"Don't… don't do this… Bronya, Bronya…"
The light of a late autumn morning held a unique chill.
Kiana was sprawled by Bronya's bedside, her two fair, jade-like feet reflecting a pearly white glow.
She gazed at her friend's tightly furrowed brow, and a sense of déjà vu washed over her.
"Bronya isn't up yet, even though it's so late. Don't tell me… she went in too."
Kiana's suspicion was reasonable.
For a moment, she even wondered if Bronya was the reason Ye Feng had been "neglecting" her.
After all, that dog Ye Feng was always saying that Big Duck Duck was the best.
Pa~ Pa~
Kiana patted Bronya's cheek. "Bronya, wake up."
Smack! Smack!
"Bronya, little one, hurry up and get up! We're going to be late! Auntie Himeko is leading the morning training today, and she's terrifying when she gets angry!"
Kiana grabbed the corner of Bronya's quilt, preparing to yank it off.
"…Mmmh~"
Bronya slowly opened her eyes.
Lingering within them was a mix of shyness, bewilderment, and a certain ambiguous emotion that even Kiana couldn't decipher.
You're a walking pie chart, Kiana complained silently in her heart.
Then again, when it came to Bronya, something involving data was actually quite fitting.
"Kiana…?"
Bronya turned her head and met a pair of azure eyes.
The duckling held her forehead, feeling a fiery, scorching heat radiating from her feet, while her calves and thighs felt full of a thick, searing warmth…
It was very uncomfortable.
She subconsciously tried to rub her legs, only to find she couldn't.
Bronya's legs were still unable to receive nerve signals from her brain; they were paralyzed.
And the "phantom heat" she felt upon waking dissipated like a receding tide.
In its place was only an endless void.
To feel nothing also meant she had no sensation.
The slippery, sticky feeling she had initially resisted… had now become precious?
"Ugh…"
Bronya sat up and looked at her numb legs, a trace of gloom flashing in her eyes.
She thought she had already come to terms with it…
Yet the experience in her dream had been so real.
As if it had actually happened.
"…Bronya, what's wrong?"
Kiana noticed that something was off with Bronya's mood.
Chong Chong looked at the faint red handprint she'd left on Bronya's fair cheek and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Um… was I too rough? Did I hurt you?"
"It's nothing. Bronya just had a dream… Hmm? Too rough?"
Only then did Bronya feel the stinging on her face, and she roughly understood what Kiana meant.
Bronya (ᗜ‸ᗜ) stared at Chong Chong. "Idiot Kiana, who wakes someone up by slapping their face? Project Bunny 19C, this is no time to be sleepy."
[RIDE ON]
"…Huh?"
Cold steel materialized from the air. The energy storage unit shone with a molten orange glow as the dark cannon barrel began to charge.
Seeing the torrent of steel emerge, Kiana leaped up, a drop of cold sweat trickling down her forehead.
"Bronya, y-y-you, you're not serious, are you?"
"Fire! This shot represents Bronya's wrath!"
"Eeeh? Noooo~~~"
The morning in the Valkyrie dormitory was filled with a lively atmosphere.
---o---
On the way to the classroom, maple leaves drifted on the wind.
Kiana looked like a cat whose fur had been rubbed the wrong way. Her messy hair was standing on end; she'd press it down with her hand, only for it to spring back up.
Kiana pouted. "What was that for? I was just trying to wake you up out of the kindness of my heart."
"Bronya has reason to believe that idiot Kiana had ulterior motives."
"N-No, I didn't."
Kiana's rebuttal lacked conviction.
"Alright, you two, stop fighting. Here."
Mei took out two servings of cream pudding.
"Wow! I knew you were the best to me, Mei!"
Kiana happily took the snack.
This was the first time she had received a gift from Mei since their "confession" on the rooftop.
Alright, calling it a gift was a bit of an exaggeration.
But over the past few days, a trace of awkwardness had constantly hung in the air between them.
Although Mei hadn't said anything, Kiana could feel that it wasn't natural.
That's why, during class, she always made sure to stick with Bronya, so the three of them were together.
Now that Mei was proactively giving her a snack—even if she gave one to Bronya too—it was finally a sign of them "breaking the ice."
"Bronya, you don't seem to have much energy," Mei said with concern.
"…Sister Mei."
Bronya floated in the air, holding the still-warm cream pudding. As she looked at the thick, white cream, she couldn't help but be reminded of the dream, of that scalding liquid sprayed onto her black stockings.
Her fingertips trembled slightly as she said, "Mmm… It's nothing. I probably just didn't rest well last night."
"Little one, don't tell me you…"
Kiana poked her head out suspiciously, originally wanting to ask, "Did you see Ye Feng?"
But seeing Mei next to them, she swallowed her words.
Mei understood the implication behind Kiana's unfinished sentence and was touched that her friend was being considerate of her feelings.
But since she had already agreed, how could she stand still?
Mei took the initiative to bring it up. "Bronya, last night did you…"
Bronya's heart tightened. After all, that dream… the ending was simply too humiliating.
To actually be in the office… and do that kind of thing with… with her legs.
She didn't know if she had been talking in her sleep. If she had, she would truly be too ashamed to face anyone.
Mei continued, "Did you also enter Ye Feng's world?"
"Ah?"
Bronya was stunned.
Mei added, "To put it simply, did you meet a person named Ye Feng?"
"N-No." Bronya denied it outright.
She only remembered a "future husband."
Speaking of which, what was his name…?
Kiana asked again, "Hmm… It's happened before that you don't meet that dog on the first day. Well then, Bronya, did you see any NPC-like characters?"
"…No, I didn't."
Hearing Bronya say that, Kiana felt a sense of relief for some reason.
"Then you probably didn't enter."
Mei found it strange. "Kiana, why did you think Bronya also entered… entered Feng-kun's world?"
"How should I put it? This morning, Bronya's face was all flushed, and she was saying strange things."
"Eeeh?"
Bronya's whole body jolted. "Idiot Kiana, Bronya wasn't being strange at all!"
Mei's face also turned a little red.
The young lady of the Far East instantly understood her best friend's implication and said shyly, "…Kiana, Feng-kun isn't that kind of person."
"Ehhh~~~ But what if he is? Would you hate him then, Mei?"
Kiana felt her chance had come.