She tightly hugged Sakura Mai's slender waist.
The faint muscle lines on the girl's lower abdomen were fluid and beautiful.
[Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding!!!]
[☆☆☆☆☆☆]
Closing her eyes and tilting her small head to press against Sakura Mai's lower abdomen, Su Yuzu watched the seven-colored halo bloom in her vision.
[Operator: Sakura Mai]
[Level 30 - Sword of Will user]
[Talent: Sword Intent of Erasure]
[Talent: Sword of Frenzy]
[Inherent Ability: Morale Boost]
[Inherent Ability: Lone Bravery]
[Favorability: 25 (Intimate)]
Su Yuzu saw... in the dark world, Sakura Mai, who was hugging her tightly, took a step forward onto the stairs ahead.
The perspective was almost looking up from below.
With just her left foot stepping onto the stairs, the girl appeared to be striding forward.
Sakura Mai's emerald eyes gazed ahead with determination and resolve. Her left hand embraced the girl's shoulder, while her right hand reached slightly behind her, drawing out an exceptionally long heavy sword.
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding—
The character art froze.
It was a completely different style from the recruitment page preview... the dashing big sister character art that made Su Yuzu want to say 'Sister, slay me'.
If the Sakura Mai twisting to draw her blade on the recruitment page was a Sword Princess erasing enemies on the battlefield...
Then at this moment... the Sword Princess stepping forward with one arm around the girl's shoulder and drawing her heavy sword looked more like an older sister doting on her younger sister.
Sakura Mai's emerald eyes gazed ahead, her right hand reaching back to where an exceptionally exaggerated, slender heavy sword was slung diagonally.
The blade slanted inward, hanging behind Sakura Mai.
The snow-bright blade edge was entwined with ancient patterns, resembling lightning wrapped around the sword's body.
The girl's white trench coat was open, flapping as if in a fierce wind, revealing the crimson lining beneath.
That eager gaze she cast toward the back of the page seemed to be welcoming someone's challenge.
"Eh!?"
"Sister?"
"Really?"
"Calling me... Sister?"
"So great..."
"Then! Please rest peacefully in my arms."
"I will protect you with my life."
"Yuzu! Yuzu... Little... Sister..."
And in the direction Sakura Mai was gazing.
Kujou Katora stared at this guy who had come out of nowhere to disturb her last 'date' night with Yuzu.
In the shadows behind her, pair after pair of crimson eyes opened.
The Hounds of Blood stared at Sakura Mai from the shadows.
Having rubbed against her enough, Su Yuzu gently pushed against Sakura Mai's waist. Sakura Mai released the arm around Su Yuzu without any delay.
The Sword of Will she had drawn seemed to have been drawn only within the character art.
And behind Kujou Katora, the Hounds of Blood that were hiding in the shadows, eyeing Sakura Mai covetously and surrounding her, seemed to exist only in Kujou Katora's fantasy.
When Su Yuzu looked up at Kujou Katora.
Kujou Katora was standing there, one could almost say 'obediently,' quietly waiting for Su Yuzu.
Su Yuzu looked with satisfaction at Sakura Mai and Lyudmila, who had appeared in [Operator Development].
In [Operator Development], the smile on Sakura Mai's Q-version chibi was a refreshing smile (´口`), forming a sharp contrast with Soga Yura's tearful appearance.
This wave... this wave was the [Limited Pool] ten-pull forcibly spooking a healer.
But the result was a miracle single pull that successfully fished out Sakura Mai.
Taking a slight step back, Su Yuzu bowed earnestly to express her gratitude to Sakura Mai.
Although the [Develop] button above Sakura Mai's Q-version chibi head in [Operator Development] had already lit up.
But... the feeling of hugging Sister Mai was really great.
It truly gave Su Yuzu a sense of security, as if being held in an older sister's arms.
The rich, wood-flower-like fragrance on the girl made Su Yuzu want to hug her for a while longer.
So, Yuzu, who had just used a double Combat Records hell attack on Soga Yura... actually let Sakura Mai off the hook.
Of course—
This also had to do with Su Yuzu being certain she would see Sakura Mai again during the day.
"Since you've called me Sister... there's no need to be so polite." Sakura Mai looked at Su Yuzu with a smile. She wanted to reach out, like a sister in a manga petting her obedient little sister's head, to touch Yuzu's head.
But she suddenly felt that doing so might be a bit too rude. After all, Sister Yuzu was actually that guy Soga Yura's sister.
Just as Sakura Mai was about to timidly retract her hand, she suddenly realized the girl was already smiling and slightly bending her body, hands resting on her knees, leaning her small head over.
The girl, carved from the same mold as Soga Yura, had eyes of beautiful vermilion that seemed filled with encouragement.
Gulp—
Sakura Mai's throat swallowed subconsciously.
'She... she is really so obedient...'
'Wuwuwu... I'm sorry, Yura.'
'She is really just too good.'
[Ding—]
[Joy: Sakura Mai Favorability +1.]
[Obtained Favorability Increase Reward: Limited Edition Model Mecha Girl.]
[...]
Sakura Mai cautiously, like a girl who had just obtained a supreme treasure, gently stroked Yuzu's head, terrified of messing up her hair.
"Just leave the aftermath here to me."
"It's already very late."
"Sister Yuzu just consumed so much mental power, you should hurry back and rest."
"Okay." Su Yuzu nodded earnestly. "Sister Mai should rest early too."
"Mn!" Listening to the girl's soft words, Sakura Mai felt she probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
She watched as Su Yuzu trotted over to a pitiful girl who was planted headfirst into the gap between the seats, and pulled that girl out from the crevice.
She laid her flat on the ground with her hands crossed over her chest, lying peacefully.
Only then did she take that Imperial lackey from the Fourth Action Division and wave goodbye vigorously.
Sakura Mai tried hard to show a standard smile as taught in the knight's code, waving back in return to Su Yuzu.
She began to deal with the matters inside the movie theater.
By the time Sakura Mai finished dealing with Soga Yura's rampage inside the movie theater, it was already half an hour later.
Exhausted yet exhilarated, she left the movie theater.
A luxurious black sedan was parked quietly by the roadside.
In the back seat of the sedan, Soga Yura was curled up in a ball, looking dead tired; the girl's small head was nodding little by little, unable to withstand the sleepiness.
But in order to wait for news from Sakura Mai, Soga Yura had been forcefully enduring the drowsiness and fatigue, waiting there.
Finally... she saw Sakura Mai.
Sakura Mai opened the rear door of the sedan.
"Finished handling it?" Soga Yura shrank into the back seat.
"Mn." Sakura Mai nodded gently, sat down beside Soga Yura, and then signaled her family's driver to drive.
"Yuzu..."
"Sister Yuzu went back earlier."
"That's good." Although she felt Sakura Mai's form of address for Yuzu was a bit too intimate.
But... after all, she was her best friend of many years, so Soga Yura didn't think much of it.
It was just that... Soga Yura looked at Sakura Mai's incredibly happy appearance and couldn't help but ask.
"Sakura..."
"Why are you so happy today?"
She rarely saw this guy happy to this extent.
"Sister Yuzu called me Sister."
!?
A lot of question marks instantly popped up above Soga Yura's head.
"Your sister... is very cute?"
"Ahhh, Sakura Mai, you bastard!!!"
________________________________________
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