Stumbling and staggering, she fled from the movie theater.
Her legs were so weak and sore that Soga Yura didn't even know how she managed to force her body upright, let alone how she managed to stumble away in flight.
Even her vision was completely blurred by tears.
She didn't dare look back... didn't dare look at Yuzu...
Yuzu... must be very disappointed right now.
In the end, she still didn't have the courage to rush up and embrace Yuzu.
In the end, she still didn't have the qualifications to hold Yuzu in her arms.
Although... just now, it seemed like she was the one being held in Yuzu's arms, but! But! As the older sister, next time she would definitely be the one to hold Yuzu in her arms.
It's just... would there even be a next time?
The moment she rushed out of the movie theater, her body, having forcibly squeezed out every ounce of stamina to flee, seemed to lose all strength. Soga Yura staggered and lunged forward; it even looked like a girl tripping over her own feet, left foot tangling with the right.
Soga Yura, her vision obscured by tears, had already closed her eyes.
If she planted face-first like this... she would definitely end up even flatter.
The gap between her and Yuzu would widen again.
However... Soga Yura didn't plant directly onto the ground. Instead, she crashed straight into an embrace that wasn't exactly soft.
The teary-eyed young girl raised her head, and in her gradually clearing vision, a pair of bright, emerald-like eyes were reflected.
"Ma... Mai?"
Sakura Mai supported Soga Yura as she stood up.
"You... why are you here?" Soga Yura's gaze was dodgy and evasive.
After all, back when Sakura Mai had advised her to go find Yuzu and explain, she had stubbornly insisted that she was doing it for Yuzu's own good and that she would absolutely not go find Yuzu.
She had claimed that even if she cried herself to death or jumped from a building, she wouldn't go find Yuzu to reconcile.
And the result... in the blink of an eye, Sakura Mai had witnessed her eating her words and the humiliating scene of her fleeing in defeat before Yuzu.
Soga Yura's legs were trembling.
That was a truly humiliating scene.
Sakura Mai sighed softly, though she couldn't help but let a small smile show.
This guy... at least she had turned into a somewhat normal tsundere.
"Here to help you clean up the mess," Sakura Mai shrugged.
A Third Sequence mental-type Esper going berserk was the kind of thing that could make big news.
Especially since it happened inside Keigunen Private Academy.
As a Director of Keigunen Private Academy, it was perfectly reasonable for her to come and handle the situation, right?
Sakura Mai wanted to help Soga Yura to the car outside, but Soga Yura shook her little head in refusal.
"Yu... Yuzu..."
Soga Yura signaled for Sakura Mai to go deal with the situation inside the theater first.
Yuzu must have been very disappointed when the mental storm erupted.
Soga Yura didn't even know how she should face Yuzu now.
But... she didn't want to cause trouble for Yuzu.
Sakura Mai looked at Soga Yura's stubborn appearance and felt the urge to sigh.
This guy... is a sister-slave, definitely a sister-slave.
"Okay, okay, okay..." She nodded to indicate she understood.
Watching Soga Yura support herself against the wall, shrinking her body almost bashfully as she stumbled forward.
Sakura Mai turned and stepped into the movie theater.
She looked at the student couples and various audience members scattered on the floor of the theater and suddenly felt a headache coming on.
The outburst of a Third Sequence mental-type Esper was simply not something these apprentices, First Sequence Espers, or even ordinary people could withstand.
If Soga Yura still had the strength, she might have chosen to erase this segment of memory.
But... seeing Soga Yura looking like she was about to wash her face with tears, her thin shirt and dress nearly soaked through with weeping, Sakura Mai didn't have the heart to drag her back to work.
However, logically speaking, with Soga Yura's mental control, a berserk outburst shouldn't have occurred.
Sakura Mai's intuition told her:
All of this might be related to what Soga Yura had told her before—about not being qualified to touch her sister Yuzu.
When Sakura Mai entered the viewing hall, the movie had just ended and entered the credits sequence.
In the hall filled with collapsed people, she saw the young girl sitting there leisurely and contentedly, and... beside her hand, behaving as obediently as a puppy... that infamous "The Empire's Hound."
The corner of Sakura Mai's eye suddenly twitched.
Connecting this with the image of Soga Yura crying her heart out at the entrance, she suddenly had a feeling... that Soga Yura was already completely under her sister Yuzu's thumb.
Sister Yuzu might not be as 'pure and kind' as she had previously thought.
Strange... clearly, half a year ago...
It was still Soga Yura unilaterally 'bullying' her younger sister.
How did the style between the two suddenly change?
However, Sakura Mai unexpectedly felt that this was actually quite nice.
Inside the theater, Kujou Katora sensed the footsteps of the girl entering the hall immediately.
She wanted to straighten up and maintain her dignity.
But... she felt that while dressed in such a provocative manner, dignity was something that had already departed from her.
Of course, the most critical point was... Kujou Katora's scarlet eyes looked obediently toward Su Yuzu.
Even she herself hadn't realized it. She was subconsciously looking at Miss Yuzu according to the psychology and standards of the characters in the comic books she had read... characters who should have been bullied by her, facing her.
"I don't like people—"
"I like dogs."
"Dogs are obedient."
"But people aren't."
It seemed to have slowly... changed into, "I don't like people—"
"I like dogs."
"Except for Miss Yuzu."
Then it changed into, "I like Miss Yuzu, and I also like dogs."
Now... there was even a trend of it slowly becoming, "I don't like people—"
"I like dogs."
"Dogs are obedient."
"I... can be one too."
Su Yuzu withdrew her hand. Only then did Kujou Katora reluctantly push herself up from Miss Yuzu's lap, and then, forcibly enduring her fatigue and soreness, she glared fiercely at Sakura Mai.
Little did she know... such a contrast gave Sakura Mai an even stronger feeling that Kujou Katora was completely under Sister Yuzu's thumb, and she began to gradually 'worry' for Soga Yura.
Yes, 'worry'.
Sakura Mai had already started to look forward to the scene of Soga Yura being completely controlled by her sister Yuzu.
"Sister Sakura?" Su Yuzu stood up.
Sakura Mai came before Su Yuzu, revealing that dashing and capable "Knight Princess"-like smile.
"I should reintroduce myself."
"I am Sakura Mai."
"The legitimate daughter of the Sakura family, your sister's classmate, roommate, and best friend."
Sakura Mai looked at Su Yuzu; she deliberately mentioned Soga Yura just to see the girl's reaction.
After all... judging from the scene of Soga Yura stumbling out in escape, Sakura Mai had every reason to suspect that Soga Yura had likely just suffered a 'major failure.'
"Hello, Sister Sakura." Su Yuzu bowed respectfully to Sakura Mai.
"Thank you for taking care of my elder sister all these years."
Su Yuzu's bowing motion froze there; it looked very respectful.
Seeing Su Yuzu behaving so obediently in front of her, Sakura Mai immediately felt that there was hope for Soga Yura this time.
However... the reason Su Yuzu's bow froze there wasn't to express respect.
Rather—
[Ding—]
[Resource Procurement has refreshed.]
[Ding—]
[Spring Return Limited Pool: Sakura Mai is now open.]
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