Chapter 576: Ritsuka's Will
"...Good night, Little Bee."
Aozaki Touko looked at Shokuhou Misaki, who was wearing white pajamas on the bedroom bed. A gentle smile appeared on her face, and she softly closed the door.
Then, retreating footsteps... rang out clearly.
"...She actually... just left."
Shokuhou Misaki seemed to sigh in relief, but then she felt a little empty inside. She had thought Touko would say she was staying to sleep with her, but unexpectedly, she had simply left.
That instead made her feel... anxious about her gains and losses.
Could it be that Touko had lost interest in her?
"Is this her way of doing the opposite... to attract my attention?"
She raised her hand toward the ceiling and spread her fingers. A silver bracelet around her wrist shimmered with a sacred, pure radiance. It was the gift Aozaki Touko had given her to protect her safety.
It was one of a pair of bracelets, with one worn around her wrist.
The other was worn around Aozaki Touko's wrist.
*
*
Elsewhere.
Aozaki Touko quietly opened the door to another bedroom. Looking around the dim room with a guilty expression, she turned her gaze toward the bed and saw Kuonji Alice lying on her side beneath the covers. The blanket outlined the alluring curves of her body, and from her appearance... she seemed to be fast asleep.
"...Alice, are you asleep?"
She called softly and, seeing no response from Alice, tiptoed to the bedside. She pulled back the covers and slipped into bed, intending to wrap an arm around Alice's slender waist and go to sleep.
However, just as she was about to reach out—
The bedroom lights suddenly came on.
"Touko, where did you go earlier?"
Kuonji Alice slowly turned over and looked at Touko with her