Attack of the Bronya

"Ishiu, you're already worn out after just a few hours? How are you supposed to satisfy Bronya like this?" Unlike the dejected Ishiu, Bronya, who had won far more than she had lost, was naturally delighted and wished she could drag him into a few more rounds.

"Bullshit. Of course you're having fun when you keep winning. If I hadn't gone months without playing and gotten rusty, how could I have let you get so cocky?" Ishiu argued stubbornly. In truth, even before that, he had lost more often than he won against Bronya.

"Say whatever you want. You lost this time, and according to our agreement, you owe Bronya a prize." Bronya put away her handheld console, the corner of her lips lifting into a victorious smile as she looked at Ishiu.

"Fine. What do you want?"

"No rush. We'll talk after the plane lands. Right now, um... Bronya wants to sleep first." Bronya yawned. It seemed she really had not slept well last night.

"Then go ahead and sleep. Want an eye mask?"

"No. Let Bronya borrow your shoulder." As she spoke, Bronya ignored whether Ishiu agreed or not. She tugged on his arm, leaned against his shoulder, closed her eyes, and began to sleep.

"She really does whatever she wants." Ishiu shook his head with a helpless smile and let her be.

There were still four or five hours before the plane reached its destination. Most of the passengers had already begun sleeping, but Ishiu had slept well last night and slept in that morning, so he was full of energy and not sleepy at all.

So he simply took out his phone and started chatting with Miss Mei and Kiana.

However, Miss Mei seemed to be training at the moment, leaving only Kiana to chat with Ishiu. The two of them talked quite enthusiastically.

Through Kiana, Ishiu learned quite a bit about St. Freya Academy. For example, the academy only had a little over a hundred students, all of them pretty girls between thirteen and nineteen. The few men in the school were either teachers or maintenance workers. It could be said that the status of men there was extremely precarious.

The environment was more or less as Theresa had boasted. It had the standard architectural style of a European castle. However, Kiana and Mei had not been assigned their own dorms. Instead, they had been placed in Himeko's room and were living with her.

Over the phone, Kiana went on a frenzied rant to Ishiu, listing nearly every one of Himeko's flaws. Ishiu almost began to think that the beautiful red-haired mature woman he had met that day and the Teacher Himeko Kiana described were not the same person at all.

As they chatted, Kiana seemed to have to go train as well, so she ended the conversation with Ishiu.

With no one left to talk to, Ishiu suddenly felt bored. He put down his phone and prepared to take a nap too, but then he inadvertently caught sight of Bronya sleeping soundly against his shoulder.

Little Pudding looked incredibly cute while asleep. Perhaps because she usually kept a stern face and had such an imposing aura, people tended to overlook the fact that she was just as cute as Seele.

Her silver-gray twin tails, doll-like delicate features, long eyelashes, cherry-colored lips, and tiny pores nearly invisible to the naked eye... With Bronya asleep, Ishiu finally had a rare chance to take a proper look at her.

Perhaps because she was asleep, her lips parted slightly as she breathed, warm air flowing from them with the faint milky scent unique to a young girl.

Looking at such an adorable Bronya, Ishiu could not help feeling a little tempted. He suddenly wanted to play a prank on her.

He first craned his neck and looked around. Once he confirmed that the nearby passengers were mostly asleep and no flight attendants were coming over, he gathered his courage and gently touched Bronya's cheek with his left hand.

Unlike their usual playful cheek-pinching, this touch gave Ishiu an entirely new experience. It was the first time he realized that Little Pudding's cheeks were so smooth and tender, like a baby's skin, as though a light pinch would make water seep out.

He touched her a few times. At first, he had wanted to play a prank, but that urge gradually faded.

After hesitating for a moment, Ishiu boldly replaced one finger with his palm and gently stroked Bronya's cheek. The sensation was even more astonishing this time. Her soft, elastic cheeks shifted into all kinds of shapes beneath his palm as he kneaded and caressed them to his heart's content.

In the end, his gaze fell upon Bronya's lovely cherry-petal lips. Her slightly parted mouth was like a siren's temptation, as though inviting him inside.

But Ishiu still held himself back. Playing around was one thing, but there had to be limits. He could not go too far.

So after playing with Little Pudding a while longer, Ishiu toyed with her spiral twin tails for a bit before finally withdrawing his hand in satisfaction. Then he took out his phone and snapped a selfie of the two of them. Bronya looked so cute like this that he had to preserve it as a memento.

However, perhaps because Ishiu had gotten too carried away, he failed to notice Bronya's eyelashes tremble slightly and a blush rise at the roots of her ears.

Four hours later, the plane landed. Ishiu woke the sleeping Bronya, and the two got off the plane side by side.

After collecting their luggage and leaving the airport, Ishiu hailed a taxi and headed toward the address of St. Freya Academy.

St. Freya Academy was located on a mountain. The land there seemed to all belong to Schicksal and had been designated as private property, so the taxi stopped at the foot of the mountain.

Ishiu had no choice but to obediently get out of the car and prepare to climb.

Before he could even enter the mountain grounds, however, a familiar voice rang out from above.

"ISHIU!!!"

The shout was so loud that it nearly echoed through the entire forest, startling birds into flight.

Ishiu instinctively looked toward the sound and saw Kiana on a winding mountain road above him.

She looked just as she had two days ago, with her braided hair and orange jacket. Even the safety shorts under her skirt, which were getting closer and closer, were the same familiar style.

...Wait, getting closer and closer? Holy shit! This idiot actually jumped down?!

Ishiu's face darkened. Was this not exactly like Kiana? She had actually jumped directly from the mountain road above, without caring that the drop was a full thirty meters.

Still, although it was rather high, Ishiu was not worried that Kiana would get hurt. Her skills were quite good, after all. A distance like this could not stump her.

Sure enough, after jumping down, she stepped on a branch below, used the force to slow herself, and only then landed on the ground.

"Kiana, how have the past two days been?" Ishiu waved and greeted her.

"Pretty good, I guess." Kiana ran over in a few steps. Looking at Ishiu, she found herself missing him even though they had only been apart for two days. Now that she finally saw him in person, she did not know what to say, so she merely scratched her head and flashed her signature goofy grin.

"What do you mean, 'pretty good'? You didn't cause Mei any trouble these past two days, did you?" Ishiu teased, reaching out to brush the leaves she had picked up earlier from her hair.

His movements were incredibly practiced, and Kiana obediently held out her head, letting Ishiu pat and brush her hair. Their coordination was so natural that it seemed as though they had practiced this action hundreds or thousands of times.

(Bronya: Why are you two so practiced at this?! Just how many times have you done this behind Seele's and my back?!)

Bronya on the Offensive

"Of course not. Mei and I get along great." Kiana grinned, showing a row of white teeth. Then, as though she had only just noticed Bronya, she looked at her in surprise. "Huh? Why is Little Pudding here too?"

"Don't call Bronya Little Pudding!" Bronya's face darkened. Looking at Kiana's stupid grin, she really wanted to blast her with a cannon.

"Bronya was worried about me, so she came with me. I'll explain it to Theresa later," Ishiu said.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Kiana nodded in understanding and instinctively reached for Ishiu's hand. "Then come on, Ishiu. Mei and I have already prepared a welcome party for you."

Smack!

Before her hand could touch Ishiu's, a small hand suddenly appeared and slapped the back of it away.

"Ah!" Kiana withdrew her hand in pain and looked at Bronya with dissatisfaction. "Bronya, why did you hit me?"

"Men and women should not touch casually. Don't you understand?" Bronya said expressionlessly. Good thing she had come along. Look at this—after only a few words, Kiana was already trying to hold his hand. If they spent any more time together, would they not end up sleeping in the same bed?

In a few more days, the hat on Seele's head would turn into broccoli!

"What does it matter? I don't care." Kiana pouted. "He's just a brat. It's not like he can take advantage of me."

"You misunderstand. Bronya is afraid you'll take advantage of him."

"Huh?"

"Wait, stop arguing. Mei and the others are here." Listening to the two bicker, Ishiu's head began to ache. He quickly changed the subject.

On the mountain path in the distance, Raiden Mei and Murata Himeko were walking over side by side.

After two days apart, Miss Mei was as beautiful as ever. And perhaps because something had happened, much of the gloom between her brows had faded. From head to toe, she radiated the vitality and charm unique to an adolescent girl.

Himeko's outfit, on the other hand, was much more casual. Unlike the armor she had worn when Ishiu saw her before, her casual clothes made her seem less seductive, but her air of a languid beauty had become even more apparent.

"Ishiu." Compared to Kiana, who immediately chattered and caused a commotion, Raiden Mei was much more reserved. Smiling softly, with the same gentle expression as always, she walked up to Ishiu and naturally helped straighten his clothes. "Your clothes don't fit quite right. Do you want me to alter them when we get back?"

"No, they're comfortable enough. Maybe I'm just growing lately." Ishiu smiled and shook his head. "By the way, Mei, how have you been these past two days? Has anyone at St. Freya Academy bullied you? I can stand up for you."

"Hey, hey, don't make St. Freya Academy sound like some delinquent gang, okay? We're a perfectly normal school. The students all care for one another. What bullying could there possibly be?" Himeko sauntered over, raised a hand, and pinched Ishiu's cheek. In a teasing tone, she said, "Though if you enter the academy, those older sisters might 'bully' you instead~"

"Does that include you, Sister Himeko?" Ishiu's mouth twitched as he hurriedly slapped her hand away. Why did he feel like this woman was acting a little improper around him? This was only their second meeting, and she was already touching him all over. She was not Kiana.

"Hehe, what do you think?" Himeko smiled and winked at him. As expected of a mature woman, her teasing skills were truly formidable. Luckily, Ishiu did not like her type and was not affected by it. Otherwise, if it had been some other young man, he would probably have been thoroughly flustered by now.

"Teacher Himeko, stop teasing Ishiu. He's still young." Raiden Mei spoke to Himeko with helplessness. Her words were filled with concern for Ishiu, and the indulgent, gentle tone made goosebumps rise on Bronya's skin.

She suddenly felt an enormous weight on her shoulders. Ishiu had not even entered St. Freya Academy yet, and he was already surrounded by flowers. What would happen if he got inside?

No, she had to keep a close eye on Ishiu and prevent anyone from stealing him away. Seele's happiness would be protected by her!

"Hm? I remember you're with Anti-Entropy, aren't you? Why are you here too?" Himeko's eyes shifted to Bronya, and she immediately frowned.

"Bronya is no longer with Anti-Entropy." Meeting Himeko's scrutinizing gaze, Bronya spoke naturally. "When Ishiu took Raiden Mei out of Anti-Entropy before, Bronya was the one who gave him the information. So Bronya was expelled from Anti-Entropy as well."

"Oh? Is that so?" Himeko raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying it.

"It is, Sister Himeko. Bronya is family to me. She only came because she was worried about me. Please give her some trust," Ishiu said seriously.

"Whatever. I'm not the person in charge anyway. Once we get to St. Freya Academy, you can explain it to Theresa yourselves." Himeko shrugged indifferently. She was already busy enough managing the Hyperion and teaching students. Matters of intrigue and maneuvering could be left to Theresa.

"Okay. I'll explain it to her." Ishiu nodded.

After that brief conversation, Ishiu and Bronya followed the three of them up the mountain.

St. Freya Academy was built halfway up the mountain. With Ishiu and the others' physical abilities, climbing posed no difficulty, so they chatted and laughed along the way.

"Hey, Ishiu, did you know? The students at St. Freya Academy are all amazing. They're really good fighters, and they do great in shooting practice too," Kiana suddenly said. Her words seemed rather abrupt, since they had been talking about something else before. The transition was so forced that it was hard to tell what she meant.

But Ishiu, who had become quite in sync with Kiana, understood her intention and immediately played along with a smile. "Oh? Really? They're that impressive? Then how do they compare to you?"

At Ishiu's cooperative response, a smug smile immediately bloomed across Kiana's face. She placed one hand on her hip, pointed the other at the sky, and declared arrogantly, "Of course I'm still the best! I'm first place in both combat class and shooting class."

"Impressive, impressive. Just what I'd expect from you." Ishiu clapped, his face full of admiration.

"Hehe, I'm not that amazing. I'm only a tiny little bit better than them." Kiana held up her thumb and index finger, making a gesture for the tiniest possible amount.

How could Ishiu not know what she wanted? She just wanted him to praise her more, and he humored her. In only a few sentences, he praised Kiana straight into the heavens, making her so delighted that she nearly hugged him and kissed him twice.

"Alright, Ishiu, don't spoil her too much. And Kiana, don't get too smug either. Have you forgotten how Teacher Himeko taught you a lesson before?" Raiden Mei finally could not bear to watch anymore. She patted Kiana on the head, her tone turning somewhat stern.

"Uh..." Kiana, who had just been beaming and practically holding her nose in the air, immediately wilted like an eggplant struck by frost.

During class before, eager to become an A-rank Valkyrie as quickly as possible, she had acted a little too arrogantly. Himeko had ended up pinning her down and beating her, and Kiana had not been able to fight back at all.

Now that Raiden Mei brought it up again, Kiana hurriedly grabbed Mei's hand and whispered into her ear, "My dear Mei, don't expose my embarrassing past in front of that brat. I don't want him laughing at me."

"You..." Raiden Mei shook her head helplessly. She had once thought Kiana was merely lively, but after living with her for two days, she felt increasingly sympathetic toward Ishiu.

How had he managed to live with such a living treasure for an entire month?

Watching the group chat and laugh together made Bronya feel increasingly uncomfortable. She was not yet familiar with Kiana and the others, and she was not the talkative type to begin with. All she could do was watch her Ishiu laugh and play around with other women while she stood to the side like an irrelevant passerby, unable to join in.

No, she could not sit around and wait for defeat. She had to be more proactive.

After thinking for a moment, Bronya tugged on Ishiu's arm. "Ishiu, do you remember the prize from the plane?"

"I remember. What about it?" Ishiu asked casually, not knowing why Bronya had suddenly brought it up.

"...Bronya is tired from walking. Carry Bronya up the mountain." Bronya's face reddened slightly. After hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth and said it.

Under normal circumstances, she would never have said something like that. But the situation was different now. For Seele's sake, what did it matter if she threw away a little dignity?

"Huh? What did you say?" Ishiu thought he had misheard and could not help asking again.

"Bronya is tired. Carry Bronya up the mountain," Bronya repeated.

"Uh... are you serious?" Ishiu's mouth twitched. He stopped walking, looked Bronya up and down a few times, then moved behind her and tried to lift her clothes.

Thud!

Bronya immediately punched him. Blushing with embarrassment and anger, she glared at Ishiu. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm checking whether you have a mole on your lower back." Ishiu spoke with complete seriousness. "I suspect you've been swapped out, because my Bronya isn't this cute!"

"Are you carrying Bronya or not?" Bronya bit her lip. She felt like she had thrown away all the dignity she had as an older sister today. Ah, it was all for Seele.

"I'll carry you, of course I will. You said you're tired. How could I dare refuse?" Ishiu had only wanted to tease Little Pudding and see what she was plotting, but seeing that the little girl seemed genuinely angry, he did not dare continue.

"Hmph..." Bronya huffed before jumping onto Ishiu's back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, while her slender legs curled around his waist like boneless snakes.

After doing all that, she raised her eyebrows at Kiana and Raiden Mei as though showing off.

Kiana did not think much of it. She was only a little envious that Bronya did not have to walk. If she had known, she would have asked Ishiu to carry her too.

Raiden Mei, however, looked somewhat unsettled. She had noticed it during her last meeting with Bronya: this little girl who called herself Ishiu's sister seemed to hold strong hostility toward her, especially when Ishiu was involved. Did Bronya think Mei would threaten her status as his sister?

Hmm... It seemed she would have to interact with Bronya more in the future and let her know that she would not take away her place as Ishiu's sister. Then Bronya probably would not be hostile toward her anymore, right?

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, and the latter half of the climb became quieter. Still, Kiana had plenty to say, and Ishiu occasionally chatted with Himeko.

Bronya, lying on his back, had gone completely silent. If Ishiu were not holding her thighs in his hands, he might have thought she had disappeared.

The reason Bronya was not talking was simple: she was embarrassed.

Earlier, driven by a burst of resentment, she had not thought much about it. But once she climbed onto Ishiu's back and felt his strong scent surrounding her, with her chest pressed tightly against his back and rubbing against him with every step, that soft sensation made her legs go numb.

So she buried her face against Ishiu's neck, afraid that others would see how red her cheeks had become. Naturally, she could not say a word.

Just like that, after more than ten minutes of climbing, Ishiu finally arrived at St. Freya Academy.

The moment Ishiu laid eyes on the academy, he finally understood why Theresa had boasted about it so much. If someone called this place a castle, he would have believed them.

From the outside, St. Freya Academy was entirely designed in the style of a European castle: semicircular barrel vaults, white walls, towering castle structures. Everything looked so luxurious and refined.