(Heartfelt thanks to 'Yan Xing Mie Chen' and 'Qing Yu Dong' for their 5,888 rewards! 'Yuezuki Tatsuha' for the 1,888 reward! And also to 'schkyder,' 'Lei Xiang,' 'Yunqi Qinggu,' 'Kui Yuan-ge,' 'Wo Ci Renzha Xiang,' and 'Die Xue Ao Shuang' for their rewards!)
(Please support! Friends, please give your support!)
Night was as deep as wine...
The moon's fluorescent glow was like a transparent veil, slowly draping over the distant land below beneath the stars' embellishment. The ground seemed covered in frost, specks of silver appearing and vanishing like stars in the sky. One moment they adorned a spot, the next they disappeared; when they reappeared, they were no longer where they had been...
There were no clouds tonight, and the night sky lay entirely exposed without obstruction. Guided by their mistress, the moonlight and starlight swept across every corner of the ground, spilling over the treetops of the Giant Beast Forest, over the tents of the camp, over the hills surrounding one corner of the camp, and over a small lake, illuminating the shimmering ripples within...
The lake lay in a remote corner of the camp, enclosed by rock walls on three sides. Only a passage wide enough for four or five people to walk abreast connected it to a cluster of tents in the camp ahead. That tent cluster was where Wu Yan's group and the Misaka Sisters were staying.
Many people in the camp knew there was a lake in this corner. Though it was not large, its water was exceptionally clear. With mountains on three sides and only one passage leading in, it was perfectly suited to serve as a bathing place for the female guards.
Unfortunately, Wu Yan's group and the Misaka Sisters' tents stood before that passage. Anyone wanting to enter would have to