I, Matou Sakura, Third of the Flame-Chasers!

"My name is Pernor, My dear Sister's cutest little sister."

As she spoke, Pernor slightly raised her head and puffed out her seemingly flat chest, her face filled with pride.

"Hello, Sister Pernor."

Kohaku, the older sister, was the first to respond, with Hisui following right after.

Looking at the two little ones before her, Pernor suddenly had a different idea.

Maybe making the two of them her little sisters wouldn't be such a bad idea.

They would be her little sisters, not My dear Sister's little sisters. That way, they wouldn't compete with her for the little sister position.

At that thought, Pernor broke into a dazzling smile. That sunny smile gave Kohaku and Hisui the same impression as the light they saw whenever they faced Matou Sakura.

There was light inside Pernor as well.

"From now on, you're my little sisters. If anyone dares bully you, just tell me!"

Pernor patted her flat chest, her entire body radiating a bright, warm glow in Kohaku and Hisui's eyes.

It was false radiance, but light truly existed within Pernor.

Kuzuki Alice seemed to realize something and turned a questioning gaze toward Matou Sakura, who showed a hint of helplessness.

Was Pernor really this lady's younger sister?

The Girl Who Came Knocking

Dinner was rather uneventful.

Matou Sakura silently ate her meal without saying a word.

It was a habit she had developed in the Honkai World.

At first, everyone would gather together and chat, discussing what they would do after resolving the Honkai.

Some wanted to return to the countryside, build a little house of their own, and live peacefully.

Some wanted to hide away, assume new identities, and travel the world, watching as the new world and order gradually took shape.

Some wanted to contribute to rebuilding the world.

Back then, everyone had dreams as countless as the stars in the night sky. But as one Honkai after another came...

The lively atmosphere vanished, along with the smiles on everyone's faces.

Pain, oppression, and numbness.

Like a scroll depicting all the shades of life.

The unpleasant memories resurfaced, and her bright eyes briefly dimmed. But it lasted only an instant; even Pernor, who had been watching Matou Sakura the whole time, failed to notice.

"I'm done."

Not a single grain remained in her bowl. It was so clean that it was almost surprising.

Pernor also set down her bowl and chopsticks. Though she had not finished the rice in her bowl, a lady had to control her diet.

Besides, she could not gain weight anymore anyway, so she no longer cared about that sort of thing.

"My dear Sister, wait for me!"

As she left the table, Pernor did not forget to glare at that idiot Aozaki Akiko, signaling for her not to forget tonight's plan.

She had already taught her everything she needed to know. If she still failed, then it was time to say goodbye.

What her My dear Sister was truly worst at was refusing others.

Of course, whatever request you made absolutely could not harm My dear Sister's interests. Otherwise, no matter who it was, My dear Sister would fire off a Heat Vision without any room for negotiation.

She did not want to hear tomorrow that Aozaki Akiko had turned into fireworks.

Pernor's little gesture did not escape the others' notice. Aside from Zhou Lailu Jia, who did not care, everyone turned their attention to Aozaki Akiko.

Even Kohaku and Hisui were no exception.

The two were still children, but having lived among the Wujing clan, they could not have survived without maturing early.

"Is Sister Akiko going on a date with Lady Matou Sakura?"

Hisui, ever blunt, had eyes that seemed to sparkle.

Aozaki Akiko's face instantly turned red, making Zhou Laiwei Jia feel as though she had returned to the past.

Back when she had disguised herself as a man and gone to the Aozaki Family as Aozaki Akiko's teacher, this girl would make that same expression whenever she looked at her.

She had been rather cute back then. Now, she...

Zhou Laiwei Jia suddenly realized that the slightly silly, adorable girl from back then had grown up and was even trying to find herself a boyfriend.

No—

A girlfriend.

Uh... that sounded strange, and besides, this girl had not even won over that lady yet.

More importantly, was Pernor serious?

As a maid who more or less looked after the master and Pernor, she and her sister knew very well about the relationship between the master and Pernor.

More precisely, the relationship Pernor had with the master.

She had eavesdropped on plenty of their whispers in the middle of the night.

She couldn't help hearing them. The sounds made it impossible for her to sleep. Once, too embarrassed to bear it, she had run to her sister's room and asked her to help take care of it. In the end, she had helped her sister take care of it too.

Even thinking about it now made her feel ashamed.

Remembering that night made Zhou Lailu Jia blush as well, while Zhou Laiwei Jia quickly followed suit and shyly lowered her head.

Then Kuzuki Alice was completely baffled.

Pernor was looking at Akiko, right?

And Hisui was talking about Akiko too?

Why were the two of them blushing?

What exactly had happened?

Forget it. Those two weren't important right now. Akiko was.

What did that look in Pernor's eyes mean?

Could it be that Akiko was planning to pull one of those nighttime sneak attacks from novels?

Though she was a witch and a mage, that did not mean Kuzuki Alice's life consisted of nothing but magic and potions. She had a life of her own, and sometimes she read the light novels Akiko brought back.

Although she found those stories somewhat boring and melodramatic, she had still learned quite a bit of useful knowledge from them, even if she did not think she would ever have a use for it.

Before the master helped resolve the problem with her bloodline, she had already intended to walk alone until the end of her life. Since she had been given the title of the Last Witch, then she might as well make it a reality.

And even now that the issue with her bloodline had been resolved, that thought had not changed.

Akiko's behavior over the past few days had only strengthened her resolve. She felt that being alone was good enough. She did not need to think about too much. Besides, Akiko could stay by her side. Even if Akiko truly ended up with the master, there was still the so-called relationship of being Besties between them.

"Akiko, are you going to... do that?"

Kuzuki Alice did not finish her sentence. There were still two children at the table. Though these two children knew quite a lot, children were still children. They should not casually listen to adults talking.

She raised her hand and knocked both Hisui and Kohaku, who had also been unable to suppress her curiosity and leaned in. Then Kuzuki Alice asked her friend again, "Hurry up and tell me!"

"I... I..."

Aozaki Akiko's face turned bright red, yet she could not force out more than a few words. She truly had no idea how to say it.

Like a deflated balloon, her whole body sagged.

Seeing this, Kuzuki Alice sighed and stopped pressing her. Still, she gave her friend a single piece of advice.

"If you want to do it, then go do it. Just don't let yourself end up disappointed."

That was what she had to say to Akiko, and the only help she could offer her.

She had no experience with such things, so she could only borrow lines from those melodramatic light novels.

The plots in those light novels might have been cheesy, but some of the lines in them were undeniably quite good.

Hearing Kuzuki Alice's words, Aozaki Akiko's gaze gradually became firm.

The blush on her face remained, but she seemed like a completely different person.

Aozaki Akiko tightly clasped her friend's hands and said resolutely, "Thank you, Alice. I know what to do now!"

With that, she stood up at once, left her seat, and headed straight for Matou Sakura's room.

She was going to clear things up with her!

Only after Aozaki Akiko left did Kuzuki Alice slowly recover from her friend's sudden actions and words.

She looked at Zhou Lailu Jia and Zhou Laiwei Jia, who seemed to have recovered as well, and asked blankly, "Does Akiko really know what to do?"

Zhou Laiwei Jia and Zhou Lailu Jia both fell silent. How could they possibly know about something like that?

They were not Aozaki Akiko!

At that moment, Kuzuki Alice fell into another dilemma. Should she leave the door open for Akiko tonight?

Or should she give her a warm hug when she came back?

Sudden Love

No one knew what had happened that night.

Other than Matou Sakura and Aozaki Akiko, who were involved, and Pernor, the third party.

Though she had no idea what was going on, Alice had stayed the night out of concern for her friend. When she left her room in the morning, she saw Pernor emerge from the master's room, followed by her friend Akiko.

At the time, Akiko's face was flushed, her clothes were in disarray, and there was even a faint glimpse beneath her skirt.

She seemed to be wearing nothing at all.

Had the three of them done it together last night?

Lost in wild thoughts, Kuzuki Alice looked like a boiled crab, her rosy cheeks vividly red.

At breakfast, the meal was clearly much livelier than dinner had been.

But all the commotion stemmed from Aozaki Akiko, who was smiling brightly at that moment.

She pinched a piece of bread between her fingers and held it up before the Saintess, affectionately asking her to open her mouth.

A faint, unprecedented blush appeared on the Saintess's cheeks, and the sight left everyone present utterly stunned.

One foolish Saintess had her mouth hanging so wide open that it looked as though it could fit two eggs.

What shocked everyone was not that the Saintess had eaten the food Aozaki Akiko fed her, but the fleeting brilliance she revealed in Aozaki Akiko's presence.

In that instant, everyone's hearts abruptly raced, leapt high, then crashed heavily back down.

Even Kohaku and Hisui, who were still only children, were no exception.

Breakfast ended quickly, but Kuzuki Alice had yet to recover from that fleeting splendor.

She could not help recalling what had happened between herself and the Saintess in the basement yesterday.

She had stripped off all her clothes and stood before her, and she...

What the hell was she thinking?!

Kuzuki Alice forcefully slapped her cheeks, feeling the sting of pain.

That pain brought her completely back to her senses.

She should go back early. She still had magecraft practice in the afternoon!

As for Aozaki Akiko?

She figured that girl probably had no intention of going back!

"Kohaku, Hisui, let's go."

With that, Kuzuki Alice headed toward the Kuzuki Residence. Kohaku and Hisui exchanged a glance, reluctantly abandoning their desire to stay and play a little longer before following after her.