Time passed rather quickly.
At present, Kuro was strolling leisurely down the street, his attention fixed on a transparent holographic screen floating before him.
Displayed on it was the latest reward from the system's Daily Check-in.
Ding!
[New Function Unlocked: World Information.]
[This function allows the user to obtain information regarding various other worlds by using gold as the medium of exchange.]
Kuro crossed his arms as he read through the description several times.
"Hmm..."
His eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to understand the function more thoroughly.
"Pretty useful."
His footsteps remained unhurried as he continued along the quiet street, while the translucent blue glow of the holographic screen reflected faintly in his eyes, like moonlight shimmering across water at night.
"Especially if I want to use a Travel Ticket to visit a specific world."
After all, although Kuro possessed considerable knowledge about various other worlds, his understanding of them was far from complete.
There were still plenty of things he had never even heard of.
"Although..." Kuro muttered quietly. "After obtaining Sha Naqba Imuru, a function like this isn't exactly indispensable anymore."
The Clairvoyance of the King of Heroes granted him an absurd level of insight into countless possibilities and information.
But even that ability had its limits.
"Or rather..." he continued, briefly closing his eyes, "I can't obtain detailed information about another world before actually arriving there."
That was the limitation of the King of Heroes' Clairvoyance. It could grant him an absurd understanding of possibilities and information, but it wasn't an omniscient database that could simply reveal every detail about a world he had yet to visit.
Because of that, the system's new function still held its own value.
At the very least, it could serve as an initial reference.
"Hmm..."
The corner of Kuro's lips curved upward slightly.
"Let's just consider it a destination guide before visiting."
With that, he raised a hand and dismissed the holographic screen before him. The translucent blue particles gradually broke apart in the air and vanished without a trace, leaving the sidewalk as quiet as it had been before.
Not long afterward, as he continued walking down the increasingly deserted street, Kuro spotted a familiar figure sitting by the roadside.
Osakabehime.
The girl was sitting alone on a bench beside a vending machine that glowed faintly in the middle of the night.
The vending machine's pale bluish-white light reflected softly against her clothes, giving the surroundings the atmosphere of a lazy late-night anime scene.
Her modified pink kimono, fashioned more like a robe, was draped over her shoulders and covered her back. A laptop rested on her lap—the device she had previously ordered online and which had apparently arrived earlier that day.
A large headset covered her ears.
Her eyes were fixed intently on the screen, as though she were completely absorbed in whatever she was watching, barely aware of the world around her.
Without much thought, Kuro walked over and sat down on the empty seat beside her.
He gently tapped Osakabehime on the shoulder to get her attention.
Her body immediately jolted.
"Hyah?!"
She hurriedly turned around, only to freeze for a moment when she saw Kuro sitting casually beside her.
"M-Ma-chan?!"
Kuro glanced briefly at her laptop screen before looking back at Osakabehime.
"You're actually outside?"
There was a hint of surprise in his voice.
"That's not very like you."
His gaze swept across the nearly deserted street around them. Only the low hum of the vending machine and the faint rustling of the night breeze could be heard beneath the streetlights.
"Especially this late at night, and you're alone."
One eyebrow rose slightly.
"Not afraid someone with bad intentions might come after you?"
Osakabehime puffed out her cheeks slightly at that.
"Hime may be weak..." she muttered. "But that doesn't mean Hime would lose to some ordinary criminal."
She patted her chest with an expression of considerable pride.
"Especially if the opponent is just a human."
Kuro let out a quiet chuckle at her confidence.
"Then why are you out here?"
The moment the question left his mouth, Osakabehime's expression immediately turned gloomy.
Her shoulders drooped like a balloon slowly losing its air.
"...Hime was kicked out."
"Hm?"
"Caster said Hime needed some fresh air."
Osakabehime turned her face away, her voice filled with a mixture of sadness and irritation.
"Treating a hikikomori this cruelly..." she murmured. "That fox has too much power and acts like she's some kind of housewife..."
Kuro chuckled softly at the explanation.
"So..." he said casually. "Does this exile have a time limit?"
Osakabehime tilted her head slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Kuro leaned back against the bench, gazing at the quiet street ahead.
"Something like..." he said lazily, "'Go outside and get some fresh air. You aren't allowed to come back for one hour.'"
Silence fell for a moment.
Then Osakabehime's eyes widened.
She quickly turned toward Kuro with an expression of genuine shock.
"How did Ma-chan know?!"
Seeing her reaction, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Kuro's lips.
"It's a pretty classic excuse. Easy enough to guess."
But Osakabehime remained silent for a moment before quickly shaking her head.
"No, no. Not one hour."
"Hm?"
"Two hours."
She raised two small fingers in front of Kuro's face with an utterly serious expression, as though she were delivering a matter of great importance.
"Caster said Hime has to stay outside for a full two hours." Her shoulders immediately slumped again. "She said Hime has been living in her room for far too long..."
Kuro held back a small laugh at that.
"And now?"
Osakabehime glanced at the little clock displayed in the corner of her laptop screen.
"There's still one hour and twenty minutes before Hime can go home..."
Her voice was so miserable that she almost sounded like a prisoner counting down the remainder of her sentence.
Kuro glanced at her.
"You're actually keeping track?"
"Of course Hime is keeping track!" Osakabehime immediately hugged her laptop like it was her only means of survival. "This is a hikikomori's struggle for survival, you know?!"
Kuro finally laughed softly at her serious protest.
Osakabehime merely huffed before pulling the hood of her robe farther over her head until it nearly covered half her face.
The movement was almost like a turtle instinctively retreating back into its shell.
Silence gradually settled between them.
Only the soft hum of the vending machine and the occasional night breeze passing through the empty street disturbed the stillness.
Several seconds passed before Osakabehime finally spoke again, her voice small.
"Um..."
Kuro glanced toward her.
"Since Hime still has a lot of time left..." Osakabehime continued, lowering her head slightly. "And Ma-chan looks like he's free right now..."
Her fingers fidgeted nervously against the surface of the laptop.
"Could you... play with Hime?"
Kuro was silent for a fraction of a second.
"Play?"
He turned toward Osakabehime as he realized what she meant.
A brief silence passed before the corner of his lips curled into a faint smile.
"All right," he replied casually. "I'm free anyway."
Osakabehime's eyes widened slightly.
Slowly, she turned fully toward Kuro from beneath the hood of her cloak.
"Really?"
Her voice sounded brighter than before, though she still tried to appear casual.
Kuro simply gave a small nod before slowly leaning closer.
"Mmmh..."
The thin distance between them disappeared.
Osakabehime held her breath as something like a warm serpent slipped into a silent trench, moving gently as though searching for the partner it had long awaited.
And the moment they met, its movements became a slow dance. Pulling. Coiling. Then releasing softly. Again and again.
Meanwhile, Kuro's left hand moved like another serpent, gliding across forbidden petals hidden beneath the shadows of the night. Little by little, warm dew began gathering wherever he touched.
"Nnn... mmm... haa... slurp... lick..."
Osakabehime's breathing grew heavier.
A soft sound escaped her lips, nearly swallowed by the cold midnight wind.
Her gaze slowly dimmed, half-lidded, as though the sweet venom of a serpent was flowing through every corner of her body, spreading an irresistible warmth.
Her body trembled faintly.
Before her awareness could completely melt away, Osakabehime hurriedly placed her laptop onto the bench beside the vending machine, right between them.
After that, both of her hands rose to grip Kuro's shoulders tightly.
Then something like a warm current overflowing from a forbidden peak finally spilled free beyond her control.
"Hngh...!!"
Osakabehime's body arched slightly, and her breath broke softly beneath the city's night lights.
A moment later, their faces slowly parted.
A thin line formed between them, fragile and nearly broken by the cold midnight air slipping through the distance that separated them.
At the same time, Kuro's left hand slowly withdrew from the bed of forbidden petals hidden beneath the shadows of cloth.
Without saying much, he picked up Osakabehime's laptop.
A brief golden glow appeared.
The laptop instantly crumbled into fine golden dust before vanishing into the Gate of Babylon, as though swallowed by empty space without a trace.
Meanwhile, Osakabehime was still trying to steady her uneven breathing.
A faint blush colored her cheeks.
She looked at Kuro with a sulky, half-disbelieving expression.
"Ma-chan..." she murmured softly. "We're in a public place... what if someone sees us?"
Kuro stared at her for a few seconds.
Then a quiet chuckle escaped his lips.
He casually glanced around the silent midnight sidewalk.
There was no one.
Only the glow of the vending machine, the whisper of the night wind, and the empty street stretching into the darkness.
"No one's going to pass through this area at this hour," he said casually.
Then the corner of his lips curled mischievously.
"And even if someone did... wouldn't that make it even more thrilling?"
Osakabehime's eyes widened slightly.
Meanwhile, Kuro merely grinned.
"Besides," he added softly, "I just wanted to try a new genre."
After saying that, Kuro shifted closer.
Closer still.
Until their shoulders touched once more.
Osakabehime immediately stiffened slightly.
"M-Ma-chan..."
Her voice trembled.
She quickly pulled her hood lower to hide the heat rising to her face.
Yet her body did not move away even a little.
Instead, her fingers slowly gripped the edge of Kuro's coat.
Softly.
Hesitantly.
As though, without realizing it herself, she was afraid of letting the distance between them open once again.
_____
Author's note:
How was it? Did you like it, guys? 😏
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