Five o'clock in the afternoon.
On the highway leading to northern Germany, a black SUV sped down the road.
Sasuke sat in the driver's seat, calmly steering the vehicle.
Illya, seated in the passenger seat, held a chibi plushie in her arms, shaped like a German Shepherd.
Judging by her expression, she seemed to like it very much.
There was a car rental place beside the airport, where they could temporarily rent a vehicle by paying a fee.
However, Sasuke did not speak German, so Illya handled all the communication.
The person who rented them the vehicle was a middle-aged woman. Because she found Illya adorable, she even gave them a discount.
And since Sasuke was a foreigner, she assumed they were tourists and specifically gave them the store's mascot as a gift.
It was the cute German Shepherd plushie Illya was holding.
Illya quite liked dogs. Their cuteness was one reason, but their loyalty was the bigger one.
The southern region had been clear and sunny that morning, but in the north, the sky was blanketed by thick, dark clouds.
The distant sky was also filled with towering rain clouds.
Before long, the air took on a damp scent, and soon a torrential downpour began.
As the rain poured down, the highway was drenched.
Even with their wipers running, the vehicles on the road had their view of the outside blurred by the constant water droplets coating their windows.
For safety, the cars began keeping their distance from one another and turned on the appropriate lights to warn the vehicles behind them.
The pounding rain showed no sign of stopping. As the sky grew darker and darker, many vehicles had even switched on their hazard lights.
Some people had pulled over into the emergency lane to wait for the