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Meanwhile, in the royal suite atop a hotel in central Itogami Island—
"Hmm~ So Bokue's not there, huh? Got it, thanks Yukina."
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sunlit city center, Sayaka Kirasaka hung up the phone, then turned to the silver-haired princess on the sofa behind her, shaking her head helplessly at those expectant eyes.
"Sorry, Princess La Folia. I've already asked—Bokue's not at Yukina's place right now. I checked with Miss Nagisa too, and she hasn't seen him either."
"Is that so..."
Though she'd already guessed from hearing Sayaka's side of the conversation, La Folia still couldn't help feeling disappointed when she heard it confirmed.
"Ah~ What terrible timing. My Japanese visa was only for seven days. I wanted to see Bokue-kun once more before going home, but now I can't reach him. This is problematic."
"Oh? Wait..."
As if suddenly remembering something, a little lightbulb appeared above the silver-haired princess's head.
She slapped her forehead, raising her index finger as she looked intently at the ponytailed archer by the bed.
"I remember last night when we parted, Bokue-kun went home with his girlfriend Asagi, right? So maybe he's actually still at Miss Asagi's place?"
"..."
Sayaka's mouth twitched.
That was actually quite a constructive suggestion—probably even likely.
But—
"Just to be clear, Princess La Folia, you're not suggesting I call Miss Asagi to ask if Bokue's at her place, are you?"
Hmm~
As if not immediately seeing the problem, the silver-haired princess tapped her lip thoughtfully for a moment, then tilted her head.
"...Dame desu ka? (Is that not okay?)"
"Of course not!"
Sayaka practically exploded.
Setting aside the fact she didn't even have the blonde woman's number, even if she did, she couldn't just call like that!
What would she even say? 'Hi, is your boyfriend home? We'd like to see him'—what was she thinking?!
"Oh, that is troublesome then~"
La Folia sighed softly.
Watching the silver-haired princess like this, Sayaka thought she should be the one sighing.
Still, she suppressed her urge to complain and picked up her phone again, opening her notes app.
"More importantly, after contacting your family, the Aldegyr royal household hopes you'll spend as much time as possible with Kanon before leaving Japan—preferably taking lots of photos together."
"Photos, huh... I understand. Let's visit the Special Security Force headquarters this afternoon then. After all, we need to apply through Miss Minamiya to meet her."
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On the other side, Natsuki's tough attitude only lasted until the moment the spiritual charger connected.
As the spiritual charger plugged into the gothic girl, Natsuki—who'd been gritting her teeth with threats moments ago—quieted down like a cat having its fur smoothed, wrapping her arms around the youth's chest and holding tight to keep from falling.
Her height was even less than Nagisa's—sitting in Bokue's lap, her arms couldn't even reach his neck.
But Natsuki hadn't really quieted down. If you listened carefully, though she sat motionless in his embrace, the strength of her grip and the tension in her face showed she wasn't as calm as she appeared.
Meanwhile, Aya lay on the bed where Bokue had placed her, propped on one elbow as she elegantly watched the scene unfolding on the sofa, her laughter full of teasing.
"Come on, Natsuki Minamiya. If you don't try to relax, it's going to be very uncomfortable."
"Tokoyogi... A... ya...!"
Though speaking was already difficult, the gothic girl still managed to turn her head, glaring at the twelve-layered beauty on the bed with embarrassed fury.
"Oh my~ Getting angry won't help. You need to relax."
Whether from the mentality of someone caught in the rain without an umbrella watching another person's umbrella blow away, Aya's smile was particularly brilliant.
She even offered advice from her position of experience:
"How is it? Regretting sealing me in the Prison Barrier now? Well, witches are like that—time freezes the moment we make our demon contracts. Which means you'll live with this body forever, Natsuki... And with your current size, doing this kind of thing is certainly difficult. Even I was thoroughly exhausted."
"...Shut up." Natsuki didn't want to talk anymore.
Aya's current state was clearly: knowing she couldn't escape, so hoping as many others as possible would be trapped with her. Well, though Natsuki had already been unable to escape anyway.
But what was there to brag about?! Just because you could take it made you impressive?
"Shut up... you say?" Faced with her friend's harsh attitude, Aya surprisingly didn't get angry, just raising an eyebrow as she sat up on the bed.
Though her movements were labored from this morning's exertions, she managed to sit up.
Then Aya slowly stood, one hand on the bed's edge, supporting herself against the wall as she shuffled to the sofa. She came behind the gothic girl still receiving the youth's energy transfer, gently placing her hands on Natsuki's shoulders.
No hint of hostility—like a friend casually giving a shoulder massage.
But Natsuki still sensed something wrong.
Because minutes ago, she'd been thoroughly ambushed by this same seemingly harmless approach.
"W-what are you doing..."
Natsuki looked up warily, meeting the twelve-layered beauty's calm, gentle smile above.
"Nothing, Natsuki Minamiya."
Aya smiled slightly, leaning down to the gothic girl's ear.
"Just wanted to tell you something—we're both already trapped. So since that's the case, why not learn to enjoy it fully~ Right?"
As her words fell, in Natsuki's silently contracting pupils, her arms suddenly pressed down hard.
"Sto—!!!"
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