Chapter Twenty-Four: Midair Melee / Chapter Twenty-Five: Kanna Ate Herself!

Even Martha and Mash had been drawn over to watch this rare sight.

Yuxian had originally wanted to go in and help Gretel, but Gretel had chased him out. Since it was a punishment, she felt she should complete it herself. She was quite insistent on that point, and her attitude of accepting defeat gracefully made Yuxian nod inwardly.

Gretel was cleaning the room. She had never done this kind of housework before, so she looked rather clumsy, though her expression was serious.

Little Jeanne stood by the door, explaining the whole story to Mash and the others.

Gretel furiously roared at them, "Don't get cocky too soon! I definitely won't lose again next time!"

With that, she lowered her head and continued tidying the room, thinking that next time, she had to make them lose too and taste the bitterness of punishment.

"We won't lose next time either!" Little Jeanne was not afraid of losing, and she immediately fired back.

Illya chimed in as well. "Next time, we should decide on the punishment beforehand. Hehe..."

Yuxian could not help glancing at her. Usually, when someone said something like that, the punishment would end up falling on them instead. That was not a good flag.

Gretel could not outtalk the two of them alone, so she glared at Jack, who was standing to the side as if nothing had happened, and said indignantly, "Jack, why aren't you helping me? We're on the same side!"

Jack tilted her head, not knowing how to help. She looked to Yuxian for help, hoping he could think of something.

Yuxian did not dare help Jack at a time like this. He simply stood quietly to the side without saying anything.

Gretel was furious at Jack's reaction. Jack's mind worked quickly, but most of the time she acted carefree and unconcerned. Unless something involved Yuxian, she usually did not show much of a reaction.

But if it concerned Yuxian, that was another matter entirely. Especially if someone meant him harm, Jack would absolutely become a killer of the night, a feared Ripper who would tear her enemies to pieces.

For a novice like Gretel, cleaning was painfully inefficient. Fortunately, the room was not especially large, and she slowly cleaned away the drifting bits of fluff one by one.

After putting in great effort, she finally cleaned the room. There were still some spots she had not cleaned thoroughly, but it was enough for everyone to rest there that night.

She wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead, looking like she was exhausted and needed comforting. Yuxian found it amusing.

"Good job!"

Yuxian's praise made Gretel beam. She felt that all the hard work had been worth it.

It was getting late, so everyone returned to their rooms to rest. The little ones squeezed into Yuxian's room instead. They had not stayed with Yuxian yesterday, and they certainly would not miss the chance today.

The next day, everyone prepared to go to the beach again. Since they were on a seaside vacation, it would feel like a waste not to enjoy the beach to the fullest.

However, for some reason, the beach was especially crowded today. The sea of people was rather frightening; it felt like there were more people on the sand than grains of sand.

"How about we go somewhere else..."

Everyone agreed with the suggestion, but they did not know where to go. Going back to rest was definitely not an option. Since they were already out, they naturally had to find somewhere to have fun.

"I'll take everyone somewhere without people!"

Tohru cast a perception-blocking spell on everyone, then transformed into her dragon form. She let everyone ride on her back and flew them somewhere deserted.

There was nothing but a vast ocean. No one ahead, no one behind, and seawater in every direction.

"Where are we?"

"To the middle of the ocean, probably," Tohru answered. "I just flew around and found a random spot. It's quiet here, so everyone can play as much as they want."

"How are we supposed to play here..." Yuxian looked at the surrounding seawater. There was not even anywhere to stand.

Not everyone shared Yuxian's thoughts. Some people thought this place was quite good.

Martha summoned Tarasque. With a bang, another dragon appeared on the ocean.

Before Yuxian could complain, Gretel summoned Jabberwocky as well. She decided to ride Jabberwocky so she would not fall into the sea again.

Seeing this, Kanna and Elma simply revealed their true forms as well. For a moment, five dragons appeared in this nameless stretch of sea.

Tarasque: Boss, you really did get yourself other dragons, and more than one at that...

Bang!

Martha leaped up and punched Tarasque straight into the sea. A wave rose up and drenched everyone.

Tarasque: Aaaaaah—this is the whip of love from Boss—

Martha's face darkened. She clenched her hands, her knuckles cracking loudly. Yuxian unconsciously moved a few steps away from her, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

Seeing this, Tohru's eyes lit up. She stretched her head in front of Kobayashi and imitated Tarasque in a shameless tone. "Kobayashi, please give me the whip of love!"

Kobayashi rolled her eyes and gave Tohru a sharp chop on the forehead with her right hand.

Tohru's entire body trembled as she cried out with a satisfied expression, "Ah—I can feel Kobayashi's love—"

Kobayashi decided to ignore her. She found a spot, took out a fishing rod, and went fishing.

Yuxian and Mash sat down as well, quietly enjoying the sea breeze.

Meanwhile, after climbing onto Jabberwocky, Gretel started getting cocky again. She took the initiative to provoke them. "Let's fight again! This time, I definitely won't lose!"

Yuxian glanced at her and thought, Gretel really wants revenge.

However, he did not stop her. It would not be easy for Gretel to gain an advantage over the others, especially when she had a weakness like her fear of seawater.

Sure enough, Illya and Little Jeanne were not intimidated at all. Illya instantly took flight and charged straight at Gretel.

She was far more agile than Jabberwocky. With her full strength restricted, it was practically impossible for Gretel to get the better of Illya while riding Jabberwocky, especially with Little Jeanne there too.

Little Jeanne had her sled, which was also a flying vehicle. Two against one, and Gretel immediately fell into a disadvantage.

"Jack, hurry up and help me!"

Gretel loudly called for Jack, but Jack had no ability to fly. She could only look up at her from below, unable to help.

Airborne Melee

Seeing that Jack had no reaction, Gretel realized the problem as well. Jack had no aerial combat ability, so she could only fight Little Jeanne and Illya one against two.

Seeing everyone having such fun, Kanna wanted to join in. She was very interested in this kind of activity and had long been eager to try.

After watching thoughtfully from the side for a while, she flew over to Jack and had Jack climb onto her back before joining the battle.

With Kanna and Jack joining, Illya and Little Jeanne fell into a somewhat disadvantageous position. Without dragon mounts, it was difficult for them to gain the upper hand.

Illya flew over to Martha and anxiously said, "Big Sister Martha, can I borrow Tarasque?"

Martha did not refuse. She could ride on Tohru's back anyway, and she was happy to watch the children fool around.

With Tarasque, Illya's mood instantly improved. She waved her little hand. "Tarasque, let's go!"

Tarasque wanted to refuse, but when it turned around and saw Martha's unfriendly gaze, it immediately obediently followed Illya's commands.

When Little Jeanne saw that she was the only one without a dragon mount, she became quite nervous. Looking around, she noticed that Elma had returned to human form and was sitting there happily eating snacks.

She flew down and pulled Elma up. Elma was the only one who could help her now. Tohru had to serve as a foothold for Kobayashi, Yuxian, and the others, so she could not join their game.

When Little Jeanne pulled Elma, the snack in Elma's hand slipped and fell into the sea.

"Hey, hey, hey—my snack!" She watched helplessly as the delicious snack fell into the water, heartbroken. She had carefully saved it for herself and had planned to savor it slowly, but now it was gone just like that.

Little Jeanne did not care about her feelings right then. What she cared about most was the battle in the sky, so she hurriedly said, "Hurry up and help me!"

"Snacks! My snacks!" Elma was still grieving over her lost treat.

Little Jeanne hurriedly promised, "When we get back, I'll have Master prepare lots of snacks for you. Hurry and help me!"

Elma's eyes lit up at once. She quickly agreed to Little Jeanne's request and carried her into the sky.

Yuxian had been watching things unfold. He said to Mash beside him, "When did Little Jeanne learn how to trick people too?"

Without even thinking, Mash replied, "She learned it from you, Senpai. You never teach them anything good, only crooked tricks."

Yuxian stroked his chin and looked at Mash with innocent eyes. How was that his fault?

Mash said firmly, "They see you as the most important person in their lives, Senpai. They pay close attention to everything you say and do, so from now on, you must not mess around anymore. You need to set a good example."

"That's really making things difficult for me..." Yuxian instantly wilted. Mash had a point, but he felt she was using this as an excuse to criticize him. Unfortunately, he had no proof.

Still, it did not really matter. He was someone who knew his limits. He did not think there was anything seriously wrong with his sense of right and wrong. As for little habits in daily life, he could not be bothered to change them. A person could not make life too exhausting for themselves.

In the sky, four children rode four dragons, constantly circling and clashing.

Yuxian raised his head and shouted, "Don't get too carried away!"

There was nothing wrong with the little ones playing around, but what they considered playing might cause a huge commotion. It was better to warn them in advance, lest they get carried away and make things impossible to control.

At first, since only Gretel had been riding Jabberwocky, she had held back and not used Jabberwocky's power. Now that things had become fair, no one held back any longer, and they began fighting with all their strength.

Despite Yuxian's warning, the scene remained extremely intense. If anyone saw it, they would definitely think it was an earth-shaking battle.

Yet in truth, it was only children playing around.

Of all the children, Jack was the happiest. She rarely had the chance to fly around in the sky like this.

Breaking from her usual quietness, she kept shouting excitedly as she and Kanna darted back and forth through the sky. They bumped into things here and struck at things there. Neither of them cared about winning or losing; they only wanted to have fun.

Illya, meanwhile, kept complaining about Tarasque, accusing it of putting in no effort. She took out her Ruby Wand and kept smacking Tarasque on the head.

"This way, this way!" "Can't you fly faster?!" "Tarasque, you really are ugly and stupid!" "Ah—now we're definitely going to lose!"

Illya kept grumbling. She had thought Tarasque would be powerful support, but it had completely exceeded her expectations. This stupid dragon must have been beaten by Big Sister Martha so often that it had gone dumb.

Little Jeanne and Elma worked much better together. Tempted by snacks, Elma listened very carefully to Little Jeanne's instructions, striking wherever she pointed without any compromise.

The temptation of delicious food really was powerful.

Among the children, Gretel was definitely the best at coordinating with the dragon beneath her. But she had one fatal weakness: she was terrified of falling into the water, so she sometimes became timid in her movements and did not dare attempt difficult aerial maneuvers.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of dragons colliding in the sky rang out loudly. The wind pressure created by their immense power churned the seawater below into chaos, raising wave after wave.

Kobayashi helplessly put away her fishing rod. Under these circumstances, no fish would come to bite.

She looked toward Yuxian and asked, "Are children always this noisy?"

Yuxian gave an embarrassed smile. "My children are a little special. A little special..."

Kobayashi did not dwell on the matter. She leaned backward, lying flat against Tohru's back.

"Yuxian, you're not an ordinary person, are you?" Kobayashi asked calmly. The answer was obvious. An ordinary person would never play this kind of intense game with dragons.

But then she realized she was hardly qualified to say that. After all, someone with two dragons living at home could not exactly be called ordinary either.

Yuxian blinked. Aside from being Chaldea's Master, he really was quite ordinary. In that regard, he was somewhat like Kobayashi.

So he answered half-jokingly and half-seriously, "I'm about the same as you, Kobayashi."

About the same? Kobayashi repeated the words inwardly, then asked Tohru, "Tohru, are there many others like you who came from other worlds in this world?"

"Probably," Tohru answered. "I'm not very sure either." She did not really know whether other beings from other worlds had come to this world. "But don't worry, Kobayashi. As long as I'm here, everything will be fine!"

Kanna Ate Herself!

The children had thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Once they grew tired, they ended this game that looked like a war and came down to rest.

It was getting late as well, so Tohru took everyone back to where they were staying. It was fortunate that she could still recognize the way back.

After returning to the rental house, before it was time to eat, Elma stood somewhat awkwardly beside Little Jeanne. She wanted to remind her of something, but felt a little embarrassed.

However, Little Jeanne had already completely forgotten her promise.

Yuxian looked at Elma with some amusement, but he still walked over and patted Little Jeanne on the shoulder, reminding her of what she had promised. He could not let Elma's hard work go unrewarded.

Only after Yuxian reminded her did Little Jeanne remember. She blinked and began thinking about how to get snacks. When she made the promise, she had not considered how they would obtain them at all.

Yuxian shook his head helplessly. "How about this? I'll ask the owner here whether there are any ingredients we can use, and we'll make the snacks ourselves."

Yuxian's suggestion received everyone's unanimous approval. They were delighted at the chance to make something themselves, though their eager expressions made Yuxian a little worried.

Mash came over and asked, "Senpai, can you make snacks?"

"Of course!" Yuxian answered confidently. His family had made snacks every year when he was young, and he had helped every time. So whether in theory or practical experience, he knew what he was doing.

Mash blinked but said nothing more. Seeing Yuxian's confident expression, she believed him.

Illya rolled up her sleeves and said energetically, "Teacher Kurenai Enma praised me in cooking class before! This time, I'm definitely going to show everyone what I can do!"

Teacher Kurenai Enma? Yuxian froze for a moment, but quickly realized that Illya was talking about Kurenai Enma, the proprietress of Enma-tei.