all, her face was right in front of him.

Leila : "Come on, don't be shy, just say the word."

Ray : "Wha—"

Leila : "If you don't, then I'll kiss you."

Ray : "Yes, Ma'am. Sorry, Ma'am."

Just with those threats, she was able to stop his struggle.

Lei : "No, seriously, how much authority does my sister have towards my friends?!"

Kiana : "Well, she was kinda scary whenever you weren't around, Lei..."

Lei : "Eh?!"

Mei : "Y-yeah, Kiana's right..."

Lei : "Even you're scared of her, Mei?! Wait, what about Bron—Eh?"

Just as Lei turned her gaze towards the small girl on the corner, she realized that the girl was no longer there. Instead, she was—eh? Hiding behind me? When did she get here?

Narrator : "Uh... Bronya?"

Bronya : "The Bronya thinks that talking back against Lei's older twin sister is worse than making Kiana Idiotka won on purpose in HOMU Warriors 3."

She even went back to her old talking style?!

Lei : "She even went back to her old talking habits?!"

That's literally what I just... Actually, you know what, I don't really care. They couldn't hear my narration, anyway.

Author : "But I could, though?"

You're not a part of their group so you don't count.

Author : "Oh, okay."

Anyway, back to Lei.

Lei : "If Bronya is even scared of her... Then don't tell me even Fu Hua?!"

Fu Hua : "I'm not."

Lei : "Oh, thank goodness..."

A breath of relief came from her and she patted her chest.

Fu Hua : "Though she does have some things that's quite dangerous if it's revealed about me."

Lei : "Isn't that just straight up blackmail material, then?!"

Fu Hua : "...No, it's not."

Lei : "Please say that while looking at me!"

Unfortunately, it seemed like even Fu Hua was on Leila's strings.

Lei : "Ugh, what kind of things had my sister done to them while I wasn't around..."

She fell to her knees.

Leila : "No, wait. Why are you talking as if I'm the bad guy? I haven't done anything bad to them... Yet."

Lei : "That 'yet' at the end worries me! I'm sorry everyone for my sister! I'm sorry!"

In the end, Lei dogeza'd towards the others while apologizing for her sister's actions. But well, they tried their best to assure her that it was fine and it was their fault for being "careless".

After a while, Lei finally recovered from her state and asked a question to Ray.

Lei : "Continuing from before, what were you about to say, Ray? That even nee-chan threatened you?"

Ray : "Uh..."

Leila : "Yes, Ray. What was the word, Ray?"

Ray : "?! Okay! Okay! It was 'expectation'!"

Lei : "Hm? 'Expectation'?"

Leila : "Why don't you try to remember what he just said from before?"

Lei : "Okay... "

Ray : "...Sigh. Okay, fine. I kinda thought about it from the moment she came to the balcony and looked at the moon. But I shook the thought off as some kind of..."

Not just Lei, but both Kiana and Mei were surprised as they put the piece together.

Lei : "He had... expectation towards Mei's confession!"

Kiana : "Doesn't that mean... Ray also loves Mei?!"

Mei : "Eh?!"

Kiana : "Does that mean Mei is the final winner? Damn it!"

Kiana punched the floor in frustration, while Mei was trying to think of something to calm her best friend, but in the end she didn't know what to say.

Leila : "Wait."

It was unusual, Leila's voice was deeper than normal.

Leila : "Ray."

Ray : "...Yes?"

Even Ray was startled once again, but he managed to stay calm this time since this was serious.

Leila : "Do you love Mei?"

Ray : "..."

Leila : "I will ask you one more time."

*Crack!*

The floor cracked with a loud sound after Leila stomped her feet in front of him.

Leila : "Do. You. Lo—"

But her words stopped.

Leila : "...What are you doing, Bianka?"

The former small figure Durandal, turned into her human form and stood in front of Ray.

In her hand was also the Abyssal Flower. It seemed like she was protecting him from the girl in front of them.

Bianka : "I can't let you do any harm to him."

Leila : "Oh? And what makes you assume that I'll harm him?"

Bianka : "..."

Leila : "See? You have no proof of it. So just stand aside and let me question him."

Leila took a step, but Bianka didn't stay silent and took a step as well. Both of them were now in front of each other.

Leila : "..."

Bianka : "..."

Leila was a bit taller than Bianka as her height was 168 while Bianka's was 165 cm. This caused Bianka to move her gaze up a bit to look directly at Leila's eyes.

The silence between them caused tension for the other girls, they looked at Ray hoping for him to calm the situation in front of him down.

The man himself noticed the situation in front of him was getting tense, and he also noticed the other girls' gazes.

Ray : "...Stop it, Bianka. Let her ask her a question."

His voice caused the girl in front of him to turn around and look at him silently, before she asked him a question.

Bianka : "But what if she—"

Ray : "She won't."

She tilted her head towards him, wondering how he was so sure about it.

Bianka : "How are you so sure?"

Ray : "Well, let me ask you a question... Would you harm me just to ask a single important question?"

Bianka : "I won't."

She gave her answer without any hesitation. Ray smiled after hearing that answer.

Ray : "See?"

Bianka : "..."

Ray : "You understand right?"

For a moment, she was confused, but the next second, she quickly understood what he meant by that question and nodded her head.

Bianka looked at Leila for a second before moving aside. Leila walked past her and stopped just a step away from Ray.

Just for some information, Leila was standing while Ray was still on his seat. Mei had already stood up from Ray's lap and was currently with the other girls that were watching from the side (because she felt that being on Ray's lap while being stared at by Leila is a really terrifying experience).

Leila : "Ray."

Ray : "Yes?"

Leila : "Do you only love Mei?"

Ray : "No."

That answer shocked the girls, especially Mei.

Leila : "Then—"

Ray : "I love all of you."

But the statement afterwards made all of them equally surprised.

Leila : "Even me?"

Ray : "Yes, even you."

Leila : "..."

Ray : "You don't trust me?"

Leila shook her head.

Leila : "I do. After all, there's no lies from what you've said."

A smile appeared on her face.

Leila : "And that's good to know."

Ray : "Is that so?"

Leila : "Indeed. That confirms that there will be no loss."

Ray : "Ahaha, I see. That does make sense."

He chuckled and nodded his head, agreeing with what she just said.

Leila : "Hm? Why are all of you surprised? Isn't this a good thing?"

Her smile once again disappeared and was changed to her usual cold expression.

Lei : "...How are you two so cool about it?!"

Leila : "That's the first thing that came out of your mouth?"

Lei : "I mean! Well yes it is a good thing that he loves all of us, but!"

Leila : "What's the problem, then?"

Lei : "Uugh!"

Kiana : "...I feel kinda frustrated at how easy it was..."

Lei : "Yes! There! That's also one of the problems!"

Leila : "Ah, I see. So you want some kind of drama going on before finally getting the confession?"

Lei : "Isn't that how love confession is usually carried out?!"

Leila : "But isn't that too problematic? If you like or love someone, just confess. After all, that's how we do things in the Kinara family."

She said while folding her arms in front of her.

Lei : "Huh? What do you mean?"

Leila : "Ah, right. You didn't know about it. Well, let me tell you, then. Do you know how Mom and Dad got together?"

Lei : "Uh, no?"

Leila : "Well apparently, Mom just confessed out of the blue while she was having lunch with Dad when they were still in highschool."

Lei : "Eh? Really?"

Leila : "Yes, really. And what's more, Dad wasn't that interested with her at that time. So after she confessed, he slowly but surely became conscious of her. And the rest, well it's history."

Lei : "Is that so..."

She nodded her head understandingly.

Kiana : "Somehow, I think we're getting out of the topic..."

Mei : "Ahaha, it's not like it's a bad thing isn't it?"

Kiana : "But well... How are we supposed to react to Ray's confession just now?"

Mei : "A-ah, right. He did confess, huh..."

Kiana : "...You're still embarrassed aren't you?"

Mei : "W-wha?! I'm not!"

She said with a faint blush. She's clearly still embarrassed.

Bronya : "...The Bronya doesn't know what to say."

Fu Hua : "It's fine, it's not like you're forced to say anything."

Bronya : "...Say that again while not trying to cover your smile."

Fu Hua : "I-I don't understand what you're saying, Bronya."

Meanwhile, Bronya stared blankly at Fu Hua who was trying her best to remain calm and not smile because she finally knew that Ray also loved her (although Ray still didn't know that she loved him, yet).

Narrator : "...Is this the right time for Bronya's side-story to start?"

Author : "Well... Maybe? I don't know..."

Narrator : "It feels... weird, not gonna lie."

Author : "Eeh, you'll be used to it after a while."

Narrator : "Why does that sound like you've gone through something similar and you're the only one that's different or doesn't have whatever the others had?"

Author : "Ahaha, I don't know what you're talking about..."

He said with an empty laugh and dead eyes.

Narrator : "...I think I just stepped on a landmine."

A sweat slid down my face as I realized what I just did. Oh and would you look at that, the others looked at him worriedly.

Even Naron felt a bit uncomfortable and awkwardly looked away after hearing that (which sounded very impossible, yet it happened here).

As if not ready to see this continued, Mei gathered her courage and called him.

Mei : "Er... Author-san?"

Author : "Ahaha... Yes, what is it?"

Mei : "U-uh, I think we're fine for Bronya's episode to start now. Right, everyone?"

After Mei called him, he responded with the same dead eyes and that startled her a bit, but she managed to say what she wanted to say after that.

And also, the "everyone" she referred to nodded their heads, agreeing with what she said.

Author : "...I see."

Oh, he's back to his usual self.

Author : "Ahem... Okay, then. Why don't you all take a seat?"

With a snap of his finger, all of them were teleported once again to their original seat. But this time, Ray was placed on a bigger seat as Bronya was teleported beside him.

As for both Mei and Kiana, they were given separate seats and were currently beside Ray's double seat.

Bronya, who had noticed that she was beside Ray, let her head fall to his arm. Ray looked at her for a moment before smiling and patting her head.

Mei looked at their interaction and smiled warmly, while Kiana let out a good sigh and also smiled.

Lei too was smiling as she watched them, Leila only folded her arms while letting her body relax on the seat, and finally Fu Hua who had a small smile on her face.

Oh right, Bianka had already turned back to her small figure form and was currently on Ray's head (again).

Naron on the other hand, was still standing with his arms folded in front of him. It seemed like he didn't mind standing for the rest of the chapter...

Or maybe because Author didn't let him sit down. Probably the latter.

Anyway, the screen once again turned on and some text could be seen starting to form.

"Bronya's Special Side-story - A Promise"

Ray : "Ah... I think I know where this will take place."

He said before patting Bronya's head. Meanwhile, Bronya agreed—meaning she also had an idea on where and when it took place—by nodding her head.

Author : "Well, then. Shall we start the side-story?"

A grin appeared on his face, then he snapped his fingers.

The side-story began!

— Start Of Bronya's Special Side-story —

Ray: "...Bronya?"

Bronya: "...Da?"

Ray: "Remind me again why we're waiting in this line for the last 3 hours?"

Bronya: "The latest HOMU game will be released today."

Ray: "I see... And what time is it now?"

Bronya: "6 AM."

Ray: "Right.... 6 in the morning... And yet we're standing in front of the store that'll open at 9 AM. Don't you think it's weird?"

Bronya: "Da."

Ray: "...Bronya?"

Bronya: "...Da?"

Ray: "I'm hungry."

Bronya: "...Da. Same."

Such exchanges were happening right in the middle of the city. Just in front of the biggest—and yet, the only—HOMU Official Store.

As for why they were currently standing there. It was clear at this point that Bronya wanted the latest HOMU fighter game. But if so... Why was Ray there, as well?

To know the answer, why don't we rewind the time to yesterday night?

The night before.

As usual, Squad V's members were doing their night routine.

Ray: "Huh, so that's how you do it..."

Mei: "Yes. And then, by dividing this—"

Both Ray and Mei were sitting in the middle of the living room. Studying.

Kiana: "Come on, come on! Just a little more!"

Bronya: "Idiotka. That's a bad move."

Kiana: "What do you—Eh?! I died?!"

Kiana was playing a single player adventure game with Bronya watching and sometimes giving her "suggestions"(more like late warnings).

Lei: "Done! 5 minutes!"

Theresa: "...How is this even possible to solve?"

Lei just finished solving one of her many rubik's cube. This time, she managed to solve the 7x7 ghost cube in just 5 minutes. While, Theresa was still confused at how to solve an ordinary 7x7 rubik's cube.

Fu Hua: "So, what I think we should do for this semester's exams is—"

Himeko: "Hm... I see. But what if 'that girl' fails again?"

Fu Hua: "...I don't know what to say, then. Just hope that she'll pass, maybe?"

Himeko: "...That sounds worrying."

Fu Hua: "...Yeah."

Himeko and Fu Hua were discussing something school-related.

It was normal. Nothing strange was going on. Or at least, that's what was happening until an hour later.

One hour later.

*Knock Knock Knock*

Ray: "Huh? Who is it?"

While reviewing the materials Mei had teached him a while back, some knocks came from his room door.

Because of that, he stood from his seat and went to the door before opening it.

Ray: "Oh, it's just you, Bronya."

Bronya: "Da."

It was Bronya. She was in her pajamas.

Ray: "What's wrong?"

Bronya: "...The Bronya wants to talk about something."

Ray: "Okay, then. Come on in."

Bronya: "Da."

Without thinking too much, he let her inside and closed the door.

— Intermission 9 —

Kiana: "Eh? Was it always that easy?"

Suddenly, she asked out loud. Lei, who heard her, looked at her and asked.

Lei: "Huh? What is?"

Kiana: "Entering Ray's room."

Hearing her answer, she tilted his head.

Lei: "Huh? What are you saying? You just need to go to his room and open the door. There, you're in."

Kiana: "Eh? No, that's not what I'm talking about."

With a confused expression, Lei looked at Kiana.

Lei: "Then what are you talking about?"

Kiana: "Being alone with him in his room."

Lei: "..."

A complicated expression appeared on Lei's face. She didn't expect that kind of answer.

Lei: "Author-san."

Author: "Yes?"

Lei: "Please continue."

Author: "..."

Kiana: "Eh? Why do I feel like my question got left out?"

Bronya: "Because it did, Idiotka."

Kiana: "Wha-?! What did you just call me, Bratnya?"

Ray: "They came back to how they called each other in the past?"

Mei: "A-ahaha... But it's kinda nice to see them like that, don't you think?"

Ray: "Hmm, you're not wrong."

With a warm smile, both Ray and Mei watched over the two. Meanwhile, Lei still asked Author to continue but he said, "Wait a little longer, let's see if something interesting were to happen."

As if realizing the meaning behind his words, she stopped and also observed the others carefully.

...Was that girl always so easy?

Anyway, the other two—Leila and Fu Hua—didn't say anything out loud. Right, "out loud". They looked like they were discussing something, but I won't say anything about it since it wasn't that important to you.

Oh well, back to the special side-story!

— End Of Intermission 9 —

Ray: "So, what is it that you want to say?"

Sitting on his chair, he asked with a smile.

Bronya, on the other hand, looked around for a moment before deciding to sit on the bed.

Bronya: "The Bronya asks if it's okay for Subject Ray to accompany Bronya tomorrow to buy something."

Ray: "Huh? Buy what?"

Bronya: "The latest HOMU fighter game—Homu Of War: Doomsday."

Ray: "...I see. Well..."

(Eh? Since when did Homu have that title for a game? Pretty sure they had HOMU Fighter Special Edition Ver. 6.94.2.0 Alpha last time... And why does it feel like that this new name sounds familiar to a game I've heard lately?)

Rather than thinking about Bronya's invitation, Ray kept on thinking about the game name itself—which was kinda rude, if I do say so myself.

Bronya kept silent as she stared at Ray, waiting for his answer.

Bronya: "..." Stareee~

Ray: "E-eh? A-ah, right..."

Her stare had successfully woke him from his thoughts!

Ray: "Well, sure. I'll accompany you."

Scratching his head (because he felt a little bit guilty prolonging her answer), he nodded.

The moment Bronya heard his answer, a certain emotion appeared inside her.

It was happiness.

But... Because she couldn't feel her emotion properly, she didn't feel too much about it hence why there was no actual response from her expression.

Bronya: "Thank you."

She said, But just hearing that, Ray's eyes widened a bit.

Ray: "...Well, that's unexpected, isn't it?"

Bronya: "What is?"

With a blank stare, she asked.

Ray: "Those words you said just now... Somehow, I feel like some part of your emotion came back."

Bronya: "...I see."

Ray: "Yeah. Well, I do hope that your emotions will be back sooner. That way, you can freely express what you feel to us. And if that were to happen, I'm sure all of us will also understand you better."

Bronya: "The Bronya hopes for that, as well. That will be the best possible thing to happen for Bronya."

Even when there's no expression while saying that, Ray could feel that those words just now, were also faintly filled with another emotion.

Knowing that, he smiled and stood from his seat. A few seconds later, he sat beside Bronya and put his hand above her head.

Ray: "I'm sure it'll happen. Not just a possibility. It's a certain thing, I'm sure of it."

He said while patting her head.

Bronya: "...Da."

Ray: "Heh, that's the answer I'm looking for."

With a chuckle, he continued to pat Bronya's head.

Minutes passed and they spent their time talking with each other about other things—like Lei's teases to Kiana, Mei's skill in cooking, Fu Hua's tight discipline schedule, Himeko's wine problem and even Theresa's (possibly) secret disease that made her unable to gro—

As they were talking, a beeping sound came from his study table. It was from an alarm.

The alarm he usually used to remind him that it was time to sleep.

Ray: "Huh? Oh, it's already 9."

He stood from the bed and stretched his body a bit.

Ray: "Well, time to sleep, Bronya."

Bronya: "Da."

Bronya then stood from the bed and walked toward the door, before opening them.

Ray: "Ah, right. Bronya?"

Bronya: "Da?"

But just before she got out, Ray called her.

Ray: "What time will we go?"

Bronya: "...The Bronya will tell you tomorrow."

Ray: "Oh, okay... Ah, wait. One more thing."

Bronya: "Da?"

He walked toward the door, standing in front of Bronya.

Ray: "Good night, Bronya."

Bronya: "Da. Good night, Subject Ray."

With a smile and one last pat for the day, he said so before being answered by her.

— Intermission 10 —

Fu Hua: "Eh? My schedule isn't that tight, though?"

Lei: "...Are you serious?"

Fu Hua: "Yeah."

Lei: "Well, tell us your schedule, then?"

Fu Hua: "Okay... Wake up at 4 and run for 30 KM (make sure that the run only took two hours) before meditating for one more hour. Then, take a cold bath. After that, go to school. See? That's what normal people do."

Hearing her answer as it was obvious, the St. Freya's students (though Kiana couldn't be called that—because she had to run away due to a certain Herrscher—but well, I'll include her anyway) stared at her blankly.

Fu Hua: "Huh? What?"

Kiana: "Class President."

Fu Hua: "Kiana? Why did you call me like that again?"

Kiana: "Just so you know, normal people don't go jogging 30 KM in the morning. And what's more, in one hour. If I were a normal person, that would be the most abnormal thing to do."

Lei: "Eh? You realized that you're not normal?"

With a (annoying because it's intentional) surprised expression, Lei asked while covering her mouth partly.

Hearing that obvious provokation, a red mark appeared on Kiana's forehead.

Kiana: "Calm down, Kiana. Remember, no one in this space is a normal person..."

Well, she wasn't wrong about that.

Kiana: "Especially that girl who had a twisted personality on top of her 'double' personality."

But what she said next was clear as ever for the target of her mocking.

A small red mark also appeared on Lei's forehead as she smiled annoyedly.

Lei: "I don't have a twisted personality—"

Leila: "She does have it. Sometimes."

But her words got cut off by her own sister. What a betrayal!

With a shocked expression, she looked at her sister beside her.

Kiana: "See? Even Leila said so. It's true! Admit it, Lei! You're also not a normal person!"

Lei: "Guh... Onee-chan, how could you do that to me... Although that's kinda true in a way, but..."

Leila: "..."

Without batting an eye, Leila sighed and looked at Author.

Leila: "Continue."

Author: "Okay."

— End Of Intermission 10 —

???: "Target, confirmed. Distance, less than 10 meters. Accuracy, 100%. Missiles, ready to be sent."

Ray: "...!!!"

In less than a second, Ray got up from his bed and quickly grabbed his swords—that appeared instantly the moment he called them.

Without making a sound, his swords' blade quickly touched the skin of someone's neck.

Ray: "Who are you?"

His voice was not the usual one, it was deeper and more serious.

???: "...Da."

But the response he got was unusual. It was a simple word, made of two letters.

Upon hearing that response, his brain quickly changed its gear and a conclusion came into his mind.

Ray: "...Eh? Bronya?"

Bronya: "...Da."

Ray: "...Light. Turn on."

At his command, the light in his room slowly lights up—Heh, get it?

...Alright, I'm just gonna continue.

Turns out, it was Bronya who had entered his room.

Realizing that, he slowly put the sword away from her neck and put it inside its hilt.

Ray: "Bronya? Why are you here?"

Bronya: "..."

Ray: "Eh? Bronya? Hello?"

But it seemed like his actions just accidentally scared her so much . As a result, she became unconscious.

Ray: "...Eh? Seriously? She's unconscious? Uh... I'm sorry. Uhm, let me put you in a better spot."

Slowly, he grabbed her before putting her on his bed.

Minutes passed and Bronya's eyelids slowly started to open.

Ray: "...Hm? Bronya, you're awake?"

Bronya: "...Da? Why is Bronya on Subject Ray's bed?"

Ray: "Ah... About that..."

Scratching his cheek, Ray was about to explain that—

Bronya: "Did Subject Ray enjoy it?"

But his words got cut off by her insane question.

Ray: "Pff-!! Wha-?! What kind of thing are you thinking about?! We didn't do anything! Heck, I didn't even know you're in my room until a few minutes ago!"

Bronya: "...I see. Bronya understands."

She said so while nodding her head.

Ray: "Eh? Really?"

But he responded with a confused expression.

Bronya: "The Bronya had already erased the memory of—"

Ray: "So, you didn't understand anything at all!"

After that, Ray kept talking about how they didn't do anything and tried to explain what actually happened. But as a response, Bronya only stared at him silently.

Seeing that, he got confused on how to explain it since he didn't even know why she was inside his room in the first place.

Bronya: "...Puh."

Ray: "Eh?"

But suddenly, Bronya let out a small and simple word—or rather, a breath.

Bronya: "Subject Ray is easy to be tricked when he's panicking."

Ray: "...Ah."

He finally realized it.

Bronya had been joking with him by pretending that she didn't understand and didn't have any memory of what happened a while ago.

She got him real good. Even Lei couldn't make him panic about something.

Ray: "...Ahaha. You got me for a moment there."

He chuckled before letting out a breath of relief.

Bronya: "Indeed. It was a good plan."

Ray: "Not just good. But quite dangerous, for me, that is."

Bronya: "Really?"

She tilted her head, not understanding what he meant by that.

Ray: "...Well, it's nothing. But, back to the subject. Why did you enter my room? And what's more, at this time?"

He pointed at the watch that showed 2:30 AM.

Bronya: "...Did Subject Ray forget?"

Ray: "Huh? Forgot what?"

Bronya: "Yesterday. Bronya asks if it was okay to go along with Bronya."

Ray: "Eh? Oh, you mean accompanying you to buy a HOMU game. No, I didn't forget. Why do you as—...Ah."

Without any need to ask her more questions, Ray finally realized why she said that and came to the correct conclusion.

Ray: "...Don't tell me you want me to accompany you to buy the game right now?"

Bronya: "Da."

A simple question answered by a simple answer. Because of that, Ray looked at Bronya's expressionless face with a complicated face.

Ray: "..."

Bronya: "..."

Both of them became silent as Ray looked to the ceiling of his room and sighed.

Ray: "Bronya?"

Bronya: "Da?"

Ray: "Why?"

Bronya: "...Da."

An answer he expected. Well, if so then he would just—

Ray: "Da?"

Mimicked her way of talking.

Bronya: "...Da?"

Ray: "Da."

Bronya: "...Da."

Such a weird conversation was happening between the two of them.

Of course, Ray couldn't understand the universal language of "Da" entirely as he sighed again and sat on the bed before asking her what was the true reason that they needed to go now.

Bronya: "Because there are already people lining up."

Ray: "Eh? Seriously? At this time?"

Bronya: "Da. They'd started to line up since last night."

Ray: "So they slept there?"

Bronya nodded her head.

Ray: "...What kind of crazies are they?"

With a dumbfounded face, he asked to which Bronya wasn't able to answer.

Ray: "Sigh... I can't just say that they're dumb to line up just for a game. Because I too had played games in the past. But to line up for more than 12 hours is..."

A sigh left his mouth.

Ray: "Well, fine. Let's do this. It's also interesting to see if there's any unique-like things that only occur at this time around."

Bronya: "Is Subject Ray talking about the bunch of rumors around the 3 AM in the morning?"

Ray: "..."

Looking away at her question, he walked toward his door and opened it.

Ray: "Wait for me in the living room. I'll change my clothes."

Bronya: "Da. Understood."

Ray: "Oh, and... Let's ask for Theresa's permission. Because... I had experienced how it felt like to be scolded because you didn't ask for her permission to leave the school grounds for some time."

Bronya: "...It's because of Kiana Idiotka, isn't it?"

At her accurate question, he smiled while nodding his head.

Bronya: "Understood. The Bronya shall be asking for the Principal's permission."

Ray: "Okay, good to hear that."

She nodded before walking out of Ray's room and went down the hallway.

— Intermission 11 —

Kiana: "...I'm sorry."

As she said that, she bowed her head toward Ray.

Of course, everyone here knew why she did that. After all, her "Special Side-story" had shown what happened that time.

Ray: "No, it's fine. It has already passed."

Kiana: "Still, I was so excited that time that I forgot about asking for Aunt Theresa's permission."

Lei: "Oh? Excited? Because of your first date with Ray?"

With a teasing expression, she asked Kiana.

Kiana: "...Yes."

Lei: "...Eh?"

But because Kiana had no more things to hide, she could confirm it right there!

Why would she be embarrassed when she had already confessed to him in front of everyone here!

Knowing that her teasing no longer worked, Lei had a shocked face.

Leila: "You can no longer tease her, Lei. She's starting to be immune to your teasing."

Lei: "E-eh? Onee-chan, that... can't be true... right?"

Leila: "That's the truth."

Lei: "A-ah..."

With that last word, Lei fell to her knees as a mysterious light suddenly shone on her.

Mei: "Uh... Why is the fact that Kiana no longer embarrassed from Lei's teases made her look like she's having a mental breakdown?"

Author: "Easy. Because now, one of her fun things to do in the group has disappeared."

Mei: "Eh? Just because of that?"

Author: "Yep."

Mei: "Uwah... That sound unbelievable..."

With a complicated face, Mei glanced at Lei.

Bronya: "Ray."

Ray: "Hm? Yes?"

Bronya: "As far as I can remember, there's nothing confession-related in those moments."

She said while pointing at the paused-screen.

Ray: "Hm... True. This means that Lei's theory of it—the side-stories—being all confessions are wrong."

Bronya: "Da. But she did say 'and similar things' after that."

Ray: "Huh? Ah... Right. She said that. But... I still don't think that we did anything special, though?"

Bronya: "So does Bronya. That's why I'm a bit confused at why the 'side-story' took place here."

The topic that they were talking about piqued the others' interest as they started to think about what could be the "similar things"—or rather, what could be said to be inside the category of "similar things".

Author: "Good observation. But well, theory time's over. Continue the scene!"

— End Of Intermission 11 —

Some way or another, both Bronya and Ray got permission to leave the school and dormitory grounds.

Of course, Theresa didn't just give them free access to go out at almost 3 AM in the morning. She gave them a device that could mark their location as a precaution.

Both Ray and Bronya didn't have a problem as they understood that this was how Theresa protects them.

A couple of minutes after going out of the dorm gates, nothing much happened.

Well, that was normal. After all, what could possibly happen at this time around? At 3 AM? Nothing.

...right?

Anyway, under the moonlight. Two figures could be seen walking side-by-side. It was, of course, Ray and Bronya.

Ray held Bronya's hand as he made sure to match his walling pace with hers.

If one were to have a look at them, it looked like they were "real" siblings going out normally. Except... It wouldn't, especially at this time around.

Well, fortunately though, no one saw them. Because if someone saw a guy holding a little girl's hand at 3 AM...

Maybe it would not be a good sight to see.

Ray: "Oh? We're here?"

Time passed once again and they finally reached the (obviously closed) store. Ray took a look around him and noticed something.

Ray: "Eh? No one's here?"

As a response, Bronya shook her head and pointed in a certain direction.

Bronya: "Da. They're there."

Ray: "Hm...? Oh... I see. Tents, huh? That makes sense. No normal person wants to sleep in the cold night without any blankets. They'll get a fever."

Bronya: "Da. Bronya agrees."

After that, Ray decided to check the store by peeking inside.

Ray: "Ooh, they're currently placing the games on the shelfs. Well, the good thing is that they look like they have a lot of stock for the game. So, why don't we just—"

Bronya: "Da. If we come in later, then there'll be a long waiting line."

Ray: "...Huh. Yeah, that makes sense. So, shall we form a line behind that tent?"

Bronya: "Da."

Pointing toward a certain direction, Ray suggested which Bronya agreed with.

3 Hours Later.

Ray: "...Bronya?"

Bronya: "...Da?"

Ray: "Remind me again why we're waiting in this line for the last 3 hours?"

Bronya: "The latest HOMU game will be released today."

Ray: "I see... And what time is it now?"

Bronya: "6 AM."

Ray: "Right.... 6 in the morning... And yet we're standing in front of the store that'll open at 9 AM. Don't you think it's weird?"

Bronya: "Da."

Ray: "...Bronya?"

Bronya: "...Da?"

Ray: "I'm hungry."

Bronya: "...Da. Same."

Yup, we're finally at this point again.

3 hours had passed since both of them decided to wait for the store to open.

How were they able to stay out in the night without any warm source for that last 3 hours?

Well, easy. They didn't need to, because they didn't feel that much cold, in the first place.

Remember, both of them were not normal people. One was a valkyrie, while the other was a host for a Herrscher.

But then, if they didn't have that much problem with their surroundings, how about their minds?

Wouldn't they become bored waiting all that time?

Well, the thing was... They didn't.

Bronya had prepared some games that required their focus and concentration as well as time to finish it.

Because of that, much time passed without them feeling too bored.

But even with all of that, in the end, they couldn't fool their body.

Hunger appeared.

Although Bronya also prepared some snacks, it didn't mean that those snacks were enough to satisfy them both for the long term.

Moving on. What would the two do now that their hunger was slowly increasing?

Ray: "Ugh... I should've brought a sandwich as an additional snack."

Bronya: "..."

Ray: "No, wait... Or should I have just brought Lei's light sweets? Since eating a big meal at these times isn't that good for health."

Bronya: "..."

Ray: "Eh? Bronya? Is something wrong?"

Bronya's face darkened as she looked down beside him.

Ray: "Bronya?"

At his call, Bronya slowly lifted her head and stared at him.

Bronya: "Sorry."

Ray: "Huh?"

Her sudden apology made him tilt his head.

Bronya: "The Bronya apologizes because it seems like asking Ray to accompany Bronya to wait just for a game being released wasn't a pretty good idea."

Ray: "..."

Bronya: "There was another and better way to order the game. The Bronya has no problem with waiting just a few more days to get the game by buying it from the official online Homu store."

Ray: "...Bronya..."

Even when there was no emotion that appeared on her face, Ray could feel that her words hinted at a certain emotion.

Regret.

Ray: "...Sure. I feel like waiting in line for hours is pretty useless when we can do something more useful in that long time."

Hearing his honest answer, Bronya's face looked down.

Ray: "But... Did you know, Bronya?"

Bronya: "...?"

Ray: "This is the first time I've done this kind of thing. Waiting for a game to be released by staying in front of the store for some time."

Bronya: "..."

Ray: "And I have to say... Waiting while talking and playing with you is... quite a nice experience."

Bronya: "...!"

He patted her head.

Ray: "So don't worry about it. Next time, if you want to do something similar to this, I have no problem accompanying you. Although... Maybe ordering the game online is a better solution if you're not in a hurry."

Bronya: "...The Bronya understands. Thank you... Ray."

Ray: "Yeah... Wait, what did you—"

???: "Eh? So the two of you are here?"

Just before he could ask another question, a voice appeared in front of them and that made them shift their attention.

Ray: "Huh? Fu Hua?"

It was Fu Hua.

Ray: "What are you... Ah, I see. You're jogging?"

He trailed his words off as he noticed the kind of clothes she was wearing.

Fu Hua: "Yes. That is correct. Though, I must ask... What are the two of you doing?"

Nodding to his question, she then asked another question.

Bronya: "We're waiting for the store to open so we can buy a new game that's being released today."

Fu Hua: "No, I already know about that. I'm asking about something else."

Ray: "Something else?"

Both Ray and Bronya were confused at her answer. Realizing that her words weren't too clear in the meaning, Fu Hua thought for a moment before saying—

Fu Hua: "Don't tell me that you two didn't know that we—Valkyries (or Knight, for Ray)—have special privilege for this kind of thing?"

Ray: "Huh? What do you mean?"

Fu Hua: "Hmm. Follow me. It's better to show you rather than just talking about it."

Ray: "Eh? Okay...?"

Bronya: "...?"

Although still confused, Ray and Brony stood from their spot and followed Fu Hua.

They went to the store's pair of doors before Fu Hua easily opened them—by putting her identification card on the doors' handle.

Ray: "Eh? They're not locked?"

Fu Hua: "No, it was supposed to be locked."

Bronya: "Supposed to?"

Fu Hua: "Yes. But because I showed them that I was a valkyrie. They unlocked the door."

Seconds later, one of the employees who noticed them came to them.

Employee: "Valkyrie Fu Hua, is it?"

Fu Hua: "Yes, that is correct."

Employee: "May I ask you what you need?"

Fu Hua looked at Bronya, indicating that she said what she needed.

Bronya: "Homu Of War: Doomsday."

Employee: "Ah, is that so. But may I ask who you are?"

Bronya: "Bronya Zaychik. Valkyrie from Squad V in St. Freya."

Employee: "Understood, Miss Bronya. We will package it in one moment. Please, wait over there."

Pointing to the chairs, the employee said before turning around and walking to the back office.

Fu Hua: "See?"

Bronya: "Da. Thank you for telling us, Class President."

Fu Hua: "No need to call me that right now. We're not in the school grounds."

Bronya: "Bronya understands. Then... Thank you for your information, Subject Fu Hua."

Fu Hua: "No problem. Now, I should get going. See the two of you in school."

She said before turning around.

Ray: "...Bronya."

Bronya: "Da."

Ray: "Why did we wait for 3 hours again?"

Bronya: "...To spend time by playing and hanging around."

Ray: "...I see."

Such exchange happened as the two had sat down on the chairs and were looking outside the store windows..

— Intermission 12 —

Lei: "Eh? We're able to do that?"

Lei asked her question toward Fu Hua who was watching the scene calmly.

Fu Hua: "Huh, you didn't know, as well?"

Lei: "No, well... I thought that we could only use it to get discounts when buying something."

Fu Hua: "That's one if its uses."

Fu Hua said with a nod.

Kiana: "Wait, I have a question."

Fu Hua: "Yes, Kiana?"

Kiana: "Why does it look like they didn't need to pay for the game? I mean, it looks like they just gave the game disk to Bronya without even asking for a payment."

Fu Hua: "Ah, that. Well, we still pay them, of course."

Kiana: "'We', as in, Schiksal?"

Fu Hua nodded her head.

Fu Hua: "Though, there's actually an option if you want to pay it yourself rather than having your salary (of being a valkyrie) being cut off. In Bronya's case, it seems to be the former. Am I right, Bronya?"

Bronya: "Da."

She said with a nod.

Author: "And now, we're finally reaching the last scene. Hence, this will be the last intermission!"

At his statement, all eyes shifted their focus to the screen.

— End Of Intermission 12 —

A few minutes passed, Bronya was asked to show her identification card to verify her purchase. And then, Bronya had finally gotten the game disk of "Homu Of War: Doomsday".

After receiving that, both Bronya and Ray walked toward the store doors. That was, if not for the fact that Ray got called by one of the employees.

He talked for a bit before giving Ray a particular item. Ray received it while saying his thanks before continuing his walk toward the exit.

While walking back to the dorms, Bronya called him.

Bronya: "Subject Ray."

Ray: "Yes, Bronya?"

Bronya: "What did the employee say to you?"

Ray: "Huh? Ah... Well, the thing is..."

Shoving his hand into his pocket, Ray grabbed something and pulled it out to show it to Bronya.

Ray: "As a mini prize for being one of the first people to buy the game, they give you this accessory."

It was an additional accessory that could be given to a certain console.

Bronya: "Huh? Then why did they give it to you? Bronya was the one who bought the game."

Ray: "Yeah... That's something I don't really understand, as well."

He scratched his cheek.

Ray: "But well, I'l just give it to you, then. Here."

Bronya: "..."

Ray: "...Is something wrong?"

Bronya: "...Da. None. The Bronya just realized that Bronya doesn't have any personal console for that accessory to be placed on."

Ray: "Is that so? Well, just hang on to it for now. In the future, I'm sure you'll have it."

Bronya: "Da. Bronya promises to do so."

A (possibly) determined look appeared o n her face as she said that promise.

Ray: "Heh, sure."

Patting her head, he responded with a smile.

After that, they continued their walk as they enjoyed the morning activities around them.

— End Of Bronya's Special Side-story —

Seeing how it ended, Ray smiled as he put his hand on Bronya's head and patted it.

Ray: "I hope that you'll be able to fulfill that promise."

Bronya: "Da. I will."

At that, everyone smiled warmly at the two (well, except Leila).

Author: "And with that, the last side-story for this special chapter is done!"

Applauses came from the characters. They all enjoyed the fun, happy, and embarrassed moments that came out of the scenes.

Author: "Well, before we end this chapter. Is there something any of you want to say?"

Without wasting a second, Kiana lifted her hand.

Kiana: "Oh! I'll go first!"

Author: "Sure. The stage is yours!"

Kiana: "Thanks!"

Coughing for a bit, Kiana then smiled widely and started talking.

Kiana: "Lei, I hate you."

Lei: "Bufh?!"

Her first sentence stabbed into Lei's body.

Kiana: "But... thank you for helping me with my date."

But her next sentence made it better.

Kiana: "Even though I sometimes hate your annoying teases, it was fun to talk and play with you. You're annoying, yes, but you're also kind. You give us a chance to be closer to Ray by doing it in your own way. Even when you know that there's a chance that you'll lose in the war, you still did it to give us fairness."

Lei: "...I only did it because Ray dislikes unfairness."

Kiana: "Sure sure, whatever you say. But one thing is clear..."

With a wide smile, she said—

Kiana: "Thank you for being such a good friend, Lei."

Lei: "...Hmm"

Lei smiled.

Their relationship was better than before. It had grown so much. The others who knew that, warmly smiled and gave their applause.

Mei: "...I want to say something, too."

Author: "Sure."

The main focus shifted to Mei who had stood from her seat.

Her main attention, of course, was Ray.

Mei: "Ray."

Ray: "...Yes?"

Mei: "I love you."

It was not surprising at this point, but the fact that she said it out loud still adds some embarrassment.

Mei: "But I'm sure you already knew that. So, I wanted to tell you something else—or rather, ask you."

Ray: "..."

Mei inhaled some air to calm her beating heart.

Mei: "Can I..."

Ray: "..."

Mei: "Can I stay by your side forever?"

Everyone had their eyes widened at her question, or rather... "Proposal".

Ray: "..."

But Ray stayed silent.

He knew. He knew that this question would be asked again.

The same question that Mei whispered before they "accidentally" kissed.

He closed his eyes. Thinking as much as he could to search for the right answer.

Ray: "...I..."

And finally, he came to the conclusion.

Ray: "I don't know."

Mei: "..."

An answer that was to be expected.

Ray: "The future... Our future... Is something I can't predict. Especially because there are a lot of factors that could change it."

Mei: "..."

Mei looked down at the floor, she knew that he would responded like this. It was him, after all.

Mei: "Then—"

Ray: "But."

Just before she could say something, he cut her off. Because of that, she was surprised.

With a determined look, he looked around before finally looking at Mei.

Ray: "I will do whatever I can to make sure that the future we have... is a bright one. One where all of us... can stay together with each other."

Mei: "...!"

A smile appeared on his face.

Ray: "So for your question, Mei... The answer you're looking for will be revealed in the future. After all, I'm sure you're also thinking and searching in a way to keep us together. Not just me and you, but all of us here. That's just how you are, Mei. A girl that cares for everyone."

Mei who heard that covered her face, surprised at what he said.

But she then pulled her hand down and smiled.

Mei: "I see... It wasn't a wrong choice for me to fall in love with you, after all."

Her smile was enough to make Ray's heart miss a beat.

As a result, his face became red for a bit.

Lei: "Eh? Ray's embarrassed!"

Ray: "Wha-?! You don't have to shout like that!"

Lei quickly noticed his embarrassment and shouted. Ray also shouted as a response to her shout.

It was... a nice view to see.

All of them cared for each other.

Their love toward each other made them closer than anything.

Author: "Well, this is a nice ending, isn't it?"

Author appeared beside me as he gazed over the kids.

Narrator: "Hmm. It's better to end it now, if we prolong it any longer, then the wholesomeness may disappear."

Author: "Heh, took the words right out of my mouth."

With a smile, he grabbed my hand.

Narrator: "?!"

Author: "Thank you. For everything."

Naron: "..."

Even when there were no more words that came out of him, I realized what he meant and smiled.

Narrator: "...Hmm."

With this, the chapter had finally reached its end. There was no need for any parting words.

Why? Because we would see each other again.

Author: "But don't you think it'll be weird if we don't say goodbye to them—the readers— like usual?"

Narrator: "Well... Yeah."

Author: "If so, then let's just do it."

Narrator: "If you say so, then okay."

Author clapped his hand, making him the center of attention once more.

Author: "Everyone! I need you to say the line I've delivered to your minds!"

Kiana: "Woah?! My head feels a bit weird."

Narrator: "That's normal. But now you know what to say, right?"

Kiana tilted her head a bit before nodding it the next second.

Author smiled as he snapped his finger.

Author: "Ready?"

All: "Yeah! / Yep! / Ready / Of course / Hmm."

Author: "In 3! 2! 1!"

Instantly, everything around us changed. A big banner with the words "1st Anniversary" was floating above us.

All: "Thank you for reading this far!"

Author: "It was a pleasure to be with all of you!"

Narrator: "And of course, as always!"

Author & Narrator: "Thank you for reading and we'll see you next time!"

Everyone: "Happy anniversary!"

— End Of Anniversary Chapter —

Ray: "...Eh?"

I looked around and noticed that there was no one beside me.

Ray: "Why... am I here?"

It was the same space where we were reacting to the side-stories just now. Weirdly, we were supposed to be sent back to the main timeline—or so Author said.

Ray: "Did something happen? A mistake, perhaps?"

The thought appeared inside my mind as I talked it out loud.

Ray: "...Hm? The screen? Why is it still here?"

I noticed that the screen we used to see the scenes was still there.

It was weird. It wasn't supposed to stay here because both Author and Narrator had disappeared.

Maybe it didn't need them to use its power? But why would it still be here, then?

(I don't know. There's no clue to the answer)

I dismissed my questions and walked toward it.

Once closer, I realized how big the screen was.

We were actually a few meters away from the screen before, so it looked like watching a normal sized theater.

Ray: "...Eh?"

A small dot appeared on the screen. Slowly but surely, it started to shine.

I didn't know what to do and took a distance from it as a precaution.

Ray: "...Wha-?!"

But then, the shine instantly brightened to the point my eyes could no longer see them.

Ray: "What... was that?"

Seconds passed and I was able to see again.

Ray: "Huh...?!"

But the moment I could see normally, something surprising appeared in front of me.

Ray: "Names? Eh? These are our names..."

I took a careful look at the floating words of names.

Ray: "But why would our names appear?"

At that moment, I realized that there were three names that had faint green colorings.

Ray: "Kiana... Mei... Bronya... Ah! Maybe it faints out because their 'Special Side-story' already got shown?"

That was the assumption I had right now. After all, it does match with what happened just a while back.

Ray: "But why suddenly show me this? Who is showing me this and why? I don't understand..."

Just as I talked to myself about my confusion, something happened.

*CRACK!*

Ray: "?!"

A loud cracking sound appeared.

I quickly positioned myself in my fighting stance to be prepared toward anything that could happen. But...

Ray: "...Nothing happened?"

It was confusing. Why did that loud crack appear and yet, nothing happened?

Ray: "...No, something must've happened. But I just don't see or know about it."

It was the most logical answer I could find.

As I sighed to myself, I moved my gaze to the names and—

Ray: "Eh?"

Something shocking happened.

Ray: "Lei's name... is cracked...?"

Instantly, I felt shiver and the next second, my consciousness was pulled forcefully.

I couldn't say nor think of anything as it happened.

But the moment I was able to do anything, my mind stopped.

Everywhere around me was raining.

The coldness of the weather made itself clear to me.

???: "It's quite pitiful."

Ray: "..."

???: "She who had killed you before, hold your body in her arms. And now... the opposite happens."

Those words reached my ears. But I didn't respond.

No, more like I couldn't.

I couldn't even think of anything other than trying to process what was happening in front of me.

???: "Ray."

At that call, I slowly lifted my gaze.

There, someone very familiar was standing amidst the raindrops.

Ray: "Ke...vin...?"

Kevin: "..."

His silent and cold response made me lower my gaze once again.

In my arms was someone I knew very well.

With blood coming out of her mouth and body, her eyes had closed themselves.

There was no breath that left her mouth and nose. Her chest didn't move nor does it had any signs of doing so

At this point, it was clear what happened to her.

Her life... was gone.

That fact crept its way inside my mind as I stuttered her name.

Ray: "Le...i...?"

The girl that I always loved as my little sister... had died.