Black Box

After agreeing to the Miko's request, Kallen still felt too embarrassed to take off all her clothes and let the Miko wipe down her body. She only lifted her clothes a little...

However... she seemed to have underestimated the skills of the Miko currently wiping her body...

Xu Yanwu: I'll say it again! Sakura, you're a girl who grew up in some tiny mountain village! Where the hell did you learn all these shameless tricks?!

Kallen's thoughts: Mmm... so hot...

It's just wiping my body... so why does it feel so hot...

But... it feels so good!

Kallen's face flushed crimson as she covered her mouth, forcing herself not to make even the slightest sound.

Then, Kallen secretly turned back and glanced at the Miko...

She... isn't a bad person, right?

Huh? Was this Miko always this pretty...

"What is it?"

The Miko noticed Kallen's little movement and asked her curiously.

"N-Nothing." After being caught by the Miko, Kallen hurriedly turned her head back and continued enduring the... pleasure?? brought by the Miko wiping her body.

After the Miko finished wiping down Kallen's body, she folded the cloth and draped it over the edge of the wooden tub. "That should do it. See? You cooperated quite well, didn't you?"

Kallen's face was still bright red as she put her clothes back on, but then she noticed something important.

The Black Box she had risked her life to take from Schicksal was gone!

"Wait!"

Kallen anxiously began searching. "Where did that thing go?!"

That Black Box was extremely dangerous. If what was inside leaked out... then...

Seeing Kallen's anxious expression, the Miko did not know what she was looking for, but she suddenly remembered the box Kallen had held tightly even while unconscious.

"Are you looking for... this black box?"

The Miko handed the Black Box she had taken from Kallen back to her.

"You held it tightly the entire time you were unconscious. It must be very important, right?"

"Give it to me!"

Kallen snatched the Black Box from the Miko's hands and held it tightly against her chest, as though afraid someone would take it away again.

No one understood better than she did just how dangerous this thing was.

Rather than saying it's important... it would be more accurate to say...

Kallen could not help recalling what she had seen in Schicksal.

The cruel human experiments conducted using innocent girls.

And the evil consciousness she had seen within the Black Box when she stole it...

Noticing Kallen's ugly expression, the Miko asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you all right?"

"..."

After falling silent for a moment, Kallen gave Yae Sakura a somewhat forced smile.

"Mm... I'm fine."

Kallen loosened her grip on the Black Box slightly. "It's just an ordinary box..."

"Oh, is that so?"

The Miko tilted her head and looked at Kallen. With a soft plop, she placed Kallen's outer garment on her lap.

"Here! These are your clothes. I've already mended them."

"Ah, thank you..."

After receiving her clothes, Kallen felt a little more at ease. Her gaze followed the room's doorway toward the beautiful scenery outside.

"This really is a beautiful place..."

Kallen could not help sighing. Compared to the scenes of people struggling to survive that she had seen in Europe, the scenery of Yae Village was simply unimaginable to her.

And in her own country... the upper ranks of the Church exploited the people in the name of God...

"The god protecting you... must be a very kind one..."

What Kallen did not see was that after she said those words, the Miko beside her involuntarily clenched the skirt resting on her lap.

"A kind god... how could that be possible..."

"Hm?" Kallen's ears twitched slightly. "What did you just say?"

"No, nothing..."

The Miko rose from the floor and said to Kallen, "If you have nowhere to go, stay here for now."

"Can I?"

"Of course." The Miko said this as she turned back to look at Kallen.

At the same time, a gentle breeze passed by. Several petals fell quietly from the cherry blossom trees in the garden, drifting past the Miko.

"My name is Yae Sakura. And you?"

Upon seeing that scene, Kallen suddenly felt inexplicably relaxed.

It was as though all her earlier worries had vanished.

"Kallen..."

Kallen said to Yae Sakura.

"Kallen Kaslana."

What Kallen did not see was that the Black Box in her hand, fitted with the Jade Ring, had gained a crack so tiny it was nearly impossible to notice...

Meanwhile, not far from Yae Sakura and Kallen, where Xu Yanwu's body lay.

Xu Yanwu's soul sat cross-legged above his own body. At his chest, black mist and white radiance churned and tangled within that enormous hollow, as though they were fighting to the death with that spot as their battlefield.

Then Xu Yanwu abruptly opened his eyes and looked through several barriers toward Kallen, who was chatting and laughing with Yae Sakura.

To be more precise, he was looking at the Black Box in Kallen's hand, embedded with a jade-green Jade Ring.

"My... heart? Why is it here..."

"Where is Chi Yuan? What happened to Chi Yuan... could something have happened to her?"

"Kallen... could Kallen have gotten it from Chi Yuan?"

"No... Chi Yuan should have no reason to hand my heart over to Kallen..."

"...No matter what... I have to retrieve my heart as soon as possible... otherwise... the Herrscher consciousness inside the Black Box... and Sakura..."

"Kallen... don't let me down..."

Xu Yanwu's voice gradually fell silent, making no further sound. The black mist and white light battling at his chest also slowly calmed down.

Because of Kallen's injuries, Yae Sakura took care of her for several days. During that time, Yae Village remained relatively peaceful.

Kallen was also very satisfied with the tranquil and stable life in Yae Village.

But... on this particular night...

On the outskirts of Yae Village.

A girl with short black hair was tied to the trunk of a large tree, thick enough that two people could barely wrap their arms around it.

At that moment, she stared ahead of her in terror.