In the hotel's rooftop garden, Durandal, having finished her morning routine, arrived at this spot to begin her daily, never-skipped training session.
However, unlike her usual state of calm composure, Durandal's mind was currently a tangled mess.
How could she have completely forgotten about her sleeping habits?
Well, this was great. Now she had no idea if Elysia would end up disliking her because of it.
Wait a second...
Durandal tilted her head...
It seemed Elysia wasn't the type to dislike someone over something like this, was she?
Even so, Durandal felt she should learn her lesson. From now on, she absolutely must not share a bed with anyone again.
Just as Durandal was firming up this resolution, Elysia stepped out of the hotel room.
The moment she emerged, she nearly bumped into Connie.
Connie glanced around, not spotting the golden-haired girl, and asked without thinking, "Where's Lady Durandal?"
"She got up earlier than me. She's probably exercising somewhere right now~"
Elysia's voice held a noticeable lift, clearly in excellent spirits.
Seeing Elysia's radiant, glowing expression, Connie's face immediately lit up with understanding.
Ah, the bloom of a girl nourished by love. Still, she couldn't resist asking one more thing. "Did you rest well last night?"
"Quite well. The environment here is lovely. You really know how to pick a hotel, Connie~."
Elysia's honest answer was interpreted by Connie in an entirely different way—the two were very satisfied with the new environment, so last night must have been... very harmonious.
Consequently, Connie's smile grew even brighter.
"It's my honor that Miss Elysia and Lady Durandal are satisfied. By the way, I heard this hotel's rooftop garden is quite nice. Lady Durandal might be there. Shall we go find her and have breakfast together?"
"Sure~"
Elysia agreed happily.
Thus, the two took the elevator up to the rooftop garden.
"Hey, Durandal~"
Durandal's golden wavy hair was quite conspicuous. Elysia spotted her immediately and called out warmly.
Durandal's expression, however, was slightly awkward.
Especially upon seeing Connie standing beside Elysia, her heart leapt into her throat, and a sentence tumbled out before her brain could catch up:
"Elysia, you... you didn't tell anyone about what happened this morning, did you?"
What happened this morning?
Connie's eyes instantly sparkled, and her ears practically perked up.
"Of course not. That's our little secret~, isn't it?"
Elysia placed a finger to her lips and gave Durandal a playful wink.
Seeing this, Durandal felt a wave of relief wash over her.
Connie, standing to the side, wore an expression of someone whose curiosity had been thoroughly satisfied.
Simultaneously, she sighed inwardly. Young people sure had their adventurous ways.
Last time it was the morning, this time it was the morning again. Could this be the particular... preference of the leader of the Flame-Chasers organization?
It seemed that, in addition to the advisory note for new recruits, 'Lady Durandal and Miss Elysia are a couple, therefore one must maintain a respectful distance from Miss Elysia,' a new clause would need to be added for future members of the Flame-Chasers:
'Do not disturb Lady Durandal and Miss Elysia in the morning.'
"A secret? What secret?"
A rather energetic voice suddenly came from behind Elysia and Connie.
Turning their heads, they saw it was indeed Kevyn, along with Mei.
"A secret is a secret~"
Elysia blinked as she said this.
Kevyn blinked back, then scoffed, "You don't have to tell me! I already know!"
With that, she flashed a knowing, 'auntie' smile identical to Connie's.
Elysia: ?
Durandal: ???
"Ahem, Kevyn..."
Mei, standing beside her, adjusted her glasses, clearly finding this a bit much.
"Oh."
Kevyn promptly reined in her smile, adopting an innocent, picture-perfect expression of obedience.
Soon, the five of them took the elevator down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast.
In the restaurant, they also ran into Mobius and her group, who had also come for breakfast.
Perfect timing. After the meal, the whole group split into two teams.
One team, still led by Mei and Mobius, each took three people to attend that day's academic presentations.
The other team consisted of Connie taking Eden and Vill-V to continue the unfinished tasks from the previous day.
As for Emile, he naturally followed Mobius, though he wouldn't enter the presentation hall, opting instead to wait somewhere outside.
There wasn't much to say about the academic presentations. However, on Connie's side, after contacting Einstein's secretary, she felt a stark difference.
Yesterday, when she took Eden and Vill-V to recruit fresh graduates from universities, she feared no one would show up for interviews. Going to factories to purchase raw materials, she worried the quantities were too small to warrant attention.
But today was completely different. With the involvement of this renowned scientist's secretary, a single phone call had students from several universities proactively coming for interviews, eliminating the need for them to visit each institution one by one.
It was the same with the factories. Raw materials were promptly delivered to their doorstep at prices significantly more favorable than those discussed yesterday.
Connie could only sigh in admiration—truly, a world-famous scientist's influence was immense!
Thus, Connie's trio, who had initially anticipated possibly being stuck in the Mu Continent for several more days to finish their business, ended up completing their tasks the earliest.
That very night, the entire group wasted no time. They boarded a plane and flew overnight back to Nagazora City.
After barely a few hours of sleep, the four 'ordinary high school girls' had to drag themselves out of bed to face another week of school life.
And it was on this day, after school, that the trap Elysia had set for Durandal at the very beginning of the term finally revealed its potency.
After observing for nearly a month, some individuals seemed to think the timing was ripe and decided to make a move against Durandal, this 'ungrateful' new student.
However, their plans seemed to have leaked. Before they could act, a girl with long cherry-blossom-colored hair, dressed in kendo attire, arrived first to 'tip her off.'
"Durandal, it would be better for you to leave through the school's side gate today."
The newcomer was still holding a bamboo sword, clearly having slipped out during her kendo club activities.
Yet, upon hearing this, Durandal showed no particular reaction to the warning itself. She simply looked at the other girl, inwardly marveling at how the Flame-Chasers really did seem to flock around her.
The person before her was none other than Sakura!
It appeared Sakura's joining of the Cocoon unit happened after the Third Honkai Eruption.
Her homeland lay in ruins, she embarked on a solitary journey of ten thousand miles, and a secret, unknown transaction turned her into a Fire Moth.
As a member of the covert operations unit Cocoon, her blade was born from the shadows, its point always aimed at the most extraordinary enemies.
Since Sakura was appearing here now, then the so-called 'homeland' must refer to Nagazora City.
--+--